Competitor Analysis of Dahlie Essay

The two of the main competitors of Darlie in the market are Sensodyne and Colgate. As the world largest producer and manufacturer of toothpaste, Colgate becomes the greatest competitor of Darlie. Colgate has survived in this industry for such a long time and has established its influence among the customers. It has successfully making the customers to have brand loyalty toward Colgate. Besides that, Colgate has different types of toothpaste, which can satisfy different needs of the customers. This has fulfilled the needs and wants of the customers and directly competes with Darlie as the product range of Colgate and Darlie are quite similar. Nowadays, a lot of people are facing different types of teeth problems, such as sensitive teeth, gum disease and tooth decay. Therefore, they tend to buy the toothpaste which can help them to solve their teeth problems. Sensodyne is focusing on solving sensitive teeth problem and is recommended by dentist to be used. It has shaped the brand image of Sensodyne to become professional and high class toothpaste. Therefore, although Darlie also has their own sensitive teeth toothpaste, people still prefer Sensodyne as the look for the brand image. Therefore, Colgate and Sensodyne become two of the main competitors for Darlie in Malaysia toothpaste market. Comparison of Colgate and Its Competitors Darlie Colgate Sensodyne Market share in Malaysia In 2011, Darlie’s market share is 31%. In 2011, Colgate’s market share is 60%. In 2011, Sensodyne’s market share is 5%. Target customer Their target customers are those urban people who are above 18 years old, and pay attention to their oral health. The target customer is mothers with kids who make toothpaste buying decisions for the family and people who care for their oral health. The target customer is the adults from 20 to 60 years old who faced sensitive teeth problem. Promotion Using websites, advertisements and TV commercial to advertise. Having promotions in supermarket. Using website, advertisement, and TV commercial to advertise. Having some promotions by giving free gifts. Colgate School Program: give out free samples to kids and teach kids the way to brush teeth properly. Bright Smile, Bright Future program: promote the importance of oral health through education and prevention. Using websites, various advertisements and TV commercial to attract customers. Promotion through dentist and dental clinic. â€Å"Chill Test† in hypermarket. Price The price range of Colgate is between RM7. 95 to RM10. 60. The most expensive toothpaste is Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief. The cheapest toothpaste is the Colgate Regular tube. The price range of Sensodyne toothpaste is from RM9. Product Having different range and types of toothpaste. For instance, fresh breath, whitening, sensitive teeth and enamel protection. Specializing in the preservation and treatment of oral hygiene. Create an array of 40 different patented toothpastes keeping Colgate competitive. Having 13 different classifications and varieties of Colgate toothpaste. Consists of different types of toothpaste, but mainly focuses on the sensitive teeth issue. Place Almost at all supermarket and mini market. Very convenience to buy it. Almost all super markets and pharmacies carry Colgate Toothpaste. Can sometimes be found in more prominent locations when on sale or launching new products into the market. Distributed indirectly. Available in all hypermarkets, supermarkets and pharmacies, Chinese medical halls and mini markets in Malaysia. Length of time in business Darlie started its business since 1933. It has taken 80 years in the toothpaste industry. Colgate-Palmolive started its business in 1806. It has taken 207 years in the toothpaste industry. GSK produced Sensodyne in 1961. It has taken 52 years in the toothpaste market.

Employment Relations Essay

Introduction: This essay will discuss the two different management approaches towards to the recent industrial action taken against Lend Lease and identify what differentiate the two approaches. The second part of the essay will provide an argument of how applying these approaches from the upper management could potentially change the outcome of the industrial action against Lend Lease. Body: Pluralist approach: The characteristic of pluralist approach is to satisfy various interests and aspirations within their employees. The organization power was diffused among the main negotiating groups within the company in such a way that no any party will dominate others. Pluralism approach is open about employment relationships as it allows the creation of a potential structural opposition to be raised, as well as allows the workplace to generate certain conflicts with the organization. By doing so, it will prevent public interest conflict as well as to suppress the inappropriate use of power from the upper management. However, the weakness of pluralist approach is that it relies on the negotiation and bargaining process when there are disputes incurred between the management and the workforce, if in the event of the dispute cannot be resolved it will resorts to the use of law. Management in pluralist approach should not prohibit any ideas or expectations of blind obedience from the employees. Their goal is to reconcile conflicting views and keep the conflict within an acceptable range, so the conflict does not destroy the organization. Unitarist approach: The characteristic of unitarist approach are regarded that the whole organization shares a common purpose and are united in the achievement of common goal. The role of management in unitarist approach has the ability to provide leadership and expected to have good communications, while employees should be loyal to the organization and to carry out the work organised by management as directed. Worker Unions are considered competitive and is believed to destroy the loyalty and the commitments of the employees hence it is not welcomed by the managements. However, the weakness of unitarist approach is that it fails to recognise the needs of different interests between employees, and assumed that decisions made by managements are rational and contain within the interest of all employees. Unitarist approach believes that conflicts in the workplace is not inherent, in fact, it is a communication failure between the organization and the employees. For example, on the 24th July, the workers for Lend Lease has decided to walk off the site and start the 48 hours strike after the breakdown in the negosiation of better pay and condition. This shows that the employees are not accepting how the management’s lack of awareness of their needs. On the 25th July, ACTU published a media release stating the issues between Lend Lease and its employees, and suggested that Lend Lease should consider a fair working environment and pay for its contractors and sub-contractors, given that Lend Lease has made almost half a million worth of profits last year but failed to provide a fair working condition to its workers. This media release shows that the Union are trying to attract social awareness by publishing public release and in the hope of forcing Lend Lease to re-negotiate their terms. On the 27th July, CFMEU has escalated the issue to a national level and the Union has set up a picket at the Barangaroo construction site. This action has caused Lend lease sites in lockdown across the country, as stated by one of the employee Brain Parker â€Å"The company is not currently bargaining in good faith† The above event shows that if Lend Lease has followed the pluralist approach, the action may be able to be under control as Lend Lease will act by considering the words and the issues rose between the management and the employees and can act accordingly to the issue. However, according to the examples shown, Lend Lease seems to have been following the unitarist approach which has in fact, escalated the conflicts between the management and their employees as shown in the article published by green Left. The article mentioned that Lend Lease did not made a sincere approach to the negotiation and offered something that the Union consider as â€Å"a joke† which did not loosen the tension but added more stress on top of it. Identify which one of the approaches provides the better explanation. Explain your reasoning. Based on the industrial action that has been taken against Lend Lease, it shows that Lend Lease was first using the Unitarist approach to their employees by not willing to negotiate with their new proposal. This has than created an enormous negative impact on both the social and the company as the projects were likely being delayed due to the industrial actions. Conclusion: In conclusion, Lend Lease would have been able to avoid the industrial actions by having a dynamic management approach on their worker base on different situation. This essay shows how in appropriate management style could create such impact on both the social media and the company itself.

