Models of Organizational Change Essay

Organizational change is occurring at an intense rate within modern organizations, as demands to stay current with technology and marketplace trends are ever increasing. Although knowledge exists amongst management and leadership regarding the need for change, the ability to deliver the expected results of proposed changes often fails. Recent literature actually suggests that failures are frequently attributed to the level of employee involvement and commitment, and that employees actually â€Å"play a major role in the success or failure of change within organizations† (Shin, Taylor, & Seo, 2012, p. 727). There are various theories of organizational change, many of which have corresponding models that can be applied to change processes. Although such theories have differing strategies, most share common elements, to include a clear vision for the organization, the role of the leader in the initiative, the communication process between key stakeholders and employees, and overcoming opposition to change. That said, it is the intention of this paper to evaluate two specific models of organizational change, and to appraise how each model incorporates those common elements within their framework. Kurt Lewin: Three-Phase Change Theory and Model Kurt Lewin proposed a three- phase change theory in the 1940’s; however, his theory, together with a corresponding change model, has major implications for modern organizational change initiatives. The three phases of the model are as follows: unfreeze-transition-freeze, and are meant as a straight forward approach to organizational change. What is more, Lewin’s model has been utilized by many well-known corporations, and has a proven track record of success. Role of the Leader in Lewin’s Model According to Lewin, the role of the leader in implementing the three-phase process is mutifactoral, as at each phase, leadership is central. For example, during the unfreezing phase, the leader creates a sense of urgency, which is accomplished by generating awareness and understanding of the need for change. It is also during this phase that communication between the leader, key stakeholders, and employees is essential in order to reach the next phase of transition. During the transition phase, the leader is responsible for the development of organizational structure and process changes that will ultimately be shaped by new behaviors, values and attitudes (â€Å"Kurt Lewin 3 phases change theory,† 2012, para. 3). Once the transition phase reaches the point of successful re-structuring, the final freeze stage must occur, and also be maintained. This is the point at which the leader must ensure that adaption to the change has crystallized, as the possibility for the organization to â€Å"revert back to old ways† (â€Å"Kurt Lewin 3 phases change theory,† 2012, para. 3) exists, unless the changes are continually reinforced. Three-Phase Change Model: Overcoming Resistance Although one may expect immediate resistance to change, this is generally not the case. In fact, during the unfreezing stage, â€Å"most staff and management are willing to change† (â€Å"Kurt Lewin 3 phases change theory,† 2012, p. 4); however, there are still others that will require greater provocation. The leader’s role to resistance is in generating motivation. This is done by dismantling the status quo through educational initiatives, and the provision of tangible examples of proven success. Additionally, lines of communication must remain open, allowing for the building of a guiding coalition, and the formation of an unwavering cohesiveness. Overcoming resistance also entails the leader’s personal involvement, attention to empowerment, staying open to negotiation, and use of milestones as a means for illustrating successes. As the freezing stage nears, the leader must remain cognizant of any barriers to maintaining the change. Furthermore, a forward outlook is essential, which will be sustained through effective communication, ongoing observation, training, and even â€Å"performance and reward systems† (â€Å"Kurt Lewin 3 phases change theory,† 2012, p. 5). Three-Phase Change Model and Communication Communication is truly the most central component to Lewin’s model. It is highlighted at each of the three phases, with lack of communication being a barrier to successfully transitioning between phases. That said, it must not be discounted the impact that strong lines of communication have on successful change initiatives, as high percentages of change failures are often attributed to poor communication, thus hindering the transition process (Shin et al., 2012, p. 727). Harris’s Five-Phase Model Ben Harris developed a five-phase organizational change model in the mid 1970’s. According to Harris, the phases are sequential; however, they often overlap one another (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 4). The five-phases are as follows: planning & initiation, momentum, problems, turning point, and termination. Five-Phase Model: Role of the Leader Unlike Lewin’s three-phase model, Harris’s model is less dependent upon concrete leadership initiatives at each phase. For example, per the five-phase model, the role of the leader is accentuated most at phases II-IV; posited by Lunenburg when he acknowledged â€Å"the importance of leadership at various phases of program implementation† (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 5). During planning and initiation, the leader introduces the proposed change, goals, activities, and necessary resources. , and â€Å"mounts interest among individuals† (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 5), which is dissimilar to Lewin’s creation of a sense of urgency at the unfreezing stage. During momentum, strong leadership is emphasized for the development of goal-directed activities, and the organizing of processes meant to serve as the point at which employees experience personal growth through involvement. At the problems phase, leaders must stay focused on imminent issues, including the complexity of plans, differences between involved parties with regard to perceptions and goals, demands of responsibility, conflict, and individuals not fulfilling duties and expectation (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 5). It is up to the leader to direct the actions necessary for the completion of this phase in order to move on to the turning point. During the turning point phase, the leader continues to act as facilitator for the continued growth of problems, or he moves the group forward if problems have been overcome. Solid leadership is crucial here, as the point at which the change coalition should see results of initial planning, and experience the momentum of the change process. Similar to Lewis’s transition phase, emphasis at this phase is placed on â€Å"behaviors, values, and attitudes† (â€Å"Kurt Lewin 3 phases change theory,† 2012, para. 2). At termination, the leader must attempt to break down any barriers to the success of the change. This phase comes with a twofold strategy, which on one hand addresses potential change failure, and on the other hand, the possibility for change success. It is also the point at which resistance to change becomes most evident; therefore, the investment of leadership is vital to this phase. Harris’s Five-Phase Model: Overcoming Resistance There is very little focus within Harris’s five phases on leaders’ overcoming staff resistance to change. In fact, of all five phases, it is not until termination that attention to resistance is even highlighted. Unlike Lewin’s model, which does not allow for transitioning between phases if opposition is met, Harris’s model affords for a five-phase transition, even in the face of potential failure. This is a good example of a five-phase model weakness, and three-phase model strength. Harris’s Five-Phase Model and Communication Harris’s model does not specifically stress the importance of communication as does Lewin’s model; however, it is implied in the description of the leader’s responsibilities at each phase. Noticeably, each of the five phases alludes to the need for leaders to effectively and consistently communicate with staff in order for certain activities and goals to be accomplished. The difference; however, between Lewin and Harris, is that Harris allows for the transitioning between stages even when barriers to success persist. Conclusion As organizations face the ever-increasing demands of technology, together with the challenges of staying current with marketplace trends, the need for change will remain imminent. With various strategies in existence for the execution of change initiatives, leaders must stay abreast of the specific demands of their fields, while also maintaining solid lines of communication and solid leadership within their organizations. It is also important that change models with proven effectiveness be implemented, and that they are well-matched to the situation. Relative strengths and weakness of any change model will always exist, but through solid and effective leadership, the potential to overcome such weakness and the likelihood of change success is altogether probable. References Kurt Lewin 3 phase change theory universally accepted change management. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.change-management-consultant.com/kurt-lewin.html Lunenburg, F. (2010). Approached to managing organizational change. 1, 12, 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C%20Approaches%20to%20Managing%20Organizational%20Change%20IJSAID%20v12%20n1%202010.pdf Shin, J., Taylor, M. S., & Seo, M. (2012, June 1). Resources for change: the relationships of organizational inducements and psychological resilience to employee’s attitudes and behaviors toward organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 55(3), 727-748. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5a0184b6-033b-45ea-a35a-e84a3a89923d%40sessionmgr110&vid=8&hid=116

