Nationalism Essay free essay sample

Alex Cheveldave â€Å"But I find that the time has probably come for us to realize what we have in common. Because living together and being part of a country, being part of a nation, means being able to project ourselves and relate to common values, to certain principles, to our institutions also. †   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Governor General Michaelle Jean To what extent have historical and contemporary examples of nationalism in Canada shown the same perspective as the source above? The source is a quote from Governor General, Michaelle Jean on how a country can be related. As we start to find common ground with each other, we will grow as a nation. She states that â€Å"living together and being part of a country, being part of a nation means being able to project ourselves and relate to common values, to certain principles, to our institutions also. †   In simpler words Michaelle Jean is saying that over time the country of Canada has came to be a nation by projecting ourselves as one and relating through interests and events both historically and contemporary. We will write a custom essay sample on Nationalism Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By the common values being evident in Canada it helps us to take part in events that will shape the nation. Many famous events can help to support the interests and perspectives of Michaelle Jean. The best way to learn about and help to form any nation, is to find common values to create a more recognizable relationship. This is a good way to learn how people in Canada live as well. Canadian history provides a look into how the nation became strong and recognized. Every society has values, which make it unique and are important to its members. It is impossible to provide a simple description of Canadian culture and Canadian values. Vimy Ridge, 1917, proved Canada to be a strong part in WWI. The Battle of Vimy Ridge put the Canadian Military on the map as a noticeable and powerful institution. An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community. Canada being brought together through similar values helped to create an institution of Canadian Military. The Canadian Troops took Vimy Ridge April 12th, 1917. They pushed forward as a group with the principle to successfully complete their task. Coming into the battle Canada was seen as a weak point. A group of a below average. The Battle of Vimy Ridge began at dawn on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, when all four divisions of the Canadian Corps attacked Vimy Ridge above the Douai Plain in France. The Canadian Military institution seen vimy ridge as a common goal, it was something that everyone in the nation wanted. It was a battle that would help to finish WWI. As a canadian institution it was necessary to take Vimy Ridge. It represented Canada as a powerful war allie that soon led to gaining allies. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the biggest single Allied advance on the Western front up to that point in WWI. A value comes from within. Values is used to determine what kind of person you are. The FLQ crisis was a perfect example of how the Canadian population grouped together with similar values and faced troubles from another group with different values. In October of 1970 there was an FLQ crisis also called the October Crisis that was run by the FLQ. What is the FLQ and what does it stand for? The FLQ stands for Front de Liberation du Quebec, is a group of people that were trained in Cuba to be terrorists on our home soil. Canada seen this group of terrorists as nothing but a group with opposing values, and goals. Their goal was to try to force the government of Canada to let the province of Quebec create a government of their own. As Quebec tried to do this the nation of Canada came together creating a brotherhood to shutdown the attempts of Quebec. By having nation wide common values, the group of terrorists trained by Cuba were immediately pushed away do to the difference in opinions. During the October Crisis the War Measures Act was introduced for self-defense because the FLQ group was getting so out of hand. The attempt of Quebec trying to disband as a province of Canada, helped to create its independence. Canada became a nation of common values. The source that was given by Michaelle Jean, stating her opinion on the relationship between Canadians. That being said, she is not suggesting that all Canadians get along and cooperate together. It is the complications of values and the importance of specific beliefs between the larger groups within Canada. From the beginning sentence of the source Michaelle Jean believes â€Å"that the time has probably come for us to realize what we have in common† giving the fairly obvious perspective that the people of Canada need to further connect in a positive manner. NATIONALISM!!

