Saturday, August 31, 2019

History of South Africa’s Apartied Essay

South Africa is a land of abundant natural resources with a mild climate, and lush fertile land. With natural resources like diamonds, gold, and platinum, it’s no wonder that the Dutch East India Company set up settlements on the Cape of Good Hope. These settlements established a trade port between South Africa and other countries. The 17th and 18th centuries, saw settlements popping up all over Africa. Settlers from France, England, Portugal, Belgium and Spain came, forcing the Africans from their lands and turning them into a labor force. By the 20th century the British had taken over most of the settlements in the northeast, east, west, and the center of South Africa and the French controlled most of the northwest. The Republic of South Africa has had a very turbulent 20th century. Although apartied officially started in 1948, South Africa’s history for racial domination began much earlier. The Land Act was put into place in 1913, restricting Black African citizens from buying land outside special areas or reserves. This act also allowed for black sharecroppers, living on â€Å"white land†, to be relocated to these reserves. Although the Act was not enforced often, it set the stage for the â€Å"Black Homelands†, which would come into play later. The National Party, a white pro-segregation party, was voted into power after WWII. They began preparing racial legislation, and in 1949, the Mixed Marriage Act became law, prohibiting whites and blacks from marrying. In 1950, the Immorality Act made it a crime for whites to have sexual relations with any other race. The Population Registration Act required all people living in South Africa to register their race. A child born from any union would immediately be registered with their race/ethnicity. Many other acts were introduced in the coming years. All were passed to seriously limit any economic, political, or educational opportunities for the black South Africans. These Apartied Acts actually resulted in the promotion of the Black Self-Government Act in 1958, and the Black Homeland Citizenship Act in 1971. The Self-Government Act established ten areas in South Africa called Homelands. These â€Å"Homelands† were divided based on the tribe formally living there. All tribe members were expected to return to this land, where they would live and be governed by their own self-government. With the 1971 Citizenship Act, tribes were no longer citizens of South Africa. Instead they would be citizens of their Homelands. RESISTANCE TO APARTIED One of the first political organizations that opposed apartied was Lumumba Yama Africa; they believed that African unity was the only way to fight the white government . This party started in the 19th century, encouraging many other parties to join them in this goal. The apartied was also influenced by outside powers, such as Gandhi. These organizations instituted revolts beginning in 1960, leaving 69 dead and 190 injured. Apartied did not receive international awareness when the laws were created in 1948. With the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and the troubles in Asia and the rest of the African continent, awareness was finally brought to light to the rest of the world. In November 1977, the United Nations also became involved, by imposing arms embargos December 1977saw other sanctions. Many countries brought more awareness by not allowing South African Airway to land in their country. The South African government, because they were experiencing great economic growth, chose to show indifference to any criticisms from other organizations or countries. Because the white South Africans were prospering economically, sanctions continued to be ignored. IT’S OVER Apartied finally came to an end in 1990. By 1991, all apartied laws were repealed. The sanctions by other countries and organizations were also repealed. Since then, the government has been working hard to improve economic growth by creating jobs and integrating the workforce. Even though racism still exists in South Africa; cooperation between races has improved significally. REFERENCES Apartied Timeline. (n. d. ). Apartied Timeline. Retrieved from http://cyberschoolbus. un. org/discrim/race_b_at_print. asp Apartied in South Africa. (n. d. ) In Wikipedia (Rep. ). (n. d. ). Retrieved from www-cs-studentsstanford. edu/~cale/cs201/apartied. hist. html White, G. W. , ;amp; Bradshaw, M. J. (2011). Essentials of world regional geography (2nd ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Some People Think That Students Benefit

Some people think that students benefit from going to private secondary schools. Do you agree or disagree? Parents are always making all efforts sending their children to good schools and private secondary schools always can provide better education. Many people argue that studying in private middle school brings a lot of benefits to students. Others, on the other hand, claim that several problems may emerge if children going to private schools when they are in their adolescence. Before rendering my opinion, I think it is important to take a glance at the arguments on both sides. Some people strongly believe that it may arouse some problems both to parents and their children. For one thing, the tuition fees in private schools which belong to some individuals are higher than those of public schools which receive financial support from the government. It is a big financial burden to some families, especially those ordinary families with more than two children. Next, there are a large number of students who are from the royal family or family with big fortune and power choose to go to private schools. They have a sense of superiority over others, so other fellow students may have difficulties making friends with them. More important, potential discrimination may do harm to children’s mental health. Furthermore, too many expectations given by their parents may lay too much stress on their children and as a consequence result in fierce peer competition. However, there are also some others who contend that private secondary schools have more merits than drawbacks. First and foremost, teachers are mostly of high academic quality and schools are furnished with sufficient and sound teaching facilities. Thus students can acquire knowledge in a pleasant environment. Moreover, small classes are usually adopted in private school which is more effective and guarantees students with more face to face communication chances. Thirdly, some special courses such as manners, tea ceremony and financial management are available in private schools. As part of extracurricular courses, it plays a positive role in students’ knowledge enrichment and temperament cultivation. To sum up, we cannot deny that both sides are well-grounded. In my opinion, if money permitting, it is much better to receive secondary education in private school. There are sufficient equipment and resources for study and mini-class teaching makes students more concentrating on their studies. What is more, encouraging students to participate in some special courses can cultivate their taste and improve their comprehensive quality.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Advance Diploma of Marketing

