Nowhere in Africa Essay

Migrating to another country is an accepted occurrence nowadays but for people whose relocation was forced by inevitable and untoward reasons, the resettlement appeared to be undesirable. In fact, leaving the place where one was accustomed to and moving into another new and unwelcoming environment is likely to change a person. Hence, such change resulting from involuntary transfer eventually altered one’s perspective and conduct towards oneself thereby also changed his or her family view and the society. Since the condition is expected to happen, the modification however should lean towards the general benefit of the person; thus creating something good out of transferring from one place to another is valuable. It is therefore essential to consider that in order to succeed in escaping a previous cruel environment and settle in a new yet more peaceful place, the perception towards oneself, family and the society must be regarded as encouraging rather than harmful. The said situation is best depicted in a literary work such as the effort made by Stefanie Zweig (2004). In particular, Zweig’s autobiographical â€Å"Nowhere in Africa† effectively exemplified that the migration of German Jewish family in Kenya during the Second World War was regarded by the characters in various ways. Especially notable was the resistance from the wife who, because of the unfamiliarity and discomfort of the new place, altered her view of herself, her family and the new community where she needs to belong. While the Zweig’s book explicitly showed how one resisted the family’s transfer to a totally different setting, it nonetheless manifested in the end how one’s altered view was ultimately corrected. In doing so, the book achieved its very purpose and essence of making the public realize that perspectives are likely to be changed as a result of several grounds such as being a refugee in a totally new and uncultivated place like Kenya. That is, one should regard relocation in a more positive perspective. While resistance is a natural reaction, it is worthy to argue then that it is fundamental for a person to change his or her viewpoint towards oneself, family and the society in a beneficial instead of damaging approach. Altered personal view â€Å"Nowhere in Africa† is attributed to the author’s own experience as member of a family who migrated from Nazi-dominated Germany to Kenya. As such, Zweig created the characters of the Redlich family. While the head of the family, Attorney Walter and daughter Regina tried hard and eventually did not find further conflict in leaving their rich kind of life in Germany to settle in an untamed country like Kenya, it was the wife, Jettel who manifested an intense opposition to her new life (Zweig, 2004). The reality of leaving their once-wealthy and secure life in Germany made Jettel alter her view towards herself. Specifically, the previously well-treated and pampered Jettel refused to accept the reality and need to adjust and eventually settle in Kenya. Such resistance was shown by the wife in a way that she changed how she views herself. From being a former well-off and apparently confident Mrs. Redlich, settling in Kenya made Jettel alter her personal point of view (Zweig, 2004). The transformation in Jettel was showed in the book through how she lost her self-confidence. Jettel resisted the modification in her lifestyle when she evidently opposed every adjustment in all its circumstances. In fact, it became apparent for Jettel that she forgot the fundamental reason why her family left their country. That is, they have to abandon the cruelty of the Nazi regime hence the need to relocate and settle in a safer place like the farm in Kenya. It appeared that Jettel, because of the discomfort of living in Kenya, changed her view towards her need to be secured in an environment outside her country (Sweig, 2004). Ironically, it was Jettel’ personal view which manifested that Kenya is not totally different from Germany. Regardless of her husband’s initial warnings, Jettel expected that living in Kenya will be similar to her life in Frankfurt hence she even looked forward to the new place. She got used to changing her wealthy way of living if only to attain peaceful and safe existence. However, reality struck Jettel especially when she experienced how different it is to live in a totally varying countries. This was proven when her personal view about herself was altered where she stated that Kenya was a â€Å"lovely† place but unfortunately, she â€Å"can never live there† (Zweig, 2004). It was however also apparent that Jettel eventually changed her view of herself as she gradually got used to living in Kenya. As World War II escalated, Jettel ultimately realized the benefit of living far from Germany and right in the peacefulness of Kenya. During the course of the novel, the author showed how Jettel’s view of herself was slowly altered. This condition was done and proven by the fact that Jettel regained her self-assurance and eventually accepted the severe realities yet more peaceful new life in Kenya (Zweig, 2004, p. 93). Altered view towards family The ironies within the book were shown by the author when she presented how Jettel’s view towards her family was changed. If prior to moving to Kenya the Redlich family was one in their principle and desire, the realities of living in Kenya made Jettel change her relationship with her husband and daughter (Zweig, 2004). Jettel previously viewed herself as a submissive wife to Walter hence her support and acceptance of their transfer from Germany to Kenya. However, as the war increased and various events have taken place, Jettel turned herself into becoming an aggressive wife whose views are strongly manifested. Such alteration in Jettel’s view of herself resulted into constant fighting between the couple and even conflict with her only child (Zweig, 2004). Further conflicts aggravated the relationship within the family. If Jettel previously resisted living in Kenya but as her view of herself was modified throughout the novel, so is the relationship with Walter and Regina. The personal transformation became more evident when Jettel, who used to be unable to stand and live nowhere in Kenya, asserted and opted to remain in Africa as her husband, wanted to return to Germany (Zweig, 2004, p. 267). Altered view towards society Not only did Jettel showed how she changed hew view of herself but also that of her perception towards the two societies which is that of Germany and Kenya. As Jettel previously viewed herself as straight follower to her native country, the cruelty of the Nazi regime and the hostilities in the country made her change her perspective. This is because she eventually saw and attested to the uncontrollable violence in Germany that posed harm to her family (Zweig, 2004). Hence, as Jettel’s view towards Germany diminished, she hanged on to her and her family’s need to survive. Such situation, in turn, made Jettel’s view of Kenya to be altered as she eventually accepted that despite the harsh realities of living in Africa, it is still the more logical thing to do. While Jettel previously viewed Kenya as a place where she can never settle, her changed personal idea about the country made her realize that living in Africa is just like paving the way for the clashing of two existing worlds where civilized European people can eventually live in an undomesticated yet safer place like Kenya (Zweig, 2004). Conclusion â€Å"Nowhere in Africa† is a concrete proof which showed how and why one of its characters altered her view of herself as well as towards her family and the society. Through the personality and characteristics of Jettel, the book effectively manifested that one’s perspectives are indeed likely to be changed. This condition particularly holds true when one’s safety and decent way of living are to be considered. For Jettel, her altered view of herself, family and the countries of Germany and Kenya clearly depicted that in time of turmoil, circumstances will lead one to change her principle and practices. Reference Zweig, S. (2004). Nowhere in Africa: An Autobiographical Novel. Wisconsin: Terrace Books.

Analysis and Critique of Research – Based Literature

I. Summary of Hofstede’s Model of Cross-Cultural Management Early management gurus used to presume that their ideas on management apply to everybody all over the world. Their notions were challenged when the Japanese became a world economic superpower, along with the significant rise of dragons and tigers economies. The notion that management principles are not universally applicable across all cultural boundaries soon emerged and began to develop itself through various cross-cultural studies, such as Lane and Beamish’s (1990) study on western companies that built joint-ventures with people from other nations, without considering the differences in their management cultures and thought that it would be sufficient in dealing with global competition problems. Also read this  Critique of Stuff Is Not Salvation One study that stood out from the others came from Geert Hofstede (1980a), who defined culture as: â€Å"†¦the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another†¦the interactive aggregate of common characteristics that influences a human group’s response to its environment†. Richards (2001) mentioned that Hofstede’s study was focused on the differences in ‘mental programming’ among groups of people in different nations, through their collective preferences on certain states of affairs over others. His study was conducted through a questionnaire survey on IBM’s employees in fifty nations and his analysis was based on comparative data from that survey. Hofstede’s empirical study would then strengthen the belief that western, particularly American, management practices could not directly be applied on management from different cultures, which are based on different values. Geert Hofstede identified four levels of social attachments through which culture displays itself: symbols; heroes; rituals and values. Among said levels, values play the biggest part in explaining cultural differences. Hofstede further identified five primary value dimensions from which a pecking order can be established for each target country. These dimensions are: 1. Individualism versus Collectivism: The way in which people live together and the relationship that exists between the individual and the collectivity. 2. Large versus Small Power Distance: The extent to which a society accepts or rejects inequalities in such areas as prestige, wealth and power, or hierarchy versus equality. 3. Strong versus Weak Uncertainty Avoidance: The extent to which culture cope with uncertainty or unstructured situations, and encourage risk-taking, through technology, law and religion (risk avoidance versus risk comfort). 4. Masculinity versus Femininity: Attitudes to quality of life, achievement, assertiveness and competition (task versus relationship). 5. Long-term Orientation (Confucian work Dynamism): Value persistence (perseverance); having a sense of shame rather than guilt; search for virtue, rather than truth; long-term approach to life; and ordering relations by status and observation of it. Hofstede then placed countries within the above dimensions and found that a culture in one country makes people from that country to more likely behave in a certain way than other. This research was found to be very enlightening (Richards, 2001, p. 172), especially in paving the way to look deeper into the differences in cultural values and norms. In his 2002 counter-argument made toward McSweeney’s critique, Hofstede (2002, p. 1355) even claimed that his pioneering research had resulted in a ‘paradigm-shift’ in the field of cross-cultural studies. Later on in 1987, he developed what he called as ‘theory T’ (Richards, 2001, p. 178), which core arguments are: 1. The world is unequal and everyone has his/her place within the order. 2. Each of the children has his/her birthright place and has to work on his/her duties accordingly, but can improve his/her position through studying with a good teacher, working with a good patron, and/or marrying a good partner. 3. Wisdom is grounded on tradition. That is why human beings do not like change and will avoid it if he/she can. Trying to find the ideal model for these cultural differences, Hofstede then developed his theory T to a more complex model he called theory T +, which added on to theory T the component of change and the ability within a particular culture to modernize and synergize with other cultures through life experience; commitment to change; capacity to lead to change; and people’s learning capacities (Richards, 2001, pp. 6-17). II. Analysis and Critique The prescribed readings that followed after Richards’ (2001) overview of cultural differences, cultural dimensions and syndromes, through previous academics’ works (Hofstede, Trompenaars and others) and his own teachings on cultural understanding, essentially went back and forth on research credibility issues, including validity in the methodologies that these academics utilized in their research (i. e. Hofstede’s critique on Trompenaars’ research methodologies and its subsequent rebuttal from Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars in readings # 2 and 3 of the reading list, followed by more critique from Hofstede on Trompenaars’ work in reading # 4, and still followed by Brendan McSweeney critique on Hofstede’s own methodology and the quality of his evidence in reading # 5, which sparked another refutation from Hofstede in reading # 6, and still another counter-rebuttal from Sweeney in reading # 7). To this writer, all the above debate was focused on several key issues: 1. All theoretical claims have to be based on analysis grounded on empirical research. 2. Selection of methodology made on an academic’s research could determine the credibility of his/her research and subsequent academic analysis. 3. Research design, along with type of data and instruments to gather said data are exceptionally important in the formation of a researcher’s analysis. . The type of analysis used on a researcher’s database would determine the scope of academic claim he/she could create and how valid those claims would be. This writer’s own doubt on Hofstede’s research is mainly based on whether his sample of 117,000 respondents who participated in his questionnaire survey are homogenous, thus representative enough to the world population that was supposed to be the target population of his research on (world) culture. Unlike McSweeney in reading # 5, however, this writer would give Hofstede the benefit of the doubt on his choice of questionnaire content, which must have played a significant part in determining whether cultural differences could be correctly reflected through the selection of question items. Simply put, should the writer be in Hofstede’s shoes and possess sufficient resources within his grasp, he would probably undertake another survey-based research on a much narrower or tighter ‘cultural’ sub-concept or characteristic, which makes up a larger concept of ‘culture’.