Public Employees and the Right to Strike Essay

â€Å"After a 60-hour strike that halted subway and bus service in 2005; a state judge penalized the Transport Workers Union by taking away its most powerful money-raising tool: automatic collection of dues from members’ pay checks.† (New York Times, November 2007)   Ã‚   An incongruity due to establishment of new employment conditions or some other contention between the employer and his employees is referred to as a collective labour dispute. According to Eamets and Philips [2005], the United States constitution does not allow its citizens to conduct a strike. The government employees are encouraged to present their point of views to the government but no law permits them to form adversaries as bargaining envoys against it. The laws from Britain that forbid the people to speak against the monarchy are still in practice by some American States. If an agreement is not feasible through debate, both the opponent parties are required to consult the communal mediator to avoid disarray at work sites. The employees in public sector are divided into three groups, The public servants, who work as law permits on civil servants and have particular employment pledges, The technical recruits, who work in the state institutions and district metropolis, The temporary workers, working project based or for a limited time period.   Ã‚  According to ROTAL – Riigi- ja Omavalitsusasutuste Tà ¶Ãƒ ¶tajate Ametià ¼hingute Liit, [represents the interests of civil servants], at least the technical recruits and the temporary workers should have the right to strike. Conversely as declared by the Collective Labour Dispute Act, disputes between the labour and the employers must be resolved through the consultation of a moderator, deciding on a mutual agreement. Strikes are barred in the following associations: â€Å"Government agencies and other state bodies and local government; and The defence forces, other national defence organisations, courts and fire fighting and rescue services.† (Eamets and Philips, 2005)    The divergence amid the private and the public management concerning the collective bargaining is quite intense. The public sector comprises of political decisions by the government affecting everyone. They also benefit from more privileges and benefits as compared to the private sector employees. As declared by the Massachusetts’ Governor Calvin Coolidge in 1919 when he broke the Boston police strike, the civil workers have no right to strike against the public. The same thoughts were voiced by President Roosevelt in 1937 â€Å"A strike of public employees is unthinkable and intolerable.† (Stopping Public-Employee Strikes, 1966) Governor Bill Ritter declared an administrative command that rules out any strikes by civil servants, which encourages the employees and labour unions to join together and create harmonious working conditions. However concern was voiced by the State Representative Bob Gardner, specializing in government regulatory law; that legislation should be introduced to prohibit strikes in law as they may surface after this new order. Since the unions may try to negotiate for higher reimbursements possible producing unsatisfactory results for the union leaders thus conduct a strike. (Lawmaker: Public Employees Have Right to Strike, Despite Ritter’s Order, 2007)    This fact creates problems in deciding whether to allow the workers to strikes or not, it is human nature to be unsatisfied with the present circumstances and strive for more. In the early years, federal employees were not allowed even to join unions or groups that may sponsor strikes otherwise deal with one year imprisonment. It is the temperament of labour unions to ask the employers much more than they are willing to partake, which then precede strengthening of perceptions and then eventually the strike. Increasing strikes will result in greater costs of state and local government and the taxes as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The debate accumulated during the year 2004 that all civil workers should not be prohibited to advocate their rights through strikes. The proposal from the trade unions that request for some modification in the legislation regarding the Collective Labour Dispute Act, making the public employees rights issue a notorious one globally. (Eamets and Philips, 2005) Even today the arguments still continue, the concern being that the public suffer most by the workers’ strikes, which ceases to provide them with the essential services. At the same time according to the employers, it acts as a major threat to the public finances and the government policies. Public employees like doctors, nurses, teachers and industrial workers hold power to raise an opinion against their employer which might force him to entertain their demands.   Ã‚   All this creates a critical issue in employment regulations; how to achieve a bargain with the workers effectively, catering to their demands and at the same time achieving hundred percent labour. Often the strike becomes the sole way to gain attention of the higher authorities like the government. However it must be stated that the worker has his own rights and requirements, there should be proper bargaining conducted to assure a sound working system. The workers should be allowed to protest or display their demands, if an individual is working hard to fulfil his employers stipulate, he or she holds the right to be treated properly so as to encourage and compliment his work standard. If the fundamental rights of labour are being considered, there will be no need for calling strikes in the future. REFERENCES Raul Eamets and Kaia Philips,†Controversy over civil servants’ right to strike† [6 January 2005] â€Å"Lawmaker: Public Employees Have Right to Strike, Despite Ritter’s Order in Unions† [7 November 2007] â€Å"Stopping Public-Employee Strikes† [14 January 1966] OSCAR A. WEIL and ORVILLE V. BERGREN â€Å"The right to strike: Should teachers get or do they have it?† [16 April 1977] WILLIAM NEUMAN, â€Å"M.T.A. Asks for Restoration of Automatic Dues Payment† [2 November 2007] New York

7.5 part 1 review questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

7.5 part 1 review questions - Coursework Example Planning should also encompass an anticipation and evaluation of the impacts of future developments (Oz 98). Planning should also entail building a shared vision and undertaking decisions on what goals an organization wants to obtain. The action plan for the organization should explain on what actions to undertake to reach their set goals. Prototyping refers to the rapid development and testing of working models of new applications in an interactive and iterative process that involves both IS specialists and business professionals. Prototyping ensures the development process is faster and easier for business professionals and IS specialists. Prototyping has opened up the application development process for end-users as it simplifies and accelerates systems designs. The advantage of prototyping is that it is extremely useful where there is uncertainty about design solutions or requirements. Prototyping is also useful in producing systems that meet user requirements. Prototyping is also vital in designing an information system’s end user interface. The disadvantage of prototyping is that when it is rapidly conducted it can gloss over vital steps in systems development. Prototyping can also fail to have essential security controls built in. rapidly constructed systems can also fail to accommodate large volumes of data or users. What does SDLC stand for? What are the phases of the SDLC? Explain in one or two sentences of your own words what happens in each phase. If problems occur during the SDLC, is it better to identify and solve those problems near the beginning or the end of the SDLC process? SDLC stands for systems development life cycle. It refers to an application development life-cycle. It is a commonly used term in information systems, software engineering, and systems engineering. SDLC gets used to elaborate a process for planning, testing, creating, and developing an information system. There are several stages

Sexual Harrasment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexual Harrasment - Essay Example Furthermore, legal authorities stipulate some issues that an organization must encompass in its training programs such as training on sexual harassment, ethics and safety, among others. In this paper, the issue of sexual harassment will be addressed, taking into account its importance to the success of a business. Some of the most important issues that should appear in the training programs and organizations’ policy are a commitment to prevent and eradicate the sexual harassment in the organization. It is imperative that training program address both hostile environment sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual harassment. An explicit definition of sexual harassment should be provided in order to ensure that all employees understand the dos and don’ts Quid pro quo sexual harassment entails implied or expressed sexual advances and demands in exchange for varying benefits such as pay increase and promotion, or to evade some detriment, which may include demotion and termination, among others. On the other hand, hostile environment sexual harassment constitutes sexual comments or advances by a supervisor or co-worker, which creates a humiliating, hostile, threatening, offensive and intimidating work environment, or results in a situation that can adversely affect a worker’s p sychological wellbeing. Organizations should always strive to eradicate or prevent sexual harassment from happening. It is important that training programs incorporate fundamental ways of eliminating any incidents of sexual harassment in work places. This may involve educating workers on their rights, and ways of reporting preventing as well as reporting harassment. Managers and employees should receive training on ways of identifying and stopping sexual harassment, harassment prevention law, and their personal liability under the law. Furthermore, all employees

Write a brief memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write a brief memo - Essay Example It is also critical to consider the content of the constitution in depths rather than shallow mastery and reference to the preamble. The overall goal of the constitution is to boost the welfare of the citizens with particular focus to liberty and human rights. All the statutes are derived from specific sections of the constitution which is also subject to amendments. In this case of vaccination, the cardinal objective of the State of South Caledonia health department was to improve healthcare of its population. The effective implementation policy was to institute a law in line with section 137 of chapter 75 of the Revised Laws of Massachusetts. Mr. Dalrymple need to know that While the mere rejection of his offers of proof does not strictly present a federal question, the court may properly regard the exclusion of evidence upon the ground of its incompetency or immateriality under the statute as showing what, in the opinion of the state court, is the scope and meaning of the statute (Gostin, 2008). It is very clear from the statute which provides that failure by any person eligible to vaccination to comply attracts a fine of $750. This was the case of Jacobson v Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905) in which the battle on constitutional interpretation and understanding reigned. The defendant based the better part of his factual argument on the declaration of the preamble before the jury and lost. Although the defendant gave several facts in an effort to prove his innocence in Jacobson’s plea, the complainant won because all indications clearly tell that the defendant was duly informed and exempted of any expense in the vaccination process request. This case presents several facts in regard to people’s understanding of the law. In line with the 14th amendment of the constitution and the vaccination law, the state health stand in

Employee Rights Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Employee Rights - Research Paper Example Failure to adhere to these rights makes it difficult for businesses to accomplish organizational goals. The privacy of employees, Fundamental employee rights are thus a significant factor in a wide range of human resource management issues that small business owners and supervisors face today, including questions concerning employee privacy, policies regarding promotion, inquiries in to the use of drugs by employees, management of employee information, performance appraisals and monitoring as well as freedom of contact with labor unions are some of the issues that human resource managers have to deal with in the contemporary business environment (Joseph 1992). Discrimination in the place of work is one of the issues that are emphasized to a great extent by the federal laws. Employers are supposed to provide equal employment regardless of race, religious affiliation, nationality and sex. Every employee has a right to be treated fairly under these laws. The growing concerns in the manner through which men and women are treated in the work place has made much emphasis to be focused on equal employment opportunities for both sexes, and also equal treatment in terms of remuneration and allocation of tasks. Other recent developments in employee rights are the laws providing for equal employment opportunities for the qualified people who are disabled. In case of discrimination, the federal laws provide for pecuniary damages. All these laws are put into effect by the â€Å"United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission† (Barbara 1997). Labor unions are essential for employees especially through their support for collective bargaining. They are usually not meant to mobilize the employees against the employer, but rather to strengthen their relationship through facilitating employee satisfaction. Employees have a right

