Training and developing an age diverse workforce in SMEs Assignment

Training and developing an age diverse workforce in SMEs - Assignment Example so offers important clarifications in regard to T&D plans developed in SMEs, especially in regard to the differences between these plans and those used in large firms. At a first level, it is noted that the owners of SMEs have to face changes on a continuous basis. Large firms may also have to face such problem but with the following difference: for SMEs failing in coping with change could result to the closure of the business while in large firms funds and time could retrieved easier for managing the particular situation. Another important issue highlighted in the particular article is the following one: in SMEs the success of T&D is strongly depended on the skills and capabilities of owners who are those who will undertake all tasks related to T&D, including the design and monitoring phases of the T&D plan involved (Beaver and Hutchings 2005). In addition, different modes of T&D seem to be preferred in SMEs, compared to the large firms: in SMEs ‘on-the-job training schemesâ⠂¬â„¢ (Beaver and Hutchings 2005, p.593) seem to be preferred while in large firms ‘off-the-job T&D schemes’ (Beaver and Hutchings 2005, p.593) are quite common. Especially in regard to the T&D schemes for diverse workforce, SMEs can be more effective, since the smaller number of employees allows the limitation of time for copying with change. The above characteristic of SMEs is described as their major advantage in regard to the management of diversity, an activity that it is closely related to the identification of effective T&D schemes (Beaver and Hutchings 2005, p.599). Since 2005, the time point to which the article of Beaver and Hutchings refers, a series of changes has introduced in regard to the working environment. These changes vary, covering different areas. The specific phenomenon is reflected in the literature published in this area. Depending on the type of change involved in organizational environment, different initiatives in regard to a firm’s T&D schemes would be

ICT Coursework Essay Example for Free

ICT Coursework Essay Mellor Village is an area that only has three doctors who all work individually in the same community. I am their ICT system analyst to help them through the process of creating a better organised health centre. This medical centre will be named Mellor Village Health Centre and will have new logo and slogan and I will create a database too. The new medical centre will have a sufficient amount of staff which will include the following: * 3 doctors * 2 medical centre nurses * 2 district nurses * 1 health centre manager * 1 secretary * 3 receptionists * 1 counsellor * 1 health visitor * 1 midwife PROBLEMS * The first problem is that all the patient records are on a paper-based system, there are no computers . This is risky because papers and files can get misplaced. So loads of files in cabinets takes up a lot of space. Also tea could be spilt on it by accident and important patient information would be destroyed. * Another problem is that people make appointments and they dont turn up or forget they had one. This creates confusion and wastes the doctors time. Also minor appointments take up the time which could be needed for emergency appointments. * Staff need to be trained on how to use the computer whilst putting patient records on it and this is a major necessity. * Also there will be more staff so more money will be needed to give out wages to everyone and there wont be enough money to give out. SOLUTION * The solution to the first problem is that by creating a computer system the records of all the patients will be put on the computer and they wont take up any space because everything will be stored on the computer. Also they will stay safe on the computers, this means there will be as revolutionary paper-less office. * Staff will be the only ones to view patient information so this will reduce the risk of hackers hacking in the files. * Another solution is that creating a logo and a slogan will be very easy because it will be done using the computer. Which will be efficient and there will be a variety of choices for my logo and slogan. Plan For Relational Database I will create my relational database by going onto Microsoft access. There I will create one table in design view to store each patients main records of contact. This will be table 1 and it will have records such as; * Title * Surname, * Forename, * Address, * Medical No, * Telephone, * Medical history * Gender The medical number will be the primary key. Further I will put the patients information in and save this as table 1 and close it down. I will then create a second table in design view which will be called table 2. It will have fields such as: * Surname, * Medical number, * Doctors name, * Date of appointment * Time of appointment * Ailment. The medical number is the primary key because it is the unique key field for each record. I will put each individual persons information in detail in this table. I will then save this as table 2 and close it down. There will be two tables because one will just include identity and address of the patients. The second table has to be made because it is more in-depth information into each persons medical services and problems. I will go on tools -relationships and add table 1 and 2 and close it down. Thirdly Ill go on relationships edit relationships and go on create new and press ok. Furthermore, I will click on enforce referential integrity and Ill click create. This will be saved and closed. Furthermore by clicking on + on each record of table 1 that persons appointment time and table 2 information will come up. This is a relational database in which both tables relate to each other. The importance of a relational database is that all the data doesnt have to be stored in one large table and all the data is linked together by the key fields and the database management system. It is more better and beneficial than a flat-file database. Feasibility Study The computerised solution will reduce paperwork because all patient records will be stored on a computer system. All the data will be on a database. This will reduce the amount of files and filing cabinets. The solution speeds up the process considerably, because it takes less time to store data on a computer, and it doesnt waste the doctors time. So if the staff works for less hours they will be paid less wages, which will mean the centre will have to give out less money. It also creates fewer mistakes because the spellchecker corrects and identifies the errors in grammar with validation and verification. It provides better reports for the managers because they are clearer, neater and more presentable. These potential benefits outweigh the costs involved of introducing the new system. This is because the benefits are: * That time is used efficiently and not wasted. * It is also easier to make a back-up copy after typing something up. * There is ultimate accuracy because the spell checker identifies the mistakes. These are then verified and validated.Fewer mistakes are made and this is how the computerised solution will improve and increase accuracy. * The Data Protection Act will keep the patient details and data safe by password protection. This reduces the risks of hackers gaining access to confidential files. The costs are: * that the computer could be hacked in or files could be lost. * The computers take up a lot of space too. * Viruses could delete all the information. * There are more staff so more wages has to be given out. * The staff have to be trained on how to use the computer if they dont know. This will cost money and time. * There are health and safety risks because eyes will be strained and eyesight could get worse. * Also they could have back ache and hand ache with sitting in one position too long and holding the mouse for long periods.

TOURISTS :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many definitions for the word â€Å"tourist.†Ã‚  Ã‚   The known definition of a tourist is a person that travels for pleasure and isn’t born in the place they travel to.   To some people, the tourists that come to Nantucket may be very annoying, rude, dirty, and smelly and they are not native to the island. While others may think they are nice, friendly, and very generous people that just weren’t born here, I tend to disgree. Just think of the many day-trippers who flock, like seagulls, to the Tavern and don’t leave a tip after treating the hardworking waitress in a rude manner, with their screaming kids whining and belching, and the horny husband who pinches her derriere as she walks away.    To back up the definition of the word that I agree with, I have provided some other examples based on occurences I have been involved with or seen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A tourist, in my opinion, is a person who is very rude, hostile, pushy, urgent, always rushing, and ignorant when it comes to directions and locations. Since tourists aren’t born and live in the place they are visiting, they can’t see all the landmarks and interesting sites there is to see.   They are always rushing to fit as much as they can into one day’s events before they go back to where they live.   They stop you every few minutes while standing in front of The Hub to ask where Main Street is. This also ties into â€Å"being rude† because they don’t ask in a polite way usually, and they rarely say â€Å"Thank You.† They can’t be bothered with slow people.   I worked at D&B Car Wash last summer and I got a lot of rude customers everyday.   I would ask them what wash they would like, since we have three kinds, and they would throw the money at me telling me to just give them a wash.   They were ob viously in a hurry to do something.   Most of the time they didn’t even know how to drive their car in properly, and they would get it stuck, then get upset and start screaming and saying they were going to sue the Car Wash if any damage happened to their car. Then the manager would come out and a whole fiasco would begin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many distinctive features a tourist has or uses that allows others to be able to identify them.

Philippine War :: essays research papers

The Philippine War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I don’t believe the Philippine War was justified. There are more ways than war to solve the annexation of the Philippines. I agree on some of the policies, but not all of the policies, that were in place during that time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe the war was not justified for a number of reasons. The ratio of dead to wounded was higher than it was in the civil war which is considered one of the saddest wars in this country’s history. In the civil war, the ratio was one wounded to five killed, where as in the Philippine War, the ratio was one wounded to twelve killed. America instead of trying to peacefully resolve the situation, decided that force was a more potent way to talk and guarantee control of the newly gained possession. I would use war as a last result, trying diplomacy first. It was good that the United States was freeing a country from an immoral government, but there are better ways to solve the controversy of what to do with the new annexation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were several policies in place at the time, some which were put into place before the war, some during the war, and some after. The ratification of the annexation process was long and difficult. There were debates as to how to treat the Filipino people. One suggestion was to treat the Filipinos as dependents, and not citizens, like the Native Americans came to be treated. Many of the imperialists believed that the Filipinos were savages and harsh policies would give America control. The anti-imperialists were not exactly sure whether to treat them as peers or to set them free. I would treat them as equals, as normal people, as they are like everyone else. At the time they might not have been as technologically advanced as we were, and their government may have seemed primitive to ours. I think we should have worked with them to help create a government, rather than occupy and just take over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another policy that occurred because of the war was the â€Å"open door† policy. America had much interest in Asia, and the Philippines provided a door to China. America viewed China as a weak country, and was afraid that other countries might attack China, take over, and exploit it. The annexation of the Philippines gave America the opportunity to â€Å"protect† china. So the Americans proposed an open door policy, where each country in the treaty were allowed a place of influence, where china had to respect the laws of the countries, but were allowed to collect tariffs.