The Settings of Dracula

With castles, hidden streets, waterways, recurring rainy weather, interesting European architecture, and mystique, London is the perfect location for Bram Stoker's Dracula. London: The capital of Great Britain, and the center of attention in the nineteenth century, due to the many incidents that were going on at the time. The novel includes many daunting scenes, such as when Dracula heaves a sack withholding a deceased child before three female vampires. It is no surprise why he choose London to be the setting of his novel. London is â€Å"exotic† and unknown. Stoker is obviously inspired by London's castles, hidden streets, and church yards. Because of all of these points, London is the perfect gothic setting for Stoker's â€Å"Dracula. † London is recognized for its grand castles. Stoker may have been motivated to use these in his novel describing Dracula's estate in London, â€Å"Carfax† and also his castle in Transylvania. This is illustrated when Mr. Harker arrives at Dracula's home â€Å"up a great winding stair, and along another great passage great passage, on whose stone floor our steps rang heavily. At the end of this he threw open a heavy door, and I rejoiced to see within a well-lit room in which a table was spread for supper and whose mighty hearth a great fire of logs, freshly replenished, flamed and flared. † (Stoker,13). High small windows, arched ceilings, and solid stone walls are also typical for the gothic architecture. These characteristics make the building cold, dark, and forbidding. For example, the text says about the castle in Transylvania that â€Å"The Count halted, putting down my bags, closed the door, and crossing the room, opened another door, which led into a small octagonal room lit by a single lamp, and seemingly without a window of any sort† (13) and . â€Å".. a vast ruined castle, from those tall black windows came no ray of light and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlight sky† (11). Everything is difficult to see. For example, dimming lights and dark thick walls are characteristics of this type of architecture. Overall the count's castle looks like the cathedrals in the thirteenth century. It is a copy of a medieval building. London is also a perfect location for this novel not only because of its buildings, but also because of its weather and its scenery. London (or Great Britain in general) is an island, therefore, it is surrounded by water. This makes it â€Å"isolated† from the main land. It makes it problematic to reach. This is why Dracula has to go by ship when he leaves Transylvania to go to London. People often connect harbors with something frightening and you can see harbors in many horror movies. Because of the surrounding water and the rough European climate, there is a lot fog and rain. These are the ideal conditions for Dracula to follow through with his killings. He can â€Å"call† for the fog and the rain. In the nineteenth century, London streets were very small and hidden with little lighting. This helps to create the fearsome setting for the novel. Smoke is created by enormous factories making a creepy backdrop for the terrible things to come. Numerous churches and cathedrals also create a fear-provoking â€Å"flair. These churches are built in gothic â€Å"dark† style. For example, the â€Å"Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows†, is built in this medieval manner. London also includes a considerable amount of beautiful, but creepy, churchyards. Ffor example, in the part when Lucy is constantly sleepwalking and Mina finds her in the churchyard talking about â€Å"his red eyes†, . â€Å".. from where I was I ran on to the entrance of the ch urchyard†¦ † (79). Of course these churchyards are used as a scary setting, like in many horror books or movies. The House of Commons was non-democratically elected. The Bill, caused by the temperance movement, didn't create a democracy in England, but it did enfranchise the British’s middle class. The Temperance movement was typical for the Victorian era. It surround the idea that the middle-class should have self-control and self-denial. These values were shaped both by Evangelicalism and by Utilitarianism. There were also contemporary views on the Reform Act in 1832. So the Reform Bill and the issues on the Reform Act got everybody's attention, what makes London even more interesting. In 1854 there were also several law for women passed. This could be the reason for Mina Harker and her friend, Lucy, to play such an important role in Stoker's book. In this time era, women believed that they should always be protected by the strong men. Because of this, Bram Stoker maybe wanted to draw the attention on the women. The marriage of Mina Harker and Jonathan Harker could may have been a result of the Chancellor Cranworth's Marriage and Divorce Bill passed in 1955. Another point of attention was also the Peterloo Massacre in 1899. A public meeting took place at Westminster on March 28th and in June. Another important piece of information is that London became a massive place with book-keepers, authors, and clerks. This is why many newspaper presses came to London. Stoker could have been stimulated by this and wrote the part, where Mina did research about this article, where the mysterious ship came into the harbor (how already mentioned above). Or it could have been the growth of shipping, caused by the famous clippers, which made it possible to import tea from China to the Thames. The whole story of Dracula could have been also been caused by the widespread poverty and crime in this time. Because of all these facts about London, the castles, the hidden streets, the waterways, the recurring raining weather, the interesting European architecture, and the mystique surrounding this city, Bram Stoker chose this special and fascinating city as the setting for his novel. London is just like made for settings in scary novels or even movies. Especially in the nineteenth century, with all the gothic buildings and all its frightening churchyards. Of course, everybody in this time knew London for this. London was not only well known because of these aspects, but also because London was the capital of its whole empire. So Bram Stoker could not have selected a better gothic setting for his disturbing novel â€Å"Dracula. † Works cited: -Wolffg. , John. â€Å"Gothic† 2002. Online. 5-20-03 www. clc. edu/~wolffg/gateway/gothic. html -Roumpou, Eleni. Is Dracula a gothic novel? † 9-19-00. Online. 5-20-02. www. hausarbeiten. de/faecher/hausarbeit/anl/1106. html -Jackson, Lee. â€Å"Victorian London-Architecture-Victorian Architecture† 2000. Online. 5-20-03 www. victorianlondon. org -Halsall, Paul. â€Å"19th Century Britain† 1-30-99. Online. 5-21-03. www. fordham. edu/halsaall/mod/modsbook20. html -Johnson, Jane. â€Å"19th Cent ury London† 2001. Online. 5-21-03. www. Britannia. com -Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"The Temperance Movement and class struggle in Victorian England† 1993. Online. 5-21-03. www. loyno. edu/~history/journal/1992-3/smith. html

Kuwait unversity is loosing its ranking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kuwait unversity is loosing its ranking - Essay Example This population accounts for at least half the population of Kuwait; thereby raising alarm amongst scholars and educators alike as to whether this drop in world rank is representative of a drop in the quality of skills and competency transfer within the institution? What does this portend on the institution’s capacity to attract international students in light of an ever globalizing world? To a country whose population comprised almost half by teens aged 18-24 years, the youth represent a significant component towards the future development of Kuwait as a country. The former Minister for education in Kuwait, Noria Al-Sabeeh ably identified that, â€Å"investing in young people is actually investing in the future.† But this is not so evident at the university. In a 21st century environment, the use of ICT learning is one of the most revolutionary concepts for all proactive educators. According to the Kuwait University 2011-2012 catalogue, there seems to be a failure to reconcile this thought in its academic policies. Emphasis is still being placed on student’s physical attendance in class without providing clear stipulations as to how open-distance learning can be effected. Subsequently, with the high levels of student intake it seems clear that the existing four campuses were inadequate for the increasing student level approximated at over 19,000 in 2005. The continued falling of teacher-student ratio nationally which currently stands at a paltry 0.06:1 may have contributed to a decline in the state university ranking (StateUniversity.com). The educational statistics for 1997-98 shows a greater decline of Kuwaiti educators at university level; the tendency to rely on foreign educators has an indirect impact on the student performance because learning cannot be effectively â€Å"localized† in the sense of practical exemplification of theoretical concepts; development and assessment of student projects and proposals. Finally, the occurrence of

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

Benchmark - Research Paper Example The company began in the early 80s with only a single line specializing in office systems. Currently, the company has tremendously grown to offer a wide variety of different decking systems and freestanding systems and panel based altos and optos architectural demountable wall products (Teknion, 2011). The company through this strategic expansion managed to improve its marketing segment drastically and expanding its production lines to meet demands of the new markets in furniture products. For example, the company has handled numerous projects in different countries. These include the Barnes Jewish Hospital, Agilent technologies in Israel among other numerous global projects that the company has successfully implemented. This global expansion helped the company in expanding its production lines, improving its design work to meet the current customer demand in a highly competitive market, and coming up with designs and technologies that are in accordance with the advocacy of the day. An example is the embracing of green technologies that are environmentally friendly. As the company expanded to international markets, there were more demands in different markets to have products in accordance with certain environmental specifications, motivating the company to initiate massive design and innovative works to correspond to such market demands. Therefore, from producing a single line of furniture for the domestic market, international expansion helped Teknion in providing much advanced office furniture and other high end furniture to clients in different market segments. Teknion’s expansion to international market did not comprise its domestic market share, but instead the domestic market became much stronger as new international designs previously not made for the domestic market were available to the domestic customers, offering them a large variety of designs with international tastes. The company was in fact named among the top 50 best managed Private Comp anies, with its presence not only growing domestically, but also regionally (Anonymous, 2010). International expansion led to an enhanced image of the company and its products; the company was more involved in international tendering processes, such as in interior and exterior design of the Bow, a 58 story tower near the Bow River in Calgary (Anonymous, 2010). It is such manifested prowess in interior design and furnishes that has enabled the company to control not only the domestic, but also the regional market; meaning its international expansion was a real benefit to the company. Teknion is faced with several risks in its international market operations. Sargent (2011) explains some of these risks as increase competition. The company is faced with stiff competition from much larger multinationals especially from U.S, North America, and other regions. The stiff competition requires strategic operations in realigning with the market demands to offer much superior and competitive pr oducts at a price that will offer much more value addition to customers. The company through design and innovations in office furniture work has been able to compete effectively and capture its sizeable market segment in the international market. In order to ensure a competitive edge in the market, the company has collaborated with renowned construction industry leaders such as Mathews Southwest developments, Ledcor Group of Companies, Gensler among others, making the company’

Effect of Technology Development on Management Consulting Profession Essay

Effect of Technology Development on Management Consulting Profession - Essay Example In addition, as technological innovations become available, possibilities increase and so does the cost but what technological advancements has given to management analysts, that not only has helped them in boosting their managerial skills by analysing and proposing alternatives to improve an organisation's structure but has also enabled management consultancy to acquire a division that would help reorganize the structure of the firm and eliminate technological complexities. Information technology cannot by itself change the inherent inflexible nature of its tools but any profession particularly on the management side whether it be financial management, strategic management or consultant management by using the developing trend of information technology can change its effect with respect to any organization infrastructure in such a way that they use these tools in two ways. "First, by reengineering the way that existing tasks are carried out. Second, by creating new tasks and opening up consultancy opportunities that were not previously possible. Changes in various management use of computer technology have enabled technological developments to be implemented in general". (Margetts, 1999, p. 17) If we consider the development of technology from management point of view, it is obvious that today organisations of all kinds have taken on new functions and new techniques that would otherwise have not been possible without merging and cooperation of information technology. Information technology in private sector companies is now widely recognised as a crucial element in a company's business strategy and the reason is transparent for the way technology has boosted the growth of consultant management, is incredible. "It is now a truism that information technology has transcended its established administrative support functions and has moved towards playing a more central role in business operations' that has not only modified its organisational structure but has also taken part in increasing the ratio of contended customers". (Margetts, 1999, p. 23) Let us take an example of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): "EDI has made it possible for two trading partners to exchange their information of trade or business transactions such as orders and invoices which otherwise would have taken umpteen effort and time. Today EDI has been widely accepted as an essential business tool used to facilitate inter-organisational transactions and sometimes to enhance internal operations by integrating internal and external systems". (Chen, 1998, p. 68) It has potentially reduced the transaction costs by eliminating duplication of effort involved in re-keying documents generated by computer in the first place. In this aspect, the development in technology started in 1980s, which first brought a dramatic increase in the use of the Internet, a global research network, consisting of a loose confederation of inter-connected networks providing services such as file transfer and electronic mail. After Internet the vast technological change was felt and re alised by the then consultant management when the use of databases, online and offline processors for report writing and interactive communication was introduced. "Prior to this, it was the consultancies who set the