Cost and Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay

Have you pulled your car up to the gas pump lately and been shocked by the high prices of gasoline? The Auto industry has the technology necessary to address this concern. . It’s the hybrid car. Today, there are many different models out there in the market and most major manufacturers are involved in developing them. Hybrid cars will save the drivers a lot of money. The purpose of this paper is to identify the costs and show the benefits of this awesome vehicle. Identifying Costs. This section is designed to compare and contrast all the costs that we will see in the decision of purchasing a new hybrid car. It’ll include all monetary costs and all non-monetary costs. I will be comparing the costs of buying a new hybrid to other regular non-hybrid vehicles in order to better see the differences. A. Gasoline & Car Loan People are obsessed with spending less money on gas. Websites have even been created to help the penny-pinching consumer find the cheapest option close to home. Hybrid cars get really good MPG (miles per gallon). In my opinion, the best way to find out if switching over to a new hybrid car is a good idea is to compare the prices and costs. I’ll use my own car as an example, if I were to replace my paid-off 1999 Honda Accord, which only gets 25 mpg, with something more economical; I would consider a Toyota Prius or a Corolla. The following chart shows how much money I would save if I made the change. |2012 Auto |Miles per Gallon (MPG)|Monthly Gas |Sticker Price |Monthly Payment |Net Monthly | | | |Savings | | |Savings | |Toyota Prius |55 |$ 70. 71 |$21,275. 00 |$386. 56 |$(315. 85) | |Toyota Corolla |36 |$ 34. 72 |$14,005. 00 |$227. 83 |$(193. 10) | The table above, shows us how much more it is to save if purchasing a Prius over a Corolla (Hensley 2011). On the other hand we can see that the sticker price of a Toyota Prius is more expensive than the Corolla. The monthly payment above is calculated at a 5. 5% APR. However in the long run we will be saving so much more if we chose the Prius, because the money that we are saving on gas every month could be used to pay off the difference in the Sticker Price. With gas prices skyrocketing again like they did in 2008, this will be the best decision to make. The following chart will give us more insight on gas prices (Hensley 2011). [pic] B. Taxes Even though the final selling price is including taxes, there are many things to note about tax credits per hybrid car. There is no set tax credit, and it depends on what vehicle you buy, so remember not to only take into account the miles per gallon and price, but also the varying tax break incentives. The list of IRS-certified vehicles is not always the same; automakers keep producing hybrids that are qualified and adding them to the list, we need to make sure we look at the updated data. Also, another thing about hybrid tax credit is that they are reduced every year and eventually is eliminated, so make sure to check out the phase out dates that are determined by different manufacturers. Credit amounts begin to phase out for a given manufacturer once it has sold over 60,000 eligible vehicles. It is all depending on the year, for example if we go back to 2005, you can save anywhere from $500 all the way up to about $3,400 (Fuel Economy. gov). Sometimes, it can be a guessing game, but remember, we will be saving something and it adds up! Vehicles purchased after December 31, 2010 are not eligible for this credit (Fuel Economy. gov). C. Registration Fees and Other Monetary Costs The registration fee is the amount charged by the state to register a new car, assign a title (legal proof of ownership) and cover the cost of license plates. The dealer provides this service for you; saving you a trip to the DMV or registry but the money goes to the state. There are other fees that need to be paid when buying a new car such as: doc fees, taxing the trade-in, taxing rebates and dealer fees. However; when buying a Prius those fees will be the same as buying a regular car so further explanation is not necessary (Karim, Layton). D. Non-monetary costs The time it takes to go buy a car would be one non-monetary cost. Let’s say I was going to go buy today. Since I work 40-hours a week and get paid $9. 00/hr, I would have to get at least 10 hours, 5 hours off of work and 5 hours off my personal time. I could use this time to go to the dealership pick out the car and do all the loans and transactions necessary. Filling out all that paper work can take a lot of time, and since I am a college student I need time for school as well. Therefore my Non-monetary cost is 10 hours of my time from my work-time/personal time. Another cost would be the amount of gas that it takes to drive to the dealership and the time it takes me to travel there. If someone is accompanying me and helping me decide which car I want, I am also using their time which could be almost as much as my time. Benefits 1. Savings at the Pump All Hybrids get a better fuel economy than their counterparts. 2. Lower Insurance Rates Insurance rates can depend on many things such as your driving record, your age, and it can also depend on the model car you drive. Driving a Prius will lower your insurance rate from 5-10%! 3. Government Assistance The Federal Tax credit was also a great benefit although they stopped giving it at the end of 2010(Fuel Economy.gov). 4. Lower Emissions A fact that should be considered is that 97% of all vehicles in the U. S are dependent on Oil. Also with lower emissions it’ll help less Carbon Monoxide adding to Global Warming. In fact, Regular vehicles create 1/3 of the greenhouse effect (Karim, Layton). The key thing here is that the amount of pollution allowed does not depend on the mileage your car gets. But a car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. That pollution will have to be removed by the emissions control equipment on the car. So decreasing the fuel consumption of the car is one of the surest ways to decrease emissions (Karim, Layton). 5. Special Car-Pool Lanes In some states if you own a hybrid car, you are allowed to use a special car-pool lane regardless how many people are in the vehicle. After identifying all the monetary and non-monetary costs. We can see that the Sticker price is more expensive than purchasing a regular vehicle. However, in the long run with the gas mileage we will be receiving from this awesome hybrid technology it will payoff for everything that we’ve spent. It’s sort of an investment. If we add all the benefits, we can see that we are not only benefiting ourselves when we purchase a hybrid but we are helping the environment and our world (Fuel Economy. gov). More people are buying more hybrid cars everyday, the sales of hybrid cars increased 141% from 2004-2005 (Karim, Layton). In conclusion, I recommend everyone that if they are looking to buy a new vehicle, hybrid is the way to go. All the benefits we receive from it are totally worth it, and although the cost might be somewhat high in comparison to other cars, it’s worth it. Not only will we be saving gas driving to work, school and other places, but also we won’t take into as much consideration the price of gas next time we stop at the gas station! References Fuel Economy. gov. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. fueleconomy. gov/feg/hybrid_sbs_cars. shtml Hensley, R. , Knupfer, S. M. , & Krieger, A. (2011). The fast lane to the adoption of electric cars. Mckinsey Quarterly, (1), 10-14. Nice, Karim, and Julia Layton. â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work† 20 July 2000. HowStuffWorks. com. 04 April 2012.

Ethical Issues on Accounting Essay

Society is composed of many institutions that have various purpose and position. These institutions may sometime have contradicting goals. Money is something people work hard for making it such a sensitive issue. Disputes regarding money are often entangled in heavy disputes and are hard to settle. The accounting is the field that specializes in the job of taking care of other people’s money issues. Ironically, the accounting business has been bombarded by controversies regarding how they do their job and how they settle disputes if there are any. Practicing accountants consequently developed an image of being either strictly professional or, at worst, dishonest. Unfortunately for the accounting field, it is considered by many that moral standards of this field are deteriorating. This is where ethics come into play. It is very problematic to weigh issues without a set of conventions to guide them in the decision making. Ethics came form the Latin â€Å"ethos†, that means character and customs. Ethics basically deals with how people interact with each other. Ethics also sets what is good or bad, right or wrong but definitely much broader than the common notions of the rightness or wrongness of things (Cornwell University Law School). On the academic terms, ethics pertains to not just personal feelings, religion, laws. Feelings most of the time leads us to do unethical acts. Being religious too doesn’t necessarily mean that one is being ethical. Of course, religion sets very high ethical standards. But not all people are religious, non-religious people also have their own ethical standards. Also, being ethical doesn’t necessarily mean abiding by the law. Most people view the law as having the same grounds as ethics. Laws are formulated to meet ethical standards. But like feelings, the law can have certain biases, therefore can be sometimes can be viewed as unethical. Since ethics is basically right or wrong, it proves to be a very important tool such problematic fields such as accounting. Codes of professional conduct Many fields of profession formulate a highly developed detailed set of codes to guide them in their practice. They have allotted a considerable amount of their time and resources just to come up with these codes. These set of codes are more commonly regarded as â€Å"professional codes. † In the case of accounting, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or AICPA has Codes of Professional Conduct which serves as ethical reference. Much of these codes were later merged with the public law. The merging of the codes to the law gave it much more enforceability. Setting aside the technical education, accounting undergraduates were also given ethics courses before they conduct practice in the field. They may have discussed basic ethical. They might have been supplied a lecture of the codes of professional conduct. The generally accepted set of codes for accounting is supplied by the AICPA. One of the primary functions of the AICPA is the major role in the self-regulation of practicing accountants. Majority of the AICPA’s resources is devoted to developing the â€Å"professional codes† for CPA practitioners. Aside from the codes of professional conduct, there is also GAAP or the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Just like the codes of professional conduct, the GAAP serves as a reminder that accounting practitioners should keep in mind that they have to follow certain moral guidelines. It also includes rules and the agreed sanctions if these rules were violated. The Codes of Professional Conduct and GAAP both remind accounting practitioners that they must do their function responsibly. Basically, both these sets of moral codes states that accountants should not commit frauds even if the temptation of personal gain is prevalent. The codes and principles also remind them not to violate the set rules for it could mean heavy sanctions like renouncing of licenses. The use of professional codes is one way to resolve ethical deterioration in the accounting profession. On the other hand, it can be viewed as selfish on the part of accountants as it only heeds to their individualistic goals. Also, having a set of ethical codes grants accountants an image of trustworthiness and competence. Accounting is a field that has a very high demand by the public. The public, with all their money, is in need of accountancy services so that they could spend their precious time earning more money rather than the grueling task of sorting it. Accounting, as many perceives, is a very technical field, so accountants dedicate themselves to the complex technical aspects of the field leaving out on moral values. Accountant themselves see themselves as professionals that doesn’t require moral codes to conduct practice. Accountants develop an attitude which can be broadly described as lack of incorporating moral judgment on their work. Experts coin this as â€Å"ethical dissonance. † Ethical dissonance in accounting pertains to the attitude of accountants to treat their chosen field as completely morally neutral. As the word suggests, ethical dissonance is very prone to conflicts. Accountants suffering ethical dissonance have a different set of moral codes, or at worst devoid of any, so conflicts with other institutions will be very hard to resolve. The root of this problem is traceable to various issues like â€Å"self-regulation† practiced by the accounting field. Self-regulation Self-regulation of the accounting field basically means that the accounting field itself makes their own set of codes rather than extracting it from the society. Self-regulation can be something good as it can give the field of accountancy more focus on their field. Self-regulation gained popularity as it is regarded as â€Å"effective control† and the most efficient tool for minimizing errors. Accountants acquire some privileges that other members of the society don’t have. This includes the exclusive right to determine who can do the accounting work and how it should be done. These special privileges are granted to them by the state. But their acquired â€Å"autonomy† doesn’t come free. As an act of courtesy, the accounting profession now burdens having special public interests responsibilities that they should keep high competence and high ethical standards (Gaa, 1994). Once the regulations are agreed upon, it is formalized by law or by organizations of the same field. The organizations monitor and penalize its members if they abide or violate the agreed regulations. If violations are reported, investigations are done by the government or the organization, where the violator is a member. Also self-regulation allows accountants have more focus as they wouldn’t spend time and effort developing professional codes. Self-regulation can incite conflicts because in the end it will have to adjust to what the public wants. For many accountancy experts, self regulation in accounting cannot work accordingly. If extracted a tautological meaning, they are merely regulating themselves of what they should do and those that they cannot violate. The public and the accountancy field is both divided in this issue. Some people tend to go with the decision to leave their financial affairs to their accountants (Gowthorpe & Blake, 1998, pp. 1-3). They wouldn’t question however the accountants will do the job. In this respect, they recognize it that the accountants are the specialists in this field. And so they don’t bother in meddling (or arguing) with their accountants. The gray area of this point is that it is very prone to malpractice, intended or unintended, that can lead to ethical conflicts between the public and the accounting field. Since the moral code is self-regulated, what may be right or wrong for the accountants may be contradicting to those of the public. However, if the state gave the accounting industry autonomy, it means they are given more weight than other institutions. In this sense it is quite unethical for the state have certain biases. Moreover if the accounting industry is given this autonomy, in return they should provide the public quality and honest service with high regards to ethical standards and competence. Ethical lapses in accounting I have acquired examples of ethics in action in the accounting field. I will have to not name the particular agencies involved as it is unethical. Perhaps one of the biggest acknowledgements of ethical misconduct in accounting was done by an insurance company by swapping insurance assets to artificially increase their growth. This is an example of an â€Å"end justify the means. † The insurance company had only thought of its own good not minding how their action affects others. With their artificially fattened network gross, investors are lured to risk their money on a company that has not performed as the unknowingly deceived analysts say. (Flanagan, 2007, pp 38-46) Another ethical lapse in accounting is discrimination. Some insurance companies have gender, racial, and age related biases before they sell their service. This act of discrimination is highly unethical because it contradicts the responsibility of accountants to the public. Researches found out that gender seems to have a great effect on negotiations (Flanagan, 2007, pp. 60-64). (a) Women seem to be greater in number in terms of financial disputes. During negotiations, women prefer being perceived as reasonable. Men are treated to have more economic orientation so they can maximize economic income. Women are treated to have lots of self-doubt about their financial capabilities so they would have to settle with smaller financial settlements. Some companies perceive this as risk to their economic gain so they unethically reject smaller settlements. Women are allegedly to have lesser successes in negotiations in comparison to men. As gender awareness is increasing popularity these days, this ethical lapse would mean many disputes for the accounting industry. (b) There is also aversion for elderly people during negotiations. Many companies see clients with old age (65 up) as great investment risk. Elderly people seem to have more difficulty getting auto insurances. They also find it difficult to cash in their insurance as it could just be interpreted as a scam. Insurance companies group their clients in to two whereas one group is of the adult (23-60) and the other is either very young or very old. The latter group which has both extremities of the age group is treated much differently as opposed to the prior group. The latter group is perceived as to have a higher frequency of accidents that would lead to higher insurance claims. Also, younger defendants are assed more fault than relatively older defendants while all other are treated equally. Again the lapse here is that economic consequences were given more priority than being ethically agreeable. (c) Accounting services seem to have biases in terms of race. Loan default rates are higher for black applicants than white applicants. The lender cannot use race as a qualifier in whether to give out loans or not. There are also variations in insurance terms when race is being considered. Discrimination, the word itself is not obviously ethical. Ladd, 1998, pp. 63-90) Although these acts of discrimination are considered illegal, many practitioners still commit this unethical practice. If there are variations to insurance terms, the act could meet up with the legal definition of discrimination that could cause the agency legal prohibition. Although if there was a denial in loans due to gender, age, and race, even with the legal laws, it would be difficult to resolve because of the self-regulated ethical codes that the industry of accounting is equipped. Economic consequences of ethical issues Probably, one reason why it takes lot of time and discussions before ethical solutions are implemented is because corrections of errors will cause a lot of money for the accounting agencies. Profit maximizing is the priority concern of most businesses, even if they admit it or not. Moreover, maintaining and formulating proper ethical codes would cost companies much money that they would want to put into investment instead. Ruland had identified three philosophical perspectives that addresses the questions of whether accounting regulators should be guided by economic consequence issues. (Ruland 1984) The question of whether ends justify means for the accountants. It is often asked if the desired economic outcome of practicing accountancy justify what ever ethical approach they are taking. We can view this thinking as both negative and positive. On one side, we can view it as the actions should be judged weighed on its moral values. There is also the notion of â€Å"positive and negative responsibilities. † Positive responsibilities hold individuals accountable their own actions. On the other hand, negative responsibilities hold individuals accountable for actions they fail or allow to properly address. In simpler terms, positive responsibilities hold accountants responsible for their own actions, and contrastingly, negative responsibilities hold accountants responsible for the action of other people. Arguably, positive responsibilities can provide a fair presentation of accounts because the accountant’s reputation is on the line, as opposed to negative responsibilities whereas the accountants can’t be blamed for errors of other people. Many still argue that positive responsibilities should not be replaced by negative responsibilities just to avoid financial consequences. There is also the concept of â€Å"the distinction of duty to refrain and a duty to act. † Many accounting firms believe that the pursuit of the best accounting practice is the most important duty of accountants. They are tasked with a duty to refrain by any distractions. They are to focus only on their service, and nothing else, even if it may cause some ethical disputes. An important word here is â€Å"priority† as the duty to act gives more priority to addressing issue rather than refraining. Those who argue that economic consequences issues should be the main focus of regulations are favoring the duty to act.

Bureaucracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bureaucracy - Essay Example These concepts include, hierarchy, jurisdictional competency, command and control, technical expertise, and system of rules, and written documentation. An organizational hierarchy is the â€Å"arrangement of the organization by level of authority† in reference to the ranks above and below it (Grimsley 2014, para. 6). This therefore implies that in bureaucracy, there is existence of certain levels of authority ranging from the top level management to the normal employees. For instance, in a company a sales marketing director is below the overall chief executive officer (C.E.O), at the same level with the advertising marketing director and above the secretary. Therefore, this system dictates that each level should answer to the rank above it with the ultimate leader of the company at the very top of the hierarchy. Jurisdictional competency is another key concept of bureaucracy. Fundamentally, huge roles are broken down into smaller and simpler tasks which are then assigned to employees throughout the organization. This division of labor across the organization enables employees to master the skills and details of repetitive duties thereby increasing efficiency. However, though the division of labor could be highly proficient, â€Å"it can lead to a number of harmful organizational pathologies† (Rockman 2013, para. 5). This implies that division of labor could at times turn out to be ineffective due to a number of reasons. For instance, employees can be unable to adequately respond to problems outside their areas of jurisdiction, and may approach them from their own perspective. This could lead to an overall destruction of the organization’s performance. Command and control is another key feature of bureaucracy that weber discussed. Due to the fact that a bureaucratic authority is organized hierarchically, â€Å"responsibility is taken at the top and delegated with decreasing discretion at the lower levels of the organization† (Rockman 2013, para.

Ergonomic Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ergonomic Problems - Essay Example These are all influenced by the psychological/physiological and psychosocial capabilities, limitations, and dimensions of the person; layout, design, position, control, and distance of machine; temperature, lighting, humidity, noise, and vibration of the environment. Explain the role of anthropometrics when solving ergonomic problems Anthropometrics enables the customization of machine controls, position, and design to adapt to the worker’s physical built, equivalent capability, and movements. Explain the role of biomechanics when solving ergonomic problems. Biomechanics help the worker or humans properly adhere to the capabilities of machines through adaptable dynamics modified to the body components. List the categories of workstations Workstation categories vary depending on the industry from engineering, manufacturing, business, robotics, and even homes. There are the computer workstations and music workstations. In the construction industry, these are Architectural Structures, Bricklayer, Building From Blueprints, Carpenter, Cement Mason, Construction Measurement, Drafting (Mechanical), Drywall Installer, Electric Motor Repair, Electrical Wiring / Electrician, Floor Coverings Installer, Glazier / Window Installation & Repair, Hydraulics, Insulation Installer, Landscape Design, Machinist, Painter, Plumber, Pneumatics, Power Mechanics/Small Engine Repair, Residential Plumbing, Residential Wiring, Roofer, Sheet Metal Worker, Telecommunications Technician, Tile Setter, Wall Coverings Installer, Welder, and Woodworker stations.

Outline the processes of evolution and explain how either theory of Essay

Outline the processes of evolution and explain how either theory of mind or altruism is an adaptation resulting from the selective forces that have operated dur - Essay Example This is also the rationale behind the arrival of variations in the species of organisms through time. The genius of evolution lies in the fact that although organisms have obviously changed though time, a lot of their features remain strikingly comparable to something from a different age. (The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California, 2008) Simply put, evolution is one of the major factors that cause different life forms to continue to exist in the universe. Evolution is a complex process that makes use of several mechanisms or sub-processes. These evolutionary mechanisms are responsible for affecting change in population.. (The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California, 2008) The basic mechanisms of evolution that affect change include natural selection, genetic drift, migration or gene flow and mutation. (The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California, 2008) Natural selection is the course of action by which inherited characteristics that are pertinent to continued existence and reproduction become more prominent. In natural selection, the traits that are detrimental to one’s survival become less prominent in the next generations. (DOBZHANSKY, 1955) According to the ‘Understanding Evolution’ website, genetic drift can be simply described as an â€Å"evolutionary equivalent of a sampling error†. Another way to describe genetic drift is that the genetic material from one generation does not go on in the same proportions in the next generations for due to a lot of indiscriminate reasons. Genetic drift can be likened to a lottery where a â€Å"winner† is determined by sheer luck or in this case, chance. Genetic drift affects the process of evolution in three ways. First, genetic drift causes a reduction in variations. This causes a population to be

HRIS Implementation Plan in a middle-sized company Essay

HRIS Implementation Plan in a middle-sized company - Essay Example In many cases, errors occur when a person is entering data manually into databases. Data cleansing is thus crucial since some errors are unavoidable. However, automation of data like in the case of HRIS results in errors and intricacies that are not easily corrected. Additionally, attempts to locate and correct may result in complication of the problem. A good example is when dealing with data regarding the employees’ employment history, which is interrelated to other employment aspects such as pay rate and positions held. Attempts to make correction in one of the field might result in automatic alteration of data in other categories. To overcome this problem, it is important to implement an application that acts as an interphase between the different fields to enable data transfer from one database or application to another. This ensures that employees’ data entry is only done once and transferred across different databases without making alterations. Additionally, the application should be capable of linking employees’ data to the security profile to ensure that only the right people make changes on employe es’ data. Process 2 or tracking employee job performance entails enabling the HRIS system to evaluate employees more quickly and efficiently and creating a uniform system for employee system. It is important that managements define what performance is for the different job specifications. After 1determining performance, the organizations should set goals to direct the managers and employees. A salient factor that would jeopardize implementation of process two is unclear alignment of employee’s goals with the corporate culture and goals. To prevent this, the HR department should concur with the management to ensure the goals set are attainable. In some instances, the set goals are unrealistic and some employers end up blaming the employees for underperformance. It is thus important to

Today Media Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Today Media - Research Paper Example Advertisements can distort reality. It is a one-sided stand in order to obtain corporate goals. Lastly, some audience does not have enough ability to understand advertisement’s purpose. Based on these reasons, the proponent was able to use important journal articles, and books in line with understanding the very nature of advertising and its impact on the society. Furthermore, other important related concepts in other fields such as psychology, and social science are integrated within the concept of mass communication and the social media. In doing this, further justification of the use of advertising as effective approach in conveying information is justified. The important implications of advertising in the society are also discussed based on other relevant and practical examples commonly observed in common and various ads. Introduction Certain ads are effective in conveying information to the extent that consumer persuasion is at a higher level. This persuasion at a higher level is very influential in trying to convince people of certain ideas. For example, tobacco marketing is associated with youth smoking, their behaviors towards it and their intention to smoke (Hanewinkel, Isensee, Sargent, & Morgenstern, 2010). However, anti-tobacco media campaigns are found helpful in smoking cessation (Biener, Reimer, Wakefield, Szczypka, Rigotti, & Connolly, 2006). Furthermore, anti-tobacco television ads using fear and disgust contents have been found significant on resources intended for message encoding, recognition memory and emotional responses (Leshner, Bolls & Wise, 2011, p. 77). These only show that advertising is effective way of communicating ideas, information and other relevant social concerns. In particular, advertising activities are integral parts of marketing and other related social interactions that aim to promote certain ideas, opinions or products and services. For a long period of time, ads are used to convey significant information and peo ple are learning many things from them. The very proof why ads are effective is their continuing existence in the media, and other related mass communication today. If they are not that effective, then they should have been long banished and should never be the primary options on the list among marketers and some people. However, certain ads should be banned in the interest of health, morality, annoyance – alcohol, cigarettes, prescription meds, etc due to the following reasons. Advertisements distort reality The advancement of technology makes it possible for advertisers to distort reality by creating much of virtual reality (Frith & Mueller, 2010). It has long been contended that advertisements tend to distort the reality, but the availability of much advanced technology has become the doorway to create more virtual reality. There are many available animated commercial advertisements today that try to distort the picture of reality. What the advertisers try to promote is th e product itself and not the entire concept of the social reality. These highly animated commercials are without question attractive to the extent they can actually catch attention. Some of them moved out from the bound of morality and other relevant social issues. These ads might be considered the reality among children so it is important to consider that unrealistic ads should be totally