Taboo: Management Consulting and Policy Prohibiting Women

The Taboo of Women in Management International management consulting firm Burns & McCallister is listed by Working Mother magazine as one of the top fifty firms in the United States for employment of working mothers and by Working Woman magazine as one of the top ten firms for women. The firm has earned this reputation for several reasons. First, nearly 50% of its partners are women. Second, it has a menu of employee benefits that includes such things as flex hours, sabbaticals, family leave, home-based work, and part-time partner-track positions.However, B&M recently has been the subject of a series of reports by both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times that scrutinise its policy on female executives in certain nations. B&M has learned, through its years of consulting, that certain countries in which it negotiates for contracts prohibit the use of women in the negotiation process. The cultures of many of these countries do not permit women to speak in a meeting that include s men.Consequently, B&M has implemented a policy prohibiting women partners from being assigned these potential account negotiations and later the accounts themselves. Clerical help in the offices can be female, but any contact with client must be through a male partner or account executive. For example, Japan still has a two-track hiring system with only 3% of professional positions open to women. The remainder of the women in the Japanese corporate workforce become office ladies who file, wear uniforms, and serve tea. Dentsu, Inc. a large Japanese ad firm, had a picture of the typical Dentsu â€Å"Working Girl† in its recruiting brochure. Surrounding the photo are comments primarily about her physical appearance: such as (1) her breasts are â€Å"pretty large†; and (2) her bottom is â€Å"rather soft. † In response to criticism regarding B&M's posture, the head of the firm's New York office has explained: Look, we're about as progressive a firm as you'll find. But the reality of international business is that if we try to use women, we can't get the job. It's not a policy on all foreign accounts.We've just identified certain cultures in which women will not be able to successfully land or work on accounts. This restriction does not interfere with their career track. It does not apply to all countries. The National Organisation for Women (NOW) would like B to apply to all its operations the standards that it employs in the United States. No restrictions are placed on women here, NOW argues, and other cultures should adapt to our standards; we should not change our standards to adapt to their culture. NOW maintains that without such a posture, change can never come about

One of the book, which has influenced my thinking Essays - Economy

One of the book, which has influenced my thinking Essays - Economy one of the book, which has influenced my thinking a lot. This book introduced the Theory of Constraints to the world of business and has made its way to B-Schools as a textbook. Eliyahu Goldratt has done an excellent job in explaining his theory using a novel-style writing. It is a story of a struggling plant manager to improve his plant's performance and save it from closure. The expert in this story provoked the main character to "derive his solutions by supplying the question marks instead of exclamation marks" . If your organization/plant faces the classic problem of Quality, Cost Delivery: " why can't we consistently get a quality product out the door on time at the cost that can beat the competition? " or if you have a plant manager who is " always promoting some new thing he's doing, and most of the time what he's doing isn't any different from the things everyone else is doing ", then you better read this book and make others to read it as well. The important lessons one will learn from this text are summarized below. This will be beneficial to you only if you have read this book once and would like a recap. If you have not read the book yourself, then do not expect to gain the understanding of these concepts from this post. The goal of an organization is to make money by increasing net profit , while simultaneously increasing ROI and cash flow. Three critical measurement to achieve this goal and develop operational rules to successfully run a business are: throughput, inventory, and operational expenses. Inventory is turned into throughput by incurring operational expenses. So, the real goal is to: Increase throughput while simultaneously reducing both inventory and operating expense. Every process is a set of dependent events...in combination with statistical fluctuations. What's happening isn't an averaging out of the fluctuations in our various speeds, but an accumulation of the fluctuations. And mostly it's an accumulation of slowness - because dependency limits the opportunities for higher fluctuations. Balance flow, not capacity. A system of local optimums is not an optimum system at all; it is a very inefficient system. The numbers are meaningless unless they are based upon the constraints of the system. Bottlenecks dictate inventory as well as throughput. So, the Theory of Constraints is postulated as: Identify the system's constraint(s). Decide how to exploit the system's constraints. Subordinate everything else to the above decision. Elevate the system's constraint(s). If in the previous steps, a constraint has been broken, go back to Step 1, but do not cause inertia to cause a system's constraint. The Goal is a very compelling novel. Novel, HUH!! Who ever heard of a novel about a production plant? Well, Eli has made the production managers have quite an epiphany. In one book he might have changed the whole world of cost accounting. Eli approached the production world with a common sense view. Using just one goal, making money, he referenced every activity to it. Eli said, "I view science as nothing more than an understanding of the way the world is and why it is that way." You see, Eli is a physicist, and in being one, has to understand why things work the way they do. His common sense approach is illustrated beautifully in this novel. He has looked at cost accounting from the outside and has developed a whole new system because of it. Everyone from accountants to production managers to CEO's should read this book. Because of its fundamentals, it should be part of the curriculum of every accounting program. This novel has and continues to help the industry to make strides toward continuous improvement. Chapter One The first chapter gets the reader acquainted with Mr. Alex Rogo and his apparent problems with his production plant. This is shown through a confrontation between Mr. Rogo and his boss Mr. Peach, the Division Vice President. The dispute is over an overdue order #41427. Through their conversation it's learned that Mr. Peach will not settle for anything less than the order being shipped today, and since the plant is neither productive nor profitable, Alex has three months to

Data Collection and Analysis essays

Data Collection and Analysis essays September 11, 2001, was a day when our world changed for the worst. No longer were we invincible, we had enemies and they made themselves known to us in one of the worst possible ways. Two United Airlines flights and two American Airlines flights were hijacked, two of the hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center buildings, one flight was flown into the Pentagon and one flight was crashed by the passengers into a field in Pennsylvania after they confronted the terrorist. Since that fateful day almost three years ago Americans have flown less on average than at any other time in modern aviation. The airline industry is slowly beginning to rebuild itself due to new and improved safety measures implemented by the FAA and by the airlines themselves. For the year 2000, a total of 599,909,724 passengers took to the friendly skies on domestic flights, for 2001 only 560,358,842 passengers flew (www.transtats.bts.gov). The drop in passenger traffic can be directly attributed to the September 11 terrorist attacks. As the public begins to feel safer with the new measures implemented by the FAA the number of passengers has slowly begun to increase. It was June of 2002 when passenger traffic began reporting the type of numbers experienced before Sept. 11. The transportation safety board shows that airline traffic for domestic flights has now reached pre 9-11 numbers. Indeed for the first five months of 2004, nearly half of the total passenger count for 2001 had already flown, 250,549,294 as compared to a total of 560,358,842. These numbers bear out the fact that the safer we feel the more we will fly. The federal air marshals first began in 1968, first known as the Sky Marshal Program. It continued through the 1970s to prevent hijackings from Cuba. After a hostage situation in 1985, President Reagan wanted an immediate expansion of the program on all air flights coming to, traveling wi ...

Dont monkey around with fonts - Emphasis

Dont monkey around with fonts Dont monkey around with fonts According to childrens literacy website Reading Rockets, when kids start to read, they like to mirror the writing they see around them. So, if they see you writing a list, they may well write one too. If youre writing in your diary, theyll probably have a pretend one too. Most parents will help their children get better at writing by practising forming letters with a variety of mediums: paper, sand, snow or even in the air. Its also good to read things which just happen to be around and might well catch the eye like cereal packets, for instance. So, how confusing is the font for Kelloggs Adopt a Monkey campaign? As a marketing idea the Adopt a Monkey campaign is a cracker. It ticks all the boxes: cuddly animals, conservation and charity. But who designed the font? With capitals D, N, H, P and G slung with gay abandon in the middle of words on both the Kelloggs and Born Free sites, theyre making reading and writing just that bit harder for a major part of its target audience. Do you baulk at, KeePiNG WiLDlife in tHe WiLD, or BorN Free, or is it just me? Do you feel this curious choice of script is designed to make a younger audience feel at ease because these are the kinds of mistakes kids make when theyre learning to write? In that case we could soon be going down the crumpled paper, smudge-infested route. Perhaps with the odd dribble or bogey on: thats common in kids efforts too. So: Adopt a Monkey great idea, guys. But rein in those designers or youre only making an already complicated system even more difficult for those just starting out.

