The Business Operation of Sweetie Upcycled Dolls - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2800 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Describe the business operation, including the role of the website and the role of the third parties with: Making contact Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would search for potential buyers through two ways, there are (1) meeting the unmet or under-served buyers, and (2) approaches to market segmentation. Firstly Sweetie Upcycled Dolls may reach the unmet or under-served buyers through create more efficient markets in Malaysian, create more efficient value system and enable ease of access. Ecommerce create more efficient markets by provide lower searching cost and transaction cost compare to traditional form of business. Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would reduce the product searching cost such as time spent on products searching, travelling cost and price discovery cost. Through the website service provided by Sweetie Upcycled Dolls, customers can easily access to product feature information, user instruction and make price comparison with others sellers through online servi ce, thus it is convenience and time saving compare to offline dolls business. Therefore, Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would minimize the business transaction cost by standardize the transaction across the board, compared to the traditional type business method that calculate transaction cost subject to business expenditures and the actual number of transaction. At the same time, Sweetie Upcycled Dolls Ecommerce would reduce labor and other costs by replacing traditional business methods of document preparation, telephone calling, data entry and overtime expenses with email and electronic invoicing which create more efficient internet-based value chain. Sweetie Upcycled Doll would also employ the marketing communication strategy that must integrate with other marketing tools, such as mobile social apps Line and Sweetie Upcycled Dollsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ mobile app in order to add convenience with the online offerings. Sweetie Upcycled Dolls also create value proposition to customer throug h greater access on information about pricing. Sweetie Upcycled Dolls also make segmentation approach through stage of behavioral and benefits. Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would target and approach the market through behavioral segmentation which divides market based on how customers actually buy and use the products. Example, Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would target parents, teenagers or doll collectors, because this group of people are the person who willing spend and buy for the products offering by Sweetie Upcycled Dolls. On the other hand, Sweetie Upcycled Dolls also would approach the target the benefits segmentation market which divided market based on the benefits or qualities sought from products. Example, the target market that looks at the true benefit that sought by Sweetie Upcycled Dolls. Marketing communication strategies that employ by Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would via web service, thus online marketing tools play a crucial role in making contact between sellers and buyers, s uch as banners and text ads would employ by Sweetie Upcyled Dolls in promote and market the product offering by the ecommerce. Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would tie together its own site with online social media marketing such as Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, Google + and YouTube, at the same time Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would also maximize the benefit of partnering with online intermediaries such as blog. In order to create brand awareness and loyalty, Sweetie Upcycled Dolls would continuously advertising the products and company name through different type of contact channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, Blog and others Price discovery Modem form of economy, electronic business has put buyers in a better bargaining position compare to traditional type of brick and mortal business. Through ecommerce, buyers always can quickly and easily compare products and prices under the assistance of Internet, wireless network and corporate network. Thus, Sweetie Upc ycled Dolls would customize the product and price based on the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ buying habits, spending limit and preferences detail through customers collected data online, in order to offer right price to the right person at the right time. Price customization has become an integral part of electronic commerce (Narahari, Raju, Ravikumar Sourabh Shah, 2005). According to xxx indicate that in the financial markets the price discovery is one of the essential functions. Price discovery is described as the search for an equilibrium price and gathering and interpreting news and the incorporation of the information implicit in investor trading into market prices. (Schreiber and Schwarts, 1986 Baillie, et.al, 2002 and Lehman, 2002). Since Sweetie Barbie dolls is first mover in Malaysia so we are able to enjoy market share in markets. Sweetie Barbie dolls decide the price depend on the economic in the Malaysia market. The pricing approach that Sweetie upcycled doll use is d ecrease prices predictable. The price is transparency which have provided on the site. Based on the customer knowledge increase about the product, the sellers will adjust the reduction of price and standardized to fulfill the customers. The Sweetie will provide the price tag for each product in the website for customers to know the price quickly. Next, Cost plus pricing is to add profit margin to operational costs. This means products is adding regular mark-up prices for pricing decision such as direct labor costs, and materials costs (Accounting tools, n.d.). The materials costs such as the dolls still in unfinished products, dress for the dolls, shoes and others. Hence, the direct labour costs mean that the workers help to transfer the dolls into finished products. Besides this, if the customer purchase unfinished dolls or DIY series product will be cheaper than finished products. This means DIY series products already exclude the labor costs. The website provide DIY series pro duct or finished product for customer to choose because the customer might want to try to do their own dolls. On the other hands, the customer can buy finished product to make as a sample for their DIY series. Besides, the Sweetie Dolls will come out with many series or seasoning dolls for customers to purchase. Therefore, cost plus pricing can help Sweetie upcycled dolls to gain the profits in future. 3. Generating product experience Sweetie Barbie doll is a web based business. Web based business is a low startup cost for a new business and easily to get a website to sell the products. Sweetie is an online store that design consist an ease of use and purchase, functionally, simple graphics with information about products and legible text. This is to make customer feel more relax by using Sweetieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s site to purchase the product. Moreover, customers are easily to look for products due to this site have provided good information of each product. On this websit e, the customer can have convincing experiences which provide interactively, entertainment and human interest to use. For interactively example, customers have a forum to share information or chatting between the customers or sellers. In our online store, customer can easily to discover more about our productsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ information such as operation side and history of these products. Besides this, consumer can easily to surf our website due to simple graphic which avoids distracting and obnoxious graphical. Hence, the simple design look of website is easy for customer to use and search information they want about the products. Then, customer can enjoy few clicks to purchase service to quicker to purchase a product. Sweetie upcycled doll online store use a simple and ease of use website to attract the customers. Therefore, Sweetie upcycled online store will also organize competition activities to create the awareness of brand name. For example, Sweetie can organize com petition activities in online social website such as Facebook to encourage the readers the click à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“likeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  before join the competition and share to their friends to click like for the page. Hence, this can increase and expose the brand name of Sweetie to public. Additionally, these activities can create awareness of green environment to public to draw their attention. Consequently, customers can give any feedback and comments to the site and it will be responded quickly to let the customers have better experience for purchasing products in the site. 4. Commitment In Sweetie upcycled doll website has user agreement for users who already acceptance through the registration of a Sweetie upcycled account. The user agreement and all policies have posted in our website. Then, the users have to agree to confirm the agreement before using our sites services. After make agreement, buyer will receive an email for confirmation and acceptances become the user of Sweetie upcycled doll. The contract between sellers and buyer will be done after the company has sent the productsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ information to customer and customers make sure to read and go through all the information before making any transaction. For become Sweetie members, the users can refers to the personal profile to check the status ad record of online transaction. Besides, the websites also provide customer services for customers to answer their questions. For example, customer can track their package, the rate of shipping, and others. Hence, customers can easily settle their question by provided answers. Besides, our website also provides online chat for buyers and seller can communicate while surfing online. Then, customers can direct ask their problem with on duty workers online. Sweetie upcycled online store will try to solve the buyersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ problem. 5. Payment The flourish of e-commerce was encourages the demand for the product purchase d via the Internet for the service of payments. In e-commerce the payment systems of suppliers can be divided into two groups which are, (1) banks and acquires and (2) non- bank intermediaries which offering payment based on different type of innovative solutions. Online payment defined as customer or buyer use internet to make certain payment transactions when purchased for the goods and services. Online payment for businesses can lower the costs of transaction when more payment was made and will spend less for paper and postage. Hence, online payment also helps to increase the customer retention because the detail and information of the customers was entered and stored in the same e-commerce site. Moreover, online payment is convenience for customer to make payment in any places just a click of a mouse and not necessary for the customers to be in a long queue as payment. Electronic payment systems allow customer to pay online for the goods and services by using hardware and sof tware systems. Electronic payment systems are most focus on improve security and customer convenience and to increase efficiency and ease of use to make payment. There are some methods and tools that can allow electronic payment system to implementation. Online payment methods included cards payment, alternative payment and digital wallet payment. The cards payment include credit cards, debit cards, or stored value cards. Hence, alternative payment such as online bank transfer or direct debit. Digital wallet payments such as Paypals or Google wallet are use as online payment merchants. According to Laudon and Traver (2002) defined that credit cards is functionality use for online shopping payment tools. Hence, the credit cards also are the famous payment method in global online payment (OECD, 2006). Therefore, customers was generally accepted this payment system and merchants throughout the world. There have several advantage of this cards payment system such as privacy, good tra nsaction efficiency, acceptability, convenience, mobility, low financial risk and compatibility (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). These advantages were never available in traditional payment system. Since 1996, debit card transactions have been growing at over twenty percent per year at the point of sale and now surpass credit card transactions. According to Jonker and Nicole (2005) stated that debit card are most frequently used by younger, better-educated individuals. This is because debit cards are draw from liquidity hence credit cards are draw from debt. Debit cards are most favorite way of customer to choose for payments. Debit cards are linked to customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ account in banks which have two types included signature-based and PIN-based. Both functions usually exist in one card. As conclude, debit cards are becoming the leading form of payment in electronic payment systems. A stored value card is like a universal gift card which issued in a given amount of money use d to make purchase in any time. The individual holds the store valued card can deposits money into an account before to make payment. The stored value card is an independent card from any bank account which has brings unique benefits and risks for users. A store value cards can used to make payment for buying goods and services. Additionally store value card was store customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ information electronically on a magnetic stripe or computer chip. Normally, store value cards have held all the needed information to identify the card and its value. For example, customer can check the balance recorded when make a purchase at a merchantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s point of sale terminal. When business used this payment tool, the people will become more loyal and spend more money on certain online shopping websites. As a result, Sweetie upcycle Barbie has provide payment methods included credit cards, debit cards, store value cards, online transaction and paypals for customers to choose for their convenience payments methods. 6. Fulfillment or deliveries Order fulfillment is a main procedure in managing the supply chain in an organization (Keely, 2002). Next, order fulfillment included filling, generating, delivering and servicing customer orders. Therefore, management must propose a network and a fulfillment process to meet the customer need in order to maximize profitability before accomplish these tasks. The orders received from customers and ends with the finished good deliveries. The main objectives of the order fulfillment performance can be separate into two propositions: (1) fulfill the customer order by delivering the qualified product at the right time and right place, and (2) to handle uncertainties from external or internal environment quickly (Chirstopher, 1992 Goldman, Nagal and Preiss, 1995). Companies must adapt quickly to market as order fulfillment performance has become more important. Sweetie online store have a good logistic sy stem for delivering the product to customers. Therefore, Sweetie online store will cooperate with Gdex transportation to send out the product to buyersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ house after receives the order from buyer. Buyers can put the products into shopping cart before make an order. Hence, buyers can review the ordered goods for accumulate productsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ price list that have added into cart. After buyers have make payment, Sweetie will quickly make invoice for operation side to process. The operational side wills quickly packing the products, shipping and delivery within the time. Sweetie online store is trying to fulfillment the buyersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ wants which is quickly delivery product with good condition. The buyer can return the product within 3-5 days if notice the product was damaged or wrong order. Sweetie online store will check back the order and solve the problem for mistake. On the other hand, Sweetie Upcycled store will sent to the customer al the deli very information for customer can track their product after purchase from site. Hence, these make customers feel happier and gain more confidence with the services. 7. Issues- culture, managing infrastructure and business risks. Sweetie upcycled dolls is a new business then would be lack of knowledge to plan the business become fluent. Business risk such as financial risks will occurs in this business. For example, when the order is inability to take, issues wrong invoice and customer defection. These will affect the profit of business dropped. This make the customer feel loss confidence with the online company. Hence, the business risks are marketing risks. For example, supplier increase the price of doll cause price risks occurs. Owner forces to rise up the price to recover the costs. Hence, Sweetie online store have to take action to prevent this risks happen in future. Next issues in this new business will be the managing infrastructure. The infrastructures that Swee tie will be cooperate with the Gdex Company to send the product for customers. But, the unexpected condition will happened due to delay arrive to customer. This will influence the online reputation of business. Therefore, the Sweetie online stores try to prevent these issues in the future. Jonker, Nicole, Payment Instruments as Perceived by Consumers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a Public Survey,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  September 2005. Working paper, De Nederlandsche Bank. Laudon, C. K. Traver, C. (2002). E-Commerce. New Delhi: Pearson Education. Narahari, Y., Raju, C. V. L., Ravikumar, K., Sourabh Sah. (2005). Dynamic pricing models fo electronic business. Sadhana, 30 (12), 231-256. OECD, (2006). Online Payment Systems for E-commerce. OECD Digital Economy Papers, 117, OECD publishing. Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive strategy:Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors, free press NY. Rahbar, E., Nabsiah, A. W. (2010). The Malaysian consumer and the environment: purchase behavior. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, 2(4), 323-336. Singh Sumanjeet. (2009). Emergence of payment systems in the age of electronic commerce: the state of art. Asia Pacific Journal of Finance and Banking Research, 3(3). Wilson, D. T. (1995). An Integrated Model of Buyer-Seller Relationships. Institute for the Study of Business Markets The Pennsylvania State University. ISBM Report lo-1995. Keely L. Croxton, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Order Fulfillment Process,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 14, No. 1 (2002), pp. 19-32. https://scm-institute.org/booksamples/PageOneOfChapter06.pdf https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~jssong/bio/Publications/atoqueue.pdf https://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/divisions/text/cyr/readings/Ricker_KalakotaT3P1R2.pdf Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Business Operation of Sweetie Upcycled Dolls" essay for you Create order