The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction

The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction Executive Summary The following paper is a thought experiment, a work in progress that is unfolding as I observe today’s dynamic industries struggle to exploit multiple avenues to respond to customer complains. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of feedback system as one of the mechanism that supports functional element of organizational climate.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The study methodology uses a trail group consisting of 35 members from the United States, Philadelphia region dispersed across a variety of demographic location and environments to determine how companies A, B and C quickly respond to their complains. The trial attempted to measure how fast companies A,B, C effectiveness responded to customers’ complains in relation to their defective devices in service industry perspective, and to evaluate the collective processes and outcomes. To effectively measure feedback system performance and satisfaction, the study uses variables that included technical-customer support, action orientation, phone-based technical support and information exchange. Changes in subject cognition were assessed using a series of conceptual model to measure reliability of the results obtained. Results of this study did however demonstrate that companies that engaged in feedback system and actively involved in strategic activities that requires introduction of innovative products and outreach program that mitigate customer problems before they occur reported high returns. Our conclusive results reveal that all the variables that related to feedback system positively linked to customer satisfaction. This study provides evidence of a relationship between effective feedback system in relation to solving customers’ complains and customer satisfaction. Introductio n Feedback system remains to be the most significant factor of organisational climate in resolving customer complains. For example, majority of computer companies in the United States continued to expand their products through implementation of effective and up to date feedback system.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since many companies are thriving to survive through the competitive markets, many new and efficient products are such as iPod, Mac, iPhone are being introduced to the markets everyday. These products are reported to be widely successful due to the organisations’ communication system. This requires the organisation to implement effective feedback system with eminent good customer support that quickly responds to customers complains (Kaplan, 2006). The three companies assessment results present us an investigative framework to examine extend to which service firm utilises customer satisfaction data obtained from formal feedback mechanism. The essay further explores the effectiveness of feedback system using a questionnaire methodology to find out the relationship between overall feedback and customer satisfaction in computer companies in the United States (Fred, 2001): Fox, 2004). Literature Review Feedback system Lately, the three companies have been using feedback system for paying out customers with defective machines. For example, one of the Company’s products â€Å"iMac† was widely reported for to be giving clients problems and the company responded by giving 15% refund bonuses to all faulty 27 inch iMac in the UK and was also reported to extend $300 apologies to all its aggrieved customers in the US. In resolving the issue, the company responded quickly by offering free repairs to all the affected machines and launched a support page where it described how minor problems could be resolved and the re sulting warranty extension for each affected machine. The company also reimbursed customers who used their own money to repair the faulty machines and advised them take their drives to official company repair channels (Moore Knight, 2010; O’Reilly Anderson, 1980). Technical Customer Support The three service companies in our investigative analysis ranged top in customer satisfaction with phone-based technical support, communication, face-to-face communication, email communication, and information exchange in the American Consumer Satisfaction index (ASCI) in the second quarter of 2009. These companies were credited for offering the best technical customer satisfaction service within the Personal Computers category with a base score of 77 on a 100 point scale and earned 83 points in the second quarter of 2006. Business analysts have argued that the companies’ ability to focus on product innovation and customer satisfaction has won the company loyal customers compared to other PC vendors. Quality of customer service is always the determining factor for success of any company and not its products, and the three companies for this case have gained tremendously from such strategy. Van Amburg, the managing director of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) argues that customers from other service providers were very frustrated with company’s customer service despite the quality of its PC hence loss of loyal customers and the services continued to deteriorate as years went by (Moore Knight 2010; Keizer 2009; Szmigin, 2003).Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on The relationship between effective feedback and customer satisfaction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In ensuring quality satisfaction in information collection, the companies launched Consumer Privacy Policy that ensures the collection, use and disclosure of personal information regarding customer issues are k ept at optimum security. The company pledges to safeguard personal information collected when visiting the company’s website, purchase of products and services and when a customer calls the sales team or support associates. Personal information collected here is aimed at helping the company deliver higher customer service and provide convenient access to company’s products and services (Apple, 2010; Levitan, 2004; Prasaad, 2009). The companies were reported to collect personal information in various occasions such as 1). Phone conversations with customer service representative and for this case, customer’s complains regarding downloading software updates or purchasing products may be collected 2). When customers interact with a service provider, information such as names, phone number, mailing address may be collected 3). Personal information may also be collected for market research purposes for example a client may be asked how often their use their computer a nd where they use it at. 4). Information regarding faulty devices was also collected on company’s website, iTune stores and MobileMe stores. The company then uses the data improve products and determine how best to provide useful information (Apple, 2010; Hewlett-Packard Development Company, 2010). The companies were said to partner with other service vendors such as MobileMe and iTunes stores to help in collection of information by requiring customers to customer’s to create an â€Å"phone company ID† before purchase of products. The ID is strategy is designed to help customers have easier access to web services and saves them time since they don’t have to give their personal information when requesting for services. The procedure requires creation of personal profiles by adding the name, phone number, email address or credit card number together with a suitable password that will be used to access the profile. Once the signing up procedure is completed, the customer is allocated personal ID and a password that the system generates automatically. Therefore next time the customer enters the website to re-purchases products is welcomed by personal greetings by mentioning his name and is able to access up to date information regarding the product purchased which can be used wherever the client goes (Apple, 2010).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Action Orientation Companies are increasing exposed to intense pressure to deliver and better their feedback system. The intense competition requires companies to employ full array of management skills, ranging from managing people to communication. The end results are then used for analysis to help managers polish their skills. Here, action orientation packages, strategies and tools and timely guidelines are implemented to help managers and public relation representatives improve on their skills (Harvard Business Review, 2004; Purde, 2008). Phone-Based Technical Support The three companies were ranked among the best service providers in customer satisfaction with phone-based technical support hence the reason for using their data for analysis. Telephone conversations have always been regarded as traditional feedback system tools that improve customer loyalty. Due to the increased competition in service industries, economic pressures continue to squeeze these companies to ensure cus tomer satisfaction has reached peak point. Since majority of customer service professionals engage most of their time resolving customers’ issues and problems rather than engaging in proactive customer support, Levitan (2004) proposes the companies to try and reach the customer before they become frustrated and dissatisfied with automated calls. In addition, companies are required to be more involved in strategic strategies that involve introduction of innovative products and outreach program that mitigate customer problems before they occur (Herington Jacquot, 2005; Galindo et al, 2009, p.2839; Bettman, 2005). Information Exchange Cookies These companies admit to using cookies on its website as a strategy of keeping statistics on what parts of the websites are most hit and how much time clients spend on the website for purposes of product improvement. Secondly, cookies help in tracking the effectiveness of online advertising and for studying online traffic patterns. Thirdly , when personal details like the IP address is tracked, cookies may be used to customise customers’ experiences by offering services that can be found within the client’s location. For example, when a customer visits the sales website, support representatives lets the visitor register their name by signing up so that they can be referred by name next time they visit the website and even offered the opportunity to choose the country and language they wish to shop in hence increasing their online experience (Apple, 2010). Information collected Internet from log flies such as Protocal address is used for market surveys and indirect marketing purposes. Email is also considered as an effective marketing strategy if used appropriately. These companies for this case send emails to clients with â€Å"click-through URL† that links customers to the company’s products when clicked through. When the customer links through various links, cookies enable the company det ermine particular group’s interest and the effectiveness of customer’s feedback system (Apple, 2010; Dell, 2010). Pixel Tags Pixel tags are embedded graphics designed to provide reports on customer activities which help companies improve their services, keep track opened emails to avoid future spamming and keep customers up to date with software downloads and new company products (Apple, 2010). Publicly displayed information is public The three companies in our analysis used public information posted in chat rooms and bulletin boards as a feedback mechanism to improve their services, however, it claims to hold no responsibility for any misuse of such information by third parties. In a statement, Apple (2010) states that companies may help us process information, extend credit, fulfil customer orders, deliver products to you, manage and enhance customer data, provide customer service, assess your interest in our products and services, or conduct customer research or sat isfaction surveys (online). The companies are therefore delegated the responsibility of ensuring clients’ personal information kept in accordance to company’s policies of confidentiality (Apple, 2010). Methodology This study involved a secondary analysis of an existing data set developed from questionnaires of members in the Philadelphia region. The trail group consisted of 35 members from three computer companies across United States were dispersed across a variety of demographic location and environments to determine how fast companies A, B and C responded to their technical complains in relation their satisfaction. The trial attempted to measure the effectiveness of feedback system, and to evaluate the collective process and outcomes of customer satisfaction using conceptual model. Consumers participated in the surveys by calling, emailing and information exchange to reach the company’s customer support. Using survey data and call statistics from the three se rvice companies, the customers were required to complete a survey about their support experience and then pass the information to three interviewers. The interviewers were trained to the effective data collection methods of collecting timely and actionable feedback system that will positively impact customer service quality. The research relied on quantitative methods that focused on ascertaining feedback system tools employed by companies in their every day interactions. The independent variable in this study was feedback intervention as a key strategy to resolving customer complains. Table 1 provides more detailed analysis of participants’ feedback in relation to services they received from the three service companies. During the interview, each participant identified six functional deficits that most affected the companies’ functional performance in resolving their problems. The question was phrased as; â€Å"To what extent do you agree or disagree with the followi ng statements according to your computer service provider?† Participants rescored each problem area during the test administrations as indicated in table 1. The research uses quantitative tools that involve Statistical Package for Social Sciences in recording actual evidence and records. The quantitative technique used here will confirm the hypothesis and the relationship between the chosen variables. Questionnaires were chosen as our quantitative tool to collect data. It contained six multiple choice questions. The first questions were chosen on the three companies data based on products and services. The six questionnaire questions were aimed at measuring customer’s perception regarding their experiences with their service provider companies and the results were recorded using a five-point scale that ranged from 1 for â€Å"strongly disagree† to 5 for â€Å"strongly agree†. TABLE 1: Frequency of performance deficit from companies A, B and C performance m easures (N=35) Categories derived from deficits identified by Participants Frequency Percentages Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Agree Do I get through customer representatives by phone 5 25 1 2 3 4 5 Does companies A,B,C follow through the problems 1 5 1 2 3 4 5 Does your company offer repair services for free 3 15 2 2 3 4 5 Does the company performing routine activities of faulty devices 1 5 1 2 3 4 5 Do I feel supported when I have technical problems 5 25 1 2 3 4 5 Does the company remember customer problems and faces 6 30 1 2 3 4 5 Participants Thirty five customers aged 18 to 55 consisting of both male and female from Philadelphia region were voluntarily recruited for the study. All participants were required to have purchased the company’s products and used them for a period of not less than one year. Participants were unaware of the experimental hypothesis before the experiment. To participate, volunteers needed to have forwarded a t echnical problem to the customer support department and to have lived in the community for the same period. Conceptual Framework The research builds on conceptual framework to focus on in our methodology and data analysis. The results however show a strong relationship between effective feedback system and customer satisfaction in companies. The study proposed three hypotheses which included; Action orientation is positively related to feedback system Technical-customer support is positively related to feedback system Information exchange is positively related to feedback system Phone-based support is positively related to feedback system Data Analysis and Findings Companies spend huge portions of their earnings to manage their corporate image. And in many cases, the image of how people perceive the company in terms of customer satisfaction is given top priority. Customer service has of lately been considered as â€Å"industry buzzword† and companies that don’t give their customers quality services are starting to loose customer every fortnight. It’s actually difficult to measure customer satisfaction if companies are instead hiring public relation representatives to cover up their problems. To measure the feedback system in relations to customer satisfaction, the research sifted through personal surveys and previous studies as well as real life experiences of customers, to come up three best service companies and 10 sample questionnaires for customer service (Inside CRM Editors, 2010, p.1). Data of this survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 13). Mean, medium, mode, standard deviation and variance were used to test the hypothesis to determine the relationship between effective feedback system and customer satisfaction and its variables (technical customer support, phone based technical support, action orientation and information exchange) in computer companies. Feedback Syste m Technical Customer Support Phone-based Technical Support Action orientation Information Exchange N Valid 35 35 35 35 35 Missing 0 0 0 0 0 Mean 24.28 4.83 4.01 6.02 5.76 Median 26.06 3 4 6 4 Mode 31a 5 5 7 5 Std. Deviation 5.401 .796 3.321 4.650 2.092 Variance 45.398 .005 1.181 1.008 1.80 Minimum 3 4 4 4 4 Maximum 36 3 5 5 5 The summary shows that there are 35 valid responses entered in the software (n=35). According to Moore Knight (2010), customers found it easier to reach agent in 2009 than it was in the previous year. On phone conversations, customers reported satisfaction as there were less connectivity problems with automated calls compared to the previous years. These company changes positively related to customer satisfaction since there was an increase of 9% with agent services and a 17% improvement in customer satisfaction in automated calls. The rising levels of customer satisfaction in these companies demonstrated the correlation between effective feedback system and service customer satisfaction. When complex consumer electronics become defective, customer often need fast, confident, effective and friendly support (Lumbue, 2008). Discussion and Recommendation One of the companies with defective software products was reported to extended its repair period for the affected Macs three years from the date of purchase, which is indeed a very good customer service any company could offer its clients since many extends up to the warrant period. This strategy will instantly regain the trust of iPhone users hence more sales of their products. The companies should also look into giving away unlimited online storage, this way clients will be able to take advantage of MobileMe services and the cost of providing this support will come down. For instance if the company gave customers free storage amount of 30GB and maybe charge a reasonable fee of $5 a year, in the long run the company would be benefiting from low cost of providing suppor t. Lastly, the company should open up user feedback and blogging on MobileMe devices so that users could make suggestions for improvements. To improve the quality of telephone conversations, companies should try and reach customers before they become frustrated and dissatisfied with automated calls. Companies are required to be more involved in strategic strategies that involve introduction of innovative products and outreach program that mitigate customer problems before they occur (Etherington, 2010; Purdue, 2008). Conclusion The study proves that companies must understand the importance of feedback system and how to leads to customer satisfaction. Other forms of data collection that includes technical customer support, phone based technical support, action orientation and information exchanges are all effective feedback systems which must be utilized to reach the overall organisational success. The study demonstrated the ability of simple mechanisms such as effective feedback sys tem affect customer satisfaction contrary to the past scholars concerns on history, ethnography, or ritual studies. Quality of customer service is always the determining factor for success of any company and not its products, and the three companies for this case have gained tremendously from such strategy. Due to the increased competition in service industries, economic downturns continue to pressure companies to ensure customer satisfaction reaches peak point. Since majority of customer service professionals engage most of their time resolving customers’ issues and problems rather than engaging in proactive customer support, companies should try and reach customers before they become frustrated and dissatisfied with automated calls. References Apple.(2010). Apple Customer Privacy Policy. Available at; apple.com/legal/privacy/. Acessed april 14, 2010 Bettman. R. (2005). Next deal. Psychology and Marketing, June. Dell. (2010). Service Information. Available at; http://support .dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/my_systems_info/details. Etherington, D. (2010). Apple admits MacBook hard drives defective, offers free repair program. Available at; http://theappleblog.com/2010/02/17/apple-admits-macbook-hard-drives-defective-offers-free-repair-program/. Fox, E. (2004). American Marketing Association. Journal of Marketing Research, February, 1 Fred, W. (2001). Customer intimacy-pick your partner, shape your culture, win  together. New Delhi:Prentice Hall. Galindo, E. S., Santos, W., Maciel, P., Galdino, S. (2009). Synthetic workload generation for capacity planning for virtual server environment. IEEE  International Conference on Systems, October, 2837-2842. Harvard Business Review. (2004). Face-to-Face communication for clarity and  impacts: The results-driven managers series. Available at; http://hbr.org/product/face-to-face-communications-for-clarity-and-impact/an/3477-PBK-ENG?Ntt=Ram+Charan. Herington, D., Jacquot, B. (2005). The HP virtua l server environment: Making the  adaptive enterprise vision a reality in your Datacenter. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Hewlett-Packard Development Company. (2010). Overcoming the no. 1 challenge in  data center transformation. Available at; http://h20338.www2.hp.com/enterprise/us/en/messaging/feature-sftwr-datacenter-bsa.html. Inside CRM Editors (2010). The 10 Best (and Worst) Companies for Customer Service. Focus, 1-2. Kaplan, B. (2006). Delivering customer service in a time of crisis. CRM Today,  January. Keizer, G. (2009). Apple tops annual customer satisfaction survey, but lead shrinks.  Computer World. Available at; computerworld.com/s/article/9136758/Apple_tops_annual_customer_satisfaction_survey_but_lead_shrinks. Levitan, B. (2004). Improving customer loyalty through proactive communication.  Consumer Interaction Solutions. Available at; tmcnet.com/call-center/0204/0204crm1.htm. Lumbue, R. (2008). Effective communication, perceived service quality, customer satisfact ion and international reputation. Uganda Scholarly, 1-300 Moore, Charles Knight, Dan. Apple Retains Lead in Customer Satisfaction, iMac  Screen Problem Resolved, 64 GB for Mac Pro and More. Available at; http://lowendmac.com/newsrev/10mnr/0212.html#2. O’Reilly, C. Anderson, J. (1980). Trust and the Communication of Performance Appraisal Information: The Effect of Feedback on Performance and Satisfaction. Human Communication Research, 6, 290-298. Prasaad, S. (2009). Establishing successful customer relationships through effective communication: An Indian perspective. Marketing and Management Communication, 64, 1-71 Purdue, G. (2008). Inside Mobile: How Apple MobileMe can Improve Its data sychronisation and data-sharing service. eWEEK.com, August, 1 Szmigin, I. (2003). Understanding the Consumer. New Delhi: Response Books.