'No one written off Evaluation of the government's promise; are Essay

'No one written off Evaluation of the government's promise; are disabled people going to be winners or losers' - Essay Example rkforce, as they will be judged according to their abilities rather than being judged according to the limitations that their disabilities place upon them (Action for Blind People). On the other hand, organizations that represent the disabled are very concerned about these changes, as they feel as though disabled people will be left out in the cold. This is due to the fact that people who are too sick to work will be forced to get a job. What’s more, employers are not ready to handle employees who are disabled or who live with a chronic illness. Some employers want no dealings with the disabled and sickly at all. Therefore, this dissertation will analyze the promises made by the white paper and see whether or not they will be beneficial to the disabled population. Furthermore, the dissertation will establish whether or not the concerns of organizations that represent the disabled are valid. The initial aim of this dissertation is to find out if the white paper will really do what is promised. In order to do this, it is vital to closely analyze every detail of the white paper to see what provisions it is offering to those currently receiving benefits. Then, we must compare the proposals to academic literature to best determine whether or not the proposals will be helpful or hurtful. On the surface, the white paper seems very promising, as there is a strong argument that work is extremely helpful in improving the overall emotional and physical health of an individual. According to an article titled â€Å"Work is Good for Your health,† work is good for maintaining mental and physical health. It has been found that working individuals have a higher self-esteem and suffer less from mental illness. What’s more, working individuals do not require as many visits to their GPs as do those who are not employed. Those who are unemployed are at higher risk for health problems, as well as mental illness. These individuals have a shorter life expectancy than those who are

Business Economics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Business Economics - Coursework Example The explanations of three different markets are given and also the relationship between them is given in it. In the research methodology the methodology adopted to conduct research is explained. The stock market, the currency market and property market are perhaps the three largest markets in terms of size of business transactions in a country. People around the world invest money in these commodities with the expectation of getting a fair return on their investment.. The first item of commodity to be traded was undoubtedly the property market. This was followed by the stock market in the 1750's and followed by the present form of currency market in 1973. This paper studies the predictability, relations and correlations between the stock, currency and the property markets. It is true that there exists a relationship among the three. It has to be seen whether a rise or fall in the stock value affect the other two or will a change in the value of the currency market affect stock market or property market. Similarly will a change in the property market affect stock and currency market. The stock market and its early days: Evidence show that trading in stock in the United Kingdom existed even in the sixteenth century. Trading in stocks during that period was much higher in Amsterdam and Paris and oldest share issue in history is the issue of was in 1606 in Amsterdam by the company Camere Amsterdam and it was called Dutch Vereinigte Oostindische Compaignie (VOC) share certificate. After another two years he could safely assume that besides the second VOC share (held by the Amsterdam Stock Exchange) and other securities from the company, his piece was the oldest share certificate in the world. (Oldest Share in the World. 1606). Though no stock exchange existed till the opening of the London stock exchange, there was a market for securities and it was known as the Royal exchange. In those days most companies formed out of joint stock was engaged in international trade and shipping. The East India Company, The Hudson Bay Company and the Royal African Companies were the major existing at that time. Gradually, joint stock companies in other areas of business like banking and water supply Till 1689, only about fifteen joint stock companies existed in Britain, but this rose rapidly to 150 within a span of seven years. The French Revolution caused the economy in France to collapse and as a result, trading in stocks increased on volume in England The London Stock Exchange was officially started in 1772 with the purpose of a properly organized structure to control the growing number of companies and the volume of trade in securities. "In the eighteenth century company shares continued to be an important driving force behind the expansion of the securities market in London". (Michie P. 17). Even though a majority of stock trading ins done in Europe US and Japan, in recent years many countries from Asia have also become large markets. Property and Property Markets: The most sought after form of investment in the world before the advent of the stock and currency was in property. Property is defined as "ownership; right of possession, enjoyment, or disposal of anything, esp. of something tangible: to have property in land." (11 result for property. 2006). Here property refers to land and property market is trading in property. Prop

Airport Operations Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Airport Operations Management - Case Study Example Dothan regional Airport is located in Dothan city which is one of the major cities in the U.S state of Alabama. This city derives its name from the bible; Genesis 37:17 " I heard them ,lets go to Dothan" and in most cases it is referred to as the ' The Circle City' due to its Rose Clarke Circle which encircles most parts of the city. According to the U.S Bureau of Statistics, the current population of the city is approximated to be 62, 713 in 2005. The area it covers is 224.8Km2 and it is located at 3113'38"N, 8524'26"W. On February15th 1965, Dothan Regional Airport was opened to serve as a commercial transportation aviation facility in the State of Alabama. By then, it was considered one of the best facilities in the state and served as a useful aviation centre for the economic activities within the state. First of all, the initial construction (of Napier Field) was developed in 1941 as part of meeting the expanding needs for the U.S Army Air Corps who found the area useful for their operations. During the World War II, the personnel in this army made the project to train more staff to meet the demands of the war at that time. This necessity gave it way for the construction process to begin. The field was named after one of the Army's flight surgeons, Major Edward L. Napier died in a plane crash in Ohio. Napier Field, as it was referred to later begin operating its major flights on October, 1941. The field also served as the training area for British cadets in the end of that year and also the Mexican army, P-40 group. Later on in the end of the Second World War, the army decided to deactivate the field which was to be reconstructed later as the Dothan Regional Airport. Under an agreement signed in 1946 by the City of Houston and the Dothan City, the filed was to be improved and subsequently made available for the two cities. Since the field remained unused for a long period of time, most of its land was used by the Houston City authority for other purposes. From that time, the airport was transformed through the formation of Dothan Houston County Airport Authority to oversee the completion of its construction, equipment and operation. It thus continued to expand progressively and has continued to offer the citizens of Southern Alabama a first class centre for the commercial aviation industry. The buildings in the airport houses companies such as Flight-line of Dothan, Pemco World Air Services, Alabama Jet Centre and Flight-safety International. Records available at the FAA offices indicate that the book value of the whole airport is approximately $14 million. Dothan Regional Airport Ownership The Dothan Regional Airport is publicly owned and is operated by the Dothan City-Houston County Airport Authority Inc. This authority consists of four members who are appointed to serve for four years each and consequently retire one per year for consistency in its operations. The members are appointed by each of the following; Dale County Commission,

Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation Essay

Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation - Essay Example The using perceptual maps marketing simulation was a great experienced for me. The simulation taught me the importance of product differentiation and positioning. The company showcased in the simulation was called Thorr Motorcycles Inc.The company is dedicated to manufacturing motorcycles. The company holds a market share of 40% in an oligopoly marketplace. Perceptual maps are used in the simulation to develop a positioning strategy. A perceptual map is the visual representation of the customer’s perception of a brand. In the simulation I served the role of marketing manager. In the first round of the simulation I had to choose four marketing parameters to develop the positioning strategy. The first parameter I choose is price. Customers in all industries always pay close attention to the price of the product or service. The second parameter chosen was lifestyle image. A lot of customers in the motorcycle industry purchase motorcycles because of the image it represents. The th ird parameter I choose was service offering. A survey showed that customers perceive the service of Thorr Motorcycles to be poor. The final parameter I choose was quality engineering. Along with price quality is a very important attribute that all customers evaluate when making a purchase. The four parameters I choose were the optimal solution for the company. The second round of the simulation involved making some strategic decisions. I had to create a marketing plan that will reposition the CruiserThorr or launch a new motorcycle. The marketing budget for the plan was $13 million. One of the tools that were provided in the simulation in order to help me make a decision was a SWOT analysis. The four elements of a SWOT analysis are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of the threats discussed in the SWOT is that fact that rising unemployment will decrease the expenditure in lifestyle products. The company’s competitors have low-cost motorcycles that are all geared to attract the younger customers. The CruiserThorr has penetrated the market well, but the product has reached the maturity stage of its product lifecycle. I decided against repositioning the CruiserThorr. My solution was introducing the RRoth model. The second step of round two was deciding the marketing mix of the company among the following four variables: price, place, services, and promotion. The marketing mix of a product can be used to implement a differentiation strategy. The price I chose was in the $13,000 to $15,000 range. At that price range the company will achieve maximum customer reach. The places I choose to sell the RRoth were distributors, dealers, and the internet. Young customers in the United States are using the internet more everyday to make purchases. In 2010 e-commerce sales in the US reached $153 billion. The services I decided to offer were training to dealers, customization options, and financial services. The promotion alternatives I decided to im plement were sponsor events such as Daytona, offer insurance and protection plans, hire celebrities for endorsement, and publicize through Hollywood films. The total costs of my marketing plan were $12,385,000. I achieved savings for the company of $615,000. In the third round of the simulation I had to create and rate the perceptual maps of both motorcycle products. The four attributes of the perceptual map of the CruiserThorr were lifestyle image, price, service offering, and quality engineering. My ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 for lifestyle image, price, service offering, and quality engineering were 10,7,6,9 respectively. The four variables I choose for the perceptual map of the RRoth were price, cool, service offerings and lifestyle image. The rating for price, cool service offering, and lifestyle image were 10,9,8,8. The simulation indicated that I should have added the parameter of quality engineering in the RRoth. A differentiation strategy is used to create a unique produc t that that has different attributes than the competition. A positioning strategy is different