Derm Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Derm Project - Assignment Example Acne Folliculitis Acne, scientifically called Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition. It affects the hair follicles at the chest, face or even the back. It is manifested in the skin as congested pores called comedones, pustules, tender red bumps or cysts. Diagnosis of acne is on the basis of patient history and physical assessment. Initial pathology through microscopy is called microcomedo and, involves open or comedones referred to as blackheads and whiteheads respectively. These include Pillsbury acne grading scale, acne cook scale and acne Leeds technique (Gaeddert, 2003). Folliculitis is a common skin condition which is evident by several minute red or pink bumps predominant in at the hair follicles. This skin condition can affect any part of the body including the back, arms, legs, chest and cheeks. Ranging between 10 - 100 bumps, this skin condition appears as a scatter within the affected area. The spots or bumps can be slightly red indicating an inflammation. Accidental scr atching of the bump reveals a coiled hair engulfed within the bump. Diagnosis of Folliculitis basically involves the assessment of the skin’s appearance (Gaeddert, 2003). On rare instances is skin biopsies required so as to help the dermatologist on diagnosis. Additionally, the skin could be cultured in bacterial media so as to help in detection of the causative agent. Microscopic tests on the skin including fungal tests can be conducted using potassium hydroxide. This procedure helps in determining whether the condition is caused by a fungus or yeast. A histopathological procedure can be conducted to reveal epidermal hyperkeratosis as well as clustering of leukocytes. Rosacea Eczema Rosacea is a thriving skin condition which affects the eyes and the face. It is characterized by reddening of the affected region indicating a possible inflammation as well as emergence of pimples. This dermatological condition is most pronounced in women and individuals with fair skin tone. Usua lly, Rosacea is evident in the age range of between 30 to 60 years. Also termed as acne rosacea, this condition is characterized by symptoms of swollen nose, thick skin, red and itchy eyes. Moreover, there is a stinging facial skin on application of lotions as well as minute red veins on the face. The diagnosis of Rosacea is mostly dependent on physical examination categorized as primary or secondary features. A patient is diagnosed with Rosacea if he or she possesses one of the primary features of persistent flushing, pimples, visible blood vessels. Secondary features are manifest in several subtypes including Papulopustular, Phymatous Erythematotelangiectatic and ocular rosacea (Gaeddert, 2003). Eczema is characterized by vesicles that are small and which contain fluid substance. These vessicles are pimple like and are evident as reddish and swollen. When dried, the fluids leave behind dry patches on the surface of the affected areas. This condition occurs in the facial region in a majority of patients. Eczema can be diagnosed through microscopy. Seborrheic Dermatitis Scalp psoriasis A close relative psoriasis is the seborrheic dermatitis that affects the scalp as well. This condition is inflammatory and it leads to the production of flaky, white to yellowish scabs on the skin. Symptoms of this condition include reddish swollen patches around the nose, armpits and mouth. Others include itching, widespread

Creativity and innovation management I'm witness Essay

Creativity and innovation management I'm witness - Essay Example r hand a large number of people believe in order to run a new business successfully the individual needs to have a highly creative mind that is capable of imagining without any boundaries. Amabile (2012) have mentioned that creativity defines a person’s ability to generate new ideas or concepts that can pertinently solve relevant problems and can offer competitive advantage to the orgazanitions. An employee with high creative intellect allows the firms to develop innovative product or services development and can also introduce new marketing strategies which have not been tried before. (Covin and Slevin, 1991) also added that in term of organizational success of a new firm, creativity is perhaps the biggest predicator. The increasing competiveness in the global business market has led the organizations to adopt first mover advantage so that they can offer products and services which have not yet been offered before and marketing or branding strategies that have not been tried before. This as a result allows the organizations to offer unique customer experiences thereby increasing their competitive advantage. Achieving competitive advantage is quite important fo r the new emerging business to overcome the barriers to entry created by the existing well established firms. Duxbury (2012) mentioned from a theoretical perspective that creative thinking can emerge depending on different types of characteristics of the personality of the individuals. The types of characteristics have been indentified which are responsible for the creating thinking are, intrinsic motivation, domain oriented skills and creativity oriented cognitive process. The intrinsic motivation allows an individual to pursue a particular venture for his own interest. This type of personality is critical to creative nature of an individual; it creates a strong sense of necessity within the individual, which forms the basis of the creative process. It allows the individual to stay persistent in tough

Density of Fluids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Density of Fluids - Essay Example The solution preferred for this process was an alkali metal salt or an alkaline earth metal salt of metatungstate. The solution should have a concentration of 1 to 80. The oxidant used is preferably selected from any of the following dichromate, chromate, nitrate, permanganate, peracid and perester group (Allies & Pagenkopf, 1998). These should have a preferred concentration of 0.05 to 0.5 weight %. The preferred alkaline salts are salts of lithium or sodium namely sodium dihydrogendodecawolframate or lithium dihydrogendodecawolframate .However, sodium dihydrogendodecawolframate is preferentially used. According to the invention bringing the solid mixture into contact with the separating liquid is advantageous. These liquid should be of differing density in gradations of 0.005 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.1 g/cm.sup.3, preferably 0.05 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.01 g/cm.sup.3 (Jody, Daniels & Pomykala , 2003).Within a selected region of the density range the the sinking solid component is removed after each stage. Besides this solution, other solution that have been used in separation of mixtures include ethanol or solutions containing ethanol, Ca(NO  3)  2, CaCl  2  ZnCl  2.or NaCl. All thse method rely on the relative buoyancy of the separating

Report Education System in Japan Essay Example for Free

Report Education System in Japan Essay Japan has already begun to experience a population decline, with the result that many universities are already having difficulty maintaining their student populations, although entry into top ranks of the universities remains hugely competitive. The emerging and foreseeable trend is that many universities will have to try to attract large numbers of foreigners or diversify or face closure. It is also now said that a university education in Japan is within easier reach of students today, but that the quality of that higher education is now in question despite the many educational reforms that have been set in motion. Each academic year begins in April and comprises of two semesters. Basic general degrees are four-year degrees, a feature adapted from the American system. Undergraduate students receive instruction via the lecture and seminar group method. The general degree may be followed by two-year Masters degrees (generally a combination of lectures and guided research) and then a three year Doctorate (largely based on research) where these are offered. Graduate education in Japan is underdeveloped compared to European countries and the United States with only slightly more than 7 percent of Japanese undergraduates going on to graduate school as compared to 13 percent of American undergraduates. Postgraduate educational offerings are weak and the number of universities offering postgraduate programmes or a wide variety of programmes, is small, compared to that in other industrialized western countries. Japan has about three million students enrolled in 1,200 universities and junior colleges and consequently the second largest higher educational system in the developed world. Japan also has one of the largest systems of private higher education in the world. The 710 odd universities in Japan can be separated into 3 categories: highly competitive, mildly competitive and non-competitive (the schools that are first-tier being the infamously difficult to enter ones). Public universities are generally more prestigious than their private ones with only 25 percent of all university-bound students being admitted to public universities. More than 65 percent of high school graduates continue their studies; of these, over 70 percent are enrolled in private colleges and universities. Only about 10 percent of private institutions receive their financial resources from public funding, with most public funds on higher education being spent on the national and local public universities. Despite the impressive statistics, Japanese universities are considered to be the weakest link in the countrys educational system. While many western writers have, time and time again, attributed the economic success of Japan to the well-educated and highly literate population of Japan, recent writings and studies tend to be far more critical, lamenting the deplorable state and quality of higher education in Japan today. Despite the famed exam rigors and competitiveness, declining standards in education and the high school students lack of interest in studying have lately been under spotlight. Some attribute this disinterestedness to the fact that academic effort no longer assured automatic rewards with the disintegration in the formerly stable and guaranteed lifetime employment system. Japanese students are also widely known to traditionally consider their university days to be a social playground, a reward for the hard work and having made it there, and, as many critics have recently pointed, professors demand relatively little from their students. Despite the institutional change and sweeping national reforms underway in response to these criticisms, the key problems remain unresolved: the pyramidal-structure of the university system and entrance exam wars; the centrally-controlled curriculum and lack of individuality and creativity of students as well as the lack of competitiveness in educational suppliers.

