Mikes Bikes Sample Final Report Essays

Mikes Bikes Sample Final Report Essays Mikes Bikes Sample Final Report Paper Mikes Bikes Sample Final Report Paper The report is intended to outline details of varying factors that have influenced each years decisions for Bikes Bikes Bikes, which have resulted in both negative and positive impacts. With continuous improvement , the business is increasing at a steady rate. The firms goal was not only to achieve the highest SHIP in comparison to our competitors, but was also to appeal to the maximum number of potential consumers and in result achieve the highest market share within the industry. Through our dedication, willpower, and ambition the company has successfully been able to achieve many of the goals that we had set out for ourselves. Bikes Bikes Bikes started out with a SHIP of $10. 82 and is at a current stance of $42. 37. It has also effectively acquired the highest market share of 28. 9%, surpassing he closest competitor by a significant 7%. As at the beginning of 2015, the strategy that our business had decided to implement was the specialization of producing high quality and high priced bicycles. This strategy came to be through the extensive research conducted by the firms management team in which they discovered that the first set of bikes mountain bikes, had a medium sensitivity to quality and price. As previously mentioned, our goal revolves around providing our consumers with a high quality bike. Moreover, Bikes Bikes Bikes management team also focused extensively on the firms brand awareness and advertising to induce ore value and provide incentive for future consumers. After the steady development of mountain bikes, a new line of road bikes were launched in 201 8, followed by the introduction to a second segment of the road bike in 2019, and lastly a line to appeal to the youth community in 2020. The team critically analyzed multiple strategies and made decisions over the course of the past six years with plans that looked upon maximizing aspects such as SHIP, market share, quality and efficiency indexes and minimizing aspects that could be of potential harm such as debt, wastage, and unnecessary expenses. Although the firm incurred challenges at times, he company was able to encounter an incline at a constant rate in which was a direct result of carefully planned meetings that occurred twice a week.. Moreover, Bikes Bikes Bikes management team created and maintained OF 26 strong relationships with the market by providing generous support distribution. A detailed elaboration on the various decisions made by my team and will be elaborated on in the following report. Sincerely, Wayne Hang president CEO of Bikes Bikes Bikes AFFIRMATION STATEMENT Please read the following items after the completion of your assignment Once you have verified these points, please complete the statement. All team members have referenced and footnoted all ideas, words or other intellectual property from sources, other than the data provided in the multi- player version of Mikes Bikes, used in the completion of this assignment. 2. A proper bibliography has been included, which includes acknowledgement of all sources used to complete this assignment other than data provided in the multi-player version of Mikes Bikes. 3. This is the first time that any member of the team has submitted this assignment (either partially or entirely) for academic evaluation. 4. Each member of the team has read the full content of the submission and is assured that the content is free of violations of academic integrity. Team discussions regarding the importance of academic integrity have taken place. . Each student has identified his or her individual contribution to the work submitted such that if violation of academic integrity are suspected, then the student primarily responsible for the violations may be identified. Note that in this case the remainder of the team may also be subject to disciplinary action. The listed team members listed below have participated in the preparation of this assignment and no other individuals have contributed to this assignment except as acknowledged. Name : Wayne Hang 20574871 Section contributed : Title Page, Letter to the Board of Directors, Introduction to 2018-2020, Strategies and Tactics, Every Years Summary Conclusion, Financing Template Name : Seems El-Bach 20583252 Section contributed : Table of Contents, Introduction to 2017, Strategies and Tactics, Key Performance Indicators, SOOT Analysis, Closing Recommendations, Accounting Template Name : Christina Aka Way Chain 20577525 Section contributed : Annual Performance Analysis for 2015-2020, Introduction to 2016 and 201 9, Marketing Template Name: Honoring Chin 20550322 Section contributed: Introduction to 201 5, Strategies and Tactics Date : Friday, November 28th, 2014 TA: Susan Wang World: S 002 croup 004 Team 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Strategies, Results, and Analysis: 2015 Marketing, Operational, and Financial Strategies Firm Results and Analysis Summary Conclusions Strategies, Results, and Analysis: 2016 6 Strategies, Results, and Analysis: 2017 11 Strategies, Results, and Analysis: 2018 15 Us Mary Conclusions Strategies, Results, and Analysis: 201 9 20 Marketing Operational, and Financial Strategies Strategies, Results, and Analysis: 2020 24 us Mary conclusions: 2015-2020 28 Performance Indicators SOOT Analysis Recommendations to Board Appendix 33 STRATEGIES, RESULTS AND ANALYSIS: 2015 In 201 5, the firm had introduced a brand new management team in hopes of approaching the business from a new and differentiated perspective. They constructed and proposed multiple strategies the firm could potentially implement to achieve outstanding results. At the point of entry, the firm had established a SHIP of $10. 82, on par with other competitors in the market. Many of the offered strategies revolved around the important central goal that involved maximizing SHIP. To do so, a consensus was reached to adopt a gig quality strategy for the firms existing mountain bikes. Reaching this goal involved steps such as setting the price of the bike, Dave, above market average. However, by natural economics, an increase in price causes a decrease in demand, and thus the company planned to increase spending in areas like advertising and PR. In 2015, Bikes Bikes Bikes faced fierce competition with competitors who adopted similar strategies and fell slightly behind from the extra emphasis placed PR expense, which the mountain bike is minimally affected by. However, the firm did incur an increase in sales, SHIP, ND market share, despite the fact that it didnt reach the initial goals set out. The proceeding analysis will provide more depth as to why the company could not reach the goals set out to the highest extent. With regards to the marketing strategy, the firms priority was to raise product awareness and develop a high quality image for the mountain bike that it currently offers. This resulted in an increased expense in areas of advertising and PR. Although a heavy investment, the future benefits that it is to propose; such as increased sales will outweigh the money invested, and will eventually bring back profit. Often, quality is correlated with price. Goods that are priced higher than similar substitutes are often to assumed to have a characteristic that bring upon the distinction, in which it is often quality. Therefore, the firm decided to increase the price of the bike to $750. The increase in expenditures with respect to advertising and PR can also be justified by the price markup. It is more difficult to sell higher priced goods and therefore an extra effort should be taken to minimize loss of sales. At this point in time, the management team did not have the clearance level to make decisions revolving around operations. However, based on reports, seniors believed that it would be best to maintain a constant production level, slightly differing from the 18, 100 units produced in the prior year. Although the production remained consistent, the ending inventory at the end of the year had increased by 58%, forcing the firm to incur expenses associated with inventory storage. At this time, this is all that can be reported with respect to operations. Once again, the financial decisions for 201 5 were made by higher up management. The firm had began with a debt to equity ratio of 30%, in which it was incapable of paying this year due to lack of funding. However, the increase in retained earnings resulted in an increase in shareholders equity, immediately decreasing the debt percentage by 9%, to 210/6. Although no action was taken during this period, the management team is placing emphasis on the repayment of the debt as soon as possible as it will limit our expenses, with specific regards to interest. Firm Results and Analysis For the firms sole product line of mountain bikes, Bikes Bikes Bikes decided to increase the price from 5700 to $750 following its decision to implement a high price, low volume strategy to increase our sales revenue by 10%. Thus, he companys bikes are sold at the third highest price overall (second to two firms with a set price of 5770). Comparing the prices implemented this year to the common price of $700 last year, it appears that most firms also imposed a high price strategy. With a higher price, product demand was expected to decrease, so the firm invested more money towards advertising (of $1 million) and PR (of $700,000) to raise demand for the companys products in the market. Compared to the competitors, the firm had the third highest advertising budget and the highest for PR (at $1 00,000 more than the next leading firm). The objective here was to increase demand enough to generate more revenue by selling more bikes at a relatively higher price than all the other firms. Since the mountain bike is highly influenced by advertising opposed to PR, by spending more than most competitors in PR but not for advertising expense, the firm did not gain as much sales and market share as originally expected. From the overall decrease in demand, demand forecast accuracy also fell from 100% to 97%. In 2015, there was a total sales of $8,635,575. Similarly, cost of goods sold and gross margin fell to $4, 1 96,650 and $4,438,925 respectively. Coupled with the expenses of $2,334,931, the result was a net income of $1 ,373,478 ($94,452 less than 2014), which showed room for improvement in sales and expense management. This year, the firm placed fifth in net income in the industry, and the fourth highest in sales and cost of goods sold, but the highest in selling and distribution expenses. This lead to more cash being expended than earned as revenue, which impacted the firms profitability and placed the firm at the fourth highest in cash balance overall at $3,748,711. With a current asset value of $3,832,575, this signifies that the majority of the rims current assets is comprised of cash. Therefore, the firm is in a very good position to meet its short term obligations, as a current ratio of 6. 51 means having over 6 times more assets than liabilities due within the coming year. This is a significant Increase in liquidity from the current ratio of 3. 87 in 2014, as a result of $1 ,674,770 increase in current assets with only a $31 , 292 increase in current liabilities. Despite the overall decrease in net income this year, the firms return on sales, return on equity and gross margin percentage ratios increased from 2014 (by 0. 01%, 1. 83% and 2. 1% respectively). This means that the amount of generated income from each dollar of equity and sales is now greater, as well as a higher amount of revenue retained as gross profit this year. Out of all the firms, Bikes Bikes Bikes has the fourth highest value for each of the profitability ratios. This means that although our firm experienced more profitability this year, there is still much more to be done to keep the firm at a competitive advantage. Based on the companys overall performance, Bikes Bikes Bikes experienced an increase in SHIP of $1. 