Sexual Health and HIV strategy 2001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sexual Health and HIV strategy 2001 - Essay Example The intricacies of the policy and statistics on UK’s unwanted teenage pregnancy are also detailed. Finally, the positive role of the strategy for curbing teenage pregnancy rates is described. 1. Introduction The first national strategy to modernize sexual health and to provide HIV services in the country to address the rising number of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) cases was introduced in 2001. The hazards of poor sexual health are dangerous because unintended pregnancies and certain, sexually transmitted infections can create long lasting effects on one’s lives. The number of people visiting the genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics increased by 100% in the last decade and currently, the cases are more than a million in a year in the UK (Department of Health. There exists a clear link between social environment, poverty and sexual ill health (Clements et al, 1998). Impact is also visible on minority ethnic groups and gay men. Furthermore, there have be en deviations in the sexual health of people across the country which is not satisfactory. The Sexual Health and HIV Strategy 2001 created a need to raise the level of services in coordination with the principles of NHS plan. HIV is incurable and a life threatening condition and the use of certain drugs can improve the lifespan of infected individuals but it presents severe challenges related to the care, treatment and support, and this strategy recognizes these issues (Dennison, 2004). 2. The Role of Groups in the Formation of the Strategy The Department of Health strives to bring progress in the health and well-being rates in England and wants to make it better in health care and other such values. The Secretary of State for Health in 2001 came out with novel goals for health and social care aimed at 5 primary points (Department of Health, 2011): Patient-led National Health Strategy Coming out with best health scenarios Responsible and autonomous health system Public health improv ement Bringing about greater reform in social care The 2001 strategy was to get the service providers and representatives participate. There was a major role for voluntary organizations as well, especially in the field of HIV. An effective partnership with voluntary organizations, service providers and representatives were important. A commitment period of ten years along with a strategic move rendered greater results. Investment of about ?47.5 million extra was set aside for the coming two years to cater to the needs of the scheme (British Medical Association, 2000). The strategy has been successful, as it has definitely brought down the inequalities in sexual health, especially for teenagers (DCSF, 2010). There will be place for advanced, effective and dedicated services that comes without the pressure of sex illness like HIV (CRD, 1997). The 2001 strategy has gained more support through public opinions. The last strategy implemented by the government took up the views of the serv ice users, representatives and the public as a whole, along with stake holders and those involved in the public health field. In order to strengthen the strategy and develop it the best way, the help of professionals and service users was essential. A wide range of professionals and health experts attended the six consultations conducted in England (Department of Health, 2003). The Department of Health supported events like the Brook and the African HIV Policy Network and Terrence Higgins Trust Lighthouse. The National AIDS Trust, FPA and the professional bodies controlling the spread of HIV were identified as a key priority in the Chief Medical Officer’s Infectious Disease Strategy (Bearman and Bruckner, 2001). Getting Ahead of the Curve was the other key stake holder through whom the Department of

Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation Essay

Thorr Motorcycles Inc. Perceptual maps marketing simulation - Essay Example The using perceptual maps marketing simulation was a great experienced for me. The simulation taught me the importance of product differentiation and positioning. The company showcased in the simulation was called Thorr Motorcycles Inc.The company is dedicated to manufacturing motorcycles. The company holds a market share of 40% in an oligopoly marketplace. Perceptual maps are used in the simulation to develop a positioning strategy. A perceptual map is the visual representation of the customer’s perception of a brand. In the simulation I served the role of marketing manager. In the first round of the simulation I had to choose four marketing parameters to develop the positioning strategy. The first parameter I choose is price. Customers in all industries always pay close attention to the price of the product or service. The second parameter chosen was lifestyle image. A lot of customers in the motorcycle industry purchase motorcycles because of the image it represents. The th ird parameter I choose was service offering. A survey showed that customers perceive the service of Thorr Motorcycles to be poor. The final parameter I choose was quality engineering. Along with price quality is a very important attribute that all customers evaluate when making a purchase. The four parameters I choose were the optimal solution for the company. The second round of the simulation involved making some strategic decisions. I had to create a marketing plan that will reposition the CruiserThorr or launch a new motorcycle. The marketing budget for the plan was $13 million. One of the tools that were provided in the simulation in order to help me make a decision was a SWOT analysis. The four elements of a SWOT analysis are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of the threats discussed in the SWOT is that fact that rising unemployment will decrease the expenditure in lifestyle products. The company’s competitors have low-cost motorcycles that are all geared to attract the younger customers. The CruiserThorr has penetrated the market well, but the product has reached the maturity stage of its product lifecycle. I decided against repositioning the CruiserThorr. My solution was introducing the RRoth model. The second step of round two was deciding the marketing mix of the company among the following four variables: price, place, services, and promotion. The marketing mix of a product can be used to implement a differentiation strategy. The price I chose was in the $13,000 to $15,000 range. At that price range the company will achieve maximum customer reach. The places I choose to sell the RRoth were distributors, dealers, and the internet. Young customers in the United States are using the internet more everyday to make purchases. In 2010 e-commerce sales in the US reached $153 billion. The services I decided to offer were training to dealers, customization options, and financial services. The promotion alternatives I decided to im plement were sponsor events such as Daytona, offer insurance and protection plans, hire celebrities for endorsement, and publicize through Hollywood films. The total costs of my marketing plan were $12,385,000. I achieved savings for the company of $615,000. In the third round of the simulation I had to create and rate the perceptual maps of both motorcycle products. The four attributes of the perceptual map of the CruiserThorr were lifestyle image, price, service offering, and quality engineering. My ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 for lifestyle image, price, service offering, and quality engineering were 10,7,6,9 respectively. The four variables I choose for the perceptual map of the RRoth were price, cool, service offerings and lifestyle image. The rating for price, cool service offering, and lifestyle image were 10,9,8,8. The simulation indicated that I should have added the parameter of quality engineering in the RRoth. A differentiation strategy is used to create a unique produc t that that has different attributes than the competition. A positioning strategy is different

Sault Ste. Marie sand and gravel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sault Ste. Marie sand and gravel - Essay Example These exposed rocks pose a challenge to the government in terms of using road as a means of transport. Preference is made on alternatives, which are viewed to be cheaper in transportation of other products. It is believed that the whole of Ontario was once covered by glacial. Glaciation resulted to the emergence of several lakes known as glacial lakes in the region. The lakes are found in the north of Ontario as well as the southern and western boundaries. Sand was left in the middle region with rivers such as the Grand River flowing to the formed lakes. Glaciation leads to the exposure of rocks in the southern region of Ontario which are scattered. Oak ridge moraine is an example of conspicuous events in glaciated areas exposed by the height of land that lies between the Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario. Horse shoe moraines are evident in the Bruce peninsula to the southeast where escarpments extend towards Lake Erie. Deposits and drumlins are also found in the Petersburg region. Further, there is a glacial lake and rain forest region to the south, which is located to the south west of Lake Superior. The forest region is reasonably fertile due to the deposition of the glacial masses. The geographical landscape of the southern region does not favor the construction of roads due to the rugged terrain together with extended water bodies. For this reason, the use of tracks to transport sand to the southern region may not be possible as it would be uneconomical considering the cost of transport and construction of roads. Political issues also play part in the impossibility of transporting sand and gravel to the south. Issues of land ownership and establishment of parks in appreciation of wilderness has caused laxity in constructing roads to the south. Local conservation has been the point of focus thereby taking preference at the expense of road construction in the region for commercial purposes. Much emphasis is made on agriculture as a basis of planning