Project Management - Bubble Bee Case part 2 [sap4] Essay

Project Management - Bubble Bee Case part 2 [sap4] - Essay Example This permits removal or alteration of work assignments of the tasks affected. Leveling creates splits in the work that is remaining. This will ensure that over-allocated tasks are split before the instance of over-allocation. It restarts the remaining portion of the task at some point in time when resources are sufficient. 3. It is not easy to wholesomely resolve the over-allocation challenge, though the project end-date cannot be moved out. The reason is when using the "slack" meaning that the amount of time in which activities are delayed without the project end-date getting affected, cannot delay some tasks. Leveling only within existing slack† is an endeavor to reorganize the schedule through taking the benefit of the slack that is obtainable to resolving the problem without protracting the project. 4. Constrained resource means that the project has scarce resource though the time provided is agile. By leveling outside the slack, the over allocation challenges are settled. Nevertheless, the project duration which is 135 days, is significantly increased to 150 days. The new finish date will be 6/20/2012, instead of 5/23/2013. The managerial connotation results in the delay of the following projects employing similar resources. The critical path will be altered while project costs are increased. For instance, trial marketing will have to wait for the shelf life report to be produced. The project will delay due to the resource constraint while idle resources are costly. 6. I have learned that Gantt chart provides situations of tracking project progress as well as mapping the performance of schedule, cost and time. Leveling of resources has also allowed me to understand the implication of manipulating tasks falling within and outside the critical path. I now know that the project manager rearranges the logic of the network where critical activities are set in parallel as opposed to sequential arrangement. I have also learned that Gantt charts determine th e critical paths and aid the planners to estimate costs and guide the project to meet its obligations. Through leveling of resources, I have known use of MS project as a powerful tool to establish under or over allocation of tasks, resources and costs. The software is a quick win for project managers involved in handling large projects spanning more than two years. I am now confident in using PERT/CPM and Gantt charts to guide projects. 7. The project on bubble bee gum is optimal and can proceed without straining available resources Table 1: Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack Table 2: Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling outside the slack References Project Management Institute. (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK ® Guide, 3rd Edition. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, Project Managemen

Foreign Reserves Essay Example for Free

Foreign Reserves Essay According to the article entitled â€Å"UNDP urges prudent use of excess crude funds, foreign reserves† by Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna on April 24, 2008, the Nigeria and other African nations are having several problems when it comes to socio-economic aspects. One of the best examples in this context is the country of Nigeria. Based on research, it has been said if Nigeria utilized their crude resources in a good position, they will have an economic stability. The problem in this country is that there are no source of guidance and help from other sectors so that they can use their resources properly. The Nigerian government looses its capability to obtain greater perspectives in the issue of natural resources especially crude oil that costs billions during these times. Based on my own interpretation of this article, the author discusses all the details in simple form. The author used descriptive elements to illustrate the happenings or situations in the Nigeria as well as the issues that they experience during this day aside from poverty. However, there is no concrete resolution with the problem that the author discussed because these are sensitive issues that should not be taken for granted by the authority. It is the right of the whole Nigeria to know the real situation in their society and not only within their personal lives for the reason that it manifests their everyday living. Work Cited Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna. (2008). â€Å"UNDP Urges Prudent Use of Excess Crude Funds, Foreign Reserves† http://www. guardiannewsngr. com/news/article03//indexn2_html? pdate=240408ptitle=UNDP%20urges%20prudent%20use%20of%20excess%20crude%20funds,%20foreign%20reserves