Do we still partake in conspicuous consumption of fashion Essay

Do we still partake in conspicuous consumption of fashion - Essay Example This essay traces the history of fashion in relation to conspicuous consumption in order to determine if this concept is present in the modern culture and find out the motivation behind the use of fashion to display wealth and status. According to Cassell (2000), conspicuous consumption of fashion is not a new concept because it can be traced back into the ancient tribal times. During this period, the elite within the society displayed various fashions to demonstrate their social class and thus distinguish themselves from the ordinary people. The history of conspicuous consumption and the developments in fashion was very competitive and it is attributed to the modern culture within the consumer society as explained by Woodruffe-Burton (1998). In the French empire, the rule of Louis XIV was characterized by conspicuous consumption of fashion and people showed off their wealth through the clothes they wore. The concept of conspicuous consumption of fashion is illustrated by the queen of France, Marie Antoinette who had the largest wardrobe in Versailles which was filled with expensive clothing as a status symbol of her wealthy and power. Feitelberg (2005) explains that the invention of handbags late in the 18th cen tury clearly shows how fashion is valued in the society as â€Å"a symbolic tool for status and class†. Highly decorated handbags were carried around to achieve a certain desired level of prestige and wealthy. Lehnert (2000) assets that the history of fashion reached its peak in the 19th century when cloth designs and fashions from France and London were used to separate people according to social classes. Decorative dressing by women in the upper social class was common in the society. A lot of money was spent by the wealthy on decorative fashion which were colorful with good designs and ostrich feathers being used to symbolize a higher social status. The development of fashion was parallel to the social status early in the 20th

Marketing Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Management - Essay Example Primary research has shown that the most preferred brand in the category of consumer product is Pantene. They prefer Pantene than any other brands because it caters to all types of hair requirements. Pantene is the most famous brand in hair care; they are brand loyal towards the product. Brand loyalty is an attitude toward a brand (Pride & Ferrell, 2008, p.330). The primary research shows that they are satisfied with the brand and thus consistently purchase the same brand. Pantene a product of Procter & Gamble has very well positioned itself in the minds of the customers. The survey has shown that the most recalled brand was Pantene. Positioning is nothing but the battle of the mind. In order to stay ahead from the competitors, the first thing is to position the brand in the consumers mind so that he or she tends to go for that particular brand (Sengupta, 2005, p.2). And this is exactly what the hair product has done. It is the number one hair care brand. Brand loyalty plays an impor tant factor when deciding upon a brand. When asked about how loyal they were with their brand, it was found that Pantene follows the third degree of brand loyalty, brand insistence. They would not go for any other substitute, they strongly prefer Pantene. This is referred to as brand insistence. ... When asked about the first five brands that come to their mind, the first name was Pantene. Thus the brand had achieved the success because it takes a lot of effort to remain on top of the mind thus it has positioned very well in the minds of the consumers. As discussed earlier, they would not go for any other brands even if they do not find the desired product; this indicates the loyalty towards the brand. The purchase decision criteria for most respondents depend upon the brand name. The very reason why as to Pantene is preferred was because of its focus mainly on the health of the hair. Pantene is the brand which caters to all hair segments be it long straight short curly etc. it has a wide range of products which deals with the different types of hair of the consumers. Hair care is one of the important factors that mainly concern the consumers. Many of the Pantene users believe that it provides their hair with a healthier looking with more shine and more confidence among themselv es. One of the respondent stated that hair has a personality and it is taken well care of by Pantene. Thus Pantene has proved to be the number one brand and captures the market share. It is a product that has emotionally affected the consumers. They feel that it is only Pantene that suits their hair types and especially because it is available for all hair types. Secondary research Market segments and targets Pantene is a product of Procter & Gamble, a fortune 500 company. It deals in consumer goods. Market segmentation is an important part in marketing. It is necessary to decide the segment in which the product is to be introduced. It has segmented its product in three categories that is Fine, med-thick, curly and color. Since it has segmented its

Analyzing the Ways the Media Represent the American Economy Essay

Analyzing the Ways the Media Represent the American Economy - Essay Example This is even worsened by the declaration that "central bankers grappled with the growing uncertainty about which direction the economy is headed" (3). The second article expresses the gloomy projection of the International Monetary Fund when it cuts its forecast for economic growth in the United States this year to 2.2 percent (IMF Cuts 1). It can be recalled that during 2006, the nation's economy grew by 3.3 percent (3). The slowdown is attributed to the expected weak performance of the nation's housing market. It is projected that this deceleration will cause the United States to lag behind other economic giants including Britain, Canada, and Japan. This will be the first time that US will not lead the Group of Seven nations in terms of economic growth (6). Generally, the media portrays the American economy in a downslide. The nation's struggle in keeping its inflation stable and sustain economic growth appears to be in vain. It should be noted that the media uses a rather pessimistic tone in describing the US economy. Downbeat news article titles like "Greenspan: Recession 'possible' by end of year" and "The American Economy is Destroying Itself" loudly communicates the media's pessimism coupled with some sensationalism.

Manufacturing Operations Management (Logistics And Supply Chain Dissertation

Manufacturing Operations Management (Logistics And Supply Chain Management) - Dissertation Example Promanager analysis As pointed out in the article, Promanager faces a lot of problems. First, the company delivery system’s performance is poor and traditional. It fails to achieve customers’ delivery dates which frustrate the customers. As argued out by the Quinn (1986: PP 1-5), failure to deliver on time loses a substantial confidence and trust in product offered in the market. In this company, the product exhibits high levels of commonality and are similar in both aesthetic and performance attributes. It is argued that this firm’s the product look similar from outside and are confusing instead of exhibiting realistic and meaningful simple operating procedures. The products lack creativity and innovativeness has enabled their products to be inefficient and ineffective. This has led to dwindling of sales volume and subsequent squeeze of the market share. As the suggested in the article, the market has been flooded by the products of the Asian competitor implying that customers have shifted their loyalty from the firm’s products to the competitors’ making the company lose their customers, reputation and may lose jobs in the long run if the rate continues. There is a possibility from the report that the products are of poor technology. This has fuelled and oiled the competitors’ impetus in gaining the market share in the oil and gas industry. Second, there is a problem in the actual production process. Companies which have been in the market leader employ the customer-driven focus in their production processes. This corporation uses the batch production system based on the mass production with emphasis being given to marketing and other advertising strategies. There is a possibility of heavy operating costs that are incurred by the firm as a result of heavy and massive marketing and advertising campaigns. This is also expensive and unprofitable. As a result, it has led to fear of making bold investment by its executives in ventures such as product and market development. The company lacks a strategic approach in their course of management as evidenced. There is no evidence that the company undertakes strategic planning, no evidence of industry analysis having being carried out, there is distinct strategy that differentiates this firm from others in the same business. It can also be noted the company is on the bream line of perishing for lack of simple and operable policies, procedures and vision. The entrepreneurial culture in this company is null and void because there is no creativity and innovativeness in its operations, product outputs and service rendered to their customers. The firm also lacks a systematic and structured manufacturing and planning schedules. This is evidenced in the lack of accuracy and forecasts. This has led to mismatch between demand and supply of their product thereby resulting in failure to reach optimal results. This firm lacks strategic manufacturing plans, sound polic ies and actions plans that set in motion the policies to effect and assist the company leapfrog in sales, growth and profitability. In terms of human resource, there lacks motivation on part of employees especially the sales force. This is detrimental as it has led

Analysis of Virginia Woolf Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Virginia Woolf Essay The essay â€Å"In search of a Room of One’s Own† by Virginia Woolf starts out by asking a simple question, what were the living conditions of women in England, in the time of Elizabeth? The author wants to understand why no woman had written any literature, unlike a man who was capable of a song or sonnet. It was as if the life of a woman was fiction. We must first start out by understanding how women were viewed in the public’s eye and then understand how they could not have been as smart as men; or could they? The author uses expressive and mimetic elements throughout the essay to support her argument. Young girls had their husbands chosen for them when they are still young by her parents. Any girl who refused to marry the man that was chosen for them was liable to be locked up and beaten without it even being looked upon as bad in the public’s eyes. Marriage was not about personal feelings; it was at the convenience of the family. Mostly taking place in the upper class societies, women were allowed to be beaten by their husbands. It was a recognized right and practiced without shame. Eventually women of upper and middle class were allowed the right to decide their husbands. When they had chosen their husband, he would become the lord and master over her. Plainly saying she was his property. Women were not wanted if they had any personality or character. This is referring to Shakespeare’s women, who were lacking of both. This is why women have no real existence saved in the fiction written by men. The author disagrees with this way of thinking; women are much more than that, â€Å"†¦ one would imagine her a person of the utmost importance; very various; heroic and mean; splendid and sordid; infinitely beautiful and hideous in the extreme; as great as a man, some think even greater† (Woolf 383). This is the author’s way of expressing that men and women think differently about the women’s role in life. Although men saw woman as a piece of property with no real value, they really are more than that. A woman is everything and nothing at the same time. A woman is of the highest importance and completely insignificant. She pervades poetry and is basically absent from history. She is a slave to any man whose parents forced her to marry. Some of the most inspired words, some of the most profound thoughts in literature fall from her lips; in real life she could hardly read, could scarcely spell, and was the property of her husband†(Woolf 383). The reality of how things were for women in this era was how a man said they were. There were plenty of women in this time that had preceded the notion of what men thought. For instance Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth, and Rosalind were strong willed women who did not follow the fictional depiction of what men said they were. Throughout history, a woman is only mentioned here and there, and normally they are all queens or great ladies. Women had the brains and character to be just as great as their male counterparts, but they would never receive a chance. A middle-class woman would never be mentioned, because of her oppression by man. According to historians, she was not allowed to write about her life or keep a diary. This leaves nothing to judge her by. Out of the many men that were all great writers, artists, and inventors only a handful of extraordinary woman do we know of equal caliber. The author is expressing emotional despair for the average woman. Her passion would be suppressed and forever unfulfilled. The author starts asking why is there nothing known about women before the eighteenth century? How can there be no such poetry produced by a woman. According to men, â€Å" it was impossible for any woman, past, present, or to come, to have the genius of Shakespeare† (Woolf 385). A stroke of genius like this would drive a woman insane and they would kill themselves. Genius like this is not something you are born with. It comes from the proper education and training. Things like this were not allowed for women. A highly gifted girl who had tried to use her gift for poetry would have been hated and punished by other people. â€Å"†¦so tortured and pulled asunder by her own contrary instincts, that she must have lost her health and sanity to a certainty† (Woolf 388). This is expressing how a smart woman will be so hated and revered that they will not have a chance for a normal life. Even if they were able to survive and actually write some poetry, it would have been twisted and deformed, coming from a strained and morbid imagination. If there was work from a woman it would have been published in a man’s name. This was the only way for a woman to get published. The women who did get published under a man’s name were still looked upon as distasteful. â€Å"Thus they did homage to the convention, which if not implanted by the other sex was liberally encouraged by them (the chief glory of a woman is not to be talked of, said Pericles, himself a much-talked-of man), that publicity in women is detestable† (p. 389). This means that women are nothing compared to men. Women do not care as much about fame as men do. What is most important is to be heard not seen. If a woman was born in the sixteenth century with a gift of poetry, their life would be unhappy and they would strife against themselves. The conditions of her life and her own instincts are what set her up for her ultimate demise. Nothing is to be expected intellectually from a woman. Any girl can read, but this lowered her vitality, and said wonders about her work. â€Å"There would always have been that assertion – you cannot do this, you are incapable of doing that – to protest against, to overcome† (Woolf 392). The author expresses how again the women are repressed and told what and how to think. Women were not encouraged to be or do anything with their lives. They were told how to think and act. They were tortured, snubbed, slapped, lectured, and exhorted. Her mind was strained and her vitality was lowered by the need of opposing and disproving stuff. The woman is inferior and the man is superior. The author uses different expressive ideas to help the audience understand the oppression against women in the eighteenth century. To make the audience feel as oppressed as the women did. Thought out the years there has been women poets and writers, but because of the oppression from the men, they used a man’s name to be able to get their point across. Any genius should be looked upon as a gift, not torn apart because it was from a woman. In conclusion, Virginia Woolf argues a strong point on how women were treated unjust and as if they were property of a man. She expresses her ideas in a clear way using vivid descriptive language that sets the audience into her state of mind. The argument is so strong; it makes the reader feel pity for the women of that era. Makes them want to stand up and take charge of their own lives.