Analysis For The Picture Example

Essays on Analysis For The Picture Coursework Analysis for the picture Speaking of formal visual elements of the painting, one might point out that it features soft lines with no sharp angles, dark colors dominate the canvas, the texture is perceived as elastic; the shapes of the objects depicted are primarily round. As for the way each of the elements is connected to another, one might argue that the painting is certainly balanced. On the one hand, there is an easily observed symmetry: face, eyes, nose, mouth and torso can be easily divided in two by a vertical line. On the other hand, there are objects which are placed chaotically; however, they are aligned and balance each other.I believe that the most essential component of the painting is the goggles that are worn by the main character. The reason why it is so important is that it contributes to the formation of a particular meaning of the painting and can be interpreted more or less in one way while any other element is quite ambiguous. There is no doubt that one can obser ve a working visual system in general: the colors are dark, a character is shown wearing protective elements such as goggles or a suit. All this results in a particular meaning: this person lives in a hostile environment. In addition to that, some parts of the meaning are conveyed through formal language. For example, his nose is painted red which is a bright color that reflect danger or pain; the background is dark which makes is dangerous as well.

Tqm Final Project Free Essays

string(32) " as pleased as they used to be\." ASSIGNMENT OF Total Quality Management Submitted To: Prof. Sajid Javaid Akbar Submitted By: M. Farhan Akhtar [Group Leader] Section: â€Å"D† Roll No: 835 B. We will write a custom essay sample on Tqm Final Project or any similar topic only for you Order Now Com (HONS), Semester: VI Topic: â€Å"Employee Involvement† HAILEY COLLEGE OF COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB |Sr # |Group members |Roll No. |1 |Muhammad Salman nisar |818 | |2 |Muhammad Uzair Bin Nasir |822 | |3 |Adnan Javed |830 | |4 |Muhammad Farhan Akhtar |835 | | |[Group Leader] | | |5 |Khizer Ali |875 | To Whom It May Concern: We allowed the group, lead by Mr. Muhammad Farhan Akhtar, of Hailey College of Commerce, to conduct the research for their course, Total Quality Management, on the topic of Employee Involvement. Nasir Mahmood Director, Madina Builders. |Sr # |Table of Contents |Page No. |1 |Executive Sumary |09 | |2 |Research Proposal Overview |11 | |3 |Research project Overview |15 | |4 |Observation and Preliminary Data Gathering |18 | |5 |Problem Definition |19 | |6 |Theoretical Framework |20 | |7 |Relationship Between Variables |25 | |8 |Hypothesis |27 | |9 |Questionnaire Sample |29 | |10 |Analysis And Interpretation |30 | |11 |Deduction |33 | |12 |Re ference |34 | Acknowledgement First I bow my head before Almighty Allah who has enable me to write on this assignment.. I am also indebted to my respected Instructor Prof. Sajid Javaid Akbar whose guidance encouraged me in writing this Project. I am also thankful to my friends who provided me the help and suggestions when and where needed. Dedication We dedicated our project To our respected Teacher â€Å"Prof. Sajid Javaid Akbar† Proposal For EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT while working at MADINA TRADERS (a Construction Company). Executive Summary The purpose of the research report is to ascertain the level of EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT while working at MADINA TRADERS (a Construction Company). That the company realizes that their employees are not as involved as they should be , so being a researcher we conduct some research on it. We design a questionnaire related to their problem to the target Employees and distribute this questionnaire to the Employees to get their feedback to solve the problem. If you want to retain your Employees, learn what their expectations are and do what you can to increase their motivation level, their commitment and making work a positive experience. Managers are worried about the increasing hesitation and changing attitude of Employees so, in order to know the Employees Involvement level and want to identify the factors which cause the changing commitment motivation level. The purpose of our study is to know how to improve the Employees Involvement level and its commitment at MADINA TRADERS. So that the management makes good efforts to ensure availability of good services to the customer. So, the research team of 5 members having research educational background will be assigned to study the factors. The scientific research design and methodology will be adopted for designing, collecting and analyzing the data and the results will be proposed to managers helping them get their reputation back. Before starting the research the appropriate time and budget is projected and allocated to the research. The non-probability sampling technique is used to construct the sample from at MADINA TRADERS. The data is collected through a structured questionnaire and some of the unstructured questions. [pic] Problem Statement: The management’s concern about Employees Involvement while working at Madina Builders. Research Objective: The purpose of our study is to know how to improve the Employees Involvement level and its commitment while working at Madina Builders. So that the management makes good efforts to ensure availability of good services to the customer. Literature Review: There’s a lot of research had already been done on while working at Madina Builders. But not as such in Pakistan. Importance of study: We are concern to while working at Madina Builders, regarding working at Madina Builders. Research Design: ? Purpose of study: `Descriptive Study ? Unit of Analysis: Individuals ? Time Dimension: Cross sectional study ? Mode of investigation: Casual ? Sampling Design: Non-Probability ? Extent of researcher interface: Full control ? Data collection method: Primary Ethical Requirements: A good Ethical conduct will be adopted while conducting research. So that no body either respondent, sponsor or the research team suffer adverse consequences from research activities. Nature and form of result: Result is given in the following forms: ? Graphs ? Charts ? Description ? Tables etc†¦ Qualification of researcher: B. Com (HONS) 6th Semester†¦ Engage in class study project. Budget: The following are the cost which spent on this project. Cost summary Travel cost500 Questionnaire development250 Printing cost200 Data entry150 Refreshment during Interviews400 Telephone200 Total cost1700/- Schedule of project: ? Meeting among research team members. ? Meeting between Research team and management. ? Interaction with subject/respondent. ? Filling of questionnaire ? Making Project Report Facilities and Special resources: We are expecting Coordination and corporation from the management of the Departmental Store. [pic][pic] Project Report On â€Å"EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT† Phases and task steps in Project Study Phase I: Determination of the information research problem. Task Step 1: Determine and clarify management’s information needs. Task Step 2: Redefine the management problem as a research problem. Task Step 3: Establish research objectives and determine the value of the information. Phase II: Development of the appropriate research design. Task Step 4: Determine and evaluate the research design and data sources. Task Step 5: Determine the sample plan and sample size. Task Step 6: Determine the measurement issues and scales. Phase III: Execution of the research design. Task Step 7: Collect and process data. Task Step 8: Analyze data. Task Step 9: Transform data structures into information. Phase IV: Communication of the results. Task Step 10: Prepare and present final report to management. Background Here we give the history and information of the company. The firm was established about Three years ago with a motive of flourishing and providing better emplacement opportunities to the people concerning this business and also to earn livelihood for us and for our employees. Principal of the company 1. Mr. Mahhmood Ghaznavi (DAE Civil) 2. Mr. Nasir Mahmood (CA finalist) Company Profile Name of Company Madina Builders Engineers, contractors General order suppliers Address Office No # 4, Forth floor, Zuhra Heights, Main Market, Gulberg, Lahore. List of Employees 1. B. Sc Civil Engineer2 2. B. Sc Mechanical Engineer1 3. Sub Engineer2 4. Quality Surveyor1 5. Work Supervisor3 6. Operator Cum Mechanic1 7. Skilled Labor6 8. Labor9 9. Plumber1 10. Electrician1 11. Peon2 12. Driver 2 13. Chokidar3 Step 1: Observation The manager of the departmental store observes that customers are perhaps not as pleased as they used to be. You read "Tqm Final Project" in category "Essay examples" The manager may not be certain that this is really the problem but may experience anxiety and some uneasiness that customer satisfaction is on the decline. Step 2: Preliminary data gathering As we study the manager’s observation we discover the undisguised structured, direct and non-participant observation. ? Employees qualify to be the participant of data collection. ? The management’s concern about Employees Involvement while working at Madina Builders (a Construction Company). ? We get Employees response at the work days because of the availability of majority of the Employees. ? Direct interaction with Employees through Questionnaires and interviews. ? The place of study is a Construction site. Purpose of preliminary data collection. Our purpose to collect preliminary to identify and solve the management problem. And to convert management problem into research problem. Sources of Data Collection: ? Questionnaire ? Interviews ? Observation ? Survey ? Internet ? Books ? Publications ? Journals Primary data collecting will help us to develop a theoretical framework and a testable hypothesis and to solve the problem with precision and clarity and ensure us that important variable is not left out from the study. So our efforts are not wasted on the already known things to the management. Step 3: Problem Definition â€Å"Decrease in Motivation and Employee Involvement level† Step 4: Theoretical Framework Introduction to EMPLOYEES INVOLVEMENT: Getting employees’ ideas and getting their involvement is critical in our rapidly changing world. If your company is going to be competitive, it’s mandatory to involve not just hands, but the ideas from everyone in your organization. by Gregory P. Smith Why is it important to capture ideas and suggestions? For starters, the process improves individual motivation and morale. Involvement programs help capture the creativity, energy, and ideas many people have. They also allow departments and individuals to work cross-functionally, and create an environment of learning and constant renewal. They improve work methods and processes continually, reduce the costs of doing business, improve safety, and reduce accidents. Exchanging ideas always improves communication and the knowledge that top management is open and willing to act on the ideas improves trust. Instead of passing untested ideas up the chain of command, the employee who originates an idea has responsibility for its achievement. They follow a three-step work process: ? Study it ? Pilot it ? Adopt it Idea Campaigns. Most suggestion programs fail. Suggestion boxes sit and collect dust and approved suggestions are few and far between. An effective variation to the suggestion program is the Idea Campaign. Over and done with in three weeks, this steroid-enriched campaign generates hundreds of ideas. The goal is to get at least one idea from everyone in the organization. For the first idea, each person receives a small token of appreciation such as a coffee cup. A second idea is acknowledged with another form of appreciation. At the end of each week, a special award ceremony recognizes everyone who turned in ideas or suggestions Suggestion System: ? An employee (associate) idea process openly invites ideas from individuals or groups in an organization. ? Each idea is treated with respect, fairly evaluated and every effort is made to work toward its timely closure, striving to implement every idea