Managing Business Problems Essay Example for Free

Managing Business Problems Essay What are the causes of poor productivity within large organizations and how can we look at trying to improve this? Productivity is the degree of output achieved in relation to a certain level of input. For example, in a call centre environment, productivity would be seen as the number of telephone calls answered per hour by a certain number of staff. The telephone calls are the output and the staff available to take the calls are the input. In order to improve productivity, one of the following has to occur: The level of input is decreased however the level of output remains the same, or, the level of output increases but the level of input remains the same. In relation to the example of the call centre, this would mean reducing the number of staff available to answer the phone but yet the remaining staff would still have to answer the same number of calls, i.e. they would have to answer more calls each to compensate for the decrease in staff. Or the other way to increase productivity in a call centre would be to keep the same number to staff available to take customer calls but the number of calls being answered in total would have to increase. Productivity is a major issue within any organisation but especially call centres. Call centres do try to forecast the number of calls they expect everyday and allocate resources accordingly to deal with these pressures, however there are still thousands of calls abandoned (where the customer hangs up before even getting through to an advisor) each and every day, this is sometimes referred to as call leakage. This is a growing problem for call centres across the country and it is surprising the amount of customers who will take their business elsewhere simply because they cant get through on the phone as they see it as poor customer service. In many cases it isnt feasible for staff numbers to be increased in order to cope with the call volumes that are being received and so the only solution to reducing the call leakage is to increase the productivity of the existing staff. Working in a call centre environment myself I appreciate that this is a very challenging task as call centre agents generally feel overworked and underpaid already and trying to get more work out of them will be difficult. However my research into call centre life has thrown up some issues surrounding the task of increasing staff performance in order for your business to work smarter. My research examines the possibility of reward systems as a means of increasing productivity, how call centre staff view their own roles and changes they would like to see in order to help them perform better During my research I searched the Emerald website to find relevant journal articles to assist my studies. I came across an interesting one called An exploration of managerial issues in call centres by Colin Armistead, Julia Kiely, Linda Hole and Jean Prescott. This paper consisted of two case studies carried out in two large organisations; these will be known as Case Study A and Case Study B. I found this article useful as it explores why people work in call centres, how they feel about their jobs and this research is spread over all levels from call centre agent to general manager. Case Study A provides a good background to call centre life and will aid understanding of what it is like to work in a call centre environment. In Case Study A, a total of fourteen staff members of all levels were interviewed, interviews lasted one hour and were all taped and transcribed. The interviews explored the initial decision to work for a call centre, the expectations they had before they started and the extent to which their jobs had lived up to those expectations. The authors also examined company statistics; they found evidence of high turnover in staff who had been employed for a few months then reducing to comparatively low turnover after they had been employed for more than six months. I found the findings from Case Study A to be very surprising having worked in a call centre myself and not having had very many positive experiences during my time there. The overall impression from those interviewed was that they felt very positive about their workplace. There were inevitable differences in how different levels of employees viewed certain issued but there were more similarities than differences. I was interested to see how employees had spoke about productivity and performance targets. It became apparent that performance targets were related to the number of calls answered, the time in which it took to answer the calls and also the levels of call leakage. It is very easy to monitor call centre agents against an array of time-related measures and staff felt under a lot of pressure at times due to this. I can relate to this, as this is exactly how I felt working as a call centre agent. One manager interviewed in Case Study A stated that the most important thing in managing call centre staff was motivation, motivation, motivation, yet the manager in question admitted he had little idea of how to motivate staff. I do agree that motivating staff to perform well is an issue and I appreciate that highly motivated staff will be more productive but I also think that if staff working in call centres had a better understanding of the bigger picture and knew how their actions impacted upon the business as a whole they may change their attitudes and automatically perform better and more efficiently. This is just my opinion from my experience of working in a British Gas call centre for almost three years I have been privileged enough to have been given an insight into the deeper realms of the business, something which frontline staff rarely come into contact with and I do feel this would be of benefit to them. As it stand now, staff are being thrown tough performance targets by management and expected to meet them without question, they have no understanding of why the business needs them to perform at a particular level and what the consequences will be if they dont. I believe business awareness to be a vital part of representing a company to the public and the company I work for do offer a business awareness course, however this is e-learning based and has to be completed in your own time. Needless to say, there are not many staff who take advantage of this opportunity to understand the business they work for due to the above conditions and a lot of staff are probably unaware that the facility even exists. If British Gas were to allow the time for staff to complete this course during working hours or even to be paid overtime for the time they spend on it outside their scheduled hours, they would have a massive response and although this would be time consuming and possibly quite costly, I believe that the positive effects on how employees work would outweigh the costs. Productivity is very poor in the call centre I work in after reading relevant sections in a book called Remuneration Policy by Patrick McCauley I am under the impression that a successful reward system can help to improve productivity. McCauley defines motivation simply as goal directed behaviour and he makes it clear that employees will only be motivated to increase their performance by goals that are actually of interest to them, for example if a manager said to his team one day that the person with the highest productivity that day would be rewarded with a family ticket to the local pantomime then you would get Sandra, the mother with 2.4 children, husband and nice semi-detached house working her socks off, however, Matt, Gary and Emma, the three students on the team and Harold the grandad of the team who is six months off retirement would not be interested in the slightest by the managers offer of reward. McCauley states that the three key questions we need to consider when devising a successful reward system are: * What goals will employees actually pursue? * What factors will determine their success or failure in achieving these goals? * What will be the consequences of achievement or frustration for the employee and the organisation? As I have already mentioned, it is important to offer rewards that are of interest to the staff and that will actually motivate them to perform better and drive them towards goals which involve meeting productivity and performance targets on the way. It is important to offer generic rewards that are appealable to all or a choice of a few different rewards in order to cater for all the different ages, cultures etc. I have dome some research in to reward systems whilst working on a service excellence team in the British Gas call centre and the rewards that were constantly being requested by staff were things such as an extra days annual leave, high street vouchers, deputising for a higher level role for half a day as a development opportunity etc. These were things that the frontline staff were telling management would motivate them to work harder and to a higher standard, however management declined these requests as they saw them as too ambitious and they were especially against the extra holiday which unfortunately was the most popular suggestion. It was a shame these suggestions were declined as staff then felt that they were being ignored which in turn lowered morale and saw a drop in productivity for a short while, it would probably have been cheaper for the company to have allowed a small number of desired rewards which would have increased productivity for while and certainly wouldnt have reduced it. Staff are already aware of what their targets are on a day to day basis and we need to remember that there will be a percentage of staff who do consistently meet these targets, therefore when setting criteria for a reward system we have to set it higher than daily performance targets to show that staff are being recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty and not just being coaxed into doing what is already expected of them. Staff will have to meet daily performance and productivity targets and then some before they can achieve a reward. If an employee successfully achieves a reward for their performance then not only will their productivity have had to increase to achieve the reward in the first place but as that desired behaviour has now been rewarded, the employee will be conditioned into repeating it in order to gain further rewards. If an employee either attempts and fails to reach the goal required to achieve a reward or doesnt make the effort and sees his colleagues around him being rewarded for their increased effort and performance it will have one of the two following effects upon him: * He will become de-motivated as he is feeling left out or a failure as his efforts are not being recognised because he fails to reach the required standard and his performance will drop further. * He will become determined to work to the required level to achieve a reward to prove to himself and his managers that he too can perform well. If the latter of the consequences occurs then the reward systems is still being effective in all areas as even failures are being motivated to continue to strive for the reward on offer. However if the company begins to see individuals experiencing a drop in motivation and performance they may need to consider addressing this with a reward for example for the most improved productivity each month, therefore even those whose efforts dont bring them above the required productivity level for a standard reward have a chance of recognition for their efforts alone. McCauley examines Vrooms expectancy theory and this supports the issues raised above. Vroom does state though that the criteria that needs to be met in order to achieve a reward has to be very clear cut and communicated thoroughly to all levels of staff so as to avoid woolly areas where decisions to reward or not may be disputed. Throughout my research I have identified underlying issues surrounding the productivity of call centre staff and how to improve this by encouraging motivation amongst staff and providing them with personal goals that at the same time guide them towards achieving the productivity levels required by the business. I have come to the conclusion that productivity can only really be successfully increased in the long term by providing something for the individual to work towards, not just setting targets and expecting them to be met. I also think that increased business awareness amongst frontline staff would be beneficial to any call centre so then at least they know and understand why there are certain pressures placed upon them and they may be more welcoming to the challenge of attaining higher targets. Bibliography An exploration of managerial issues in call centres. (Journal Article) Colin Armistead, Julia Kiely, Linda Hole Jean Prescott. Remuneration Policy

