Ethics and Negotiation Essay

?Negotiation is a pervasive features of business life. Success in business typically requires successful negotiations. In a competitive and morally imperfect world, business people are often faced with serious ethical challenges. Herboting suspicious abut the ethics of others, many feel justified in engaging in less-than-ideal conduct to protect their own interests. The most sophisticated moral arguments are unlikely to counteract this behaviour. We believe that this morally defensive behaviour responsible, in large part, for much undesirable deception in negotiation. Drawing on recent work in the literature of negotiations, we present some practical guidance on how negotiators might build trust, establish common interests, and secure credibility for their statements thereby promoting honesty. â€Å"We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy† George Bernard SHAW What do we mean by ethics? Ethics are broadly applied social standards for what is right and wrong in a particular situation, or a process for setting those standards. And ethics grow out of a particular philosophies which; define the nature of the world in which we live and prescribe rules for living together. Why do people choose unethical behaviour? The first answer that normally occurs to us is that people are corrupt, degenerate, or immoral. In fact these answers are to simplistics; moreover, they do not help us understand and control our own behaviour, or successfully influence and predict the behaviour of others in a bargaining environment. Here were three primary factors motivational factors which lead negotiators to consider using unethical tactics: the pursuit of profit, the desire to beat an opponent in a competitive environment, and the need to insure or restore some standard of justice that has been violated. Three major categories of ethical conduct were used to describe the broad range of questionable negotiating strategies and tactics: means/ends, truth-telling, and relativism. The more e is committed to abide by certain rules and procedures, the more one believes that following the rules will eventually lead to the desired ends. The second group of tactics, relativistic vs. absolute, forces us to deal with questions of whether there are truly absolute rules and principles of right and wrong, or whether questions of ethics must be answered by each individual in his own personalized, subjective view of the world. Many authors have suggested that bluffing, misrepresentation or factual distortion is sometimes necessary in order to effectively negotiate; such behaviour, however, may well be seen by others as unethical and inappropriate. We believe that the negotiation process raises a host of ethical issues, more so than most other interpersonal transactions. Much of what has been written on negotiating behaviour has been strongly normative abut ethics, and prescribed â€Å"dos and don’ts†. We do not believe that this approach facilitates the understanding of how negotiators actually decide to act unethically. We believe this process can best be understood by a simple decision-making model. We proposed that a negotiator who chooses to use an unethical tactic usually decides to do so in order to increase his negotiating power. Power is gained by manipulating the perceived base of accurate information (lying), getting better information about n opponent’s plan, or undermining an opponent’s ability to achieve his objectives. Using these tactics leads to two kinds of consequences; first, actual attainment or non-attainment of these goals he was seeking; and second, evaluation and criticism of the tactics by the negotiator himself, by his opponent and by observers. Negotiators usually feel compelled to justify their actions –i.e., they know they have done something â€Å"wrong† and need to establish a â€Å"good reason† We suggested that the decision to use ethical or unethical tactics may be influenced in varying degrees by differences in individual backgrounds, personality, rewards or punishments associated with ethical or unethical actions, and the social and cultural norms that dictate what is appropriate or inappropriate in a given environment. We have made a number of assumptions about ways to judge and evaluate human conduct in the realm of ethics. We have intentionally avoided taking a strong normative stance, and have not tried to emphasize our own biases about what kinds of conduct are ethical or unethical. Instead, we have proposed several conclusions that can be drawn from research, experience and common sense: 1 Individuals will often disagree as to what kinds of negotiating tactics are â€Å"ethical† or â€Å"unethical†, and in which situations it is appropriate or inappropriate to use them. 2 The decision to use an unethical tactic can be probably best be understood as a quasirational decision making process in which a variety of personality and situational variables are likely to affect that decision. 3 In deciding to use an unethical tactic, a negotiator is likely to be most heavily influenced by what he believes the consequences will be for his choice: will it help him accomplish his objectives, and what kind of feed back is he likely to receive from others? 4 Negotiators who have used unethical tactics in the past, or might be considering their use in the future, should strongly consider three possible consequences of using unethical tactics: a Will they really help achieve objectives? b How will they affect the quality of the relationship with this opponent in the future? c How will they affect their reputation? Negotiators frequently overlook the fact that while unethical or expedient tactics may get them what they want in the short run, these same tactics typically lead to long-term problems and to diminished effectiveness. Rules of the game An assumption: every negotiation situation involves questions of ethics. What are the understood â€Å"rules of the game?† What is fair? What is just? What is legal? What is appropriate and acceptable? What is expected? Is ethical behaviour †¦. What is practical? What is expedient? What is efficient? What serves one’s interests or a client’s interests? What is necessary to win? Like the poker player, a negotiator hopes that his opponent will overestimate the value of his hand. Like the poker player, in a variety of ways he must facilitate his opponent’s inaccurate assessment. The critical difference between those who are successful negotiators and those who are not lies in this capacity both to mislead and not to be misled. Four major approaches to ethical reasoning 1 End-result ethics (results lens) The rightness of an action is determined by evaluating its consequences. Here the question is: â€Å"what will be the result?† 2 Duty ethics ( reputation lens) The rightness of an action is determined by one’s obligation to adhere to consistent principles, laws and social standards that define what is right  and wrong. Here the question is: â€Å"what will others think?† 3 Social contract ethics ( relationship lens) The rightness of an action is based o the customs and norms of a particular society or community. The question here is: â€Å"how will this impact others?† 4 Personalistic ethics (rights lens) The rightness of the action is based on one’s own conscience and moral standards the question here is: â€Å"what should I do?† So when in an ethical quandary we answer the following questions; What will be the result? What will others think? How will this impact others? What should I do? THE IMPORTANCE OF NEGOTIATION ETHICHS Commonly held assumptions reflect negatively on the ethics of the negotiation tactics of car salespeople, lawyers, horse traders, and other people who have a reputation of trying to influence folks into reaching agreements by misrepresenting facts. This kind of stereotyping has attached itself to people from different countries, ethic groups, or even as reflected in the expression from the 60s ‘Don’t trust anyone over 30’. Negotiation is about many things; one of its central elements is convincing others to accept the accuracy or reality of information that will influence their decision. Most negotiators know that it is, indeed, possible to influence people by lying to them. But good negotiators also realize that when other parties find out they have been on the receiving end of lies, the lying negotiator’s credibility goes down to tubes. There is an old expression ‘If you cheat me once, shame on you. ‘If you cheat me twice, shame on me.’ People who have been taken in by dishonestly resent  it; if they are able, they try to get out of deals where there’s been misrepresentation. In general, a general negotiator must make positive misstatement to be held liable fraud. First, when the negotiator makes a partial disclosure that is; or becomes, misleading. Second, where the negotiator acts as a fiduciary. Third, when the negotiator has important information about the transaction not accessible to the other side. Fourth, where required by statue. On the other side we can say that negotiation is not a competitive sport. In competitive sports, the object is to end up winning the game, the race, or the event. Negotiators who focus on treating other parties as opponents run the risk of ending up with reluctant counterparties to whatever agreements may be reached. Unless all the parties are fully committed to their agreement, it may well fall apart; in those circumstances the negotiation has failed. The ethics of negotiation should be based on several understandings; Reluctant partners make undependable partners so treating negotiation partners with respect and honesty simply makes common sense. Negotiators need to recognize up front that the only reason to use negotiation to resolve a conflict, agree on a project, or conclude a sale because other parties may be able to add value an individual or a single company cannot do acting alone. Transparency in the negotiation process is more likely to bring about buy-in than hidden agendas or tricky maneuvers. Other parties have feelings. Last understanding is the Golden Rule of treating others as you would wish to be treated has the bottom line value of increasing other parties’ enthusiasm about negotiating with you as well as their enthusiasm about the ultimate  agreement. Good negotiation ethics: honesty, transparency, respect for others are all genuinely pragmatic approaches to use. A negotiator’s reputation is not unlike that of a restaurant; if you have bad meal, you are not likely to return. And a negotiator with whom others don’t want to deal is effectively out of business. Negotiator also should understand four major approaches to ethical reasoning: end-result ethics, or the principals of act utilitarianism; rule ethics, or the principle of rule utilitarianism; social contract ethics, or the principles of community-based socially acceptable behaviour; and personalistic ethics, or the principles of determining what is right buy turning to one’s conscience. Each of these approaches may be used by negotiators to evaluate appropriate strategies and tactics. Consequently we can say that negotiation ethics is more important for negotiator that’s why negotiator should recognize ethics carefully. Also unethical behaviours are most important to the negotiator. Because when he or she faced with unethical behaviour he or she should find the reasons for unethical behaviour.

Long Term Results of Earning My Degree

I believe that my long term results of earning my degree will be to help me find a job in my field of study. I think that the value of my education is priceless. I feel this way because you cannot put a price on education and knowledge. There is nothing greater than knowing that I completed my courses and could graduate from college. No matter what my age is when it happened. My personal plan for my academic future will be to graduate from my courses and earn my associates degree and possibly moving on to earn a bachelor’s degree.While earning my bachelor’s degree I can start to intern as an accountant and gain the experience necessary to further my career. I think that by doing these two things I will be more educated and qualified as an Accountant. With me gaining the experience and becoming more educated I will have a better chance for receiving a position that I have applied for because I do have the educational know how and experience. I have learned a large amount about being in a collaborative learning environment. I find this experience to be very helpful and have enjoyed working with my fellow classmates.They have allowed me to express my thoughts and views on a topic and also have helped my views and opinions to grow with theirs. I have learned so much from my classmates and I am very excited to continue on my journey. We have all worked together to gain a better understanding of the material. I learned that goal setting is an extremely important tool to help me achieve my degree. If I do not set goals I will never get things done. It is important to set smaller goals to help you achieve bigger goals. At any point in time you can adjust your goals to make them more attainable.The important thing to remember is to follow your goals according to plan, and be sure to stay on track. While taking this course I have learned how to better manage my time and try to eliminate as much stress as possible. I have made a schedule to fit my schoolwork , family time, and personal time in to my daily routine. I have found that if I do not stick to my schedule and do things according to plan I will fall behind and have to rush through things to get them done. If I do not effectively manage my time, especially while my children are in school, I have to stay up really late to get things done.If I can at least get done all my reading and notes taken while they are in school then it is fairly easy to go back and check fellow classmate responses to myself and reply to them. By doing this I am not only helping myself to get a better understanding of the material I am also helping my classmate as well. My top priority before I start my week is to get as much of my reading done the weekend before so that way when I sign in I just have to review my notes and posts my answers and responses.While I am reading I start my studying an make sure that I am taking accurate notes and I also print out the assignments so I am able to create a rough dra ft before I send my assignment to my instructor. I have learned that if I am starting to lose my concentration I will close my laptop and save what I was doing and return to it later. I do this so I can stay energized and focused, whether it is for only a few minutes or an hour or so. This the part that I really love about doing my courses online I can do it at my own pace as long as the work is completed by the due dates specified in course syllabus.I love that I can choose what way I study and learn making it personalized allows me to learn the way I am familiar with and what works for me. The resources offered to University of Phoenix students are extremely helpful. I cannot wait to utilize all of the resources. I know the one that I probably will use the most is the University Library. I say this because I will want to make sure my information that I use is credible and accurate. Another resource will be the Center for Writing Excellence, this tool will help me to check proper g rammar use, writing format, and help me cite the sources that I have used in academic work. Long Term Results of Earning My Degree I believe that my long term results of earning my degree will be to help me find a job in my field of study. I think that the value of my education is priceless. I feel this way because you cannot put a price on education and knowledge. There is nothing greater than knowing that I completed my courses and could graduate from college. No matter what my age is when it happened. My personal plan for my academic future will be to graduate from my courses and earn my associates degree and possibly moving on to earn a bachelor’s degree.While earning my bachelor’s degree I can start to intern as an accountant and gain the experience necessary to further my career. I think that by doing these two things I will be more educated and qualified as an Accountant. With me gaining the experience and becoming more educated I will have a better chance for receiving a position that I have applied for because I do have the educational know how and experience. I have learned a large amount about being in a collaborative learning environment. I find this experience to be very helpful and have enjoyed working with my fellow classmates.They have allowed me to express my thoughts and views on a topic and also have helped my views and opinions to grow with theirs. I have learned so much from my classmates and I am very excited to continue on my journey. We have all worked together to gain a better understanding of the material. I learned that goal setting is an extremely important tool to help me achieve my degree. If I do not set goals I will never get things done. It is important to set smaller goals to help you achieve bigger goals. At any point in time you can adjust your goals to make them more attainable.The important thing to remember is to follow your goals according to plan, and be sure to stay on track. While taking this course I have learned how to better manage my time and try to eliminate as much stress as possible. I have made a schedule to fit my schoolwork , family time, and personal time in to my daily routine. I have found that if I do not stick to my schedule and do things according to plan I will fall behind and have to rush through things to get them done. If I do not effectively manage my time, especially while my children are in school, I have to stay up really late to get things done.If I can at least get done all my reading and notes taken while they are in school then it is fairly easy to go back and check fellow classmate responses to myself and reply to them. By doing this I am not only helping myself to get a better understanding of the material I am also helping my classmate as well. My top priority before I start my week is to get as much of my reading done the weekend before so that way when I sign in I just have to review my notes and posts my answers and responses.While I am reading I start my studying an make sure that I am taking accurate notes and I also print out the assignments so I am able to create a rough dra ft before I send my assignment to my instructor. I have learned that if I am starting to lose my concentration I will close my laptop and save what I was doing and return to it later. I do this so I can stay energized and focused, whether it is for only a few minutes or an hour or so. This the part that I really love about doing my courses online I can do it at my own pace as long as the work is completed by the due dates specified in course syllabus.I love that I can choose what way I study and learn making it personalized allows me to learn the way I am familiar with and what works for me. The resources offered to University of Phoenix students are extremely helpful. I cannot wait to utilize all of the resources. I know the one that I probably will use the most is the University Library. I say this because I will want to make sure my information that I use is credible and accurate. Another resource will be the Center for Writing Excellence, this tool will help me to check proper g rammar use, writing format, and help me cite the sources that I have used in academic work.

Intercultural Experience

To complete this assignment I went to a cultural festival in downtown Louisville called the trolley hop. At the trolley hop there were many different cultures and cultural foods. At the trolley hop there is a â€Å"flea off market† where you can visit many different booths that are set up and visit the many different food trucks with food from different cultures. There was also a concert going on with a Hispanic music group. Another thing you can do at the trolley hop is visit the many different art galleries on market street.At the trolley hop you can interact with people from many different cultures such as black, Asian, Hispanic, and Caucasian. The purpose of the Trolley hop is to help different cultures interact with each other and share a common medium which in this case is art. At the trolley hop you can see how the different cultures perceive things differently. For example one culture may see the passion and meaning in a piece of art whereas another culture may see the piece of art as meaningless.Another example is in America if we were to see a painting with nudity we would perceive it as inappropriate whereas in most European countries nudity in art isn't perceived as inappropriate but more as a norm in their culture. I interviewed a Hispanic woman, I met at the trolley hop, about her culture and how its different from the other cultures in America. I first asked her how about the different languages in her culture, she said, that most people in her culture speak Spanish but there is no national language of Mexico.I then asked her what religions are a part of her culture and she said, most Mexicans identify themselves as Catholics but there is also some protestants, Muslims, and Jews. After talking to her about the religions in her culture I asked her if she could tell me about what they value in her culture, she told me of how they have high value on family and how Hispanic families are usually large. She said that Hispanic families also love hosting parties and how their homes play a large part in Hispanic life.I also learned that Hispanic families are usually quite traditional in the way that the father is the authority figure and the women work in the home. I also asked her about the music in her culture and she said that the most common type of music in her culture is a style of folk music called Mariachi. For my final question I asked her what different holidays are celebrated in her culture and she replied by telling me of how they celebrate â€Å"The feast of our lady Guadalupe † which is celebrated on December 12th.She said that it is a major holiday in Hispanic culture, and it is celebrating the appearance of Virgin Mary. They also celebrate a their independence day on September 16th which was when they got there independence from Spain. There are many differences between the Hispanic culture and the American culture. The differences between the language spoken in the American culture and Hispanic culture is in the American culture the most spoken language is English while in the Hispanic culture the most spoken language is Spanish otherwise known to those of the culture as Espanol Mexicano, meaning Mexican Spanish.When it comes to values there are some differences between the Hispanic culture and the American culture, the differences are in American culture Americans give a lot of importance to their profession rather than their family. And in the American culture children are brought up to be more independent with less guidance from their parents. While in the Hispanic culture, Family comes first always and their profession comes second. In the Hispanic culture men work to earn money and women take care of the home and household chores.Children are not brought up to be independent in Hispanic families and instead are brought up with a lot of care and guidance from their parents. Some other differences between the American and Hispanic culture are the difference between religion in the Hispanic and American cultures is in the Hispanic culture most people are Catholics. And religion plays a very strong role in Hispanic lives. And all Hispanic festivals are centered around religion.In the American culture every citizen has equal rights to follow the religion they would like to follow. Most people in the American culture are Christians or roman Catholics. The difference between the music in the Hispanic and American cultures are in the Hispanic culture they mainly have Mariachi style which is a variety of folk music. While in the American Culture some popular genres include pop, jazz, country, and rap. And the American music industry is the largest in the world.Some similarities between the American and Hispanic culture are In the American culture religion is a everyday part of American life while in the Hispanic culture religion is also a part ion everyday Hispanic lives. Another similarity between the American and Hispanic culture is when it comes to cuisine i n the American culture it depends on your standard of living and what region you live in on what type of food you eat. This is similar to the Hispanic culture because the type of cuisine you eat depends on your standard of living and what part of Mexico you were brought up in.The similarities in holidays celebrated in the Hispanic and American culture are in the Hispanic culture they celebrate a holiday called â€Å"The Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe† which celebrates the appearance of Virgin Mary. In the American culture a similar holiday is celebrated called â€Å"Christmas† which is celebrating the birth of Christ. When it comes to Hofstede's cultural values there are many similarities and differences between the Hispanic and American culture.A difference between the Hispanic and American culture is that the Hispanic culture is more of an collectivistic culture meaning that they place a greater emphasis on family and loyalty to their family then on the needs of the ind ividual. While the American culture is more of an individualistic culture meaning they place more emphasis on individuality and responsibility for oneself rather than family. A similarity between the Hispanic and American culture is that both cultures are low context cultures meaning that people are expected to be direct and say what they mean .And both cultures value expressing yourself. Another similarity between the American and Hispanic culture is they are both High-Power distance cultures meaning they both have power concentrated in a few people such as a political party. For example America has a President and so does Mexico. Both Hispanic and American cultures are also Masculine cultures meaning that people tend to value traditionally masculine values such as ambition, and achievement. But according to Hofstadter's research, The American Culture values masculine values but not as strongly as the Hispanic culture.When it comes to time, American Culture is a Monochronic culture meaning people of the american culture treat time as a commodity. And believe in saving time,investing time, spending time, filling time, and wasting time. While the Hispanic culture is a polychronic culture meaning they perceive time as more fluid and less structured. Instead of treating time as a commodity that must be managed properly to avoid being wasted, they perceive time more like a never ending river flowing into the future.My reaction to what I heard, saw, and experienced is I never really thought about the differences between cultures. And this experience made me realize how different we all really are. And that depending on what culture we are from makes us the people we are. I learned that in the Hispanic culture they value family more over their profession while in American culture we are more about our professions then giving our attention to our family. I enjoy learning about other cultures and learning how they are different from the American culture I was brought up in.

Men are better managers as compared to the women for a variety of Essay

Men are better managers as compared to the women for a variety of reasons - Essay Example There has been a lot of debate about the effectiveness of women as managers. Women are stereotyped to be too delicate to give their best in the position of a manager since most organizations require the managers to be rough and tough in order to be effective. â€Å"W[omen] managers could be $13,500 a year better off a year on average if only they had a sex change. That is the penalty managers pay simply for being female† (Horin, 2009). A vast majority of the contemporary organizations are quite unlike the misogynist workplaces that were omnipresent in the 1960s. Despite that, there is a significant discrimination on the basis of gender in the workplace today, with the women full-time managers earning 25 per cent lesser as compared to the male managers. Although men working more hours than women is frequently identified as a causal factor of this disparity in earning between the women and male managers, yet it is not the only factor that explains the difference in earning. In s pite of the women’s empowerment over the decades, gender-based discrimination is still a common factor that influences the organizational culture in the present age. Leila Abdalla is a General Manager who shares her experience of management in these words: â€Å"It’s never been a walk through the park to get to the top – and the challenges are more when you are up there because there are some people, who were not very comfortable working for me† (Kibakaya, 2011). There are many factors that make women too weak to be good managers. This paper discusses the gender issues at the workplace and supports the belief that women lack the strength for management. Women are very concerned about their impression on others. â€Å"Professional women often come to executive coaches to work on their perceived "weaknesses" in the workplace, with an express wish to change an undesirable behavior or pattern† (Doyle-Morris, 2007). It matters to the female managers a l ot how others think of them. While it can be a good thing for a woman in her personal life because this lets her adjust herself according to people’s expectations to gain their love and admiration, this attitude is not quite suitable for a manager. Managers need to know what they are doing and should not care about what others think of them. Otherwise, they are not in a position to do what they think is right for the organization. Female managers display a lack of confidence in their abilities particularly when the circumstances become too tough. Men least care what others think of them. They do what they think is right and it does not matter to them how it affects their image. Such an attitude helps the male managers get through in tough times. Female managers are put off by the criticism that surfaces as a result of their actions while male managers are stubborn and determined. A manager has to take a lot of criticism for his/her actions. Every strong manager takes bold ste ps that may be found offensive by many employees and stakeholders. These steps are necessary in order to execute the strategies made by the manager. This requires a lot of boldness. One has to take full responsibility for one’s actions as a manager. In such circumstances, a woman manager is often not able to take the criticism. She backs off when the stakeholders threaten her. Bullying at workplace is not

Evaluating the performance of Iranian football team utilizing linear Essay

Evaluating the performance of Iranian football team utilizing linear programming - Essay Example This in turn has a positive effect on the overall performance of the entire system. A major advantage that is experienced is that the analysis of the performance of the system can help the managers to come up with a sketch of a suitable plan for the allocation of the budget, common club revenues, rewards and the shared costs to decision making units (Cooper et al 2000). Charnes et al proposed a CCR model of Data envelopment analysis (DEA) which is a technique based on non parametric linear programming. It is normally used for measuring the relative efficiencies of a given set of decision making units which normally consume multiple inputs to produce multiple outputs. Through further studies, more improvement was done on the previous work on the BCC model. A number of publications have done addressing the application of Data envelopment analysis (DEA) in football. In regard to this Guzman and Morrow made use of information from club’s financial statements in measuring the cooperate performance using the malmquist non parametric technique to measure the efficiency and production. A study conducted in the Spanish football league whereby comparison was done and the results were obtained on the basis of the potential. The Spanish league was also analyzed from a financial point of view (Guzman & Morrow, 2007). The need for analysis of complex decision making arises from the need to monitor the performance of football teams in Iran based on the available records of finance, performance trends and all activities associated with the management of football teams. This will help to make more informed decisions and improve the management and performance of football teams. Assume that we have n number of Decision making units whereby DMUj; j=1,2,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦,n using the input levels Xiij; i=1,2,†¦,m to produce output levels yrj, r=1,2,†¦.,s. let (xj, yj) denote the input output vector of Decision making units. Consider DMU0(x0, y0) which 0Ï µ{1,2,†¦,n}. The tree has 3

Research Critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Critique - Assignment Example It also provides a basis on how two parties can negotiate their responsibilities. The study highlighted some responsibilities that parents play in the care of their children with asthmatic condition and roles of the children for their self-care. Staying with asthma have need of the implementation of a variety of responsibilities as well as keeping an eye on signs, supervising medicine, looking for medical help and working mutually with health care personnel. This paper suggests that the responsibilities of parents in taking care of children suffering from asthma should be clear. The parents and caregivers must play their roles fully because young children have little understanding about their health condition. Children’s ability to take responsibility for their condition is reliant on what they are acceptable and instructed to do by their parents and caregivers. Children get involved in different activities like playing and going to school. The kind of independence that was discovered through the study is only limited to the simple things that children can do without much knowledge about what they are doing. The level of understanding that children have is not enough to allow them take responsibility of their asthmatic condition. Children’s understandings, mutually of their own bodies and their asthmatic state could be very diverse to those of their parents, which have repercussion for their advance to self-monitoring. This critical analysis paper will extract some points from the research paper to indicate important things this research considers. Direct quotations from the research paper are useful to analyze the findings and the conclusion of this study. The argument of this paper is that the roles of children aged between seven and twelve are not clear enough. The research used open-ended interviews to children and their parents. The children interviewed said what they were able to do now as opposed to what they

Multinational Corporation Expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Multinational Corporation Expansion - Essay Example The political and legal factors ruling the target company determine the ease with which the organization can establish its business. Proper understanding of the demographics as well as socio-cultural environment of the target market will determine the strategies and promotional plans for market growth. In the current expansion plan, the company chosen is Pfizer, largest pharmaceutical company worldwide. The target market chosen will be Vietnam, where the company has launched its operations yet. COMPANY DESCRIPTION Pfizer is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in United States (Pfizer, 2013a). It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in terms of revenue. The company is involved in manufacturing and production of vaccines and medicines for a wide range of medical conditions. The company has its operations in more than 42 countries around the globe. In the current making plan, the company is planning to launch its business in Vietnam (Pfizer, 2013b). COUNTRY DESCRIPTIO N Vietnam, also known as Socialist Republic of Vietnam and is located in the eastern coast of Southeast Asia. The country is bordered by china, Laos and Cambodia. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. The country has a single party socialist system, with the government and the president having executive powers. The country is inhabited mainly by the Viet, constituting about 86 percent of the total population. The average life expectancy is 73 years. Around 70 percent of the demographics belong to age group 15- 64 and merely 7 percent of population constitute 65 years or above. In terms of health and malnutrition, it is one of the major issues in rural provinces. The country has suffered from diseases such as malaria and has made progress in establishing a south health system. DIMENSIONS OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE Management of international finance deals with monetary and financial decisions taken in the area of international business. High inflation of international trade is responsible f or the growth in international business. Thus, while doing international trade, involvement of trade and tariffs is normal and financial management becomes critical as these trade laws and regulations are different for different international markets. International finance is different from domestic finance. There are three dimensions of International finance which differentiates it from others; 1. Political risks and Foreign exchange, 2. Imperfections in market, and 3. Expanded set of opportunities. Political risks and Foreign exchange When individuals and companies are involved in cross-border transactions, they are exposed to risk associated with foreign exchange markets. These are foreign exchange risks and political risks. The companies are exposed to risk in terms of currency rates and nature of the foreign markets. To curb these risks, Pfizer can opt for conducting business in the local currency. Vietnam’s forex market has remained low, so to decrease the forex risk, P fizer can utilize the foreign risk management techniques used in United States. Political risks range from unexpected changes in tax laws to inappropriate or misuse of assets by foreigners. The economic development