97, as well as an increase in earnings per share of 7 cents. The firm has the fifth highest increase in both categories out of the world (with even the next highest having growth of $1. 02 and 73 cents respectively). However, this signifies a relatively stale growth in comparison to all other competitors and a need to increase efforts in hopes of improving company performance. This year, our production remained at constant levels from 2014 (at 45% production, 15% wastage and 40% idle time). In the market, the firm had the fourth highest in production and subsequently the second highest in idle time percentage. As the wastage percentage is also linked to production, our firm as the second lowest wastage percentage out Of all the firms as well. Thus, we began with 150 units in inventory, produced 1 7,918 additional bike for sales and resulting with an ending inventory of 354 units. The firms inventory turnover ratio decreased from 71. 63 to 70. 2, which means the time needed to sell our inventory increased. Moreover, though carrying costs were forecasted at $4,306,804, the firm ended up with only $4,1 96,650 in the end. For all our operations and decisions this year, we decided to use cash as the only source of financing due to our objective of minimizing debt-to-equity Asia. Currently, due to the existing long term debt of SSL the debt to equity ratio was 0. 21 in 2015. In 2014, the firms debt-to-equity ratio was 0. 3, showing progress due to increased revenue. In comparison, most competitors have a lower debt-to-equity ratio at 0. 19, so it is important to further increase sales and decrease incurred debt in order to catch up with other firms. The companys main source of cash activity involved operating activities, including sales revenue, advertising, PR, salaries and other operating expenses. Our budgeted performance for 201 5 was an inflow of 1 ,884,943, though in actuality, our cash inflow from operations only amounted to $1 As expenditures Were controlled based on management decisions, one of the primary underlying reasons for the shortfall would be due to less revenue generated during the period than forecasted. Though no cash investing activities involving property, plant and equipment occurred, cash movement was present in financing activities. From the existing long term debt of $1 an interest expense of $80,000 was incurred. Coupled with the bank interest earned from cash, a final cash outflow of 321 ,873 occurred. To increase the amount of cash available to insane our operations, the firm should reduce cash outflow from debt and interest. Summary Conclusion TO restate, Bikes Bikes Bikes goal for the year of 2015 was to obtain a increase in sales. The strategy implemented to achieve this goal was correlated with the process of increasing advertising expenditures and production. After a thorough analysis, it was determined that Bikes Bikes Bikes was unsuccessful in achieving this goal because it did not meet the targeted sales revenue. It was specified that we would be able to achieve the goal if our sales had increased from $8,1 90,000 to $ 9,009,000. However, Bikes Bikes Bikes sales for the year had only reached $8,625,575. Moreover, in comparison to competitors, we placed 4th in sales ranking. Since the firm was incapable of living up to the goals, Bikes Bikes Bikes plans to improve this performance by carefully analyzing our information again and appropriately making decisions that will help the firm grow. STRATEGIES, RESULTS AND ANALYSIS: 2016 Following a year of steady performance in 2016, Bikes Bikes Bikes identified a need to further improve its operations in order to better compete within the market. The firm was unable to meet its goal of increasing revenue by 1 0%, ailing short by $383,425. Moreover, the firm ranked fourth in revenue and fifth highest out of all firms for SHIP at SSL 2,79 per share. To better the performance of the company while maximizing SHIP and market share, Bikes Bikes Bikes aims to increase the price of bikes as well as the branding budget in order to generate a higher level of sales. Moreover, by reducing unneeded expenditures like PR expense and excess production costs, the firm plans to maximize net earnings to put the company in a far more competitive and profitable position in the market in the future. Marketing, Operational, and Financial Strategies After critical analysis of 2015, the management team had strong evidence that competing firms had adopted similar high price strategies and that the 50$ increase was not enough. Therefore, a 5$ increase was implemented to be able to compete within the market. Also, the enticed investment in advertising was outshone by the larger investment of other firms. With respect to PR, Our firm incurred a useless expense as it became evident that mountain bikes have a low response rate. As a result, an increase in advertising was prominent and the immediate reduction of PR to O was implemented. This year the team had the opportunity to increase investment in branding. Since one of the firms main goals revolves around raising awareness, expenditures on branding are to have a significant impact, and therefore funds were allocated towards this expense. With consistency to maintaining a high quality image, Bikes Bikes Bikes focuses its strategies on having Sports and Bike stores stock our products. Sports and Bikes stores are often correlated with selling high priced quality bikes such as mountain and road bikes. With future plans to expand into the road bike segment, the team determined that it would be of present day and true value to offer support to these stores, in hopes of providing extra incentive to stock our bike line, and lines in the future. However, a malfunction occurred within the systems just as we were submitting the amounts and instead of transferring $75,000 and $300,000 to Bike Shops and Sports Stores respectively, the amounts submitted were 575 and $300. However, the firm plans to make a complete 360 and administer the accurate amounts in the coming days. Bikes Bikes Bikes decided to continue providing stores with 35% retailer margin as it provides them with higher incentive to stock our bike line. Again this year, the management team did not have the access needed to make financial decisions and therefore could not implement any strategies at this point in time. However, as shareholders equity continues to increase over the years, and the companys decision to not take out a loan has decreased the debt to equity ratio by 6%, bringing it down to 15% for this year. This year the firm experienced a significant increase in cash of 61 % from the 2015 balance, placing Bikes Bikes Bikes at an advantage since it acquires the second highest value. For the single bike line, Bikes Bikes Bikes decided to further increase the price o $755 in compliance with a high price, low volume strategy. Thus, the firms bikes now have the second highest price in the market. As a result, demand and sales volume for the firms bikes decreased further, from 17,714 units last year to 1 7,376 units. Our Performa sales amount was 18,148 units, so the actual result did not achieve the intended level and our demand forecast accuracy fell by 2%. In regards to advertising and PR, a decision was made to decrease the budgets to $950,000 and SO respectively. For advertising, this decrease caused the firm to now spend the second least in advertising. As a mountain bikes demand is minimally influenced by PR ratings, it was concluded that there would be no gain in allocating funds towards PR expense. Thus, the firm has an awareness rating increased from 0. 2 to 0. 22 (the fourth highest overall) and a PR rating of 0. 6, a 0. 04 drop from last year (now at fourth place in the industry). Regarding distribution, retailer margins were maintained at a 35-75 split of revenue with retailers (while other firms varied between sharing 25% or 40% with retailers). In terms of extra support, the firm decided to focus more on supporting sports stores, the most popular Handel to sell mountain bikes (at a support amount of $305 compared to $75 for bike stores and $50 for discount stores). Aside from one firm that chose to give SO of extra support, we provided the lowest amount of extra support. Overall, our firm provided the second most distribution support to retailer at $202,365, second only to the firm who spent $290,771 in total. Thus, the company now has a distribution rating of 0. 4 (which doubled from 201 5) and now has the second highest rating in the industry (only 0. 05 less than the leading firm). For sports stores in particular, 319 stores now stocking he companys bikes (14 more than 201 5) which is the third highest number overall. For bike and discount stores, the amount of stores stocking the firms products reached 76 and 201 stores respectively, the second highest amount of stores stocking for both. This year, production level was decreased from 17,918 units to 17,370 units to reduce expenses, ending inventory and carrying costs. The result was the firm having the fifth highest production percentage (at 43%, with the highest in the industry at 54%), the lowest wastage (at 14%, a 1% decrease from 201 6) and the highest idle time (at 42%). In the end, 348 units of ending inventory, and carrying costs of $4,1 17,843 were recorded, but no lost sales occurred (keeping the firms delivery rating at 1. 0 like all other firms). Inventory turnover ratio fell from 49. 57 to 5. This year, showing a far longer period of time to sell inventory, achieve sales and generate revenue (compared to 2015). By continuing to aim for a minimal debt-to-equity ratio, the firm only used cash to finance its operations this year as well. Overall, the firm experienced a increase in cash inflow from operations to $2,295,274 no activity in cash flow room investing and a decrease in cash outflow from financing o f $4,746 compared to 2015. This was due to increased sales revenue, reduced expenses as well as increased cash balance earning interest in the bank exceeding the interest expense from long term debt. In 201 6, the debt-to- equity ratio decreased from 0. 21 to 0. 15, which is relatively the second highest debt-to-equity ratio overall (the lowest being O. 13). In 201 6, the firm generated a net income of $1 from $8,527,272 in revenue, $4,117,843 in cost of goods sold, and $1,649,915 in expenses. Comparatively, this is the fifth highest revenue and cost of goods sold values of all firms (the highest with $1 1 in revenue and 54,71 6,443 in cost of goods sold). By reducing expenses on areas like PR by $685,026 in total, Bikes Bikes Bikes now has the lowest amount of expenses overall. The companys cash balance this year was $6,061 12, signifying an increase of $2,31 2,401 in cash from 2015. Thus, Bikes Bikes Bikes now has the second highest amount of cash in all. With a current assets balance of $6,143,583, this means that over 98% of the firms current assets is comprised of cash that can be used to pay off obligations and finance our operations. Despite an increase of $1 81 , 359 in current liabilities, the firms current ratio increased from 6. 51 to 7. 8 in 201 6, representing that the company is in an even better position to meet current obligations for the year while continuing its operations. This year, the firms return on sales and gross margin percentage increased by 3. 85% and O. 19% respectively. Incidentally, our return on equity ratio decreased by 5. 99%. As a result, the firm now has the third highest return on sales, gross margin percentage and return on equity ratios. This shows considerable room for improvement. The firms earnings per share increase d from $1. 37 to $1. 86, which is now the third highest in the world.