Walmart the functions of an organisation Marketing Essay

Walmart the functions of an organisation Marketing Essay Marketing is one the functions of an organisation that most connects an organisation to its environment. It maintains relations with the customers. It also involves satisfying needs of the customers. It incorporates hoe a business should be conducted and a set of values and processes that are put into practice(Naylor, 2004, p.525). According to Kotler Marketing can be defined as a nodal and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others (Kotler et al., 1999, p.10).The key ideas in this definition are needs, wants and demands, value and satisfaction, exchange, transactions and relationships and markets. The American marketing association defines marketing as a process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create changes that satisfy individual and organisational goals (Kotler, 2002, p.4). There are numerous theories t hat are part of marketing as a subject. This essay aims at identifying the key concepts of marketing and how are these concepts can be studied and applied to a functioning of an organisation which is Walmart in this case. Walmart is an American public corporation that operates a chain of large discount department stores and a chain of warehouse stores.. The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It is publically traded on New York Stock Exchange. The company is the largest private employer with approximately 2.1 million employees. It operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom and, through a joint venture, in India. Walmart became an international company in 1991 when it opened its first Sams Club near Mexico City. Two major concepts of marketing are the market orientation a firm has and the marketing mix it follows. Wal-Mart has its own market orientation and a marketing mix that it has adopted. Market orientation is an approach that a business has to run its operations and achieve its organisational objectives. These are the different ways that a business approaches its customers and determines how an organisation carries out its marketing activities. They guide the marketing efforts of an organisation. The different marketing orientations are as follows: 1.Production: Production oriented firm focuses on large scale production of goods that can be made widely available. It also focuses on efficiency issues. There is little focus on customer needs and their wants. It is based on the Says law which says Supply creates its own demand. 2.Product: A product oriented firm focuses on the quality and features of the product. It assumes that the customers want the best quality products for their money. Continuous improvement and refinement of products is also a very important factor. 3.Selling : In this market orientation the main focus is on selling and promotion of the products. It is assumed that good marketing efforts will persuade enough customers to buy the product. It tends to ignore what the customers really want or need. 4.Marketing : It is an approach which keeps customers at the centre. It involves doing a market research and identifying the needs of the consumers and thus making products that satisfy the consumer needs in the best and most efficient way. It is assumed that identifying the customer needs gives a firm a sustainable competitive advantage. 5. Socially Responsible Marketing: It involves responding to the ethical issues in a society. It is related to the corporate social responsibility of a business. It informs consumers of the various contributions that the business is making towards the society and makes a good image of the business as a whole. Different businesses have different market orientations. The two most important aspects of Wal-Marts market orientation are product and market. Wal-Mart offers a huge variety of products. Their aim is to satisfy almost every possible need that might arise. Wal-Mart is not a store for people from a specific age group or income group. In fact it serves people from every age group and income level. Wal-Mart also works with its suppliers and uses a testing laboratory called a consumers testing lab. It runs test on food items, clothing ,electronics etc. By doing this it ensures that the goods it delivers to its customers are of highest quality. The second aspect of its market orientation is Marketing. Wal-Mart uses detailed market research and customer segmentation to better deliver against the customer needs. Wal-Marts ability to recognise changes in the retailing industry has given it a huge advantage over its competitors. This has only been possible because of the intensive market research it undertakes before making any strategic decision. Before making any promotional strategy they measure the return on investment. They evaluate everything such as how many customers will see the advertisement, how many will react to it, how many will actually buy the product. They have huge customer data and sales data. They even share the sales data with their suppliers in order to keep the most popular items stocked and to persuade its suppliers to supply goods which are most popular among the consumers. So it changes itself according to the customer needs and sell products which customers want and not what it has to sell. It also pr omotes relationship marketing and uses one to one relationship marketing tactics. For e.g. a person greeted every customer who came in and said goodbye to each person who left. Wal-Mart has always closely observed its market using different research methods and has always successfully anticipated the change in consumer tastes and preferences and changed itself accordingly so it always keeps its customers at the centre. Another important theory of marketing management is the marketing mix. Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that a firm uses to achieve its marketing objectives in a specific target market. The tools can be classified into four categories namely Price, Place Promotion and Product and are referred to as the 4 Ps. Price and advertising costs etc. can be altered in the short run but elements such as product and the distribution channel can only be changed in the long run. .( Kotler, 2002, p.9 )These variables affect the level of demand for a firms products. It is a combination of these tools that are used to satisfy consumer and company objectives. The four variables can be explained as follows: 1. Price: Price is an important factor in the marketing mix when the products are not bad. People want to use money thoughtfully and want maximum utility out of their income. Discounts, allowances, payment terms and credit are some of the tools used to attract customers. 2.Product: Product is the top priority in the marketing mix. Some of the strategies that firms may use are quality, design , features, packaging and warranties etc. Using these tools a company can differentiate its products from its competitors. 3.Place: The place element is becoming more important these days. Big retailers make it more convenient for people to buy everything. Locations, inventory and transport etc are areas that are important for a business. 4.Promotion: People should know about the products of a company. Effective way to advertise the products necessary. Sales promotion, sales force ,direct marketing and public relations are some examples that come under promotion aspect of the marketing mix. We can relate these 4 Ps with different strategies that Wal-Mart adopts. Price is the most important factor for Wal-Marts marketing mix and is the winning formula for the company. The company has build an image over the years that its name has become a synonym to low prices. The mission of the company is to provide cheapest prices in the market. It is because of its such low prices that it has been able to serve and fulfil the needs of millions of customers. Wal-Mart has the best and the most convenient store locations which its competitors find difficult to beat. This is due to the extensive market research it does before expanding into a new area. Also the stores are strategically located to gain efficiency in storage and transportation of its goods. However the company has saturated the local markets and now has plans to extend its operations in many foreign countries. As Wal-Mart offers variety of products for every segment of the market it ensures that its customers get the high est quality products. Some products are sold under its own brand whereas some other from other companies. Wal-Mart often comes up with packaging techniques that help reduce the cost of the goods sold. Now the company is trying to attract more affluent customers by launching new Metro 7 Stalls which offer jewellery and other expensive items in 1500 different stores. (source: http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/news/5721.aspx). Coming to promotion the most notable strategy that the company uses is public relations by taking parts in charitable events. It started health plans starting from $23 and also advertised itself as the largest employer. All these strategies have helped Wal-Mart emerge as the market leader in the retail sector and the key factors being low prices, more customer service and constant innovation in the business.

Dickinsons Pictorials of Death Essay -- Literary Analysis

Dickinson’s Pictorials of Death Death is often thought of as a morbid or mysterious subject. Authors and poets spend their lives exploring the questions of what happens when a person dies and what lies beyond death. From the billowy heavens in the Bible to Dante’s many rings of Inferno, no one else has quite the same view as Emily Dickinson on this subject. Through her elliptical poems Dickinson paints various views of death that reveal her multifaceted outlook. She uses different methods to gain insight into the nature of death by processing through the physical aspects of death in â€Å"I hear a fly buzz—when I died†, personifying death in â€Å"Because I could not stop for death†, and reconciling death and immortality in â€Å"Behind me dips—Eternity†. All of these poems create a better understanding of Emily Dickinson’s views of death. During Dickinson’s life, death was something that happened quite often and was never far from her thought. Her house was beside the local cemetery, and, with the Civil War raging, the graveyard always seemed to have a fresh plot. This is where she spent almost her entire life. Emily was born on December 10, 1830 in the â€Å"sleepy village† of Amherst, Massachusetts that was dominated by â€Å"church and college† (Dickinson, Emily). Here she spent her childhood years playing with her brother Austin and sister Lavinia and would later spend her adult years gardening and writing in solitude (Dickinson, Emily). Her isolation gave the impression of being reclusive and antisocial. Emily Dickinson did, however, go off to school and graduated from Amherst Academy in 1947 before coming back to her childhood home and becoming â€Å"a more than ordinary observer of Amherst life† (Dickinson, Emily). Her voluntary seclusion was not b... ...y in the image of â€Å"the Setting Sun† (BOOK PG#). Works Cited Anderson, Charles R. "The Trap of Time in Emily Dickinson's Poetry." ELH 26.3 (1959): 402-24. JSTOR. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. Anderson, John Q. "Heaven Beguiles the Tired: Death in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson." Rev. of Book. The South Central Bulletin 27.1 (1967): 30-31. JSTOR. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. Chuan, Xiao -. "Death and Immortality: The Everlasting Themes." Canadian Social Science 5.5 (2009): 96-99. CSCanada. Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture, 2 July 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. â€Å"Dickinson, Emily (1830-1886).† Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 27. Mar. 2012. Spencer, Mark. "Dickinson's Becase I Could Not Stop for Death." The Explicator 65.2 (2007): 95-96. Taylor and Francis Online. Atypon Literatum, 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.

Are Cell Phones Necessary? :: Technology Communication Essays

Are Cell Phones Necessary? Sifting through his latest screenplay on the way to class, Geoff Yetter ignores the muffled sound of a computer-generated rendition of Johan Pachelbel’s Canon in D coming from inside his book bag. â€Å"Porcupined onions,† he curses to himself. â€Å"I’ll call them back when I’m free.† Yetter, a senior film and video studies major at the University of Oklahoma, said that although he has a cell phone, it is only because he considers them to be a â€Å"necessary evil.† â€Å"At the risk of coming off as one of those ‘hippie’ types, I truly see a cell phone as a leash that ties you to a world that man shouldn't belong to,† he said. â€Å"No matter how much one tries, you can never escape anyone if you have a cell phone.† Over 110 million Americans own a cell phone, according to a study done by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA). With an average of 46,000 new subscribers every day, CTIA experts project that in 2005 there will be over 1.25 billion cell phone users worldwide. Increasing numbers of college students are abandoning landlines in lieu of simply using their cell phones as their only contact number, said an Oct. 10, 2004 Wesleyan Argus article on the drop in dorm phone subscription rates at Wesleyan University. The article calls the drop so significant that landlines on campus â€Å"seem anachronistic.† In a school like Northeastern University,a fast-paced, career-driven school in a major metropolitan area, having a cell phone is almost a necessity for students. While there are many factors to consider when deciding to purchase a cell phone – convenience, price, minute plan, clarity of service, when it will be used, health risks– it comes down to a simple necessity of a convenience for most people, said the Argus article. â€Å"I have my cell phone to keep in touch with friends and family from home,† said Kirsten Baxter, a junior mechanical engineering major at Northeastern University. â€Å"My family lives on the West Coast so it would be long distance on a regular phone so I (set up) a cell phone plan with nationwide minutes.† Having a cell phone also makes more sense for her as a college student because with a landline she might have to set up a new number every time she moves in addition to it being obviously less portable, she said. Many newer cell phone models are multimedia devices with â€Å"telephone† merely being one of the features.

Images and Imagery in Robert Frosts Wind and Window Flower Essay

Imagery in Robert Frost's Wind and Window Flower After reading this poem by Robert Frost, I was left with many different ideas about this work. I believe one could take this poem in a literal sense to actually be about a window flower and the wind. I also believe, however, that this poem perhaps has a bit of a deeper meaning. Looking first at the poem in a literal sense, the story is told of a lonely window flower that is sitting on a window sill, and the image is that the flower is looking out the window. It is cold outside, and the frost on the window has melted just enough for the flower to see out. In line 7 of the poem, the flower is compared to a caged yellow bird, to give the reader a sense that the flower feels trapped, perhaps wishing to be outside. Line 9 of the poem goes on to talk of how "he marked her through the pane". "He" refers to the wind, and how the flower could feel him through the "pane". The use of "pane" is also interesting here and made me think about the "pain" that the flower felt at not being able to be free to fly with the wind. I...