The strategic directions of TESCO can be categorised in different sections. The starting point of the organization is the market where it serves the large number of the customers. It is observed that the UK market is the most successful market where TESCO serves most of its customers. As per the current report, the UK market represents more than two-thirds of the overall sales of the organization. The main focus of the organization is on service, range and availability. The core business of the organization is based on the effective service. However, the organization is lagging behind in implementing this in the recent time. In addition, over the past few years, the organization has significantly increased the number of products in its range. Nevertheless, this has put certain pressure on the store challenges of the company. From the strategic direction of the organization, it has also been observed that Tesco needs to protect as well as strengthen its financial position. Thus, the organization could maintain the flexibility to invest more on better shopping trip for the customers. Moreover, the organization is committed to stronger financial disciplines across the capital spending. The organization relies on the trust customers, suppliers and the communities. Furthermore, it is also observed that the business model of Tesco consists of products, customers and channels. The aim of the organization is to assure everything in the business that is built in the most efficient way to generate value for customers (McDonald 2013). Strategic analysis- According to the recent report, in the year 2013, Tesco has achieved revenues that is around  £ 35, 557 million, which indicates an increase of 19.7% against the previous years (Lowe, George and Alexy 2012). In the current year, in the UK market, the organization Tesco has extended its operations. As mentioned by Soosay, Fearne and Dent (2012), the organization has also built up 20 superstores and achieved a tremendous growth in the business. Mostly importantly, it is identified that the overall sales in UK market of Tesco is greater than the total sales in Asian market. The organization has increased the market share. Similarly, the brand value of the organization has also increased due to the current operations. However, the structural change in UK market could spark a price way in the coming years (Dowling and Moran 2012).   Further, the returns from the overseas could fail. This could create obstacles for the organization. Nevertheless, it is also identified that Tesco currently holds 13% share of the retail market of UK. The company has a multi-format capability which indicates that Tesco may continue to increase the share in food, whereas maximizing the space contribution from the hypermarket that is allowing the organization to deal with higher share in non-food (Lowe, George and Alexy 2012). Further, it is observed that the international business segment of Tesco is dramatically increasing. It is assumed to contribute a quarter of group profits over the coming years. As put forward by Singh and Sahay (2012), if the geographical spread continues to increase, it may ensure Tesco’s persistent regional growth. Brand value of the organization is gradually increasing as the profits for the operations done by Tesco in UK, Asia and Ireland increased by 79% at the time of fiscal year. Moreover, the organization has strong image and it is associated with the good quality of products and services. As m entioned by Frow et al. (2014), the trustworthy products may represent the excellent brand value. Tesco uses innovative ways of enhancing the customer shopping experience. The organization also put a large amount of efforts in branching out into the finance as well as insurance. Scoping the marketing opportunities- The organization could pay attention to the non-food retail. The implementation of this approach may provide further marketing opportunities. The new customers could come; thus, the organization may increase the customer base. In addition, the organization could also focus on health and beauty. In order to apply this opportunity, the organization may have to develop the health and beauty products. Lastly, the organization may extend the business to internal platform. For example, it could extend the business in other country where marketers have optimal opportunities for retail business. Reviewing the current performance of the organization The current performance of the organization indicate that Tesco has developed a significant multi-format strategy that in turn provides certain benefits to the organization. For example, in the recent time, it has been observed that the overall sales of Tesco has now increased 70% bigger than the increment of overall sales of Sainsbury in UK’s market. As per the competition Commission report, it is difficult for the competitors of Tesco to throw challenge to Tesco. As opined by Mukerjee (2013), the chance of stealing UK leadership by Wal-Mart is less; thus, Tesco is significantly in a strong position in the domestic market. There have been certain risks associated with the operations of each organization. More specifically, it can be added that the organization in its own industry might have to deal with some common risks elements. The appropriate risk response could be different from organization to organization based on how the management considers the risks in respect with magnitude. There have been certain steps involved with the risk management strategy that can be applied to deal with the common risks. The initial step of executing the risk management is to identify the potential risks that are inherent to the business as well as the operation of the organization. For instance, the organization could implement self-assessment process and conduct the survey to learn the facilitated risks. There are certain advantages associated with this particular mechanism. The major advantages of this technique is the capability to have workshop for multiple level of responsibility. For example, the governance level of could have a different view of magnitude of risk than frontline employee. As mentioned by Galician (2013), the decentralized risk ownership may require risk evaluation. The second step is to assess the risk on two dimension namely the likelihood of occurrence as well as the impact of occurrence. While developing the risk management strategies, it is necessary to assess the risks. By assessing the risks, the Tesco could find out further solutions. Hence, Tesco might have to deal with the external risks such as competitor strategies and changes in the market demands. At the end of this step, the risks are identified, measured as well as assessed as to the extent of severity. The resulting information from these steps can be considered as the risk profile. As mentioned by Shani and Chalasani (2013), a risk analysis technique could help to capture information from the first steps with the help of facilitated risks. The organization Tesco should determine how the exposure can be stated in different terms like the financial challenge, the challenge of damage to business reputation or the challenge of inefficiency in the techniques used. This particular step is about determining the risks in hand. This steps determines the appropriate response that can be effectively managed. In addition, for each identified risk, the particular risk can easily be articulated. It is assumed that if the severity of the risk is comparatively high, there be strong risk response. In addition, it can also be mentioned that each organization may have its own risk threshold. For instance, if the risk response is to accept the potential risks, this could become the part organization’s risk threshold. This step is about assigning the responsibility to a certain position. Each of the risk should be assigned to a particular position within the workplace of the organization. The person responsible for the positions need to assure that the risk response is properly translated on a regular basis. The responsible person needs to develop the required solutions for the risk identified. For example, if the customers have issues regarding the sales or the services, the sales manager needs to identify the issues. Based on the identification certain solutions can be developed. After implementing the risk responses and management techniques, the managers need to take the responsibility of monitoring the significant activities to assure that the identified risks remain within an acceptable threshold (Mitchell and Greatorex 2013). In such case, the organization may adopt the centralized risk management groups to monitor. This group would take the responsibility of determining the extent of risks. The executive management may require the information to be reported that could further allow them. The managers of the organization need to determine the form of reporting to positively inform the core body of the organization. The information gained from the reports can be further utilized to manage the annual updates of the risk analysis. In addition, the management of the organization needs to adhere to control the usual techniques of marketing. Identification and analysis of marketing opportunities: Nowadays, the retail industry has been experiencing the robust growth in the global market. The retail industry is in a growing phase and it facilitates to strengthen the economic development of the country (Ryan 2014). The changing lifestyle and its rapid development have facilitated the organizations to enhance the business opportunity in an effective manner. Tesco is one of the supermarket giants experiencing rapid growth in the global platform.   It is the third biggest retailer in the world having outlets in 14 different nations (Solomon 2014). Although the organization has established its business in the UK in an effective manner, Tesco needs to focus on their international business for experiencing the profitable outcome. By analysing the positive aspects of the business process management, it can be assessed that the organization has been focusing on enhancing the business in the large demographic areas (Green, Whitten and Inman 2012). Business Viability depends on several factors including competitive advantage model along with target segment analysis. Moreover, it consists of product growth directions, BCG matrix analysis. Although the organization has been facing difficulties for enhancing business areas in the market, the company operates its business in Asia, including Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan (Gabrielsson, Gabrielsson and Seppà ¤là ¤ 2012). The CEO of the organization has stated that they are looking forward to implementing several strategies for gaining competitive advantages in an efficient manner. External factors including social, economic, political, cultural and technological factors influence the organization to execute the business process management in an effective manner. In this context, Tesco has been experiencing enhanced business growth worldwide through utilizing its effective marketing opportunities. Tesco considers the several political factors for executing the business in the global environment. On the other hand, the organization has analyzed each political issue in a detailed manner, which facilitates them in identifying the key development area in the business (Devi Juwaheer et al. 2012). Most of the business analysts have accepted the fact that political and legislative conditions have been influencing the business of Tesco in an efficient manner. Economic factors are the most important concerns of the business, as it is responsible for influencing the demand, costs, prices and profits. High unemployment level indicates the most influential factors, as it decreases the effective demand for many goods (Gabrielsson, Gabrielsson and Seppà ¤là ¤ 2012). On the contrary, it affects the demand for producing the same product line. By analyzing different marketing factors, it can be assessed that the organization focuses on cost, benefits, risks and opportunities for the execution of business in an efficient manner. There are several beneficial aspects of the business enhancing the opportunity for profit maximization. By discussing the benefits of Tesco, several business processes can be identified such as economies of scale, diversification, minimum standards, large employers and flexible hours (Solomon 2014). The strong financial assets of Tesco indicate its capability for implementing diversification into the product category. In this context, Tesco has facilitated in increasing the competition in the global market. On the other hand, the large size of the business facilitates the organization for obtaining benefits from the economies of scales including transportation, distribution, marketing and technology (Ryan 2014). Costs of Tesco depend on several factors including consumer’s choice, size and market power, profit margins, and accessibility time (Solomon 2014). The CEO of the organization believes that the company needs to have a wide range of products for providing high choice to the consumers. On the other hand, profit margins play an important role in the business, as it facilitates the organization to obtain success in an efficient manner (Gabrielsson, Gabrielsson and Seppà ¤là ¤ 2012). Cost analysis includes the accessible time for business. Tesco operates its business 24 hours for providing enhanced facilities to the customers.  Ã‚   Although the organization has adequate brand values in the international market, it faces several risks in the business. The prime threat to the organization is that the UK structural change could spark a price war (Ryan 2014). On the other hand, most business analysts have discussed that the overseas returns could fall at any point in time. The organization faces threats from its competitors including Walmart and Asda. However, the management team at Tesco has implemented several unique strategies for diminishing the marketing challenges in an appropriate manner (Solomon 2014). In recent years, the organization has been trying to expand the business on the global platform. By discussing the opportunities of the business, it can be assessed that Tesco can enter into the health and beauty segment for the enhancement of business. Moreover, the organization needs to focus on further international growth. Tesco has conducted a customer feedback where the organization has accumulated suggestion on developing non-food retail section (Green, Whitten and Inman 2012). Hence, it can be assessed that the organization has several opportunities for the business enhancement in the global platform. The prime goal of the organization is to maximize the profitability of the business within a short timeline. Tesco is one of the giant organizations in the supermarket industry. The size and economic status of the organization have facilitated them to retain an enhanced brand value in the global market (Ryan 2014). With the involvement of the effective strategic implementation, the organization could achieve the organizational objectives in an efficient manner. On the other hand, the organization recognizes its customers for the enhancement of the business in the large demographic areas (Solomon 2014). The increasing market share of the organization has facilitated the company to achieve goals and objectives of the business in an appropriate manner. There are three prime opportunities for the organization including entering into the non-food retail, health and beauty and further international growth. Hence, it can be assessed that different opportunities of the business facilitate th e organization in obtaining the profitable outcome in an efficient manner. Evaluating each opportunity to determinate its impact on the current business: Tesco has numerous opportunities for enhancing the business in the global platform. Tesco may include new ideas for the enhancement of the business in an efficient manner. These new business opportunities involve non-food retail, health, beauty, and further international growth. With the engagement of the new business involvement, the particular organization could enhance its assets in the business (Green, Whitten and Inman 2012). The core strength of the business is to increasing market share to develop the business opportunities. By entering into the non-food industry, Tesco could be able to enhance the business profitability in an efficient manner (Solomon 2014). On the other hand, the enhanced brand value of the company would facilitate them to obtain success in the new business ventures. Hence, it can be assessed that the new business engagement would be the best possible solution for the profit maximization. The organization needs to focus on clear as well as definite plan outlined by retailer to tap the market. The organization needs to develop plans to establish a long-term relationship with the customers. In addition, the Tesco needs to focus on Asian market or the organization could extend the business in other Asian countries. In the recent time, the Asian economy is boosting the market. Thus, the organization may find effective marketing opportunities. In addition, the organization needs to focus on the products and customer services. Therefore, they could develop some new products based on the needs and demands of the market. There are certain key performance indicators that could help to develop organizational performance. The featured marketing plan for Tesco is suggesting the changes for the larger organization. It is to be indicated that the structure of the marketing plan for a larger organization may ensure several potential risks. Hence, it is required to formulate the relevant risks management strategy to mitigate the possibilities of emerging risks. Since, the marketing plan has been formulated for a larger organization, the establishment of the effective training and development session for the managers would be beneficial. In considering such process, the assistant director will be the major responsible person to provide training to the other managers in a hierarchal structure. The training process will be associated with the collaboration of different managers of diversified departments. The senior manager will assess the overall risks to the managers in such training period. Each of the segments will be discussed and the managers can even consult with other while undertaking any organizatio nal decision. The marketing plan is structured by keeping the focus on the marketing objectives that has been set previously. The structured process of the marketing plan determines the frequent way of conducting the business. The marketing activities are listed further: Reviewing the documents is necessary in considering the frequent improvisation of the process. The marketing plan will thus be well structured and well contented. On the completion of the report, it can be mentioned that effective marketing plan could provide certain marketing opportunities. It can be mentioned that if the marketing plan fails, the organization could go on enhancement of the market rather than penetrating the market. The organization needs to develop new strategy for the development of the market. In addition, the current operation of Tesco indicate that organization has a stronger position in the UK market. Tesco needs to pay attention to its customer service; if the organization provides an effective service to the customers, the company may increase sales and achieve an effective financial position. Devi Juwaheer, T., Pudaruth, S. and Monique Emmanuelle Noyaux, M., 2012. Analysing the impact of green marketing strategies on consumer purchasing patterns in Mauritius.  World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development,  8(1), pp.36-59. Dowling, G. and Moran, P., 2012. Corporate reputations. California Management Review, 54(2), pp.25-42. Frow, P., McColl-Kennedy, J.R., Hilton, T., Davidson, A., Payne, A. and Brozovic, D., 2014. Value propositions A service ecosystems perspective. Marketing Theory, p.1470593114534346. Gabrielsson, P., Gabrielsson, M. and Seppà ¤là ¤, T., 2012. Marketing strategies for foreign expansion of companies originating in small and open economies: the consequences of strategic fit and performance.  Journal of International Marketing,  20(2), pp.25-48. Galician, M.L., 2013. Handbook of product placement in the mass media: New strategies in marketing theory, practice, trends, and ethics. Routledge. Green, K.W., Whitten, D. and Inman, R.A., 2012. Aligning marketing strategies throughout the supply chain to enhance performance.  Industrial Marketing Management,  41(6), pp.1008-1018. Lowe, M., George, G. and Alexy, O., 2012. Organizational identity and capability development in internationalization: transference, splicing and enhanced imitation in Tesco’s US market entry. Journal of Economic Geography, p.lbs016. McDonald, M.H., 2013. Ten barriers to marketing planning. Journal of Product & Brand Management. Mitchell, V.W. and Greatorex, M., 2013. Risk reducing strategies used in the purchase of wine in the UK. International Journal of Wine Marketing. Mukerjee, K., 2013. Customer-oriented organizations: a framework for innovation. Journal of Business Strategy, 34(3), pp.49-56. Ryan, D., 2014.  Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers. Sah, S. and Fughà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Berman, A., 2013. Physicians under the influence: social psychology and industry marketing strategies. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 41(3), pp.665-672. Shani, D. and Chalasani, S., 2013. Exploiting niches using relationship marketing. Journal of Services Marketing. Singh, H. and Sahay, V., 2012. Determinants of shopping experience: Exploring the mall shoppers of national capital region (NCR) of India. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 40(3), pp.235-248. Solomon, M.R., 2014.  Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: prentice Hall. Soosay, C., Fearne, A. and Dent, B., 2012. Sustainable value chain analysis-A case study of Oxford Landing from â€Å"vine to dine†. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 17(1), pp.68-77.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Prairie Dog versus Range Land Owner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prairie Dog versus Range Land Owner - Essay Example Settlers were the ones granted to claim 160 acres of land for only $10 through the Homestead Act which was passed in 1860 in which, "Once the claim had been occupied for five years, it became the settler's property"(Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program, 2005). The home for the prairie dogs, and other creatures were destroyed, more so for these creatures which in the eyes of humans were pests to their fields. More and more animals were being added to the endangered list as the settlers began to suffer the consequences of inhabiting the home of the prairie dogs. Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (2005) also stated that, "Few people recognized the ecological sensitivity of the Great Plains or realized that native grasses held the prairie soil together. Without native vegetation, winds carried away topsoil planted with crops. This problem became evident during the drought which caused the Dust Bowl and black blizzards of the 1930s when many farmers lost their land. It wasn 't until after this devastation that range management and soil conservation practices were developed." "Prairie dog colonies are unique ecosystems that attract a wide variety of wildlife" (Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team, 2005).

