Research for the Financial Risk Management Problems of Small and Literature review

Research for the Financial Risk Management Problems of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise in China - Literature review Example Similarly, Allen warns that investors who fail to adopt the correct strategies in handling the identified risks always face severe consequences. To support his ideology, he says that the economic depletion of 2008 came out because of the then major financial firms failing to adopt the correct strategies of managing loose credit. Mulz 2011 (pg. 7) defines financial risk management as the aspect of evaluating and managing current or possible financial risks within the firm. He says that even though financial risk management practices cannot always prevent firms from all possible risks, they are beneficial in a way as they decrease the level at which firms are exposed to the risk. According to (pg. 9), risk management has some similarity to financial risk management. The similarity arises from the fact that in both cases, investors and firm managers are required to identify potential risks, evaluate possible remedies that they can embrace, and finally implement the most appropriate strategies in such a way that the objectives of the business are handled satisfactorily. Historically, various economies of the world have different mechanisms of controlling their markets. This is to mean that a strategy can be ideal for implementation in the United States but not in China, Brazil, Australia or South Africa for that matter. This essay aims to provide more insight on both risk management and financial risk management, but by comparing the most applicable strategies in China with those in Western nations notably, the United States of America. Similarly, this essay aims to discuss how differently bigger companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises in China manage risks. On the same note, the essay briefly covers some of the financial risk problems that SME’s face in their attempt to compete with the already established corporates. Chance 2010 (pg. 47) argues that the

Sex and Gender Essay Example for Free

Sex and Gender Essay The concepts of sex and gender have traditionally been used interchangeably to demarcate between the identity of the male and the female. However, there are significant differences between the two concepts. Sex as a concept is based based on the perceived material or physiological difference between the male and female bodies, particularly on the anatomy and functions related to the reproductive organs. (Frayser Whitby, 1995, p. 173) Meanwhile, gender refers to the social construct of femininity and masculinity ascribed to the ascribed to the reproductive roles which is reinforced through social norms and expectations. (Ibid. ) Arguably, the notions of sex and gender play an important role in the formation of sexual behavior and gender identity particularly in Western societies. Judith Butler, a known feminist, argues that â€Å"sexual difference is often invoked as an issue of material difference,† (p. 235) which becomes the basis for the social construction of the concept of gender and gender roles in terms of the social, political, and economic functions of the male and female. The role of sex and gender constructs is evident in the child-rearing practices of most Western societies wherein children are socialized into their gender roles based on their sexual identity as being male or female. At an early age, children learn about appropriate sexual behavior through their parents and other adults, who teach them the prevailing gender norms and social expectations Children and adults who do not conform to what is expected of them in terms of their sexual and gender identity, are socially stigmatized through various labels of deviance. As adults, men and women are expected to take on different forms of employment or to engage in differing sexual behavior. Since men are thought to be physically stronger and more intellectually adept, they are often encouraged to be more involved in the social and political spheres. Meanwhile, the perception that women are weaker and more emotional, along with their child-bearing responsibilities, has relegated them into domestic affairs or employment that is related with their supposedly feminine nature such as teaching or nursing. Thus, sex and gender roles influence the way that an individual constructs his or her identity and perceives his or her function in society. By identifying in either the male or female role, the individual develops and internalizes his or her gender roles based on socially accepted norms and standards of behavior. Works Cited: Butler, Judith (1999). Bodies that Matter. In Janet Price Margrit Shildrick (Eds. ), Feminist Theory and the Body: A Reader (pp. 235-245). U. S. A: Taylor and Francis. Frayser, Suzanne G. Thomas J. Whitby (1995). Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide. U. S. A: Libraries Unlimited.

Alzheimers Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimer’s Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain that causes a steady decline in memory. This results in dementia, which is loss of intellectual functions severe enough to interfere with everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting ten percent of people over 65 years old, and nearly 50 percent of those age 85 or older. My grandmother was diagnosed with â€Å"probable† Alzheimer’s disease over two years ago. After finding this out, I wanted to know more about this particular disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alzheimer’s disease usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events and to have difficulty performing familiar tasks. How rapidly the disease advances varies from person to person. Communication becomes difficult as the person with Alzheimer’s struggles to find words, finish thoughts, or follow directions. Eventually, people with Alzheimer’s become totally unable to care for themselves. My grandma is very close to this point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scientists are still not for certain what exactly causes Alzheimer’s disease. Research suggests that the central problem is malfunction and death of nerve cells, but scientists are still working to learn why this happens. Key areas of study focus on biochemical processes and pathways in nerve cells, effects of inflammation, and the influence of genes. Many experts believe that it usually arises form a complex combination of factors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increasing age is the greatest known risk factor f... Alzheimer's Disease Essay -- Alzheimer's Disease Essays Alzheimer’s Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain that causes a steady decline in memory. This results in dementia, which is loss of intellectual functions severe enough to interfere with everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting ten percent of people over 65 years old, and nearly 50 percent of those age 85 or older. My grandmother was diagnosed with â€Å"probable† Alzheimer’s disease over two years ago. After finding this out, I wanted to know more about this particular disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alzheimer’s disease usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events and to have difficulty performing familiar tasks. How rapidly the disease advances varies from person to person. Communication becomes difficult as the person with Alzheimer’s struggles to find words, finish thoughts, or follow directions. Eventually, people with Alzheimer’s become totally unable to care for themselves. My grandma is very close to this point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scientists are still not for certain what exactly causes Alzheimer’s disease. Research suggests that the central problem is malfunction and death of nerve cells, but scientists are still working to learn why this happens. Key areas of study focus on biochemical processes and pathways in nerve cells, effects of inflammation, and the influence of genes. Many experts believe that it usually arises form a complex combination of factors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increasing age is the greatest known risk factor f...

Maria Full Of Grace Essay

Maria is a spirited seventeen years old who lives in a small town in Colombia. She works for very low wages at a large industrial rose plantation. Maria comes from a family of four who desperately depend on her every paycheck just to get by in life. After so many years of working and struggling, she becomes dissatisfied with her life. Maria begins to seek more out of their daily routines. She makes drastic decisions out of desperation for a new life. Maria quits her job when her supervisor refuses to let her go to the bathroom. This was a point of finally letting go of what makes her miserable. Although, everyone around her is not as determined as she is for a better life, she continues to look for more. After an argument with her boss, she decided to quit her job in hopes for something better, more exciting. She decides to finally follow her heart and make a change. Maria later on goes to find out she is pregnant from her boyfriend. While her boyfriend purposes to her after hearing the news, she declines after realizing he doesn’t even love her. Maria is looking for something new, but marriage is not the answer. She notices how miserable her sister is with a baby and the idea doesn’t settle in with her. The situation only makes her look for something different. In the process of looking for a new job in Bogota, Maria comes into contact with a friend she met in a party the night before. Franklin sensed that she wanted to do something different, so he tells her about a job as a drug mule. From what they were talking about Franklin saw that she was tired of her everyday life. A drug mule is someone who carries drugs into another country. While knowing the risks, Maria unhesitatingly accepts after hearing the pay and opportunity of going somewhere other than Colombia. This shows that Maria knows what she wants; she is willing to accept anything out of her norm. She later meets with Javier, the one in charge of the operation. As he deliberately explains the risks, confidentiality, and pay of carrying drugs to America, she consciously accepts the offer. To Maria she sees this as a way out of her regular routine, and a chance to be somewhere new. She secretly speaks with Lucy, another girl who has carried drugs to America and survived all the dangers of the work for an insight of the job. During the process Maria has to swallow 62 nuggets of heroin sealed with latex and dental floss. In New York, Maria is stopped at the airport in suspicion that she is smuggling drugs. They intimidatingly interview her in an isolated room, questioning her and scolding her about why she is in New York from Colombia. During the whole interview with immigration, Maria remains calm, showing a sense of courage. After knowing the possibilities of getting caught, she persists with the x-ray they demand, to verify that she is in fact not smuggling drugs. Prior to the x-ray they take a urine test, watching her as she urinates into the cup to prove it is really her urine. When the officers receive the urine test, they find out that Maria is pregnant, and because of that they aren’t able to proceed with the x-ray. She saw this as a sign from god, as if someone was watching over her. Maria exits the airport where there are two men in a van waiting for her. In the process of retrieving the drugs from her body and from the two other girls, Lucy gets ill. When a nugget brakes in your stomach, you will eventually die, so to save the drugs the two men cut her stomach open to retrieve the drugs. Maria awakes to see the two men carry Lucy out of the hotel room. This was the first time Maria has panicked because she felt that Blanca and herself have to pay, so they run away. Maria shows leadership because she decides they need to go, and what they need to do. After running they realize the danger they were going to put their families into so they decided to contact the two men to return the drugs. Maria and her friend meet up with the men, with a lot of courage after running away from the drug dealers, and returning the drugs to receive payment. Their job is done and they are okay to go back home. While in the airport waiting for her flight to board she thinks about going back to her miserable ways. She thought about her baby, and the opportunities her baby will have in America. After thinking about it thoroughly, Maria makes the biggest decision of her life, and that is to stay in America. Maria shows how courageous and determined she is to forge a new life for herself no matter the cost. She comes close to encountering death, danger, betrayal, and violence in this process of finding herself and what she wants. Maria fights for her escape and frees herself, standing alone just as when she started this adventure. Maria breaks her norm and now will give her child the life she always wished for. She can finally close that chapter in her life, and start over new.