Sex and culture essays

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Trends and Challenges in Human Resource Management Essay a.Discuss how a complete performance management system differs from the use of annual performance appraisals. The performance management cycle begins with objective setting where the appraisee ought to be oriented about performance expectations for the given performance period. Throughout the period, performance is measured officially through the performance appraisal exercise, where the appraiser is given the chance to give performance feedback through an interview. The performance management system subsumes the performance appraisal process, and is meaningfully linked to rewards based on outcomes or results. Following all these, modifications are implemented to objectives and activities, including the drafting of an individual development plan for closing competency gaps (Clarke, Rogers, Miklos, 1996). 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Furthermore, holding a formal review interview places the organization on better legal ground in the event of a lawsuit (Field Holley, 1982). Normally, in most organizations a supervisor spends a few minutes with employees every six months to tell them about the scores they received during the most recent performance evaluation period. This process is probably the norm because most managers do not like to judge others; because of this dislike, they try to complete the evaluation process as quickly as possible (Field Holley, 1982).   Furthermore, seldom does evaluating employees benefit the supervisor. The best scenario is to hear no complaints, and the worst scenario is a lawsuit. In fact, one study demonstrated that dissatisfaction and a decrease in organizational commitment occurs even when an employee receives an evaluation that is â€Å"satisfactory† but not outstanding (Pearce Porter, 1986). Finally, in the â€Å"tell and sell† approach to performance appraisal interviews, a supervisor â€Å"tells† an employee everything she has done poorly and then â€Å"sells† her on the ways in which she can improve. This method, however, accomplishes little. There are certain techniques that will make the performance appraisal interview more effective, and these are discussed in the following sections. Both the supervisor and the employee must have time to prepare for the review interview. Both should be allowed at least 1 hour to prepare before an interview and at least 1 hour before the interview itself (Pearce Porter, 1986). The interview location should be a neutral place that ensures privacy and allows the supervisor and the employee to face one another without a desk between them as a communication barrier (Rhoads, 1997). Performance appraisal review interviews should be scheduled at least once every 6 months for most employees and more often for new employees. 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In summary, a performance management system encompasses the phases of performance planning, performance monitoring, performance feedback, and performance development. In performance planning, the goal of the superior is to ensure that all objectives, key performance indicators, and even resources for performance delivery are clear and understood. In performance monitoring, the supervisor aims to keep track of whether the employee is delivering in accordance with expectations. This is done through communication and progress tracking. The performance appraisal exercise is only one practice subsumed in this whole system, particularly under performance feedback giving. Finally, in the performance development phase, performance gaps are addressed through coaching, classsroom training, and other individual development initiatives. b.Discuss the advantages of managing turnover in organizations. Turnover has been linked with affective and continuance commitment. Each of the three distinct dimensions to organizational commitment: affective, continuance and normative commitment are defined (Meyer and Allen, 1997). 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Affective commitment – means an employee’s personal attachment and identification to the organization.   This results in a strong belief in an acceptance of the organization’s goals and values.   â€Å"Employees with a strong affective commitment continue employment with the organization because they want to do so† (Parà © and Tremblay, 2000, p. 5) 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Continuance commitment – is a tendency to engage in consistent lines of activity based on the individual’s recognition of the â€Å"costs† associated with discontinuing the activity.  Ã‚   â€Å"Employees whose primary link to the organization is based on continuance commitment remain because they need to do so.† (Parà © and Tremblay, 2000, p. 5) 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Normative commitment – provides that employees exhibit behaviours solely because they believe it is the right and moral thing to do. â€Å"Employees with a high level of normative commitment feel that they ought to remain with the organization.† (Parà © and Tremblay, 2000, p. 5) In their findings, Parà © and Tremblay provide that affective commitment and continuance commitment are negatively related to turnover intentions (Parà © and Tremblay, 2000, p. 6).   In addition to these two distinct types of commitment affecting turnover intention, their studies also points to the factor they call Organizational Citizenship Behaviour or OCB.   OCB is considered as a key element in organizational effectiveness.   OCB is defined as â€Å"an employee’s willingness to go above and beyond the prescribed roles which they have been assigned† (Parà © and Tremblay, 2000, p. 6, quoting from Organ 1990). Based on Parà © and Tremblay’s findings, the stronger the citizenship behaviour, the more likely they are to stay in their company.   In effect, those with high turnover intentions are not as committed as those who intend to stay long with the company. The Job Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham (1980) show that the job characteristics of skill variety, task identity, task significance, task autonomy, and feedback   are likewise linked to management of turnover. The five core job characteristics are in continuous interaction with individual differences that evoke three critical psychological states in an employee.   These three states are: 1) when the job is structured by skill variety, task identity and task significance this could lead employees to experience meaningfulness in their work. 2) The second state, task autonomy, which leads to feelings of responsibility for the outcomes of work. 3) The third and last state is feedback, which leads employees towards knowledge of the results of their work (Douthit 2000; Huber 2000). These three critical psychological states lead to a set of affective and personal outcomes:   high internal work motivation, high growth satisfaction, high general satisfaction, high work effectiveness, and low rate of absenteeism (Mohamed 2004; Donovan and Radosevich, 1998). These affective and personal outcomes are the results of en employee’s job characteristics.   They are defined as follows: High internal work motivation – this is the degree to which an employee is willing to work and to consider the organizational objectives as part of his or her own goals (Mohamed, 2004). High growth satisfaction – this is the achievement of the employee in overcoming challenges, succeeding and growing (Steers Black, 1994) High general satisfaction – this the feeling derived from the overall satisfaction with the work itself. â€Å"This type of satisfaction is reflected mainly in decreased rates of absenteeism among employees† (Steers Black, 1994). High work effectiveness – this refers to both the quality and quantity aspects of work performance (Hackman Oldham, 1980). Low rate of absenteeism. In other words, in managing retention and in effect managing these characteristics of the job, the organization shall have more motivated, more satisfied, more effective employees (Hackman Oldham, 1980). c.Examine contemporary safety and health management issues in the workplace. Workplace Safety: Information (2007) defines workplace safety as an environment encompassing all the factors that may have impact on the welfare of the employees in terms of safety working conditions and the health of laborers. Aspects that are given priorities are the hazards found in the surroundings, workplace areas, conditions and workplace process flowcharts. Other issues among employees regarding grooming, drug and alcohol abuse, absenteeism, horseplay and tardiness, violence and work output submissions are also covered. If there is one organization monitoring the activities of the safety in the workplace, it is the Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA). OSHA is focusing on three goals as its cornerstones in regulating safety practices in organizations. First, it improves the safety and health of the workers, from the top management to the bottom, to make sure that there would be less accidents, hazards, injuries, illnesses, and fatalities that will occur in the companies. Second, it operates by making changes in the workplace culture to heighten the awareness of both the employer and its workers in committing its involvement in the health and safety of the company populace. Third, it assures the security of public confidence in maintaining the delivery of OSHA’s programs and services. Looking at the federal guidelines, OSHA’s proposed programs are less tough and are user-friendly for different companies (Guastello, 1993). However, a common query among organizations is that the benefits of behaviour modification programs, such as incentives may not have lasting effects or may diminish over time (Guastello, 1993). Many agree that safety programs using incentives can be found in an existing and well-rounded comprehensive safety program. Based on OSHA, there are four elements of an effective safety and health program such as management commitment and employee involvement; worksite analysis; hazard prevention and control; and safety and health training. In all these elements of incentive programs employees’ participation can be recognised.   