United Nation Science Essay Example for Free

United Nation Science Essay United Nation Science by Kofi This article tackles the issue of human dependence on technology and the role of information technology in globalization. The author also proves the fact the human’s dependency on technology is growing as new innovation are being developed. The effect of this dependency on human relationship and interaction was also discussed. Although information technology has great contribution in globalization, its effect on human interaction, culture and values are also considerable. As technology advances, we are losing our humanity as viewed by the author. Communication Technology Update by Grant and Meadows The book on Communication Technology Update provides a timeline for the development in the field of communication technology from books, newspaper and periodicals to phones to internet. Thus, it offers an introduction to the field of communication technology which is the topic of this paper. It is important to know the trends in the development of technology in order to have an overview or rather a glimpse of what is to come. It also proves the point that human’s reliance on technology for communication is increasing with the advances in the said field. The article also shows how fast information technology is growing. The W5H of Technology by Hallen The W5H of technology by Hallen provides additional information about information technology. It also describes the different type of communication in from the simplest to the most complex in terms of the number of individuals involved. Hallen introduced the readers to what there is to know about technology, the basics as well as the important. The influences of technology were also studied, both the positive and the negative effects. The main importance of technology was development and globalization that was made possible through the innovations in technology while technology dependency was the negative effect. This belief coincides with the main argument of this paper and so is very useful as a reference. Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development by Morales-Gomez and Melesse The article by Morales-Gomez and Melesse offered to question the impacts of technology on society. They argue that although technology has brought great development in society, there are areas that had to be explored; some areas were technology harms rather than helps. They also view the fast development made possible by technology as unrealistic and dangerously naive. The authors also explored the long term effects of information technology in a nation’s social and cultural system. Thus, the article offers support of my claim on this paper. Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality? by Ogunsola This article examines the revolution in the field of information technology. It also tackles the issue of globalization as well as its impact in developing countries. The authors argue that information technology is widening the gap between the poor and the developing countries. They also offer and evaluated the concept of â€Å"digital slavery†. Global communication had been viewed as â€Å"the world’s largest machine† and unknowingly, humans are being enslaved by it. The article also explored the negative effects of communication technology in personal communication. The article is important in establishing the main point of my paper. References Annan, Kofi. {1999}. United Nation Science. 19th February. p. 1079. Grant, A. and Meadows J. (2006). Communication Technology Update. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. Hallen, R. M. (2008). The W5H of Technology. Vigyan Prasar. Morales-Gomez, D. and Melesse, M. (1998). Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development. 8(1). pp. 3-14. Ogunsola, L. (2005). Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality?. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship. V. 6, No. 1-2. United Nation Science by Kofi This article tackles the issue of human dependence on technology and the role of information technology in globalization. The author also proves the fact the human’s dependency on technology is growing as new innovation are being developed. The effect of this dependency on human relationship and interaction was also discussed. Although information technology has great contribution in globalization, its effect on human interaction, culture and values are also considerable. As technology advances, we are losing our humanity as viewed by the author. Communication Technology Update by Grant and Meadows The book on Communication Technology Update provides a timeline for the development in the field of communication technology from books, newspaper and periodicals to phones to internet. Thus, it offers an introduction to the field of communication technology which is the topic of this paper. It is important to know the trends in the development of technology in order to have an overview or rather a glimpse of what is to come. It also proves the point that human’s reliance on technology for communication is increasing with the advances in the said field. The article also shows how fast information technology is growing. The W5H of Technology by Hallen The W5H of technology by Hallen provides additional information about information technology. It also describes the different type of communication in from the simplest to the most complex in terms of the number of individuals involved. Hallen introduced the readers to what there is to know about technology, the basics as well as the important. The influences of technology were also studied, both the positive and the negative effects. The main importance of technology was development and globalization that was made possible through the innovations in technology while technology dependency was the negative effect. This belief coincides with the main argument of this paper and so is very useful as a reference. Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development by Morales-Gomez and Melesse The article by Morales-Gomez and Melesse offered to question the impacts of technology on society. They argue that although technology has brought great development in society, there are areas that had to be explored; some areas were technology harms rather than helps. They also view the fast development made possible by technology as unrealistic and dangerously naive. The authors also explored the long term effects of information technology in a nation’s social and cultural system. Thus, the article offers support of my claim on this paper. Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality? by Ogunsola This article examines the revolution in the field of information technology. It also tackles the issue of globalization as well as its impact in developing countries. The authors argue that information technology is widening the gap between the poor and the developing countries. They also offer and evaluated the concept of â€Å"digital slavery†. Global communication had been viewed as â€Å"the world’s largest machine† and unknowingly, humans are being enslaved by it. The article also explored the negative effects of communication technology in personal communication. The article is important in establishing the main point of my paper. References Annan, Kofi. {1999}. United Nation Science. 19th February. p. 1079. Grant, A. and Meadows J. (2006). Communication Technology Update. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. Hallen, R. M. (2008). The W5H of Technology. Vigyan Prasar. Morales-Gomez, D. and Melesse, M. (1998). Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development. 8(1). pp. 3-14. Ogunsola, L. (2005). Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality?. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship. V. 6, No. 1-2.