Salsa Music and New York

This is probably because of the zesty taste of the condiment that can be found in the tunes and moves of the music, but the familiarity does not end there. Just like salsa (the condiment) is made from various vegetables, so is the music a mixture of many different kinds of Latin dance forms (such as rhumba, mambo, and chacha), other Puerto-Rican, Dominican, and Afro-Cuban music strains, Jazz, and rock music.The ain instruments used in salsa include percussions, keyboards, brass, and guitars. Most of the time, salsa music is also accompanied by dance. Salsa was made popular in the 1970s mostly by clubs in New York. Later on, in the 1980s, this style of music also became popular in areas such as Miami, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Columbia. (The Columbia Encyclopedia 2007). Since then, salsa has evolved vigorously through the years and has emerged as a very significant and dynamic component of popular music scene, especially for the social identity of the Latinos.The music that came to be called salsa developed out of Cuban dance genres, specially the son, guararba, and rumba, that had evolved into a cohesive set of commercial popular styles by the 1920s. By the 1940s, these genres, promoted primarily by RCA Victor (which monopolized the record industry in Cuba), enjoyed considerable international appeal, and Latino communities outside of Cuba had come to play an important role in the evolution of Cuban music.Puerto Ricans, who had eagerly adopted Cuban music for decades (especially since the introduction of radio in 1922), had come to regard such genres as their own, generally at the expense of indigenous genres like plena and bomba. Meanwhile, since the 1920s, New York City had become the scene of a lively blending and competition of diverse grass-roots and commercialized Latin American music.Together with Puerto Rican bandleaders like Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez, many Cuban musicians had based themselves in New York City, which they established as a center f or the music that would eventually be labeled â€Å"salsa† by the record industry (Manuel 1991). The growth of salsa as a vehicle of social identity was inseparable from its development as a commercial entity. Indeed, the more salsa flourished, the more it as subject to the pressures of the corporate music industry.Some of these pressures, toward standardization, stylistic conservatism, and absence of sociopolitical content, operated in direct opposition to the grass-roots attempt to use the genre as an expression of barrio identity. Thus, the development of salsa can be seen as an ongoing dialectic between, on the one hand, the Latino community's attempt to shape salsa as its own sub cultural expression and, on the other hand, the tendency of the commercial music industry to glamorize, decontextualize, and depoliticize the music as a bland and innocuous dance music,