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Ishikawa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ishikawa - Research Paper Example He was given huge management responsibilities when he was very young, and this too, made him concentrate his mind on business improvement very early in his career. It is interesting that from the start Ishikawa was able to apply both his practical experience in the field of engineering management, and his academic abilities at the same time. He noticed that the Japanese economy immediately after the second World War was suffering from various hindrances including a lack of understanding of statistics on the part of individuals who had to make decisions based on those figures, a nationwide over-reliance on imports, and an irrational tendency to use outmoded approaches (Ishikawa, 1991, p.3). This ability to see both the tiny details and the bigger picture was to prove one of his greatest strengths. He saw Total Quality Control as the key to addressing all of these issues and this was the start of his major lifetime achievements. Milakovish, (1995 p. 61) points out that Ishikawa acknowledged debts to Deming, Feigenbaum and Juran in his innovations, but that his major contribution to the field of quality management is his creation of the Quality Control Circle, which encouraged contributions from workers in small groups at the production level. It was introduced in the Nippon Telegraph and Cable Company for the first time in 1962 and from there it spread across the whole of Japan. This recognition of the valuable contribution of every worker at every part of the process of production, sales and after sales service revolutionised the way that managers saw their own roles, and the roles of their colleagues and subordinates. Through working with Deming and others, Ishikawa was able to appreciate the benefits of Western ways of doing, but he could also see that Japanese traditional ways had much value if applied in the right way. Japanese cultural traditions such

Monday, August 26, 2019

Privacy and Internet Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Privacy and Internet Policy - Essay Example Identity theft is not a new happening. It has been around for ages now and have transformed from using the names of deceased people for voting or turning to crime that is against the social welfare. The surge of pre-approved credit cards, pre-approved loans and unsolicited credit card checks along with the ease of accessibility and reach of the Internet has made identity theft a crime that can fool anyone and lead to overwhelming financial costs for the victims (Stanley, 2008). James Moor (2009) observes that a policy vacuum exists regarding the usage of computer technology. The increased range of opportunities that computers provide also necessitates the development of more comprehensive policies to guide actions. Advancement in technology has given rise to greater vulnerabilities in the security of systems; this has been the case for websites too. Due to the chances of access by unauthorized agents, websites often develop web privacy policies. Internet policies can be used by a num ber of bodies ranging from companies and schools to web based sellers and vendors. Regardless of how dedicated or vaguely controlled the web servers, the level of risk that these bodies are exposed to and their adherence to an Internet privacy policy is not the same. If companies do not observe a concrete security system for the protection of information, then the gap between the intended level of security and identity theft protection system is widened and manifests itself when a security breach occurs. It needs to be emphasized that the range of attacks and risks to the system from outside sources is very diverse and complicated. Web-based attacks such as identity theft, common gateway interface code etc lead to drastic consequences internal intrusion, receipt or dissemination of a malicious code, decrease in the security fortressed by network security procedures and misrepresentation and authentication problems. Moreover if a system is exposed to high levels of internet identity theft, people would not trust the system anymore (Vacca, 2003). There are various measures that are employed to protect the web sources from intrusions and identity theft. According to Vacca (2003) one of this is the development and effective enforcement of an Internet policy which is meant to cover and develop management, usage and processes associated with configuration in the context of identity theft protection. Internet service providers should take into account the privacy legislation policy and should be able to not only understand it but also comply with it. Vacca argues that one of the best practices for online identity theft protection is openness, for which companies need to make identity theft policies and practices mandating the management of personal information in an open yet responsible manner. The website of the company should encompass an accurate and comprehensive identity theft policy. In particular, the privacy policy should coherently divest the responsibilitie s of organization as well as the information practices. The government places great emphasis on the protection of financial businesses, workplaces etc against identity theft. A privacy policy serves three main purposes. It tells the user about the information and security policies of the company. It gives the consumer information about the range of options that he has

Sunday, August 25, 2019

BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS - Essay Example It may be one essential element of an organization that keeps it together and going. It is a process of getting a task done through people. There have been numerous amounts of theories and assumptions that have varied. Although words about leadership have been written by Egyptian and Greek philosophers about five thousand years ago, but the studies about different approaches to leadership did not commence until after World War 1. Since then, there has been a multitude of perspectives and theories produced. The "Personality approach" emphasizes at the individual attributes of leaders, such as self confidence, risk taking, creativity, and persuasiveness. The "Behavior approach" looks at the actual activity performed by any leader that involves assessing regular tasks and behavioral characteristics of leaders. Lastly, the "Situational approach" focuses on leadership in terms of its relationships with factors such as subordinates, and peers. This approach is also referred to as â€Å"Contingency theory† because the situation determines the role of the leader. First time a scientific research was carried out was in the early part of the twentieth century. These scientists’ works with an assumption that leaders were people who had various attributes and personality traits that include physical characteristics, personality, social background, and ability that distinguished them from the rest. Therefore, this consistent philosophical view came to be known as the "Great Man Theory of Leadership." The theory states that some people are ‘born to be leaders’ and not made. Such people possess a special quality that differentiates them as unique from common individual(s). One may say that the great leaders of the world like Julius Caesar or Napoleon would’ve achieved the same leadership role at anyplace or anytime in history. In the Nineteen twenty’s, some of the leadership researchers started taking this hypothetical theory

Smartphones and law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Smartphones and law - Coursework Example He further mentions other distractive acts such as rain drops of a vehicle window or even taking a cup of coffee while driving. He later points out a case where a driver has been charged with using a Smartphone map while driving; the driver as indicated by the author appealed to the court that the use of smart phone maps was not illegal in accordance to the law. However, the judge as depicted in the article considered the act illegal in relation to the Michigan Distracted Driving laws. Consequently, the author of the article points out a number of issues that need to be taken into consideration by legislatures when formulating traffic laws; he proposes a comprehensive approach that involves proper research before the implementation of any law. The author in the article also suggests that laws should not be formulated through unstudied opinions. Judge rules using smartphone maps while driving illegal - CNN.com. (n.d.). CNN.com International - Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from

Saturday, August 24, 2019

World History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

World History - Essay Example The series of revolutions saw rise of the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, leading to independence of America hence formation of the United States of America (USA) from British colonization. These revolutionary wars a protest against the tyrannical rule of the British and were led by General Washington and his army. The French Revolution also emanated during this period between 1789 and 1799 in which absolute monarchies were replaced by democracies and republics hence strengthening of France (Strayer, 2013). Although causes of the French revolution are still debatable up to date, issues revolving around taxation schemes and inequality were dominant factors. Napoleonic wars took center stage and the fall of major monarchies set stage for modern nations sparking new revolutions such as in Russia. The period between 1790 and 1804 saw the rise of Haitian Revolution leading to the independence of Haiti. Haitian Revolution is quite significant in the world history especially since it was the only slave revolution that experienced victory and led to formation of an independent state. The revolution had begun with the black African slaves who opposed the French leadership and after years of struggle defeated the French at the Battle of Vertià ¨res in 1903. All the revolutions that sprung during Atlantic Revolution period were arguably facilitated by the knowledge and need of sovereignty and freedom. As such, the revolutions were mostly orchestrated by the emergent elite group of people in the various societies that saw the need for equality and that no particular group of people deserved to be oppressed. Moreover, attempts to exert more oppression invoked the need for democratic leadership where people choose leaders from among themselves. Additionally, people realized that there was power inherent in unity and will of the people capable to change the course of leadership. For example, the French went

Friday, August 23, 2019

Global Faces of Racism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global Faces of Racism - Essay Example Indeed, racism is a belief that classifies humans into discrete â€Å"races† or groups (Berg & Wendt, 2011). As such, this paper surveys the topic of global racism extensively. Purpose of Racism Racism is commensurate to a plan, which may by utilized by individuals to effectively initiate their exploitative ideas. Disseminators of racism have numerous reasons for upholding the practice. Initially, the main purpose of racism was to validate economic exploitations. In 19th centuries, slaves, who were captives from inferior races, fueled the American industries (Berg & Wendt, 2011). Slavery provided discounted force to the industries; however, the practice was unethical. Therefore, the promoters of the norm established a scheme of concealing their ideologies within racial differences; thus, defending their malevolent deeds. It could then appear sensible to account that inferior races had an obligation of serving the â€Å"master† or superior race. Apparently, this idea est ablishes the root to racism. Importantly, oppressors claimed that, groups that sold their own, were responsible for their people’s suffering; hence, masters were less accountable (Reilly, Kaufman & Bodino, 2003). Additionally, the idea of racism was also used in workplaces by employers to win employees faith and make them feel comfortable with the environment availed. According to Kivel (2002), a strategy utilized by employers to lure white male employees into industrial jobs in 19th century was validation that at least they were not slaves. Consequently, such employees would maintain their white muscularity whole, while sacrificing their economic independence because they could sensibly go by the employer’s claim that working in the factory was never considerable to being a slave. Indeed, employers influenced racism for economic benefits by developing a false sense of pride and prospects among white employees an aspect that proliferated racism in the society. Evidentl y, the United State’s workplace presently has segregation that accounts for different classes, races and gender (Kivel 2002). An apparent purpose of racism is developed by the human’s self-centered nature. Humanity has pride in being the best or a victor. The question of superiority attracts a substantial controversy. The idea may appear obtuse, but it occupies a crucial position in promoting racism. A sense of being superior to the neighbor may lack material benefits but could provide some sense of satisfaction especially to those enable to fight self-pride. Consequently, such self-centered individuals establish assertions that their race outshines others (Kivel, 2002). However, evaluating the strength of characters by virtually viewing physical attributes like color, is an irrational approach that is not justifiable. This idea has elicited heated debates in the past with prominent scholars defacing their credibility in the battles. Concepts of Racism Racism is a vers atile model hence it ideas navigates in the society through various avenues. Racism mainly maneuvers in three structures, in individual scope, institutional and under cultural aspects. Institutional racism defines setting up of the segregating policies, association structures, missions and behaviors in Institutions and services (Watt, 1999). This idea may avail an environment favoring a certain group. Mainly, these components