Identification and analysis of DNA repair mechanisms Thesis

Identification and analysis of DNA repair mechanisms - Thesis Example In both of these cases, DNA repair systems involve the use of the Mre11/Rad50/NBS1 complex. This project aims to identify and examine what DNA repair systems are present in the cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and how these contribute to resistance to treatment with nucleoside analogues. This information should help to provide further insight into the way in which human cells are able to develop resistance to this form of treatment, and perhaps provide some indication of a method to prevent this. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 DNA repair and cancer 6 DNA replication 7 DNA repair 9 MRN Complex 11 Topoisomerase inhibitors 13 Nucleoside analogues 15 Involvement of DNA repair 17 Project System 20 Aims and Objectives 21 References 22 Introduction In everyday life, cells are exposed to external and internal agents that cause thousands of DNA mutations per day. These mutations range from being small, such as affecting a single nucleotide, to large mutations where accurate rep air can be difficult. For the accurate propagation of the genetic information within cells, it is essential that the body has mechanisms of repairing damage in a reliable manner. However, while many methods for DNA repair exist, these are not always successful and mutations can accumulate, resulting in the development of cancer (Helleday et al., 2007). Understanding these processes, why they occur the way that they do and what can be done to influence these is crucial for knowing the way that cancer occurs, and determining methods of treating it effectively. In our modern society, cancer has remained one of the most well studied diseases and perhaps one of the least understood. The fundamental aspects of cancer are damage in the DNA of a cell that results in a lack of control over cell growth and replication, as well reducing the likelihood that cells will enter apoptosis. These cells are able to proliferate well beyond the normal constraints of the tissue that they are in (Loeb and Loeb, 2000). With high levels of replication and low cell death, abnormal cells build up within the body and interfere with body functions. The exact mechanisms that causes these mutations to occur, and allows the cells to break free of the cell control pathway are the focus of much current research into cancer, as understanding these pathways may help to develop treatment or prevent cells from entering this state. Cancer is a disease where mutations in DNA accumulate to the point that traditional controls over cell behaviour can be bypassed, often involving the accumulation of mutations in genes responsible for the birth or death of the cell, as well as controls over the cell cycle (Lengauer et al., 1998). Research indicates that the tumours developed as the result of cancer are heterogeneous (Loeb et al., 2003). Because of this, cancer needs to be thought of as a collection of disease rather than a single disease (Huang et al., 2006). This is an important factor when studying can cer, as it explains why some mechanisms are prevalent in some forms of cancer, but not others. Genetic instability is thought to be one of the driving factors of the development of tumours and this in turn is driven by DNA damage and errors in the replication machinery. However, spontaneous mutation is only one aspect of the puzzle, and the prevalence of cancer development and succession of mutations

3 P's and a D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

3 P's and a D - Essay Example Always low price is a fundamental strategy of my company. Then, there are special sales promotions and the workers in every department, especially marketing, are especially trained to keep customers coming back on basis of these amazing sales promotions. My company has always attempted to gain a competitive edge by setting up stores where a large percentage of customers can have an easy access to them. Placement has been always prioritized to benefit and facilitate customers. However, I perceive weakness in the marketing strategy of my company along the dimension of price. Goods of all sorts are presented to public at very reasonable prices. But, this strategy is not fair and equitable to all parties. This is because to sell products at markedly lower prices, employees and suppliers are squeezed and their living standard is compromised. They get lower median wages because of the company’s aim to provide products at cheap

Business Case Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Business Case - Coursework Example First, we discuss the appropriate nature of the topic, define its focus or scope, describe and explain the context in which the paper aims to answer the research question and the peripheral questions that proceed from the search for the answers, establish the rationale for the paper, and enumerate clearly the aims and objectives for the study. Like other observable facts of life, there are two ways of knowing the purpose of a thing. One can observe and discover what that thing does, or if one knows how that thing came to be, that is, it was created by another rational person to whom we can talk, there is a simpler way: to ask. After years of daily observation and questioning, it is this researcher's common understanding that a business is an artificial (something created or put together, as opposed to natural, that is, existing in nature) form of social organisation that fulfils three main goals: it keeps the person who created it busy, it provides the same person some amount of income, and it provides a product or service that meets a need of a portion of society. At the start of the research study, this researcher considered these as the main purposes of a business, and as long as these purposes are met, the business becomes an ongoing and sustainable concern as the income generated allows the business to continue in existence. However, once any of these purposes is not met, either the business ceases to exist or a new business with a different set of purposes is created. This is the intellectual position of the researcher. The research question for this paper is a variation of the same theme: what is the business of business What is the purpose of a