International Assignments

International Assignments Introduction International assignments are an integral part of the current state of the world due to globalization. Businesses and companies seek to expand their territory across boundaries and thereby target a larger market share.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on International Assignments specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The development of technology has actually made the whole process easy as it is very easy to communicate with subsidiary managers as well as move from one country to the other. International assignments are however not assigned to any employee but are mainly given to managers and executives who demonstrate a high level of competency with regard to the assignment and working in a multi-cultural context. This is a very interesting topic as it gives insight into the process of expatriation, it advantages as well as the challenges faced when one goes on an international assignment. This paper will f ocus on discussing precisely these issues so as to gain a better understanding about international assignments. Discussion The process of international assignment takes place in three distinct stages as indicated in the figure below (Bonache, Brewster, Suutari, 2001): The first stage is the pre-assignment stage and involves selection and preparation. This phase entails the use of four types of variables that are paramount in contributing towards the success/failure of an assignment. They are technical competence on the assignment since the expatriate will be very far away from the mother company thus cannot readily consult peers and superiors. This way, the individual should demonstrate a very high degree of technical competence in relation to the task at hand. The other selection variable is personal traits with a focus on the individual’s ability to effectively relate with his/her peers, superiors, business associates, subordinates and clients. This is a very significant v ariable with regard to working in a multi-cultural context. During the selection process, the expatriates should show their ability to amicable handle environmental variables. The expatriate is required to show a high level of competency in coping with governments, customers, unions and competitors. Despite the fact that the environmental systems in a foreign country may be different from that of the expatriate’s home country, understanding the systems first is very necessary so that the expatriate can operate in accordance with these systems.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In case the expatriate is required to move with his/her family, during the selection process, it will be very necessary to ensure that the expatriate’s family is willing and ready to adjust to the living conditions in the host country. This is especially very complicated when one of the spouses is forced to give up their career so as to accompany their partners in the foreign country (Reiche Harzing, 2009). After thoroughly and carefully selecting the expatriates, they are prepared by engaging them in diverse cross-cultural training programs so that they can gain insight on their own cultural backgrounds, the specific cultural features of the host country, the degree of contact required with the host country, duration of assignment, family situation and communication skills with a special focus on language. This kind of preparation is essential because it enables the expatriates to know what is expected of them hence develop the necessary strategies required to attain effectiveness while in the foreign country (Black, Mendenhall, Oddou, 1991). Culture shock is inevitable with regard to exposure to a foreign country as is the case during international assignments. However, it gives rise to uncertainty and stress which can be dealt with if the expatriat e’s anticipatory adjustment is positive based on cross-cultural training and prior international experience. The expatriate is required to make adjustments based on work, local nationals and living conditions. The spouse is part of the adjustment process and there is need that he/she is equally prepared before arrival in the foreign country. Finally, once the assignment is over and he international assignee is required to go back home, it is important that he/she is prepared for the journey back home. This is attributed to the fact that the assignee may encounter another culture shock that he/she may not be able to cope with hence resulting into negative effects such as job resignation and loss of valuable employees. Effective management of human talent is a very important factor for competitive differentiation in determining the success of organizations. This is because, the human ability is known to invent and develop products and services that are later sold to the public. The workplace, for many decades, has been composed of people and as companies and organizations extend beyond the boundaries, international assignments have become commonplace. Globalization has been at the forefront in promoting the growth of business across cities, states, regions and countries (Stroh, et al., 2009).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on International Assignments specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More International assignments entail the deployment of nationals from a given country to a different country, where they live and work for a given period of time depending on the assignment. They take place in three forms: ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric. The ethnocentric form entails the appointment of parent country nationals to executive posts at the subsidiary companies. Polycentric kind of orientation is where host country nationals are appointed while the geocentric form entails the appointment of the most suitable individual irrespective of their nationality thus accommodates third country nationals (nationals from other countries other than the MNC’s or the subsidiary’s countries). Heenan and Perlmutter (1979) identified a fourth kind of approach, the regiocentric orientation where managers are given transfers to different regions. The mode of appointment is chosen depending on the MNC’s preference and decision. There are various reasons as to why a company may want to send an employee to its subsidiary company in a foreign country. The Edstrà ¶m and Galbraith (1977) typology is used to explain the reason why managers are sent on international assignment based on three motives. To start with, there is the need to fill up positions and this entails the transfer of technical and managerial knowledge. This is very much applicable in developing countries where the qualifications of the desired person are not available. This cannot be ruled out in develo ped countries as well since specific knowledge transfer may be required. This is attributed to the fact that the expatriates are considered to be the key bearers of tacit knowledge. Secondly, the assignment is vital for management development since it enables the manager to gain international experience, which may be required for future use. International assignments based on management development do not take into consideration the availability of qualified host-country nationals. Lastly, international assignments are carried out for the purpose of organization development. This is necessary so as to establish socialization between the expatriates and local managers, as well as develop verbal information network to link the subsidiary companies and the headquarters.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More International assignments serve the purpose of coordination and control with regard to three main elements. Expatriates provide personal/cultural control by replacing or complementing headquarters centralization of decision-making as well as directly surveying the subsidiary companies. Expatriates also exercise control through socialization and creation of informal communication networks. This they do by moving from one subsidiary company to another establishing a certain kind of informal communication network. This they do by assuming the roles of a bumble-bee fly and spiders. This helps the subsidiary companies to function independently by facilitating informal control. On the other hand, there are subsidiaries which are highly dependent on the headquarter company and in such a case the expatriate tends to facilitate direct expatriate control (Reiche Harzing, 2009). Coordination and control of MNCs has been greatly enabled by advances in transportation and communication technolog y. It is because of this technology that companies have been able to expand into other countries and are globalizing at very great rates. However, there arises some misunderstanding with regard to cultural diversity because different people from different cultures, countries and regions perceive things differently. In the way, management styles are different and therefore, a manager may face a great challenge trying to adjust and fit into the culture of the host/foreign country. Failure to act in accordance with the culture in the foreign country may jeopardize achievement of the formulated and set objectives. It is because of the great challenges involved with international assignments that have led to the development of alternative forms of expatriation. To start with, there are inpatriate assignments where managers of subsidiary companies are transferred to the headquarters for a given period of time so that the manager gets to know and understand the operations of the parent com pany thereby, establish informal communication networks (Harvey, Novicevic Speier, 2000). This also enables the subsidiary managers to have a direct link with the corporate culture and plays a key role in exposing parent company managers to the international perception. Short-term assignments are another alternative used to counteract the challenges associated with expatriation. Short-term assignments usually last for a period between 1-12 months and the expatriate in this case does not have to go with his/her family hence avoiding the challenges and disruptions associated with relocating an entire family (Collings, Scullion, Morley, 2007). Short-term assignments are rather ad hoc and tend to be less formal thus are not too involving. They are cost-effective and require less bureaucratic efforts in addition to the fact they can be promptly and flexibly carried out. However, short-term assignments do not allow the expatriates to establish local networks with the local colleagues an d customers. In addition, their marriages are at risk since their roles in their marriages if left pending (Tahvanainen, Worm, Welch, 2005). There are various uncertainties that are associated with international assignments. Expatriates are usually concerned about the status of their compensation and benefits. There are concerns about compensation and benefits retention during stay of the expatriates in the foreign country. In addition, the expatriates are worried that they would not be compensated for the additional expenses they incur and especially in foreign countries where the cost of living is higher. Tax is a very sensitive issue as it forms the largest part of the costs linked to subsidiaries. An international assignment is a very expensive venture for both the organization and the expatriate. While the organization is required to pay tax liabilities on benefits associated with the assignment such as accommodation under tax equalization, an expatriate on the other hand incu rs additional expense when having to relocate with the family. Most companies and individuals continuously believe that international assignments are imperative with regard to escalating the managers’ global competence (Gregersen, Morrison Black, 1998). Since international assignments entail working in a cross-cultural context, it enables managers and selected international assignees to comprehend how to efficiently and effectively function within such a multinational and multicultural business environment. Harris, Brewster Sparrow (2003) have stated that unfortunately, these competencies do not benefit an individual directly since the skills are directed towards enhancing the performance of an organization or company. It is true that international assignments play a key role in enhancing the knowing how of assignees but these skills and knowledge cannot be transferred to their home context. Managers and executives are required, and should possess the abilities to place emp hasis and understand the peculiar needs of local foreign customers, labor pools, government policies, suppliers, and technology to effectively and efficiently formulate and implement strategic plans. In addition, there is need to focus on the general global market trends. Great environment scanning abilities are necessary for the manager to help them pick up the relevant and necessary information. Extensive knowledge and processing ability is necessary if data is to be categorized and interpreted effectively. To second an earlier mentioned statement, international