Leader

The capability of leaders to actively create mechanisms and measures to continuously enhance their field of expertise can pave the way for a deeper concentration and application of services among individuals. Thus, the incorporation of the Code of Ethics can be a necessary bridge in enhancing these goals. In addition, its incorporation in the overall policy can also improve interpersonal communication, work-related stress and career development.The creation of a code of ethics in a work environment usually varies depending on the institution and/or organizations overall aims and objectives. It usually is made to address the level of professionalism necessary in separating private and work-related activities. This paper seeks to show and elaborate on the way the code of ethics has helped in addressing and bridging the issues of (1) interpersonal communication, (2) stress management and (3) career development. In addition, it shall focus on the law enforcement sector and how their code s of ethics seek to address these issues.Having worked under the police force for 10 years, the experience proved to be a mixture of both trials and success. Being under a law enforcement agency, you are bounded by different rules and regulations that seem to impart a disciplined approach to each individual employed within. The Code of Conduct is one of the many rules that are mandated to be followed by each member of the organization. These rules may seem to restrict certain freedoms and actions but on the other hand it has also helped cultivate our roles and duties as leaders and primary movers of society in accordance to our rules and regulations. In addition to these, the methods become clearly defined due to the existence of the code of conduct, which paves the way for an easier implementation and application of rules within and outside the organization.The next section shall look into the way the creation of a Code of Conduct within the law enforcement agency can help facilita te or impede the process of the three (3) factors given.Interpersonal CommunicationThe capabilities of each individual to communicate with the environment and its surroundings cover the realm of interpersonal communication. â€Å"Interpersonal communication involves understanding the dynamics of sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1).   In the realm of the law enforcement agency, the capability of each police force to reach out to the community and project an image of security and stability is the way interpersonal communication can be possible. â€Å"The ability of police personnel to communicate with the general public affects their image and the public's reactions to the police force.† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1)Then there is of course the importance of improving the image and the way police force handles their everyday activities. There is an importance in the way police officers project themselves since they are considered public and respectable figures. â€Å"The manner in which officers present themselves, both verbally and nonverbally, has a great impact on their professional image.† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1)For law enforcers to become effective and efficient leaders in this area, they must be able to address the realm of interpersonal communication. This means that law enforcers must actively create measures in enhancing and developing communication not only within the departments but also outside the force and community. The creation of a Code of Conduct also helps facilitate the way police communicate with people. It sets a higher standard of how people should communicate and at the same time giving opportunities for the law enforcement to exercise their responsibilities within the community.Another issue to be considered is the cultural diversity in the workplace. The application of the law now is depended on the way policeman exercise and judge the actual committing of the violence. It is through here that prejudice and bias comes in. As people become more and more acquainted with American culture, the more that they can see the way people are treated unequally. Thus there is a need for the police force to understand the cultural diversity present so that they can create a more sensitive outlook in the way each one enforces the law.  With this, there must be an adequate response to cultural diversity within such workplace. Policemen should understand that the communication process within cultures vary and are different. â€Å"The communicative process, while different for each culture, is comprised of essentially three components–language, culture, and ethnicity† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1) Thus, sensitivity and awareness is an important factor to consider when looking into the way each one handles a specific case.â€Å"Awareness of these cultural rules enables officers to be sensitive and responsive to the expectations and restrictions governing the communicati on process of the culture† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1) In addition, police should be aware of the way they present their actions, being adaptive to the way these people act can help facilitate a better communication process. â€Å"In contact cultures, physical closeness, occasional touching, and frequent gesturing are important and desired components of the communication process† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1).To achieve such objective, there must be a constant training between members of the police force. This enables them to become adaptive to the environment they are in. Each one must create a communication skills training. â€Å"To communicate effectively, police officers must gain an understanding of the myraid of verbal and nonverbal message elements that are communicated consciously and subconsciously by the participants in all interactions† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1). It is through the creation of these issues that people can enhance the way they communicate with other pe ople and practice effective implementation of the rule of law. â€Å"Therefore, an effective communication training program begins with efforts to change the attitude of all employees within the police agency† (Pritchett, 1993, p.1).Work-Related StressAnother issue that is deemed to be important is the way policemen handle stress. This is vital in the process because they are the ones who implement the law. Thus, the rigorous task of fulfilling their roles often gets the hang of them. There needs to be an important part of achieving a controlled stress environment particularly in the field of law enforcement. Since they are tasked to handle law related issues, the way they showcase their power to other people can be vital to either success or failure of their objectives.The depth of the way stress hounds policemen are often difficult to ascertain however they prove to be difficult and heavy compared to other professions. â€Å"†Policing is a psychologically stressful w ork environment filled with danger, high demands, ambiguity in work encounters, human misery and exposure to death,†Ã¢â‚¬  (Baker, 2004, p.1) In addition, there seems to be little literature to explain the way policeman treat and address stress related activities. â€Å"Despite the large size of this workforce nationwide and the strain of this occupation, the police are understudied in terms of work influence on psychological well-being and physical health,† (Baker, 2004, p.1).Digging in deeper, the nature of stress in the police force seems to emanate within their work description itself, however this is a misconception since people mix up their viewed stressors compared to the reality. â€Å"The stereotypical picture of police stress as consisting primarily of exposure to physical danger from criminals is fading, at least within the academic literature if not in popular accounts†(Ganster et. al., 1996, p.1). On the other hand, the real contributors for the str ess police men are feeling are the organizational factors. â€Å"A myriad of surveys of police stress point to the important role of what might be termed organizational or management factors, in contrast to physical or emotional threats encountered during fieldwork† (Ganster et. al., 1996, p.1).As leaders we are given the power and responsibility to look over people’s actions. However, such idea can also be a tool for a stressful environment as each one tries to make up for the challenge of becoming a good leader. â€Å"A source of stress made more insidious by its chronic nature and the pervasiveness of its impact on the officer's work life and career stability arises out of the constellation of management practices and policies characterizing many police organizations† (Ganster et. al., 1996, p.1).The creation of the code of conduct can either create a more stressful or less stressful environment. It actually depends on the capability of the individual to cope up with the way each one with the tasks prescribed within the code of conduct. Thus, it is a challenge for leaders to actively create mechanisms that will lessen the stress within the workplace. â€Å"However, leader behaviors might still be important in determining what effects these external stresses have on the well being of officers† (Ganster et. al., 1996, p.1).Key leader behaviors are also important in determining the way the police force copes up with stress. It is through this that they begin to experience how to actively create mechanisms that will enhance the potential of people below them and at the same time minimizing the occurrence of stress within the organization. Thus, the application of an appropriate leadership style can help facilitate the changes necessary for the sustenance and growth of the division. It was stated in the study that â€Å"these leadership styles can have direct effects on mental and physical health as well as indirectly affecting these outcomes through their effects on the levels of social support and personal control that police officers experience on their job† (Ganster et. al., 1996, p.1).Career DevelopmentIn the realm of career development, leadership is also necessary in this field to attract potential workers in the organization. This is to ensure the sustenance of the organization in promoting and creating necessary means to facilitate improvements in different areas. Leaders must realize the changing and evolving times today so that they may correctly incorporate several ideas in the program in enhancing their career development. â€Å"As a result, the â€Å"labor market† of the past is quickly becoming a â€Å"work dynamic† that is difficult to encapsulate with occupational dictionaries, codes, or titles† (Redekopp, D., 1995, p.1)Career development is never a one step process, it is a continuous and developing procedures that captivates and influences the way people shape their future. With proper incorporation of a career development, learning is possible and opportunities are endless. â€Å"People who have had limited success with formal learning are anxious about â€Å"lifelong learning† and need to know that most learning does not occur in formal settings† (Redekopp, D., 1995, p.1)The creation of a code of ethics can also help facilitate improvements in career development. Since the rules are there and needs to be followed, creating career development should never be anymore voluntary but on the other hand be supplementary to the needs of different individuals. â€Å"In today’s competitive environment, it is imperative that all organizations create a work environment which fosters growth and development† (Merchant, R.C., p.2)Leaders, for their part should enhance employee motivation. This improves employee development and creates improvement in work. â€Å"An organization’s ability to understand and address these ne eds will result in higher levels of job satisfaction and enhanced performance by its employees† (Merchant, R.C., p.5)Another important factor to consider is the managerial styles exhibited by leaders in the realm of policing. Managers must actively create mechanisms that will enhance their people’s capability to work under the organization. It with this that â€Å"the most effective managers are those who realize that employee commitment and productivity are directly related to the organization’s overall effectiveness† (Merchant, R.C., p.7)Another thing that creates career development is the technological changes within the workforce and the organization. Career development programs can help enhance the way people view and address these technological changes. â€Å"Employees would be able to make practical career decisions based upon the organization’s current and future needs.† (Merchant, R.C., p.8)To conclude, the three factors given are in deed important in shaping leadership capabilities among members of the police force. The Code of Ethics serves as an important factor in determining the success and development of such three factors. In the end, leaders can use the Code of Ethics as a tool in facilitating mechanisms for change.ReferencesBaker, L. (2004) Study to examine effects of stress on police officer’s health in University ofBuffalo Reporter. 35 no.17 Retrieved February 11, 2008 from http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/vol35/vol35n17/articles/PoliceStudy.htmlGanster, D.C., Pagon, M. and Duffy, M. (1996) Organizational and Interpersonal Sources ofStress in the Slovenian Police Force. Retrieved February 11, 2008 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/policing/org425.htmMerchant, R.C. (n.d.) The Role of Career Development in Improving Organizational Effectiveness and Employee Development. Retrieved February 11, 2008 from www.fdle.state.fl.us/FCJEI/SLP papers/Merchant.pdfPritchett, G.L. (1993) Interpersonal Communication:   improving law enforcement’s image in TheFBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Retrieved February 11, 2008 from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-14234504.htmlRedekopp, D.E. (1995) The â€Å"High Five† of Career Development. Retrieved February 11, 2008from http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Career-High-Five.htm