Selection Process for Expatriates

Selection Process for Expatriates Chapter 2 Literature Review: In this chapter researcher tried to discuss all the related studies which are done in past and are available in literature. A lot of work has been done in the literature on the topic of selection. Before proceeding to the actual topic it is necessary to look at the different methods of selection which an organization uses and see that what are the different techniques and criteria which are used for the selection of staff. 2.1 Selection: Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to Dessler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 2.2 Expatriate selection: According to (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999, pg: 154) Multinationals take great care in their selection process, however predicting future performance potential of the concerned staff is challenging at the best of times especially operating in foreign environments adds another level of uncertainty. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90) During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriates mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 2.3 Importance of an Expatriates and International Assignments: The world is globalizing very rapidly and change has become necessary for the organization to survive and to gain competitive advantage internationally. According to Harris and Brewster, (1999) the rapidly globalizing world has increased the need for the international assignments and many of the organizations started considering international management experience for the top management. So the international assignments are becoming an important part for the success of an organization to gain competitive advantage. As discussed by Chen, Tzeng Tang, 2005 that organizations internationalize their operation to gain success and to increase its market value internationally and for this purpose an organization needs effective expatriate who can perform its task properly. In this new era the importance of expatriate has increased because expatriates are the ones who can give an organization proper international exposure and make the organization successful. 2.4 Selection Process: One of the most studied areas for the expatriate selection is the selection process of the expatriate. The selection of expatriate has always been difficult procedure for the multinational organizations. Swaak quotes one HR executive who said. â€Å"My job is to find people in a hurry.† So this system is highly crisis-oriented and unsophisticated. Swaak, (1995) further confirms the problems for the nature of the selection process. Still and Smith (1997) report the results of Australian research, which shows that there were a number of different ways through which expatriates were selected. They studied that the most impressive and important form of selection or evaluation of the expatriate was recommendation of the person by the line manager including chief executive officer or specialist persons. Mostly expatriates in the multinational organizations in a knee-jerk reaction to the need to fill a new or unexpected vacancies overseas. Actually there are well informed intercultural trainers or a good HR professional who selects the expatriates but basically it is HR department within multinational organization who selects the expatriate finally. Managements choose the most technical and competent candidates which makes the expatriates successful internationally. Shilling, (1993 pg 58) 2.5 Types of selection Process: * Psychometric Tests * Assessment Centers * Coffee machine system 2.5.1 Psychometric Tests: According to Passmore, 2008 Psychometrics are the widely used testing method for the selection of the employee and personal development. The psychological test is always important for the selection of the employee especially for the selection of an international manager. According to the validity of psychological tests is disputed. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) the psychologists the variation between the different natured job test is very small (Schmidt and Hunter, 1998). According to a survey done by The Graduate Recruitment in 2007 two third or about 67 percent of 219 respondents surveyed said that the results of psychometric test had some influence on recruiting and selection decisions, and 24 percent said that it has strong influence, and only 2 percent said that these test does not have any influence. So the above shows the importance of psychometric tests. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) psychological assessment increasingly involves the application of tests i n different cultural contexts, either in a single country or different countries. Now a day the demand of cross cultural assessment test is increasing due to the increasing factor of globalization to gain competitive advantage in international market. According to Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985 one of the important option for evaluating the selection process is the use of psychological tests and evaluation devices. There are number of instruments available to measure the stress level of an individual. In 2.1 the real importance of psychometric test is shown. Psychometric tests are reliable that the selected person will be the one on whom one can rely. And obviously these kinds of tests are valid for any kind of job. The most important point in this test is that it does not include any biasness and the selectors cannot show the biasness while selecting on the basis of psychometric tests. These tests are also standard for different jobs. All the above mentioned qualities and factors involve in the psychometric tests. In other words one can say that almost all the abilities present in an individuals mind can be noticed, and the end result will always ends up in the right selection of expatriate. 2.5.2 Assessment Centre: As the assessment centers are considered to be one of the best selection techniques so according to Sparow and Brewster assessment centers will be the best idea as a selection technique to assess the competency of international managers. This is rarely the case, however. According to sparrow (1999) Even where assessment centers are used to select the managers in international settings, the key cross cultural assessment centers seems to be to design the assessment process so that it is very adaptable to local environment in which it will be operated. So there is need of cross culture assessment centers in which international managers can be assessed accordingly with the changing environment. Krause and Gebert (2003) have done study on international literature on the conception, operation and evaluation of assessment centers. He examined 281 German firms whose language was German and he compares them with the previously studied firms of United States of America. Study showed that both the American and German firms use the assessment centers but the purpose of some of them was different from the basics. For example the competencies assessed for job analysis might be identified through the use of interviews with job incumbents in 79% of US firms and only 39% of German firms. Most of the German firms rely on interviews for the selection of international managers or expatriates. So the assessment centers are considered to be an important process for expatriate selection. 2.5.3 Coffee Machine System This system was the idea of Harris and Brewster (1999) the key findings of the study show the reality of the selection process for expatriate selection in the organizations. In many organizations the selection process falls under what we call ‘coffee machine system and this system is the most common form of expatriate selection. What happens is that the senior line manager is standing by the coffee machine when he/she is joined by the colleague: ‘Hows it going? ‘Oh, you know, overworked and underpaid. Actually Jimmy in Mumbai has just fallen ill and is being flown home. I dont know who I can choose to work over there at very short notice of time. It is driving me crazy. ‘Have you met Simon on the fifth floor? he is working in the same line of work. He is very good and bright and looks like going a long way. He was telling me that he and his wife had great holiday in Goa a couple of years ago. He seems to like India. Could be worthy to speak to him. Hey, thanks I will check and speak to him. ‘No problem. They dont seem to be able to improve this coffee though, do they? What happen in the organization next is that the manger will take some decision and will have informal discussion with his seniors about Simon and then that man will be called and interviewed and selected for the required position. Accordingly HR department and financial department will be involved in the process and the formal and systematic process will be started. This method is rarely used in the organizations in particular cases when there is an urgent need to fill the position of expatriate. 2.6 Niche Assessments According to Bolt (2008) many assessment venders specialize in certain niches and offer off-the-shelf products to meet clients testing needs. However, vendors can find such persons or individuals for the company who can fit in the organizations new environment and can coop with the new organizations culture. Testing is the most important part of the application process of the candidate because testing gives the good idea of the individuals abilities and competencies. 2.7 Factors involved in selection Process: There are number of factors which affect the performance of expatriate. Dowling, Welch, Schuler, (1999) recognised some of the important and most affective factors and these are the factors which involved to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process. All the factors are shown in a model below. 2.7.1 Technical Ability: According to Hays, 1971 All expatriates are assigned abroad to complete some task weather its building a dam, running some business, or teaching it all depends on the personal technical ability to perform that task. Obviously it is important to consider the individuals personal ability to perform the required task assigned to the expatriate. So in selection it is another important area which needs to look at. Different research findings show that the multinational organization give a lot of importance to the technical abilities of the individuals going abroad for international assignments at the time of their selection. According to Harvey and Novicevic, (2001) technical and functional expertise has been the primary criterion for selecting expatriate managers for assignments. Hixon found that the selection was based on technical ability and willingness to reside abroad. If the individual is selected without keeping in view its technical ability. It can create the big problems for the multinational organizations to complete its related task or assignment. Reinforcing the emphasis on technical skills is the relative ease with which the multinational may assess the potential candidates potential, since technical and managerial competence can be determined on the basis of past performance of the individual who is going to be selected as expatriate. In fact domestic selection cannot be equal to the international selection but person can be selected on the basis of past domestic records which he has performed domestically as the basic criteria is always the same in all the multinational organizations so on the basis of past abilities there should not be any problem for the organizations to select the expatriates. This approach is also found by Foster and Johnsen, (1996) who report the results of the research into the expatriate selection practices for the newly internationalized UK organizations which shows that organizations keep in view the technical skills, and pr evious domestic records while selecting expatriate for international assignments. 2.7.2Cross Cultural Suitability: The environment and the culture where an expatriate is going is an important factor for an expatriate. So the selectors of the expatriates should always consider the factor of culture for the expatriate. Although these factors does not guarantee for an expatriate for his successes but if these factors are not considered it can lead it towards the failure of expatriate. If the culture is considered then it is always important to study the Hofsteds dimensions for cross culture and Trompenaars dimensions so these researches are explained in detail as follows. 2.7.3 Culture: Culture is always important for any expatriate selection, so it is very necessary for HR managers and selectors to keep the factor of culture in view while selecting expatriate for international assignments. There have been a lot of studies on culture and there are a lot of different definitions of culture some of them are given below. (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next. The life style of people living in the society is called culture it includes the social, economical, political, religious, life style of the individuals in the country. According to Drennan, 1992 â€Å"whatever is going around is called culture.† Culture is the way of life of a group of people. There are obvious differences between the different cultures such as language, dress, religion, beliefs, and behaviours of the people, and there are also implicit differences between the two cultures such as in values, assumptions about how things should be. So these different degrees of explicitness are often called the culture. ScullionLinehan, (2005) So the culture is very important factor for the selection of expatriate because the individuals move from one culture to another culture for the completion of their assignment. 2.7.4 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Greet Hofstedes cultures consequences (1980, 2001) explores the differences in thinking and social action at the country level between members of 50 nations and three regions. Hofstede originally used IBM employees answers to company attitude survey conducted twice, around 1968 and 1972. The survey generated more than 116,000 questionnaires with the number of respondents used in the analysis being approximately 30,000 in 1969 and 41000 in 1973. Hofstede identified and validated four cultural dimensions from respondents patterned answers. For each dimension, he presented possible origins as well as predictors and consequences for management behavior. Hofsteds four dimensions are as follows 1. Power Distance 2. Uncertainty Avoidance 3. Individualism versus Collectivism 4. Masculinity versus Femininity Another dimension which is fifth dimension presented by Michael Bond is Long term versus Short term Orientation was subsequently developed from a research to accommodate non-western orientations and has been adopted from the Chinese Culture Connection study. Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent up to which extend a society expects and a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. It refers to the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. It reflects the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In organisations illustration of a high power distance score is generally represented as a highly vertical hierarchical pyramid. Subordinates are often told or ordered about a particular task but they are not normally entitled to discuss the decision made by the top management so basically the meaning of power distance is that higher the person in hierarchy the more difficult will be this person to approach. So there are some barriers for that person to see their top management. The barriers can be of different ways like the person barriers or the employee is not allowed to see the top manager or they are not allowed to attend the high m anagerial level meetings in which decisions are made. So basically power distance shows the distance between a supervisor and his employee. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. According to Hofsted the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. He argued that high uncertainty avoidance is expressed for example by a companys need for regulations which tends to minimize in the behaviour of its employees. Company rules are such thing which cannot be broken by the employees even if he think that breaking the rule is in companys best interest in such sort of environment the work stress is more and uncertainty avoidance is high. On the other hands if the employees are less affected by uncertainty is called low uncertainty avoidance. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Hofsted ask the IBM individuals that how important is to keep in view his work goals rather than the organisation. If there is preferred work goals stress dependence on organisation. For example good physical working condition, good ventilation enough space individualism in the work place can be seen. Collectivism can be seen in preference of collective organisation. Masculinity-Femininity: Masculine societies value assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism as opposed to the feminine values of relationships and the quality of life. Males tend to express preferences for assertiveness recognition when doing good job. On the other hand females prefer the aspect of interpersonal work. Michele Bonds Research about cultural dimensions: Another dimension which is mentioned above is Long-term versus Short -term Orientation. In 1987 a questionnaire was developed by Michele bond with the project Chinese Culture Connection (CCC). He developed a questionnaire representing fundamental and basic values of Chinese people. This questionnaire was then given to the students of 23 Asian and non Asian countries. The statistical analysis developed four different dimensions. Three out of four were same as it was of Hofsteds the fifth was different from Hofsted. 2.7.5 Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner Like Hofsted Trompenaar also studied different dimensions of cultures. According to him different culture deals with different universal problems. He proposed three problems which are as follows 1. Social Interaction 2. Passage of time 3. Relationship to the Environment These cultural dimensions describe the characteristics that each culture provides an answer to three fundamental problems. In multinational and international organizations cultural dimensions will be based on the the responses of the managers. The dimensions found by the Tropenaar and Hampden is discussed in detail as below. 2.7.6 Trompennars Cultural Dimensions The Trompenaars cultural dimensions are discussed as follows. Neutral versus Affective: This dimension is particularly based on the certain situation. Trompenaar measured this dimension with the particular question which was how would you behave if you face any problem at work and you feel upset about it? Would you express your feelings openly before other peoples? The answers and responses were different from different countries. The resulting cultural dimension tells us that in particular countries emotion is being displayed together with rationale arguments. This may be confusing for the people coming from the culture where rational argument is provided instead of emotions so that dimension was recognized by Tropmpanaar Individualism versus Communitarianism: this dimension of trompanaar resembles to the dimension of Hofsted which is on employees. This dimension mainly focuses on employees goals within an organization the way they work within an organization and their responsibilities. Universalism versus Practiclarism: This dimension is about the personal behavior and its implement on universal rules for example not telling lie and following the rules and regulations. People can either consider that principles apply whatever the situation, or specificity of each situation determines whether one should apply them or not. Achievement versus Ascription: This dimension is tells us about the personal achievement of the employees within an organization. In the work environment which is achievement versus ascription the employees judge themselves at their own and make decisions. They are also motivated to work more good and to work more hard within the organization. Specify versus Diffuseness: this type of dimension tells us that in most of the cultures the people compartmentalize themselves and divide their work in different phases. Being good friend at work does never means that they should know each other family and of course for good relatives its not necessary to know their work environment. For example a manager will never meet its subordinate while playing golf, he will instead meet some golf coach or golf specialist to improve his game. So that is kind of culture which describe such kind of dimension. Sequential versus Synchronic the time is divided in to two main themes to perform in certain time frame and orientation. Hall, 1959 introduced monochromic and polychromic. Monochrony is a perception that time is linear sequential and definite whereas Polychrony is a perception that time is multilinear. So these two types of times differ for two different cultures. Trompenaars, 1993 develops these themes regarding their implication for action made sequentially or synchronically in an organization. Inner versus Outer Directedness: This dimension reflects the belief either that individuals can control and influence their environment or that they limited ability to do so. Consequences for management are reflected for example in strategic plan either they will tend to plan and provoke changes or try to take best advantage of the available situation. 2.7.7 Family Requirements: Family factors composed of five criteria: marital status, children, spouses attitude, spouses employment and spouse adjustment (Chen, TzengTang, 2005). It is always important for the HR department of MNE to consider the personal life of an expatriate. So the contribution of the family particularly spouse plays an important role for the success of an expatriate for the completion of international assignment. Black and Stephens examined the influence of the spouse on American expatriate adjustment. They surveyed 220 U.S expatriates and their spouses working in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, they found that the adjustment of the expatriate working abroad for international assignment is positively related to the spouses adjustment. The adjustment of the spouse is highly correlated with the adjustment of the expatriate. Likewise there was an Australian research into the psychological impact of relocation on the partners of 58 expatriate managers. They found that the decisions which were ma de by most of the expatriates to relocate highly depend on the decision of his partner. The above two mentioned researches show that the family of the expatriate highly depends upon the settlement of expatriate abroad. 2.7.8 Country/Cultural Requirements: The host country may be an important determinant. Some regions and countries are hard to adjust like the remote areas away from the cities, or the war zone countries and now days there are some countries which are not safe as far as terrorism is concerned. Accompanying the family members will again be a big responsibility for the multinational organizations. In most of the countries where it is very hard for the Europeans to go for example the country like Saudi Arabia has got the culture according to which women have to cover their heads and cover them properly so it will be a bit hard for the family of western expatriate to adjust in that culture. Or this can be vice versa as well. Weather is another important factor for the countries and it is a bit hard for the expatriates to adjust themselves in the different weather from their host country. Black and Mandenhall (1990) argued about the cross cultural adjustment cross cultural adjustment that it can be facilitated if the expatria tes have awareness of the norms and behaviors of the host country. 2.7.9 MNE Requirements: Multinational may consider the proportion of expatriates to local staff when making selection decisions mainly as an outcome of its staffing philosophy. However the requirements of the different MNEs is different or they may be require to use PCNs and TCNs, obviously this will react to the selection decision for the multinational organisations. Other situational factors are as follows The mode of operation involved: Selecting staff to work in an international joint venture may involve major input from the local partner, and be constrained by the negotiated agreement on selection processes. Duration of assignment: Family members tend to accompany an expatriate when the assignment is only for three to six months duration, so family requirements may not be a strong factor in the selection decision. International training development In above 2.3 the whole process of expatriation is shown it starts from the recruitment and selection, once the right person is chosen for the right job then the most important step of training starts which is directly related to the pre departure step for expatriation then the process of development of the process starts which ends up in making of an international team when an expatriate is fully trained then they are told about the nature of assignment. 2.7.10 Language: Language is another important aspect when adjusting away from home country. This ability is often linked with the cross cultural ability. For an expatriate it is necessary to learn a bit of language of the country where he is going to accomplish its assignment. According to Tung knowledge of host countrys language is important for functional head and operative jobs. According to victor (1992) difference in languages is the major barrier for the international assignments. But according o some studies and researches in the past the language sometimes is not very much important for expatriates completing their international assignments. In terms of other selection criteria the factor of language is placed lower down when looking into the factors for the expatriate selection process. As done by the price water house research 1998 they placed language at third place while determining the factors for the expatriate selection. Basically language is not any problem for the selection of expat riate where the host country speaks the same language so the problem occurs when the expatriate has to be select for the non English speaking language. But now a day the English has now become an international language and it is necessary for an international manger to learn the English language to communicate even in the non English speaking countries. 2.8 Strategic choices in expatriate selection: As we have seen above the factors which need to be kept under consideration while selecting expatriates for international assignment. The process of selection is basically used to fill the international positions of the organisation. The organisation faces several strategic choices during selection process. The strategic choices are mentioned as follows. * Internal recruitment versus external recruitment. * Individuals versus teams. * Technical qualifications versus other selection criteria. * Extrinsic rewards versus intrinsic rewards. The above mentioned strategic represent two opposite extremes on a continuum. The majority of the decisions fall in between the two extreme strategies. 2.8.1 Internal versus external recruitment Interesting findings by the recent study on expatriate selection is that there is shortage of international managers, due to growing concern of international mobility (Scullion, 1994). The shortage of international managers creates problems in expatriate selection. From an organisations point of view the selection decision is made under circumstances where the organisation has a lot of applications looking for the job of international managers. Brewster and Scullion 1997 suggested that availability of the international managers seems to be the critical variable in acceptance of international assignment The above discussion tells us that it is not always necessary that the required managers or expatriates are always available within the organisation to overcome this shortage of the managers the organisation then find some external sources to fill up the position. According to the study by Torbion 1982 and Scullion 1994 most of the organisations mostly rely on the internal sources of the organisation to fill up this position. On the other hand Boyacigiller 1990 suggested that the external market is always full of required talented managers who can work as an international manager. Here comes a very interesting question that why the most of the researcher emphasis mostly on internal selection of the international managers? The answer which click in mind is that internal selection makes the task easy for the selectors and HR managers while selecting the expatriates because as a member of organisation most of the selectors know their performance and abilities of the individuals working within an organisation. So this can give them benefit to select the expatriate with the required abilities. The internal selection of international managers becomes reliable when strategic purpose of the assignment is co-ordination and control of operations. This point was discussed by Black, et al 1992 by saying that for the good co-ordination for an expatriate in global market requires assignments of the people with broad experience in the firm including a lot of contacts within the firm. 2.8.2 Case study Barclaycard International (centralized control and recruitment primarily for overseas labour markets.) â€Å"Barclays introduced its first credit card in the United Kingdom named as Barclaycard and now Barclays has one of the major global credit card businesses which have speedy growth approach. Outside the UK, it operates in the United States, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Norway Portugal, Ireland, France, Asia Pacific, and across Africa. Barclays is currently looking to have alliances with Standard Bank of South Africa, acquisition of Juniper Financial Corporation and a series of in-country launches. Barclays employed 3000 staff, and it had 15 per cent based in the UK. To enable development, Barclaycard International recruited a group of people management process to bring firmness, management and good organization of people. Challenges were different in the different cultures depending upon the country, culture and business market of the country. The basic and first age