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Protein Energy Malnutrition Essay Example for Free

Protein Energy Malnutrition Essay The articles subject concerns the protein deficiency among infants in the Osun state of Nigeria. Nursing frequency and duration experienced a reduction during complementary food were introduced to infants in Osun. Mothers tend to be complacent in feeding their babies with complementary food, which result to the minimized breast-feeding of mothers that hinders the natural nutrition that these infants need.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a study conducted among Osun infants, they discovered that it was not a advisable for children at this age to be fed by such synthetic food. Consumption of such tends to halt the natural nourishment the babies need from their mothers. As early as two years old, babies were exposed already to complementary food, which is against the requirement of the World Health Organization (Ogunba, 2004). According to WHO, the amount of protein and calories (energy) that were consumed by infants were not above standard levels because these foods contain excess amount of carbohydrates alone (Ogunba, 2004). Obviously, the nutritional requirement of an infant is not met due to the outcome of early supplementation of these synthetic food. Infants natural diet should require constant breast-feeding in which they are enable to consume protein from milk. Unfortunately, this apt nutritional nourishment is ignored by the mothers in Osun (Ogunba, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a study conducted among Osun infants, protein energy malnutrition was discovered that it was in constant depletion. The lack of protein among the infants resulted to â€Å"stunting†. Stunting   has a significant presence in the rural areas, which is an indication of chronic under-nutrition in these areas (Ogunba, 2004). It was discovered that stunting was among the culprits of infant growth faltering, as a result from the consumption of complementary food, children from one to six months of age were experiencing a decrease in growth and health progress (Ogunba, 2004). Stunting is the most prevalent of the different manifestations of PEM (33.9 per cent), followed by underweight (21.0 per cent) and wasting (9.2 per cent) (Ogunba, 2004). Children need protein more than adults do because they are constantly growing and developing. The protein requirement of infants is per unit of body weight higher than those of adults. Reference Ogunba,B. (2004). Protein energy malnutrition in complemented breast-fed babies: implications of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the timing of complementary feeding. Nutrition Food Science. Retrieved February 10,   Ã‚  Ã‚   2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://swtuopproxy.museglobal.com/MuseSessionID=af57a678251afeca8c38cca61826cae/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MuseHost=www.emeraldinsight.com/MusePath/Insight/ViewContentServlet?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0170340504.html

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

James Is Intolerance of the Catholic Faith Essay Example for Free

James Is Intolerance of the Catholic Faith Essay Do you agree with the view that the main cause of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was James I’s intolerance of the catholic faith? It was the lack of tolerance in which James showed toward the Catholic faith, but also the large amounts of tolerance to the Protestants in the mean time. James was, almost, too pleasant towards the Protestants and therefore angered the Catholics as he did so, leaving the Catholic’s wanting to display that the intolerance shown towards them was unacceptable. Therefore, historians are able to infer that it was due to James’ attitudes towards the catholic faith that the Gunpowder Plot took place. Source 2 and 3 both agree that the gunpowder plot was due to James dealing with the Catholic faith with a very harsh attitude, also pushing the Catholics into taking measures such as ‘massacres, rebellions and desperate attempts against the King and State’ due to the King driving them to. James ‘dealt severely [..] he took a lot of money’ which he, evidently, didn’t implicate amongst the puritans. James shows a lot of hatred towards the Catholics and their faith through the way he dealt with them. Source 4 supports evidence shown through both source 2 and 3 in the way that it is expressing the ‘utter detestation’ he had of Catholicism and how he was happy to show his ‘hostility against the Catholics in order to satisfy the Puritans’. James states how he couldn’t comply with all the needs of the Catholics which they present to them, however he made no effort to even think about contemplating those needs of the Protestants. The kings hatred towards the Catholics, however, may also have been due to the influence of his inherited chief minister, Robert Cecil, who from Source 3 we can understand himself didn’t enjoy having the Catholic faith around, being warned that if the harshness shown towards them wasn’t to stop then the king would have to intervene in ‘massacres, rebellions and desperate attempts against the king and state’. However, Robert Cecil, down to his own despise of the faith manipulated the situation, applying a larger amount of pressure upon James to continue to treat the Catholics with a harsh manner, shown in source 5, ‘Cecil used every opportunity to infer to James that the popes were rivals to his authority [] something James could not tolerate’. Source 5, unlike source 3, states how Cecil was a ‘staunch protestant’ seeing the Catholics as being ‘tantamount to traitors’ due to their beliefs opposing the king by referring back to the pope, although they both show that Robert Cecil is using his own viewpoint to affect the way in which the King undertake the ‘issue’ of the Catholic faith, just in diverse ways, and therefore a possible cause of the gunpowder plot, which many historians would argue, was due to James’ ministers themselves, influencing the kings beliefs and ideals. Robert Cecil through his influence over the king shown in source 5 can also be supported in source 1 with him stating that the King has been too tolerable of the Catholics and how the king should be harsher towards them and how ‘the King’s excessive kindness’ has resulted to ‘priests preach that Catholics much kill the Kings to help their religion’, and therefore wasn’t James’ intolerance of the Catholics that caused the Gunpowder plot but the tolerance he showed them instead. Many Catholics would say that due to James’ deliberately publicly announcing his ‘utter detestation’ of their faith that James deserved the plot to be against him due to the harshness shown towards their faith and beliefs, which we are able to infer via source 4 telling historians that ‘all priests [] had been expelled and recusancy fines introduced’. Overall through the sources historians are able to infer that James showed a large intolerance towards the Catholic faith, whether it be through him own ideals or influenced by other, which then pushed them into believing that performing the Gunpowder plot upon the Houses of Parliament was for the greater good of their religion, and therefore the main cause of the gunpowder plot of 1604 was King James’ intolerance for the Catholic faith. Amy Poole.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Evaluation of the existing operations