assignments require the international assignees to possess great interpersonal skills that are necessary while integrating and working with the people in the foreign country. International assignees are usually managers, highly recognized executives within an organization or some other highly selected individuals with proficient skills in handling the assignment at hand. It is very important that managers develop the requi red skills in as far as international assignments are concerned because, the world in the 21st century where globalization is inevitable and therefore, managers and individuals who can work with people from different cultures, religions and ethnicities are a necessity (Stroh et al., 2009). International assignments are now considered part of the pedigree required while trying to look for talented individuals within an organization. International assignments are considered important in developing global leaders in the present global society. If growth and prosperity is to be achieved within an organization, then it becomes very difficult to do away with international assignments since business growth entails growing beyond the local boundaries. The Philip Morris Companies for example owes its growth due to its ability to identify and know its global ‘bench-strength’ alongside appreciating its people as strategic weapons. As a manager or leader in a company, one is requir ed to be very adept in handling different kinds of people because having a global business means managing teams made up of people across different cultures. The Philip Morris Companies Inc. spends a great deal of time on international assignments as a typical leadership technique. The Generic Electric (GE) is another company that appreciates international assignments as a means of gaining knowledge and experience that is very vital in the 21st century. This is because the company needs to know how it should compete and satisfy the global-base market hence the manger at GE are required to comprehend the global markets, competitors, consumers and suppliers (Stroh et al., 2009). International assignments are not a means of progressing in relation to one’s career; rather it is a chance for assessing one’s ability in handling challenges as well as extending business. They are a central component of the global management approach of a majority of organizations. The reason fo r this is that once an international assignee has returned home from the international assignment, they are not promoted and face a difficult time trying to adjust with their former state. The main importance of these assignments is to ensure the smooth running of subsidiary business in compliance with the headquarter objectives. International assignments are associated with various benefits like development of global leadership skills. On the other hand, there are some problems revolving around these assignments like heavy costs incurred by an organization, the organizations risks losing valuable employees and there is lack of certainty with regard to career progression and development once the assignment is over (Lazarova Caligiuri, 2004). The international assignee selected for the assignment is faced with great challenges including resistance to set a posting date because of â€Å"family constraints, issues of personal investment into cultural and work adaptation, reverse cult ure shock and applicability of the capabilities gained during and after an IA† (Suutari Brewster, 2004). Management of the global leadership gap is the main focus with regard to international businesses. However, the lack of high quality talent is a huge impediment to successful execution of international assignments. Therefore, there is a great need for an organization to carry out a thorough careful selection process so as to identify the individuals who are most preferred for the assignment. Poor selection is very costly to organizations as it leads to losses (direct and indirect costs). The selection process entails a central focus on prediction of job context rather than job context. Only individuals who have demonstrated a great deal of competency with reference to the assignment at hand are considered for the job. Qualified individuals showing the capability of being able to effectively handle challenges that are prevalent while working with individuals, organizations and groups that have different perceptions and approaches in carrying out duties are selected for expatriation (Caligiuri, Tarique Jacobs, 2009). Hall, Zhu Yan (2001) are of the opinion that international assignments are very crucial in terms of development of leadership skills as they expose managers to surprises hence triggering reflection and exploration, which are very important elements in learning. It is evident as earlier seen through examples that multinational organizations recognize the necessity of international assignments in fostering leadership development. Despite the argument that international assignments do not promise career growth/progression, one cannot assume the fact that expatriates gain a lot of experience and skills since they are able to have a global perspective of the organization’s business and thereby work well with people from various cultural backgrounds (Dickmann Harris, 2005). It is worth noting that not all international assignments offe r valuable developmental experiences to leaders/mangers. This is attributed to the fact that the assignments could be short-term and efficient use of time and resources is called for. As a result, there is dilution of development experiences for the manager. In addition, the learning ability and personality traits of the leaders could also be an impediment to gaining developmental experiences (Dalton Ernst, 2004). International assignments involve more than just one department. If a marketing division of a company intends to venture in an international assignment, then there is need to involve other departments for the expatriate assignment to be successful. When an expatriate is selected, the human resource manager consents the selected person and subsequently holds consultations with other executives to deliberate on the suitability of the selected candidate as the ideal expatriate. The global mobility coordinator (GMC) is then consulted with regard to international relocations a nd it is the global mobility coordinator that defines and structures the assignment in the most attractive offer. The GMC seeks answers to the following (Halverson, 2004): The necessity of the relocation and if it can be executed by a different person in the host country Whether the assignment is temporary or permanent The business objectives of the assignment and where they are SMART Why the selected candidate is the best person to be sent on the expatriate assignment If the company is ready to shoulder the costs that come with an international transfer A relocation company is consulted to give the estimated costs for the relocation. The home and host country need to arrive at a consensus with regard to the assignment. The host country human resource manager should be actively involved in the assignment so that he/she is able to explicitly explain it to the rest of the executive and management team of the company in the host country. The home and host countries should reach a con sensus on (Halverson, 2004): Relocation benefits The start and end date of the assignment The corporate entity that will be responsible for the relocation costs The process through which charge-backs are handled When all the above have been met, there are other factors that need to be addressed (Halverson, 2004): Immigration process with a focus on attainment of work permits and visas Where the expatriate’s payroll will be processed Whether promotion is guaranteed Benefits that will accompany the relocation Payment of taxes The assignment should be in accordance with both the home and host country laws The assignment should be easily tracked in the general ledger Enough money should be allocated for this assignment Changes related to the international assignment should be continuously updated A senior engineer from a certain European electronics company was given an international assignment based in Saudi Arabia for a period of four years. The entire assignment cost appro ximately $ 4million. The senior engineer was able to learn and speak fluent Arabic; he gained new technical skills and expanded his network of friends. However, after the man went back home, he was in constant arguments with his colleagues, superiors and subordinates because he had become so much adjusted to the Arabic’s way of doing things that he had practically forgotten how things ran in the headquarters. To add on to his misery, he waited for close to nine months before he could get a permanent assignment, which granted him lesser authority and power than he had had while in Saudi Arabia. As is the usual trend in most cases upon repatriation, the man resigned from his job and joined a direct competitor, where he ended up maximizing on the knowledge and skills gained from Saudi Arabia to compete against his former employer (Black Gregersen, 1999). This case study clearly shows how international assignments bring about huge set-backs upon the company and repatriate. There fore, it is important that repatriates receive the same kind of preparation they received during transfer to a foreign country. This is because, they have gotten used to the systems and culture in the foreign country that overlap their initially held perceptions and cultural traits. Conclusion International assignments are necessary in today’s current world but, the style in which they are designed and implement is paramount. This is important so that the assignment is successful and when the expatriate eventually returns to his/her home country, he/she will continue living and working just as before. However, in most cases as seen from the case study above, repatriates do not get any preparation upon returning home and as a result are not able to cope with their former situation. International assignments help in managing businesses overseas but in doing so, organizations and companies should factor in all the anticipated challenges and help the international assignees cope with them in the most amicable way possible. References Black, J. S., Gregersen, H. B., 1999. The right way to manage expats. Harvard Business Review, 77 (2), 52-62. Black, J. S., Mendenhall, M., Oddou, G., 1991. Toward a comprehensive model of international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 16 (2), 291-317. Bonache, J., Brewster, C., 2001. Knowledge transfer and the management of expatriation. Thunderbird International Business Review, 43 (1), 145-168. Caligiuri, P., Tarique, I., Jacobs, R. 2009. Selection for International Assignments. Human Resource Management Review, 19, 251-262. Collings, D. G., Scullion, H., Morley, M. J., 2007. Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives. Journal of World Business, 42 (2), 198-213. Dalton, M. A., Ernst, C. T., 2004. Developing Leaders for Global Roles. In McCauley, C. D., Van Velsor, E. eds. Handbook of Leadership Development. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Wiley. Dickmann, M., Harris, H. 2005. Developing Career Capital for Global Careers: The Role of International Assignments. Journal of World Business, 40 (4), 399- 408. Edstrà ¶m, A., Galbraith, J. R., 1977. Transfer of managers as a co-ordination and control strategy in multinational organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22 (2), 248-263. Gregersen, H. B., Morrison, A. J., Black, J. S., 1998. Developing Leaders for the Global Frontier. Sloan Management Review, 40, 21-32. Hall, D. T., Zhu, G., Yan, A., 2001. Developing Global Leaders: To hold on to them, let them go. Advances in Global Leadership, 2, 327-349. Halverson, E., 2004. Who Knew? International Assignments Create Ripples. Plus Post. Web. Harris, H., Brewster, C. Sparrow, P., 2003. International Human Resource Management. London: CIPD. Harvey, M., Novicevic, M. M., Speier, C., 2000. Strategic global human resource management: T he role of inpatriate managers. Human Resource Management Review, 10 (2), 153-175. Heenan, D.A., Perlmutter, H.V., 1979. Multinational organization development. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Lazarova, M., Caligiuri, P., 2004. Repatriation and knowledge management. In Harzing, A.-W., Ruysseveldt, J.V. Eds. International Human Resource Management. London: Sage Publications. Reiche, S., Harzing, A.-W., 2009. International Assignments. London: Sage Publications. Stroh, L. K., et al., 2009. International Assignments: An Integration of Strategy, Research and Practice. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Suutari, V., Brewster, C., 2004. Repatriation: empirical evidence from a longitudinal study on careers and expectations among Finnish expatriates. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 14 (7), 1132-1151. Tahvanainen, M., Worm, V., Welch, D. 2005. Implications of short-term international assignments. European Management Journal, 23 (6), 663-673.