Critical Thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical Thinking Essay Strong critical thinking (CT) skills are necessary for every successful nurse manager. Giving them an edge at creating a positive work environment, that is conducive to job satisfaction and retention of staff RNs. This study is entitled, â€Å"Critical Thinking of Nurse Managers Related to Staff RNs’ Perceptions of the Practice Environment. † The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure critical thinking in nurse managers in relation to their respective staff RNs. Enhancing critical thinking skills is important, staff RNs that work in an environment perceived to be positive are in a better position to deliver higher quality and safer patient care. As nurses we are responsible for helping a patient every way we can, being able to engage in critical thinking is a skill that must be obtained. This study was based off of twelve volunteering nurse managers and their respective one hundred and thirty-two staff RNs. Assessment of Nurse Manager’s Critical Thinking Skills This study (Critical Thinking of Nurse Managers Related to Staff RNs’ Perceptions of the Practice Environment) used the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) to measure CT skills in nurse managers in relation to their staff RNs. This study was conducted in a nonprofit, hospital in the northeast United States. This study was completely voluntary, only thirty-one percent of nurse managers chose to participate, leaving the pool of staff RNs slim. This article is about a study that took place in the northeast United States at a 490 bed nonprofit, tertiary care hospital. The study explores,† the differences between nurse managers’ dispositions to use critical thinking skills and their respective staff RNs’ perceptions of the practice environment† (Zori, Nosek amp; Musil, 2010). This study was completely voluntary and with a limited number of nurse manager participants, the number of staff RNs was also very limited. Nurse Managers need to have good leadership skills and critical thinking skills; these skills are assed in comparison to those of their respective staff RNs. Research Question amp; Hypothesis There is a correlation between the Critical thinking skills of Nurse Managers and their respective staff nurses perception of the practice environment. Nurse Managers skilled in the use of critical thinking, may be able to create a positive practice environment for staff RN’s. Positive practice environments means increased retention of staff RN’s and improved job satisfaction. Sample of the Study Twelve nurse managers and one hundred and thirty-two staff RN’s were sampled. The study was conducted at a 490-bed voluntary, nonprofit, tertiary care hospital located in the northeastern United States. Only nurse managers who voluntarily chose to answer the CCTDI were included in the study (31. 6%). Sample size limited the ability to address how the difference in type of unit and full- or part-time work may influence the outcome. Descriptive Study In this descriptive study nurse managers were categorized as weak or strong in critical thinking dispositions based on scores achieved on the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). Then, staff RNs from the units of participating nurse managers completed the Practice Environment Scale (PES). Staff nurses’ Practice Environment Scale (PES) results were dichotomized based on the critical thinking disposition scores of their nurse managers. A two-tailed, independent sample t test was conducted to determine if there were significant differences in the Practice Environment Scale(PES) mean overall and subscale scores of the two groups of staff RNs (Zori, Nosek amp; Musil, 2010). CCDTI was created based on the APA Delphi Study. Reliability testing was conducted, with an overall score of . 90. The CCDTI is therefore considered reliable. Practice Environment Scale PES was developed from Nursing Work Index (NWI). Reliability testing of the final 31 items was conducted on both individual nurse scores and on the aggregate of subscale scores. Individual nurse subscale scores (n = 1,610) were analyzed using Cronbach’s ? , with ? gt; . 80 for all subscales except the collegial nurse-physician relations (? = . 71). The nurse manager ability, leadership, and support of nurse’s subscale scored the highest. The results are reliable. The PES has been endorsed by the National Quality Forum and is used by the ANA as part of the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators to measure staff nurse job satisfaction (Lake, 2007). Enhancing critical thinking skills and dispositions of course managers may help to create positive work environments for staff RNs. Staff RNs who work in an environment perceived to be positive may be in a better position to deliver high quality, safe patient care (Zori, Nosek amp; Musil, 2010). Table One Table one, of the article is entitled, â€Å"Nurse Manager California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) Score Distribution and Standard Deviation by Subscale. † This table breaks down the CCTDI Scale into seven subscales: truth-seeking, open-mindedness, analyticity, systematicity, CT confidence, inquisitiveness, and cognitive maturity (Zori, Nosek amp; Musil, 2010). The table also shows the minimum score, maximum score, mean score, median score, and standard deviation for the twelve sample nurse managers. Table Two Table two of the study entitled, â€Å"RN Staff Nurses’ Practice Environment Scale scores by Nurse Managers’ Critical Thinking (CT) Dispositions. † According to the study, â€Å"As this table indicates, there are significant differences in PES scores when they were compared based on their nurse managers’ strength or weakness on the CCTDI subscales of analyticity, systematicity, open-mindedness, and critical thinking confidence† (Zori, Nosek amp; Musil, 2010). The biggest difference between staff nurses and nurse managers scores were in the truth-seeking subscale (strength versus weakness), within the nurse-physician relationship. Limitations This study was conducted in one medical facility in the northeast United States. This may not be a proper representation of the whole population of nurse managers and their respective staff nurses. Also the nurse managers who participated did so by choice and were not required to, therefore, the number of staff RNs were limited to those whose nurse manager participated. Out of thirty-eight nurse managers only twelve chose to participate, this limited the three hundred and twenty-seven possible staff RNs down to one hundred and thirty-two. If there were more willing participants then the findings could be better generalized to the entire nurse manager population. My Findings and Improvements Nurse Managers skilled in critical thinking create a positive environment for staff RN’s resulting in increase in job satisfaction and retention of RN’s, decreasing job turnover. This study is extremely important because the World Health Organization (WHO) anticipates the RN shortage to reach 285,000 by the year 2020. If I was conducting this study, I would look at part-time vs. full-time employees, and areas of practice. Is burn-out more noted in critical care areas? Statistical Procedure, Methodology amp; Measurement This was a voluntary survey conducted at one tertiary hospital. A t-test was conducted. Scores of 40 or above were considered strengths, and scores of 39 and below were weakness. Scores on inquisitiveness and cognitive maturity were all in the strength range. Final Analysis As nurses we must use critical thinking every day, nurse managers are no exception to this. This study shows that by having a nurse manager who has strong critical thinking skills, the staff RNs respond positively.