An Evaluation of Globalisation from Two Perspectives

An Evaluation of Globalisation from Two Perspectives Evaluation of Globalisation from Two Perspectives. As an Emotive Force, in Being Beneficial and a Key to  Future World Economic Development as well as  Being Inevitable and Irreversible. And as a Force that Increases Inequality Within and  Between Nations, Threatens Employment and  Living Standards and Thwarts Social Progress Introduction Globalisation as a word is that utilized in differing contexts within the public lexicon. It is one of â€Å"†¦ the most widely used- and misused – keyword †¦ in recent years, as well as being â€Å", one of the most rarely defined, the most nebulous and misunderstood, as well as the most politically effective †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Beck and Camiller, 2000, p. 19). We tend to think of globalisation is as a modern term, first defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary in 1944 (University of Pennsylvania, 2005) its historical roots in terms of it being a part of human history can be traced back â€Å"†¦ at least 5,000 years† (Wallerstein et al, 1980, p. 15). Said beginnings, â€Å"†¦ In the fifteenth and early sixteenth century †¦Ã¢â‚¬  is when the â€Å"†¦ European world-economy †¦Ã¢â‚¬  came into existence as â€Å"†¦ a kind of social system the world †¦(had) †¦ really known before and which is the distinctive feature of the modern world-system† (Wallerstein et al, 1980, p. 15). The underpinnings of why Wallerstein et al (1980, p. 15) take this view is that is represented an economic rather than political entity that differed from the â€Å"†¦ empires, city-states and nation-states †¦Ã¢â‚¬  that preceded it. Eisnstadt (1968, P. 41) helps to clarify the preceding by defining empire as a term utilized â€Å"†¦ to designate a political system encompassing wide, relatively high centralized territories †¦Ã¢â‚¬  which consisted of an emperor and â€Å"†¦ central political institutions †¦Ã¢â‚¬  And while empires were a primitive means by which economic domination was conducted, they laid the foundations for globalization through economic flows as represented by trade (Eisenstadt, 1961, pp. 82-107). The preceding has been utilized as an historical guide to the roots of globalisation, which is generally credited as being the individual credited with using it in an economic sense (Tedlow and Abdelal, 2005). Levitt’s definition of globalisation is based upon its applicability to corporations and products and what he termed as ‘homogenized demand’ (Tedlow and Abdelal, 2005). That view, while revolutionary at the time, in hindsight is a narrow conception of the broader concept that we understand globalisation to be in today’s terms. Shariff (2003, pp. 163-178) states that globalisation is the global process representing the homogenising of prices, wages, products, interest rates and profits that relies upon three forces, 1. human migration, 2. international trade, and 3. the swift movement of capital along with the integration of financial markets. Bhaqwati (2005, p. 3) advises that globalisation â€Å"†¦ can mean many things†. He focuses on glo balisation as being economic, constituting the â€Å"†¦ integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, direct foreign investment (by corporations and multinationals), short term capital flows, international flows of workers and †¦. flows of technology †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bhaqwati, 2005, p. 3). The World Bank, which agrees with Beck and Camiller (2000, p. 19) and states that there is no precise and universally agreed upon definition and, adds that over time it, globalisation, has come to encompass â€Å"†¦ cultural, political and other connotations in addition to the economic† (PREM Economic Policy Group and Development Economics Group, 2005). Their explanation of globalisation tends to focus on the economic side of the ledger, but adds that it, globalisation, is not uniform stating that in the poorer lesser developed countries it is more a case of being excluded from it rather than being impoverished by it (PREM Economic Policy Group and Development Economics Group, 2005). Hirst and Thompson (2001. p. 3) agree with the fact that there are broadly differing contexts attached to globalisation and that in today’s terms it largely means placing economic aspects in the forefront, keeping in mind the cultural, political, and social variables that are intertwin ed. The International Monetary Fund (2000) combines pieces of definitions from the preceding in stating that globalisation represents â€Å"†¦ a historical process †¦Ã¢â‚¬  which is attributable to â€Å"†¦ human innovation and technological progress†, and â€Å"†¦ refers to the increasing integration of economies †¦Ã¢â‚¬  on a global basis â€Å"†¦ particularly through trade and financial flows†. Stiglitz (2003, p. 4) asks the question as to â€Å"Why has globalization – a force that has brought so much good – become so controversial?† Bhaqwati (2005, p. 4) also asks this question as to â€Å"Why are the critics of globalization so agitated?† Hist and Thompson (2001. p. 2) also are quizzical as to this phenomenon. What is it about globalisation that has proponents lined up on one side, and antagonists on the other? This examination shall seek to equate both sides of this highly charged arena, looking at the views that see globalisation as an emotive force, where some see it as a process that is beneficial, representing a key to future global economic development that is not only inevitable, but irreversible as well. And on the other side of the fence there are those that view globalisation with hostility, and believe that is increases inequality between nations as well as within them, threatens employment along with living standards and thwarts soc ial progress. According to Giddens (2006), we are in the second phase of the debate on globalisation. His perspective is that there were discussions regarding the phase and attempting to determine what is was and is while it was unfolding. Giddens (2006) views us as being in the second phase of the debate as globalisation is firmly entrenched in economics, politics, cultural and social areas, as we again attempt to determine what it is, along with its consequences and how it can be properly accommodated. Whether one subscribes to this view is a matter of opinion, but the point is there is a debate on globalisation with one side seeing it as representing benefits to society, and the other as promoting inequalities and other negative connotations. Or, is that actually the case? Could it be that it is parts of globalisation that opponents are against? Could it be that the problem with globalisation is its inequality in that there are the nations gaining from it and distancing themselves from those la gging or being left behind? The questions are almost endless. In seeking to reach a determination, this examination will look at both side of the globalisation issue, offering those facets for and those against it. Ohmae (Ray, 2005) sees globalisation as the liberalisation of individuals, consumers, business corporations as well as regions from the confines of the nation state. He sees the world as representing a global village â€Å"†¦ because wealth will migrate across national borders†. He sees, in commercial terms, as well as in consumer terms that the world is â€Å"†¦ an increasingly borderless economy, a true global marketplace† with political influences seeking to control the process (Ohmae, 1996, p. 8). Yip (1989, p. 29) sees the process of globalisation as a ‘must’ facet that major business corporations have to participate in as a result of almost all products having foreign competitors. This preceding view not only means that a company needs to look at this from its own domestic market and staving off competition, but also from the viewpoint of growth and profits as there are customers to be won in foreign markets as well (Yip, 1989, p. 29). Yip’s corporate focus on globalisation looks at falling trade barriers as governments and regions understand the importance of opening their markets to enable them to enter others in a quid pro quo. The corporate process of globalisation results in increased competition, jobs, better products, innovation and lower prices as the lines between products, goods and services have become increasingly transparent, with consumers as the beneficiaries in the process. The opening up of markets, and the loosening of trade restrictions and borders is a positive contribution of globalisation as it makes the new battlefield one of profits, markets and expansion as opposed to conquest, war and destruction (Held et al, 1999. pp. 32-35). Globalisation’s main engine has been a result of economics, it is money that has underpinned the flow of products, printed materials, the Internet, documentaries and other informational exchanges, along with products, goods and services. The elements of increased trade have brought the need to stabilize currencies in order to permit the corporations within countries to effectively compete on the global stage and is an important underpinning resulting in the formation of the euro in the European Union. The foregoing has brought about a â€Å"†¦ high degree of economic interdependence among today’s economies †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and the preceding reflects â€Å"†¦ the historical evolution of the world’s economic and political order† (Carbaugh, 2006, p. 3). Evidence of the equalization process of globalisation can be found in the example of the United States which was the most dominate economic and political nation after the end of World War II (Carbaugh, 2006, p. 3). This has been referred to as neocolonialism, which represents Imperial powers controlling other societies through economic means on the international stage, which resurfaced after WW II, having similarities to the colonialism periods of the sixteenth through twentieth centuries (Selfa, 2002). The foregoing is driven by economic means as capitalism represents â€Å"†¦ an economic mode †¦ that †¦ operate within an arena larger than †¦ any political entity can totally control †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wallerstein, 1976, pp. 230). The preceding has provided capitalists, and thus globalisation, with the foundation to pursue consistent â€Å"†¦ economic expansion of the world-system †¦Ã¢â‚¬  which Wallerstein (1976, pp. 230) argues is skewed in its distrib ution of rewards. Globalisation is thus a combination of political aims to strengthen national economies through â€Å"†¦ political power, authority and forms of rule †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Held et al, 1999, p. 32) that aids capitalism, commerce and companies. Globalisation has since evened the playing field as nations, regions and countries have devoted their efforts into strengthening their competitive positions in the commerce arena through regional trading blocks such as the European Union, ASEAN, SAARC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other organizations evolved â€Å"†¦ the world community into a complicated system based on a growing interdependence among nations† (Carbaugh, 2006, p. 3). China has risen from a developing nation into a world power through its march into capitalism via the innovation of socialist economics, which retains the centralized Party control. Globalisation has aided in the preceding as well as the development of the Chinese military into a sophisticated technologically equipped force (Wortzel, 1994, pp. 168-170). The market reforms of 1978 has enabled the country to harness the commercial potential of its market of 1.3 billion citizens under ‘socialism with Chinese character istics’ which has transformed China from the 32nd largest trading nation in 1978 to second in terms of GDP purchasing power behind the United States (Dellios, 2004). The power of participation in the international flows of globalisation has proven its ability and potential to transform economies and nations as well as the economic balances of power. Globalisation is for most intents and purposes a Western dominated process that is influenced and guided by corporations. In pursuing international markets multinational corporations have opted on a course of standardising their product lines to permit them to make adaptations to reach foreign consumers in the quest for increased market share (Hayler, 2006). Localisation represents the adaptation of products, goods and or services to address the tastes, preferences, cultural â€Å"†¦ and other requirements of a specific target market† (W3C, 2007). A key example of standardisation combined with localisation can be found in portable telephones. Companies need a standardised approach to the production of basic components in a globalised economy for framing, wiring and related components to permit a universal platform of manufacture. With facilities in 15 countries and sales in over 130, Nokia is a prime example of a globalised company (Nokia, 2001). However, individual marke ts require localisation to appeal to consumers in the face of competition, as well as the recognition of preferences, tastes and needs. Nokia innovated the first mobile phone that was designed to provide â€Å"†¦ commands in English, Chinese, Thai, Bahasa for Indonesia and Malaysia, and Spanish for the Philippine market (Hoberg-Petersen et al, 1999). The preceding is an example of the combined utilization of standardisation and localisation required to capture consumers in the competitive globalised marketplace. Nokia’s deft understanding of the variables of the international marketplace represent the application of Porter’s (1998, pp. 59-61) value chain organization, which represents the various activities inside as well as outside a company, equating logistics, operations, marketing and sales, support activities, procurement, technology development, company infrastructure and utilizing the inputs and results from these activities to improve operations by adapti ng and changing where needed to meet the demands of the marketplace. The importance of an international stance in the today’s global economy enables corporations to cope with international competition by leveraging their domestic operations overseas and learns lessons from the unique characteristics of foreign markets to bring back to its own domestic market. The preceding expands the company’s innovation by coming to grips with specialized needs that can translate into new features and approaches that boost sales. Accepting the principle of globalisation is not a luxury that companies can afford to ignore in the face of foreign competition. It is an undeniable facet of competition as any product, goods or services that has a representative market domestically, will be under attack sooner or later by some company or companies seeking to expand. Evidence of the impact of globalisation is shown by the fact that the ratio of exports plus imports as calculated against the global gross domestic product has increased from 16% in 1960 to 40% in 2001 (World Bank, 2002). The forgoing seemingly suggests that localizing products, goods and services from a standardised format to meet the needs of individual markets has proven successful. But, in the larger scheme of things, is globalisation actually helping to increase inequalities between nations and threatening living standards, social progress and employment? As in all questions, there are two sides to every story. The preceding is a highly complex principle to equate as well as measure, as such is dependent upon the relative sophistication of a country’s ability to meet the varied demands of globalisation called for through institutions, infrastructure development, educational systems, professional and skilled worker training and development, access to raw materials, governmental practices and internal policies. It is simple enough to look at examples of inequality, and related factors, however, in the case of Africa and Latin America, they have only recently opened their markets, beginning in the 1980s, as opposed to the United States, Europe and Japan, which were all engaged in the process shortly after World War II (Bardhan, 2006). China adopted market reforms and changed the precepts of socialism to accommodate a process that enabled them to harness their educational, industrial and internal systems and infrastructure to utilize globalisation to reinforce the power of the state. The ir example points to the internal resourcefulness of government to utilize means to transform the way things were done, into what they viewed as needing to be done (Bardhan, 2006). In a free market system inequalities mark the underpinnings of the business process as companies seek lowered costs via which to produce what they are in business for. Such means moving facilities and or processes to those locales that will enable them to maintain quality, but cut costs, and labor, represents the largest cost item. In a report titled â€Å"A Compendium of Inequality† (Martens, 2005) which refers to a United Nations Development Report published in 2005, found that approximately fifty countries, of the total one hundred and seventy-five countries studied, lost ground in terms of their economic standing, GDP and other areas. In order to achieve economic progress, reduce poverty and improve their quality of life, developing countries need increased employment opportunities, improved labor productivity and governmental incentives to attract industry and business as well as to develop them internally. Achievement of the foregoing requires a sustained productivity growth along with increased capacity of the country’s populace in skills and development that will foster the conditions for the attraction of multinational companies and permit the country to compete on the international stage (Little, 2005). Multinational companies bring with them advanced production and management techniques as well as offer increased wages in terms of relative practices thus increasing the standards, thereby attracting the better labor from the available employment pool. The process is slow, yet effective, and the foregoing represent facets used by China, India, Brazil, and the Asian Tigers, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, that aided these countries in making progress in global commerce. Conclusion Globalisation can trace its roots back over 5,000 years, with the modern application of the term credited to Levitt (Tedlow and Abdelal, 2005). The consistent evolution of globalisation has caused theorists and scholars to define and redefine the term with the understanding that in its present complexities that there is no universally agreed upon definition to adequately describe the process that includes economics, social processes, cultural facets, political considerations and the complex entangled web of interdependent relationships these areas have. In this examination, the term globalisation has been narrowed to focus on its economic and business ramifications in examining whether the process is beneficial, and a key to future world economic development that is inevitable and irreversible, or is it a process that promotes inequality within as well as between nations that threatens employment along with living standards and thwarts social progress. And while globalisation does ha ve its less than desirable effects, it has proven its worth in lowering international borders to increase trade, migration and stabilize currency and capital flows in an era that has seen unprecedented growth in innovation, communications and the seeking of a better understanding of humanity’s needs. The process is not going to disappear or reverse itself as whether we like it or not, the world is driven by economics and the interests of corporations to generate profits on behalf of stockholders, and stakeholders in addition to the vested self interests of governments to protect and foster favorable business conditions for corporations that generate employment and pay taxes to support the political structure. The preceding has been and will continue to be an interdependent relationship that has existed since the Chinese dynasties, through the Egyptian era, as well as the Greek and Roman empires. It is not a question of what direction the world is going in, but one of the direction the world has always been going. Corporations are not going to disappear and our way of life that has been evolving change. Commerce, trade and the migration of people has always been with us, globalisation is just the present form that has manifested itself as have as conquests, exploration and wars in addition to trade and commerce been the former means that mankind has utilized from the beginnings of civilisation. As history has taught us, the more advanced nations use the less advanced to further their ends, with the offshoot of the process that the weaker nations through this association, become stronger and sooner or later establish their own independence and dominance in a never ending cycle of ebbs and flows that has seen shifts in political and economic power. Such was the case with the British empire, the rise of the United States, the emergence of the European Union, the development of regional trading blocks and the ascension of China. This examination has shown that while globalisation does have its inequalities and less than desirable points, it, as in all human endeavours, is an evolutionary process that is still learning from itself. As we progress as a race of peoples, so to does our understanding of our mistakes and the drive to correct them. Institutions such as the United Nations are proof of this evolutionary process. Thus, the faults in globalisation do not lie in its proces s, but in our application of them, which those whom opposed to it aiding in pointing out its shortcomings. As we learn, we listen and reshape ourselves to devise ways to better serve ourselves as well as humankind. The examples presented herein point to the foregoing. Bibliography Bardham, P. (2006) Does Globalization Help or Hurt the World’s Poor. 26 March 2006. Scientific American Beck, U., Camiller, P. (2000) What is Globalization. Polity Press Bhaqwati, J. (2005) In defense of Globalization. Oxford University Press Carbaugh, R. (2006) International Economics. Academic Internet Publishers, Inc. Dellios, R. (2004) The Rise of China as a Global Power. Retrieved on 29 January 2007 from http://www.international-relations.com/CM6-2WB/GlobalChinaWB.htm Eisenstadt, S. (1968) Empires. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences Eisenstadt, S. (1961) The Causes of Disintegration and Fall of Empires: Sociological and Historical Analysis. Vol. 34. Diogenes Giddens, A. (2006) The Second Globalization Debate. Retrieved on 27 January 2007 from http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/giddens/giddens_index.html Hayler, A. (2006) Standardization is not the answer to the challenge of globalization. Retrieved on 28 January 2007 from http://www.businessintelligence.com/ex/asp/code.145/xe/article.htm Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D., Perraton, J. (1999) Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture. Stanford University Press Hirst, P., Thompson, G. (2001) Globalization in Question: The International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance. Polity Press Hoberg-Petersen, T., Stuart, C., Wetstone, R. (1999) Nokia Mobile Phones: A Lesson in International Strategy. Yale School of Management International Monetary Fund (2000) Globalization: Threat or Opportunity. Retrieved on 28 January 2007 from http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/041200.htm#I Nokia (2001) Nokia Helps Lead IT Industry to Customers with Disabilities. Retrieved on 29 January 2007 from http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/projserv_ps/projects/case_studies/nokia.htm Ohmae, K. (1996) End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies. Touchstone Porter, M. (1998) Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press PREM Economic Policy Group and Development Economics Group (2005) Assessing Globalization. Retrieved on 28 January 2007 from http://www1.worldbank.org/economicpolicy/globalization/documents/AssessingGlobalizationP1.pdf Ray, J (2005) Ohmae’s Subversive Definition of Globalization. Retrieved on 18 January 2007 from http://www.heritagetidbits.com/archives/2005/08/ohmaeas_subvers.htm Selfa, L. (2002) A New Colonial Age of Empires? May-June 2002. International Socialist Review Shariff, I. (2003) Global Economic Integration: Prospects and Problems. Vol. 1, Issue 2. International Journal of Development Economics Stigliz, J. (2003) Globalization and its Discontents. W.W. Norton Company Tedlow, R., Addelal, R. (2005) Theodore Levitt’s â€Å"The Globalization of Markets†: An Evaluation After Two Decades. Retrieved on 28 January 2007 from http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/79/07879685/0787968579.pdf University of Pennsylvania (2005) A Very Long-Term View: Globalization Since the Fourteenth Century. Retrieved on 27 January 2007 from http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dludden/global1.htm W3C (2007) Localizations vs. Internationalization. Retrieved on 28 January 2007 from http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-i18n Wallerstein, I. (1976) The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York Academic Press Wallerstein, I, Tilly, C., Shorter, E. (1980) The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. Academic Press World Bank (2002) Financing the Poorest Countries. Retrieved on 28 January 2007 from http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2002/09/06/000094946_02082404015853/Rendered/INDEX/multi0page.txt Wortzel, L. (1994) China Pursues Great Power Status. Vol. 38, Issue 2. Orbis Yip, G. (1989) Global strategy in a world of nations. Vol. 30. Sloan Management Review