possible. ? Feedback and mentoring is invested with the participants so they can clearly define their ideas and the future ideas they develop. ? All people involved in the process are appropriately recognized and acknowledged for their efforts. A result of the process improves all aspects of the organization and is a rewarding experience for participants. Employee involvement in Total Quality Management Total Quality Management is one of the major â€Å"workplace change† programmes used in Britain, but few studies have addressed the effects o n employees. New research evidence questions optimistic and pessimistic accounts, finding that TQM is widely welcomed but that it does not lead to â€Å"empowerment†, and that success depends on certain conditions, notably job security. Employee Involvement Analysis falls into two main types: ? optimistic texts, which often prescribe ways of implementing TQM and assume a welcome from employees; and ? ritical studies, which either (a) equate TQM with intensified managerial control under the pretence of â€Å"empowerment† or (b) accept that TQM can be effective, but argue that in practice poor implementation has undermined this promise. The critical studies often argue that TQM undermines the representative role of trade unions by strengthening direct links between employer and employee. (a) Employee views More than four-fifths of the sample of employees saw quality as the crucial issue for their organisations or as very important. Almost two-thirds felt that employees h ad a â€Å"great deal† or a â€Å"fair amount† of influence over quality, and over 70 per cent felt that their own involvement in problem-solving had increased. Five employees in six identified the presence of meetings designed for problem-solving. Of the sample, 72% felt that there had been an increase in communication activity recently. The most favourably evaluated method was team briefing, followed by informal communication with individual managers. It was direct, face-to-face, communication which employees most valued. Workers also reported more stress and higher levels of work effort. A key result was that reported levels of trust between management and worker were no higher than in organisations without TQM initiatives. (b) Management and worker expectations Many proponents of TQM claim that it â€Å"empowers† workers. Critics equate it with work intensification and stress. The study finds that neither picture is accurate. Managements in the organisations studied did not use the language of empowerment and had more pragmatic goals. One manager summed this up: â€Å"empowerment is not a word used at local level; we can and do involve people more but we need to have constraints†. Workers reported higher effort levels, but most liked the pace at which they worked. Those who were working harder and who were most subject to the measurement of their performance were also the most likely to favour quality programmes. These programmes seem to promote a narrowly focused but real sense of discipline and purpose, rather than being a means to make workers work harder, the report concludes. c) Conditions for success Acceptance of TQM was greatest where several conditions prevailed. ? A strong sense of job security was a key element in encouraging acceptance of quality initiatives. ? Training was important; it was not the overall amount which mattered, but the extent to which programmes were specifically link ed to quality or teamwork. ? Cooperative relationships with employee representatives were an important element in easing the acceptance of TQM. All the case study firms were unionised, and it was found that firms which maintained working relationships with their unions were also the most likely to maintain their quality programmes effectively. Short-term pressures tended to undermine TQM initiatives. They were of two kinds: production pressures, which made it hard for quality activities to be maintained; and financial pressures, which could reduce the resources for and commitment to TQM. Do employee involvement and TQM programs work? The employee involvement literature emphasizes design of the work and business units for fuller business involvement and employee motivation. In addition, employee involvement emphasizes making the employee a stakeholder in business performance There is a strong correlation between the adoption of employee involvement approaches and the use of TQM pract ices†¦ The extent to which companies employ the core TQM practices, the production-oriented practices, collaboration with customers, and cost-of-quality monitoring all have a highly significant relationship to our measure of overall employee involvement use. The relationship to the development of knowledge and skills is particularly strong, demonstrating the strong emphasis in TQM programs on the development of skills. TQM’s relationship to power sharing is also very strong, reflecting the focus in TQM on problem solving and decision making groups in general and on work cells and teams. The findings with respect to the combined impact of TQM and El are not unexpected: most TQM proponents advocate high levels of employee involvement as part of their TQM efforts. However, the findings do make a very important point: the impact of TQM programs that do not also include El practices will be less positive both for employee outcomes and for performance outcomes. TQM Defined TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc. ) to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives. TQM is the foundation for activities, which include: ? Commitment by senior management and all employees ? Meeting customer requirements ? Reducing development cycle times ? Just In Time/Demand Flow Manufacturing ? Improvement teams ? Reducing product and service costs ? Systems to facilitate improvement ? Line Management ownership ? Employee involvement and empowerment ? Recognition and celebration Challenging quantified goals and benchmarking ? Focus on processes / improvement plans ? Specific incorporation in strategic planning There are three ma jor mechanisms of prevention: 1. Preventing mistakes (defects) from occurring 2. Where mistakes can’t be absolutely prevented, detecting them early to prevent them being passed down the value added chain (Inspection at source or by the next operation). 3. Where mistakes recur, stopping production until the process can be corrected, to prevent the production of more defects. (Stop in time). Identify Variables At this step we identify the possible variables and elaborate the relationship among them. Then we describe the nature and direction of these variables. Identify variables: ? Wages ? Working place ? Working hours ? Management behavior ? employees participation Labeling: INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLES Relation between Variables INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLES Step 5: Generation of Hypothesis ? If wages are good than the Employee involvement will increase. ? If working place is good than the Employee involvement will increase. ? If working hours are suitable than the Employee involvement will increase. ? If management behavior is good than the Employee involvement will increase. If employees are allowed to express their view than the Employee involvement will increase. Possible Outcomes: Possibility 1. ? If wages than the Employee involvement ? If working place than the Employee involvement ? If working hours than the Employee involvement ? If management behavior than the Employee involvement ? If employee participation than the Employee involv ement Possibility 2: ? If wages than the Employee involvement ? If working place than the Employee involvement ? If working hours than the Employee involvement ? If management behavior than the Employee involvement If employee participation than the Employee involvement Step 6: Research Design As we know that decrease in Employee Involvement level is our current problem, so that’s why we design research in such a way that after conducting research we will able to identify, what the main causes of that particular problem. In this section we follow the following steps: Sample Selection In this we select the sample (to whom we are going to research). i-e number of person. Data collection We did test the questionnaire with a small sample of Employees using Construction site. The instruments submitted for design an effective questionnaire and then distributed as we can. Questionnaire We are conducting a research to know Employee’s Satisfaction level while working at Madina Builders. Q-1 Are You Happy With Behavior Of: Good Average Poor 1. Top Management 2. Colleagues Q-2 Facilities Provided By Company: Yes No Transport Medical Other Q-3 Are You happy With The Working Environment: YesNoNo opinion Q-4 Are Wages Salaries Paid On Time : YesNoNo opinion Q-5 Working Hours Are In Accordance With The Labor Law: YesNoNo opinion Q-6 You Are Provided The Necessary Tools Machinery For Work: Yes NO No opinion Q-7 Your Experience Of Working At Madina Builders : ExcellentGoodBad Q-8 Any improvement you want in Madina Builders? (Suggestions) | Survey collected by: Step 7: Analysis and Interpretation DATA ANALYSES: We reviewed the questionnaire which return and make a weekly report listing Employees who were dissatisfied or who submit negative comments. We improved timeline in resolving Employees complaints each month we make a report consisting of frequencies and categ ory percentages for each question. We proposed to include at least one question dealing with overall satisfaction. A performance grid will identify items need improvement with an evaluation of priority. Interpretation of data with the help of graphs: [pic] Employees are satisfied with the behavior of: [pic] Facilities Provided By Company: [pic] Employees are happy with the environment: [pic] Working Hours Are In Accordance With The Labor Law: |Variables: |% of | | |Persons | |Yes |71 | |No |20 | |No Opinion |9 | Figures in %age* Step 8: Deduction We all the group members worked with devotion to identify the variables that affect the sale. We worked in a team and experienced the quality of team building in us. Every member of us has done her work on the given time, which the team leader assigns to every member. In this time span in which we complete our project, there is a management in our whole session. For example, time management, self management, financial management etc. So from all above study there is a reason to believe that there are certain factors responsible for the specific problem upon which we are focused our research. We identified all factors and give suggestions in form of Hypothesis which contribute to bring back the desired Consumers Satisfaction level. Conclusions: TQM encoureges participation amongst shop floor workers and managers. There is no single theoretical formalization of total quality, but Deming, Juran and Ishikawa provide the core assumptions, as a â€Å"†¦ discipline and philosophy of management which institutionalizes planned and continuous†¦ improvement †¦ and assumes that quality is the outcome of all activities that take place within an organization; that all functions and all employees have to participate in the improvement process; that organizations need both quality systems and a quality culture. â€Å". â€Å"Quality programmes can†, the study says, â€Å"be seen as catalysts†, bringing out workers’ willingness to take responsibility and providing a focus and rationale for efforts at involvement. But involvement remained within tight limits and there were several factors, notably insecurity and financial constraints, which could undercut the promise of quality programmes. â€Å"The challenge†, the study concludes, â€Å"is to maintain TQM in the face of external pressures†. References Websites: Employee Involvement (www. employeeinvolvement. com) Search Engine (www. google. com) Appendices ? Questionnaire ? Charts ? Graphs ? Tables [pic][pic] ———————– Participation Behavior Hours Employee Involvement Place ice Wages Participation Behavior Hours Employee Involvement Place Wages Determination of information research problem Execution of the research design Development of research design Communication of the results Phase II Phase I Phase III Phase IV How to cite Tqm Final Project, Essay examples