Advantages of organizational behaviour in an organization

Advantages of organizational behaviour in an organization Introduction Management deals with people, their ideas and things related to them. In a simple form management can be defined as the art of things getting done through people in groups organized formally [8]. Management is the process where groups of people are involved in performance of organized activities. In an organization with a large number of employees the process of management directs the managers to perform some functions such as planning, staffing, controlling, organizing and directing to get things done by others. Organizational behavior can be used to improve the management practices for influencing the employees effectively and working with them. Management is the key to obtaining organizational effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness depends on meeting the rapid changing requirements of the organization such as having the right people for the right job and at the right time. It helps understand the production and behavioral control in an organization. The study of organizational behavior in an organization has the following advantages: It helps to expand the horizon of management. It helps improve the organizational performance in line with the individual performance which include reward systems, leadership, motivation etc., It helps develop commitment among the employees to achieve their personal goals thereby achieving the goals of the company. It helps to understand, predict and control the behavior in the organization. There are numerous factors that determine the successful performance in an organization, but for our discussion we will consider few important factors which are as follows: Recruitment and Selection Training and development Reward through proper Performance Appraisal System Effective Communication Skills Developing Dedication by Motivating employees Also, there are many factors that contribute to the changing nature of work at organization, but the two main factors are: Current market scenario requires organizations to be more competitive and customer focused, hence there is an increased pressure on the organization The breakthrough in IT and communication is another factor. For example mobile and internet have made work to be separated from time and space. Organizations have changed their focus and their main principles are: Defining vision and values from the consumers perspective Creating a value chain i.e., defining activities and process that add value to customers and link them Remove activities that add no value to the organization. Reducing inefficiencies in the tasks in an organization. These principles have added value to the organization enabling them to respond rapidly to customers needs and supporting change and encouraging innovation. I would also be discussing the various changes in the nature of modern work environment relevant to the factors Ive stated above. Recruitment and Selection[5] Recruitment is process in which a qualified and suitable person is selected for a job in a company. The recruitment process is the responsibility of the HR department and various methods are available for this process such as interviews, aptitude test, questionnaires etc., It is a forming phase and is the most difficult phase for the managers. Let us consider the recruitment and selection process at Tesco. There are different ways through which Tesco advertises its vacancies. It first advertises its vacancy internally through intranet for two weeks. This provides an opportunity for the current employees looking for a change at the same level or for a promotion. Tesco advertises its vacancies on the web at www.tesco-careers.com for external recruitment. It also displays vacancy boards on its stores. For managerial positions the applications are made online. The applicants chosen will have to first undergo an interview and for the final stage they will have attendance at the assessment centre. A waiting list of applicants is prepared by the stores and as the jobs become available candidates are finalized. Specialist jobs as bakers and pharmacists are advertised externally through the following means: Through the web and offline media Through television and radio Through advertisements in newspapers and magazines. As many other companies Tesco also looks forward for cost- effective way of attracting applicants. Though advertising on media and magazines is expensive but sometimes this becomes essential to attract suitable people for the vacancy. Selection can be defines as selecting the most suitable person from the list of candidates who have applied for the vacancy taking into consideration the laws and regulations of employment. Screening is an important part of the selection process and ensures that the selected candidates for the interview will be best suited for the job. There are different stages in the screening process. In the first stage, the selectors at Tesco look through the CVs of the applicants as this briefs the candidates education and job history. A CV helps to assess whether the candidate meets the specification for the job. Screening is followed by the candidate who attends the assessment centre. This process takes place either in store and are run by managers. The candidates are assessed through various exercises such as team work and problem solving. This also provides consistency in the selection process. In the modern work environment, the selection and recruitment process has become more sophisticated and detailed to opt for the best knowledge and skills in the market. The number of screening processes that organizations hold to select the right candidates has increased and also the type of tests have become more radical in their approach. Tests such as psychological evaluation and stress interviews are a common practice in todays work environment. Training and Development Training is very essential for the newly recruited employees. It is also very essential for the employees already employed so that their skills are up to date and in line with the latest trends and technologies. Training is becoming an essential part of every organization these days. Employees are made to undergo training programs in order to maximize their potential to meet organization goals. Lets us consider Barclays for our case study here. Training is a very crucial task for the Human Resource department at Barclays. The main reason for this being the induction program helps employees understand the various policies and the structure of their jobs. This will also give employees enough time to adjust themselves to the environment in the organization together with inducing new ideas and skills in the employees. Training is the most difficult and challenging part in the organization as it is a continuous process where the trainer acting as a change agent makes trainees get familiar with the new organization. The following are the main training aims at Barclay: It helps to increase the level of confidence and motivation in employees It creates a feeling of achievement and personal satisfaction Improves the quality of staff and improves their skills. The above are the contributing factors that the help the HR achieve their goal of making the employees feel a part of the organization. Selecting a suitable a trainer is a very challenging issue as he a middleman between the employees and the organization. The trainer has the following responsibilities. The trainer must assess the need for training the individual and set up a training program for the employee in order to reach the ultimate goal of the organization. He must design the training program. The most important task at Barclays Plc is group participation. Hence the main aim of the trainer would be to encourage this task. The trainer acts as a messenger between the employees and the management. The trainer must make sure that the newly learned skills are being practically applied. He will decide the need for further training on the basis of the current performance appraisal. In the modern work environment employees are keener on keeping themselves in touch with the latest technological development. They always pick up skills and enhance their knowledge quotient so as to face the growing competition in the current work environment. Therefore employing training and development schemes would be easier and would improve the overall quality of the workforce. Performance Appraisal and Reward System Performance appraisal is a process where performance of an employee is assessed in terms of expected goals set for them. On the basis of performance appraisal the company decides promotions, terminations, the level of supervision and the duties and responsibilities to be assigned to the employees. During the phase of performance appraisal the actual performance of the employees is assessed and evaluated. The HRM is responsible for the performance appraisal and it is its duty to pass the information accurately and impartially to the management so that necessary and future corrective measures can be taken. The HRM faces the following issues during performance appraisal: Recognition and identification of an employees strengths and weaknesses. This will help to utilize the strengths more effectively and the necessary steps to be taken to overcome the individuals weakness. In certain cases employees should be given full effort, hence the HRM should identify the problems which are causing this. This also provides information needed for HR planning and act as an input to the HR department. This acts as a basis to make decisions such as strategies and future long term objectives. It is the duty of the human resource management to create a method of performance appraisal and system of reward. The method created should be in line with the objectives of training and development program. Defined standards should be set to measure performance. The HRM should decide who will be using the appraisal method and appraised by the method created. The HRM should gather feedback from the employees about the appraisal method created, this will act as source of boosting the employees morale. This will help the employees assess their strengths and weakness. This will further encourage the employees to do better to get a reward from the organization. Employees in the organization try to do tasks that will not alone get them rewards in the form of bonuses and incentives but recognition in form of certificates and medals and also appraisal for doing something new and innovative. This will help motivate the employees. In the case of Barclays the reward system is very important as this will help influence the employees to do something better and innovative. The reward system ultimately acts as a motivational factor for growth in future and is not an easy task. As this depends on the responsibility and the type of job being done.[7] If the performance management system is handled carefully and properly, leads to outstanding performance by employees and increases the level of motivation decreasing the absenteeism lack of morale of employees. Performance appraisal and reward schemes are vital in todays work environment because employees today are more influenced by the corporate lifestyle and are always in the lookout for better job opportunities and hiked salaries. Therefore it is essential for organizations to keep their employees loyal towards them, and the easiest and most effective way of doing it is performance appraisal and reward schemes. Effective Communication Skills Effective communication is nothing but an art of conveying our message clearly to other people. It involves a lot of effort for effective communication as any error or distortion will result in misinterpretation of message. Lack of effective communication may result in lack of information, misunderstandings, employee performance may decrease which may ultimately affect the companys turnover. Ineffective communication may become a source of conflict and frustrate the employees. The managers inability to communicate effectively may lead to the inability of employee not performing well as per the company demands. This happens when the employee is not aware of what is requested of him and ultimately leads employee dissatisfaction. Effective communication has its own benefits in the workplace. Effective communication from managers to employees will result in the employees doing their job well. A good management style together with a positive communication approach will be quite effective in the workplace and will lead to better understanding between the employee and manager. For an organization to be successful communication should happen both internally and externally. Internal communication: between management and employees. External communication: this takes place between staff and clients. Let us consider Vodafone as a case study to illustrate the effective communication skills[3] Internal Communication[2]: this takes place inside the organization between the employees and management. Here the employees act as stakeholders. This communication may take place in any of the forms listed below: Vertically: this the top down approach which happens from the senior employees to juniors associates. The ultimate goal here is to improve the performance of tasks and make the junior employees understand the companys priorities and requirements. Horizontally: this takes places between various teams and across departments. The goal here is to make sure roles are effectively carried out and tasks completed. Intranet with restricted access to people within the business is a great tool for promoting better communication. External communication[1] :this takes place with customers. Vodafone has laid a principle for communication as We will communicate openly and transparently with all of our stakeholders within the bounds of commercial confidentiality. Vodafone believes that this will reduce the barriers to communication. It makes sure that its messages are conveyed both verbally and non verbally. For verbal communication the company has set contact centers so that the staff can be in direct contact with the customers and further giving an opportunity for its staff to talk to the customers about the issues. Non verbal communication can take place through various methods such as advertisements in television, newspapers and other media, the Vodafone logo. This also acts as a method of determining the position of the brand. Further methods of non verbal communication include SMS to contact certain customers. Sales information can be reached out to customers through literature in the Vodafone shops. The many forms of communication through which Vodafone reaches out to its customers are as below: Promotion and sales material- Vodafone makes sure that the advertising material is correct and follows its Business principles. This also helps the information reaches out responsibly to its stakeholders together with promoting its products and services. Awareness and Information: Vodafone promoted the use of mobile phones responsibly in the cars. It took the complex material and translated the information in easy to understand form and made the public aware of the new law and appropriate use of phones in the car. Explanation and guidance: mobile phones have health effects on human beings. But the latest scientific research has something new and Vodafone needs to convey these findings clearly to the customers. Communication in todays work environment is not only important as a means of better process flow but also as a means to bring all the employees together as a single unit. This is really beneficial when the employees have to work in a team environment. In todays work environment, employees have access to social network websites which are capable to increase the bond between employees and improve their effort as a team. Motivation to dedicate Employees A well motivated staff is a key to a productive and pleasant environment in a workplace. Motivating the employees must be one of the key responsibilities of a manager. An effective management and leadership reflect through effective motivation of employees in the workplace. Understanding the human nature is a key to effective employee motivation. The key to performance improvement in an organization is motivation. Motivation is very essential for any business to survive and excel. Motivation is a skill and must be learnt. Performance can be defined as a function of ability and motivation as below Job performance= function (ability)(motivation) Ability depends on education and training. Motivation has the following seven strategies through which it can be initiated: Fair treatment of people Positive and high expectations Discipline Satisfying the needs of the employees Setting goals at work To restructure the jobs Set rewards and recognition for performance Every organization has its own ways to motivate the employees to ensure that goals and targets are reached [4]. Motivation plays a vital role in todays work environment. Due to the cut-throat competition between organizations, it can be seen as a common practice for organizations to hire their rivals best workforce. So as to avoid that, employees need to be motivated not only in terms of their incentives and salary packages for their physical needs, but also with praise and recognition and better work environment to ease their psychological needs. Obstacles to Effective Performance The main obstacles to effective performance in an organization are as follows: Culture Change Conflict Culture Culture is related to beliefs, values and customary ways of doing things. The main reason for employees leaving the company is cultural mismatch. According to the present culture employees are required to have a clear understanding of short term and long term goals. The employees are required to have a shared vision and values as well as being productive and motivated. The organizational culture is determined by the leadership style and practices in an organization and hence plays an important role especially during acquisitions and mergers. Every organization has a set of values and beliefs. When an employee is exposed to a new culture, the individual goes through a state known as culture shock. When the companies merge the employees from the non dominant company need to adapt themselves to the new culture of the dominant company. Let us consider Barclay Plc for instance. Barclay acquired Lehman Brothers and one of the major issues for Barclay after this acquisition is to take into consideration the two different cultures in these two companies. Most of the employees of Lehman Brothers have left Barclay and a few did not join Barclay. This makes it clear that the employees are not ready to adapt to the new values, leadership styles, beliefs and practices of the Barclay culture. One of the biggest challenges to the management at Barclay is to make employees accept the new culture. The change in culture ultimately has an effect on the motivation level of the employees, their commitment to the organization and their engagement in work. Another consequence of an acquisition is that the individuals from the non dominant organization will feel like loss of identity and the others will have a superior feeling. This will ultimately affect the company achieve its goals and objectives. Another major issue of culture when the two organizations were merged is it will divert the attention of the employees and make the less productive. The attention of employees will be diverted to issues such as job security , feeling of discomfort working with new employees. Job security is the main issue as there will be duplication of departments and to manage the staff, the organization can reduce the manpower. The job profiles may be redesigned which may have an impact on the performance of the employees. The employees motivation, attitude and performance are determined by the culture. Motivation and culture go hand in hand. More an employee is motivated; the culture will be healthier. The key factor to be dealt in any organization is motivation. If an employee is not motivated properly then the employee will have problem accepting the new culture which will impact the individuals ability to do the job effectively and efficiently. The company should have flexible culture if a decision of acquisition is taken. This will allow the new employees to adjust to the new culture. Culture reflects the style of management and leadership. A slight change in the values, leadership style and ideas will help the new employees adjust to the new environment. This is not easy task, but since Barclays has taken a decision of merger it should be ready to consider changes in its culture and leadership style. Change Except for change nothing is constant in this world. Every activity in an organization results in some change. It can have a positive or negative effect depending on the communication made through change. The acquisition of Barclay and Lehman Brothers bought together a huge change in both organizations. New strategies and policies, procedures and work environment were created for work in both organizations. Change should involve people and not be imposed on people. Preparing the employees of an organization for change is a very vital task and it is the responsibility of the management to do this. This can be done through various methods such as through oral communication, via training programs or through counseling. The major reason for the Lehman employees leaving Barclays when the two organizations were merged is that the change was not managed properly. The key principles needed when planning to manage change are as follows: Every person reacts to change differently. Each person is different and has its own perceptions and preferences. A few people always look forward to change and new things and it easy to handle them. But it is a very difficult to handle people who always like things the way they were. These kind of people will experience stress and dissatisfaction and negative attitude towards their counterparts preferences. Every person has his own needs and priorities A few people work just for money but a few for the self and social identification. Change can be managed effectively by designing jobs in a better way through job redesign, job rotation management etc. Managing expectations realistically The organization should make clear to its employees that it cannot make everyone happy at the same time and this should be communicated effectively and realistically. The relation between expectations and reality is very important. The management should do the tasks listed below in order to manage change effectively: The management should inspire people and set certain objectives, goals and values for the organization It should set up a communication network such as face to face interaction so that new ideas and policies can be easily communicated. If there are any obstacles in the way of communication then those should be removed as this will help people accept change. Change can be made inevitable by promotions, recruitments and rewards. Conflicts When Barclays merges with Lehman conflicts were natural to arise as people from two different cultures and two different companies were merging. Starting with small disputes, conflicts may reach to higher levels which will ultimately affect the organization. Since the culture of both organizations is different each will have its own ideas, strategies, perspectives and goals. The different types of conflict that may arise when people of two different cultures merge are as follows: Conflict with boss Since the manager has a more experience and bigger perspective it will not be good to encounter conflict with the boss. In order to avoid such a conflict it is better not to question his authority and any ideas and views should be presented in the form of suggestions. Conflict with colleagues Different point of view will lead to conflict between employees. This can be done resolved through proper communication. Conflicts with the subordinates Conflicts can be handles effectively by one of the following ways: Each person should be given freedom to express their views. Conflicts can be sorted to a greater level by identifying positive minded people. Not everyone may have a broad vision as ours. So communicating and discussing our vision will help keep conflicts away. Conclusion The base of any organization depends on the policy, the values, the vision, the philosophy and goals set by the management. These act as the driving force for the organizational culture. Culture in a workplace determines the leadership style, the type of communication and group dynamics within the organization. The employees in the organization perceive the culture as a quality essential at work which has an impact on the degree of the employees motivation. This ultimately affects the performance, personal growth and self development which ultimately affect the organization from achieving its goals. The above discussed concepts such as communication, motivation, culture etc, make up only a small part of the theories of organizational behavior and theory. The success of any organization is determined by the application of the concepts of organizational behavior in the organization. The best way to handle conflicts in a workplace is to address them through discussions and debates. Conflict can have a positive effect within the organization if it is addressed effectively. A successful manager is one who takes time to address and deal with the conflict. This in turn will lead to a healthy and diverse work environment.