Analyze The Mix And Activities Of Nestle Marketing Essay

Analyze The Mix And Activities Of Nestle Marketing Essay In this report we are trying to investigate and analyze the Marketing Mix Activities of NESTLE. Most of the marketing practitioners regard marketing mix as a tool for transaction marketing and the archetype for operational marketing planning. (Gronroos, 1994:347) 4ps.png Elements of Marketing Mix (Armstrong and Kotler, 2001). MANAGING THE MARKETING MIX Customer Wants Marketing Mix Variables Managing the Marketing Mix (Baker, 1999:302) The above figure describes how a company could by research and successful adaptation can understand and develop products to match the customers requirements. According to Baker (1999: 303), by understanding and matching the needs of the customers efficient management of marketing mix is possible. COMPONENTS OF MARKETING MIX Impact Positive and Negative PRODUCT Kotler and Armstrong (2001) define a product as any entity that can be offered to a market by a company for attention, acquisition, consumption or use that might satisfy the needs of their customers. Product Mix Product mix is the total range of products that are manufactured by a company. The major aspects to be considered in product mix are explained below. http://genevalunch.com/files/2010/01/Nestl%C3%A9_products_1001192.jpg Variety: Nestle offers a wide product mix that comprises of food, health and nutrition products to meet the customer needs. Nestle offers its products in the following categories: Bottled water, Baby foods, Breakfast cereals, Chocolate and confectionery, Coffee, Dairy products, Drinks, Ice cream, In the Kitchen, Nestle Professional, Nutrition and Health, Pet care. Quality: Nestle is well known for the quality and taste of its products. Nestle Believes that Success is built on Quality. Design: As its variety range, Nestle also has a greater range of design. Nestle make sure all their new products look different and attractive. Nestle creates more jobs in Yorksmarties-jh4_gem.jpg smarties image by libsta_girl Features: Nestle have made sure that all their products have special features to make it more attractive to the customers. For example: In case of their ice creams, they have tried to include the special feature that is the low fat and sugar content. http://squeezydeals.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/picture-11.png?w=273h=258 Brand name: A strong brand name is important for both the company and the consumers as it adds to the value of the company, differentiates the products from those of its competitors and affects the consumer discernment of the company (Jobber 2007:328). A strong brand name also acts as a source of quality certification and can influence consumer preferences of products. Nestle, through its strong brand name and market presence has captured the heart of the customers worldwide. In the present health- conscious society, Nestle has captivated a loyal customer base through its focus on nutrition and health requirements and consumer preferences at a competitive price and it has enhanced the reputation of the company. A Nestle brand name on a product is a promise to the customer that it is safe to consume, that it complies with all regulations and that it meets high standards of quality Packaging: Packaging involves designing and developing a cover for a product in order to make it attractive to the consumers. Packaging was just a means for protecting the product in the past, but today increase in competition has resulted in the need to differentiate the product from those of its competitors to attract the customers and to describe the features of the product in order to gain consumer recognition. Poor designs can be one of the reasons for reduction in sales of a product due to less customer satisfaction. Nestle uses very attractive packaging as one of their main marketing strategies. For its efforts, Nestle has won several accolades such as the Silver Star and Best in category as Best Packaging Innovation leading to a significant reduction in household waste by the British Institute of Packaging for the Dairy Box biodegradable tray which is manufactured by using renewable resources. http://www.sophiesflorist.co.uk/images/chocolates/dairy%20box.jpg ROMOTION Stanton and Futrell (1987:418), describe promotion as an important element of marketing mix which aims in informing and persuading the market about the products and services of the company. J:uad18.jpg J:nescafe.jpg According to Baker (1999, 310) the method of communicating the product offer which is made by a company to match the needs of the customers and to persuade them to try the product is Promotion. They feel that the significance of promotion increases when the distance between the producers and customers increase and as the number of customers increase. Promotion activity does not depend on the demand; even if the demand is high promotional activities should go on in order to keep the manufacturers name before the customers. Nestle uses promotion as one of the major source to reach their customers to make them aware of the value of different products introduced in the market. Nestle adopts a promotion mix with a perfect blend of several different promotion tools to promote the value of its product and make the customers aware of their products. Promotion Tools PERSONAL SELLING: According to Stanton and Futrell (1987: 418), personal selling is mainly used when the market is geographically concentrated (Few customers) and when the products are custom made. It is defined as a face to face communication with buyers in the aim of pursuing the customers to purchase by Simon(). Its a one to one marketing. Tele marketing, door drops inserts, Door to door selling are all techniques used in personal selling. J:7_essentialprotein_image.jpg J:6_essentialprotein_image.jpg Nestle uses personal selling for specialized and sophisticated products. ADVERTISING: Advertising according to Groucutt (2005:215) is to communicate to a specific audience to stimulate action and its success is in the way the right information reaches the right person at the right time. Majaro (1993) says that advertising is any paid form non-personal communication of products, services or ideas through a commercial media. (Stanton and Futrell, 1987) Promotion through advertising is mainly done when the market is geographically dispersed or when the product is standardized. Nestlà ©s advertisements are well known in the market and they have made sure that the advertisements are attractive through all the possible media. Nestle also uses internet to promote their products, where they have different websites hosted for different products. Different strategies for each product like online competitions and distributions. HOW ADVERTISING WORKS Tim Ambler and Demetrios Vakratsas have formulated a framework for studying how advertising works for a company. How Advertising Works (Ambler, Vakratsas 1999:26) They have considered the input to be advertising own and competitive brands. Scheduling the media and message contents are the motivation factors or triggers the consumers response. Cognition, the thinking dimension of a persons response, and affect, the feeling dimension, are portrayed as two major intermediate advertising effects (Ambler, Vakratsas, 1999:26) SALES PROMOTION: Sales promotion represents non- media campaigns such as sampling displays, shows, exhibitions and contests (Majaro, 1993:35). Stanton and Futrell (1987:418) believes that sales promotions one of the fastest growing promotional methods these days. Free samples, Money off coupons, extra value offers buy one get one free, bundling, privilege points are all different methods used in sales promotion. Nestle also uses sales promotion as one of their promotion tools by offering programmes like every day eating coupon codes and discounts and offers for online shopping on nestle products. PUBLICITY: Publicity is a promotional method where the organization is not paying for the communication about its products and is benefiting from it (Stanton and Futrell 1987:419). This occurs either through a non-personal news story appearing in a mass medium or is delivered by a person in an interview or a speech. Publicity is achieved mainly through public relations activities. According to Jobber (2007) sponsorship provides more opportunities for publicity in the media. Nestle is a well known brand in the market and its fame describes its publicity and the further publicity occurs during various interviews of officials of Nestle. Publicity for Nestle also occurs during the launch of every new product and when the annual sale reports are published. This publicity obtained by Nestle is not by paying any of the media. Nestle, public relation activities is evident from how they try to communicate with government organizations as well as the customers about the different issues that they face. Through public relations Nestle try to bring to the attention of all the customers and organizations concerned about various issues and the current approach they are taking towards these issues. PRICE Price is defined as the value of a product that we get in return for all the effort that was taken for its production and also for marketing of the same product. Price is the revenue earner so it is considered as the odd one in the marketing mix. It is also considered as an important market tool which is visible to both customers and competitors (Baker 1985). The price of a product depends on a number of factors like, changes in technology, effect of suppliers, competitive pressure and the increasing price sensitivity of the customers. Price is also directly dependent on the demand of the product. If the demands increase the price will also increase and vice versa. Consumers generally show a keen interest in tracking the prices of the products which they usually purchase. This enables them to analyze the attractiveness of the product and be vigilant about the changes in price of the product, thus enabling them to compare the prices of the product in various stores (Vanhuele and Dreze 2002:72). Pricing of the Product Companies usually do not set a single price, but rather develop a pricing structure that reflects variations in geographical demand and costs, market-segment requirements, purchasing timing, order levels, delivery frequency, guarantees, service contract, and other factors (Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman and Hansen: 2009). According to David Jobber, pricing of a product mainly depends on 3 factors: cost, competitor and the market. COST ORIENTED PRICING The most common method of pricing of a product is cost oriented pricing, in which it is divided into full cost pricing which involves the calculating of cost of all labour and materials and direct cost pricing which involves the calculation of only those costs that are likely to rise as output increases. COMPETITOR ORIENTED PRICING The approach to pricing which only depends on the competitor rather than costs when framing a business is called competitor oriented pricing. Every consumer will judge the price of a product by comparing it with a similar product in the same range which is produced by their competitor (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong 2001). MARKET ORIENTED PRICING Market oriented pricing is one of the important area which depends on competiveness of a product in the market. For a new product the positioning strategy controls the pricing and for an existing product price will depend on the strategic objectives. Price-Quality Relationships Price is directly dependent on the quality of the product. As the quality of a product increases the price also goes up. Nestle is a quality focused company and hence to compete with current market it need to carry out the pricing process of the product very carefully. Nestle is a very successful company and all its products are at affordable prices. PRODUCT LINE PRICING Most of the companies usually develop product lines rather than single products. In product line pricing the management must decide on the pricing steps to set between various products in a line (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong 2001). In product line pricing, cost difference between the product in the line, evaluation of customers and also the competitors products with small price difference is also taken into account. EXPLICABILITY Explicability is defined as the capability of sales people to explain a high price to customer. In market customer demands the economic justification of product prices. If the sales people fail to give a clear idea of the product development stages, it will reduce the value of product. As Nestle is very innovative it needs a high financial support for its RD and it is not easy to give idea about the product development costs to an ordinary customer. COMPETITION Competition plays an important role in the cost consideration of a product in a business. The main competitors of Nestle are Heinz, Kraft, ConAgra, Mars Incorporated, Hershey, Cadbury, General mills etc. Since all their main competitors are also well branded, they cannot price a product without analyzing the competitors pricing. But the main advantages behind their successful pricing are that they are very superior in its market position. NEGOTIATING MARGINS In certain market customer expects a price reduction in some products. Competitive discounts, fast payment discounts an annual volume bonus and other promotional allowances come under this category. Nestle and its negotiations with its suppliers made them to gain a good reasonable margin in all its goods. EFFECT OF DISTRIBUTORS/RETAILERS Well qualified suppliers and efficient retailers is also a factor which affects the price of a product. If a distributor supplies a product with high price or a retailer sells a product in high margin it will cause the variations in price of the products. Nestle itself agreed that their distributors are well developed and hence the company can control the price of its products. POLITICAL FACTORS Nestle sometimes blames the policies of governments for its poor reflection on the exports. Some of the government policies which results in increase in packaging cost makes the product less competitive in the global exporting market. PLACE Armstrong and Kotler (2001) describes place as the activity of a company to make the products available to the customers. Place Strategies The major factors to be considered while formulating a place strategy are Channels, Coverage, Assortments, Locations, Inventory, Transportation, and Logistics. Channel distribution strategies deal with the decisions on making the products available to the target customers in usable condition. A channel of distribution is the combination of institutions through which a seller markets the products to the user or ultimate consumer (Peter, Donnelly 2004:145). As the time and finances required for setting up a channel of distribution are comparatively high, the place strategies are often critical for the success of a firm. The channels of distribution can be of two different types on the basis of the targeted consumer. It may differ when the end user of the product is a consumer or an organization, the Consumer Marketing Channel and the Business Marketing Channel. Consumer Marketing Channel: Armstrong and Kotler (2001) Nestle adopts the consumer marketing channel where the products from the producer reaches the consumer through the wholesalers or retailers. Nestle has e-marketing for some of its products where the products reach the consumers directly from the producer. Business Marketing Channel (Armstrong and Kotler, 2001) According to Donnelly (2004:150),the channel of distribution strategic decisions are determined on the basis of the following factors: Distribution coverage required Degree of control desired Total distribution cost Channel flexibility Distribution coverage may vary based on the features of the product, the market and the target customers. The company may opt for intensive distribution, selective distribution or exclusive distribution. In the case of intensive distribution, the company tries to sell the product through the maximum number of retailers and wholesalers. In selective distribution, the company may limit the number of wholesalers and retailers which are the best in that market while in the case of exclusive distribution; the manufacturing company may provide exclusive rights for distributing the product to only one or a few distributors. Nestle has adopted intensive distribution strategy in order to make its products available to a large customer base. Nestle products are available through a large number of retail outlets. Besides this, Nestle has also launched an e-shop for promoting its confectionary in Japan which allows the consumers to buy Kit Kat chocolates online. The coverage of Nestle is world-wide as it has a wide distribution channel and several manufacturing units at different places around the world. Marketing logistics involves the planning, implementing and controlling of physical flow of goods, services and related information from points of origin to points of consumption to meet customer requirements at a profit (Armstrong and Kotler 2001:342). Nestle underwent a complete re-engineering of its supply chain which was aided by Total Logistics which has benefitted both Nestle and its consumers. Nestle has been able to operate composite pallet loads for entire UK, combining beverages and confectionery through two vehicle fleets and two distribution hubs (http://www.total-logistics.eu.com/logistics-clients/logistics-consultants-case-studies/nestle.html). Through this, Nestle has been able to decrease its fleet size and satisfy smaller delivery volumes without any increase in the costs.