Corporate Social Responsibility Multinational Conglomerate Corporati

Question: Describe about the Corporate Social Responsibility for Multinational Conglomerate Corporation. Answer: IKEA Sustainability Report IKEA is a multinational conglomerate that was incorporated almost seventy years ago that specializes in designing and selling of ready to assemble household furnishing like beds, sofas, desks and chairs, home appliances and accessories. It is the leading furniture retailer in the world as on 2008. The company was founded almost seventy years ago by Ingvar Kamprad in Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, Sweden. The company is recognized for its innovative designs for different types of furniture and home appliances. The company also specializes in interior design that emphasizes more on environment-friendly simplicity (ikea.com 2016). IKEA is actively involved in social welfare activities through its foundation IKEA Social Initiative which was established in 2005 with an objective to serve social issues on a global scale. Some of its key partners are "Save the Children" and UNICEF. Through this foundation, the company contributes 1 euro for each of its soft toys sold. It provided soft toys to the children during Cyclone Nargis, in Burma (UNICEF 2016). IKEA has taken proactive measures towards environmental issues by reducing the usage of formaldehyde in the products. In 2000, the company introduced set of regulations for the suppliers, named IWAY which covers safety, social and ecological issues. Stores run by the company emphasize on recycling of waste and several stores run on sustainable energy by using power saving bulbs. The company also worked for the well-being of refugees in Africa, Asia and the Middle East (ikeafoundation.org. (2016). Following SWOT analysis will demonstrate some of the internal and external factors that have an effect on the decision making of IKEA and contribute towards its process of strategic planning. SWOT Analysis Strengths It is a leading global brand that attracts important consumer groups. It ensures maintenance of its quality and standard of its products throughout the world. IKEA has established a concept of autonomous design that entails accomplishing an appealing form, function, quality, and sustainability at an economical price. The company aims to incorporate this concept throughout its entire product portfolio. Steadily growing proceeds of the company is the sign of the success of such endeavors (Chen Yang and Zhang 2013). The present leadership spot of the company offers considerable barriers to entry for new competitors and gains in terms of economies of scale. Due to its strong financial position, the corporation has been able to invest considerable amount into research and development in reinforcing its presence globally. Weaknesses The company has a weak market presence in the Asian markets like India and China which could adversely affect the financial performance of the company. Due to its huge size of operations of its global business, it becomes difficult for the company to maintain the standard and quality of its products. The company primarily emphasizes on price leadership due to which, sometimes the product quality is compromised owing to the increasing cost of raw materials which directly impacts the turnover of the business. The company confronts challenges in communicating and expressing its environmental guidelines to its investors, stakeholders, and customers (Tiwari 2015). Opportunities With growing awareness of consumers towards greener products, the company has ample opportunities of attracting consumers through its implementation of the green model. The company has an immense opportunity for growth in the developing economies like India and China where there is a huge demand for high-quality products at low cost. This would help the company in expanding its business and tap the unexploited customer base. Due to the growing concern over global warming, the company has the opportunity of reducing its carbon footprint through reducing the use of hazardous chemicals throughout all its processes (Wenzel and Frster 2013). Threats IKEA faces stiff competition from bigger portfolio dealers like Wal-Mart and Tesco. For example, Tesco sells not just groceries but mobile phones and television sets as well. So its just matter of time before it diversifies its business into the furniture segment as well. Like any multinational conglomerate, the company suffers setbacks due to the global economic conditions as well the prevailing economic conditions of the countries in which they operate (Harapiak 2013). The economical pricing model and the designs of the products are often imitated by the small scale and local competitors that possess a serious threat to the profitability of the company as the consumers are getting attractive products at a far more reasonable price. Advantages and Disadvantages of Plan Integration The incorporation of a sustainability plan generates numerous benefits to an organization. By incorporating ecological strategies, the company can boost its brand image on a global level. Further, the implementation of sustainable business strategies may lead to improved productivity and reduction in costs. Switching to renewable energy resources will reduce the overall electrical cost of the company in the long run ((Sebhatu and Enquist 2014) Sustainable and eco-friendly business practices make an organization more profitable since the consumers have become more conscious towards the environment, and thus making requisite progress will help the company in strengthening its goodwill and reputation. Implementing sustainable strategies may help the company enjoy various tax rebates and subsidies from the government. Sustainable development is a collaborative endeavor. When an organization works towards educating its employees the significance of sustainable initiatives, it initiates a culture of constant improvement and teamwork which can further stir up innovation. Apart from reduction of cost and increasing the profitability of the organization, sustainable initiatives help in reducing its carbon imprints and usage of hazardous chemical and its release into the atmosphere which ultimately benefits the society on a whole (Campus and Jha 2014) Despite the fact that the incorporation of such plan offers several benefits to the organization, it also creates lots of drawbacks as the execution of such plans leads to growth in the complexity. Execution of a number of irrelevant plans forces to change various functions and process and re-engineer them, which hamper the growth rate of the organization and can further affect the financial performance of the business. The proposed plans demand extensive planning and investigation which involves additional cost and requires precise time management. Sustainable incorporation comprises definite focus and reallocation of activities and executing all of them simultaneously can be burdensome for the organization (Balassa 2013). Corporate Social Responsibility Plan Corporate Social Responsibility focuses on establishing business values in the process of promoting affirmative social change is grasping a lot of consideration these days due to good reason. It should be practiced not just because it's a right thing to do, but due to the fact that it has a key impact on the end results of the business. Sustainable corporations intend to create a balance between the needs of the current generation and the needs of the forthcoming generations with a primary focus on the utilization of all the resources that are naturally available for sustaining of business and society as a whole (Chandler and Werther 2013). According to Department of the Environment, Government of Australia, sustainability relates to the reduction of environmental imprints while concurrently developing the condition of life that all values. Development of knowledge with respect to sustainability is current as well as future-oriented (environment.gov.au 2016). In order to create a sustainable plan for the organization, the activities need to be identified, the primary objective for the sustainable plan needs to be determined to generate some exceptional results. Firstly, the organization needs to evaluate the ecological impacts and the legal constraints to establish appropriate aims and objectives. Furthermore, the specific plan should be implemented and the methods to achieve the objectives need to be determined. Moreover, organizations are required to take into consideration the key result areas and monitor the performance of each area and identify the areas of improvement and lastly, the plan should be modified consistently to identify the progress of the plan (MacDonald 2016). Environmental Strategies Investment in Research and Development on Orthopedic Solutions Objective: Caring, Promoting, and Recondition Individual Health The employees who work on a daily basis are engaged in picking up and carrying furniture that are too heavy, which may lead to many severe health issues like a backache, problems with ligament and tendons, soft tissues or nerves, muscle pull and many life threatening risks. Many times, customers often complain about the excessive weight of the furniture and inappropriate designs of certain furniture like desks or chairs. Therefore, the company aims to bring some advanced orthopedic solutions that would help both the employees as well as the customers on a whole by partnering with some major orthopedic solution providers to develop their product ergonomics which would help in improving the promoting and reconditioning the health of people and overall improvement of their quality of life. Further, this would help the company is improving the company's brand image (Marchi Maria and Micelli 2013). Strategy: Concentrating on identification of key areas of improvement Tactics: The company aims to reduce the workload by the risk assessment of the material handling techniques used by employees that cause severe back ache and sometimes devastating injuries and thereby introduce automated material handling system that would reduce the physical stress on employees. Advanced products design strategies that would fit the ergonomic needs of the consumers as well as employees, thereby conveying a message to a greater mass that the company always makes a constant effort towards caring, promoting and reconditioning health of everyone in the society. Costing: Human capital is the most critical resource that enhances the performance of the organization on a whole; the company should invest more in well-being of its employees and its consumers as well and therefore it should allocate