Protecting intellectual property rights in software Assignment

Protecting intellectual property rights in software - Assignment Example This paper examines the types of copying and how they can be protected using the intellectual property rights protections such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks. To begin with, software market loses billions of dollars every year because of illegal copying. This has particularly been witnessed in Qatar where report shows that the country has lost millions of dollars to pirates in the software industry (Banerjee 2003, p.98). The duplication is usually done in two different ways namely software duplication and reverse engineering. Through these two methods, pirates have found it easy to duplicate the original works of others and use the pirated software to enrich themselves at the expense of the original producers (Banerjee 2003, p.98). In fact, presently most software shops in Qatar are full of illegally acquired software. However, as earlier stated, this is a global problem that needs joint effort through legislation of policies to protect the intellectual property rights in the software industry. However, there exist three different methods through which intellectual property rights in the software industry can be protected. These include patents, copyrights, and trademarks. All these methods protect software rights in different ways. A patent is one of the most common intellectual property rights protections. ... A patent usually provides this protection by granting exclusive monopoly the right to produce, sell, and utilize the invention for twenty years (Banerjee 2003, p.99). Report indicates that the exclusive monopoly for production, use, and sale of the software are usually perceived as a reward for the effort and time spent in coming up with the new invention. Report by Business Software Alliance (2009, p.5) indicated that in countries like the U.S. in order for an inventor to obtain a patent, he or she must make a formal application to the Patent Office and prove that the invention for which protection through patent is being sought is actually new, important, and unique according to Banerjee (2003, p.99). Patents are indeed a very useful tool for protecting software. This is based on the fact it is capable of protecting program features that other methods such as trademarks and copyrights cannot (Banerjee 2003, p.99). This is because a patent can protect features such as an inventorâ⠂¬â„¢s ideas, methods, functions, algorithms, and systems personified in the software product. In this regard, it also provides protection to software features such as user-interface features, program language, editing functions, operating system techniques, translation methods, menu arrangements, and compiling techniques among others. Once a patent has been granted for a particular software, it immediately becomes illegal for anyone to produce, use, or sell such patented products without the consent of the owner. Therefore, any contravention amounts to a breach of the law, which usually results into penalties and damages and sometimes may result in incarceration (Arai 2012, p.2). It, therefore, becomes very important for

Effects of Administrative Corruption in the Public Sector Essay

Effects of Administrative Corruption in the Public Sector - Essay Example Data will be analyzed with the help of statistical software to ensure the validity of the information collected. The study is intended to be spread over a duration of no more than three months. According to Rabl & Kuhlmann (2008), corruption refers to deviant behavior that could occur in the politics, society, the economy, or within an organization, for the benefit of an individual or an institution. Such acts of corruption are kept in secret and are damaging to all the individuals involved, particularly to people who have contributed funds and have been cheated on. It has been found to have wide-ranging and profound effects and research studies have actually found a relationship between corruption and private investment as well as growth. There is also a connection between corruption and currency rises and capital flows, higher income inequality, poverty, inflation, inferior resource allocation, distorted expenditures by the government, thereby all lowering standards of public life (Faria 2001). The researcher aims to find out the problems that are the result of corruption that has not yet been explored. For this study, the researcher shall focus on the public sector, since corruption done in the public sector is more detrimental towards the well-being of the global society. According to the Law Commission in its Consultation Paper on Corruption, public bodies are more prone to corruption as compared to private bodies (Law Commission 1997). The public sector plays a vital role in the economic development of a country.  

Modern Business Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern Business - Annotated Bibliography Example 'Chandler, A D', International Encyclopedia of Business and Management, 1996, pp.612-7 C.J.Schmitz, The Growth of Big Business in the United States and Western Europe, 1850-1939 (London: Macmillan, 1993) M E Porter, 'The Competitive Advantage of Nations', Harvard Business Review, March-April 1990, pp.73-93 f. You should note that the following are classics on the course's topic matter and know of their existence, but it is not so essential to read them directly: A.Gershenkron, Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective (Harvard University Press, 1962) S.Kuznets, Modern Economic Growth: Rate, Structure, and Spread (Yale University Press, 1966) D.C.North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Cambridge University Press, 1990) M.Weber, Economy and Society (1917) g. Useful sources of on-line information, statistics, and national surveys will, however, be particularly useful: United Nations - Statistics Division: www.unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/Introduction United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations: www.unctc.unctad.org/aspx.index.aspx World Bank: www.worldbank.org International Monetary Fund: www.imf.org Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development: www.oecd.statsportal Central Intelligence Agency: www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook Institute of Management Development: www.imd.ch/wccc World Economic Forum: www.weforum.org Research and development: http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10003718.shtml All of these organisations also provide statistics and publications in hard copy. The World Economic Forum publishes...Baumol etal., Convergence of Productivity: Cross-national Studies and Historical Evidence (1994) B Dornseifer and J Kocka, 'The Impact of the Preindustrial Heritage: Reconsiderations on the German Pattern of Corporate Development in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol 2 (1993) P.Krugman, 'Competitiveness: A Dangerous Obsession', Foreign Affairs, March-April 1994, pp.28-44, and 'Proving My Point', Foreign Affairs, July-August 1994, pp.198-203. Reprinted in P.Krugman, Pop Internationalism (MIT Press, 1996), pp.3-33. [382 KRU] A.L.Kallenberg, The Comparative Study of Business Organizations and their Employees', in C.Calhoun (ed.), Comparative Social Research vol. 12 (1990) [SL offprint. NB. This is shelved under Kallenberg not Calhoun.] R.Fitzgerald and C.Rowley, 'From Hands To Resources: Explanation, Perspective And History', in Human Resources and the Firm in International Perspective, Vol.I (London: Edward Elgar, 1996), [SL 331 HUM] B Dornseifer and J Kocka, 'The Impact of the Preindustrial Heritage: Reconsiderations on the German Pattern of Corporate Development in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol 2 (1993) J Williams, C Haslam, and K Williams, 'Bad Work Practices and Good Management Practices: the Consequences of the Exte

Extremely Fat and Barely Digesting Junk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Extremely Fat and Barely Digesting Junk - Essay Example   Healthy food is cheaper for consumers, therefore more money remains in savings, living standard increases, healthy way of life can be (and should be) example for the further generation, it means much healthier and tough people. All people know that with a bad fuel car will drive for two or three meters then it will be broken. So the people are, people’s fuel is food and bad food can cause problems with proper digesting since the organism is the system of systems, malfunction of one will ruin others. Proved fact that abusive eating of fast food results in problems with health decreases savings, cultivates the improper way of life and disregards of healthy food. Failure of digesting system (diabetes or obesity) results in the problems with locomotor and endocrine systems and it can lead to fatal outcome. Healthy food provides enough energy for the proper functioning of the organism and human body remains healthy. Spreading of fast food concept can critically affect the society. Increasing of fast food institution taxation will not have the result, such institution will raise costs for favorite American food and they buy it even for enormous prices, it will make people from the low-income class feel the last hold slipping away. One should use other methods of impact; however, such methods will not be discussed in the present paper. The rate of people suffering from obesity and diabetes is constantly sky-rocketing. Understanding of what is healthy, and what is not will help people to fight killing diseases. It needs fundamental changes, and not only in the government, more importantly, to change the mentality. Society should eradicate the concept of eating-on-the-run. The most precious thing in human’s life is health; nothing in the world will help to return health. And junk food is strong means to deprive the health.  

Hope Leslie Essay Example for Free

Hope Leslie Essay In the novel, Hope Leslie, Catherine Maria Sedgwick uses personal analysis as well as historical information to create an uncannily realistic tale of romance, racial prejudice and religion. Throughout the book, Sedgwick emphasizes relations between the Native American peoples and the European Americans living in Massachusetts in the 1640’s. She is able to do this specifically with the characters of Magawisca, the Native American slave with the will of a lioness, Everell Fletcher, the handsome much wanted white male protagonist, Hope Leslie, a strong headed young woman who symbolizes modernism in the piece and Esther Downing, Hope Leslie’s literary foil. Through the relationships between Everell and each of the three female protagonists, Magawisca, Esther and Hope, Sedgwick stresses that the relations between Native Americans and Americans will never be fully amiable due to religious, societal, natural influences. The first relationship of the three relationships that are mentioned in the writing is that of Everell and Magawisca. Sedgwick uses the mother, Mrs. Fletcher, to introduce this young love between the white boy and his Native American acquaintance in a letter to Mr. Everell while he is away from their home at Bethel. â€Å"The boy doth greatly affect the company of the Pequod girl, Magawisca†, she writes,† He hath taught her how to read† (32). This action between the two children shows Magawisca gradually assimilating into the American society and thus, becoming more Americanized and less â€Å"savage† as literacy is considered a civilized ability. As Magawisca dismisses the basic principles of Puritanism, however, it is clear that there is a definitive divide between the Native American and her new family’s beliefs. As religious tenets are defining features of a person and his or her background, Magawisca can never completely assume the American ways without acknowledging the religion. Thus, the relations between her and Everell will not be able to last due to their difference in. Thus, religious differences create adversities in the relationship and ultimately attribute its failure. Mrs. Fletcher directly highlights the fact that the relationship will inevitably fail when she compares the two adolescents to plants: â€Å"Two young plants that have sprung up in close neighborhood, may be separated while young; but if disjoined after their fibers are all intertwined, one, or perchance both, may perish† (33). This statement implies that nature will undoubtedly separate the Everell and Magawisca in the future and the longer they stay together, the more difficult it will be for each of them to survive when they are torn apart. The emphasis on the fact that nature will tear the Native American and the white boy apart is particularly interesting because towards the end of the book Sedgwick brings up the relation between nature and love when speaking about Everell and Hope. In the later case, however, Sedgwick writes, â€Å"Nature will rejoice in reciprocated love, under whatever adversities it comes† (351). This contradictory statement brings to light the idea that reciprocal love between and American and Native Indian will never last no matter how strong the connection is, yet reciprocal love between two Americans will last no matter how many hardships the couple face. Based on Sedgwick’s blatant double-standards, it is clear that relations between the same races are favored, creating yet another issue between Native American and White relations. As the novel progresses, Everell encounters another relationship except this time with Esther Downing. Though this kinship does not directly involve a Native American counterpart, the future diminishment of this bond is directly based on Native American-white relations specifically concerning Magawisca. When Magawisca is apprehended after meeting with Hope Leslie, she is captured on the grounds that she is â€Å"suspected of being an active agent in brewing the conspiracy forming against [the white people] among the Indian tribes†(245). Therefore she is solely arrested on the basis of suspicion, not proof, and only because of her racial affiliations and the skepticism surrounding the Native American peoples at the time. It is this imprisonment of Magawisca that proceeds to highlight the differences between Everell and Esther and future accentuates the fact that relations between the two races will never be completely peaceful. The reactions both Everell and Esther have towards the situation seem to be the same, however the way each of them handle it show that no matter how much the Americans want to have loyal relations with the Natives it will not work. Once Magawisca is imprisoned Everell tried to enlist the help of Esther to free her however, Esther believes that they â€Å"had not scripture warrant for interfering between the prisoner and the magistrates† (292) implying, that she was too morally and religiously strict to free Magawisca without consent to do so. It wasn’t that Esther disliked Magawisca, in fact, she plainly stated that â€Å"those who love [Everell] need no know this maiden to feel that they would save her life at the expense of their own, if they might do it† (293). The restriction on the loyal and amicable friendship both Esther and Magawisca could share was not hindered by distaste for one another, but instead because of strict religious views and moral conduct. This dissent between Everell’s wishes and Esther’s duty brings about the notion â€Å"that there was a painful discord between them† (293) and they are evidently not compatible. The final relationship, between Everell and Hope, shed a positive light the fact that white relations with Native Americans could in fact be successful. Magawisca’s freedom gave both Everell and Hope a mutual cause to fight for and finally allowed them to express the feelings they had suppressed for so long. She pushed both parties to reveal their true love for each other. â€Å"Ask you own heart, Hope Leslie, if any charm could win your affections from Everell Fletcher? † (350). These lines not only instigated a relationship between two soul mates but also affirmed a very close relationship between Hope and Magawisca. This gesture paralleled what Hope did to Esther when she let Esther have a relationship with Everell even though she loved him. It is evident that Magawisca still has feelings for Everell by her reactions to seeing him: â€Å"An involuntary exclamation burst from her lips; and then shuddering at this exposure of her feelings, she hastily gathered together the moccasins that were strewn over the floor, dropped a pair at Hope’s feet, and darted away† (193). Her burst of emotions and flustered actions prove she had feelings for Everell and by sacrificing those feelings for Hope’s happiness, she is delineating that she is in fact, just as good of a friend to Hope as Hope is to Esther. Thus, the relations between Indians and Americans can in fact occur with the upmost loyalty and respect. Though Hope and Everell’s relationship does indicate that the two races can coexist in harmony, Magawisca still makes it clear that thought the individuals may be on good terms, their society as a whole is not by dutifully stating â€Å"the law of vengeance is written on our hearts†¦ the Indian and the white man can no more mingle, and become one, than day and night† (349). The revengeful nature the Native Americans still associate with the white peoples of Massachusetts still trumps any possible platonic or affable relations between the two races. Thus, societal influence once again hinders harmony. Through each of the three relationships it is evident that good relations between the Indians and the Americans may only exist if the mindset of all parties involved is modernist and accepting of all races. In addition, Sedgwick also determines, with the relationship of Faith, Hope’s sister, and Oneco, Magawisca’s brother, that if one of the lovers in the relationship completely assimilates into the culture of the other, a healthy, loving kinship may blossom. Though Sedgwick does portray Native American people in relatively positive light throughout the novel, through her delineation of forbidden and accepted love, she makes it evident that the cultural and ideological barriers between Americans and the American Indians cannot ever be completely lifted.

Organisational structures and cultures

Organisational structures and cultures Introduction Case study: This case study is about Mr Smiths restaurant. Mr Smith is a foreigner who has lived in the UK for many years. His family in Africa operates a chain of restaurants across the continent and he is therefore familiar with this kind of business. At present the Smith Restaurant has a central location in London, close to many attractions and is easily accessible by public transport. His restaurant is a small family business he is the founder, owner and also the Managing Director. Although he has two Assistant Managers and three Supervisors, he has a direct control over management and operational issues such as hiring of staff, marketing, sales promotion, accounting and finance department. The restaurant has fifty employees mostly made up of international students who work part time. These students are attracted by the flexible working conditions that Mr Smith offers. This allows them to work part time during term time and full time during vacation. Recently the restaurant has seen a big increase in its customers due to the popularity of its European and International cuisines. These factors have convinced Mr Smith of the wisdom of opening similar restaurants throughout the UK. Mr Smith is the one who makes all decisions and he has a direct control over management and other operational issues. The current issue at the restaurant is that Mr Smith is reluctant to recruit new staff and to cope with the increased activity in the restaurant he has reduced staff lunch time. Some staff felt that these changes should not have been introduced without their consent. When one employee complained about the situation, he was sacked. The rest of the employees are unhappy but they are afraid to voice their concerns for fear of loosing their jobs. According to Mr Smith, he pays his employees very well and therefore they will be happy with his decisions; his decisions are not for debate; managers should make the decisions and subordinates must obey. He does not believe in consulting staff when he has to make important decisions. As a result, a feeling of helplessness, alienation, and fear have developed amongst staff. The recent changes in employees working conditions have increased the levels of absenteeism and lateness. Mr Smith is now very concerned that if such trends continue, the restaurant may not be able to cope with the increased customer demand. Being one of the longest serving employees, Mr Smith asked me to consider the above issues and advise him in light of the expansion and recent developments of the business. My task is to advise him on the followings within the chain of new restaurants. Organisational structures and cultures; Approaches to management and leadership styles; Motivational theories and their application; Group behaviour, teamwork and technology TASK 1: Organisational structures and cultures within the UK restaurants Organisational structure creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, organised, controlled, and directed towards the goals and objectives of the organisation. The structure defines tasks and responsibilities, roles, relationships and communication. Within the UK, most restaurants have entrepreneurial, functional and geographical structures. Entrepreneurial Structure: This structure is appropriate for small owner managed companies, for examples: a small restaurant, a small-scale industrial unit, or a small proprietary concern. Functional Structure: This is the most commonly used basis for grouping activities according to specialisation that is organising the business according to what each department does. Specialised skills and delegation of authority to managers are needed to look after different functional areas. Geographical structure: Activities are grouped according to location. Different services are provided by geographical boundaries according to particular needs and demands, the convenience of consumers, or for ease of administration. Advantages and disadvantages of organisational structures The UK restaurants may have hierarchical, tall or flat structure Hierarchical structure: Refers to †¢ Authority: the right to exercise powers such as hiring and firing or buying and selling on behalf of the organisation †¢ Responsibility: the allocation of tasks to individuals and groups within the organisation †¢ Accountability: the need for individuals to explain and justify any failure to fulfil their responsibilities to their superiors in the hierarchy Tall and flat hierarchical structures: In the tall structure there are narrower spans of control and more levels of command that is many managerial levels and fewer staff. In the flat structure there are broader spans of control and few levels of command that is few managerial levels and many staff. For example, the McDonalds restaurants all have a flat structure. The manager in each place of business controls the other assistants and employees. He takes all the decisions and he is in charge of the main functions like, R D, marketing, finance and human resources and the other staff do the selling. Advantages of tall and flat structures Organisational cultures Charles Handy defined it as: The way things are done around here Every business is made up of different cultures, and the cultures that are present within the business depend on the management styles and organisational structures that are used. Handys four types of cultures are: Power culture: Best suited for small entrepreneurial organisations and relies on trust, empathy and personal communication for its effectiveness. Role culture: Emphasizes on power and position within the organisation. This type of culture applies when organisations are big and inflexible. Task culture: Job-oriented or project-oriented. This works well in a matrix organisation structure. Person culture: Works around educated individuals. Examples are groups of barristers, architects, doctors or consultants. Looking at Handys four main types of organisation cultures it can be seen that most of the UK restaurants adopt the power culture. Organisational structure and culture of Mr Smiths restaurant After analysing Mr Smiths case study and the latest issues, it is clear that his restaurant is adopting an entrepreneurial and hierarchical structure, and a power culture since it is a family owned business where there is excessive reliance is on the owner-manager; Mr Smith has authority, responsibility and accountability within the organisation. The distribution of tasks, the definition of authority and responsibility, and the relationship between members of the organisation are established on a personal and informal basis. Therefore I am convinced that the management style, organisational structure and culture are influencing employees behaviour within organisation. However, with Mr Smiths plan to expand and develop new restaurants across the UK, there is need for a formal organisational structure and culture, which has to be carefully designed, so as to avoid conflict and encourage the willing participation of staff for effective organisational performance. I believe that Mr Smith business should have a flat structured along functional lines with major areas including, Sales and Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, and Purchasing Departments. With a flat structure the business will have: †¢ A wide span of control encouraging delegation and motivation through job enrichment. †¢ Lower management overhead costs. †¢ Better communications as horizontal and lateral communication is encouraged. †¢ Real and meaningful promotions. †¢ Closer contact between top management and lower levels Factors that may influence individual behaviour of Mr Smiths employees The individual: The individual is a central feature of organisational behaviour. When the needs of the individual and the demands of the organisation are incompatible, this can result in frustration and conflict. Then it the work of the management to integrate the individual and the organisation and to provide a working environment where individuals needs is satisfied as well as organisation goals are achieved. The group: Group exists in all organisations and are essential to their working and performance. People in groups influence each other in many ways and groups may develop their own hierarchies and leaders. Group pressures can have a major influence over the behaviour and performance of individual members. The organisation: Individual behaviour is affected by patterns of organisation structure, technology, styles of leadership and systems of management through which organisational processors are planned, directed and controlled. Therefore, the focus of attention is on the impact of organisation structure and design, and patterns of management, on the behaviour of people within the organisation. TASK 2: How organisational theory underpins principles and practices of management, how this would impact on the new restaurants? The study of management theory (also termed management thinking) and its application in organisations brings changes in behaviour. It helps to understand the principles underlying the process on management. It helps to understand the interrelationship between management theory, principles and practices of management, and behaviour in organisations. Managers learned about how they should behave. This will influence their attitudes towards management practice. The different approaches to management theory are: Classical approach; scientific management; Bureaucracy; Human relations approach; Systems approach; and Contingency approach. These various approaches underpin the common principles of management that organisations should practice in their business, which mean they are based on views of organisations, their purpose and responsibilities, structure, division of work, hierarchy of management, technical requirements, rules and regulations and behaviour. Fayol 14 Principles of Management: 1. Division of work: Specialisation increases output as employees become more efficient. 2. Authority: Gives managers the right to give orders. 3. Discipline: Employees must conform to respect the rules that govern the organisation and the use of penalties for breaking the rules. 4. Unity of command: Only one superior should give orders to employees. 5. Unity of direction: Organisational activities having the similar objective should be directed by one manager using one plan. 6. Subordination of individual interests to general interest: The organisation interest should dominate employees or group interests. 7. Remuneration: A fair wage for workers and their services. 8. Centralisation: The degree to which subordinates participate in decision-making. 9. Scalar chain: Communications should follow this chain. 10. Order. People and materials should be in the right place at the right time. 11. Equity. Managers should be kind and fair to their subordinates. 12. Stability of tenure. High employee turnover is inefficient. Management should provide orderly personnel planning and ensure that replacements are available to fill vacancies. 13. Initiative. Employees who are allowed to originate and carry out plans will exert high levels of effort. 