Corporations Law :: essays research papers

Corporations Law Short Anwers a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Any entity which is considered a reporting entity is required to prepare a report in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law. Briefly explain why you agree or disagree with the above statement. A reporting entity is defined as an entity for which there are users who rely on the financial statements, generated from its financial information, as their major source of financial information . These financial statements are used in the decision making process of both internal and external users, and therefore this information must be both accurate and of appropriate detail. In order for a general standard to be established across the accounting industry, it is important for a set of standards to be upheld by all. Therefore I agree with the statement. Under section 298 of the Corporations Law, it is stated that all companies which are reporting entities must adhere to the accounting standards issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) . The generation of statements of financial position, financial performance and cash flow are all required under the section and they assist in giving an unbiased picture of the company’s current position. With the use of the International Accounting Standards Board’s conceptual framework, these reporting entities prepare reports using underlying principles in order to clearly articulate relevant information to those with a vested interest in the business. The outcome will be a reduction in the amount of asymmetric information available to external users. Notable recent examples of falsifying financial reports include One.Tel and HIH. If precise and specific financial reports are not produced in relation to the guidelines set by Corporations Law, it is under the AASB’s jurisdiction to enforce compliance. This compliance allows for a general standard to be upheld on a country-wide basis, and with the introduction of International Accounting Standards in 2005, on a world-wide basis. Therefore, an entity which is considered a reporting entity is required to prepare a report in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law. Without the generation of these reports, a logical and comprehensible overview of the business could not be produced and analysed. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On June 28 2004, an advertising agency paid $20,000 for a computer system. The accountant for the advertising agency included the $20,000 payment as an expense in the financial reports prepared for the year ending 30 June 2004. Using relevant accounting concepts, briefly explain why you agree, or disagree, with the accounting treatment adopted by the accountant for the above transaction.

A Weird Experiece :: Personal Narratives Violence Crime Essays

A Weird Experience We were a threesome that late winter. Friday afternoons when Thomas got home at a decent hour he called on the intercom and I went down the hall to their apartment for drinks. Sometimes when he was late Krystal knocked on my door and asked me to come on down and keep her company. Later we might go out to dinner. Or we skipped dinner and just talked and listened to music. Sometimes on Saturdays he took his car and we drove down the Jersey shore or up the Hudson Valley or to Connecticut. Once we went out to The Hamptons where they were looking for a vacation house. Our friendship lasted exactly three months. A lucky number, Krystal said of the three of us. The perfect number. Thomas Milton was an investment banker. After getting his Masters from Harvard Business School, he'd returned to New York to a major firm and at 32 years old had already made $100 million, or close to it. Thomas was tall, handsome, charming—and Jamaican. His beautiful photo model wife, Krystal, was Dominican and rich in her own right. The Miltons had just bought and were remodeling a penthouse in a nearby Central Park West apartment building and would soon be moving from the cooperative. :: Inevitably we ended up talking about what I was calling in those days the great American divider—the color line. Not that Thomas and Krystal initiated our discussions; they said race didn't matter. No, it was I, the white liberal for whom race does matter, who turned an everyday conversation into a social study. I think they were embarrassed at my endless talk about such an immutable situation—they were black and basta, as Thomas once said soon after we met. And in general, he said, people are racists. That's just the way things are. Yet with each racial affront encountered, with each new racist attack reported on TV, with each new case of police humiliation, I returned to the attack. Relentless, I forced them to participate. How long, I asked piously, this chasm between whites and blacks? Why the fears? Why the silence? I often asked that winter why race had to change our relationship? Change everything? And deprive me of what I above all needed—their respect. One evening after a number of cocktails in the sprawling salon of their big 10th floor apartment I asked them point blank what it was like being black here in the city.

The Underworld and Morality in Vergils Aeneid Essay -- Aeneid Essays

The Underworld and Morality in Vergil's Aeneid Book IV of the Aeneid can stand alone as Vergil's highest literary achievement, but centered in the epic, it provides a base for the entire work. The book describes Aeneas's trip through the underworld, where after passing through the depths of hell, he reaches his father Anchises in the land of Elysium. Elysium is where the "Soul[s] to which Fate owes Another flesh" lie (115). Here Anchises delivers the prophecy of Rome to Aeneis. He is shown the great souls that will one day occupy the bodies of Rome's leaders. Before the prophecy of Rome is delivered, Aeneis's journey through the underworld provides a definite ranking of souls according to their past lives on Earth. The Aeneid does not encompass a heaven, but the Underworld provides a punishment place where souls are purged of their evils and after one thousand years, regenerated to Earth. The ranking of souls in the Underworld warns of punishment for sin, and provides a moral framework for Roman life. Aeneis's first contact with a soul in the purgatory of the Underworld is Palinurus, who died after falling from one of Aeneis's ships. Aeneis is at the mouth of the river that flows through hell with his guide the goddess Diephobe and Charon the ferryman. Palinurus is waiting to be ferried to his place in the Underworld, so he can begin his thousand-year purge. He pleads with Aeneis's party to take him along, but Deiphobe scolds him: "Shalt thou, unburied, see the Stygian flood, / The Furies stream, or reach the bank unbid?" (107). In Vergil's Underworld one must have had a proper burial to gain a position. This serves as a warning to Romans to give their deceased a proper funeral, less they remain in hell longer. After Pa... ...ere he meets his father and receives the destiny of Rome. Elysium houses those souls "to which fate owes another flesh" (115). These are the great heroes of the Ancient World that will be reincarnated as Roman leaders: They have no human acts to be punished for. The story shifts here from that of moral lesson, to historical prophecy, but underlying the history there is a subtle command of respect for Roman leaders. The Underworld is more then just a creation to make Aeneis's voyage to his father more poetic. Through it, Vergil creates a moral code for his people, emphasizing grayer acts that can be easily justified such as deciding not to raise a child and giving up on love. Vergil saw how these acts hurt humanity, and created the Underworld to curve them. Bibliography Vergil. Aeneid. Dover Thrift Edition. Trans. Charles J. Billson. New York: Dover, 1995.

Understand Employment Responsibilities

201 Understand employment responsibilities and rights in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings Task A – Short Answer Questions Ai: Imagine you are a newly appointed supervisor/manager within your service. You need to update your staff handbook to reflect current employment law. Identify three different sources of information you could use to enable you to do this. Once you have identified a reliable source of information: Aii a) List three aspects of employment covered by law.Work Conditions (safety, discrimination, accommodation, etc. ) Wages Hours b) List three main features of current employment legislation. Minimum wage Training Holiday entitlements Aiii Briefly outline why employment law exists. To protect the employee and the employer Nobody is discriminated racism is not in the work place No abuse, providing a safe work environment employee fairness people don’t work below minimum wage nobody is taken advantage of nobody is t ricked into unfavourable contracts. Task B Your work roleFor this task you will need the following: †¢ A copy of your contract of employment or employment agreement. If you don’t have a written contract of employment eg if you are employed as a personal assistant, discuss your terms and conditions with your employer and make notes to help you to complete the task; Evidence 1 †¢ A recent payslip or pay statement; Evidence 2 †¢ Access to your workplace policies and procedures or notes from a discussion with your employer if you are employed as a personal assistantBi Describe the terms and conditions of your employment as set out in your contract of employment or employment agreement. Bii Describe the information which needs to be shown on your pay slip/statement. Salary before and after deductions Name national insurance number national insurance contribution tax contribution PAYE/employee number Biii Identify two changes to personal information which you must re port to your employer. Change of bank details Change of address Biv Describe the procedure to follow if you wanted to raise a grievance at work.You may describe this in writing or produce a flow chart or diagram. Bv Explain the agreed ways of working with your employer in relation to the following areas: 1. Data protection 2. Grievance 3. Conflict management 4. Anti-discriminatory practice 5. Health & safety 6. Confidentiality 7. Whistle blowing Bvi Explain how your role contributes to the overall delivery of the service provided. Bvii Explain how you could influence the quality of the service provided by; a) Following best practice within your work role; Doing everything required I. e. raining,Be kind and caring to the residents and providing them with respect and dignity. b) Not carrying out the requirements of your role. By not following the role requirements you will be not doing your job well and following the right procedures and by that you can cause accidents and your not gi ving your fall attention by that people will be neglected and not get the fall care they need. Bviii Describe how your own work must be influenced by National factors such as Codes of Practice, National Occupational Standards, Legislation and Government Initiatives.Bix a) Identify two different representative bodies which influence your area of work. b) Describe the role of the two representative bodies you have identified. Task C Career Pathway Create a career pathway plan for yourself, indicating what opportunities are open to you as you progress in your chosen career. Indicate what you will need to learn or any qualifications you might need to gain in order to achieve your goals. Identify sources of information to help you achieve your goals. Task D Presentation or reportPrepare a presentation or report on an issue or area of public concern related to the care profession. Your presentation or report should include: †¢ A description of the issue or area of public concern rais ed †¢ An outline of the different points of view regarding the issue or area of public concern raised †¢ A description of how the issue or area of public concern has affected service provision and methods of working †¢ A description of how public opinion is affected by issues and areas of concern in either the health, social care or children’s and young people's sectors

Quotes from the Outliers

Select one of the choices from below (quotes from various chapters In Outliers book). Organization of paper: Typed 12 point Times New Roman font, MEAL format regarding header, title, and parenthetical citations 2 pages in length Dates: Work on paper in class (computer lab) Monday, final copy due Wednesday (printed paper copy due in class). You must also submit your essay online to www. Turning. Com by midnight on Wednesday, 2/12 or face up to a 20 point deduction.In Outliers Chapter 1, Malcolm Caldwell writes: â€Å"It's not enough to ask what successful people are like†¦ It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't. † Agree or disagree. Support your position with appropriate evidence. In Outliers Chapter 2, Malcolm Caldwell writes: â€Å"†¦ People were given a special opportunity to work really hard and seized it, and who happened to come of age at a time when that extraordinary effort was rewarded by th e rest of society. Their success was not Just of their own making.The paragraphs must be arranged in a logical order with transitions between them. 10 Word Choice/Diction: Word choice should be precise. No slang. No contractions. 5 Sentence Fluency/Effective syntax: Essay should contain a variety of sentence types. 10 8 5 Presentation (MEAL format with left and right headers, title, page numbers, etc. ) 10 Conventions: Essay should be free of mechanical errors, usage errors, verb tense errors, spelling errors. No run-ones. No fragments. ONE point off for each error. 1100 points

Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics

Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics Workplace misbehaviour: Any intentional action by members of organizations that defies and violates Shared organizational norms and expectations, and/or Core societal values, mores and standards of proper conduct (Vardi and Wiener, 1996, p. 153). Misbehaviour in this sense is also said to be about breaching broader, yet far from clearly defined or fully shared societal norms or moral order. In industrial sociology key writers on misbehaviour – Ackroyd and Thompson (1999, p. 2) – borrow Sprouse's (1992, p. 3) definition of sabotage – â€Å"anything you do at work you are not supposed to do† – to define misbehaviour, although questions remain about how useful this definition is. Perspectives on misbehaviour Misbehaviour is also a phenomena discussed in several other academic disciplines. For instance, in gender studies, we see quite a distinct dimension of misbehaviour emerging. Misbehaviour in gender studies tends to concern males defending masculine identities in an organizational context and how masculinity is in reality a crucial, yet often hidden dimension of a broader organizational identity (Collinson and Collinson, 1989; DiTomaso, 1989; Levin, 2001). An account of men trying to preserve the dominance of a masculine identity, sponsored implicitly by senior management, is outlined in the following passage taken from ethnography of a trading floor of a large, American commodities exchange: When the working environment becomes less active, the more overtly sexualized repertoire of joking and getting along emerges. Men and women use jokes to pass time, fit in and relieve tension, but a direct result of men’s sexual banter is to facilitate group solidarity among men to the exclusion of women. Strong heterosexual joking is predicated on men being the sexual agents of jokes and women being the objects (Levin, 2001, p. 126). Further dimensions of gender-related misbehaviour include women subverting dominant masculine identities (Cockburn, 1991; Game and Pringle, 1983; Gutek, 1989; Pollert, 1981), women taking advantage of their sex appeal to get around male supervisors (Pollert, 1981) and female flight attendants feigning responses to lurid comments from male passengers (Hochschild, 2003). Further details of Gutek’s (1989) research highlights the many ways in which sexuality can be the spur for a range of misbehaviour: More common than sexual coercion from either sex are sexual jokes, use of explicit terms to describe work situations, sexual comments to co-workers, and display of sexual posters and pictures engaged in by men at work (Sex and sports, some observers claim, are the two metaphors of business. ) The use of sex can be more subtle than either hostile sexual remarks or sexual jokes. Although this tactic is often assumed to be used exclusively by women, some men, too, may feign sexual interest to gain some work-related advantage (1989, p. 63-64). Commentary on what could be interpreted to be misbehaviour is also a feature of industrial relations research. In industrial relations theorists seem to view misbehaviour as a lesser version of strike action, or action short of strike action (Bean, 1975; Blyton and Turnbull, 2004; Hyman, 1981; Nichols and Armstrong, 1976). From this perspective, misbehaviour is taken to represent the actions of unorganized employees. In effect, misbehaviour is synonymous with a widespread and increasing inability of employees to offer a coherent and organized response to management strategies (Beynon, 1984). As such, industrial relations theorists link misbehaviour to record low levels of strike activity (Hale, 2007). Moreover, some theorists believe acts such as sabotage – in the form of grievance bargaining or deliberate poor workmanship – are intimately bound up in the labour process (Zabala, 1989). Research work in Ethics: 2008 NATIONAL GOVERNMENT ETHICS SURVEY in US: National Government Ethics Survey Shows Employee Misconduct is High Key Findings On all levels of government, there is a lack of programs and incentives to encourage ethical behavior, the report says †¢Six in 10 government employees saw at least one form of misconduct in the last 12 months. †¢One in 4 employees work in an environment conducive to misconduct. According to ERC, this includes strong pressure to compromise standards, a presence of situations which invite wrongdoing, and a culture where employees’ personal values conflict with their values at work. †¢Overall strength of ethical cultures is declining. †¢Almost one-third of employees do not report misconduct. More than one-third of government employees believe government does not demonstrate its values through socially responsible decision-making. Levels of Government Federal Level – The number of incidences of misconduct observed is slightly lower, but reporting is still comparatively low. Only 30 percent of federal government organizations have ethics and compliance p rograms, and only 10 percent have strong ethical cultures. State Level – Workers are most vulnerable to ethical risks as there are more reports of employees who have observed misconduct multiple times. Still 30 percent do not report misconduct to management. Local Level – Employees are the least likely to know the ethical risks since fewer resources are put in place to encourage ethical behavior. Local government organizations have the lowest levels of reporting misconduct, only 67% are reporting. â€Å"In order to encourage high ethical standards within our organizations, we first have to provide an environment that is conducive to ethical behavior,† says Sharon Allen, chairman of the board at Deloitte & Touche. However, management and leadership have a huge responsibility in setting examples for their organizations and living the values they preach if they want to sustain a culture of ethics. † The report, â€Å"2007 Deloitte & Touche USA LLP Ethics & Workplace,† is based on responses from 1,041 U. S. adult workers. Harris Interactive conducted the research in February on behalf of Deloitte & Touche. The top two factors contributing to the promotion of an ethical workplace are the behavior of management and direct supervisors, as chosen by 42% and 36% of respondents, respectively. More surprisingly, emphasis of criminal penalties doesn’t seem to do much to deter unethical behavior, nor does ethics training. There is, however, a strong relationship between ethical actions at work and a healthy level of work-life balance. In fact, 91% of those employees surveyed agreed that workers are more likely to behave ethically at the office when they have a good work-life balance. Allen explains why this may be so. â€Å"If someone invests in all of their time and energy into their jobs, it may have the unintended consequence of making them depend on their jobs for everything – including their sense of personal worth. This makes it even harder to make a good choice when faced with an ethical dilemma if they believe it will impact professional success. † Categories of Employee Misbehaviour: a. Production deviance – includes behaviors that waste time and resources. b. Property deviance – involves either theft or destruction of facility or residents’ property. c. Normative deviance – generally involves talk that hurts or belittles others. d. Personal aggression – mostly involves hitting, fighting, or sexual harassment. Common Employee Misbehaviour: Fighting Theft from the employer or colleagues Fraud or falsifying work documents Accessing and/or distributing pornographic emails or websites Deliberately damaging company property Serious bullying or harassment Bringing the employer into serious disrepute Serious infringement of health and safety rules Serious failure to follow reasonable instructions. Causes of Employee Misbehaviour: Poor Employee selection and orientation procedures Poorly defined employee expectations Poorly understood employee expectations Improperly selected and trained supervisors Incorrect philosophy of discipline Effects of Employee Misbehaviour: oInefficiency oIncreased costs oUnhealthy and unsafe work environment Employee Misbehaviour – To be Punished or leaving it ignored: Handling employee misconduct is a very critical task to be performed by the senior managers. Misconduct and other offensive behaviors often lead to decreased levels of productivity as they affect the individual performance of the employees. To manage discipline among employees, every company opts for a discipline policy which describes the approach it will follow to handle misconduct. When dealing with employee misconduct, companies must keep careful mind of the legislative and common law legal framework that governs the employment relationship. Regard must be made to relevant legislation such as the Employment Standards Act 2000, Ontario Human Rights Code, Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act (reprisal provisions) and to principles such as constructive and wrongful dismissal. To effectively manage the employment relationship and deal with potential misconduct, employers are well advised to develop and maintain reasonable rules of conduct and performance expectations. Communicate these to employees and ensure consistent application and enforcement. Provide appropriate counseling and training to your workforce. Carefully consider each incident of misconduct and the appropriate reaction. Avoid knee jerk instantaneous reactions. These only serve to increase potential employer liability. Management needs to conduct a preliminary investigation. Once the company has completed the investigation, the manager should make the employee aware of the findings. Once again, the manager can ask for the employee's side of the story. Using this evidence, management, with the help of a Human Resources representative, must decide what to do. They must decide how they should discipline the employee or whether they should fire the worker. To conclude, Very surely an action is required quickly if left unattended; misconduct will quickly demoralize the other employees too. While everyone reacts differently, even the top performers are usually going to be the first casualties of demoralization. Dealing with Employee Misbehaviour: The employer must investigate the matter fully (speak to witnesses, collect documentary evidence etc). The employer must also give the employee an opportunity to explain himself. The employee should sufficiently know what the case and evidence is against him before any hearing. Prior warning of the hearing date and that the disciplinary action is under consideration. Give the employee the opportunity to call witnesses. Inform the individual he has the right to be accompanied by a colleague (or a trade union official). Inform the employee he has the right of an appeal. Employee's rights If an employee has been with the employer for over a year they have unfair dismissal protection. Although employees have the right not to be dismissed for an unfair reason, the conduct of an employee is expressly stated to be a potentially fair reason to dismiss. Employees also have the right not to be discriminated against on the grounds of their sex, race or disability. This would include being singled out for a warning about their conduct or receiving harsher penalties than other employees would receive. Employees have the right not to be dismissed in breach of their contractual terms. For example, failure to follow a contractual procedure may result in a claim of breach of contract. Employees are entitled to be dismissed on notice (unless for gross misconduct). Failure to do so entitles the employee to claim damages for breach of contract. This type of claim is also called ‘wrongful dismissal'. Employees should be made aware, either in their contract of employment or in disciplinary procedures what are the likely consequences if they break the guidelines the company has laid down in relation to their conduct. Employers must be consistent. If other employees have previously committed the same offence but have not been dismissed it may be difficult to justify dismissal on a subsequent occasion. Certain offences are contrary to acceptable conduct that discipline is readily accepted or justified upon review regardless of whether there was any prior communication or warning to the employee. Theft Intentional destruction of company property Total refusal to perform safe work Gross or intentional endangerment of the safety of coworkers. Excessive absenteeism is another factor that can lead to termination only after a series of lesser penalties. Dismissal for misconduct to be reasonable: Even though an employer may have strong suspicions that an individual is guilty of misconduct, this may not be enough. Although an employer does not have to show an employee committed the offence â€Å"beyond all reasonable doubt†, there is a threshold that must be reached. In particular: †¢The employer must believe that the employee is responsible for the conduct in question. †¢The employer must have reasonable grounds for this belief. †¢The employer must carry out as much of an investigation into the matter as is reasonable. Charging an Employee with a criminal offence: †¢The employer does not have to wait for the outcome of police investigations or criminal trial. †¢The employer should hold its own investigation into the matter. †¢The employee's rights to have this matter investigated by his employer and to present his side of the story remain regardless of the fact that he is charged by the police. Out of office misconduct: †¢Generally, employees will only be subject to the company's disciplinary rules and procedures during their office hours or when they represent the company. †¢In certain circumstances an employee's behaviour may be subject to the employer's scrutiny if it is deemed to be likely to impact on the performance of his contract or the reputation of the employer. Out of office misconduct must be particularly serious to warrant disciplinary action and the behaviour should also relate to the employee's ability (or perceived ability) to do his job. Disciplinary action The type of disciplinary action that is taken will depend on the employer's disciplinary procedures and the circumstances surrounding the misconduct. The employer will have to follow its written guidelines regarding certain types of misconduct. If historically an employer has always been lenient on a particular matter an Employment Tribunal is likely to find the employer has acted unreasonably and unfairly dismissed an individual if it suddenly decides to invoke its disciplinary procedures in disciplining individuals without warning. Warning tiers in a disciplinary procedure †¢Usually employers will decide to issue a first warning orally. This is appropriate if it is a minor infringement that cannot be dealt with on an informal basis. The employee should be told that this is the first step in the disciplinary procedure and why he is receiving the warning. At this point he should also be informed of his right of appeal against the decision. Although oral warnings will be kept on an employee's personnel file, they should be disregarded for further disciplinary purposes after a specific period of time. †¢If an employer regards an infringement as being more serious then the employee should be given a formal written warning. Again an employee should be given details of the reason for the warning as well