First, a number of employees can be heads of safety committees, worksite analyses, accident investigations and safety suggestions. Second, by assigning among them a supervisor hazard prevention and control may be strengthened since peers will follow anti-hazard rules in their workspace.Third, employees can be seen in the active attendance and participation in safety meetings through quizzes, interactive role-playing and roundtable discussions. Giving the employees the chance to participate and be recognised in effective safety programs, they would feel that it is a privilege to be part of the core group of safety culture in the family. At the same time the myriad of manuals and guidelines provided discussing safety workplace incentives will still be very useful in keeping the employees aware of the controls and measures that the company is undertaking for the welfare of the workers in general (Walker, 2007). Reduction in the number of accidents has been shown to be possible with the strict implementation of workplace behaviour modifications (Lund Aaro, 2004). Using safety incentives is just one of the ends to the ways of improving population’s safety behaviours. By introducing a safety culture scheme in the organization, individual and group motivational factors for safe behaviour, risk justification, and optimism in workplace are deemed to show great improvement (Williamson et al., 1997). In one way or another, these factors are crucial and are influenced by the reward system such as incentives by recognising the individuals who are putting their best efforts to their work and doing their jobs in a safe manner. Safety incentive programs generally have two categories: (1) injury/illness-based incentive programs and (2) behaviour-based incentive programs (Hinze, 2002). Injury/illness-based incentive programs are based on the number of times that an illness or injury is incurred and such occurrence will be the criterion in rewarding workers and crew members. The programs go along with the assumption that: (1) facilities and equipment used are in good condition and do not cause any accidents; (2) employees are given proper training and work knowledge in administering the use of office equipment; and (3) accidents are usually the results of worker’s negligence or compromise on safety (Smith, 1997). Meanwhile, behaviour-based incentive programs observe the workers in such a way that their attitude towards work is assessed. Previous studies have identified the means of measuring worker’s behaviour as a means for recognising safety performance (Duff et al., 1993). Examples of activities of behaviour that can be rewarded are active participation in safety meetings and training sessions, ability to give sound suggestions about the improvement of safety in the jobsite, proper use of personal equipment and other behaviour avoiding accidents (Geller, 1996). d.Also, include a discussion of future trends and challenges in HR management. Since the theories, approaches and practices for Human Resource Management can be traced back to Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management, trends can be expected. Some of the recent trends that are being observed are moonlighting, human resource outsourcing, and two of Charles Handy’s organizational models – Shamrock and Federal, respectively. Moonlighting is when an employee holds dual or multiple jobs at the same time. Many employees become moonlighters if they salary they get from their primary job is not enough. Moonlighting has its advantages too. It can reduce the rate of turnovers in industries where work is routinary and it can also be a means for a company to retain their employees. The downside of moonlighting is that the company risks losing confidential information to competitors. It can also lead to absenteeism due to exhaustion and burnout from both jobs (Tett Meyer, 1993). Outsourcing is one of the latest additions to the trends in human resource management. An organization seeks out sub contractual employees for either product design or manufacturing from a third-party organization at a lower cost. Outsourcing is good for small to medium-sized organizations that are growth oriented since it can provide the owners free time to focus on developing strategies to gain competitive edge (Ulrich, 1997). It can also help transform the business by increasing the flexibility of the organization to meet the changing conditions, demands for products and services and technologies. It also makes the experts available for you. By outsourcing experts, you are able to improve your risk management and control over the business. Your credibility can also be improved since you do have the best in the field working for you. You also gain a network by associating your organization to the provider. Charles Handy’s organizational models are being practiced by enterprises depending on the nature of their industry (Armstrong, 2003). With these models, organizations can be flexible with their organizational structure in order to ensure their competitive edge. The Shamrock model or clover model consist of three main levels that represent a different type of organizational objectives: the core, the contractual fringe, and the flexible workforce. The core is basically the thinking part of the model. They are the ones that possess the most knowledge about the field and are the most paid. The contractual fringe is the part of the model that provides materials and service inputs to the core. The flexible workforce is responsible for the workload itself. Though these three workforces or parts need to be managed separately and differently, the organization has three different parts with varying responsibilities and expectations and yet work to achieve the same goal. In the Federal model, power is distributed and it is about building high commitment, professional organizations. The federal is a bit complex. It is decentralized but at the same time centralized when the situations calls for it. It is a system of small core organizations with much focused core competencies sustained by many resources available to them. It is also believed that in order to improve productivity a strong social agreement between the organization and the union and a good social welfare system is a must. Although more and more trends come to pass to keep up with the changes, more and more conflicting issues arise too. Selecting who to hire is becoming a more complex task. Training and developments are hard to keep up with since more technological improvements are made and competition is getting stiffer by the minute. Maintaining current employees is proving to be one of the top human resource managers’ problems, since more organizations try to outdo each other in regards to the compensation and benefits they offer to their would-be and existing employees. Diversity within the workplace is posing to be a relevant issue for the human resource department (Chen, 2007). Motivation and loyalty of employees is a perennial contemporary issue for the human resource manager. Mergers, acquisition, turnovers, and consolidation happen more often, and throughout all these, strategic human resource management is necessary to ensure continued delivery of objectives amidst turbulent change. References Armstrong, M. (2003). A handbook of human resource management practice. London: Kogan Page. Cederbloom, D. (1982). The performance appraisal interview: A review, implications, and suggestions. Academy of Management Review, 7, 219-227. Chen, A. (2007). The challenges of human resource management. Retrieved April 9, 2008 from http://ezinearticles.com. Clarke, D., Rogers, V. Miklos, S. (1996). Upward appraisal: Does it make a difference? Paper presented at the 11th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, St. Louis, MO. Donovan, J.J. Radosevich, D. (1998). The moderating role of goal commitment on the goal difficulty–performance relationship: a meta-analytic review and critical re-analysis. Journal of applied psychology, 83, 308–15. Douthit, M.W., (2000). Job satisfaction returns to human and social capital. Journal of behavioral and applied management, 2000, 1(1), 67. Duff, A. R., Robertson, I. T., Cooper, M. D., Phillips, R. and United Kingdom Health Safety Executive (HSE). (1993). Improving safety on construction sites by changing personnel behaviour (HSE Contract Research Report No.51/ 1993). Field, H. S., Holley, W. H. (1982). The relationship of performance appraisal system characteristics to verdicts in selected employment discrimination cases. Academy of Management Journal, 25, 392-406. Geller, E. (1996). The psychology of safety: How to improve behaviours and attitudes on the job, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company. Guastello, S. (1993). Do we really know how well our occupational accident programs work? Safety Science, 16, 445-463. Hackman, J.R. Oldham, G.R. (1980). Work design. Reading, Massachusetts, Addison–Wesley, 1980, 114–21. Hinze, J. (2002). Safety incentives: Do they reduce injuries? Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, 7(2), 81-84. Kelly, C. M. (1984). Reasonable performance appraisals. Training: Development, 38(1), 79-82. King, P. (1984). Performance planning and appraisal. New York: McGraw-Hill. Kingstrom, P.O., Bass, A. R. (1981). A critical analysis of studies comparing behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS) and other rating formats. Personnel Psychology, 34, 263-289. Lund, J. Aaro, L. (2004). Accident prevention: Presentation of a model placing emphasis on human, structural, and cultural factors. Safety Science, 42, 271–324. Meyer, J.P.    Allen, N.J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace. Sage Publications. Mohamed, A.H. (2004, May) Using the job characteristics model to compare patient care assignment methods of nurses, 10(3), 389-405. Parà ©, G. and Tremblay, M. (2000).   The measurement and antecedents of turnover intentions among IT professionals.   Scientific Series.   Ciprano.   September 2000. Pearce, J. L., Porter, L. W. (1986). Employee responses to formal performance appraisal feedback. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 211-218. Rhoads, C. (1997). A year-round schedule said to take sting out of performance reviews. American Banker, 162(28), 6. Smith, T.A. (1997) What’s wrong with safety incentives? Professional Safety, May, 44. Steers, R.M. Black, J.C. (1994). Organizational behavior, 5th ed. New York, Harper Collins. Tett, R. P., Meyer, J.P. (1993). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover: Path analyses based on meta analytic findings. Personel Psychology, 46, 259-293. Ulrich, D. (1997). Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston, Mass.:Harvard Business School Press. Walker, J. (2007). ABCs of safety incentives: Positive consequences to behaviour. Facility Safety Management. Retrieved April 10, 2008 from http:// www.fsmmag.com/Articles/2005/12/ABCs%20of%20Safety%20Incentives%20Positive%20Consequences%20to%20Behaviour.htm. Werner, J. M., Bolino, M. C. (1997). Explaining U.S. Courts of Appeals decisions involving performance appraisal: Accuracy, fairness, and validation. Personnel Psychology, 50(1), 1-24. Williamson, A., Feyer, A., Cairns, D. Biancotti, D. (1997). The development of a measure of safety climate: The role of safety perceptions and attitudes. Safety Science, 25(1-3), 15-27. Workplace Safety: Information. (2007). Workplace safety: Information and much more from Answers.com. Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://www.answers.com/topic/workplace-safety?cat=biz-fin.