14. Esprit de corps. Promoting team spirit will build harmony and unity within the organisation. Suggestion: Mr Smith should follow these principles of management. Managers will have to perform these five functions (by H Fayol): Plan and forecast; organise; command; coordinate; and control. The different approaches to management theory Classical approach: †¢ Emphasis on purpose; †¢ Formal structure; †¢ Division of work; †¢ Hierarchy of management; †¢ Technical requirements; †¢ Common principles of organisation. Scientific management and Bureaucracy are the two sub-grouping of the classical approach. Scientific management F .W Taylor (1911): †¢ Scientific selection and training of workers; †¢ Development of a true science for each element of an individuals work; †¢ Co-operation with the employees to ensure work is done as set; †¢ Division of work and responsibility between management and the employees; †¢ Improve production efficiency through work studies, tools, economic incentives. Bureaucracy Max Weber (1947): †¢ Formal hierarchical structure; †¢ Organisation by functional specialty; †¢ Rules and regulation; †¢ Impersonality; †¢ Employment based on technical qualifications. Human relations approach: †¢ Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies (1933) discovered that the informal organisation, social norms, acceptance, and sentiments of the group determined individual work behaviour. †¢ Maslow, McGregor, Herzberg, and many others stressed the importance of social relations in organisations, understanding workers and managers as human beings with social and emotional needs. Systems approach: Organisations are open systems that constantly interact with the external environment: Inputs (resources and information) transformation process outputs (products, services, information) feedback Contingency approach: Contingency theory does not identify or recommend any particular approach to organisation and management. Appropriate management approach depends on situational factors faced by an organisation. Suggestion: After comparing the above managerial approaches I believe that the classical approach will best suit Mr Smith restaurants. The classical approach centres on understanding the purpose of an organisation and then examining its structure. They play emphasis on the planning of work, technical requirements, principal of management and behaviour. Attention is given to the division of work, duties, responsibilities, maintaining specialisation and co-ordination, hierarchy of management and formal organisational relationships. TASK 3: Different leadership styles and their effectiveness Definition: Leadership in an organisation is to lead employees to work in a given direction to achieve its goals and objectives. The three styles of leadership are: Autocratic leadership: All authority is centred on the leader and decisions are enforced by means of rewards and the fear of punishment. Communication is one-way, from the leader to the followers. Advantage: Quick decision-making. Disadvantage: Its effect upon group morale; creates conflict. Democratic leadership: In contrast, democratic takes into account the suggestions of the members and of the leader. It is a human relations approach, in which all members of the group can participate and contribute to improve the quality of the final decision. Advantages: Increased morale and support for better decisions through shared ideas among group members. Disadvantages: Slower decision-making and diluted accountability for decisions. Laissez-faire leadership: The leader exercises very little control over group members. A member is given a goal and mostly left alone to decide how to achieve it. The leader functions mainly as a group member, providing only as much advice and direction as is requested. Advantage: Opportunity for individual development offered to group members. All persons are given the chance to express themselves and to function relatively independently. Disadvantage: Lack of group cohesion and unity toward organisational objectives. Without a leader, the group may have little direction and lack of control. The result can be inefficiency or even worse, chaos. Suggestion: Mr Smith is applying an authoritative leadership in his first restaurant because his business is small. But now that he wants to expand his business he has to adopt a different style of leadership. I would suggest that he has to adopt the democratic leadership within his new restaurant. This is because the democratic style is a human relation approach in which all staff participates and contributes in the decision-making. This will prevent conflict between staff. Different motivational theories and their application Definition: Motivation can be described as the direction and persistence of action. It is concerned with why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others. The purpose of motivational theories is to predict behaviour. The difference theories of motivation are: The hierarchy of needs are shown as a series of steps in the form of a pyramid; it implies a thinning out needs as people progress up the hierarchy. Based on Maslows theory, once the lower-level needs have been satisfied (physiological and safety needs) people advanced up the hierarchy. Therefore to provide motivation for a change in behaviour, the manager must direct attention to the next level of needs (love or social needs) that seek satisfaction. McGregor Theory X Y Theory X assumptions: People inherently dislike work. People must be supervised to do work to achieve objectives. People prefer to be directed. Theory Y assumptions: -People view work as being as natural as play and rest. -People will exercise self-direction and self-control towards achieving objectives they are committed to. -People learn to accept and seek responsibility. Herzbergs Two-factor theory McClelland theory: Need for achievement: Personal responsibility Feedback Moderate risk Need for power: Influence Competitive Need for affiliation: Acceptance and friendship Cooperative Suggestion: Mr Smith does not delegate; does not give employees responsibilities; employees are not considered part of the group; they feel insecure in the employment; they cannot voice their opinions; he imposes his rules and regulations on employees. In addition he has reduced employees lunch-time. Here Mr Smith is using McGregors Theory X; employees are unhappy and de-motivated to work as their lunch-time has been reduced but their wages have not increased. Therefore, since he wants to expand his business throughout UK, I will recommend the Maslows hierarchy of needs theory to Mr Smith. Managers will have to provide motivation for a change in behaviour by satisfying the lower-level needs so that the employees basic salary, safe working conditions (need to stay alive, have food, shelter) and job security, fringe benefits, protection against unemployment, illness are satisfied. This will encourage the willing participation of employees for effective organisational performance. The relationship between motivational theory and the practice of management The purpose of motivational theories is to predict behaviour; and behaviour of people in organisations depends on practices of management. If managers practise Fayols 14 principles of management, then employees at all levels are motivated to work. People generally respond in the manner in which they are treated. Therefore, to control human behaviour a heavy responsibility is placed on managers and the activity of management, where attention must also be given to appropriate systems of motivation, job satisfaction and rewards. Accordingly, Mr Smith must understand how good management practices will motivate staff to work. Managers should plan and forecast, organise, command, coordinate, and control appropriately in an attempt to satisfy employees needs so that they are motivated to work. This will create an organisational climate in which employees can work willingly and effectively to achieve the goals of the organisation. Managers should get the best performance from employees to attract more customers. Managers should apply this policy: The needs, wants and rights of employees to be treated fairly and with dignity. TASK 4: Nature of groups and group behaviour within organisations A group comprises two or more individuals who interact in the collective pursuit of a common goal. They share values and goals, are involved in regular activities together, and identify themselves as members of the group and are identified as such by others. (From lecture notes AJ). Another useful way of defining group is a collection of people who share most, if not all, of the following characteristics: A definable membership; Group consciousness; A sense of shared purpose; Interdependence; Interaction; Ability to act in a unitary manner. Formal groups (official groups): Created to carry out specific tasks set up by the organisation to complete assigned tasks. Formal groups may be divided into two categories: 1. Functional groups: Consist of varying size of work units, with a manager and subordinates who are responsible for a range of duties and functions within the organisation, for example: the finance department, the salaries section and the revenues section. 2. Task groups: Created for the dispatch of specific business or operations, such as a project team, management team or co-ordinating committee. Informal groups (unofficial groups): Created by the individual members for the purpose of sharing a common interest. Importance of informal groups: The spread of information through informal networks the grapevine is often much faster and more influential than through formal groups. There is the potential for conflict between roles held in formal and informal groups particularly in respect of leadership, where the informal leader may not be the same person as the formal leader. Two informal groups: 1. Interest groups: develop around the shared pursuit of a specific goal by certain employees, which may or may not be related to the organisation. 2. Friendship groups: Individuals joining together for various social activities The factors influencing Group Behaviour: Cole (1996) Size of the group Leadership and management style Group cohesiveness Motivation of group members Norms of groups Group/team roles The work environment The group task Factors leading to effective teamwork within the new business Peters and Waterman defines five factors for effective teamwork: 1. The numbers should be small: each member will then represent the interest of his or her department. 2. The team should be of limited duration: Exist only to resolve a particular task. 3. Membership should be voluntary. 4. Communication should be informal and unstructured. 5. It should be action-oriented. The team should finish with a plan for action. The influences that threaten success of teamwork The team does not work around the unreliable people. A smaller group of people does most of the work and a larger group pretends to help. Sometimes team members do not work well together and may work against each other. This may result dysfunctional teams, caused by: Lack of trust is the most common problem afflicting teams; Lack of team cohesiveness Lack of a clearly defined purpose Impact of technology on team functioning Technology: Technologies such as e-mail, mobile phones, blackberry, groupware and computers can improve and in some cases delay team functioning. To be able to function effectively, teams must be kept up-to-date with knowledge as technology changes. Communication: Successful teams communicate successfully by email, mobile phone, phone technologies such as blackberry and 3G data cards and 3GB USB dongles, groupware and personal computers. Change: Successful teams can successfully bring-up change. Teams will become less effective and efficient if they do not respond to changing internal and external factors. In contrast, responsive teams are more effective, efficient and, are able to rise to the challenges of the modern business world. Networks and virtual teams: In the modern connected world, it is easier for teams to communicate and network. It is possible to create virtual teams which never (or rarely) meet in physical locations and use a range of web tools to communicate and collaborate. Global and cross-cultural teams Task 5: Strategies for the restaurants stakeholders needs Employees: †¢ Mr has to adopt HR practices to ensure that the organisation is able to achieve success through people. †¢ Staffing the organisation: Sufficient numbers of the right people in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost for the organisation. †¢ Reward and recognition: Creating structures that maximise recruitment, retention and motivation; obtaining the best performance from the people available. †¢ Performance improvement throughout the organisation, for individual, team and organisational effectiveness †¢ Managing behaviour ensuring that individuals are encouraged to behave in a way that allows and fosters better working relationships. Customers: Mr Smith and his area managers should monitor the changing requirements and expectations of its customers, and the quality of service they require. Conclusion and recommendations With Mr Smiths plan to expand and develop new restaurants across the UK, there is need for a formal organisational structure and culture, which has to be carefully designed to encourage the willing participation of staff for effective organisational performance. Mr Smith should follow the principles of management managers will have to perform these five functions (by H Fayol); plan and forecast; organise; command; coordinate; and control. The classical approach will suit his business as it plays emphasis on the planning of work, technical requirements, principle of management and behaviour. Alongside he has to adopt the democratic leadership in which all members of the group can participate and contribute to improve the quality of the final decision. Area managers will have to provide motivation for a change in behaviour by satisfying the employees needs through rewards. Reference Websites: 1. http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1269812 2. http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/courses/LIS1230/LIS1230sharma/history6.htm (Maslows hierarchy of needs) 3. http://www.hnc-business.co.uk/unit3.html Module Tutor Lecture notes and emails: Dhlamini S., 2009. Organisations and Behaviour (unit 3) H1, HND in Business. London: Guildhall College Bibliography Book: Mullins L J ., 2000. Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. Essex: FT/Prentice Hall