roughly 30 per cent of its environmental budget for the betterment of its employees and advanced research and development of orthopedic solutions. Recycling Reward Program Objective: Solid Waste Recycling Strategy: Drawing the attention of customers towards the importance of recycling and associated benefits and encourage them to be a part of the change in helping reduce carbon footprints. Tactics: By introducing Recycling Reward Program, the company aims to encourage its customers and suppliers to give away its old furniture and woods to IKEA, instead of disposing them on the roads. Through this reward program, the company is taking a step further in helping people to buy new furniture by giving discount vouchers for their next purchase in return of their old furniture, or they may receive reimbursement for the cost of transporting their old furniture to the nearest IKEA store. This would help the company to take their initiative of recycling further to create benefit for the society on a whole and improve companys brand image (Fragouli 2016). Costing: IKEA should invest nearly 20 per cent of its environment budget towards the recycling process as it would involve reimbursement of transportation cost to the customers and discount vouchers for next purchase. It would further require funds for the disintegration of furniture and reprocess it. Investment in Ocean Force Energy Generation Objective: The main objective towards investment in creating energy using ocean force is to create sustainable and renewable energy source to become fully independent and focus towards the greener environment. Strategy: IKEA is looking multiple opportunities of investment the ocean wave energy generation segment. Tactics: By setting up windmills placed in-stream to generate the flow of ocean water. Ideal locations would be islands and peninsulas where there are greater chances of generating tidal energy. It is also aiming to set up barrages near the bays and estuaries which use the ascent and descent of oceanic tides to generate electricity. The company can also invest in salinity gradient techniques which derive energy from osmosis when a natural stream is formed linking fresh water and sea water to pass through a turbine. Such technologies are quite popular in European countries (Jungo 2016). Costing: The company should invest nearly 30 percent of its environmental budget in setting up projects for ocean force energy generation. Invest More in Relief Program Objective: To conceive an enhanced everyday life for the less deserving people Strategies: Through IKEA Foundation and IKEA Social Initiative, it aims to encourage several developed nations, business leaders and inter-government organizations to come forward in support of the company towards rehabilitation of the people who are affected by natural disaster in Haiti, Japan, China or stuck in war zones like Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Tactics: To increase their funding towards the relief efforts by the concerned government authorities in Syria and Iraq. To work with multi-government bodies like European Union, UNICEF, WHO, BRICS in assisting the concerned government authorities with monetary and technical support for rehabilitation of the people affected in Syria and Somalia due to civil unrest and terrorist activities and offer the better education to the children and better accommodation to the people. Partner with United Nation Development Program for training the local groups and government agencies in disaster relief activities in earthquake-prone countries like Japan, Haiti, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and Nepal (unhcr.org 2016). Partnering with government bodies in flood-prone countries like India, Bangladesh, India and China in speeding up the evacuation efforts by the particular countries. Costing: The company should invest 30 percent of its total environment budget in its efforts towards rehabilitation and relief programs around the world for childrens education, medical supplies, food and accommodation, training and education in the affected areas. In order to achieve such strategies and make those strategies practical, the company may consider the possibility of going public by the way of initial public offerings in order to raise funds to increase their funding towards environmental efforts. In this manner, the company would be able to continue its ethical practices and improve its reputation. Further, it will help the company to create awareness among the people towards the social and environmental issues the world is facing at present and thus the plan would benefit the communities with exceptional needs, the planet, and society, in general, will get a benefit. IKEAs Current Approaches As per the 2015 Sustainability Report of IKEA which is termed as People and Planet Positive Strategy, following are some of its strategies currently followed by the company. Sustainable Living at Home: The company has both opportunity and responsibility towards its loyal set of customers. The company aims to take the command in building and marketing of its products and solutions which would inspire and allow people to live more feasible living at home and accomplish more than four times increase in its sales (com 2016). Resource and Energy Independence Responsible Sourcing: By the end, August 2015, the cotton consumed in the products of IKEA are being sourced from more feasible sources and the company consistently engages in inspecting alternative fiber with greater feasibility performance when to compare with cotton. Sustainable Functions: By the end of August 2015, the company has recycled more than 80 percent of their wastes, recycled their materials at stores by almost 70 percent and more than 80 percent at their distribution centers (com 2016). Improved Life for People and Community Better Lives of Employees: The company believes in treating everyone impartially and provide equal opportunities to all its employees irrespective of gender, age, culture, race, ethnicity, country of origin or any other aspect and that is why the company created IKEA LGBT Project to coin a plan for supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (com 2016). Supporting Human Rights: In 2015, the company began a project in collaboration with International Organization for Migration to gain knowledge about the procedures and risks involved in employing migrant workers in South East Asia with an objective to develop action strategies and targets for supporting fair employment all through the supply chain process (com 2016). Conclusion The following sustainability report recommends certain projects which can be undertaken by IKEA for reducing its carbon footprint and environmental impacts. Each milestone emphasizes on the diverse range of environmental issues wherein the company is involved. Implementing such strategies in their day to day process would help in improving their end results. Every project undertaken by the company is exceptional and different in terms of focus. This sustainability report would help the company in enhancing their brand image and brand awareness and will help the company in gaining a competitive advantage over its competitors. References Balassa, B., 2013.The Theory of Economic Integration (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. Campus, P. and Jha, P., 2014. Sustainable competitive advantages through strategic integration of HRM with Business strategies. Chandler, D., and Werther Jr, W.B., 2013.Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders, globalization, and sustainable value creation. Sage Publications. Chen, X., Yang, L. and Zhang, J., 2013. The Future of IKEA: watch your expansion steps. environment.gov.au. (2016).system/files/resources/9b2e74ca-c909-4d57-bae3-c515c20957de/files/curriculum-framework.pdf. [online] Available at: https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/9b2e74ca-c909-4d57-bae3-c515c20957de/files/curriculum-framework.pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]. Fragouli, E. (2016). RETAIL COMMERCE BIG RETAIL CHAINS IN GREECE: THE CASE OF DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) SECTOR AND THE EXAMPLE OF" IKEA".International Journal of Information, Business and Management,8(2), 259. Harapiak, C., 2013. IKEA's International Expansion. ikea.com. (2016).ms/en_CA/this-is-ikea/about-the-ikea-group/index.html. [online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_CA/this-is-ikea/about-the-ikea-group/index.html [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]. ikea.com. (2016).ms/en_US/img/ad_content/2015_IKEA_sustainability_report.pdf. [online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/img/ad_content/2015_IKEA_sustainability_report.pdf [Accessed 8 Oct. 2016]. ikeafoundation.org. (2016)./campaigns/. [online] Available at: https://www.ikeafoundation.org/campaigns/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]. ikeafoundation.org. (2016).pressrelease/ikea-foundation-gives-grants-worth-e9-4-million-medecins-sans-frontieres-msf-save-children-help-children-families-caught-syria-conflict/. [online] Available at: https://www.ikeafoundation.org/pressrelease/ikea-foundation-gives-grants-worth-e9-4-million-medecins-sans-frontieres-msf-save-children-help-children-families-caught-syria-conflict/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]. innovation.unhcr.org/. (2016).ikea-foundation/. [online] Available at: https://innovation.unhcr.org/ikea-foundation/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]. Jungo, M., 2016. Utopia or reality? Part 2.MHD Supply Chain Solutions,46(2), p.54. MacDonald, A., 2016. Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Community Sustainability Plan Implementation: Understanding Structures and Outcomes at the Partner and Partnership Levels. Marchi, V.D., Maria, E.D. and Micelli, S., 2013. Environmental strategies, upgrading and competitive advantage in global value chains.Business strategy and the environment,22(1), pp.62-72. Sebhatu, S.P., and Enquist, B., 2014. Are Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility having a role for sustainable Service Business?: An explorative study of IKEA, Starbucks, and Hamp; M. InThe 17th QMOD conference, September 3-5, Prague Tjeckien. Tiwari, S., 2015. Standardized marketing strategies: a solution to the global competition? A case study of IKEA in Norway, Sweden, France and China. UNICEF. (2016).IKEA social initiative adds $48 million to UNICEF's child health program. [online] Available at: https://www.unicef.org/media/media_48176.html [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]. Wenzel, H. and Frster, A., 2013. Blue Ocean Strategy. How IKEA created a new market.

Risk Management in Corporate Governance

Ethiopian Economy essay

Ethiopian Economy essay Ethiopian Economy essay Ethiopian Economy essayEthiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and the world. At the same time, the current level of the economic development of Ethiopia is still far from the level of well-developed countries, such as the EU, the US and others. On the other hand, Ethiopia has a considerable potential and the current economic growth of the country reveals the fact that Ethiopia can become one of the regional leaders, while human resources, with a large share of young people in the total population, make the potential of Ethiopia even greater. However, Ethiopia should use its actual potential and overcome existing problems which often refer not only to the economic but also to the political domain (Marcus, 2002). The democratization of the country has had a positive impact on its economic development and revival of business activities. At the moment, the country is still in the difficult economic position because of its economic and technological backwardness mainly as well as remoteness from financial and economic centers of the world, but the fast economic growth allows Ethiopia to close the gap between its economy and economy of well-developed countries or, at least, of emerging economies in a long-run perspective.Background of Ethiopian economy  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Colonial past of Ethiopia and its impact on its economic development is still very significant. In economic terms, the impact of the colonial past of Ethiopia can be traced through the strong impact of European capital and companies on Ethiopian businesses and economy at large. For instance, Ethiopia is still dependent on European technology and capital. This is why Ethiopians view Europe as the place, where they prefer to obtain their higher education. At the same time, the persisting, strong impact of foreign companies puts local businesses in the disadvantaged position and slows down the economic development (Teferra Altbach, 2003). This is why, at the moment, the government atte mpts to stimulate business activities in Ethiopia and attract foreign direct investments to enhance the economic growth of Ethiopia and ensure the economic growth in a long-run perspective.Ethiopia experienced the same colonial past as other African countries. The liberation of Ethiopia brought not only new opportunities for the economic growth but also and mainly new conflicts and struggle for power. The political struggle has had a negative impact on the economic development of the country. One of the major events in the post-colonial history of Ethiopia was the establishment of the pro-Soviet, communist government. As a result, the pro-communist government conducted specific economic policies which resulted in the nationalization of the major sectors and industries of Ethiopian economy. Consequences of such policies and nationalization are still relevant today.However, the recent democratization contributed to the fast and steady economic growth. At the moment, the government of Ethiopia attempts to enhance open market economy principles and stimulates fair competition to make the economic growth of Ethiopia long run. Reforms conducted by Ethiopian government have had a positive macroeconomic effect, but some problems, such as corruption, technological backwardness, and other problems persist.GDP growthAt the moment, Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. At the same time, the fast economic growth now is, to a significant extent, the result of a considerable downturn in the economic development of Ethiopia in the past. However, the economic growth reveals the positive trend in the development of Ethiopian economy. The government has managed to cope with major macroeconomic issues, such as slow GDP growth and high inflation rates.The growth of the economy allows Ethiopia to increase the quality of life but Ethiopia still faces the problem of the fair redistribution of the national wealth. For example, about 85% of the total population of Ethiopia works in agriculture which comprises about a half of the total export of the country but still the overwhelming majority of Ethiopian farmers are living in poverty or next to poverty conditions (Mauri, 2010). In fact, the economic disparity of the ruling elite, which comprises just a minor part of the society, and the rest of the society, which comprises the overwhelming majority of the population, is enormous. One of the reasons for such disparity is the high level of corruption and the limited access of the larger part of the population to economic benefits and redistribution of the national wealth.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Labor force as the ground for the economic growth of Ethiopia in the futureAbout a half of the total population of Ethiopia are people under the age of 18. Therefore, the large part of the population is young that means that Ethiopian labor market has a considerable potential for the growth since all young people, who are under 18 now, will become economica lly active soon and start working or launch their businesses.At the moment, the economic potential of Ethiopia is enormous because the large part of the younger population in the total population of the country means that the larger part of the population is economically active that creates conditions for the stable economic growth. The creation of new jobs will involve the growth of business activities, while the large number of tax payers will stimulate the government to conduct efficient economic policies in public sectors of the economy, which still comprise a large share in the total economy of the country.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Private vs public sectorIn the past, the government control Ethiopian economy, while now the process of privatization contributes to the fast growth of the private sector. The government control over the economy of Ethiopia resulted to its decline and profound crisis, while privatization stimulated the optimization of businesses and improvement of the perform ance of organizations and companies which used to be in the public sector (Henze, 2005). At the same time, the transition from the public to private sector dominated economic structure was accompanied by profound changes. The change of ownership required consistent changes in the development of the fiscal policy and system of the country. Taking into consideration that the financial sector of Ethiopian economy still remains under the government control, the economic development of Ethiopia cannot be viewed as driven by private sector alone because banks and banking industry can influence consistently the economic development, while decisions taken by banks depend on the government policies because the financial sector remains in the public ownership.  Ethiopian Economy essay part 2

Mercedes Benz Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mercedes Benz Company - Case Study Example The deal created a new entity, DaimlerChrysler, which was the highest revenue earner in Germany. The best of technology, safety and comfort in automobiles came together to create the world's best known car company. "Responding to changes and challenges in the European marketplace, Mercedes-Benz's German truck business embarked on a project with Accenture to define and implement a sales and marketing strategy. The team designed, developed and implemented customer-oriented products and services. Accenture performed 10 pilots to implement the sales strategy, followed by a rollout at the retail level. The value creation for Mercedes-Benz Trucks includes a reorganized sales organization, as the division also has seen additional revenue from increased vehicle sales and penetration rates in services-not to mention more focused and efficient customer service." The sale of the Chrysler group to Cerberus Capital Management giving it 80% in the new company in August 2007 and the change of name from DaimlerChrysler to Daimler AG seems to be a tactical decision. The sale reportedly took place for US$6billion. This might have helped it overcome the losses it had suffered in 2006 and restore profitability in 2008. Keeping all the above in mind, information quality is of ut... 3.Identify the information likely to be needed to take each of the decisions identified in task 2 and explain how issues of information quality may apply to this information. 1. A very professional attitude to business. 2. Knowledge of market competitors and a will to merge with the competition if deemed fit for the growth of the business. 3. Innovation (new models), adoption of latest technology (simulators), application of information obtained from market surveys (Accenture survey in 2003). 4. In-depth market intelligence. Take into account complete global/regional scenario and demand for a particular vehicle before launching it in the market. Keeping all the above in mind, information quality is of utmost importance as the right information would lead to right decisions about the adoption of technology for launching new vehicles, dealership issues, outsourcing of labour and parts, government incentives/subsidies to look for and the kind of vehicle to be launched in a particular region. Successful trade leads could also mean more business in strategic and new locations. With the rise of e-commerce, it becomes not only necessary, but also easy to have access to quality information about the market competion. 4.Give at least 4 documented examples of competitor intelligence which are likely to be of interest to your company. Do not repeat material used in task 3. 1. Competition from Lexus According to Dan Lienert in Showroom Showdown dated 09.08.05, http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2005/09/08/Lexus-Mercedes-convertibles-cx_dl_0908show_ls.html (accessed April 23, 2008) "In the first eight months of 2004, Lexus sold 141% more SCs in the U.S. than Mercedes sold SLKs--6,607 vs. 2,745. Pricing

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Greatest Designs by Groupism - Essay Example Students show it in different ways. These factors can be identified as important problems in group activity in a classroom. Therefore it is necessary to focus attention on design and development of a cohesive group in a classroom assignment by investing personal energy of each and every individual towards the success of the assignment/discussion. The development of a cohesive group will require four dimensions of the learning task. While it requires a high level of accountability and motivation among the group members, it ensures that members receive a meaningful feedback within a short time period; and also it facilitates high level of group performance in the assignment activity. Group assignment in the process of student performance enhancing programs should be designed effectively. Thus the making of a good group assignment in the classroom requires the consideration of two stages of the discussions - prior to the discussion and during the discussion within and between the groups. Prior to the discussion group members are expected to ensure the accountability individually. And during the discussion, members should share their specific choices and compare with the other groups. Also during the discussion between the groups students need to focus their attention on the key issues and report before starting the total classr oom discussion. Design process of assig

Gender Roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Gender Roles - Essay Example This paper describes the observations of male and female actions, relationships and behaviours under the experiment held by the author. To conduct the experiment, the author puts together a small shopping list for a local convenience store that has multiple chains across the country and frequently attracts the same overall clientele. The shopping list was to provide a basic reason for his being there as well as an excuse to wander all around the store and make observations without arousing suspicion on the part of the store employees. The ‘shopping list’ also assisted with data collection in that it provided him with an easy checklist for data collection. It was necessary to visit the store two separate times in order to observe a male employee on the floor and a female employee on the floor (i.e. assisting customers). It was as important to observe both a male and a female employee at work in order to determine the role gender played in whether or not a customer would r eceive service as it was to observe the service received by male and female customers. However, because these visits were made during comparable times of the weekday, the number of customers was approximately equal and the demands on the employees’ time were also approximately equal (both had ample time to personally assist each customer that entered the store). In addition, the two employees observed were of similar age range, each appearing to be in their early 20s and both talking with customers and other employees of college issues.