Evaluation of the existing operations Introduction In the initial part of this report, I critically evaluate the existing operations and identify areas of improvement in the system. While undertaking this process, I have also identified some problems in the existing operations, and have suggested some approaches to overcoming them, in line with modern approaches. I have chosen to undertake an analysis of the operations of TBS Publishers Distributors for my work. Methodology The information in this assignment is largely sourced from the primary source of information. I personally visited, observed and conducted various surveys and interviews with employees, management and customers for undertaking this assignment. Various websites, journals and online materials have been researched for undertaking this work, though primary source of information is stresses more and given more significance. I have approached this whole assignment, applying the principles and concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM), i.e., through continuous assessment and improvement of the whole operations system and looking at it holistically from customers perspective, as well as demanding the consistent participation of all the stake holders involved in the continuous improvement of Quality. The Quality Circles approach and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has also been applied/recommended to suggest resolution of quality issues that might arise while implementing TQM. Scope and introduction to the problem TBS is one of the top selling book shops in Calicut, India. During peak seasons and the launch of bestselling titles, there is tremendous waiting time for customers, resulting in customer dissatisfaction and decreased/lost customer loyalty. After detailed analysis of the operations system (explained in the later part of this report), it was found that the high waiting time for customers was due to the inefficient forecasting of demand, which also contributed to insufficient number of employees. This could be solved by non-adoption of latest modern forecasting methods, as well as integrating all the various resources of the company by implementing an advanced Enterprise Resource Planning software solution such as SAP or Peoplesoft. About the company According to its website, TBS is a leading provider of books, music, and other educational services and products in the state of Kerala in India[1]. Kerala is located in South India, and is renowned for its high literacy rate and its advancements in modern educational institutions. TBS have become one of the top book-stores and publishers in Kerala with revenues estimated to be over INR 20 million by their unique combination of customer service, innovation, efficient operations and cost competitiveness. [2] TBS is headquartered at Calicut in northern Kerala and has branches spread across Kerala in places like Kannur, Kottayam, Trivandrum and Trichur. It also has a vast network of agents across Kerala through which it distributes its products. TBS also sells office stationery, all types of lab equipments, raw materials for labs including chemicals, surgical items and apparatuses, equipment for   small industries, computer and IT components, sports   and athletic goods.[3] 80% of TBS revenues, and 85% of its profits are estimated to be from its books business alone, and hence this piece of my operations management work focuses on the books business alone, and whenever a specific shop location has to be mentioned, the main bookstore of TBS at Calicut is taken as reference.[4] Total Quality Management (TQM) TQM helps in the delivery of highest quality standards and the subsequent increase in operational efficiency and effectiveness. Thus, TQM constitutes the following: strategy implementation, plans and operational strategies for bringing together all the relevant practical quality control methodologies (Quality Assurance, Reliability Analysis, Statistical Quality Control, Random Sampling Inspection, etc) with the entire organisational mechanisms encouraging the consistent and continuous quality improvement. TQM concentrates in the entirety of the whole system and not just in its individual parts. Failure could be caused by various factors such as culture clashes/shortfalls, teamwork related issues, leadership and management issues, HR related issues, individual motivation issues and employee commitment issues, and other psychological and social issues as well as skills shortage or inadequacies of technical manpower and equipments.[5] Under TQM, customer is the primary focus, and every aspect of improvement is to be seen from a customers perspective. A holistic approach is used from an overall organizations perspective, and the customers are the most crucial and focus point of the whole approaches, and they are treated as the vital component of the whole operations. All stake holders must work together to achieve its objectives, i.e., a holistic approach with customers as the focal point, and involving all stake holders of an organization. Thus empowerment of employees as well as their team work is very critical for this approach to succeed.[6] Customer Satisfaction Survey According to David Garvin, eight characteristics that customers are interested are the following[7]: Since Customers are the central focus of TQM, a customer satisfaction survey was conducted with a sample size of 250 customers based on a survey questionnaire, to find out what matters most to the customers. In this survey conducted to evaluate the above parameters, it was observed that Features and Performance were the main lagging indicators, and there was much scope for improvement in these areas. The following chart demonstrates the customer satisfaction index (out of a total score of 10), the blue being the present score and red showing the areas which has scope for improvement. Analysis of Operations Processes under consideration The operations of TBS was analysed using the concepts of TQM (Total Quality Management). TBS could be categorized into a mass service business, with high capital investment and high volumes, medium variety of service offerings and low level of customization for its customers. The basic business proposition of TBS is that of a service provider of quality books and other services from the publishers to the potential end customers (Figure 1). TBS business can also be classified as a service business involving both Transformation of Place and Transformation of Ownership operation. Transformation of place because this business involves a great amount of storage and transportation, and Transformation of Ownership because it involves the change of ownership from TBS to the end customer. The Value Generation Process / The role of customers in the system Applying the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM), the customers play a major role in TBS business since the business of educational services in Kerala is highly competitive, with a lot of small bookstores and a greater competition from pirated books market. There is usually no intellectual property rights or exclusivity agreements, and hence almost all leading book stores in this market offer the same product services. However, TBS has managed to have a competitive positioning in this market, by ensuring a loyal customer base. By helping end-customers buy magazines, lab equipments, CDs, books and other educational items, in a very straight-forward and effortless method, TBS generates value for its end customers. Again applying the principles of TQM, for any efficient organization to succeed in the long term, they must offer a bargain for both itself and the customer. This bargain in this case, could be explained in figure 2: The value generating model could be characterized by the five key tenets (Figure 3) as per the model of service management system[8] by Normann. Applying the principles of TQM, it can be seen that People, Systems and Processes should work in perfect harmony with each other, under a conducive culture, effective communication and excellent commitment from all stakeholders, as described in Figure below: Market Segmentation The demographics of end customers of this educational market segment transcends across occupations, genders, ages and financial conditions. The key distinguishing feature is the need of these end customers for TBS educational products. By applying the principles of TQM, in my observations, it was found that the categories of customers that shop at TBS are (figure 3): Service blue printing technique[9] By using the service blue printing technique[10] of Zeithaml Bitner (2003), the following process maps in the next few pages demonstrates the various buying flow map of TBS various customer segments. The various type of customer segments found were: Focussed Customers Topical Customers Unfocussed Customers These are explained in detail in the next few pages. Focussed Customers these were customers who knew precisely what product they would like to buy, seek advice from the customer service personals on its price and stock availability and then make the buying decision. These customers usually only bought the precise product they came looking for, and would spend very little time in the store. The frequency of purchases made by this segment of customers were found to be very high, compared to the other two segments. Topical Customers these were customers who were interested in particular topics. However, they usually are not aware of a specific title/product. They would directly go to the appropriate section of the store, look at various titles under that topic and the various offers etc, and finally make a decision on which title /product to buy. The frequency of purchases made by this segment of customers were found to be lower than Focussed Buyers, though much higher than Unfocussed customers. Unfocussed Customers These were completely random customers, who came to the store without having any plan on which title or topic to buy. They would randomly go through various sections of the store, and make impulsive purchasing decision. The frequency of purchases made by this segment of customers were found to be very low, compared to the other two segments. Service Concept Applying the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM), the service concept of TBS can be classified based on the identified customer segments into Core services and Peripheral services Core: a. Location vital for any book store. TBS in Calicut is situated very close to a busy bus terminal and a leading supermarket, thus making it a very convenient and accessible spot for customers. b. Information counter/desk it is very essential and important because it helps TBS customers make decisions on which CDs, books or other educational products they need to buy, its location in the store and its inventory status. c. Variety a vast number of different services and books are offered at each TBS store, helping customers select their based on their individual preferences. d. Customer care facility    TBS offers excellent customer care facility to serve their customers. For this, they employ: e. Ease of reading/browsing The store layout has been carefully designed in such a manner that the customers can search efficiently and effectively e.g. adventure books by author, Playstation CDs by release date etc. Peripheral: Posters, Newsletters and other communications helps to enhance TBS visibility and information services by providing helpful information to customers. Sofas TBS always encourage customers to spend more time in their stores. They have realized that, more time customers spend in the book store, the more they purchase. Sofas are provided inside the store for reading the books in comfortable areas. Internet Connectivity There is Wireless Internet (WiFi) inside the TBS stores, giving additional revenues to TBS. It also attracts a lot of new and potential customers to the stores, especially travelers and tourists who want to access the internet. Coffee shop inside the stores Customers use this additional facility as it enables them to spend more time inside the store by having some refreshment during or after shopping. This facility also attracts potential new or future customers to the store. Delivery System In line with the principles of TQM, for delivering maximum value to its customers, TBS has designed and implemented a delivery system which is sketched out in Figure 4. The main components of this system include: For catering to ever changing customer needs and demands, TBS has ensured that it maintain many distinct layers of inventory. In each store, a back-office inventory is always maintained, to ensure availability of much demanded books, whose availability is important to prevent lost sales); also local warehouses are also maintained, enabling TBS to ensure that realistically fast-selling books are available in a timeframe of a maximum of 2 days; a central warehouse is also maintained to ensure that specialized books are stored, for those books that end-customers usually have to wait up to a maximum time frame of 5 days. TBS views inventory as both an asset and an insurance/guarantee against fluctuating demand, which is common in this turbulent market. However, the large amount of inventory at any point of time in their supply chain costs a lot for TBS, including: Physical/Geographic location: This is a very important factor of its business, because TBS relies primarily on end customers who visit its stores. With more customers visiting its stores, the more probability of sales. Also, it was observed that many new customers who primarily visit the stores coffee shop become buyers of TBS other product offering. TBS has a characteristic store plan/layout system, in which titles are grouped into topic (history, economics, politics etc), category (Posters, Blue-rays, books etc) and genre (comics, film etc). TBS also has different parts for specials such as new arrivals, offers/sale etc. to help customers. In addition, facilities such as sofas, coffee shop within the store, clean premises including passenger lifts and toilets. Also, other intangible factors such as a bright   and open atmosphere, large passages, passenger lifts and meticulously designed and implemented book-organization helps make it a comfortable experience for end customers. TBS has always ensured that good relationships with their vendors, suppliers, and publishers are maintained. This ensures more author visits, timely availability, higher priority treatment for new releases, and excellent price bargains from these vendors/publishers. Critical Evaluation of TBS operating and service delivery system For measuring the true most important strengths of TBS operating and service delivery system, it has to be assess at different levels: Based on my personal observations of the TBS bookstore and the feedback obtained with the interviews and interactions about the different kinds of customers who frequent TBS, the effectiveness of the operations management system could be evaluated by the following main criteria: a. Variety:   TBS end customers demand a vast variety of products including Books, CDs and magazines, and variety inside each of these categories as well. Hence, TBS has to ensure a right mix of volume as well as variety of CDs, magazines and books. TBS does not have a demand forecasting system right now, and hence it is very difficult to make any reasonable and accurate forecasting of demand in the near future. b. Availability: The buying decision of any customer is highly dependent on the ready availability of the product. In case the product they are looking for is not available, it is possible that the customer might buy it from its competitors. This is especially critical because TBS stresses a lot on customer retention and loyalty. c. Customer service experience: The customers overall experience in the store has to be pleasant, and is a very important factor. TBS ensures the availability of different ranks of customer-care service staff, who are well versed with specialist knowledge. Each of them serve about 6-7 customers/hour, and each customer on an average spends 6-10 min at the customer-care counter. TBS provides extra facilities such as a coffee shop, sofas, very clean wash rooms, baby feeding rooms and toilets. It was observed that almost 30% of the customers visit the coffee shop on course of their shopping experience in TBS. d. In-store promotions: These include promotions such as buy 1 get 1 free, festival celebrations, discounts, celebrity visits and authors book signing events. During my observation for two hours (2-4pm on a Saturday), 25 in 92 customers opted for a book which was under the promotions section. e. Purchase quantity per customer About 35% of customers purchased a minimum of 1 Magazine/CD/book. As described in Figure 6, we could plot a matrix to identify the various type of customers based on the amount of time they spent in the store, and the number of purchases they made. TBS uses this matrix to identify the most profitable high value customers as well as the least profitable unprofitable customers. The operational efficiency of the system determines the long term success of a business such as that of TBS. This could be evaluated and measured in various ways: a. Inventory flow is crucial for a fast-moving business such as educational books. Success is not defined by the quantity of books stocked in each store. But, how fast the product is transferred from the supplier/vendor to the end-customer determines the ultimate success of the business rather than finding the total number of books stocked. b. We must remove any bottlenecks that are there in any operations system. In the case of TBS, the main bottlenecks identified are: Bottlenecks in Supplier stage It is difficult to obtain enough quantities of some best seller books (especially those around which a hype is created even before the launch) from the supplier, as they are sought after by all book sellers, thus resulting in lost sales. This is the case especially during the initial launch of books (Eg: Harry Potter books). Bottlenecks in in-store Queuing system Customers are very demanding it terms of the time they spend in a queue in a shop, due to the fast lifestyles and increasing availability of online book shops. During my observations, it was found that the average dispensation time for each end-customer was 1.5 minutes, and the average queuing time was 6-8 minutes. Bottle neck in Customer care desk Customer satisfaction is very important in a highly competitive business such as book stalls. Any lack of customer care personnel, or the quality of service offered, could result in lost sales. The number of customer care personnel in TBS was limited during peak hours, and each customer during peak hours had to wait for an average of at least 3 minutes before he/she got some kind of help/support. c. Inventory Forecasting In the books business, it is crucial to effectively forecast demand and manage an optimum level of inventory in the whole system, i.e., both in-store and in warehouses. It must be able to predict much in advance, the expected peaking of sales (for eg: Cake cooking books during Christmas season or sports magazines during the time of a major sports event). TBS does presently this by using a multi-stage inventory, and promotional free home delivery offers during such peak periods. Suppliers as well as buyers possess enormous amount of power in the educational book industry. To have a profitable business, the books selling companies sign prior long term agreements with different stakeholders: a. Contractual agreements with publishers The negotiations with publishers are centered around the following areas: b. Business factors Book stalls has to consider other factors such as employee salaries, cost of maintaining the stores, the annual rents etc. The success of TBS depends heavily on the commitment and performance of its employees, both in-store employees and warehouse employees. The following considerations are needed : A major book shop like TBS requires many types of personnel for manning the various department inside the store such as administrative, billing, marketing sales, commercial, Human Resource Management and Inventory Management etc. TBS employees work in triple shifts and at any point of time, employs 13-17 employees inside the store, and during peak hours the number of employees can go as high as 20. b.  Ã‚   Employee Training Employee training is expensive, and it costs time, effort and money for TBS. To ensure that employees are working to their maximum efficiency, they have to be trained need to be ready to handle the high standards expected of them. c.  Ã‚   Efficiency The efficiency of staff has to be monitored continuously, and this could be done by measuring various parameters such as average time per customer, average time to fetch a book, number of positive customer feedbacks, etc. The largest customer who contribute maximum to the bottom line of TBS was found to be the unfocused buyers. Hence, it is imperative that TBS tries to get more of this customer segment to visit their store, and make them spend more time in-store (time spend in the store has shown strong correlation to the purchasing decision). I would like to recommend the following changes, in line with principles and practices of TQM and Quality Function Deployment (QFD), with the primary focus on customers and continuous quality improvement respectively as their goals. 1. Establishing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution To effectively have a holistic and total approach as envisaged by TQM, I recommend establishing a companywide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution such as SAP or PeopleSoft. This system will integrate all the sub systems of TBS such as Inventory Management, Inventory Forecasting, Billing, Logistics, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Customer Service, Information Management etc. For instance, under the inventory management module, if the stock(inventory) gets below a particular amount (counters set in advance), the system will automatically place the orders for additional stock from the publishers/suppliers. 2. Suppliers could also be given access to the stock levels of each store, or when the customer places a new order, for their particular products. Thus the principle of Just In Time (JIT) inventory management is also implemented. By implementing this system, the waiting time in-store could be reduced drastically resulting in better customer satisfaction. Also, information and orders can be placed/obtained at any place, or customers in remote locations could order and gift products to their friends in Calicut, by ordering online as envisaged by TQM. Delivery system demand forecasting before implementing ERP system 3. Improvement in online/web presence There are a lot of customers who visit the physical TBS store, however this has created bottlenecks in the system, especially in terms of billing counter and customer care desk. This has translated into customer dissatisfaction, and hence applying the principle of TQM, I recommend establishing a full-fledged, easy to use website, where customers can view the books, preview its pages, and make an order using debit or credit card, and have the book delivered at home. The delivery and payment mechanism could also be made flexible, such as reserve and pick-in-store, cash-on-delivery etc. Thus the principle of Total Quality Management is applied effectively and efficiently. 4. Loyalty Programs On top of the in-store customer experience and promotions, TBS should also offer loyalty programs (eg: Reward/Discount cards) to reward and promote repeat/high value customers. 5. Starting a DVD/CD/Blueray rentals section instore. The number of customers switching from Books to CDs and DVDs are increasing. Since, we are renting them, customers would come back to return them possibly resulting in future sales. It must be linked both to the online presence of TBS as well as to the ERP solution to be implemented. Thus, customer satisfaction could be improved because they can get all necessary related products from the same roof. Thus, the prime objective of TQM can be successfully satisfied by meeting the demands of customers and making them satisfied. 6. Increase the number of customer-care service personnel Non availability of personnel or high waiting time for customers in the customer care results in immense customer dissatisfaction, and lost customer loyalty. These have a long term effect on TBS brand and customer perception. Thus, this will ensure that Quality Function Deployment (QFD) objectives are also met, and could save TBS considerable amount of money that would have been lost due to bad quality. Simple changes such as installing a ringing buzzer in the counter could potentially resolve these issues. 7. Modern Billing Self-Desks These days, customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and comfortable with modern technology. They can without difficulty self use a Radio Frequency ID (RFID) billing self-desk by their own. Thus, savings on Human Resources as well as decrease in waiting time for customers can be obtained. 8. Well qualified and personable support personnel Staff must be well aware of the locations of various titles, and should be passionate about the products they are dealing with. They must be extremely patient, and hospitable. Staff must be always be well dressed and hygienic, and if they are not, it could result in a bad customer experience. By applying the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD), we can provide immense value to customers, and drastically improve their satisfaction levels, at the same time providing value to us as well. I recommend, primarily the implementation of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution that will holistically and totally look at and improvise all the different components of the service delivery system. Customers are the key focus, and priority is given for Do-it-right-the first-time approach, rather than rectifying after a problem arises. Thus by implementing the suggested recommendations, the operational profitability of the firm should increase. [1] http://tbsbook.com/About.php (accessed: 22/01/2010) [2] http://tbsbook.com/About.php (accessed: 22/01/2010) [3] http://tbsbook.com/About.php (accessed: 22/01/2010) [4] Estimates, based on Personal Interviews with Management of TBS [5] RDI Online Course Materials for Operations Management [6] RDI Online Course Materials for Operations Management [7] Garvin, David Competing on the Eight Dimensions of Quality, Harvard Business Review, December 1987 [8] Richard Normann (1991), Service management: strategy and leadership in service business, Wiley (1991) [9] Zeithaml, Valarie A. and Mary Jo Bitner (2003), Services Marketing, International edition New York: McGraw Hill, third edition [10] Zeithaml, Valarie A. and Mary Jo Bitner (2003), Services Marketing, International edition New York: McGraw Hill, third edition