Methodology And Benefits Of Ecotel Hotels Tourism Essay

Methodology And Benefits Of Ecotel Hotels Tourism Essay ECOTEL ®? ECOTEL ® is an environmental certification that enables hotels to be truly green, socially responsible, and sustainable over the long term by involving the entire value chain of owners, architects, operators, employees, suppliers and hotel guests. What is the ECOTEL ® Methodology? The ECOTEL ® methodology evaluates a hotels systems, processes and practices for environment friendliness through a stringent assessment of its range, scope and results across five crucial parameters, known as The Five Globes. These are: Environment Commitment, Solid Waste Management, Energy Management, Water Management, and Employee Education and Community Involvement. To be certified as an ECOTEL, a hotel must score the minimum qualifying percentage on each of the globes. What are the benefits for ECOTEL ® Hotels? †¢ Lower operating costs, greater profits through a focused effort on reducing waste generation and increasing operational efficiencies. †¢ Enhanced visibility for members through the ECOTEL ® website who also gain access to the reservation engine and other marketing features. †¢ Publicly recognized branding for hotels that may have/not have partnered with international chains. †¢ Value for money, as the cost of certification is comparatively lower than others to enable hotels to truly benefit from the transfer of knowledge. HISTORY of ECOTEL ECOTEL ® was developed by HVS in association with the Rocky Mountain Institute, USA with the help of engineering and hospitality experts. Conceptualized in 1994 by HVS the worlds leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries ECOTEL was a pioneering program specific to hospitalityWhy should you choose to be an ECOTEL ®? Rigorous standards used for the certification methodology that are regularly updated to keep current with scientific advances and international thinking. Specific to hospitality as ECOTEL ® is managed by HVS, a global consulting giant in hospitality. Recognition of hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ specific green operations with hotels demonstrating substantial such evidence encouraged to seek certification, instead of just those who could build in the features. Broader in scope than other certifications as it enables a hotel to function responsibly while positively impacting the local community. Handholding throughout certification period, as clients are updated and assisted to improve their performance through consultation, training and identification of operational areas where they can improve efficiencies and cut back consumption. Spans the positioning spectrum, recognizing high levels of environment commitment and environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ friendly operations in hotels irrespective of size, positioning, or profile. How to be an ECOTEL ®? Hotels seeking the ECOTEL ® Certification are assessed for their environmental readiness through a property walkthrough, which entails inspection of different departments and random interviews with hotel staff. As per their status, they are either awarded the specific certification or enabled through a customized blueprint to achieve a specific level. In case of the later, the hotel is finally audited after the intervention and awarded the certification The Five Globes The methodology for the ECOTEL Certification is centered upon the idea of the Five Globes or five areas of certification, which together encompass the processes, systems and practices that ensure an environmentally responsible hotel operation. An audit is undertaken in each of these globes based on an audit checklist. The audit checklist for each of the globes is very well researched and based on scientific and technological advances and international charters and treaties specific to saving the environment. Environment Commitment A hotel demonstrates its environmental commitment through wide ranging programs and best practices that minimise its impact on the environment throughout its value chain while lowering overall business costs. Solid Waste Management For the hospitality industry, the waste created by daily operations is an ongoing challenge. In addition to incurring the costs of waste disposal, hotels need to also allocate valuable back-of-the house space for waste to be stored and sorted. For hotels, a good waste management strategy results in greater operational efficiencies, keeping waste out of the landfill, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Management Energy is among the fastest-growing cost items for the lodging industry worldwide. In India, it approximates 8-15% of a hotels gross revenue. While design and operating system-improvements provide the framework for conservation of resources, large energy savings and thereby economic efficiency results through the switch to low-cost, easy-to-implement alternatives and a regular maintenance schedule. Water Management The rampant overusing and wasting of water along with global warming has led to a water-scarcity challenge that has serious implications for the global community and economy. A good water management strategy includes conservation of water through Efficient technology and programs, recycling through measures like grey water treatment, as well as earth-friendly practices like ground water recharge and rainwater harvesting. Employee Education and Community Involvement Motivating employees to understand the need for a change to environment-friendly practices, believing in them, and adapting them is a necessity for environmental initiatives to be both successful and sustainable. A well-thought out and well-executed education and training effort enables this. ECOTEL hotels also raise eco-consciousness in the community through either awareness campaigns or practices that can be built into the community, thus truly facilitating a change for a better environment. The graphic on the right shows the ECOTEL logo represented by the Earth in the centre, surrounded by the five globes or areas of ECOTEL Certification. Together, these five globes encompass the processes, systems, and practices of environmentally responsible hotel operations. Thus, the image conveys that ECOTEL through its five globes is a Certification that cares for the WORLD. Certification Details The certification is valid for a period of one year only, after which members must reapply. It is applicable to hotels irrespective of a member hotels country of origin since it is designed specifically for recognizing environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ friendly systems, operations, and practices in hospitality. The Process The Process for Certification is typically undertaken in three steps, which are: D:Z-ArenaSIMSR AssignmentsPOMECOTELFlowChart.gif Step One: Property Assessment: In an effort to understand the current standards observed by the hotel, an in-depth assessment of the property is conducted covering all the relevant areas of focus. The inspection includes: Interviews with the management and staff to comprehend the propertys commitment to environment. Physical inspection of the subject property including back-of-the-house areas to evaluate the systems employed for undertaking environment friendly operations. Collating data on consumption of various resources such as electricity, water, diesel, and chemicals among others to assess the processes for environment friendly operations. Interviews with the staff to assess their knowledge, attitude, and training levels to carry out environment friendly operations. This stage of the certification process culminates in generation of a Property Assessment Report that details the propertys baseline status as regards achieving minimum standards considered essential for an ECOTEL. Step Two: Roadmap for Certification:- If the hotel wishes to certify itself as an ECOTEL, our team prepares a detailed blueprint for the certification in conjunction with the hotels management team. This Roadmap for Certification includes mutually decided targets, technology, and training workshops that will enable the hotel to become an ECOTEL. The process is estimated to take upto 5-6 months and will include training initiatives, inclusion of best practices as part of the hotels standard operating procedures and the necessary capital infusion where required. Phase Three: Audit: A final audit of the property shall then be conducted and a certification awarded on its successful completion. Rating System: The hotel is rated on the parameters defined in our checklists covering the five globes. Our methodology rates every standard on a Likert scale, assigning weights to them based on their contribution. The checklists have a predefined minimum standard, Primary Criteria, which every participating hotel has to clear before being certified as an ECOTEL.