Essay --

The Physics of the Mangonel Catapult Catapults have been used for centuries by many groups of people, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. Catapults have had an assortment of purposes, but the most commonly purpose was to launch a projectile to destroy castles and soldiers. There were three main types of catapults; Ballista, Mangonel, and the Trebuchet. The mangonel was the most popular one. Different levels of torsion in the rope of the mangonel catapult decided how far a projectile was going to travel. Also the different objects that were used as projectiles and there masses also had a big role in the distance they would reach. If physics weren’t applied to building a catapult the catapult itself wouldn’t function correctly, therefore physics is what brings these machines to life. Though catapults are no longer used today in combat or any other use they still have a great history behind them. The mangonel catapult was the most well known one. The way this catapult functioned was by pulling back on a wooden stick that was connected to a wooden arm with a bucket, would pull that arm back. Pulling back on the wooden stick would cause the potential energy of the catapult to be stored in the torsion of the ropes of the wooden arm. When the wooden stick was let go the arm wood immediately return to its original position of 90 degrees where a wooden block would stop its impact and would then launch the projectile. When the arm reaches back to its original position it forms an arc with a radius equal to the arm length. Therefore the potential energy is transferred into rotational kinetic energy. Decreasing the torsion in the ropes of the wooden arm would make the projectile travel at a slower velocity. To calculate the t... ...ed. Another disadvantage is that the mangonel was not that accurate. The range was determined by the mass of the object and the strength of the catapult itself. Catapults were the weapon of the medieval times. The catapults had many purposes especially during war. Physics were applied to the building of a catapult without it the catapult wouldn’t function. The different levels of torsion would affect the catapults ability to launch a projectile higher into the sky, further, and give it a faster velocity. Also the different masses of objects used as the projectile were also accounted for those things. Though the mangonel catapult was a great catapult it also lacked some abilities, such as having poor accuracy and it wouldn’t work in wet conditions or cold weather like in the rain. Overall the mangonel is a great catapult and always has been over the past centuries.