Monday, August 19, 2019

Truth vs. Fiction in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Un

Truth vs. Fiction in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Uncle Tom's Cabin It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction. Perhaps, this is so, as truth wears no veil; it is stark reality. There are no soft edges in truth. Only the most zealous hunters, those willing to meet the sword, actively seek it. The majority, while considering ourselves open to the truth, may only realize it when it comes disguised as something else. In short, it seems that we need to see it as not threatening, but molded and plied into something we can digest. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave is a brilliant and powerful piece which details one of the worst times in American History. After reading Douglass' work, those seeking the truth about slavery could not help but to have been compelled to denounce this institution and those who upheld it. Yet, while there are many who undoubtedly applauded his work, those were difficult times with no easy answers, and truth is relative, at best. In sharp contrast to Douglass' eloquent narrative is H arriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. This piece of sentimental fiction, while based on factual accounts, offered Americans an idealized view of slavery. The slaves were relatively content with their kind masters, and the vivid images of brutality that Douglass describes are not seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin. However, Stowe, writing from a woman's standpoint, presented her own truth in a context that Americans could relate to at the time. In spite of her gender and subsequent social position, and perhaps because of it, through her fiction, Stowe succeeded in portraying the institution of slavery for the abomination that it was. Both Uncle Tom's Cabin a... .... The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/domestic.htmhttp://philjohn.com/papers/pjkd_ga06.html#h43v Lauter, John. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Mieder, Wolfgang. Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You:Frederick Douglass' Proverbial Struggle for Civil Rights . Journal of American Folklore 114 no453 331-57 Summ 2001. Piacentino, Ed. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Explicator 58 no3 135-8 Spr 2000. Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Stowe, Harriet B. The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new?id=StoKeyu&tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0

Othello Comparison of Themes :: essays research papers

Themes Envy and jealousy are the catalysts for Hugo’s desire to hurt Odin and Mike. Hugo envies Mike for Odin choosing him over Hugo to share the coveted Most Valuable Player award (MVP). At the presentation Hugo’s own father, Coach Duke Goulding states boldly, â€Å"†¦And I’m not ashamed to say this in public but, I love him like a son.† The camera shows the dismay displayed on Hugo’s face. From this point on Hugo envies both Mike and Odin and pledges to do whatever required of him to ruin both their lives. Just as Othello prefers Cassio as his lieutenant rather than Iago. Iago also mentions in a soliloquy that, â€Å"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets He’s done my office. I know if’t be true.† Iago is suspicious of his own wife being unfaithful and is jealous of Othello, even though it is only rumour not truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hugo’s plan is to fill Odin’s mind with doubts of infidelity about Mike and Desi’s relationship. Hugo first mentions his suspicions in the gym where the two are alone. He tells Odin, â€Å"If there’s one thing I know it’s white girls, they’re like horny snakes.† Hugo asks if there’s anything going on between Desi and Mike and if Odin trusts Mike. If Hugo hadn’t of warned Odin, the thought would’ve never have occurred to him as he said to Mike, â€Å"What I’m gone a few hours and you’re already stealing my girl big Mike?† This was said sarcastically by Odin after he was admitted to hospital after retaining an arm injury playing basketball. Iago questions Cassio and Desdemona’s relationship just as Hugo did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦I speak not yet of proof. Look to your wife, observe her well with Cassio; Wear your eyes thus; not jealous, nor secure.† Eventually Odin becomes so envious and jealous of Mike and Desi’s supposed affair he is so motivated to kill Mike. â€Å"How can I kill this mother fucker Hugo?† But Hugo mentions Desi, which only places the idea in Odin’s mind, and shows Hugo’s powers of manipulation. â€Å"But what about Desi.† He replies. Othello reacts in the same manner as Odin. â€Å"†¦Within these three days let me hear thee say That Cassio’s not alive.† Iago’s agreeingly replies but also manipulates Othello by mentioning Desdemona.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My friend is dead; ‘Tis down at your request. But let her live.† â€Å"Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her, damn her!† Also included in this cycle of envy and jealousy is Roger who is envious of Desi and Odin’s relationship and is ever willing to help Hugo in his plan to break them up.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Amsterdams Architecture Over The Ages :: European Europe History

Amsterdam's Architecture Over The Ages Amsterdam has witnessed many architectural changes during its existence as a capital. From its earliest canal houses to its recent "modernisation", it is a widespread array of fascinating design and architecture. Throughout this short guide, I wish to take you through these ages, demonstrating the designs, the reasons for them, the way of living and the way the architecture developed around the community. This guide focuses mainly on the last one hundred years, looking in depth at the gradual changes made to this great city, and its surrounding areas. I will also look at the great architectural achievements made over time in this area, looking at their design purposes and influences. Older architecture Central Amsterdam ages back to over 700 years, but most of the buildings seen today were built in Amsterdam's "Golden age", about 250-500 years ago. The "Golden age" was the period when most of what is now known as central Amsterdam was built. Some people think it is Amsterdam's best architectural achievement. Probably the most prominent building built within this time period is the canal house. These line all the canals in the centre of Amsterdam. Every canal house was built to be unique from any other, though built with the same shape, each one was personalised with an ornamental piece, such as the gables and plaques. Another method was to put very decorative carvings on the "neck" of a house. This is called "necking". The picture on the right is an excellent example of necking. Due to the swamp like quality of the reclaimed land under Amsterdam, it was very hard to build buildings. Because of this wooden stilts were used to support the houses. They were driven into the wet ground before construction for support. Now due to the wet ground some of these supports are rotting, causing houses to tilt and sink into the earth. The picture on the left is of a house on the Keizergracht, it has gradually sunk into the ground over the years causing it to lean sideways. During the time period in which these houses were built, your house taxes depended on the frontage. Meaning your taxes were determined by the width of your house. Therefore the sneaky Dutch built their houses deep and narrow to avoid severe taxing. For this same reason the staircases are very narrow and low, making it impossible to take furniture up and down them.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Major Problems Faced by Indian Agriculture