as what is required from the individual in the future and the allotted time scale for improvement. Employees should have a right of appeal. Employees also must be warned what penalty there will be if after the allotted time the employer does think there has been a satisfactory improvement. The written warning should also be kept on the employee's personnel file but cannot be considered for disciplinary procedures after a specific period of time. A final written warning is appropriate if there has been a failure to either improve or change conduct while the earlier warning is still ‘live'. This type of warning can also be used if there is a one-off occurrence of misconduct that is deemed by the employer to be sufficiently serious. As always the final written warning should provide details of the misconduct, warn that failure to rectify the situation may lead to dismissal or some other disciplinary ac tion which is short of dismissal (which is explained below). Again employees must be told of their right to appeal. The written warning can only remain live for a specified period of time after which point it must be disregarded, no matter how serious the misconduct. †¢Disciplinary action short of dismissal may include a transfer, demotion, loss of seniority, suspension without pay or loss of increment. An employer cannot take these sanctions unless there is a specific provision in the employee's contract. †¢If an employer decides to dismiss (either because of gross misconduct or failure to rectify behaviour following a final written warning) the employee should be informed as soon as possible of the decision, as well as the reasons for the dismissal. He should also know the date their employment will terminate and the period of notice. An employee should also be told of the fact that he has the right to appeal as well as how he can make that appeal and to whom. Employers should also confirm the decision to dismiss in writing. If an employee has at least one year's continuous service they can request a written statement of particulars of reasons for their dismissal. †¢General considerations for employers when disciplining †¢A good disciplinary procedure will enable an employer to take appropriate steps in the event of misconduct of an employee. The disciplinary procedure should be in writing Consequences of Disciplinary actions: Union Grievance Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Complaint (EEOC) Law Suits Employee Buyouts Having to Reinstate Employee Embarrassment to Leadership Leadership Looses Credibility Employees Don’t Respect the process Creating an Ethical climate in the Organization to avoid Misconduct : The ethical climate of an organization is the shared set of understandings about what is correct behavior and how ethical issues will be handled. This climate sets the tone for decision making at all levels and in all circumstances. Some of the factors that may be emphasized in different ethical climates of organizations are (Hunt, 1991; Schneider and Rentsch, 1991): * Personal self-interest * Company profit * Operating efficiency * Individual friendships * Team interests * Social responsibility * Personal morality * Rules and standard procedures * Laws and professional codes As suggested by the prior list, the ethical climate of different organizations can emphasize different things. In the Johnson & Johnson example just cited, the ethical climate supported doing the right thing due to social responsibility–regardless of the cost. In other organizations–perhaps too many–concerns for operating efficiency may outweigh social considerations when similarly difficult decisions are faced. When the ethical climate is not clear and positive, ethical dilemmas will often result in unethical behavior. In such instances, an organization's culture also can predispose its members to behave unethically. For example, recent research has found a relationship between organizations with a history of violating the law and continued illegal behavior (Baucus and Near, 1991). Thus, some organizations have a culture that reinforces illegal activity. In addition, some firms are known to selectively recruit and promote employees who have personal values consistent with illegal behavior; firms also may socialize employees to engage in illegal acts as a part of their normal job duties (Conklin, 1977; Geis, 1977). For instance, in his account of cases concerning price fixing for heavy electrical equipment, Geis noted that General Electric removed a manager who refused to discuss prices with a competitor from his job and offered his successor the position with the understanding that management believed he would behave as expected and engage in price-fixing activities (Geis, 1977, p. 24; Baucus and Near, 1991). Pressure, opportunity, and predisposition can all lead to unethical activities; however, organizations must still take a proactive stance to promote an ethical climate. The final section provides some useful suggestions available to organizations for creating a more ethical climate. PROMOTING AN ETHICAL CLIMATE: Ethical Philosop hies and Employee Behavior: Recent literature has suggested several strategies for promoting ethical behavior in organizations (Adler and Bird, 1988; Burns, 1987; Harrington, 1991; Raelin, 1987; Stead etal. , 1990). First, chief executives should encourage ethical consciousness in their organizations from the top down showing the support and care about ethical practices. Second, formal processes should be used to support and reinforce ethical behavior. For example, internal regulation may involve the use of codes of corporate ethics, and the availability of appeals processes. Finally, it is recommended that the philosophies of top managers as well as immediate supervisors focus on the institutionalization of ethical norms and practices that are incorporated into all organizational levels. The philosophies of top managers as well as immediate supervisors represent a critical organizational factor influencing the ethical behavior of employees (Stead etal. , 1990). Research over a period of more than twenty-five years clearly support the conclusion that the ethical philosophies of management have a major impact on the ethical behavior of their followers employees (Arlow and Ulrich, 1980; Baumhart, 1961; Brenner and Molander, 1977; Carroll, 1978; Hegarty and Sims, 1978, 1979; Posner and Schmidt, 1984; Touche Ross, 1988; Vitell and Festervand, 1987; Worrell etal. 1985). Nielsen (1989) has stressed the importance of managerial behavior in contributing to ethical or unethical behavior. According to Nielsen, managers behaving unethically contrary to their ethical philosophies represent a serious limit to ethical reasoning in the firm. Much of the research cited in the above paragraph implicitly and explicitly states that ethical philosophies will have little impact on employe es' ethical behavior unless they are supported by managerial behaviors that are consistent with these philosophies. Managers represent significant others in the organizational lives of employees and as such often have their behavior modeled by employees. One of the most basic of management principles states that if a certain behavior is desired, it should be reinforced. No doubt, how ethical behavior is perceived by individuals and reinforced by an organization determines the kind of ethical behavior exhibited by employees. As a result, if business leaders want to promote ethical behavior they must accept more responsibility for establishing their organization's reinforcement system. Research in ethical behavior strongly supports the conclusion that if ethical behavior is desired, the performance measurement, appraisal and reward systems must be modified to account for ethical behavior (Hegarty and Sims, 1978, 1979; Trevino, 1986; Worrell et al. , 1985). According to Nielsen (1988, p. 730): In many cases, mangers choose to do, go along with or ignore the unethical†¦ because they want to avoid the possibility of punishments (or) to gain rewards. Ethical Culture: Organizations and their managers must understand that the above recommendations are key components in the development and maintenance of an ethically-oriented organizational culture. Organizations can also enhance an ethically-oriented culture by paying particular attention to principled organizational dissent. Principled organizational dissent is an important concept linking organizational culture to ethical behavior. Principled organizational dissent is the effort by individuals in the organization to protest the status quo because of their objection on ethical grounds, to some practice or policy (Graham, 1986). Organizations committed to promoting an ethical climate should encourage principled organizational dissent instead of punishing such behavior. Organizations should also provide more ethics training to strengthen their employees' personal ethical framework. That is, organizations must devote more resources to ethics training programs to help its members clarify their ethical frameworks and practice self-discipline when making ethical decisions in difficult circumstances. What follows is a useful seven-step checklist that organizations should use to help their employees in dealing with an ethical dilemma (Schermerhorn, 1989; Otten, 1986): Helping employees in dealing with Ethical Dilemma: (1) Recognize and clarify the dilemma. (2) Get all the possible facts. (3) List your options–all of them. (4) Test each option by asking: â€Å"Is it legal? Is it right? Is it beneficial? † (5) Make your decision. (6) Double check your decision by asking: â€Å"How would I feel if my family found out about this? How would I feel if my decision was printed in the local newspaper? † (7) Take action. An effective organizational culture should encourage ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior. Admittedly, ethical behavior may â€Å"cost† the organization. An example might be the loss of sales when a multinational firm refuses to pay a bribe to secure business in a particular country. Certainly, individuals might be reinforced for behaving unethically (particularly if they do not get caught). In a similar fashion, an organization might seem to gain from unethical actions. For example, a purchasing agent for a large corporation might be bribed to purchase all needed office supplies from a particular supplier. However, such gains are often short-term rather than long-term in nature. In the long run, an organization cannot operate if its prevailing culture and values are not congruent with those of society. This is just as true as the observation that, in the long run, an organization cannot survive unless it produces goods and services that society wants and needs. Thus an organizational culture that promotes ethical behavior is not only more compatible with prevailing cultural values, but, in fact, makes good sense. Although much remains to be learned about why ethical behavior occurs in organizations and creating and maintaining organizational cultures that encourage ethical behavior, organizations can benefit from the following suggestions: Maintaining organizational cultures that encourage ethical behavior: ** Be realistic in setting values and goals regarding employment relationships. Do not promise what the organization cannot deliver. ** Encourage input throughout the organization regarding appropriate values and practices for implementing the cultures. Choose values that represent the views of employees at all levels of the organization. * Do not automatically opt for a â€Å"strong† culture. Explore methods to provide for diversity and dissent, such as grievance or complaint mechanisms or other internal review procedures. ** Insure that a whistle-blowing and/or ethical concerns procedure is established for internal problem-solving (Harrington, 1991). ** Provide ethics training pro grams for all employees. These programs should explain the underlying ethical and legal (Drake and Drake, 1988) principles and present practical aspects of carrying our procedural guidelines. Understand that not all ethical situations are clear-cut. Like many basic business situations, the organization should recognize that there are ambiguous, grey areas where ethical tradeoffs may be necessary. More importantly, some situations have no simple solution (Cooke, 1991). ** Integrate ethical decision-making into the performance appraisal process. Responsibilities of Employers in accordance with managing the behaviour of Employees: †¢treat all employees equally; †¢give consideration to the employee's general work record including their length of service, position and whether there are any special circumstances; †¢ensure incidents are dealt with without undue delay; ensure the proceedings (including any statements from witnesses and records) be kept confidential; †¢specify what disciplinary sanctions the company may take; †¢state who has authority within the company to take each level of disciplinary action; †¢ensure employees are informed of the allegations against them as well as any relevant documenta tion before the date of any hearing; †¢ensure that employees have the right to state their case before any decision is reached; †¢allow employees to be accompanied either by a colleague or if appropriate, a trade union official; †¢ensure that the sanctions are proportionate to the misconduct; †¢ensure that allegations will be carefully investigated; †¢ensure employees are given an explanation of any sanction; and †¢Specify that there is a right to appeal as well as how and when this must be taken. Finally†¦To conclude†¦ Ethical behavior among the employees can be inculcated by adopting the following principles of ethical climate. oMake the expectations clear oTreat the people employed as if they are adults, which they are. oSpend time meeting with staff members regularly oSevere discipline procedures may back fire. oMake all policies and procedures available to all employees. oEncourage open communication between you and the people who report to you. Human beings prefer to follow their own doctrines- therefore management should be aware that difficulties may crop up and should formulate friendly implementation of policies. â€Å" No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself† – William Penn References: 1. http://www. ethicsworld. org/ethicsandemployees/nbes. php 2. http://www. michaelpage. co. uk/content. html? pageId=15676 3. Managing misconduct By Rob Eldridge of Berwin Leighton Paisner 4. http://www. employeeterminationguidebook. com/ 5. http://www. lbwlawyers. com/publications/employeemisconduct. php 6. http://www. slideshare. net/meetsantanudas/managing-employee-discipline 7. http://www. fsa. usda. gov/FSA/hrdapp? area=home=mgrs=dem 8. http://www. employeemisconduct. com/ 9. Edward J. Tully December 1997 Misconduct, Corruption, Abuse of Power– What Can the Chief Do? 10. http://www. streetdirectory. com/travel_guide/20341/corporate_matters/how_employee_misconduct_affects_all_worker_productivity. html 11. Belt Tightening Tactics Linked to Increases in Employee Misconduct April 27, 2010 by Amy Coates Madsen 12. http://standardsforexcellenceinstitute. wordpress. com/page/2/ 13. W. Edward Stead, Dan L. Worrell and Jean Garner Stead An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations Journal of Business Ethics Volume 9, Number 3, 233-242 14. Ethical behavior starts at the top By Amy Schurr, Network World April 24, 2007 12:05 AM ET