I Know Its Over by Steven Patrick Essay -- Papers

I Know It's Over by Steven Patrick Summary This is a bleak, perhaps morbid, but sensitive and intelligent song lyric, which most critics see as being about the end of fictional or fantasy relationship. But the interpretation can be much deeper, indeed, a bottomless pit for those who are inclined to wallow in helplessness and suicidal thoughts. There are four distinct sections that are not entirely connected and this leads to a variety of interpretations in linking them, enabling the audience to project their own feelings onto the words. And yet, the emotional intensity seems to produce elation[1] not depression (perhaps more in the performance than the poetry). Speculation about the meaning of the lines (as long as it is not overdone) can lead to a satisfying enjoyment. Structure The first section describes our hero's immediate state of mind with the image of his empty bed as a grave: Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head and as I climb into an empty bed Oh, well. Enough said. As if being buried alive, the melancholy protagonist feels that his life may as well be over: I know it's over - still I cling/I don't know where else I can go. Perhaps an intense relationship has come to an end, leading to thoughts of despair and suicide, but it may be less obvious. He equates his imagined forthcoming death with a feeling of utter helplessness, but it seems that death is not an option because he finds it difficult to act, as we shall see. So, although the sea wants to take me/the knife wants to slit me, he does not seem to want it. He does ask do you think you can help me? but of whom? His mothe... ...tates that love is Natural and Real: is he afraid that for such as you and I, my love it is unnatural and imaginary? Themes Typically for this writer the themes are unrequited love, isolation, loneliness, helplessness, etc. The Wildean themes are, perhaps, in the mind of the reader/listener. Indeed, the overall vagueness and ambiguity, typical of this author, together with the complexity of the structure allows for a dichotomy of interpretations. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] However, I acknowledge David Pinching, writing in his essay Oscar Wilde's influence on Stephen Fry and Morrissey, when he says that "Wilde represents isolation within one's own world and a grand set of theories about the most irrelevant and absurd things." [2] All italics original

Individual Analysis

Individual Case Analysis Contents 1. 0Analysis Using Motivation Theories1 1. 1Equity Theory1 1. 2Expectancy Theory1 1. 3 Three-need Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 2. 0Criticisms of the Management Functions3 3. 0Main Problems Defined4 4. 0References5 5. 0Appendices6 5. 1Appendix 1: SWOT Analysis6 5. 2 Appendix 2: Equity Theory Table†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1. 0Analysis Using Motivation Theories 1. 1Equity Theory According to Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003) equity theory was developed by J. Stacey Adam. Campebell, Dunnette and Miller (1969) states the purpose of this theory is aim at employees’ assimilation from a job situation. Kaplan, Reckers and Reynolds (1986) notes these are outcomes, in relation to the efforts they put in, inputs, and then compare with others. In the case, Lisa compares her input-outcome ratio with Leanne, which seems imbalance and unfair. Lisa feels jealous as Steve decided to go again her suggestion to hand over half of her workload to the youngest team member, Leanne. She also sees that Leanne became more dominant. Lisa was treated unfairly by two other members putting the blames at her who forced Steve to reprimand her. The distraught Lisa’s thinking was to give other members of the team who has more experience to take over some of her work rather than Leanne. In the end Lisa lodged a compensation claim for her nervous breakdown cased by Leanne. Also stated by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003), employees’ motivation is influenced by rewards. Base on the above-mentioned, Steve should use the equity method in treatments of staff. Therefore, whenever an employee assess their own equity and perceive inequity, he or she will act to correct the situation rather than lack of motivation. Please refer to 5. 2 Appendix 2 for table showing equity theory. 2. Expectancy Theory According to Montana and Charnov (2000), expectancy theory shows that rewards could motivate employees to increase their efforts. Taylor (1964) notes this encourages better performance leading to a positive outcome. Steve applied the expectancy theory under his management. By doing this, he made an announcement that he will increase employees’ salary base on performance rating. Due to massive increase in training loads, Lisa was overworked and with projects behind schedule. Then Green (1992) states on of the believing is that employees believe if they perform well, they will get the reward. Leanne is an ambitious person that is why she offers help as she believes in good performance could get better outcome and reward. On the other hand, according to Montana and Charnov (2000), an employee can decide on which outcome they prefer. Due to immense pressure from overload and conflict with Leanne, Lisa has made a decision to take stress leave. This reduces the efforts Lisa requires to put into her work. 3. Three-need Theory McClelland (as quoted by anonymous, 2008) states an employee’s motivation and effectiveness are influenced by the following: Need for Achievement – McClelland (quoted by Pattanyak, 2006) notes motivation that influences employees to direct his or her behaviour towards attaining goals. According to the achievement explained, Lisa is not motivated to challenge of orking at a problem and do not accept any personal responsibilities for failure, rather leaving the actions and chance for Leanne to achieve the outcome. Need for Affiliation – Courtney (2002) notes McClelland had suggested that people are motivated by different things. Also, base on the statement stated by Tosi, Mero and Rizzo (2000), McClelland’s theory on affiliation has a need for friendly relationships an d have good interactions with others. These people can co-operate well in a team. Referring to the explanation of affiliation, Lisa’s jealousy and conflict with Leanne had caused friction and resignation in the team. It shows there is a lack of communication skills and co-operate for Lisa in the team. Lisa’s personal attitude problem towards Leanne also caused her relationship problems with colleague and manager. Need for Power – McClelland (quoted by Pattanyak, 2006) notes that people at a high position would want the power to control other people for their own goals. According to Ved (2005) there are: Social – controls the company’s movement, and Personal – influence others to further the desire. Leanne entered InsureCo. as a new team member under Lisa’s leadership in a team. Soon after, Leanne quickly made good relationship with the manager and quick to promote her skills, which lead her over stepped the power of Lisa. Therefore, Lisa felt she was unable to control Leanne to achieve her outcome. Lisa has also lost control of her team when couple of the team members resigned. With the lost control of power, Lisa lost the battle to be promoted. Therefore, she is not motivated. 2. 0Criticisms of the Management Functions The management of InsureCo. has several negative practices, they are: – The way Steve manages the company’s environment The way Steve supervise employees, and – How staff co-operate with each other as a team. According to Bell and Smith (2006), the use of communication and verbal skills for managers is vital in their management work. By listening to employees, companies could improve employees’ job satisfaction. According to Deci and Ryab (1985), the greatest motivation act is managers could do for his or her empl oyee is listening. In this case, Steve does not communicate effectively to his staff about his expectations and resolving problem issues within the working environment. He does not think of the concern that if he recognise the new employee, Leanne, Lisa would complain about the recognition. To prevent the complaining obstacle, Steve should listen to Lisa when she complained about Leanne in regards to her I. T. skills. Steve should act on the complaint and assess Leanne’s ability in the I. T. field. If it does prove that she has the skills, there would not be jealousy in Lisa. Schuler and Jackson (1999) mentioned that fair treatment of employee which will make them more committed in an organisation. It means, Steve should treat Lisa and Leanne equally. It is not where he should reprimand Lisa in front of her colleagues and in a way without her giving reasons. This is an embarrassment for Lisa. This also shows there is a lack of fair treatment within the management system of the company. According to Cook (1999), employees will produce more effort in their work when they are appreciated, valued and understood by the employer. Steve should set up a guide of basic principles to coach employees when there is a problem. Base on the value of Lisa to the company, Steve should not reprimand her straight away without any options for explanation and when he did reprimanded her he should explain his decision. Steve could improve the relationship between Lisa and Leanne by informing them how others feel, how much effect can cause, and suggest them how to improve themselves. Steve’s management at InsureCo. he is committed to the company’s goals, according to Salaman (2001), it sometimes refers to as mission statement. In the case, increase salary was any approach that Steve regarded as important. The aim is to fend off growing competition. The increase of salary could not always motivate his staff. The reasons are mentioned in the previous citations. 3. 0Main Problems Defined |Primary Problems |Secondary Problems | |Poor leadership – New leadership of the firm, lack of managerial |Poor motivational skills | |experience. |Staff lacks motivation | |Poor planning – No technical training system been put in. No specific job description written for employees | |No formal policies written for rewards and punishment |Increase in workloads | | |Lack of co-operation | | |Manager has poor communication skills | | |Ineffective communication of expectations | | |Employees’ value not appreciated | | |Overload work causes delays | | |Multitask been given to employees | | |Management has no understanding of employees’ needs | | |Poor relationship between staff and manager | | |Pressure in the training department | | |Lack of fair treatment for staff | 5 . Appendices 5. 1Appendix 1: SWOT Analysis [pic] 2. Appendix 2: Equity Theory Table by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003) Perceived ratio comparisonEmployee’s assessment Outcomes AOutcomes B Inputs A Inputs B (Inequity-over rewarded) ———————– Threats ? Exposed weaknesses in the company ? Strong global competitors ? Complaints from staff ? Compensation claim from staff Opportunities ? Government proposed new Financial Services Reform Bill – Make sure entire staff had been trained Weaknesses ? Poor leadership ? Poor planning ? No formal policies for rewards & punishments are written ? Poor motivational skill ? Staff lacks motivation ? No specific job description written for employees ? Increase of workload ? Lack of co-operation ? Poor communication skills ? Staff’s value not appreciated ? Overload work causes delays ? Multitask given ? Management has no understanding of employees’ needs ? Poor decision making ? Pressure in the training department ? Lack of fair treatment for employees ? Strengths ? Large finance and insurance company ? Market presence ? Large customer base ? Long profitable history ? Promotions for employees ?