Major Problems Faced by Indian Agriculture The major problems confronting Indian agriculture are those of population pressure, small holdings, depleted soils, lack of modern technology and poor facilities for storage. (a) Population Pressure: India has a huge population of over one billion and it is increasing at a very fast rate. According to 2001 census figures the over all density of population is 324 persons per sq. km. This is likely to increase further in future. This has created great demand for land. Every bit of land has been brought under the plough.Even the hill slopes have been cut into terraces for cultivation. (b) Small and Fragmented Land Holdings: The pressure of increasing population and the practice of dividing land equally among the heirs has caused excessive sub divisions of farm holdings. Consequently, the holdings are small and fragmented. The small size of holdings makes farming activity uneconomical and leads to social tension, violence and discontentment. (c) Inadequate Irrigation Facilities: By and large the irrigation facilities available in India are far from adequate.So for half of the total area under food crops has been brought under irrigation and the remaining half is left to the mercy of monsoon rains which are erratic in time and space. (d) Depleted Soils: Indian soils have been used for growing crops for thousands of years which have resulted in the depletion of soil fertility. With deforestation the sources of maintaining natural fertility of soil has been drying out. Lack of material resources and ignorance of scientific knowledge have further depleted the soils of the natural fertility. Earlier only animal waste was enough to maintain soil fertility. e) Storage of food grains: Storage of food grains is a big problem. Nearly 10 per cent of our harvest goes waste every year in the absence of proper storage facilities. This colossal wastage can be avoided by developing scientific ware-housing facilities. The government has ta ken several steps to provide storage facilities. (f) Farm Implements: Although some mechanisation of farming has taken place in some parts of the country, most of the farmers are poor and do not have enough resources to purchase modern farm implements and tools.This hampers the development of agriculture. Challenges agriculture sector challenges will be important to India’s overall development and the improved welfare of its rural poor: 1. Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land: Raising productivity per unit of land will need to be the main engine of agricultural growth as virtually all cultivable land is farmed. Water resources are also limited and water for irrigation must contend with increasing industrial and urban needs.All measures to increase productivity will need exploiting, amongst them: increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs. 2. Reducing rural poverty through a socially inclusive s trategy that comprises both agriculture as well as non-farm employment: Rural development must also benefit the poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes. Moreover, there are strong regional disparities: the majority of India’s poor are in rain-fed areas or in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains. Reaching such groups has not been easy.While progress has been made – the rural population classified as poor fell from nearly 40% in the early 1990s to below 30% by the mid-2000s (about a 1% fall per year) – there is a clear need for a faster reduction. Hence, poverty alleviation is a central pillar of the rural development efforts of the Government and the World Bank. 3. Ensuring that agricultural growth responds to food security needs: The sharp rise in food-grain production during India’s Green Revolution of the 1970s enabled the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food-grains and stave off the threat of famine.Agricultural intensification in the 197 0s to 1980s saw an increased demand for rural labor that raised rural wages and, together with declining food prices, reduced rural poverty. However agricultural growth in the 1990s and 2000s slowed down, averaging about 3. 5% per annum, and cereal yields have increased by only 1. 4% per annum in the 2000s. The slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern. India’s rice yields are one-third of China’s and about half of those in Vietnam and Indonesia. The same is true for most other agricultural commodities.Policy makers will thus need to initiate and/or conclude policy actions and public programs to shift the sector away from the existing policy and institutional regime that appears to be no longer viable and build a solid foundation for a much more productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector. Priority Areas for Support 1. Enhancing agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and rural growth Promoting new techno logies and reforming agricultural research and extension: Major reform and strengthening of India’s agricultural research and extension systems is one of the most important needs for agricultural growth.These services have declined over time due to chronic underfunding of infrastructure and operations, no replacement of aging researchers or broad access to state-of-the-art technologies. Research now has little to provide beyond the time-worn packages of the past. Public extension services are struggling and offer little new knowledge to farmers. There is too little connection between research and extension, or between these services and the private sector. Improving Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management: Agriculture is India’s largest user of water.However, increasing competition for water between industry, domestic use and agriculture has highlighted the need to plan and manage water on a river basin and multi-sectoral basis. As urban and other demands mu ltiply, less water is likely to be available for irrigation. Ways to radically enhance the productivity of irrigation (â€Å"more crop per drop†) need to be found. Piped conveyance, better on-farm management of water, and use of more efficient delivery mechanisms such as drip irrigation are among the actions that could be taken. There is also a need to manage as opposed to exploit the use of groundwater.Incentives to pump less water such as levying electricity charges or community monitoring of use have not yet succeeded beyond sporadic initiatives. Other key priorities include: (i) modernizing Irrigation and Drainage Departments to integrate the participation of farmers and other agencies in managing irrigation water; (ii) improving cost recovery; (iii) rationalizing public expenditures, with priority to completing schemes with the highest returns; and (iv) allocating sufficient resources for operations and maintenance for the sustainability of investments.Facilitating agric ultural diversification to higher-value commodities: Encouraging farmers todiversify to higher value commodities will be a significant factor for higher agricultural growth, particularly in rain-fed areas where poverty is high. Moreover, considerable potential exists for expanding agro-processing and building competitive value chains from producers to urban centers and export markets. While diversification initiatives should be left to farmers and entrepreneurs, the Government can, first and foremost, liberalize constraints to marketing, transport, export and processing.It can also play a small regulatory role, taking due care that this does not become an impediment. Promoting high growth commodities: Some agricultural sub-sectors have particularly high potential for expansion, notably dairy. The livestock sector, primarily due to dairy, contributes over a quarter of agricultural GDP and is a source of income for 70% of India’s rural families, mostly those who are poor and he aded by women. Growth in milk production, at about 4% per annum, has been brisk, but future domestic demand is expected to grow by at least 5% per annum.Milk production is constrained, however, by the poor genetic quality of cows, inadequate nutrients, inaccessible veterinary care, and other factors. A targeted program to tackle these constraints could boost production and have good impact on poverty. Developing markets, agricultural credit and public expenditures: India’s legacy of extensive government involvement in agricultural marketing has created restrictions in internal and external trade, resulting in cumbersome and high-cost marketing and transport options for agricultural commodities.Even so, private sector investment in marketing, value chains and agro-processing is growing, but much slower than potential. While some restrictions are being lifted, considerably more needs to be done to enable diversification and minimize consumer prices. Improving access to rural fi nance for farmers is another need as it remains difficult for farmers to get credit. Moreover, subsidies on power, fertilizers and irrigation have progressively come to dominate Government expenditures on the sector, and are now four times larger than investment expenditures, crowding out top priorities such as agricultural research and extension.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Human Resource Training and Development Essay