Friendship In Fried Green Tomatoes

Friendship In Fried Green Tomatoes Friendship is the relationship between two or more more people who trust, have faith and are concerned with the welfare of each other.Relationship involves intimacy and mutual care for one another.A good friend has the responsibility of accepting good and bad qualities of his friends and one who is ready to help his friend in changing bad traits.Friends should love each other and have faith in whatever their friends tell them.Friendship has to do with undertsnding and caring for one another.A relationship based on this qualities makes friends to have a good feeling and smile because of the love and care which is given to him.In some cases people do not remain to be friends for a long period of time for instance when people disagree with each other and seize to be friends. When making friends people should be careful because all friends may not be good. Some friends will only be for you during the times of happiness but they run away when problems arises.These are not good friends bec ause you cannot depend on them.Good friends will always sacrifice to be with you during good and bad moments of your life and they will understand your strong and weakpoints (Fanny 10). Having friends is a very important aspect in life. One may have all the necessities needed in life like money, good house, clothing but still friends are needed. Human beings are depend on one another and they can not survive all alone.There are some things that other people must do for you and therefore its very important to have people around you.If for example one gets sick, he/she will need other people to take them to the hospital making friends very important to the lives of individuals.Friendship is therefore something which all people should have in order to have peace of mind (Fanny 15). There are different kinds of friendships for example friendship based on utility. In this kind of friendship, people become friends so that they can benefit personally. For example people who come together and start a business.They do not spend most of their times together and they may not like each other.A very common form of friendship is one which is based on pleasure.This is a friendship between two people with the aim of gaining pleasure from one another.This kind of friendship occurs mainly between people of different sexes who have love and affection for one another.The main aimof this friendshilp is compabnionship and these people may end up marrying one another. Being a very important aspect of life, i will discuss friendship in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes basing my arguiment on one relationship. Fried Green Tomatoes was a novel written in 1987 by Fannie Flagg which later came to be adaptedas a movie in 1991.It was a commedy drama which was based on the novel and it was lreleased in the United States bearing the full name of the novel.The film was directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flaggin conjunction with Carol Sobieki. The film is about of twowomen Ruth and Idgie at a time when they have difficulties in their friendships.There is also another friendshipwhich ekxisted in 1980s between Evelyn a woman of a middle age and Ninny an old woman.Ninny knew ruth and Idgie.The story dwells much on the murder of ruths husb,and who was abusive and the accusations which came after he was murdered. The film received two academy awards and critics of film were positive in the poem.The people who were making the view criticized it because the group which reviewed the book ignored the contents about lesbian (Fanny 28). The film begins with Evelyn Couch a house wife aged around 40 years who mwas timid and unhappy coming in to contact with Ninny Threadgoode in a Birminghamfond in a nursing home called Alabama. Ninny and Evelyn visit each other several times during which Evelyn tells her about a town in Alabama called Whistle Stop which had been occupied by people sometimes back but they had moved from that place (Fanny 30). She tells her stories of people who used to occupy that town.She begins the story by telling about Idgie Threadgoode the youngest of her children but who during her description is reffered to as her sister in law.Idgie had a brother who was a good friend of him but he died through an accident by a train.After the death of his brother whoi meant alot to his life, he moved away from his society where he spend most of his childhood and adolescent stages. She stayed away from his family until Ruth Jamison the former girlfriend of his brother is requested by his family to intervene so that they can become friends. She refused to befriend Ruth in the first stages but after some time she found a space in her heart to have feelings for her.Frank Bennette befriends Ruth and marries her after which they moved fromWhistle Stop town and settles in Valdosta, Georgia. The act of Ruth getting married annoyed Idigie because she lost her friend .It was a hard task for her to forget ruth but she tried hard to forget her. She later paid a visit to Ruth who was already carrying a baby but her husband Frank abused her.Idgie pleads with Ruth to leave her husband and accompany her back to Whistle Stop.Ruth accepted but Frank was against the idea.It is at Whistle Stop that Ruth gave birth to a baby named Buddy Jr. Idgie was given money to open a business so that she can cater for the needs of Ruth and her baby. Ruth and Idgie opened a cafe at Whistle Stop Town called Whistle Stop Cafe. They employed Sipsey and Big George her son as cooks.These cooks made barbeque which became popul ar with their patrons within a short period of time. Frank paid a visit to Whistle Stop town with the aim of kidnapping Buddy Jr. But he was killed by an assailant who was not recognized. For some time frank could not be found and his car was found at the bottom of a sea around the town.Idgie is suspected to be responsible of Franks death because she had threatened him publicly because of beating her friend Ruth. Idgie and Big George were arrested as suspects for the murder of Frank (Fanny 38). The police wanted torelease her and pin the crime to Big George alone but she refused to betray her friend.The judge during the trial says that the two clients were not aware of the diappearance of Frak because had had gone on a three day journey but it was a lie.In addition to that he says that Frank was always drunk and his death cloud have resulted from an accident.Idgie and her friend are cleared of the charges and released.Ruth died soon after the trial as a result of cancer.The Cafe closed after Ruth died and many people who stayed in Whis tle Stop migrated to other places.That is the way Ninny ended her story to Evelyne without revealing to her what really caused the death of Frank. Franks death came accidentallly because he was killed by Sipsey with a cast iron skillet in an effort to prevent him from kidnapping Buddy Jr.The body was then taken by Big George and he berbecued it while the body was burried by his mother in the garden of Mrs.Threadgoode. Ninny stayed in the nursing home temporary because her house had been condemned and torn away.When Ninny became aware of what had happenegd to her she decided to welcome her and give her a room in her own house since they had already became good friends. Ninny accepted accepted to stay with Evelyne.On their way from Ninnys former home, they passed through the grave of Ruth which was decorated with flowers and on top of it was a card bearing the writings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Bee Charmerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  the nickname she was given by Idigie. After the death of Mrs Threadgroode, Evelyne got a letter from a neighbour of Mrs. Threadgoode inviting her for a visit (Fanny 40). She went to visit her grave carrying pink flowers.She found a note on Ruths grave fron Idgie which had not taken long after visiting the grave of Mrs. Threadgoode. Finally Idgie is found to be stillliving selling honey on a satnd which is near a road. There are many themes in this film. For example the theme of food is highly elaborated. In the cafe where Sipsey and her son cooked they prepared barbecue which became popular to many people. Rth and Idgie sold food for the blacks through the back doors at a reduced rate.When Frank died, his body is said to have been barbecued by Big George and served to the people. Food is a very important aspect such that human beings are also eaten.The film portrays lesbianism in the sense that when Buddy the brother to Idgie died, she was encouraged by her family to befriend her (Fanny 45). This is a clear indication that the society encourages lesbianism.Women are mistreated by men according to this novel.When we look at Evelyne,she was unhappy with her marriage because her husband had ignored her.The same case applies to Ruth who was abused by Frank her husband.Another theme in the film is death. So many people have died in the film. To begin with, Buddy the boyfriend to Ruth was hit by a train and he died. Frank was bitten by Sipsey with a cast iron skillet in an attempt to prevent him from kidnapping Buddy Jr. which caused his death. Ruth died as a result of cancer while Mrs. Threadgoode is also said to have died and burried in the same place with Ruth. The death of all these characters makes death a major theme in this film. The other theme and among the most important is the theme of friendship. According to the film, we have a series of friendships.To start with Mrs. Threadgoodes became a very good friend of Evelyne after they came in to contact with each other for a period of time.Through the story which Threadgoode gave to Evelyne, she was encouraged by the character of Idgie thus influencing her positively in her ways of living .Buddy and Ruth were also friends. According to the film, Ruth was Buddyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s girl friend but the relationship ended when he died as a result of an accident.Buddy was also a friend to his sister Idgie.When Buddy passed away, her sister was so much affected an indication that the two people were very good friends with each other.Ruth befriended Frank who married her but later started abusing her. Idgie was offended by the marriage because she lost her friend Ruth to Frank.She was so much attached to Ruth because even after Ruth married Frank, she took a long time to forget her. All the above are friendships portrayed in the film. In my paper i will discuss the relationship between Ruth and Idgie (Fanny 56). According to this book friendship is defined as a relationship which is different fromothers.Friends volunatariry come together.Frindships are different fromother relationships like marriage relationships which are based on institutions and established laws. Friends are not governed by laws and there is no standard way through which friends should interact.Friendships have some qualities like emtional closeness.Some people become friends so that they can be emotionally close.Emotional love comes as a result of spending time together, talking and going through experiences together.Issues of gender and sex however have impacts on the way people express their emotions towards their friends.Some people get close to their friends through dialogue.As for women,the best way to maintain social closeness is through listening and talking.Through talking with one another people can understand lives of other people.Through dialogue friends can become emotionally close. Ruth and Idgie must have t alked together during the time they stayed together.Another way through which people can become emotionally close is through doing things (Wood 253). When people do things together and they perform duties for one another, they become close to each other.Looking at the relationship between Ruth and Idgie they did their things together.They opened a cafe where they helped one another. The two people participated in all the activities in the cafe.Through sharing of the duties, these people became close to each other.Another quality is acceptance.Each and every person wants to be accepted by his/her friends.We all have our strong and weak points and we expect our friends to appreciate us the way we are. People try their level best to ensure that they impress people who are knew to them. Ruth was wrong when she agreed to marry Frank and leave behind her friend Idgie who loved her very much.However we can say that both of the two characters accepted and appreciated each other based on the way they conducted themselves. Idgie even offered to take good care of Ruth and her child because she had accepted her as a friend. Friends should trust each other.We should trust our friends that we can relie on them.We should also trust their words in the sense that they will do what they say.Trust also means being sure that the friends that we have cares for our welfare.Idgie was a trustful friend of Ruth because she was very much concerned with her welfare.When she found that Frank was abusing Ruth through beating her, she took her and offered to care of her and the pregnancy until she gave birth.This shows how much she cared about her.In addition, she threatened Frank in the public because of abusing her friend which is a risk to her because she was later suspected to be responsible for his death and was jailed (Wood 258). Friends should support each other both in words and financially.Support includes telling your friends that you love them.Another way of suporting our friends is through being available and helping them in times of difficulties.Its clear from the film that Idgie was always there for Ruth an d she sacrificed her time and money in helping her and the baby.Its true to ssay that the relationship between these people was based on good characteristics of a friendship.Even after the death of Ruth we can see Idgie visiting her grave an indication that she was a very influential person in her life. Sometimes friendships come to an end because of several reasons.Friendships can come to an end when people disagree on some issues or when as a result of separation.Friendship can seize if people who are friends stop coming into contact with each other the way they used to do.Education and employment are some of the factors which can make people stop being friends when they move far away from each other.Many friendships however do not end umbruptly. They fade slowly by slowly until the friendship comes to an end (Wood 260). When friendship comes to an end, people will change their mode of communication. People who used to spend alot of time with others do not see the need of spending time with them.Words like I do not have time for you may be heard from people who used to be very good friends.Ruth accepted to leave Idgie who had been her friend because she had seen another friend Frank. This is how their relationship came to an end even though they later agreed on each other and star ted staying together. In most cases friends do not always lead a smooth life. They are also subjected to pressures from internal and also from external just like other relationships of human beings.Internal tensions arise from an individual and the interactions he/she is involved in.Pressure can arise in a friendship if the parties have different needs.If what i need in not what my friend needs then we are likely to differ (Wood 265).Communication also affects friendships especially in a case where th parties come from different cultural backgrounds and do not understand each other.For instance some societies no not circumcize their males while most of the societies do.This differences can be a problem in a friendship.Sexual attraction can also pause a problem in the case where friends have decided not to have sexual intercourse but one of them is not abiding to what they said. Friendships are also affected by external pressures.Human beings change from time to throughout their life.The same thing applies to friends.Whenever one moves from one place like schools,colleges, to another they make new friends.Since people make friends with people they meet frequently, they are likely to forget old friends.Geographic distance also affects friendship.When people migrate from one place to another they will make new friends there.However technology has made it easy for people far away from each other to continue with their communication through emailing and face book thus maintaining their friendship. Friendship is a very important aspect of life as portrayed in the film because through friends we can achieve what we may not achieve alone (Wood 268). Work Cited Flagg, Fanny. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Audio Download. London: Little, Brown Book Group Limited, 2007. Wood, Julia. Interpersonal communication: everyday encounters. 6th edition. Wadsworth: Boston, 2010.