Culture Stereotypes in Advertising

Culture Stereotypes in Advertising Case Study: HSBC Eels AD According to standard view, a culture is a complex set of shared beliefs, values and concepts which enables a group to make sense of its own life and which provides it with directions for how to live. This set might be called a basic belief system. By internalizing a particular belief system and its attendant forms of feeling and interaction a person acquires the basic of his or her identity. A culture penetrates its individual members mentally and socially. This penetration produces in them their distinctive capacities and characteristics. In this holistic way identity is a function of enculturation (cited in Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004, pp.60-61) HSBC- a public limited company based at United Kingdom since 1993 in the expansion name of Hongkong and shanghais Bank Corporation. It is one of the worlds largest banking groups. It has enomorous operational base and local branches all over the world saying in their advert tagline HSBC-Worlds local Bank. The adverts about the company and its services have come through distinctive since its establishment. The advertisements that come through have always been the representation of neither Chinese nor English culture or both for its promotional campaign on television. I would like to argue why the culture is represented in the context of stereotypical characteristics in the (Eels) HSBC advert. What process does stereotype involve? Hall (1997:268) writes that stereotypes get hold of the few simple, vivid, memorable, easily grasped and widely recognized characteristic about a person, reduce everything about that person to those traits, exaggerate and simplify them, and fix them without change or development to eternity. Moreover stereotype both reflects and promotes particular perspectives, Osullivan, (Hall, 1997, cited in Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004, p.126). With the help of Stuart Hall theory on stereotypes, the representation of culture in the advertisements and its characteristics can be explained. In the HSBC Eels Advert, set in a Chinese restaurant where the English man is served a meal and the English custom believe its a slur on your host food if you dont clear your plate and the Chinese generosity to fill up the plate until they are satisfied. In this Advertisement both the culture is represented and especially the Chinese culture is portrayed in a stereotypical and in a comical way. Most of the HSBC Ads are interlinked with the representation of Chinese culture because of its brand from country-of- origin. It is generally assumed that things go wrong because two cultural groups behave differently, which makes communication between them problematic. So culture becomes negative term rather than a positive one. (Cited in Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004, pp. 62) The ways in which we commonly understand the advertisements are the categories and concepts that are historically and culturally specific. This means that all the ways of understanding are historically and culturally relative in some way. Our current accepted ways of understanding the world, is a product not of objective observation, but the social processes and interactions of the people are still constant. There are always two ways of representation involved; mental representation and public representation. Beliefs, intentions and preferences are mental representations and signal, utterances, texts and pictures are all public representations. Public representations are material oriented. Public representations are generally means of communication between user and a producer distinct from one another. So these representations are used to serve the purpose of commodity by the producers through consumers. Culture identity Is it that collective or true self hiding inside many other, more superficial or artificially imposed selves which a people with a shared history and ancestry hold in common (Hall, 1990). Above all in relation to the process of globalization, which I would argue are coterminous with modernity (Hall, 1996) and the process of forced and free migration which have become a global phenomenon of the so-called post-colonial world (Hall, 1996, pp. 3-4). The concept of identity is both theoretically and politically discoursed in the modern developed world. The definition of culture identity is always under ongoing changing process according to the culture variations in generation. Stereotypes are defined as social classification of particular groups and people as often highly simplified and generalised signs, which implicitly or explicitly represent a set of values, judgements and assumptions concerning their behaviour, characteristics or history. Stereotypes however, not only identify general categories of people, it also signifies national populations, classes, genders, occupation in a deviant groups. It also seems that we commonly have stereotypical ideas about people on basis of their language accents. In the HSBC Eels ad the Chinese set of values, characteristics are portrayed as stereotypical, alike in the Guillin fisherman, Lantern, Ant energy, advertisements of HSBC. These stereotypical aspects are because of the brands country-of-origin effect. In terms of market discourses, it can be defined as the country which a consumer associates with a certain product or brand as being its source, regardless of where the product is actually produced. Since the prior knowledge that a given country is associated with a certain brand ensures that exposure to the brand name triggers recall of that country and its attributes. It is important to point out that this experience may take actually result in a purchase, and it may in fact have nothing to do with any purchase decision whatsoever. It may take place purely in the realm of experiencing and processing, consciously or subconsciously, advertising messages about brands, countries and language to which individual is exposed every day (Cited in Kelly-Holmes, 2005, pp.29). In the perspective of language, it is a fundamental human activity through which we communicate our particular representation of the world. Cultural values and beliefs are transmitted from one member of a society to another and from one generation to another primarily through language. We can often see the structure of language that reflects the way that particular culture is viewed by this world and kinds of distinctions that are held to be important. Even in the HSBC Eels ad the language spoken by Chinese are suppressed by the English voice over showing the power and prestigious. One language may be imposed and another suppressed by dominant power. In some situation, the power and dominance are portrayed to maintain their own variety, or move to a more extreme variety of their dialect, in order to emphasise the difference between themselves and the person or people they are talking to. In the UK, Advertisers draw on the ideas using country accents to indicate and advertise nature o f food products or using more prestigious accent to promote financial services. Language as a form of representation, highlight power relations and promote particular perspectives like advertisements for commodities. A sense of cultural identity is often centred on a particular language and speakers perceptions of the connection between the languages they use and that identity is well supported. Language is always used as a medium of communication in ethnic majorities and groups that hold social and political power. The knowledge the advetisee has about these relationships and about common sense assumptions in the advertisements is acquired through experiencing the particular habitus on an everyday basis. Consumerization or socialization into consumer society happens, primarily through example and through language. It is worth keeping in mind here that advertising messages are simply explicit. It encompasses a whole range of texts and objects, such as toys, books, television programmes, packaging and so forth. Consequently, the employment of foreign words in advertising has the potential to create in groups and out groups and contribute both directly and indirectly to societal attitudes to languages and multilingualism. Multilingual advertising communication is, in this book, defined as the appearance of a number of different languages or voices in a market-discourse situation. This appearance may be minimal, consisting of only one word, or it may be fairly extensive, consisting of entire texts or blocks of text. The word may come from an entirely different language of the medium of text within which they appear, or they may be familiar, coming from his/her everyday linguistic repertoire (Kelly-Holmes, 2005, pp.25). Even in the HSBC Eels ad, it is a multilingual communication of advertising, initially the Chinese chattering and followed by the voice over of the English dominantly suppressing to show power, so the purpose of commodity serves the specific culture. The effects of multilingual advertising on the other hand, have the effect of reinforcing this monolingualism by making speakers of another language the object of humour in advertising and by constructing them as an out group. In all cases, however, the examples of multilingual advertising communication discussed in the following chapter have two things in common: they are driven by the market, and have meaning within the context of the society and culture imposed on the market and they do not permit a purely monolingual communication experience. (Kelly-Holmes, 2005, pp.25). Even the music plays significant role in the culture representation and identity. The issue is not how a particular piece of music or a performance reflects the people, but how it produces them, how it creates and constructs an identity in particular television ads. In most of the HSBC advert the traditional Chinese folk music will be played as back ground music so as in the Eels advert, again which is a stereotype representation of culture identity. The social categories or labels of identity are frequently imposed on some groups by others, who may be in a more powerful position than they are. Your social identity is not something you can always determine on your own, it is by how others perceive you. In the west representations of ads will very largely respond to the public demand. So they show the power of dominance in a multilingual advertisement through their accents and performance suppressing the other culture. Here the Chinese culture in Eels ad is portrayed in an innocent and comical way and English culture in a decent and dominant behaviour being the product, country-of-origin in china. Most of the multilingual ads are being portrayed on their own cultural demands. Beside cultural beliefs and ideals apply to people in differential positions of power. Moreover a result of norms and ideals result from histories of struggle in which significant voices are silenced. In an International advertising, Cultural objects may be made into saleable products. For e.g. the country houses may be sold as a second home for the urban. So cultural products are from other places can be marketed in global supermarket. This may include foods, drink, dance, music, sport, and holidays abroad almost all consumable things. Applying Marxs idea to the use of foreign or other language in advertising today, the use-value of languages can be seen to have become obscured by their exchange or symbolic value. The use-value of the language can be equated with its referential function, its utility as a means of communication The language appears to achieve value independently and this value is not the product of its communicative, but rather of its symbolic value in process of advertising communication (Kelly-Holmes, 2005, Pp.24). Why does English deserve special treatment? For many people in the world, it is simply foreign language, other or second language, so its contribution to multilingual advertising communication is massive and has a huge effect. English is presented as both an inevitable consequences of the marketization of such economies, and, at the same time, almost one of the driving forces behind the transition to market economy. There can be no doubt that we absorb the messages around us about the media and culture, we are in project the illusion. There is also no doubt that today the media is a very powerful tool for those who want to control society and to sell ideas and products to its members. The representation of media is more political in that, it is controlled by external bodies that offer images and understandings in an influenced way for us to consume. At the conclusion I would like to summarise my points that the media plays a significant role in representing culture and their identities. There is always a personal demand for a particular culture to denote oneself dominant even in the multilingual, intercultural communication. The HSBC ads are a good example of how the Chinese culture is represented as a stereotype in almost all of their advertisements against the dominant English culture in a Bi-lingual advertisement. Language also plays an equally important role in showcasing their own particular culture and identity and the usage of foreign language produces advantages and disadvantages. Thus in a way these adverts are served for the purpose of commodity and personal demand of representing their culture in power and dominant style.

Ryanairs Marketing Environment and Strategy Essays -- Business Manage

Ryanair’s Marketing Environment and Strategy 1 INTRODUTION The aim of this report is to carry out a investigation of Ryanair’s external environment and a strategic analysis of Ryanair, to identify opportunities and threats it might face, and its strategic capability, to isolate key strengths and any weaknesses that need dealing with. Finally, a SWOT analysis will be carried out to assess the extent to which Ryanair’s strategies are suitable to what is happening in its task environment. Ryanair is Europe’s largest low-fares, no-frills short-haul carrier. The organisation was founded in 1985 as a conventional airline but re-launched itself in 1990/1991 as a low-cost carrier, replicating American Southwest Airlines’ business model. Since then Ryanair has grown substantially and successfully. The company currently has 146 routes to 84 destinations in 16 countries, and carries more than 15 million customers annually. Ryanair aims to be Europe’s largest airline in 8 years (www.ryanair.com). 2 ANALYSIS OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT -------------------------------------- This is a crucial part of a strategic analysis because organisations do not exist in a vacuum, they are part of a complex world and many factors can influence operations, beneficially and unfavourably. However, these can be difficult to comprehend due to their complexity, diversity and fast changing nature. Necessarily a number of techniques have been developed to facilitate the process and to ‘†¦contribute to answering the key managerial question†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢of what ‘†¦opportunities and threats might arise in the future’ (Johnson & Scholes 2002). 2.1 PESTEL analysis This identifies the main micro-environmental influences by classifying them into six groups: Political, Economical, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental and Legal. By applying this framework to Ryanair it is possible to summarise the key forces in the general environment to present opportunities and threats to the organisation. Political = on May 1, 2003, it will mark one of the most important days in recent European history, the continent will see the biggest expansion of EU to date when ten states become new members. For Ryanair new markets will open which suits its growth plans. = Stansted airport, owned by BAA, is one of the most rapidly growing airports in Europe (www.baa.co.uk/... ...) ‘Low-cost airlines likely to resist higher fees to finance Stanstead’, The Financial Times Done, K. (19/12/03) ‘Stanstead outlines pounds 2bn scheme to double capacity’, The Financial Times Done, K. (20/12/03) ‘Challenge to airports operator’s monopoly remains even with its friends in high places’, The Financial Times Done, K. (29/01/04) ‘Ryanair’s dream run comes to an end’, The Financial Times Felsted, A. (04/11/03) ‘Can Michael O’Leary sustain Ryanair’s low-cost success?’, The Financial Times Gow, D. (16/02/04)’Ryanair plans zero frills and fares’, The Guardian Hotten, R. (13/03/04) ‘No-frills deal has impact on bmi’, The Times Insley, J. (18/01/04) ‘Happy New Year for second homes’, The Observer Insley, J. (08/02/04) ‘You can make it if you try’, The Observer Newman, C. (03/12/03) ‘Travellers face big rise in air passenger levy’, The Financial Times Pratley, N. (05/02/04) ‘Clipped Wings’, The Guardian Tait, N. (03/12/03) ‘Ryanair in court over wheelchair fee’, The Financial Times Tran, M. (03/02/04) ‘Ryanair’s airport subsidies’, The Guardian Wright, R. (01/12/03) ‘BA threat to sue if Stanstead gets runway’, The Financial Times