Old Chinatown of Los Angeles Essay examples -- Chinese China History E

Old Chinatown of Los Angeles Chinese first established their community in Los Angeles at today's El Pueblo Historical Monument. About two hundred settled by the year 1870. This number gradually increased over the years when the Southern Pacific began to construct a railroad from San Francisco in the 1870s. They were farm laborers, servants, road builders and small shopkeepers. Even with heavy discrimination during this time, Chinese held a dominant economic position in the Los Angeles laundry and produce industries for several years. Due to this old Chinatown explained its' boundaries eastward from the Plaza across from Alameda Street and grew to a population of over three thousand. The Chinese never owned major land or property but, were lessees, subleases or tenants. Laws were in place preventing them from becoming citizens and in turn property owners. The Chinese settled mostly on land owned by Juan Apablasa and controlled by his widow. This inability to own land would latter come back to haunt them. One of the most serious incidents of racial violence that has ever occurred in Los Angeles happened in October of 1871. Nineteen Chinese men and boys were murdered in a racial violence by a mob of five hundred locals. This riot was triggered when a fight broke out between two Chinese men over a Chinese girl. A Caucasian man was accidental slayed while caught in the crossfire. This was fueled by the growing movement of anti-Chinese discrimination in California, which would climax in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. This would be known as the infamous Chinese Massacre. Old Chinatown's heyday was between the years of 1890-1910. It could count 15 or so streets and alleys, and perhaps 200 building units. I... ...arge of their needs and problems. The local property owners joined together to build a legal group, BID, to help them realize common goals for their properties and surrounding areas. BID, which stands for Business Improvement District, has goals that include creating a clean, safe and friendly environment, increasing visitors to the area and enhancing property values. This is to help secure their place as a huge tourism site in Los Angeles. Bibliography BID. http://www.chinatownla.com/bid_main.htm Chinese Americans in Los Angeles. http://www.camla.org/history.htm Chinatown Walking Tour. http://www.chinatownla.com/walkingtour.htm History of Old Chinatown Los Angeles. http://oldchinatownla.com/history.html 1871 Los Angeles Chinese Massacre: A Statement of Remembrance. http://www.camla.org/history/massacre.htm See, Lisa. On Gold Mountain. Old Chinatown of Los Angeles Essay examples -- Chinese China History E Old Chinatown of Los Angeles Chinese first established their community in Los Angeles at today's El Pueblo Historical Monument. About two hundred settled by the year 1870. This number gradually increased over the years when the Southern Pacific began to construct a railroad from San Francisco in the 1870s. They were farm laborers, servants, road builders and small shopkeepers. Even with heavy discrimination during this time, Chinese held a dominant economic position in the Los Angeles laundry and produce industries for several years. Due to this old Chinatown explained its' boundaries eastward from the Plaza across from Alameda Street and grew to a population of over three thousand. The Chinese never owned major land or property but, were lessees, subleases or tenants. Laws were in place preventing them from becoming citizens and in turn property owners. The Chinese settled mostly on land owned by Juan Apablasa and controlled by his widow. This inability to own land would latter come back to haunt them. One of the most serious incidents of racial violence that has ever occurred in Los Angeles happened in October of 1871. Nineteen Chinese men and boys were murdered in a racial violence by a mob of five hundred locals. This riot was triggered when a fight broke out between two Chinese men over a Chinese girl. A Caucasian man was accidental slayed while caught in the crossfire. This was fueled by the growing movement of anti-Chinese discrimination in California, which would climax in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. This would be known as the infamous Chinese Massacre. Old Chinatown's heyday was between the years of 1890-1910. It could count 15 or so streets and alleys, and perhaps 200 building units. I... ...arge of their needs and problems. The local property owners joined together to build a legal group, BID, to help them realize common goals for their properties and surrounding areas. BID, which stands for Business Improvement District, has goals that include creating a clean, safe and friendly environment, increasing visitors to the area and enhancing property values. This is to help secure their place as a huge tourism site in Los Angeles. Bibliography BID. http://www.chinatownla.com/bid_main.htm Chinese Americans in Los Angeles. http://www.camla.org/history.htm Chinatown Walking Tour. http://www.chinatownla.com/walkingtour.htm History of Old Chinatown Los Angeles. http://oldchinatownla.com/history.html 1871 Los Angeles Chinese Massacre: A Statement of Remembrance. http://www.camla.org/history/massacre.htm See, Lisa. On Gold Mountain.

Girls Of Slender Means :: essays research papers

Joanna’s and Jane’s lifestyles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Girls of Slender Means by Murial Spark is a novel about the girls who lived in the May of Teck Club during the year of 1945. There are many characters involved, but the one’s who caught my attention the most are Jane Wright and Joanna Childe. They represent different aspects of ideas, lifestyles and, also, have different perspectives on the “World of Books.';  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joanna Childe was the daughter of a country rector. She was very intelligent, had “...strong obscure emotions'; (8), and “...religious strength'; (165). She was very well build. “Joanna Childe was large...'; (9), “... fair and healthy-looking...'; (22). She had light shiny hair, blue eyes and deep-pink cheeks. She never used a scrap of make-up because she didn’t really care about her looks and she wasn’t looking for a husband either.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jane Wright, on the other hand, was very fat and felt miserable about it. She tried to blame her work for her appetite. “...[she] was miserable about her fatness and spent much of her time in eager dread of the next meal, and in making resolutions what to eat of it and what to leave, and in making counter-resolutions in view of the fact that her work at the publisher’s was essentially mental, which meant that her brain had to be fed more than most people’s'; (35-36). Unlike Joanna, Jane “...was on the look-out for a husband,...'; (32) since she was only twenty two years old.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joanna’s and Jane’s occupations evolved around the world of books. However, they had different perspectives about it. Jane worked for a publisher and Joanna attended a school of drama to be a teacher of elocution. Jane thought of the publishing business as “...essentially disinterest[ing]'; (39), while Joanna chose her profession because of her love for poetry. “...poetry, especially the declamatory sort, excited her and possessed her; she would pounce on the stuff, play with it quivering in her mind, and when she had got it by heart, she spoke it forth with devouring relish'; (8). Joanna was highly thought of for it and Jane “...was considered to be brainy but somewhat below standard, socially, at the May of Teck'; (19).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both women were similar in that they did additional work besides the one’s mentioned above. Joanna had students of her own whom she taught how to speak properly, with no accent. “Joanna’s method was to read each stanza herself first and make her pupil repeat it.'; (21). Jane had several kinds of “...brain-work'; (41). “First and secretly, she wrote poetry of a strictly non-rational order, in which occurred, in about proportion of cherries in a cherry-cake, certain words that she described as ‘of a smouldering

Psychological egoism and ethical egoism Essay

Human beings put so much value on other people’s interests. They find that if they satisfy their hunger for helping others, they (in turn) will have satisfaction for themselves. This was shown in Mother Teresa’s giving to others without taking anything back. However, as with everything else, there are exceptions. I know many people (i.e. car salesman ha-ha) that have only their interests in mind when they are taking action. This brings us to the discussion of the difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism and my position upon ethical egoism. I will begin by defining both psychological and ethical egoism. I will then state the counterexamples/arguments against it, and finally critically assess my position on ethical. Psychological egoism, as Dr. Belcher describes it is, â€Å"Psychological egoism is the claim that humans are (and can be) motivated only by selfish desires or that humans can pursue only their own self-interests.† This means that every action that helps others turns into a selfish one because the action gives satisfaction or happiness to the human that performs the action. There are many counterexamples of this theory. I will give two: First, all actions are motivated by desires, therefore in seeking desires, I am doing what is in my interest. Secondly, we seek our own happiness; therefore our desires seek happiness not selfishness. Next, I will give arguments against psychological egoism. First, the argument is flawed in onto itself. When humans choose to pursue their own interests, who is to say that these interests are selfish (selfish being a purely subjective term). Secondly, if an action gives pleasure to a human, it does not necessarily mean that the human set out to get pleasure. Psychological egoism, although on first glance, may seem logical; it is flawed in its own arguments. Ethical egoism is the theory that the promotion of one’s own good is in accordance with morality. It is what one â€Å"ought† to do. In the strong version it is held that it is always moral to promote one’s own good and it is never moral not to promote it. In the weak version, it claims that although it is always moral to promote one’s good, it is not necessarily never moral not to do so. There is one solid, logical argument for ethical egoism. If, in the wilderness, two humans come across the only source of  food (which happens to be enough for one human), a dilemma arises if both claim the food. The rational idea would be to accept an equal share of the food. However, both humans would only have half as much food as they need. Therefore, there is no possible resolution and they must fight for it. They must resort to the â€Å"might makes right† theory and in the interest of living, they must indirectly kill the other one. Here are two main argum ents against it: First, only the human in question can say what is best for him/her. No human can say that they clearly know what is better for another human. Moreover, helping others is offensive to them. It is presumptuous to show a human that they are inadequate and that others are able to do what they cannot. Secondly, given that any argument that puts forth the idea of a different treatment for different groups of people without any justifiable differences is unacceptable arbitrary. Ethical egoism makes people put more importance on themselves than others; therefore, ethical egoism is unacceptably arbitrary. Although ethical egoism is trying to be helpful, it seems that the argument goes about it in a very selfish way. I will try to defend ethical egoism. The main argument I will put forth was originally created by Ayn Rand. 1) We must accept that life is of the utmost worth. Humans only live once and if we have any value on the individual, we must adhere to this claim. 2) Altruistic theories regard the individual as something that must be sacrificed for the greater good of others. 3) Altruistic theories do not take the worth of the individual life into account. 4) Ethical egoism’s main philosophy is that the individual life is of utmost value. 5) Therefore, ethical egoism is the most logical theory. The second argument for ethical egoism runs along the lines of the first. Humans ought to act on whatever will promote the interests of everyone. The interests of everyone can only be promoted if humans pursue their own interests. Thus, every human should look out for him/herself. I can see one major flaw with this argument. Although it seems that humans cannot see what is good for other humans, in most real life scenarios (the man that is about to be ran over by a truck), we can safely say that we know what is best. We should push the man out of the way. Furthermore, why are the interests of the individual so important? Is not every human being an  individual? Therefore, all of our interests are of equal importance. It is a prejudice to take our interests above others. Although, the arguments against ethical egoism seem to be solid, I believe that greatness cannot be achieved by looking out for the interests of the entire group. Genius is not a group effort. I do not believe Mozart or Van Gough could have made such great works of art if someone had been looking over there shoulder saying, â€Å"no, no, that doesn’t look/sound good at all.† Even though on average humans will get the better for themselves by looking out for the greater good, we will never see anything that is a work of genius.

Making Your Own Luck

I should never have thrown the chain letter away. The letter clearly warned me that if I did, I would have one day of bad luck. I did not believe it, so I threw the silly piece of paper in the garbage. I thought the friend who sent me the letter was just a superstitious fool. Letters do not bring you luck. You make your own! That night, however, as I fell asleep, I had the uncomfortable feeling that something was not quite right. When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to find that I had overslept and would be late for work.As I rushed down the stairs to eat a quick breakfast, I tripped over my bag and spilled glassofwateronthepileofdocuments, whichI should have presentedat the meetingthat morning. Because themeetingwasabouttobegin, Irushedto getmycaranddriveto the officeveryquickly. However, bad luck happened to me again; my car was covered by snow from last night, so I needed to take time to make them melt. On my way to work, I decided to take a shortcut through an old par t of town. I drove to an old rough road which people rarely use daily. However, when I was very close to my office, I noticed there was an accident in the front of my car.Suddenly, I heard a noisy police car and people tried to change to another lane, and I was stuck in a traffic jam. After a while, I finally arrived at work. When I arrived at work, I found a note on my desk from my boss. She wanted to see me right away. I took a deep breath and walked into her office. As I stepped inside, I noticed a scowl on her face. Of course, she scolded me for arriving late and for not preparing well for the meeting. She had had to start the meeting without any help. Because of her rage, I was received a warning letter. At 5 PM, I left my office and went home feeling very tired and disappointed.Finally, after a long and difficult day, I returned home to find that my air conditioner was broken. I could not take it anymore! It had been the worst day of my life, and I did not want anything else t o happen. I rushed to the garbage can and dug around for the chain letter I had thrown away the day before. It was covered with coffee grounds and potato peels, but I could still read the words: â€Å"Send ten copies of this letter to your friends and you will have good luck for a year. † I sat down at the kitchen table and began to make copies for ten of my friends. They could take their chances, but I was not going to have any more bad luck!

Communism in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communism in China - Essay Example The failure of nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek to offer protection from the threat posed by Japan led to his abduction. He was forced by the abductors to reconsider cooperation with the communist army (Office of the Historian, n.d.). This laid a foundation for the rise of communism in the country. The other factor that contributed was the rise of a dictatorial regime. The nationalist government was accused of undemocratic policies and corruption (Office of the Historian, n.d.). The discontent of the population and poor policies made the country more vulnerable to communism ideals. On the other hand, China Communist Party (CCP) received overwhelming support from peasants due to land reforms it initiated and repelling of Japanese invaders (Office of the Historian, n.d.). Lastly, foreign intervention played a role in the rise of communism. The United States and Soviet Union influenced various issues in the country. United States was in support of Nationalist government while Soviet Union supported CCP. However, Soviet Union prevailed as it occupied Manchuria and only left when Chinese Communist forces were in a position to claim victory of the area (Office of the Historian, n.d.). This led to the establishment of communism in the larger part of the

Genetic Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genetic Engineering - Essay Example Insulin is usually secreted by the pancreas in order to regulate sugar levels in the body; however in patients with diabetes, this does not occur. There are many advantages to genetic engineering in that it gives scientists greater control over the type of gene which is being encoded for. Scientists can also control the rate of production which can be accelerated unlike its natural counterparts. It works through plasmid recombinant technology. First, enzymes are used to isolate the human gene which encodes for the production of insulin. Then, this â€Å"sticky† fragment is inserted into a plasmid, which is a circular piece of DNA in a bacterial cell. Then, the bacteria are stimulated to reproduce and they undergo mitosis, meanwhile replicating the human gene along with its own. Then, the insulin is produced by the bacteria which can be harvested and administered to the population in large quantities, quickly and efficiently (Watson 456-58). This is only one aspect in which gen e manipulation technology has influenced pharmaceuticals and the daily life of diabetics. Gene technology has also been used in other applications of medicine such as in gene therapy, cancer research, and genetic counseling. All have been made possible by the technological advances.