Strategy Development and Initiatives Essay -- Business and Management

Strategy Development and Initiatives 1) The history, development, and growth of the company over time ================================================================ In 1987, Andrew Young and Dick England established Kleenmaid a 100 % private owned Australian company. The companies main business is to import, manufacture and distribution of high-quality white goods appliances like cook tops, ovens, dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines. In 1995, Kleenmaid shifted from a wholesale business to direct retailing, to provide customers a store with fully operational appliances where possible purchasers could use the washing machines or cook everything possible with the help of appliances provided by the store.. Its head office in Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia manages its major functions such as sales, marketing, service, financial, administrative and information technology (Hill et al. 2004). The company has been rated as one of the fastest growing private companies in Australia and regularly appears in the Business Review Weekly top five hundred companies. By 2001, the company has been rated as one of the fastest growing private companies in Australia (Hill et al. 2004). As part of its growing strategy, Kleenmaid bought the brand name and selected manufacturing equipment of liquidated company St George Appliances in 1999. St George, an Australian company for than fifty years, used to export its products all over the world. The company was renamed Kleenmaid St George following the purchase. It provides a comprehensive service, including delivery, installation and full after-sales service at a competitive price for builders and developers. The company uses subcontractors wearing’ Kleenmaid St George’ attire for all installation and servicing requirements (Hill et al. 2004). More than one million Australians use Kleenmaid St George appliances daily. As the only Australian direct retailer of kitchen and laundry appliances, the company says that it is committed to bringing the world’s best to its customers. The company’s appliances have a reputation for unique design, outstanding performance quality and reliability. Originally, products were sold through conventional retailers but, to uphold Kleenmaid St George’s commitment to providing unique products and exceptional service, the company started selling .. ...veloping implementation plan it can be concluded that very little changes is required for the company. Also answers to questions and issues raised in the case have been included. References ========== 1) Hannagan, T.J. 2002, Mastering Strategic Management, Basingstoke, Palgrave. 2) Hill, C.W.L, Jones G.R. & Galvin, P. 2004, Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, Milton, Qld.: John Wiley and Sons Australia. 3) Hussey, D.E. 1994, Strategic management : theory and practice, Oxford, Uk. 4) Johnson G. & Scholes K. 2002, Exploring Corporate Strategy Text and Cases, 6th Ed, London, Prentice Hall 5) Mintzberg H. & Quinn J.B. 1992, The Strategic Process; Concepts and Contexts, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall 6) Pearce A. J. & Robinson R. B. 1994, Strategic Management, Formulation, Implementation, and Control, 5th Ed, Boston, Irwin. 7) Richardson B & Richardson R 1989, Business Planning; An Approach to Strategic Management, London, Pitman 8) Rosen R 1995, Strategic Management; An Introduction, London, Pitman. 9) Thompson, A. & Strickland, A. J. 2003, Strategic Management; Concepts and Case, 13th Ed. NY, McGraw Hill.

The Striking Issues that Gave Light to Richard Wright’s

Issues on rebellion, racial discrimination, and social hierarchy have been considered as the finest works in the field of literature and history.   Stories that portray the truth behind the raging diversion between the whites and the blacks have always been a topic of speculation that writers and scholars considerably digest inside the situation.   It does not only come in handy—especially in narrative anecdotes—but it also serves as a â€Å"by hook or by crook† schema in the aide of social and political instances in the contemporary society. Numerous scholars even reprimanded Wright’s works as to be a mere social document rather than that of a novel in the catalogs of literature.   Debates have sprouted and critics commenced deliberative studies on the credibility of the author’s works (Kinnamon). Personal experience and observation—these are the customary perceptions regarded by a milieu of academia; and that   no matter how rigid Wright’s arguments are on introducing his work as a â€Å"fiction,† the social circumstances which have been brought upon by the readers tingled the minds of skeptics all the more. Charles I. Glickberg even theoretically stresses that the representation of Bigger Thomas is the author himself, and that the experiences and the events which occurred on the story are in point of fact the author’s own lifespan familiarity. As James Baldwin articulates, â€Å"no American Negro exists who does not have his private Bigger Thomas living in the skull,† crazed to be logically the same from one another, the audience have spotted the similarities.   From geographical representation, to familial connection—mother in the most awful slums of the Black Belt of such locale—characteristics with regard to motivation in overcoming fear and detestation, the temperament of being rebellious and the explosion of violence as triggered by the environmental and societal experiences diverged on to. Further, in the Southern custom, the portrayals in Bigger’s role all proved several connotations of the realistic sense in the crowd where the author actually lives.   Supplementary to that, all of them were mutinous colleagues of the Jim Crow order, â€Å"they were shot, hanged, maimed, lynched, and generally hounded until they were either dead or their spirits broken,† all these were the exact depiction of Chicago’s timid, twitchy, glum disturbed, estranged, vicious youths besieged for survival individuals.   The reality, which has been established in the story dwells on the analogy that Richard Wright’s intentions in producing the book follows the idea of â€Å"telling the truth.† (Kinnamon) The climax of the story is apparently seen on the last part, where he stood and expressed what has been boggling on his mind.   As Bigger stated, â€Å". . .I speak for my own people, but I speak for America too,† such striking phrase makes the readers realize that the story does not only tackle the negative descriptions of the discrimination that Negroes are experiencing, but rather the events came in a domino effect with pious misunderstandings between both sides of the coin. â€Å"Bigger† can be considered as a hero and as a model to the Americans (Kinnamon).   In a broader perspective, it implies that change has to be done for the betterment of all.   Hence if the act has been a second later, the predicament of the whole situation never would have been saved, or redeemed. Undeniably, the twists of the story complete its whole package.   It does not only take readers into a whole new dimension in the arena of fictional stories, but because of Wright’s indirect representation of its characters, it has captivated the hearts of the masses.  Ã‚   Others make be cynical on the relevance of reading the book—looking on the inconsiderate part of course—but those who well understood the theme and the manifestations which has been introduced by the author even until the very end of the story, it mystifies one’s thoughts and belligerently makes a certain bookworm think, â€Å"have I been a good citizen?†Ã‚   That then make be deemed as a perfect mixture of thrill and admiration.   It may be ideological in the immediate time, but no one knows where the Native Son shall settle next. Work Cited Kinnamon, Keneth. â€Å"Native Son: The Personal, Social, and Political Background.† Phylon (1960-) 30.1 (1969): 66-72.