Free Essays on Males In Healthcare

The Impact of Male Nurses on the Maternity Unit Abstract The number of men entering the baccalaureate nursing program is continuously increasing. The maternity rotation has caused much ambivalence for both the male nursing student and postpartum mothers. Educators can help the male nursing student recognize the patient’s concerns, discomforts as well as their own preconception before entering the maternity unit. The male student, therefore, must make an effort to understand the patient’s fears and overcome their intrinsic preconceptions about the maternity unit. Today’s nursing is focused on Family Centered Care. The male student nurse can utilize this information and become an important member of the health care team striving to provide Family Centered Care within the maternity unit The Impact of Males on the Maternity Unit Men working in the nursing profession can be dated back to 800-600 B.C, India. During this era, hospitals were built to provide basic nursing care and consisted totally of men (Davis & Bartfay, 2001). In Canada, the first nurses who provided care for the sick were also men (Lodge, Mallett, Black & Fryall, 1999). In a study conducted by Davis & Bartfay (2001) male RN nurses constitute approximately 4.6 % of all practicing nurses in Canada. In recent years, the trend has changed and a greater number of males are entering into the nursing programs. Patterson and Morin (2002) have cited a continuous rise in the number of male applying to the baccalaureate nursing programs. The requirements for the degree of nursing entail working within many different disciplines. The maternity unit is one area that has caused much discussion about the students’ preconceptions and the patient’s feelings towards a male providing postpartum nursing care. The focus in nursing is clearl y based on family centered care (Blundell, 1990). The male nurse must be... Free Essays on Males In Healthcare Free Essays on Males In Healthcare The Impact of Male Nurses on the Maternity Unit Abstract The number of men entering the baccalaureate nursing program is continuously increasing. The maternity rotation has caused much ambivalence for both the male nursing student and postpartum mothers. Educators can help the male nursing student recognize the patient’s concerns, discomforts as well as their own preconception before entering the maternity unit. The male student, therefore, must make an effort to understand the patient’s fears and overcome their intrinsic preconceptions about the maternity unit. Today’s nursing is focused on Family Centered Care. The male student nurse can utilize this information and become an important member of the health care team striving to provide Family Centered Care within the maternity unit The Impact of Males on the Maternity Unit Men working in the nursing profession can be dated back to 800-600 B.C, India. During this era, hospitals were built to provide basic nursing care and consisted totally of men (Davis & Bartfay, 2001). In Canada, the first nurses who provided care for the sick were also men (Lodge, Mallett, Black & Fryall, 1999). In a study conducted by Davis & Bartfay (2001) male RN nurses constitute approximately 4.6 % of all practicing nurses in Canada. In recent years, the trend has changed and a greater number of males are entering into the nursing programs. Patterson and Morin (2002) have cited a continuous rise in the number of male applying to the baccalaureate nursing programs. The requirements for the degree of nursing entail working within many different disciplines. The maternity unit is one area that has caused much discussion about the students’ preconceptions and the patient’s feelings towards a male providing postpartum nursing care. The focus in nursing is clearl y based on family centered care (Blundell, 1990). The male nurse must be...