Communication in Health & Social Care Essay

1. Understand why effective communication is important in the work setting 1.1 – Identify the different reasons people communicate To express needs; to share ideas and information; to reassure; to express feelings; to build relationships; socialise; to ask questions; to share experiences People communicate in order to establish and maintain relationships with others, to give and receive information and instructions, to understand and be understood, to share opinions, knowledge, feelings, emotions, to give encouragement and show others they are valued. see more:people from different backgrounds Communication is an essential tool a carer can use to meet the needs of those they are caring for. It is a basic requirement of my job role to communicate with individuals and their families, other members of staff on a daily basis. Communicating with other staff members ensures effective team working and continuity of care. It also ensures any health and safety issues are recognised and reported. All carers attend hand over at the beginning of each shift and also complete communication books after attending an individual, thereby keeping other staff informed and aware of current situations within the workplace. Individuals communicate with carers to express their needs and preferences and to ensure they are met. As a carer I would discuss the options and choices available to the individual to allow them an informed choice regards their care. 1.2 – Explain how communication affects relationships in the work setting Effective communication is more than just talking, and is essential for the well-being of the individuals you care for. It includes body language, gestures, facial expressions, positioning and appearance. It is important to be aware of non-verbal communication when interacting with individuals at work. Communication is a fundamental relationship-building skill in the workplace. If people don’t communicate well they limit their ability to connect on any meaningful level and, at the extreme, can create conflict. Positive communication skills like listening, open questions, calm tone of voice. These help bring people together because they are behaviours that lead to creating relationships. Workplace relationships also become a lot stronger when people can clearly and effectively communicate what they need and allow others to do the same. 2. Be able to meet the communication and language needs, wishes and preferences of individuals 2.2 – Describe the factors to consider when promoting effective communication It is impossible to do without communication in health and social care, we have many reasons to communicate and it is essential communication is done effectively without misunderstanding others or being misunderstood. We communicate with: Patients, residents, clients, Health care professionals, Managers and supervisors, Family and friends. Factors to consider: – that most communication is non-verbal, that information must be factual and concise and not be littered with personal opinions (and documented in the same manner). Documented care should be dated, timed and signed. This last point is particularly important when maintaining medication records). There are many other factors to consider when promoting effective communication such as: – environment – is the location correct, it is noisy, do you need privacy, is the communication able to flow freely whilst doing a task or is a formal place required. – proximity – the better you know a person the closer you will be and sharing information is easier – closeness can encourage effective communication. Do you need to reposition yourself or say chairs around you to ensure you make effective use of the space around you so it is not a barrier to communication. – body positioning/body language – do you need to lean towards the person to encourage communication and show them you are interested but going too close can be invading someone’s â€Å"space†. Standing directly in front of someone may be interpreted as being too direct. Body language needs to be considered – arms crossed can be perceived as defensive and not open to communication. Standing over a person may also seem intimidating – do you need to kneel down onto someone’s level. – touch – A light touch on a person’s arm or hand can communicate caring and understanding, but sometimes touch can feel intrusive, even threatening. Touch is a safeguarding issue and you must never impose yourself physically on a vulnerable adult. You also need to consider the method of communication and what is the best way for effective communication such as – written (emails, texts, letters, reports etc), verbal (face to face or over telephone). You will also need to consider cultural differences when promoting effective communication. Acknowledging and responding to the cultural aspects of a person’s identity and care needs are strategies that are likely to enhance communication. Avoid general assumptions that beliefs about issues such as diet, personal care practices, sleeping arrangements and ‘health’ are shared by all service users. Another factor is language differences – Language is a central feature of any communication process. There is often an assumption in care settings that the language of the dominant culture should be used, which in most cases is English. Where care professionals are involved, this may also include use of technical health or social care jargon. Avoid using jargon where possible as it can confuse service users who are unfamiliar with the specialist terms. Physical difficulties influence the way individuals are able to communicate. This is another factor to consider. You need to be sensitive to the specific needs of individuals so communication is facilitated from the start. For example, if a person has difficulty enunciating (speaking clearly) following a stroke, allow enough time for a conversation to take place, check frequently that you are receiving their message correctly and reassure the person that they don’t need to rush. You also need to fact in those people with hearing difficulties or those who are visually impaired. You need to consider whether the person’s hearing aid is in and working, speaking clearly and concisely, ensure you speak directly to the person’s face or in front of them. Use facial expressions to aid understanding. With visually impaired ensure you introduce that you are there before launching into a conversation, use light touches on the body to let someone know you are there and make sure clearly end a conversation and let the person know if you are leaving. 3. Be able to overcome barriers to communication 3.1 – Explain how people from different background may use and/or interpret communication methods in different ways Diversity is something to be celebrated however everyone being different can cause issues with communication. We are all different and interpret information in different ways so we need to ensure we consider peoples differences when communicating. Cultural differences can mean people interpret communication differently. What is acceptable in one culture may not be in another e.g. a handshake between a man and woman may not be allowed, addressing the opposite sex may not be allowed, personal care of the opposite sex may not be allowed. People may also not be competent in communicating effectively – they may not have had a formal education or have special educational needs therefore it is important to consider how that individual can interpret information and in turn communicate themselves. In simple terms a person’s personality also affects how they communicate and respond to communication. A quiet introverted person may not be heard about a loud extrovert person. Also that person may not be able to digest information in a room that is full of loud, noisy people. Similarly a person who likes noise and a room full of chatter may not prefer a quiet environment and could â€Å"switch off†.

Community, Responsibility, and Guilt

Community, Responsibility, and Guilt The novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells the story of Santiago Nasar's death. More importantly it tells the story of what values and honor mean to a community and to what extent one can go to maintain that standard. A central theme in the novel is how a society can pressurize its people to act and behave in a certain way. They feel bound by a standard that if not kept, then it will bring shame to their family. In the novel, after her husband returns Angela Vicario to her family on their wedding night, she admits that it is Nasar that had aken her virginity.Her brothers, Pablo and Pedro, viscously murder Nasar to regain their sister's and familys honor. In this society a man or woman without honor is an outcast to the community and to the culture. Almost everyone in the community knew what was going to happen but no one did anything about it. Everyone in the community had excuses to why they did nothing to help. Excus es stating that they didn't believe it would really happen or that they Just didn't know what to do. Each person seemed to Just hope that someone else would do it; someone else would stop hem, and didn't want to take responsibility.The novel reflects how a community can victimize individuals within its society causing detrimental affects to both the general public and the specific individuals involved. The novel looks into the Latin American culture and how its cultural norms and the importance of honor effects the entire community. The principles that obligates the Vicario family and the community conducts the murder of a most likely innocent Santiago Nasar and burdens Pedro and Pablo with the duty to defend the family honor.In this culture, honor of a woman's purity does not only belong to the female individually but the honor belongs to the family as well. To not be pure can bring shame on the family name in the eyes of the entire community. So much so that keeping ones honor is more important than been truthful and keeping Godly values. This double standard makes it okay for a women to deceive their husband into thinking that they're virgins. We see this in the novel, page thirty-eight, where Angela is taught old wives tricks to fake her virginity on her wedding night and told that it is ommon that women have to do this.The community consists of both Latin culture and Arab culture ranging for different social classes. However, as stated in the lecture notes, both cultures connect through religion. Both the Latin and Arab cultures in the novel are Catholic. The Catholic religion is very important to all the members of the community. Cultural beliefs, traditions, and rituals form the Catholic Church influence the roles of the family. The novel presents a break down in religion. A break down in religion causes a break down in family values. This is why almost a ouble standard is seen with the communitys values.In the book, the Bishop never comes ashore to giv e his blessing, acting as if he is to good to stand with the people of the community and seems to Just be going through the motions. Another example is how Father Amador is told about the plan to murder Santiago but he never tries to stop it blaming it on being busy and not knowing what to do. If a leader of the church church do it either? The novel stress the importance of the Catholic Church and practicing church tradition, but at the same time there is stress to put all that aside or the sake of honor.To defend ones honor, it is okay to lie and murder as long as it is Just. It is even okay to make excuses for guilt. â€Å"No one even wondered whether Santiago Nasar had been warned, because it seemed impossible to all that he hadn't† (Marquez, p. 20). Everyone had an excuse for why they didn't get involved. They felt they didn't have to do anything because someone else would do it. Another double standard is how men having premarital sex at the brothel or prostitution house seems to be acceptable in the community but a woman having sexual relations efore marriage is what is wrong.The community is collectively thinking. No one is standing up as an individual. So then when everyone decides to stay silent the effects of their actions intern breaks down the community responsibility to its members causing havoc for many of the characters and the public as a whole. Having honor and commitment to the family and community is major theme of the Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Societal responsibility is different for men and women. â€Å"The boys were brought up to be men. The girls had been reared to get married† (p. 31).The community emphasizes a machismo culture. The women are taught to have suffered, be pure and be compliant to men. Men are taught to show and prove their masculinity and to be dominating. Society fails to care for and victimizes Santiago Nasar. However, I feel that the other characters are somewhat victims as well. Santiago, most likel y innocent, is victimized because he is slaughtered for deflowering Angela Vicario. Pedro and Pablo are victims because they are bound by honor and duty to regain their familys honor by killing the man believed to have taken it. So he ut the knife in his hand and dragged him off almost by force in search of their sister's lost honor. â€Å"There's no way out of this,† he told him. â€Å"It's as if it had already happened† (Marquez p. 61). This quote shows how the Vicario brothers are ruled by their cultural beliefs and feel that they have to do the deadly deed to be respected. Other examples are the hypocritical gender differences, which makes Angela a victim; and Bayardo is a victim due to the cultural expectation of having a pure wife and if she is not then he has to return her and face the embarrassment.This victimization of many of the characters is because they are all bound by the rules of their community's culture leaving them with no other outcome. Santiago is easily victimized because he was never told that he was going to be killed. He was a sitting duck unaware of the hidden predators waiting to slaughter him. This victimization was because no one in the community took responsibility and in the end their society felt that the murder was Just due to family duty and the regaining of ones honor.The structure of the story is told by an anonymous narrator who was there at he time of the scandal and returns years later to recollect information of how the murder of Santiago Nasar came to be. The narrator was apart of the community; in the novel the reader is told that he is a friend of Santiago Nasar and many of the other characters and we are told who his family members are as well. The narrator to is guilty like the rest of the community for not taking charge and helping to stop the murder of Nasar. He never mentions himself taking part in the responsibility to save Santiago or stop the Vicario brothers.He portrays the community as being au sing a double standard between genders. Men are masculine and dominate and women are submissive and taught to please the man. Overall he shows how the community's responsibility for each other falls apart. The reader finds out information on Santiagds death and how it came about through a series of ways: directly, indirectly, through associations, and hearing it talked about. In the novel, time Jumps from past to future throughout the five chapters and we are given different accounts of the events from various people in the community reconstructing the details of Santiagds murder.This adds more emotional effects in understanding the community obligations that lead to the murderous deed, but it also leaves the readers with a lot of questions and assumptions. Chronicle of a Death Foretold tells the story of a commun. This novel underscores how religious beliefs and cultures can nurture a warped sense of honor and values. In the novel the characters believe they are doing the right thi ng, but in actuality they go against the values of their religion that they claim is so important. Honor is above all and put above their very sense of right and wrong.

Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essays

Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essays Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essay Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essay Title: Exploitation relevant theories and illustrations from administrations with which you are familiar, explicate why squad work is so of import to modern-day administrationsThe Hawthorne Studies [ 1 ] by Elton Mayo and associates, followed by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations [ 2 ] in the 1950s emphasised the importance of societal interactions/relationships at work, and how these affect public presentation, i.e. working in groups can profit productiveness. Teams are different from other work groups because they are established for specific intents and are a unit’ with shared ends. They have been defined as a figure of people – normally merely a few- with different backgrounds, accomplishments and cognition, and drawn from assorted countries of the organisation who work together on a particular and defined task ( Drucker, 1999 ) [ 3 ] .Initially squad working was associated with bettering quality of working life by providing for employee’s intrinsic demands, e.g. morale, liberty, etc. However, squad working is now recognised as imperative to derive competitory advantage through improved quality, problem-solving/creativity because complex concern environments mean that procedures associated within most industries, e.g. fiscal, fabrication, etc. are normally excessively hard for an single employee to transport out efficaciously.The term tends to mention to the self-managing work units and flow-line engineering that are associated with Nipponese corporations such as Toyota and Nissan and direction thoughts such as entire quality direction, quality circles, just-in-time, etc. Teams normally dominate where merchandise innovation/design are considered imperative to organizational success, e.g. car, chemical industries ( Marchington 1992 ) [ 4 ] . In recent old ages, a greater application of teamwork rules has developed in the service and public sector, e.g. call-centres, teleworking ( Cohen, et Al, 1996 ) . [ 5 ] Proctor and Currie ( 2002 ) [ 6 ] show how squad working was successful in the Inland Revenue through back uping single employee identity’ within the purposes set out for the squad as a whole unit. Clark ( 1995 ) [ 7 ] and Bloisi et Al ( 2003 ) [ 8 ] point out how those corporations show greater success that choose a squad attack in battling challenges instead than single enterprises ; non merely between directors and subsidiaries, but bes ides between providers, investors, clients and other such external agentsAs Oakland ( 2002 ) [ 9 ] notes, squad working is a effect of downsizing, delayering and decentralisation and is as a agency to undertake the troubles originating from countries of end struggle and diverseness that are seen as hindering the aims of the administration ; workers are frequently encouraged to go team’ participants in order to go united in accomplishing corporate ends ( Thompson A ; Wallace, 1996 ) [ 10 ] .Overall, squad working brings greater flexibleness, quality and consciousness in the face of increasing competition. It allows increased communications and co-operation throughout administrations for new developments to win. Arkin ( 1995 ) [ 11 ] explains how Yardley Cosmetics recognised the demand for a move from a traditional functional hierarchy, to one where a demand to better communications and co-operation, every bit good as employee investing, resulted in greater squad working to be tter client services and quality.There is a demand to bear in head that there are assorted contextual factors involved in whether squad working will be successful, e.g. corporate history, worker orientations, control systems at work, engineering, etc. However, as Oakland ( 2002 ) [ 12 ] points out, if the administration has an overall scheme and positive clime, every bit good as construction and mechanisms for the acknowledgment of each single part teams improve procedures, bring forthing consequences rapidly and economically ( Oakland, 2002 ) [ 13 ] . In big corporations, e.g. Motorola and Hewlett-Packard, these types of systems have been established and allow squads to develop when a new challenge emerges.Team working is a agency to augment and better on the constructions that already exist in such administrations and as Hill ( 2003 ) [ 14 ] points out, Without teamwork it is virtually impossible to do and implement high-quality decisions in today’s composite concern enviro nments. Finally, as Oakland ( 2003 ) [ 15 ] argues, betterments to treat jobs can merely be efficaciously dealt with through teamwork through pooling skills/knowledge, improved job resolution and greater occupation satisfaction.Bibliography:Arkin, A. ( 1995 ) More than merely a decorative change’ .Peoples Management. 1: ( 8 ) pp.30-31Bloisi, W. , Cook, C. W. A ; Hunsaker, P. L. ( 2003 )Management and organizational behavior.London: Mcgraw-Hill EducationBuchanan, D. ( 2000 ) An tidal bore and digesting embracing: the on-going rediscovery of squad working as a direction idea’ . In Proctor, S. A ; Mueller, F. ( Eds. ) Team working( 2000 ) London: Macmillan Press.Clark, J. ( 1995 )Pull offing invention and alteration. London: Sage Publications.Cohen, S. , Ledford, C. and Spreitzer, G. ( 1996 ) A prognostic theoretical account of self-managing work squad effectiveness’ .Human Relations. 49 ( 5 ) pp.643-76.Drucker, P. F. ( 1999 )Management: undertakings, duties, pat terns. Oxford: Butterworth-HeinemannDyer, W. G. ( 1987 )Team edifice issues and options.United statess: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. p.7Hill, L. A. ( 2003 )Becoming a director: how new directors master the challenges of leading. Boston: Harvard Business School PressMarchington, M. ( 1992 )Pull offing the squad.Oxford: BlackwellOakland, J.S. ( 2002 )Entire organizational excellence: achieving first public presentation.Oxford: Butterworth-HeinemannProctor, S. A ; Currie, G. ( 2002 ) How squad working plants in the Inland Revenue: significance, operation and impact’ .Forces Review, vol.31, no. 3. pp.304-319.Thompson, P. A ; Wallace, T. ( 1996 ) Redesigning production through squad working: instance surveies from the Volvo Truck Corporation’. International Journal of Operations and Production Management.16 ( 2 ) pp.103-181