Training and development is a major investment made by employers , and therefore great care should be taken to ensure adequate returns on the investment. Training and development. Some experts try to differentiate training from development. In this case, both training and development is in the same meaning. Training is more to short term, and focuses on current needs of the employee and the organization. Development meanwhile looks more to the future needs, whereby development are about preparing employees for tomorrow’s jobs, technology and economic situation. Most on-the-job training efforts are about ensuring that employees can perform their present tasks as well as possible. Leadership programmes, on the other hand, are an example of the development initiatives taken by employers to ensure they have a steady supply of senior managers ready to drive organizational success. TRAINING EMPLOYEES. Training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities or known as K. S. A. K. S. A. is necessary to successfully perform a job. Several reasons exist for an organization to conduct training for it’s employees. Here are the 4 reasons why K. S. A. is important. 1. Economic, social, technological, and government changes can make the skills learned today obsolete in the future. 2. Planned organizational changes (such as the introduction of new equipment) can make it necessary for employees to update their skills or acquire new ones. 3. Performance problems within an organization such as low productivity or large scrap problems can be reduced by training. 4. Regulatory, contractual, professional, or certification issues can require an employer to provide training for it employees. STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL TRAINING PROGRAM. * Perform job analysis. * Perform needs assessment * Establish training objectives * Conduct training program* Evaluate training outcomes Job analysis. Job analysis is actually more focusing on the Knowledge, skills, and abilities (K. S. A. ). K. S. A. is actually necessary to successfully perform a job. Perform needs assessment. Needs assessment is a systematic analysis of the specific training activities the organization requires to achieve it objectives. In general, five methods can be used to gather needs assessment information – 1. Interviews 2. Surveys / questionnaires 3. Observations 4. Focus groups 5. Document examination. Interviews with employees can be conducted by specialists in the Human Resource Deaprtment or by outside experts. Basic questions that should usually be asked are as follows : 1. What problems is the employees having in his/her job. 2. What additional skills and/or knowledge does the employee need to better perform the job? 3. What training does the employee believe is needed? In conducting an interviews, every organization would have several additional questions about specific issues. In addition, if interviews are to provide useful information, employees must believe their input will be valued and not be used against them. Surveys and/or questionnaires are also frequently used in needs assessment. Normally this involves developing a list of skills required to perform particular jobs effectively and asking employees to check those skills in which they believe they need training. METHODS OF TRAINING Several methods can be used to satisfy an organization’s training needs and accomplish it’s objectives. Some of the more commonly used methods include on-the-job training, job rotation, apprenticeship training, and classroom training. * On-The-Job training. On-the-Job training or simply known as OTJ, is normally given by a senior employee or a manager. The employee is shown how to perform the job and allowed to do it under the trainer’s supervision. * Job rotation (cross training) One of the OTJ training is job rotation, sometimes called cross training. In job rotation, an individual learns several different jobs within a work unit or department and performs each job for a specified time period. One main advantage of job rotation is that it makes flexibility possible in the department. For example, when one member of a work unit is absent, another person can perform the job. The advantages of OTJ training are that no special facilities are required and the new employee does productive work during the learning process. OTJ training has been found to be more effective than classroom training that may be seldom be used when the person returns to the job. It’s major disadvantages is that the pressures of the workplace can cause instruction of the employee to be haphazard or neglected. * Apprenticeship Training Apprenticeship Training provides beginning workers with comprehensive training in the practical and theoretical aspects of work required in a highly skilled occupation. Apprenticeship programs combine OTJ and classroom training to prepare workers for more than 800 skilled occupations such as computer operator and laboratory technician. * Classroom Training Classroom Training is conducted off the job and is probably the most familiar training method. It is an effective means of imparting information quickly to large groups with limited or no knowledge of the subject being presented. It is useful for teaching factual material, concepts, principles, and theories. Portions of orientation programs, some aspects of apprenticeship training, and safety programs are usually presented utilizing some form of classroom instruction. * Virtual classroom Internet technology has advanced rapidly and as a result the training of Prev Page employees is changing. In some companies, employee training has moved from the old typical style classroom to the internet. A virtual classroom is an online teaching and learning environment that integrates chat rooms, desktop video conferencing, web sites, and e-mail distributions into a typical lecture-based systems. Virtual classroom offer training in either self-paced courses, real-time courses through intranets, or real-time video conferencing. In a typical virtual classroom, a professor lectures to a local class and a remote class that may be thousand of miles away. EVALUATING TRAINING When the results of a training program are evaluated, a number of benefits accrue. Less effective programs can be withdrawn to save time and effort. Weaknesses within established programs can be identified and remedied. Evaluation of training can be broken down into four areas : 1. Reaction – How much did the trainees like the program? 2. Learning – What principles, facts, and concepts were learned in the training program? 3. Behavior – Did the job behavior of the trainees change because of the program? 4. Results – What were the results of the program in terms of factorssuch as reduced costs or reduction in turnover? * Reaction Reaction evaluation should be consider a wide range of topics, including program content, structure and format, instructional techniques, instructors abilities and style, the quality of the learning environment, the extent to which training objectives were achieved, and recommendations for improvement. Reaction evaluation questionnaires are normally administrated immediately following the training, but they can be administered several weeks later. The major flaw in using only reaction evaluation is that enthuasiasm of trainees cannot necessarily be taken as evidence of improved ability and performance * Learning Learning evaluation concerns how well the trainees understood and absorbed the principles, facts, and skills taught. In teaching skills, classroom Prev Page demonstrations by trainees are a fairly objective way to determine how much learning is occurring. Where principles and facts are being taught, paper and pencils tests can be used. Standardized tests can be purchased to measure learning in many areas. In other areas, the trainers must develop their own tests. To obtain an accurate picture of what was learned, trainees should be tested both before and after the program. * Behavior Behavior evaluation deals with the nature of the change in job behavior of the trainee and is much more difficult than reaction of learning evaluation. The following guidelines can help evaluate behavioral change. A systematic appraisal should be made of on the job (OTJ) performance on a before and after basis. The appraisal of performance should be made by one or more of the following groups (the more the better) * The trainee * The trainee’s superior * The trainee’s subordinates * The trainee’s peers or other people thoroughly familiar with his/her performance. A statistical analysis should be made to compare performance before and after training and to relate changes to the training program. The post-training appraisal should be made several months after the training so that the trainees have an opportunity to put what they have learned into practice. A control group (one not receiving the training) should be used. * Results. Results evaluation attempts to measure changes in variables such as reduced turnover, reduced costs, improved efficiency, reduction in grievances, and increases in quantity and quality of production. As with behavior evaluation, pretests, posttests, and control groups are reqired in performing an accurate results evaluation. Prev Page BENEFITS OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT As we know, training is designed to change attitudes, develop skills, and impart knowledge. Effective training programmes may require expenditure on the part of the employer, but they bring about a number of benefits to the organization, including – * Increased productivity which in turn leads to higher profits. * More satisfied employees which lowers turnover rates. * Aid recruitment efforts making it easier to hire talented employees. * Trained employees are more innovative. * The company is in a better position to compete both nationally and internationally. Trained employees help ensure that company profits are maximized. At the same time, the training of employees is significant at the macro level of the economy. Well-trained staff can produce higher quality products which can successfully gain a good share of the world markets. By training and development organizing work around subordinates becomes fairly easy. The span of control of the managers increase which help the organizations in low costs and thus better allocation of resources takes place. It also helps the managers effectively and efficiently attain the organizational goals. Also by training the employees helps the employees get updated with the latest skills and techniques, which in turn increase the productivity and output per worker and the marginal and average productivity per worker increases. THE MALAYSIA CASE ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. Malaysia is an example country that really put an efforts in order to maintain and establish a good way of training and development. As we know, Prev Page Malaysia are now competing with highly sophisticated staff from many multinational company from many nations. Through this, the Malaysian government takes a keen interest in helping and encouraging employers to train their staff continuously. The government of Malaysia has established a number of initiatives which directly or indirectly help employers to train their employees. This include – * A free educational system up to secondary level. * Subsidized tertiary education in public universities. * Encouraging top-class foreign universities to establish branches or campuses or conduct training programme’s . * Establishment of Industrial Training Institutes to train industrial training instructors. * Introduction of the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Bhd. Act. (Human Resource Development Bhd. Act. ) International HRD Types of Expatriates Expatriates Free Agent Heart at Home Going Native Dual Citizen Proactive Career Stagnant Career Ethnocentric Adaptable Most Effective There are generally four types of expatriates managers : Free agent. There are two types of free agent. The first includes people who put their career above either the parent company or the foreign operation where they Prev Page are working. They often are highly effective, but they will move with little warning from one company to another, may serve their own short term interests at the expense of the company’s long term ones, and do not plan to return to their home country. The second types of people are who takes foreign assignment only for the large compensation. Heart at home The heart at home type is very ethnocentric and usually eager to return home. When the company wants strong headquarters control, this type of person may be useful and effective. Going native The going native type learns and accepts the local way of doing business, want to stay in the foreign location, and prefer not to consult headquarters. This type of person may be appropriate for situations in which the company follows multi domestic practices. Dual Citizen The dual citizen type has a clear understanding of global needs, why he or she is needed at the foreign subsidiary and local. This type of person usually finds methods to align the interest of headquarters and the subsidiary. Generally, the dual citizen is most effective type of expatriate managers. Training and Development for Expatriate Managers Training focus on preparing the manager for a specific job, while development is concern with the developing skills of the manager when he work with the firm. Normally, most firms focus more on the training rather than on development of the management. Management development programmes for expatriate managers increase overall skills levels by continuing learning in management and rotations of managers through jobs within the global firms to gain more experiences. Management development is best to used as strategic tool to build strong understanding about other culture and informal management network, both of which are supportive of a transnational and global strategy. Before expatriates are sent for their foreign assignment, they need to be Prev Page prepared for their foreign assignment, they need to be prepared for their new and more challenging tasks. So, it is important for expatriates well trained before they leave the country. Training for expatriates managers involve obtaining skills for a particular foreign posting. Training can helps expatriates and their families to ready with the above problems related to the foreign assignments. Cultural training, language training, and practical training will help those expatriate to solve the problem and reduce expatriates failures. Cultural training Cultural training provides opportunities for expatriates to understand and value the culture of the host country. The training must be cover the country culture such as in aspect of history, politics, economy, religion, and social and business practices prior to departure. Cultural training can promote an appreciation of the host country’s culture and help in expatriate adjustment. Language training Although the English is the international language, expatriates are needed to learn and understand some language of the host country. It is because to helps effective communication between locals and expatriates. Language training helps to improve expatriates’s effectiveness, aid expatriates in adjusting to foreign culture, and create a better corporate image. Practical training Practical training is the best mode to prepared the expatriates to adapt new environment and daily activities. Sharing experiences with those who have been to the host’s country is one way to have real life experiences prior to departure. Once in the host country, seeking support from other expatriates from the same country would speed up the process of adaptation in the new environment. Practical training can help expatriates and family ease into day to day life of the host country. Repatriation training Another issue in training and development is repatriation which refer to preparing expatriates for re-entry into their home country organization. This is the same to support expatriate to adjust the expatriate in a new environment. Prev Page Cross Cultural Training Cross cultural training is a kind of cultural training given to the potential expatriates before they go on their overseas assignments. Cross cultural training refers to the development of awareness between people where a common cultural framework does not exist. There are two approaches of cross cultural training which are cross cultural awareness training and culture or country specific training. Cross Cultural Awareness Training. Cross cultural awareness training deals with the manifestation of culture in the workplace and has many applications. Its main purpose is to evaluate and undertake the challenges cross cultural differences can bring to the workplace. This training generates awareness of a foreign culture and creates understanding of how to foster mutual trust, respect, and understanding in a different culture. This training an effort to equip potential expatriates with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage a multi-cultural staff. This training helps them to create fair and comfortable working environment and enhance negotiations with foreign clients or customers in discussing possible terms and conditions. Culture or Country specific training Culture or country specific training is commonly targeted at individual or teams that often visit a foreign country or who frequently interact with foreign client. Such training usually focuses on areas such as values, morals, ethics, business practices, etiquette, protocol, or negotiation styles with reference to one country. This better equips participants with the key skills. Understanding and appreciating intercultural differences ultimately promotes clearer communication, reduces communication, reduces barriers, builds trust, strengthen relationships, open horizons, and yield tangible results in terms of business success. Repatriation of Expatriates Repatriation is a critical issues in the training and development of expatriates managers. Repatriation is concerned when the expatriates who have been living abroad for certain period of time for re-entry into their Prev Page home country. Repatriation should be seen as the final link in an integrated, circular process that selects, train, sends, and brings home expatriate managers. Repatriation is the return of the expatriate to his or home country following completion of a lengthy foreign assignment. Repatriation is needed as expatriates who have spent a few years in host country cultures often experiences distress in readapting to their own home culture. The distress is normally caused by adaptation to the host country, followed by re-entry, which means that they have adapt to something that they left before. This creates disturbance in the early period of coming back, and is referred to as reverse culture shock. The disturbance is worse when returning managers are not able to get the right position or nothing more than to get the position in the home office. Like expatriation, repatriation requires advance preparation. If repatriation is not properly managed, the expatriate will encounter problem when returning to the home country. Some of returning employees fell that their international experiences is not valued because they be placed in lower position rather than high position on overseas. Moreover, some expatriates report that they have difficulties in financial upon returned. Many experiences reverse culture shock when in readjustment to home country culture. For employees and employee who have worked several years abroad have difficulties to readjustment the daily life like before. Problem with repatriation arises in three general areas such as personal finances, readjustment to the home country work environment, and readjustment to the home country social life. Companies give expatriate many financial benefits to encourage them to accept a foreign assignment. While abroad, expatriates may live in the high standard neighbourhood and sent their children to the private schools, socialize with elite group, and still save more money because of high wages. Some of human resources practices for smoothing repatriation including providing expatriates with an advance notices of when they will return, more information about their new jobs, placement in suitable job regarding with their foreign experiences, housing assistance, reorientation programmes, periodic visits to headquarters, and enlisting a formal headquarters mentor to watch over their interests while.