Tale of Troy or Iliad - The Story Behind the Trojan War

Tale of Troy or Iliad - The Story Behind the Trojan War During the time when gods were petty and cruel, three of the leading goddesses had a contest to determine who was most beautiful. They contended for the prize of Eris golden apple, an apple no less dangerous than the one in the story of Snow White, despite its lack of consumable poison. To make the contest objective, the goddesses hired a human judge, Paris (also called Alexander), son of the Eastern potentate, Priam of Troy. Since Paris was to be paid according to the largesse of the winner, the contest was really to see who provided the most attractive incentive. Aphrodite won hands down, but the prize she offered was the wife of another man. Paris, after seducing Helen while a guest in the palace of her husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, went blithely on his way back to Troy with Helen. This abduction and violation of all rules of hospitality launched 1000 (Greek) ships to bring Helen back to Menelaus. Meanwhile, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, summoned the tribal kings from all over Greece to come to the aid of his cuckolded brother. Two of his best men one a strategist and the other a great warrior were Odysseus (aka Ulysses) of Ithaca, who would later come up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, and Achilles of Phthia, who may have married Helen in the Afterlife. Neither of these men wanted to join the fray; so they each devised a draft-dodging ruse worthy of M.A.S.H.s Klinger. Odysseus feigned madness by plowing his field destructively, perhaps with mismatched draft animals, perhaps with salt (a powerful destructive agent used according to legend at least one other time by the Romans on Carthage). Agamemnons messenger placed Telemachus, Odysseus infant son, on the path of the plough. When Odysseus swerved to avoid killing him, he was recognized as sane. Achilles with blame for cowardice conveniently laid at the feet of his mother, Thetis was made to look like and live with the maidens. Odysseus tricked him with the lure of a peddlers bag of trinkets. All the other maidens reached for the ornaments, but Achilles grabbed the sword stuck in their midst. The Greek (Achaean) leaders met together at Aulis where they awaited Agamemnons command to set sail. When an inordinate amount of time had passed and the winds still remained unfavorable, Agamemnon sought the services of Calchas the seer. Calchas told him that Artemis was angry with Agamemnon perhaps because he had promised her his finest sheep as a sacrifice to the goddess, but when the time came to sacrifice a golden sheep, he had, instead, substituted an ordinary one and to appease her, Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia .... Upon the death of Iphigenia, the winds became favorable and the fleet set sail. Â   Trojan War FAQs [Summary: The head of the Greek forces was the proud king Agamemnon. He had killed his own daughter, Iphigenia, in order to appease the goddess Artemis (big sister of Apollo, and one of the children of Zeus and Leto), who was angry with Agamemnon and so, had stalled the Greek forces on the coast, at Aulis. In order to set sail for Troy they needed a favorable wind, but Artemis ensured the winds would fail to cooperate until Agamemnon had satisfied her by performing the required sacrifice of his own daughter. Once Artemis was satisfied, the Greeks set sail for Troy where to fight the Trojan War.] Agamemnon did not stay in the good graces of either of the children of Leto for long. He soon incurred the wrath of her son, Apollo. In revenge, Apollo the mouse god caused an outbreak of plague to lay the troops low. Agamemnon and Achilles had received the young women Chryseis and Briseis as prizes of war or war brides. Chryseis was the daughter of Chryses, who was a priest of Apollo. Chryses wanted his daughter back and even offered a ransom, but Agamemnon refused. Calchas the seer advised Agamemnon on the connection between his behavior toward the priest of Apollo and the plague that was decimating his army. Agamemnon had to return Chryseis to the priest of Apollo if he wanted the plague to end. After much Greek suffering, Agamemnon agreed to the recommendation of Calchas the seer, but only on condition that he take possession of the war prize of Achilles Briseis as a replacement. A minor point to think about: When Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia, he hadnt required his fellow Greek aristocrats to give him a new daughter. No one could stop Agamemnon. Achilles was enraged. The honor of the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, had been assuaged, but what about the honor of the greatest of the Greek heroes Achilles? Following the dictates of his own conscience, Achilles could no longer cooperate, so he withdrew his troops (the Myrmidons) and sat on the sidelines. With the help of fickle gods, the Trojans began to inflict heavy personal damages on the Greeks, as Achilles and the Myrmidons sat on the sidelines. Patroclus, Achilles friend (or lover), persuaded Achilles that his Myrmidons would make the difference in the battle, so Achilles let Patroclus take his men as well as Achilles personal armor so that Patroclus would appear to be Achilles in the battlefield. It worked, but since Patroclus was not so great a warrior as Achilles, Prince Hector, the noble son of Trojan King Priam, struck Patroclus down. What even Patroclus words had failed to do, Hector accomplished. The death of Patroclus spurred Achilles into action and armed with a new shield forged by Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods (as a favor for Achilles sea goddess mother Thetis) Achilles went into battle. Achilles soon avenged himself. After killing Hector, he tied the body to the back of his war chariot, The grief-maddened Achilles then dragged Hectors corpse through the sand and dirt for days. In time, Achilles calmed down and returned the corpse of Hector to his grieving father. In a later battle, Achilles was killed by an arrow to the one part of his body Thetis had held when she had dipped the baby Achilles into the River Styx to confer immortality. With Achilles death, the Greeks lost their greatest fighter, but they still had their best weapon. [Summary: The greatest of the Greek heroes Achilles was dead. The 10-year Trojan War, which had begun when the Greeks set sail to retrieve Menelaus wife, Helen, form the Trojans, was at a stalemate.] Crafty Odysseus devised a plan that ultimately doomed the Trojans. Sending all the Greek ships away or into hiding, it appeared to the Trojans that the Greeks had given up. The Greeks left a parting gift in front of the walls of the city of Troy. it was a giant wooden horse which appeared to be an offering to Athena a peace offering. The jubilant Trojans dragged the monstrous, wheeled, wooden horse into their city to celebrate the end of the 10 years of fighting. Who Really Built the Trojan Horse?What Is the Trojan Horse? But beware of Greeks bearing gifts! Having won the war, the filicidal King Agamemnon went back to his wife for the reward he so richly deserved. Ajax, who had lost out to Odysseus in the contest for Achilles arms, went crazy and killed himself. Odysseus set out on the voyage (Homer, according to tradition, tells in The Odyssey, which is the sequel to The Iliad) that made him more famous than his help with Troy. And Aphrodites son, the Trojan hero Aeneas, set out from his burning homeland carrying his father on his shoulders on his way to Dido, in Carthage, and, finally, to the land that was to become Rome. Were Helen and Menelaus reconciled? According to Odysseus they were, but thats part of a future story.

What do you do as a student to be successful in your coursework How Essay

What do you do as a student to be successful in your coursework How would you help a struggling student make his or her learning experiences better and more meaningful - Essay Example I am proud of what I have done thus far and it essentially puts me in a league of my own. As a student, I have always played my part at helping other students so that they can become active participants of the society. If they excel within their respective educational realms, they will be able to contribute in an able manner, which will suggest how well I have played my role. Even though this is something difficult to achieve, my mission in life is to give my best shot in order to facilitate learning for the sake of others. Success within coursework and studies is therefore the end result that I seek to attain, not only for myself but also for others. I hope to be transferred to the university so that I can complete my Masters degree with flying colors. This remains priority number one in my

Why has feminism not been able to remove all sources of gender Essay

Why has feminism not been able to remove all sources of gender discrimination - Essay Example This essay "Why has feminism not been able to remove all sources of gender discrimination?" outlines the possible reasons why the women haven’t achieved the due recognition and the feminism movement. Apart from the pre conceived mindset of men being the superior forces, the cultural barriers and the cultural mindset that believes the man to be in a stronger position from different perspectives should be eliminated and equal opportunity and equal capability based mindset should be harnessed which will allow for the gender discrimination to get eliminated. The report published showing the findings from Great Britain institutions also come along with recommendations. Few of these include the introduction of clauses where the political parties are bound to increase the number of seats that they must dedicate to women. Similarly, other business enterprises, both private and government assisted must reserve quota for women which will allow for more inclusion of women. The lack of skilled women and the lack of women who can meet and fulfill the criteria of becoming the top heads of the business organizations or the government institutions or the political parties, all these would require women to be equipped in an effective manner. The need is to impart true means of education and empowerment amongst the women from grass root level. Policies and actions must be devised which will help the women in a longer run towards becoming an equal and effective members of the society and decision-making corridors.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 11

Economics - Essay Example This paper will examine the concept of the zero price, discussing its effects on demand and price, thereby demonstrating how price has the capacity to allocate and ration resources. The price of zero refers to the phenomenon in which the demand for a product or service is substantially more at the price of zero than a price even minimally greater than zero. On a graph, a zero price effect appears in the form of a discontinuity on the demand curve at the price of zero. In essence, the zero price effect can be considered as a special instance in the law of demand. The price of zero also encompasses a myriad of explanations that are based on psychological, behavioural and cognitive biases (Poundstone, W 2010, 75). An utterly rational justification for the zero price effect lies in the fact that when the marginal utility of extra units of consumption is positive albeit exceedingly low, lower than a nonzero unit of price (currency) can be charged feasibly (Engelson 1995, 54). Another prom inent explanation for the zero price phenomenon is the transaction costs. ... On the other hand, when purchasing something in person, the exchange of bank notes or coin is exceedingly necessary (Poundstone, W 2010, 147). These direct, as well as indirect costs exert a positive effect in terms of the effective price, especially in case of any form of nonzero price. Therefore, a real price drop to zero can ultimately represent a substantive drop in the effective price of the product or service. This problem inherent in transaction costs can be resolved through a myriad of ways, for instance, by making use of cards or accounts in the event of bulk payments that are made once before an account balance is sustained in order to keep track of other small purchases (Engelson 1995, 91). This strategy presents the most common method through which electricity, gas, phone usage, as well as other utilities are billed. The last explanation for the zero price occurrences is psychic costs. Handling and thinking about money has the potential to be quite stressful. This is beca use considering whether small items are worth small amounts of money can in itself exert a psychic cost, which can force people to steer away of considering or even making purchases. When people are faced with the option of choosing one among numerous products or end up purchasing nothing, according to perspectives provided under standard theories, it is widely acceptable that people will select the option with the greatest cost-benefit variation. However, it is evident that decisions regarding free or zero price products differ quite substantially since people typically do not merely subtract costs from the benefits offered by the product, but rather they consider the benefits linked with free products as profoundly greater (Engelson

Does The World We Have Offer Practical Ways to Protect the Earths Essay

Does The World We Have Offer Practical Ways to Protect the Earths Environment - Essay Example As a means of integrating understanding of this reality, as well as seeking to provide a handful of prescriptions for how this waste can be lessened, the following analysis will integrate with the issue itself, the global trends that are implemented within the current world, and a review of several key recycling programs that can be utilized not only as a means of reducing the solid waste that builds up throughout the nation’s landfills but also providing monetary incentives that are cost positive for inducing recycling. By such an analysis, the reader can come to the understanding of the profound importance that this has and the relevance to the fate of the environment. Even a cursory analysis of the issue promotes the understanding that the nature of the current world has created a situation through which the overall level of trade in the overall level of domestic and international shipping between great partners and individual consumers is unlikely to decrease anywhere in the near future. Conversely, it is reasonable to expect that within the near future trade and international shipping will only increase. As a result of this reality, it is neither realistic, nor profitable to the economy or the individual consumer, to place a level of restrictions upon the overall volume of trade it takes place from one part of the world/one part of the country to another. However, with this being said, placing certain restrictions upon the way in which packing material is represented throughout the market is a reasonable and viable approach. For instance, in the drive to reduce the amount of landfill mass that shipping packaging generates, one effective approac h that could be engaged would be to require any and all shipping operations that integrate with the economy of the world to initiate levels of standardization with regards to the type and content shipping containers/packaging that are utilized