Meaning of the term secular

In addition to this, the essay will address the debate of Indian's secularity. A brief history of Religion will be addressed, with reference to the work of E. B. Taylor, Emilee Druthers and Karl Marx. Some other questions which will be answered are why do sociologists study Religion', What role does Religion Play in the society', and ‘How does religion work to maintain solidarity among members of a society. ‘†Religion has convinced people that there's an Invisible man living In the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day.And the Invisible man has a list will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time† (Carline, n. D. ). Hardball's and Healed, in Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, have explicitly stated that supernatural beliefs exist in all societies, including the primitive societies. Robertson states that religion â€Å"refers to the existence of supernatural beings which have a governing effect on life. This definition takes into account the fact that religion is not only a belief in the existence of supernatural elements, but also that these elements exert some degree of control over the lives of the people. The nineteenth century saw a rise in the study of religion as scholars began to question the origin and evolution of the same. Sociologists drew analogies based on Darning's Evolutionary Theory – they tried to trace the evolution of society and social institutions. Focusing on the work done by E. B.Taylor, the theory of Animism was an important contribution to the study of religion. Taylor believed that animism was the earliest form of religion. It refers to the belief in spirits. According to him, in order to make sense of events such as life after death or the composition of dreams, early philosophers conjured up the idea of the soul. The soul, in simple words, is a s pirit which is present in the body and gives it life. Once the idea of spirits was invented, it was applied not Just to man, but also animals and man-made objects.Thus â€Å"religion, in the form of animism, originated to satisfy man's intellectual nature, to meet his need to make sense of death, dreams and visions. † (Hardball's, Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 1981) Sacred and Profane are two terms presented by Emilee Druthers in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, and are the most instrumental elucidation of religion from a functional perspective. He stated that all societies divide the world into two disagrees, biz. , sacred and profane, and that religion is based upon this division (Hardball's, Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 1981).Sacred refers to everything that is considered ‘Holy' by the people of the society. All sacred elements are treated with respect and are revered. The sacred element is a symbol- it is representative of something. However, the term sacred does not only apply to supernatural elements such as God or Angels. The term encompasses all elements in the society, tangible or non-tangible, that are considered holy. Thus a tree, rock, stone, etc. , may be considered sacred by a certain group of people. Profane covers all the elements of the society which, in simple terms, are not considered holy.This distinction formed the basis for Deuterium's analysis of religion. Based on his studies on Australian tribes, he developed the term totemic. He regards totemic as the most basic form of religion. A totem is a symbol, usually an animal or a plant, which is sacred to the tribe. For instance, in tribal India, the Gongs have a goat clan whose members look upon the goat as their totem because a goat which had been pilfered by their ancestors for sacrifice turned into a pig when the theft was discovered and thus paved the thieves from punishment.Like all functionalists, Druthers argued that social life would be impossible wi thout the presence of shared values and beliefs which form the ‘collective conscience'. This implied that without a collective conscience there would be chaos in the society. He thus stated that religion Religion has been defined with reference to the sacred rather than God because this makes social comparison easier. For instance, certain sects of Buddhism do not engage in a belief in God (Scott & Marshall, 1994). A contrasting view is observed in the Marxist theory.Karl Marx, the founder of the unionism, blatantly stated that religion is a farce- merely a crutch for the people, who look towards it to find inner peace and solace. He took this a step further and said that religion adds to the development of a false consciousness among the worker class, giving them the strength to cope with their exploitation, in hope of gaining a fruitful life after death, as a reward for their suffering. So, the workers view their exploitation as a natural order of life, and do not challenge their masters.Thus Marx called religion the ‘opium of the masses', holding it responsible for the exploitation of the workers by the capitalists. Various theories have been presented in order to understand religion better. The theories discussed above are only basics of the sociology of religion. The study of religion dates back to over a century, and there have been innumerable contributions to the field. The analysis of religion is a difficult and complex one, it requires increased knowledge of various social phenomena. In addition to this, I must emphasize on the necessity of subjectivity and neutrality in the study of religion.A researcher must not be biased against the particular religion or religions he/she is tidying. The researcher should assume a neutral attitude towards the research subject because his personal biases may affect the results and his conclusions. Therefore, it is important to note that sociologists study religion to understand how it affects the functi oning of society, and not to prove or disprove any of the doctrines. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Going back in history, to the Vivid period in India, Hinduism is considered to be the oldest religion which originated in northern India.Hinduism was the predominant religion during ancient India, and is responsible for shaping most of the classical and odder culture of India. Through the course of time, India faced a number of invasions from different directions, which consequently brought new and different cultures to India. These cultures consisted of different forms of art and literature, architecture, and especially religion. Every successful invasion of India brought along a wave of immigrants who, over a period of time, were accepted into the Indian society.This acceptance of different cultures led to extravagant changes in the Indian way of life. India is often regarded as the religiously most diverse nation to exist in the world. Contributing to around 17. 5% of the world's population( Census, 2011), India is home to a number of religions like Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, to name a few. In fact, some of the major World Religions, like Jansenism and Buddhism, originated in India. The East India Company was instrumental in the rise of Christianity in India.Initially, the Company's government did not allow Christian missionaries to operate in the nation, however, this ban was lifted according to the Charter Act of 1813 – the licensed missionaries were allowed to operate. This Act further assisted the spread of Christianity throughout India. Tate, India has seen the growth and development of major religions over the past decades. As discussed earlier, the countless number of invasions introduced new religions into India. Major religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity were propagated in this way.Statistics indicate the Hinduism is the third-largest religious community in the world after Christianity and Islam (PIT, 2012). Narrowing the field down t o India, Hinduism is the religion of the majority, and Christianity and Islam constitute the largest minority religions in the nation. According to the Census of India, 2001, of the total population 80. % are Hindus while Muslims comprise 13. 4 % and Christians 2. 3 % respectively. Roughly 828 million are Hindus while Muslims are approximately 138 million out of Indian's total population of about 1,029 million. Sikhs account for 1. Per cent of the total population. The share of Buddhists, Gains and other religions are 0. 8 %, 0. 4 % and 0. 6 % respectively (Sensualist, 2011). While writing the article Why India is not a secular state', Omar Khalid's', reinforces his argument that India is not a secular state in totality. The Oxford English Dictionary defines secular as something that is ‘ not connected with religious or spiritual matters'. So a secular state would imply a separation or distinction of the state from all religious matters. All affairs of the state would be carri ed out without any religious interference.This means that the state or government should not promote any religious groups or organizations. In this context, the constitution makers of India incorporated the word secular in the Constitution, but there have been innumerable arguments on whether ‘secular' is Just a word on paper, or whether secularism has actually been applied and adopted as a practice in India. Khalid's' has highlighted five areas where secularism has failed to come up to its expectations. As per the constitution, â€Å"Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Gain or Buddhist religion† (India C. O. , 1949).The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 applies,- (a) to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments, including a Irishman, a Eliminating or a follower of the Brahms, Parthian or Array Assam; (b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Gain or Sikh by religion, and (c) to any other person domicile d in the territories to which this Act extends who is onto Muslim, Christian, Paris or Jew by religion, unless it is proved that any such errors would not have been governed by the Hindu law or by any custom or usage as part of that law in respect of any of the matters dealt with herein if this Act had not been passed. Act 25 of 1955) This means that officially there is no such thing as a Buddhist, Gain, or Sikh marriage, which is an additional endeavor to refuse other religions an idiosyncratic identity and absorb them into the Hindu category. The Office of the Registrar General that conducts the decennial census enumerates anyone who is not a Christian, Muslim or Paris as Hindu. (Khalid's, 2009) The freedom of religion is granted under Article 25 (1), of the Constitution.However, a Since then approximately seven state legislatures have agreed upon laws strictly putting a ceiling on conversions from Hinduism to other religions while aiding conversions to Hinduism. Christianity has been under constant fire for a long time now. These challenges that Christianity is faced with will be discussed in course of this essay. Thus we see certain legislative discriminations based on religion. Another area discussed by Khalid's is the Employment sector.He says that Article 16 (2) of the constitution prohibits discrimination in public employment based on religion, but there have been innumerable cases of discrimination. In a classic example where the Hindu culture has been infused in the Indian culture, the ban on beef took away the means of livelihood of a multitude of butchers and also the cheapest source of proteins for the poor. Agreed, the cow is sacred to the upper class Hindus, but this is not true for the Christians, Dalais and other groups. So we see another case of discrimination within the culture with a religious basis.India witnessed multiple massacres which were supported by the state, biz. , of Sikhs in 1984 and of Muslims in 2002. In both cases, the indivi duals in the highest position of the Executive branch of he government Justified the riots, namely, Rajah Gandhi after the assassination of his mother, and Neared Mood after the train was attacked in Godard killing 58 people. It is true that the plasticization of religion has been occurring, and innumerable legislations have been affected by this. Various political parties in India have been affiliated with different religions.Former Maharajah's Governor and Member of Parliament P C Alexander observed that plasticization of religion, caste and fragmentation of our society were posing a threat to national integration (NUN, 2007). Taking into consideration the fact that political parties have been flaunting their own religions, it is possible to say that these religious promotions by politicians have an adverse effect because they are indirectly encouraging communism. Followers of different parties may turn against each other and this may lead to communal riots.Khalid's hard-hitting o bservations were concluded with a final note- â€Å"For all these five reasons, India is not a secular state. It is in fact the defender of Hindu dharma. † (Khalid's, 2009) Turning the spotlight on Christianity in India, the first attempt to introduce the elision was seen when SST. Thomas visited India and was brought to the court of Gunpersons. As Stephen Neil has elucidated in A History of Christianity in India, Thomas was initially rejected and he later went on to South India, where he was successful in baptizing the higher class people.Neil has mentioned that Thomas first visited Monolayer on the Accordance Coast, and came across thirty-two village communities. It is notable that he concentrated on converting the higher castes first because the lower castes were bound to follow whatever the high castes indulged in. When the Portuguese arrived in India, they found that the Thomas tradition had been widely accepted. Francis Xavier arrived at Ago to find it almost a Christia n settlement, with seven churches and a set of clergy men. Stephen Neil has provided fitting geographical and statistical evidence to help analyze the arrival of Christianity in India.The following decades witnessed the colonization of India by the British. The However, conversions were not the only function these missionaries performed. Many reputable and important schools, colleges, hospitals and so on, were established with the help of the missionaries in India. Neil, 1984) The people of India also seemed to be accepting the Christian faith openly because it gave them a chance to escape the complex rituals that their original faith demanded. In totality, Christianity was being accepted, although forced conversions were still taking place.The post colonial period witnessed great growth of a number of religions, especially Christianity. The decision to name India a secular country encouraged this growth. Christian converts could rest assured that they would be safe in India. So, ov er the years Christianity kept on growing steadily, and today, it has established itself as one f the largest minority religions in India, although, the question that arises is, has Christianity really been completely assimilated with the Indian society. RESEARCH METHOD Taking on a rather rudimentary form of investigation, I have collected information based on interviews with individuals.The main questions I asked them were: 1. Their views on acceptance of Christianity in India 2. Their personal understanding of the term ‘Secular' 3. Whether they think that India is a secular state in practice 4. What according to them are some of the challenges faced by Christianity A total of 45 people were interviewed, individually, and in groups. The questions were posed formally, but responses were more or less informal, and based on the ensuing discussions, I have formulated an average of their opinions and reached certain conclusions.AAA majority of the sample was not completely aware o f the meaning of the term secular. On being given the actual meaning and definition of the term, 57% of the people stated that India does not seem to be a secular country. 36% said that they thought India was indeed a secular state, and the remaining 7% did not have an opinion. Now, based on some preliminary research, I have concluded that Christianity s a religion has undergone a number of phases of maturity and is developing from a fledgling to a fully grown bird. However it is facing a number of challenges which is hindering this development.A majority of the sample referred to the persecution and arrests of Christians in Arioso and Kashmir as basis for their above view. People have seen this as a manifestation of the insecurity faced by Hinduism. The increasing speed at which people are converting to Christianity is alarming for the devout Hindus, and that is why they are resorting to extreme means such as these. As far as he assimilation of foreign religions into mainstream Ind ian life goes, Christianity has done pretty well, although, there has always been the case of forced conversions.However, it is important to note that Christian missionaries have contributed to the development of society in a number of ways. The benefits that these missionaries bestow upon the nation cannot be denied. It is, after all, a part of their way of life to take care of people. Studies have also indicated that missionaries have played a role in combating various cases of substance abuse. Moving to the secularity of India, I house of parliament, Meter Kumar. At a large gathering at the prestigious Cambridge University in England she said, † there is no room for religious politics in the world's largest democracy.