Branding essay

Branding essay Branding essay Branding essayThe contemporary business environment stimulate companies to conduct more aggressive business strategies oriented on the creation of the attractive brand, while branding has become a part of the marketing strategy of many companies. In actuality, companies cannot ignore their branding policy, if they want to maintain a successful competitive position because customers often view brand as the determinant factor that influences their decisions. As a result, the brand popularity can determine the overall success of the company in the market. At this point, it is possible to refer to the case of Natural Kitchen, the company operating in restaurant and food industry. At the moment, the company considers the possibility of the accelerated brand development to enhance its competitive position and attract new customers. The shift toward the intensive implementation of the new branding strategy has become the result of tightening competition in the industry and increased demands from the part of customers, who look for reputable and reliable brands. In such a situation, the creation of the popular and attractive brand by Natural Kitchen can put the company in an advantageous position compared to its rivals. This is why Natural Kitchen should focus on the further development of its branding strategy and create a popular and attractive brand to maintain its competitive position through the attraction of customers and developing their loyalty to the brand.Background and industry contextNatural Kitchen is the company operating in the food and restaurant industry. Natural Kitchen has the main shop in Marylebone High Street, with a further two in Holborn Tower Hill. In addition, the company has its cafà © and restaurant business. The company focuses on the development of its food â€Å"to go† or â€Å"eat in† which offer a large selection of seasonal salads, quiches, soups, sandwiches, cakes and sweets, etc. These are complemented by freshly made juices, smoothies, milkshakes, teas coffees. The company also offers catering which provides full catering and events services as well as personal catering. Moreover, the company has its own chef and butchers which sell a wide range of high quality free range organic meats.In such a way, the company focuses on the diversification of its products offering a variety of food products that are attractive for customers. The current situation in the market is quite challenging for the business development of Natural Kitchen but still the company has good opportunities for the further business development on the condition of keeping customers interested in the brand of the company and its products (Mohrman, 2008). Today, customers are interested in healthy food products and Natural Kitchen can offer them such products. However, supplying healthy products means that they have to be seasonal wherever possible. Moreover, they should be organic that means that they should be supplied by far mers, who implement the organic farming which does not admit the use of chemicals and other elements which may be dangerous for the environment or human health. Instead, they use natural elements only that makes their products organic and, therefore, healthy, safe, and environment friendly.Another trend in the food industry is the free range of products. The elimination of fiscal barriers stimulates the fast development of free trade internationally. As a result, new products enter the UK food market and customers have virtually no limits on purchasing any product which they want and can buy in the food market today. At the same time, the quality of food products becomes prior to their quantity because customers grow more and more concerned about their health that means that the food they eat should be healthy too. In such a situation, the food industry faces back to basics trends, when the industry returns back towards simpler food. Alternatively, some companies introduce â€Å"ne w† superfoods which are supposed to be safe and healthy.CompetitorsAt the moment, the competition in the food industry of the UK grows tighter because customers grow more and more concerned about their health, while food is crucial for the health of customers. As a result, they prefer healthy food to conventional food supplied by the industrial farming and companies selling those products. In such a situation, Natural Kitchen and its rivals take a very prospective and attractive niche in the food market. To meet the growing demand, many companies enter the healthy food market that tightens the competition in the industry. In actuality, Daylesford Organic is one of the major rivals of Natural Kitchen. The company operates successfully and holds a strong position in the UK market being of the major powers that threaten to the position of Natural Kitchen as the leader of the organic, healthy food industry. At the same time, other healthy take-away places also create a strong riva lry which Natural Kitchen has to deal with to maintain its successful marketing performance.Rationale for the brand’s evolutionIn the time of the tightening competition and new business opportunities, the company has to develop its brand and implement its aggressive, new branding policy to realize its full potential and take a stronger position in the highly competitive market. In such a situation, the brand evolution is essential to maintain the successful business development of Natural Kitchen. Otherwise, the company will steadily lose its position in the market and eventually the company may become unable to compete successfully, if it fails to enhance its brand over and over again.At the moment the company faces a number of threats, among which the emergence of many healthy alternatives is one of the main challenges to the current position of Natural Kitchen that requires the evolution of its brand and enhancement of its position in the market. In addition, the company f aces internal problems. For instance, the Cafà © Restaurant is very noisy from the â€Å"kitchen†. Therefore, customers feel uncomfortable because the noise from the kitchen interferes into the communication and makes them feel tired soon, when they enter the Cafà © Restaurant. Furthermore, the Cafà © Restaurant should be at the same floor to create a better atmosphere. The creation of a warm, family-like atmosphere can help the company to attract more customers and develop the customer loyalty, if the company creates the image of the cafà © restaurant that is oriented on families. Therefore, children will develop the tradition of attending the cafà © and restaurant and may continue attending it in their adult life. Another problem the company faces at the moment is no hot food to takeaway. In such a way, customers, who may be willing to buy hot food to takeaway, may feel disappointed because the company cannot offer such products at the moment. In fact, the company has to stand out and differentiate its products and services from those of rivals and branding can help the company to create the new public image of the company that may attract more customers.In actuality, the company has a number of opportunities, which the new brand strategy can help to implement and give the company a strategic competitive advantage. At the moment, the company can expand in the UK nationwide to become one of the leaders in the industry. In a long-run perspective, the company can expand to other countries and operate internationally. In this regard, the popularity of healthy food grows stronger and the company can take advantage and expand its business internationally. In addition, the company can complete the transition from sell groceries to luxury supermarket, take a new niche of the market and entering the premium segment of the market. The company can develop the daily meal delivery to attract more customers and increase the customer satisfaction. However, to conduct the branding evolution more successfully, the company should develop more advertisement and use advertisement to promote the new brand. The advertisement will attract more customers and help the company to enhance its position in the market. Moreover, the advertisement will help Natural Kitchen to create a recognizable brand.Branding essay part 2