G Proteins :: Biology Essays Research Papers

G Proteins Proteins play various important roles in inter-neuronal communication. Receptor sites are made up of proteins and the ion channels in the cell membranes are proteins. The link between the receptor sites and the protein channels sometimes is the guanine nucleotide-binding protein, better known as G Protein. (1) The basic structure and function of these shall be explored in the following. In order for neuron communication to occur, the post-synaptic neuron must have receptor sites for the neurotransmitters released by the pre-synaptic neuron. Also, these neurotransmitters, by binding on to the receptors, must bring about a change in the post-synaptic neuron, namely an EPSP (excitatory post-synaptic potential) or an IPSP (inhibitory post-synaptic potential), which may or may not lead to an action potential triggering in the post-synaptic neuron. EPSPs and IPSPs are produced in the post-synaptic neuron due to variations in either the Na+ or Cl- concentrations within the neuron. A change in concentration occurs when the protein channels which gate ion flow, permit Na+ or CL- to migrate across the cell membrane. The question now is, what causes the protein channels to open to Na+ or Cl-. In essence, there are three manners in which the ion flow can come about. The simplest way in which neurotransmitter-receptor binding can cause the opening of the protein channels is when the receptor is located immediately on top of the protein channel. Once a neurotransmitter binds on to the receptor, it causes the protein channel to permit ion flow. Receptors can also be acting on protein channels in more indirect fashion, via a second messenger system. A second messenger system is characterized by a G Protein's inclusion in the transduction of "signals from the transmembrane receptors to intracellular effectors." (1) That means, the binding of a neurotransmitter to a receptor activates a G Protein, which causes the protein channels gating ion flow to open. For this, two general mechanisms exist. Before they can be explained, however, the structure and dynamics of the G Protein must be considered. G Proteins are heterotrimic substances, i.e. they are composed of three subunits, alpha, beta and gamma. The alpha subunit of a G Protein is looked upon as the active subunit, as it binds GDP (guanine diphosphate) when it is inactive, but exchanges GDP for GTP (guanine triphosphat) when active (2) and acts as the "messenger" between the receptor sites and the effector. The beta and gamma subunits aid the alpha subunit to bind to membranes.

Personal Narrative - My Childhood Memories :: Papers

PAIN! Lots of pain! I thought I was dying! I slammed into the ground my leg now at a very odd angle! I screamed! I heard footsteps running towards me screaming for me to answer, but I couldn't find the energy to do so! I closed my eyes and then I fainted! When I was small about six or seven years of age. I remember playing in our local park, on the biggest climbing frame I had ever seen. I would climb so high I'd swear I could reach the sky. I'd play for hours and hours everyday of the summer holidays. But one afternoon was enough to change my view of my climbing adventures of fun and fantasy forever. The excitement disappeared all because of one accident. The day began as usual with my mum taking me to the park to play on the climbing frame and to feed the ducks. My mum and I walked to the duck pond to feed the ducks. I was having a great time. There were big ducks, small ducks, fat ducks and thin ducks every kind of ducks you can imagine some did look pretty funny I remember telling my mom in Vietnamese as that time she didn’t know the English language very well. After feeding the ducks we headed for the climbing frame. I ran down to the climbing frame my mum in hot pursuit. I pushed through the gate as fast as I could, running towards the climbing frame. I quickly began to climb to the top. I could hear my mum below badgering me to slow down. I ignored her! Oh how I wish I'd listened to her instead. It happened all of a sudden, I lost my grip and fell painfully back down to earth I then recall waking up in an ambulance my head throbbing with pain. I felt my face with my shaking hand. My eyes were all wet, I'd been crying. As I opened my eyes a women peered kindly at me! "Hello," she said, "how are you feeling?"