English as a Second Language Course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English as a Second Language Course - Essay Example Reading activities are aimed at increasing reading comprehension, developing vocabulary and research skills. Writing activities are aimed at developing accuracy in written information through simple compositions and accomplishing forms. The course consists of 12 modules. According to Chamut (1995), cognitive language learning fosters school achievement of students who are learning through the medium of a second language. Non-native English speakers face problems in learning academic subjects which use English as the medium of instruction. Due to the widespread use of English worldwide, language courses in English have become part of the academic curriculum in most countries. However, the English course in these situations take on the nature of a foreign language course and fails to really develop language proficiency skills in terms of comprehension, vocabulary and research skills due to limited usage of the language in everyday life. The instructional problem that arises therefore, is how to build on the existing language knowledge of English and implement a training strategy that hones English literacy skills allowing the participants to develop the ability to use oral and written English for daily needs, develop basic conversation skills and voca bulary, and use simple sentence patterns. The training is base... The instructional problem relates to a cognitive domain performance issues that can be solved by training. The goal of instructional programs is to build knowledge and skills that can be re-used for later learning or in various life situations, such as career. ESL training to help improve academic performance specifically addresses the problem of cognitive domain performance, maximizing the student's cognitive processes that will result in learning and minimizing those that disrupt learning (Clark & Harrelson 2002). Training in English as a second language is suitable for computer and web-based training because the learner can think, respond and give feedback on the subject, a stimulating environment can be presented where the learner can learn at his own pace, the learner can take the course at his convenience without any expense of time or travel, it can be made accessible to a wide audience, it can be conveniently used by the physically challenged, and content can be easily updated (seo 2007). The tutorial method of teaching present situations and questions, suggest ideas that coincide with the topic being studied, and force students to come up with their own solutions. The instructor's in the tutorial atmosphere is to pose constructive questions that will lead the students in the right direction. Such a scenario can easily be implemented in ESL W/CBT because the computer or instruction software can untiringly assume the role of the tutorial instructor. In face-to-face teacher-student interactions, the tutorial method may pose problems because it is time consuming and may require multiple instructors for different levels of learners (Angiono

Does The World We Have Offer Practical Ways to Protect the Earths Essay

Does The World We Have Offer Practical Ways to Protect the Earths Environment - Essay Example As a means of integrating understanding of this reality, as well as seeking to provide a handful of prescriptions for how this waste can be lessened, the following analysis will integrate with the issue itself, the global trends that are implemented within the current world, and a review of several key recycling programs that can be utilized not only as a means of reducing the solid waste that builds up throughout the nation’s landfills but also providing monetary incentives that are cost positive for inducing recycling. By such an analysis, the reader can come to the understanding of the profound importance that this has and the relevance to the fate of the environment. Even a cursory analysis of the issue promotes the understanding that the nature of the current world has created a situation through which the overall level of trade in the overall level of domestic and international shipping between great partners and individual consumers is unlikely to decrease anywhere in the near future. Conversely, it is reasonable to expect that within the near future trade and international shipping will only increase. As a result of this reality, it is neither realistic, nor profitable to the economy or the individual consumer, to place a level of restrictions upon the overall volume of trade it takes place from one part of the world/one part of the country to another. However, with this being said, placing certain restrictions upon the way in which packing material is represented throughout the market is a reasonable and viable approach. For instance, in the drive to reduce the amount of landfill mass that shipping packaging generates, one effective approac h that could be engaged would be to require any and all shipping operations that integrate with the economy of the world to initiate levels of standardization with regards to the type and content shipping containers/packaging that are utilized

Morrisons Supermarket Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Morrisons Supermarket - Essay Example These are backed up by hundreds of special offers each time (Morrison's, 2006 and Wikipedia, 2006) from discounts to "buy one take one" topped by the wide range of goods offered from their own label "Bettabuy" and "Farmer Boy" to branded ones such as the overtaken and now defunct Safeway (BBC News, 2005) upmarket group products called "The Best." Morrison's is generally acknowledged to cater to "the lower end of the mainstream supermarket sector, offering value above choice and premium quality," of which executive chairman Sir Ken Morrison was quoted as saying "I don't know what a middle class shopper is," (Wikipedia, 2006). Morrison's manages its own commercial operation in-house from buying, packing, to distributing its fresh fruits and vegetables, meat products and fish, with their own temperature controlled warehouses, meat processing and fleet of transport. The company now employs about 130,000 members of staff in stores, factories, distribution centres, and head office administrative functions. They also enjoy a chunk of about 10 million weekly shoppers with their 360 stores across the nation. Morrison was founded in 1899 with a stall in Bradford Market selling egg and butter with its founder William Morrison inspired at innovating to lead the way in supermarket retailing. In 1958, the first town centre shop was opened, followed in 1961 by "Victoria" the first supermarket with 5,000 sq/ft of retail space selling fresh meat, green grocery, among other provisions, with a free parking. By 1967, it went public, with the shares over-subscribed at 174 times. 80,000 investors cashed in. In 1971, the Hilmore House head office was opened and by 1976, new produce Cutler Heights depot became operational after taking over Whelan Stores. By 1980, Morrison opened its "Farmer Boy" factory and in 1988, the Wakefield distribution centre opens. In 1988, Erith Greater London store opened and by 1999, the centennial store at 100th opens at Nelson. In 2001, Morrison Supermarket joined the FTSE 100 and by March 2004, it merged with Safeway (Morrison, 2006). Marketing and Communications: Employing the Market Street format that presents skilled butchers, bakers, fishmongers, pizza makers, among other well-versed staff to address its clientele, Morrison have successfully integrated among other marketing strategies a home-based service to its customers. Other stand-out marketing offers include returns for volume orders, and bell ringing announcement of newly baked goodies. Morrison's maintain its own website for the internet-using consumers, clients and the public that can be viewed at

A recent newspaper report Essay Example for Free

A recent newspaper report Essay The council had fitted a new toilet into Judy Weisss flat as part of a refurbishment. Ms Weiss noted that it looked good, but also complained that it smelled when the weather was warm. A workman was sent by the council to look at it, who then said they could not smell anything. No further action was taken regarding this particular issue.[S1] After some time, Ms Weiss then noted that a leak had started at the back of the toilet, where the floor and wall meet. It was miniscule at first and initially placed on the Low Priority list, before it then got worse to the point that the area always became flooded after the toilet was used, therefore becoming a High Priority problem. A professional was called again to look at it, and they turned off the water to stop the leak, but said Ms Weiss must use the toilet in the corridor instead. Ms Weiss complained that the toilet had been troubling her for two weeks now, and continuing leaks are resulting in emerging rotting on the skirting and stains on the floor tiles and hall carpet. She is now asking for compensation, and for everything to be fixed as soon as possible. This is a document to inform tenants of the councils policies about housing problems and how repairs to their homes are categorised, as well as advise tenants about how to report any problems which arise. This report has a mixed purpose to inform as well as to support readers on their case. Some positive points about the council are mentioned at the start of the article, but it mainly concentrates on highlighting negative points. It is positively mentioned that Westchester District Council came top in the Local Government rankings, mainly due to the recent refurbishment of all rented homes. There is a quote by Council Chief Amy Ayomola about how thrilled tenants are by the highly successful project. A spokesman from a local tenants association accused the council of window dressing and said that the upgrades are overdue and being done at the expense of normal repairs. It is said that the council is failing to meet targets for repairs, and that the council came 54th out of 72 in the rankings for tackling non-urgent repairs. CONCLUSIONS 1 The toilet smell in Judy Weiss home was dealt with correctly as per the councils repairs policy, with regards to Low Priority problems: there is a need for repair but this is not affecting the tenants ability to enjoy living in the property. This could include flaking paint, minor drainage smells or cracked tiles. 2 The start of the leak was initially correctly marked as Low Priority, due to its small size. However, as the leak increased so much to a point that the floors were being flooded and causing considerable damp damage in the area, it may have possibly been in the best interest of the council to deal with this in quicker time. 3 Since Ms Weiss had been contacting the council every week for the past six months with little response in return, more should have been done on our part to help her on time and not keep her waiting unnecessarily. RECOMMENDATIONS 1 In light of the problems highlighted by this tenants letter, the repairs policy should be properly reviewed and some amendments should be considered in order to improve it. 2 More investigation also should be done to find out whether these issues are truly a common occurrence for many more other tenants in Westchesters councils homes. A questionnaire would be a suitable method for this. 3 A letter of responsibility should be written and sent as soon as possible to the tenant, Judy Weiss, to acknowledge and apologise for her problems, as well as to inform her of what we can to do help and advise her of what actions she should make in future. 4 A response article should be written for the Westchester Gazette to let the public know the councils side of the story, and to portray itself in a more positive light.