Using the theory of fiscal federalism Essay Example

Using the theory of fiscal federalism Essay Example Using the theory of fiscal federalism Essay Using the theory of fiscal federalism Essay Essay Topic: Economics There is much economic literature and debate concerning the classic trade-off between a centralized versus decentralized system of local public good provision. The standard problem goes as follows. Most economies around the world are made up of geographically discrete areas. An obvious example is America, which is composed of distinct states, which are often even completely geographically isolated from the whole (Alaska, Hawaii). Each local area has a local public good, the provision of which benefits the local society. However, public goods often have a spillover effect to other districts, in which case, there are benefits accruing to wider society. The subsequent question is that given the existence of benefits to both local and general society, is it more efficient to have a centralized or decentralized system of decision-making and/or financing? The standard approach to the problem of public good provision assumes that in a centralized system, the government will adopt a standardized level of spending for each area. This is in essence a one size fits all result that doesnt show an appreciation of different local requirements. However, while a decentralized system will be able to respond to heterogeneous local needs, local governments will neglect the wider benefits, which accrue citizens and areas beyond their jurisdiction. Drawing on these assumptions, Oates Decentralization Theorem states that in the absence of spillovers a decentralized system is more efficient. Otherwise, Oates claims there will be a trade-off between the extent of heterogeneity in tastes and the degree of spillovers. 1 However, the argument for a decentralized system relies on the assumption that only a decentralized system will cater for local preferences. In fact, while decentralization may be more effective at tailoring public goods to local requirements, a centralized system in no way implies uniformity of provision across districts. This logic is neither theoretically, or indeed empirically satisfactory. From a theoretical standpoint it is unclear, Besley and Coates question why it must be the case that a government charged with providing public goods in a centralized system cannot differentiate the levels according to the heterogeneous tastes in each district. 3 An empirical example of centralized differentiation of public good provision is that of federal highway spending in the United States. In the Federal Highway Aid Program a significant proportion of resources have been dedicated to specific projects in the legislators districts. Furthermore, Besley and Coates argue that the general spending formula has been manipulated to target spending to particular favored states. 4 Therefore, I believe that Oates Decentralization Theorem is flawed. A decentralized system may well be preferred as a more efficient arrangement to tailor goods to local needs, but this is not a clear-cut argument, and hence it is difficult and controversial to argue for decentralization solely on this basis. In fact, given that the standard approach is based on a trade-off between non-uniformity (decentralized output) versus spillovers (centralized output), once the constraint that central governments always choose uniform levels of public spending across districts is relaxed, the standard approach suggests that a centralized system will always be preferred. However there is a different case for a decentralized system of provision of local goods, which is based on the theory of fiscal federalism. The argument in this case goes as follows. In a centralized system, local public spending costs are shared creating a conflict of interest between citizens in different areas. When spending decisions are taken by a legislature of locally elected representatives, the conflict of interest for resources will take place in the legislature. Thus, Besley and Coates argue, the drawbacks of centralization stem from the basic conflict of interest among citizens of different districts working through the decision-making process. 5 Spending decisions in the legislator will be determined by a minimum winning coalition of representative, which can creates two major resource allocation problems. Firstly, there will be a misallocation of resources as spending will be skewed towards those areas who have representatives in the winning coalition. Secondly, uncertainty about the makeup of the winning coalition will mean districts are unsure of the amount of public good it will receive. Even if the legislature is committed to maximising the surplus of all its members, this would not necessarily be sufficient to achieve surplus maximizing results, as there would be an incentive for voters to elect representatives which high demand for public spending, and hence lead to overprovision. Hence, Besley and Coates say that: if decisions on local public goods are made by a minimum winning coalition of representatives, the allocation of public goods may be characterized by uncertainty and misallocation across districts. If decisions are made in a more cooperative way, then strategic delegation via elections may produce excessive public spending. 6 The drawbacks of a centralized system stemming from conflicting interests over shared costs might suggest a completely decentralized system whereby decisions are made solely by local government and financed from local taxation. However, as with the standard approach, the drawbacks of the centralized system must be weighed against the benefits of improved coordination of spillovers. If interests are fairly homogenous and spillovers high then a centralized system will produce good results regardless of how the legislature is constituted. This leads Besley and Coates to conclude that, the desiderata determining whether decentralization of centralization is best are the same as under the standard approach. However, the logic is different. 7 So how does this argument relate to the empirical example of the European Union? Unions such as the EU are collectives of nations that jointly decide on the provision of certain supranational goods (such as traditional public goods like defence or legal and regulatory frameworks), which will affect and benefit all members. In a multi country union, some competences are taken away from national control and decided instead at union level. The process of European integration has become far-reaching and quickened in pace. However, Gordon Brown says that the EU must abandon old flawed assumptions that a single market should lead inexorably to fiscal federalism. 8 What is the case for keeping decentralized provision of local public goods or for greater integration in the form of a centralized system of public good provision? The case of centralized system of provision of local public goods rests fundamentally on the trade-off between the internalisation of externalities and the costs of heterogeneity. On the one hand, even when looking at the difficulties that accompany reaching compromises and solutions at EU summits, there is little debate that median preferences in EU member states vary considerably. The efficient level of output of a public good will typically vary from one local jurisdiction to another. Furthermore, there is a worry that coordination of fiscal measures will result in an increase in tax rates in all jurisdictions. However, if the union centralizes to little, it runs the risk of not benefit from externalities, which were a key motivation in the creation of a union and the purpose of attending summits. Two main areas of externality proposed in the fiscal federalism literature are firstly equalisation of welfare across countries, especially targeted at poor relief. And secondly at macroeconomic stabilization. In the case of poor relief, sub-central government will be considerably constrained by the potential mobility of the poor and crucially the tax base. Oates says that this is a basic fiscal externality that results in sub optional levels of support under a purely decentralized system of poor relief. 10 In terms of macroeconomic stabilization, the central government is in a position to influence overall levels of aggregate demand and through tax revenue and transfer payments can respond to changes in the macro-economy. However, the present picture is one where, according to Oates, the central government is not well equipped to take a leading role in addressing Musgravess redistribution and stabilization functions. 11 One response would be to enlarge central government powers, but Oates says that the costs of overall public expansion in the public sector would outweigh the benefits. Instead there is a strong case for decentralization to promote inter-jurisdictional competition to limit growth of public sector on encroaching on the private sector. At the moment, it seems to me that there is too much heterogeneity amongst the European nations, which outweighs externality gains. The integration of Europe has been relatively fast and I believe it will take a longer period for homogeneity of interests across the Union to come about, especially given the integration of the young market economies of Eastern Europe who are lagging behind in economic development. Furthermore, concerning Besley and Coates legislature worries, the EU seems to be dominated by the more powerful countries. For example, amongst the net beneficiaries of CAP (common agricultural policy) are some of the richest countries in the EU. A centralized system of provision of public goods in the EU might suffer from similar problems of a skewing of resources to favour the dominant coalition in the legislature. It seems to me, that the European Union is not yet ready for fiscal federalism.

Vision of the type of organization that will be needed in the future Essay

Vision of the type of organization that will be needed in the future - Essay Example This paper will describe this kind of organization considering that people as a product and the notion of talent in relation to the workforce as the greatest resource and asset of the organization. It is evident from studies that having the best people in an organization are not enough. The human resource practices are also vital in developing a visionary organization because it drives the operations of the business and exactly how it will be done. Hence the paper will also highlight the good human resource practices that the organization should employ. This is what makes the vision of the organization that will be needed in the future. A good organization begins from the top and works its operations down. An ideal organization that will be needed in future should have a strong and effective management that is aware of its mission and the mechanism of getting there. The management will composed of great and talented leaders who are ready for any impediments and obstacles that can com e there way and still be able to lead others in spite of the differences in opinions and personalities. The organization will have a united workforce with respect to their superiors, educated, and enjoys their duties in the organization. As a leader, I will hold a managerial position in such organization to drive the vision of the organization using my leadership skills and talents to unite the best people for the accomplishment of the vision (Lawler, 1998). The mission statement of the organization that will be needed in future is one that let people working in the organization know what the organization does, such vision statement has a loftier goal: it should showcase how the organization views the future. The vision of that particular organization will describe what the success of the organization would look like; the highest bar the organization always endeavor for. The organization will have both an ambitious and realistic vision statement, in other words, the vision statement should challenge the staff of the organization without overpowering them. This will ensure that performance benchmarks are created along with organizational objectives that are achievable (Barney, 2006). In the future, organizations that will be needed are those whose vision statements answers questions like â€Å"What would a world that do not need our kind of organization look like?† and â€Å"What would a perfect organization in the world look like?† such are the questions that drive change in the organization. That can only be achieved if the best people in the organization are united and work together as a team with a common goal. This type of vision unites and motivates people as a reminder that a lot of work is still pending unaccomplished. As the leader of the organization, I will use my talent to make decision on what makes sense of our organization. Occasionally, there is no particular vision statement that is intrinsically better than the other. That is why as a manager and a leader, one should be able to ascertain that which make the most sense to the organization, and that is what makes an organization exemplary. An exemplary organization, one that will be needed in the future and one organization I will be in and serve as a manger, must have a shared and an inspiring mission at its