Marketing Planning Essay

Assume you have been appointed as a marketing consultant for Jollibee. As part of the international expansion program, the management wants you to prepare a report to identify marketing opportunities. The report should cover the following information: a) Identify three potential markets for expansion Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is banking on franchising and overseas expansion to continuously boost its earnings in the long run. The aggressive expansion program is in line with doubling the company’s earnings in 5 years, company officials said. JFC board chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said the ideal business mix is 50-50 for franchising and company-owned expansion. JFC’s branches outside the Philippines are all company-owned, except those in the Middle East. In the Philippines, 45% of the stores are company-owned while 55% are franchised. For its overseas expansion, CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said the quick-service restaurant chain plans to expand its global footprint by putting up stores in Malaysia, Myanmar, Europe and Japan â€Å"after five years because we need to focus on China and the US.† JFC is also branching out in Canada next year while the company is still studying prospects in Indonesia, one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. The potential markets for expansion are the following: Three Options for Expansion Papua New Guinea- Raising the Standard New Entrant into 3 store fast food chain Tingzon offered to put up all capital required Hong Kong- Expanding the Base 3 Store already established, possibility of a 4th one. High volume with Filipinos but not with residents (Chinese) 4th store location high traffic but few Filipinos California-Supporting the Settlers Success in Guam led them to believe US had potential Food Appealed to Filipinos and Americans Decided on Daly City-Large Filipino population Plans to appeal to Asian Americans and then Hispanic Americans b) General information about the potential markets (geographical location, capital, population, per capita income, literacy rate, language spoken) Geographical Location Jollibee started with five branches in 1978 and has grown to a strong network of a total of 801 stores in the country, and 96 stores internationally. In total, Jollibee has 896 stores worldwide as of November 2013. It is the largest fast food chain in the country with international locations in Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. JFC is planning to expand Jollibee to other markets like Europe. Asia Brunei (launched 1987) Hong Kong (launched September 1996) Indonesia (to be launched 2015) Kuwait (launched 1995) Malaysia (to be launched 2015) Philippines (main hub) Qatar Saudi Arabia (launched 1995) Singapore (launched 2013) Vietnam (launched October 1996) North America United States (launched 1998) Canada (to be launched 2015) The first Jollibee branch in Vietnam was opened on October 1996 at the Super Bowl in Ho Chi Minh City. To date, Jollibee has more than 30 stores in Vietnam, they are located in the cities of Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, in the provinces of Vinh Phuc, Dong Nai and all provinces in the  Mekong Delta Region. In Hong Kong, there is currently one branch located in Central. At present, it is in the process of being renovated, while the opening of a second branch in the country is currently under consideration. As of end-September 2012, Jollibee was operating 2,040 stores in the Philippines for all of its brands: 765 for Jollibee, 383 for Chowking, 201 for Greenwich, 209 for Red Ribbon, 457 for Mang Inasal and 25 for Burger King. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: There are five million people in Papua New Guinea with extremely limited fast food options. Jollibee can come in and set a high standard, attract many customers, and scare future investors away. However they would have to quickly add three to four stores to be competitive and cover costs. There was also question as to whether the area could handle 20 stores. Either they will get the first mover advantage or they will sustain huge loss. Since the benefits offered by the local partner are uncertain and profit potential is low, Jollibee should not seek to enter New Guinea at this time. HONG KONG: In Hong Kong, Jollibee are located near a very densely populated area, which has a very loyal Filipino customer base. These people gave them great business on the weekends, but sales fell off during the week because the local Hong Kong people rarely frequented the Jollibee establishment. Also, there were tremendous problems with the Chinese stores. All of the managers resigned and many employees quit because the Chinese like to work for Chinese. There was obvious friction between the Chinese and Filipino’s. While the fourth store in Hong Kong represents a valuable learning opportunity, it will not generate the revenues needed to build a global empire. Catering to the local Chinese palette would allow Jollibee to build its competitive advanta ge by learning to balance flexibility in menu offerings with consistency across the global brand. Additionally, a success in cosmopolitan Hong Kong could give Jollibee the brand exposure it needs to attract better partners. However, given the staffing issues and uncertainty involving the local Chinese customer, it would be better for Jollibee to improve its current operations, rather than to commit additional resources to a new store. CALIFORNIA: It will be a very good idea to target the Asian community living in U.S and California is the best place to start from. The intense competitive atmosphere of US fast food market will provide Jollibee tremendous opportunity of global learning. Furthermore, they also discovered that there were many elements of their  restaurants that appealed to Americans. Similarly, there was great support from Filipino-Americans. Likewise, Jollibee was going to expand throughout California before it moved east. They were determined to gain recognition. Another helpful aspect is the diversification of America. In any given city a person can find Chinese, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, American, German, Polish, Indian, and other ethnic restaurants. Americans like to try food of different cultures and there is no reason to believe that we will not try Filipino food. There is very little reason to believe that Jollibee cannot successfully enter the fast food market in the United States. But on the other hand, United States is home to some of Jollibee’s most formidable competitors. As a late-mover, it will be difficult for Jollibee to obtain access to the distribution channels, suppliers, and store locations which allowed it to become a cost leader in the Philippines. Additionally, aside from its experience in Guam, Jollibee does not have any real experience operating in a Western business environment. c) Specific information about each market (legal and ethical requirements, market trends, competitors, size of the market, potential sales volume) Legal and ethical requirements When markets in foreign countries offer a higher profit potential than your home market, it makes sense to expand internationally. As you prepare your expansion and research target markets in other countries, you will often find that the legal structures and ethical frameworks differ substantially from those in the United States. You have to address the legal and ethical issues of your entering these markets to make your expansion a success. Traditional Small Scale Bribery- involves the payment of small sums of money, typically to a foreign official in exchange for him/her violating some official duty or responsibility or to speed routine government actions (grease payments, kickbacks). Large Scale Bribery- a relatively large payment intended to allow a violation of the law or designed to influence policy directly or indirectly (eg, political contribution). Gifts/Favours/Entertainment- includes a range of items such as: lavish physical gifts, call girls, opportunities for personal tr avel at the company`s expense, gifts received after the completion of transaction and  other extravagant expensive entertainment. Pricing – includes unfair differential pricing, questionable invoicing – where the buyer requests a written invoice showing a price other than the actual price paid, pricing to force out local competition, dumping products at prices well below that in the home country, pricing practices that are illegal in the home country but legal in host country (eg, price fixing agreements). Products/Technology – includes products and technology that are banned for use in the home country but permitted in the host country and/or appear unsuitable or inappropriate for use by the people of the host country. Tax Evasion Practices – used specifically to evade tax such as transfer pricing (i.e., where prices paid between affiliates and/or parent company adjusted to affect profit allocation) including the use of tax havens, where any profit made is in low tax jurisdiction, adjusted interest payments on intra-firm loans, questionable management and service fees charged betwee n affiliates and /or the parent company. Illegal/Immoral Activities in the Host Country – practices such as: polluting the environment, maintaining unsafe working conditions; product/technology copying where protection of patents, trademarks or copyrights has not been enforced and short weighting overseas shipments so as to charge a country a phantom weight. Questionable Commissions to Channel Members – unreasonably large commissions of fees paid to channel members, such as sales agents, middlemen, consultants, dealers and importers. Cultural Differences – between cultures involving potential misunderstandings related to the traditional requirements of the exchange process (e.g., transactions) may be regarded by one culture as bribes but be acceptable business practices in another culture. These practices include: gifts, monetary payments, favours, entertainment and political contributions. Involvement in Political Affairs- related to the combination of marketing activities and politics including the following: the exertion of political influence by multinationals, engaging in marketing activities when either home or host countries are at war or illegal technology transfers. Market trends More focus on youths Popular trendy cafà © Wi-Fi internet access Creative location Multi branding Cleanliness environment Competitors Size of the market Claimed market size Jollibee was able to capture 65% of the market share in hamburger market in the Philippines. The JFC reported Php 82 billion by the end of 2011 Based on the annual report of JFC, Jollibee earned Php 50 billion revenue on 2011 Total sales of JFC claiming 65% market share is Php 82 billion. The total market share is Php 126 billion Potential sales volume Local fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. grew its 2013 net profit by 24.5 percent year-on-year to P4.64 billion as sales from its restaurant network here and abroad expanded by a double-digit pace. In the fourth quarter alone, JFC’s net profit rose by 20.3 percent year-on-year to P1.52 billion. System-wide retail sales—a measure of consumer sales from company-owned and franchised stores—grew by 13.9 percent in the fourth quarter and by 12.8 percent for the full year, to P28.87 billion and P104.1 billion, respectively. The full-year retail sales growth marked the highest rate of rise in organic sales in six years and allowed JFC to breach the P100-billion mark for the first time, JFC chief operating officer and incoming chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a statement. Apart from growing its sales volume and distribution network, JFC also unlocked higher margins by improving the operating efficiency of its growing store chain. Net income margin for 2013 increased to 5.8 percent from 5.2 percent the previous year. JFC opened a total of 98 stores in the fourth quarter—the highest number opened in a single quarter in the company’s  35-year history. It ended 2013 with an international store network of 2,764, of which 2,181 are in the Philippines. â€Å"Our progress in building the business has been taking place across our brands in different countries. In the years ahead, we look forward to further strengthening our brands and accelerating our profitable growth by keeping our intense focus on the fundamentals of our business for the benefit of our consumers: Superior product quality and taste, value, service, restaurant experience and store locations made possible by an even stronger JFC organization,† Tanmantiong said. For 2014, Jollibee has earmarked P6.3 billion in capital spending. It will be used to open new stores and renovate old ones. The budget is higher than the P4.1 billion capital outlays in 2013, when the company opened 235 new stores. In the fourth quarter of 2013, system-wide sales in the Philippines alone rose by 12.2 percent, while business grew by 19.2 percent in China, 17.2 percent in the United States, and 35.3 percent in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In Southeast Asia, growth was led by Vietnam, where business rose by 40.2 percent. Same store sales across its global network for the fourth quarter grew by 8-9 percent year-on-year on higher customer traffic and purchases per store. With higher net profit last year, JFC’s return on equity improved to a 15-year high of 21.3 percent from the 18.3 percent seen in 2012. Aside from the flagship Jollibee brand, JFC operates Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal and Burger King. In China, it operates the Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan and San Pin Wang chains. It likewise has a 50-percent stake in the joint venture operating Highlands Coffee (in Vietnam and the Philippines), Pho24 (in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau and Cambodia) and 12 Sabu (China). d) An assessment of external factors for each market (PEST analysis) The general environment consisting of 6 segments and the analysis of its effects on Jollibee is as shown below. Demographic In the local Philippines context, the million consumers walking into Jollibee’s stores daily represent strong demand for its products. The uniqueness of the geographical landscape of Philippines has also made it a challenge for fast-food companies. Globally, there are many Filipinos workers situated in the overseas market, especially in the United States where there are estimated to be around 2 million Filipino immigrants.  Besides the US, many Filipinos are also situated in parts of Asia such as Hong Kong, Brunei and Indonesia. Not limiting to Filipinos, their stores have also attracted other Asians to eat at their restaurants. Economic The growing economic capabilities of developing countries have attracted major players in the fast food industry to establish their stores there. Likewise for Jollibee, the growing market possibilities in Indonesia for Chinese food enabled Jollibee to venture into the market by introduction of Chowking Brand. The potential China market for fast food also led Jollibee to acquire 85 percent ownership in Yong he King Chain. Sociocultural The social and cultural of each country differs from one another. For example, a Chinese might prefer to have noodles instead of rice in Japan. In our case of Jollibee, the â€Å"langhap-sarap† concept adopted by them may be hugely popular to Filipinos consumers, but this concept may not do so well in global markets. Foreign consumers might not like the traditional taste of Jollibee’s food, as compared to bigger global players such as McDonald. Global The ever changing global landscape is one of the critical factors Jollibee has to consider. As illustrated in the case study, Philippines have seen major global players entering the fast-food market having a take on this pie. Although Jollibee have always been the dominant in this segment, competing in foreign markets seems to be in a different story. Not only they have to penetrate the foreign market with their proven and successful local recipe, they would also have to compete against already established players such as McDonald, Wendy’s and KFC. e) Estimate the costs, risks, financial viability for each market. Papua New Guinea: Raising the Standard In early 1996, at the recommendation of Quality Assurance Manager Gil Salvosa, a local New Guinea entrepreneur in the poultry business approached Tony Kitchner about a Jollibee franchise. He described a country of five million people served by only one poorly managed, 3-store fast-food chain, that had recently broken ties with its Australian chicken restaurant franchise. â€Å"Port Moresby does not have a  single decent place to eat, â€Å"he told Kitchner. He believed Jollibee could raise the quality of service and food enough to take much of the Australian chain’s market share while discouraging further entrants. Although the original plan had been to open just one store in the foreseeable future—in the capital, Port Moresby—Tingzon was certain that the franchisee could only cover the costs of developing the market if he put in at least three or four stores soon after. But he was uncertain whether Papua New Guinea coul d support the 20 stores that he saw as the target critical mass for new markets. (For comparison, in the Philippines, approximately 1,200 fast food outlets competed for the business of 75 million people. GNP per capita in both countries was almost at US$2,500.) Hong Kong: Expanding the Base Also on Tingzon’s plate was a proposal to expand to a fourth store in Hong Kong. The franchise, owned by Jollibee in partnership with local businessmen and managed by Tommy King, TTC’s brother-in-law, opened its first store in September 1996 to instant, overwhelming success. Located near a major transit hub in the Central district, it became a gathering place for Filipino expatriates, primarily domestic workers. However, appealing to the locals had proven more difficult. While volume was high on weekends, when the Filipinos came to Central to socialize, it fell off during the week, when business was primarily from local office workers. Although two more stores in Central had attracted many Filipinos, they both relied extensively on Chinese customers and generated sales of only about one-third of the first outlet. One problem was that, despite strenuous efforts, Jollibee had been unable to hire many local Chinese as crew members. According to one manager, Chinese customers who did not speak English well were worried that they would be embarrassed if they were not understood by the predominantly Philippine and Nepalese counter staff. Another problem was that in a city dominated by McDonald’s, Jollibee’s brand recognition among locals was weak. Working with Henry Shih, the sub-franchisee who owned the second store, Jollibee staffs were trying to help launch a thematic advertising campaign, but due to the Hong Kong operation’s small size, the franchise could not inject sufficient funds. California: Supporting the Settlers Soon after signing his contract, Tingzon had learned of year-old plan to open one Jollibee store per quarter in California starting in the first quarter of 1998.Supporting TTC’s long-held belief that Jollibee could win enormous  prestige and publicity by gaining foothold in the birthplace of fast food, Kitchner had drawn up plans with a group of Manila-based busine ssmen as 40% partners in the venture. Once the company stores were established, they hoped to franchise in California and beyond in 1999.Much of the confidence for this bold expansion plan came from Jollibee’s success in Guam, a territory of the US. Although they initially targeted the 25% of the population of Filipino extraction, management discovered that their menu appealed to other groups of Americans based there. They also found they could adapt the labor-intensive Philippine operating methods by developing different equipment and cooking processes more in keeping with a high labor cost environment. In the words of one International Division veteran, â€Å"In Guam, we learned how to do business in the United States. After succeeding there, we felt we were ready for the mainland. â€Å"The plan called for the first store to be located in Daly City, a community with a large Filipino population but relatively low concentration of fast-food competitors in the San Francisco area. (With more than a million immigrants from the Philippines living in California, most relatively affluent, this state had one of the highest concentrations of Filipino expatriates in the world.) The menu would be transplanted from the Philippines without changes. After initially targeting Filipinos, the plan was to branch out geographically to the San Francisco and San Diego regions, and demographically to appeal to other Asian-American and, eventually, Hispanic-American consumers. The hope was that Jollibee would then expand to all consumers throughout the U.S.Like the expansion strategies in PNG and Hong Kong, this project had momentum behind it, including visible support from Filipino-Americans, strong interest of local investors, and, not least,TTC’s great interest in succeeding in McDonald’s back-yard. f) Rank the opportunities in terms of their viability and likely contribution to the business According to the corporate website, Jollibee International currently has over 50 locations in Brunei, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and U.S. There are now a total of 26 Jollibee stores in the U.S. including 9 stores in Northern California, 15 stores in Southern California, one store in Las Vegas, and one store in New York. According to Jollibee’s website, the company has modified its global strategy and stopped international  franchising temporary. The California franchise has been a success. Since opening the first U.S. store in Daly City in 1998, the company has expanded their U.S. presence to a total of 26 stores. The company has the advantage in the California market because there are a lot new immigrants entering the state with 80,000 Filipino migrating per year. Jollibee currently has only one Hong Kong store located in Central, implying that at least two Central stores have been closed since 1998 in addition to the Kowloon district store. Finally, there is no Jollibee presence in Papua New Guinea indicating that efforts to expand to this country were not successful. References: http://www.pinoyinvestor.com/smartinvestor/jollibee-banks-on-franchising-overseas-expansion-to-boost-long-term-earnings-04-aug-2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jollibee http://www.allfreepapers.com/print/Jollibee–Case-Study-Analysis/1794.html http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/12111.pdf http://business.inquirer.net/164038/jollibee-13-profit-up-24-5 http://nhobeelab.weebly.com/industry-analysis.html