Southwest Airlines Corporations

Southwest Airlines Corporations In year of 2006, Southwest Airlines celebrated its 34th consecutive year of profitability. While other airlines paces of profitability appear to be stagnant; Southwest Airlines was announced as one of the most admired corporations by Fortune 500 Magazine (Southwest 2006). Southwests success is deeply related to the new strategies that other airlines dont even dare to consider. The corporate culture and strategic philosophy stands out, making Southwest the leader in the whole airline industry. Southwest Airlines strategy can be described as â€Å"short-haul, low-fare, high-frequency, and point-to-point carrier (Fortune Magazine 2006)†. A lot of people consider that the marketing strategy that Southwest Airlines currently using is the low cost provider strategy. Low cost provider strategy is a strategy which is committed to driving down the cost through its value chain system (Broydrick 1995)†. This strategy allows companies to compete aggressively on price earning high pr ofit margins than rivals. But the low cost provider strategy is not the cure-all prescription for all the problems. If the quality of a product or service is not guaranteed, the low cost provider strategy is not likely to work. From a macro perspective, it seems that Southwest Airlines is using the low cost provider strategy to stand out among all other airlines. Rather, it is using the best cost provider strategy because from a competitive positioning standpoint, best cost strategies are a â€Å"hybrid, balancing a strategic emphasis on low cost against a strategic emphasis on differentiation (supervalue) (Entrepreneur 1995).† In order to analyze the factors which contributed to the success of Southwest Airline Corporation more efficiently, we can use the McKinsey 7-S Model. In Peter and Watermans masterpiece â€Å"In Search of Excellence†, the book summarized that in order for a corporation to be successful; there are factors which it must acquire. The reason why that they are considering the success in this way was because that successful corporations they picked from the top list of the Fortune Magazine all possessed seven criterion. That is the famous McKinsey 7-S framework that Southwest Airline based its strategies on, which guarantees that â€Å"any intelligent approach to eventual success of organizing had to encompass (Peters and Waterman, 1982)†. The McKinsey framework includes eight attributes: 1) A Bias for Action. This attribute is based on the principle of â€Å"can do, let try.† This means that the principle favors experimentation. Southwest often goes out of its way to â€Å"amuse, surprise and entertain† its passengers (Peters and Waterman, 1982).† 2) Close to the Customer. This implies that the closeness to customers are expressed as an attitude concentrating on â€Å"valued clients† rather than valued employees of Southwest Airlines treat the customers as â€Å"valued clients† rather than â€Å"valued wallets.† They care about the customers not only just for one trip, but their futures as well. Moreover, the letters from customers are answered personally rather than using a standardized formula. Southwests CEO Kelleher actively supported that because he declared that there are three advantages which could be drawn from the service. First, it is the employee performance. Kelleher considers it the best way to value its employees. Second, the inputs from the letters which are authentically wrote indicates the real deficiencies that Southwest might encounter. Third, there is no worry about the letters because if cu stomers are willing to spend time on writing it, there is a great possibility that their concern shown on the letters are true and realistic. Southwest rarely uses survey questions to test its customers to test customer satisfaction. Because most surveys are made up of multiple choices from scales such as from 1 to 10, or from excellent to bad. It is hard from customers to think that the corporation belongs to which category. The difference between scales 5 and 7 might be real close which confuse the customers (Dauble 2005). As a result, some customers filled up the answers in guessing way that they dont even know what they are doing. They just want to get over with it. 3) Autonomy and Entrepreneurship. This indicates that in the whole corporation, every employee is a leader. They are respected just like any top managers. Everyone is welcome to submit new ideas or weakness of the corporation, and it has no hierarchy. Moreover, their will be competition within the corporation, but not suppression. Every competition is conducted in friendly manners. Unlike other corporations that the CEOs rarely allows themselves to meet the employees, the employees of Southwest can have lunch with Kelleher any day at any time (Marcial 2005). All the departments often shower free ice creams, pizza and other good stuffs to celebrate for each other when an assignment gets well done. Some employees from different departments in other corporations dont even know each other. All they do is doing their own work. Therefore, once there is a problem, it is extremely difficult for departments to work as a whole to solve the problem because they hardly know each other. This will wastes a lot of time, have the possibility of leading the corporation into the wrong direction, and intensifies the relationship of managers between departments in the situation that when they are unable to reach consensus (Lynch 2005). Furthermore, Southwest welcomes failures as well as successes because it firmly believes that failure is the mother of success. When a failure appears, it means that the success is coming down the road. 4) Productivity through People. This strategy implies that there is no existence of personality tests. Sense of humor and an outgoing attitude is a must. At Southwest, communications are frequent and concerns of old people and young people are treated by old employees and young employees with outgoing attitudes and personalities. In this way, the negative effects and misunderstandings due to generation ga ps can be avoided. 5) Hand-on, Value-Driven. At Southwest, there is a policy that in every quarter, the top managers and executives must spend one day experiencing the jobs of their employees. By working on positions such as ticket agents, baggage handlers, or janitors, people from the top level will have an authentic feel of whats going on and where are difficulties and deficiencies (Bunz 1998). 6) Stick to the Knitting. This theory indicates that corporations should never expand too fast just because their financial results in the short run show success. Southwest will not expand recently because it follows the strategy and every move it makes is conducted in an extremely careful way. Southwest understands that if â€Å"hot meat appears, your eating it fast strategy probably will burn your mouth (McNerney 1996)†. 7) Simple Form and Lean Staff. This strategy means that â€Å"keeping an organizational staff lean simplifies channels of communication in an organization (Peters and Waterman, 1982).† The reason of this is because that the more layers a hierarch has in a corporation, the longer it makes to make a decision which could result in wasting time and resources. At Southwest, it is not the janitors clean up the airlines. Rather, flight attendants and top managers are people who do the cleanings. In this way, Southwest can save both money and time. Moreover, Southwest is always loyal to its employees as they are to the Southwest. Southwest uses the â€Å"always hire and rarely fire† principle when dealing with human resources (Peters and Waterman, 1982).† It never fires its employees just because of external factors such as the stagnant of economy or internal factors such as financial loss. 8) Simultaneous loose-tight properties. This means that the corporation has both a centralized and decentralized system which de-emphasizes hierarchy. Southwest has a democratic style of corporation culture with autonomy and a tight control of finance by the CEO to make sure that money and resources are not wasted. Besides the above-mentioned eight crucial strategies that successful corporations must acquire, Southwest has two more strategies that other successful corporations do not possess. One is the University of People, and the other one is its CEO Kelleher (BusinessWeek 2005). University of People is a program established by Southwest for training new emplo yees. The trainees treat rookies just like the way they treat customers with great respect. Southwest firmly believes that the way it treats its employees will be an indicator of standards and positive motivation for employees to treat customers in same manners in the way which they are treated, or even better. As the CEO of Southwest, Kelleher is a successful executive with great responsibilities. He is also looked upon as a person with great sense of humor. An employee described that â€Å"wherever Mr. Kelleher goes, you will always hear sounds of laughs and feel an atmosphere of harmony (Gavinderajan 2002).† The successful corporation structure and philosophy of centralized and decentralized differentiation of the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy brings a change, as well as a revolution of corporate structure innovations from old styles to the new ones. The â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy is very successful currently. Southwest is successful not only because of the â€Å"Short-Hauls† strategy. Southwests corporate strategy in areas of human resources, financial control, employee motivation and promotion, frequent communications between different levels, and the hardness for other airlines to duplicate are also factors which go with the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy, differentiating Southwest from the rest of airlines, and therefore ensuring the success of such great achievement. However, huge problems are likely to take place in the long run. Just like Darwins Theory â€Å"survival of the fittest† indicates that every element is on its way of evolving, being unchanged will eventually be discarded by time and success in the long run. It is true that Kellehers â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy is extremely successful at present, but it will never guarantee that depending solely on this strategy will still be succes sful in the future. Looking into the history of the human kind, and look at ourselves now, how is it different from the past and the present? If all human beings have not evolved, if the science in every field has not changed, will we still have the same outlooks as what we are having now? I dont think so. Without the evolving of human kind and the improvements in scientific field, we will be no different compared with the primary humans in the early stages. Dont even mention about watching television, taking shower, surfing on the internet, flying in the airplane, or even having delicious meals. Without changes and improvements, we will still be in the primary forests where once we belonged, eating raw meat like barbarians and sharing room with animals. There is no government, business entity or element which is able to stay unchanged forever. During the medieval period, the Roman Empire was the most powerful nation in the entire world. But it collapsed. The British once said that â€Å"the sun will never set on Great Britain†! It also collapsed. China invented three of the four ancient miracles, the method of printing, compass and gunpowder more than 3,000 years ago. It was also the center of power and civilization during the Tang Dynasty which lasted for more than 800 years. China also paved the way for the first international business that never had happened between the east and the west. When Marco Polo traveled to China during the peak of its prosperity, he was shocked and thrilled to see that difference between the east and the west. When the European were sharing rooms with animals, China already had palaces made out of gold, even the miracle of Great Wall which is the only manmade mark that can be seen from space. The dynasty also collapsed. From all the examples that I mentioned above, you can clearly see t hat every nation has its ups and downs. Forever power never exists. This is exactly the same as business. I will be astonished if you can tell me a business entity which has lasted for 500 years. Many people believe that Wal-Mart is unstoppable, and unfortunately, they are absolutely wrong. Decades ago, Sears was the â€Å"Wal-Mart† at that time. Look at Sears now, how different it is between the past and present. Who can guarantee decades later, there will be no corporations replacing Wal-Mart? If Kelleher has the same concerns as I do, it is possible that he will be worried about Southwest in the future. What if the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy stopped working? What if an underdog suddenly comes out, making Southwest stand on the border of failure? The situation for Southwest in the future is not as optimistic as it seems. However, it does not mean that Southwest is meant to be a failure. All roads lead to Rome, and whenever there is a will, there is a way. Kelleher can still use the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy to succeed. But the strategy must be converted from a micro-perspective to a macro-perspective. In order for a company to be successful in the long run, it must expand. Kelleher said that Southwest has not made any decision to expand at present. But it does not mean that Southwest will never expand. As a business entity, corporations must expand globally to obtain more profits. Look at Wal-Mart, how many stores does it own worldwide? Need I say more? This also reminds me of an old saying which has it that â€Å"the largest fish in the river is never a big fish in the ocean†. If Southwest is satisfied just because of current profits and competitive advantages it has in the short run, it will not be Southwest anymore. I think that Southwest is on its way of planning its expansions, but with a very careful and conscientious attitude. It wants to make sure that the new strategy will work when the decision of expanding is made. There might be countless strategies for Kelleher to come up with. I know one strategy which I consider the best strategy because using this new strategy, Southwest can be very successful in the long run. It can also save time and resources. So what is this so-called strategy? I consider it the most successful not because of my arbitrary standing point of â€Å"pride and prejudice.† Rather, I recognized its importance and advantages because I have done a lot of research to make sure that this approach makes sense. The strategy I am using now is one strategy from the masterpiece called â€Å"The Art of War†, written by the greatest military strategist ever in history more than 3,000 years ago. The authors name is Sun Zi. What is so great and amazing about this book is that it has listed all the strategies which can be applied and used in all scientific fields, such as military, business, geometry and all other natural sciences. Japan is renowned for its management which almost cracked down the American automobile industry, and every top manager in Japan always makes sure they the book ‘The Art of War† lays on his desk. India is renowned for its financial system which also takes some strategies fr om â€Å"The Art of War†. United States Department of Defense and its military also adopted the strategies from the masterpiece of â€Å"The Art of War†, and manipulate them from a military science standing point (The Spread and popularity of the Art of War). In order to implement these strategies appropriately, one requirement must be met. The prerequisite is that the user must have a good understanding of military science built on the views that can be related and flexibly applied and manipulated from a perspective which solves problems based on methods of essence indirectly related from all other sciences. Knowledge is similar to a big family in that every element from every field mutually supports each other. For instance, when in process of establishing a military strategy, the person responsible for it must have good understandings of sciences such as geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry and even languages as well. In order for the strategy to operate well to the fullest extent of its capacity, the central strategist must have a good command of what geological area is the enemy in; what weapons has the enemy obtained; is it possible to use the scientific competitive advantage from a military perspective; what will the weather be like when the battle takes place; what mathematical calculation is needed for the army to defeat the enemy in a timely, resource-saving and casualty-reducing standpoint; after invading the area, what language and culture pattern that the enemy uses and has, etc. For geography, it is crucial for the strategist to decide which altitudes in the region would likely to be an advantage when fighting the battle. For weapons, the strategist must know whether the wea pons invented through the methods and formulas of physics and chemistry is a helping factor, and the basic laws and functions of the scientific principles in which the weapons are made based on knowledge of physics and chemistry. For meteorology, the strategist must have a good command of whats the weather would be like when the battle takes places because fighting on a sunny day and rainy day will have different results which could be the factors leading to either the victory or failure of the battle. For mathematics, the strategist must be pretty clear that why way is actually the nearest way offering competitive advantage for his troops. For linguistics, people who speak the enemys language and understand their cultural patterns will be a good indicator to lead the way. Ignorance of these necessary elements that eventually leads to failures is countless. In the Korean War, both sides have tried everything to keep control of the highest geographic positions; the first Russian space shuttle to the moon would provide Russia with a competitive technological advantage on weapons based on the same laws of sciences that were applied to the shuttle; the shuttle never comes back because the Russian scientists ignor ed one hundredth of a decimal point, and it resulted in deaths of all its excellent astronauts; the lost of the space shuttle which the government had supported financially, the time Russian scientists had devoted themselves to, and suspicions of scientific laws; all the hard work, the money and resources was wasted, and the laws of science were meant to be retested; the American troops in Iraq resulted in more casualties as expected because the strategist ignored the power of language, and hiring locals who hate Americans as translators who intentionally led Americans to opposite and wrong directions which resulted in lost of many lives which can possibly be saved if language and cultural pattern were considered. Finally, the reason that George Bush still could not find Bin Laden is because that he has no idea of the Iraqi landforms. If he knew that well, Bin Laden should already be caught and Saddam Hussein will not be the scapegoat. The strategy that Southwest Airlines should use in order to continue its success is also based on the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy. The difference is that the strategy must be inter-converted. Southwest can try its best to duplicate its â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy globally. For instance, it can do exactly the same business with the same strategy once again. But this time, Southwest has to do it in every part of the world. For instance, Southwest can expand its business in France, Germany, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, Poland, Greece, etc. All Southwest has to do is doing â€Å"Short-Haul† business in all the countries. Once the â€Å"Short-Haul† strategy has spread to almost all the nations with economic prosperity, Southwest can start its â€Å"Long-Haul† strategy. Its global network will be linked like the solid structure of an atom, from Russia to Germany, Germany to France, France to Australia, Australia to China, and China to Switzerland, etc. By doing this, Southwest will have an extremely solid structure of global airline network that is likely to be very durable. The structure is similar to that of an atom. The structure of an atom can be described as one of the most solid structure among all other solid elements. This strategy adopted from â€Å"The Art of War† is based on the theory of strategic transformation, especially from a micro-perspective to a macro-perspective (Chapter IV, Art of War). By duplicating its successful strategy of â€Å"Short-Haul†, Southwest will have the capabilities of accumulating more strengths little by little. When Southwest considers it the right time to transform the â€Å"Short-Hauls† strategy to â€Å"Long-Hauls†, it can connect its business in every corner of the world. Each business in a certain place can be regard as a dot; there will an enormous amount of dots that Southwest has worked on. Therefore, connections of all the dots will change the network s imilar to that of an atom. Atom is said to have the toughest element structure on earth. One atom does not mean anything; two atoms only make a molecule. But through countless chemical reactions of nuclear fissions, millions and billions of atoms will have the energy as powerful as that of the atomic bomb. This strategy is also flexible. When Southwest considers itself too hard to manage all its subdivisions, it can back up its structures to original format, transforming from a macro-perspective to a micro-perspective. It can also change some parts to macro and other parts to micro. Whenever it is needed, Southwest is capable of interchanging its structure into different forms that best fits can be calculated according to different situations. The huge advantage of this strategic has three crucial characteristics: First, all Southwest has to do to force other airlines out of business just by doing a slight shift. Once the headquarter take the move, every connections of the network over the world can either do the same as a whole or a slightly different according to its own situation. The reason that Southwest is able to do this is because it possesses both a centralized and decentralized structure which can choose the best outfits. Second, once the network is complete, it will be very durable. It can last for a very last period until the strategies made by other airlines are superior. As I mentioned above, every element is on the way of changing so that there is no forever monopoly. But when Southwest has the ability to applied the â€Å"Long-Hauls† strategy, it will already have obtained the role as the leader in the industry. It will then be extremely difficult for other airlines to innovate new ideas expecting to replace the Southwest because under that situation, Southwest have the power to make sure that other airlines do not have chances. I dont mean that there is no possibility another innovation of internal structure of corporations. But the probability is not likely because at that time, Southwest will have the possibility with a confidence interval of at least 90%. Finally, I will be thrilled and stunned if other corporations are able to come up with better strategies under such a suppressed atmosphere. In order for other airlines to jump out from the â€Å"vicious cycle†, they must have the ability to obtain two important factors, which are financial resources and time. The network at least will take Southwest ten years to complete with financing of trillions of dollars. It is not likely for other airlines to come up with trillions of dollars at once, and even Wal-Mart does not know if it possesses the ability. Moreover, there is another requirement of more importance. That i s the time. The most valuable thing in the entire world is time. There is no opportunity cost for time because time is always moving on and it is eternal. It can never stop. As a result, do those airlines have time to do it? How long do they need in order to come up with a better strategy, replacing that of the Southwests? Therefore, the possibility is extremely slight. Southwest has this advantage. It is only a matter of time! Its about how long Southwest can last! Bibliographies â€Å"Americas Most Admired Companies 2006†, Wall Street Journal, available @ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/snapshots/1253.html Dauble, Jennifer, â€Å"Top Fifty Companies to Watch, October 31, 2005†. 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