The History and Evolution of Suburbs

The History and Evolution of Suburbs Suburbs are generally spread out over greater distances than other types of living environments. For instance, people may live in the suburb in order to avoid the density and untidiness of the city. Since people have to get around these vast stretches of land automobiles are common sights in suburbs. Transportation (including, to a limited extent, trains and buses) plays an important role in the life of a suburban resident who generally commutes to work. People also like to decide for themselves how to live and what rules to live by. Suburbs offer them this independence. Local governance is common here in the form of community councils, forums, and elected officials. A good example of this is a Home Owners Association, a group common to many suburban neighborhoods that determines specific rules for the type, appearance, and size of homes in a community. People living in the same suburb usually share similar backgrounds with regard to race, socioeconomic status, and age. Often, the houses that make up the area are similar in appearance, size, and blueprint, a layout design referred to as tract housing, or cookie-cutter housing. History of Suburbs Suburbs are not a modern concept, as this 539 BCE clay tablet letter from an early suburbanite to the king of Persia makes clear: Our property seems to me the most beautiful in the world. It is so close to Babylon that we enjoy all the advantages of the city, and yet when we come home we stay away from all the noise and dust. Other early examples of suburbs include areas created for lower class citizens outside of Rome, Italy during the 1920s, streetcar suburbs in Montreal, Canada created during the late 1800s, and the picturesque Llewellyn Park, New Jersey, created in 1853. Henry Ford was a big reason why suburbs caught on the way they did. His innovative ideas for making cars cut manufacturing costs, reducing the retail price for customers. Now that an average family could afford a car, more people could go to and from home and work everyday. Additionally, the development of the Interstate Highway System further encouraged suburban growth. The government was another player that encouraged movement out of the city. Federal legislation made it cheaper for someone to construct a new home outside of the city than to improve upon a preexisting structure in the city. Loans and subsidies were also provided to those willing to move to new planned suburbs (usually wealthier white families). In 1934 the United States Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an organization intended to provide programs to insure mortgages. Poverty struck everyones life during the Great Depression (beginning in 1929) and organizations like the FHA helped to ease the burden and stimulate growth. Rapid growth of suburbia characterized the post-World War II era for three chief reasons: The economic boom following World War IIThe need for housing returning veterans and baby boomers relatively cheaplyWhites fleeing the desegregation of urban cities brought on by the civil rights movement (the White Flight) Some of the first and most famous suburbs in the post-war era were the Levittown developments in the Megalopolis. Current Trends In other parts of the world suburbs do not resemble the affluence of their American counterparts. Due to extreme poverty, crime, and lack of infrastructure suburbs in developing parts of the world are characterized by higher density and lower standards of living. One issue arising from suburban growth is the disorganized, reckless manner in which neighborhoods are built, called sprawl. Because of the desire for larger plots of land and the rural feel of the countryside, new developments are infringing upon more and more of the natural, uninhabited land. The unprecedented growth of population in the past century will continue to fuel the expansion of suburbs in the coming years.

Six Global Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Six Global Issues - Essay Example The absolute sovereignty exemplary is not state centric but nation centric, for the real size of the state remains to be a domestic problem. The mix of public and private scopes, and between domestic and international trade, stay determined with more justice and efficiency when they get determined at national level, without interference from outside. As a dynamic model, absolute sovereignty generates stronger relationships between nations and their own peoples – whatsoever form that picks. The model terminates top and down globalization, organizational infringements of sovereignty and foreign military interventions (Romaine, 2002). For states to withstand, they must re - engross with their only true population: domestic citizens. The United States, United Kingdom, France with other European nations preach about â€Å"freedom,† but candid freedom begins, as â€Å"freedom from coercion, foreign pressure, or occupations, whether political, financial or military. Only with â€Å"freedom from† interference from foreign forces can a nation involve in â€Å"freedom to† develop independent political forms, based on political culture and local conditions (Smith, 2005). (2) Effects of transnational organized crime on state sovereignty The new situation of organized crime enables people to differentiate certain facts, which imply considerable challenges to the governance of sovereign states. However, it should be remembered that transnational organized crimes remain not colossal, but rather a diversified, compound and multidimensional phenomenon where partnership between groups is more common than confrontation. It has different displays in specific countries and stays perceived differently throughout space and time. It does not function homogeneously nor does it have a perpetual degree of impact on people, state agencies and non governmental bodies throughout the world (Albanese, 2003). The first impact of organized crime relates to sovereign ty, an old concept that continues to dominate the domain of relations between different states. States stay separated by borders, which not only apportion each state physically but also mark different legal systems, politics, cultures and levels of economic development (U.N, 2004). Eroded against this remain the criminal organizations which, as a result of their transnational and illegal nature, ignore the sovereignty of the victim states and have no reverence for borders as much as their illegal businesses. Their plans for development are not apprehensive with the idea of state jurisdiction but on the tide of trustworthy goods and people who provide earnings. If they think of state borders, this stands always in terms of either their specific markets with prospects for illegal earnings and specific criminal law systems of differing levels of risks, or the confusing of the trails of illegal activities through the international partition of work (Dougan, 2007). (3) Regulation of immi gration Migration refers to the relocation of people from one state to another legally or illegally for a long of lifetime duration. Since human beings have wandered in search of food and better living standards, they have migrated from place to place around the world. However, global migration is a relatively new development.it is only in early 20th century that the system of nation-states, visas and passports developed to regulate the movement of citizens across borders (Somerville, 2007). Global migration is the

Marketing is more of an art than a science Essay

Marketing is more of an art than a science - Essay Example is author highlights that most individuals in a group will conform to group norms and principles, thus making it easier to make â€Å"valid and reliable predictions† about human behaviour and consumption decision-making (Bartels 1951, p.320). When attempting to gauge or predict human behaviour based on mathematical models, human behaviour in this case is no longer considered an inconsistency in a scientific equation since social conformity is predictable and known to occur on the back of many empirical studies. This phenomenon then validates such scientific approaches to marketing such as the Product Life Cycle model in certain markets as social compliance provides consistency that allows for quantitative research methodology when behaviour is no longer a variable. The socially-driven trends inherent to human behaviour make it possible to create an effective mathematical equation to predict demand both short- and long-term that will lead, ultimately, to operational efficiencie s and future time-to-market demands for new innovations. There are, however, many marketing practitioners that would strongly disagree with the validity of a scientific approach to marketing. Egan (2009, p.32) believes that science â€Å"has damaged marketing’s relevancy† as data and research methodology are often superimposed over practical judgment and analyses of market conditions. Peter and Olson (1983) actually state that empirical analysts in marketing are deluded, negating the necessity for subjective inference to understand consumer attitudes and market-perceived belief in product or service quality. How, however, can this be justified? Consumers often maintain egotistical relationships with a brand, that is, until the consumer has found a psychologically-based connection to a brand. When...Peter and Olson (1983) actually state that empirical analysts in marketing are deluded, negating the necessity for subjective inference to understand consumer attitudes and market-perceived belief in product or service quality. How, however, can this be justified? Consumers often maintain egotistical relationships with a brand, that is, until the consumer has found a psychologically-based connection to a brand. When brand attachments occur, consumers are more willing to discard egocentric brand relationships and develop supporting brand connections that fuel positive word-of-mouth advertising (Muniz and O’Guinn 2001; Aron, Aron and Smollan 1992). These relationships are founded on psychographic brand positioning that takes into consideration attitude, lifestyle and psycho-social characteristics of consumers. Unpredictable and non-universal human behavioural components conflict the relevancy of using scientific approaches and, instead, marketers transcend the tangibles of product and service by utilising integrated communications that involve language emphasising sophistication, sincerity, excitement, and competence. According to Aaker (1996) the aforementioned communications conceptions are necessary to create positive psychological attachments to a brand. Science simply cannot effectively represent the complexity of human attitude that is highly relevant to whether brand loyalty is achieved.