Googles Method’s of Motivating Employees Essay

What is life like at Google? After extensive research I found a wide variety of opinions about life at Google. Google’s website portrays Google as the best of all places to work. They offer many luxuries including on site massages and health clubs in addition to free dining and vending options. The management style of Google is very lackadaisical and far from serious. Their motto is search, search, and search. Googleplex located out of San Jose, California has a unique method of motivating employees vastly different from other corporate America companies. New hires are flabbergasted by Google’s reputation. If they pass the unorganized and exhausting interview process, they will be able to utilize the extravagant perks that attract many to Google initially. Google’s goal is to keep employees focused on work by eliminating anything that might interfere with production. Current employees make use of this concept depending on their length of employment with the company. Ex-employees have a different view of Google’s culture and the driving forces that power it. Many of Google’s old employees feel this atmosphere leads to 24/7 working days with no personal time. They feel overworked and underpaid with little advancement opportunities available. With that being said, my assessment of the working environment at Google is similar to that of former employees. I feel Google is mirroring the college environment by meeting the basic needs of their employees. By making the basic needs readily available within the working environment, they eliminate outside distractions thus hoping to increase production. However, I feel this philosophy is comparable to that of many cults. They entice employees with so-called spectacular benefits and average pay all the while neglecting to tell them how demanding the working environment is at Google. I am surprised that Google does not offer on-site living arrangements too. Robbins and Coulter (2009) state, â€Å"Google has been named the ‘best company to work for’ by Fortune magazine two years running. † I have no doubts they are not a fantastic company to call home, but they are not retaining life time employees. At some point these associates are losing motivation and decide to look for better opportunities. These situations tell me that Google is failing their employees at some point. I believe the break-down begins at the top of the organizational structure within Google. They emphasize their benefits but neglect to explain employee expectations or job demands to their staff. After the orientation phase, employees get the real taste of Google: little time for the perks, exhausting hours, unorganized working environments, lacking management guidance, little advancement opportunities, minimal pay and a child-like atmosphere. This is the perfect recipe for burnout. Sequentially burnout creates Google’s biggest challenge. It has been said that middle management at Google might oversee over 100 people at one time. How can this be effective? Management needs to be involved and become more hands on with their employees. They could start with career plans, training and promotable reviews. Also, I feel Google should balance their perks by offering less on-site and more down time or empathy to their associates on a personal level. The perks offered are great but they are missing the most important factor-a sincere personal touch. If I were managing a team of Google employees I would try to implement a â€Å"hands on† type of approach. I would set up monthly meetings and give my staff appropriate feedback to help them grow and excel. A rewards and recognition program would be beneficial to them as well as a career plan. It would also be helpful to have training sessions when needed. Lastly, I would empathize with my employees by stressing balance between family and working time. Google has a nice platform; however, I feel these few changes could be vital assets to enhancing their working place while keep long term associates.

Accident Rates

More than 60 per cent of road accidents that occur between 10 p. M. And 6 a. M. Are because of drunken driving. A death occurs every 4 minutes on Indian Roads. According to Decca Chronicle, Karakas ranks 3rd in the list of Top 5 states with highest road accidents. More than 60% of road accidents occur because of drunken driving. Decca Chronicle – Karakas ranks 3rd- Top states with highest roads accidents Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, You as you know are traffic policemen (and women) and we are your senior police officials.Today we are here to discuss an issue of grave importance to each one of us – A new Promotion Policy. Here is an eye opener for the entire Bangers traffic police force. And we hope this sensitizes each one of us to the bigger picture. A death occurs every 4 minutes on Indian Roads. Highest road accidents. In the last three years, we have booked around 35 lake cases for various traffic violations such as reckless driving, drunken driving, over sp eeding, driving without license, driving on no-entry roads, Jumping signals and haphazard 10 p. M. And 6 a. M. E because of drunken driving. As you can see in the Table, the Total no. Of Reported road accidents in Bangers has gone down considerably and yet, Vainglorious do not feel safe on the road. During my interactions with a few of you, I got the sense that beyond the minimum required no. Of cases to be booked every month, very few of you take the initiative of booking additional road offenses. We have been facing a lot of criticism from a leading newspaper that claims that 30% of road offenses go unreported. We realized that this is the main reason behind the facts as they hold.And so, to reward those of you who do your Job diligently, (and I am sure most of you already belong to that bracket), we have devised a new policy. We will follow a quarterly appraisal policy wherein each quarter, the 3 officers who book the maximum number of cases will be awarded a Badge of Honor. This badge will signify your commitment to duty, pride and honor towards your department, city and people and education to work. In addition to this, these three people will also be a part of an exclusive Topper's Club which we hope will keep growing every quarter.This club will provide you the opportunity to interact with high achievers from the entire country during the Bi Annual National Meetings and let your family reap benefits for your hard work in the form of fully sponsored family vacations. And finally, at the time of promotions the most hard working of you all will be preferred. The no. Of badges each of you has will stand testimony to this fact. The one with the highest no. Of badges will be promoted as and when the vacancies arise. And now, I'd like you to have a look at this: