Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Essay -- essays research papers

Everyone is embedded with things that make them unique. As individuals we each bring soemthing new, creative, and different to the table. This brings to to discuss personal strengths and weaknessess within myself and my everyday living. Personal strengths are areas where we tend to excel, and seem to express above average. Personal Weaknesses to me are areas where we would like to excel but seem to still need improvement. If I can, let me share with you my strengths and weaknesses and see how they effect my everyday being.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lets begin with my personal strengths. To me these are areas where I think I excel and have the most experience. Being an effective communicator is one of the best traits that I think a person can carry. Effective communication consists of being able to speak clearly and professionally, while being knowleadgeable at the same time. I also have to ensure that the message that is being communicated is easy to understand and that my message covers all the facts and pertinent information. Communication has become one of the key parts to being successful in work life and in my personal life. Communication is key to my marriage and any relationship that I build within a team, workplace, and even with my small child. Being an effective communicator is definetely a strong point for me. Possessing the skills to be a leader is also a bright area for me. I learned at an early age that I love to be in charge and that taking initiative to get things done has a very positive out look. Being that I have learned my limitations and what is best for me, I do better as a leader and not a follower. Being a leader takes an outgoing personality, and a person that loves to work an be around people. It also takes good decision making skills and the ability to work well under pressure sometimes. I am truly a people person and feel that I have the traits that it takes to lead a group to the moon if need be. Which leads me into being a team player. I believe that team work is always a great asset to any work or personal group and being a team player is one of my stronger attributes. Being a team player means being able to work well with others, to offer assistance to others in need, and to be very open to new ideas and other peoples opinions. Being a team player to me falls right into place with being a people person and being able to wo... ...d, the bad, and the indifferent I feel that overall I am a great person and that I have many great qualities. As with anyone I have areas that I would surely like to be stronger in but only time will tell. I am starting to realize that the only way that I can change my weaknesses into strong points is to accept the fact that I have troubles in these areas and that they need to be fixed. Observering how my behaviors and weaker points affect others and my lifestyle will help me to develop a plan to fix these weak points beneath the surface. I think that once a person sits back and evaluates what their personal strengths and weaknesses are then a positive self evaluation can be made. Just from putting this paper together I have evaluated some things about myself that I havent touched base with in a long time. A persons strengths and weaknesses help to make up who they are and no one person is alike. I think that it is always important to know who you are and what you are made of and what better way than to evaluate the things that you can attribute and also the things that you work on to possible make you a better person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Geely Company Analysis

Geely Company Analysis When globalization becomes a circumstance, many companies try to open oversea market. Here, we’d like to take a look at a Chinese private-own automobile company Geely. As china’s top car maker, Geely abstracted the world’s eyes recently. In 2004, Geely plans to export 5,000 vehicles to the Middle East, South America and North Africa after shipping 1,000 cars to Syria in the fourth quarter of 2003 at US$4,000-$6,000 each. This year, Geely wants to open US market. But with many strong competiters in car manufactory in US, with weak reputation around chinese product, How does Geely find an appropriate approach to develop its business? This paper will try to find the answer. First, we will introduce Geely background to help reader know its history and present situation. Then we will do SWOT analysis and Entry mode comparison toward its current status to find a better approach for Geely to enter in US. We will cover chapter 4 and chapter 14 in this paper. Company opportunity Although it’s hard for a new automotive manufactor enter in US market, which is roughly saturated and full of strong competitors, Geely still has its own advantages and oppotunities. Its super-low price becomes a brick to knock the door of US low end vehicles market. Some other famous and successful brand bulid a good model for Geely in car image, design etc. Also, US market is huge and American people have a high consumption, if Geely can catch the oppotunities, the chance to success will be great. Now, let’s take a look at its company background. Company background Geely automobile company was found on March, 1997 in Zhe Jiang China. It is a private own automobile company. The registered capital of this company is RMB 20 million. In 2001, Geely automobile became the first approved private company in terms of automobile manufacture in mainland China. The chairman of the company is Li Shu Fu. He has good relationships with the Chinese government leaders and Zhe Jiang province government leaders. China has high economic growth rates since 1980s. Many Chinese people make a lot of money every year. Most of them want to own cars or need cars for many easons. So the Chinese car market become bigger and bigger. It provides a good opportunity to Li Shu Fu and his employees to realize their dream: â€Å"Make the best Cars, ordinary People Can Afford. † Geely automobile company hires many workers to produce different styles cars in Zhe Jiang province and operates big business in mainland China, Middle East, southern America and Africa. The operatio n of the company can affect the economic growth of Zhe Jiang province. So, Geely automobile company always gets support from the Zhe Jiang province government. Gerry automobile company is focusing on low-income market in mainland China. In the first half of 2003, Geely Company produced 34360 units of cars and renews the lowest prices of its products in the automobile industry, so the company shared 3. 84% of the total Chinese car market. At the same, the company made technical cooperation agreement with German Rucker Company. The cooperation agreement helps Geely automobile to improve its products’ quality quickly. This company gets success in domestic market after its first car launched off in Linhai City Zhejiang Province. On June, 2003, the one hundred thousand Geely care launched off in Zhejiang Province. This company has import & export license and the ISO 9001 quality system certification, so it is very easy for the company to export its products to other countries. Gerry Company tries to enter in international market since its foundation. The company sells its products or establishes extensive trading relationship in different countries and areas since 2003. It seems to get success in Middle East, Southern American and Africa because the company exports large quantities of products to those areas per year. This company is looking for the opportunities to enter the U. S. market now. S. W. O. T Analysis Since we have assumed that Geely has its potential to open the automobile market in American, then the next step is to analyze the company and automobile industry environment. One of tools is provided by our text book called â€Å"S. W. O. T† analysis which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Sulivan, 2002). * Strength A strength could be defined as something a company is good at doing or a characteristic that gives it enhanced competitiveness. It may include aluable physical and/or human assets, an achievement or attribute that takes the company in a position of market advantage, alliances or cooperative ventures, and so on(Thompson & Strickland, 2001, p117). For Geely Automobile Company, low cost of physical and/or human assets is one of the major strengths. As we know, although Chinese labor cost is not the lowest in the world, its cost is still much lo wer than lots of industrialized countries. Besides, the average cost of raw materials, plant, and land is also cheaper than some western countries. Moreover, Geely does not only have low cost labor but also has lots of valuable human assets. In 2003, Geely recuited some experienced managers into their team including former the General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen, Vice President of FAW Volkswagen Group, President of Dongfeng Automobile Institute Research, Chief Representative of German BMW and General Manager of China region after service company of Benz Company. These lower-cost advantages make Geely achieve its low price strategy among other competitors. On May, 2003, Geely sparkplug automobile popularization and renovate the newest and lowest price of automobile in the automobile industry. For instance, Geely makes some low-priced sedans. One of those is under the brand name, Haoqing minicar which is the cheapest on the Chinese market, at just 32,000 yuan which converts to $ 3,867 U. S. dollars. Some company’s alliances or cooperative ventures also build up its strength. On Dec. , 2002, Geely made contracts with Daewoo International Co. , Ltd and Maggiora S. p. A, a famous Italy automobile project group with respectively to develop CK-1 and CI-1 automobile project. On June,2003, Geely made a technical cooperation agreement with German Rucker Company. * Weakness A weakness is defined as something a company lacks or does poorly or a condition that makes the company at a disadvantage. A weakness may include lack of financial support, poor brand image or reputation and so on (Thompson & Strickland, 2001, p117). As we mentioned that Geely is a private owned company in our company background section, it is more difficult for them to get financial support in order to expand market or R&D. Furthermore, even though it made strategy corporation with several Shanghai and Zhejiang commercial banks, from an international perspective, â€Å"the lack of a strong relationship with a large bank with lobal connections† (Sulivan, 2002, p512) seems to be a big weakness for them. The second weakness is the reputation of Chinese products. For example, every time we, including Europeans, Americans even Asians, mention made-in-China products, we probably are talking about most of toys, shores, textiles or cheap electronics, but fewer of high-tech products. It is true for Chinese automobile manufacturers such as Geely that in order to open western markets they still have a long way to build their product images. * Opportunity It is no doubt that America has one of the most favorable automobile markets in the world. The political and businesses environment such as regulation are stable and well-developed. The income per capita is also ranked at top. Besides, its infrastructures such as freeways and national transportation network are also well built. For automobile manufacturers, they can either open luxury car markets or focus on mid-income or lower-income consumers. For foreign car makers especially from Asia, Japanese opened American market in 70’s and Korean opened in 90’s; the next might be from China. Threats Like opportunity, a threat is also viewed at whole industry level rather than each single company. In the automobile industry, the most common threat is a lot of competitors. There are not only many worldwide well-known brands such as General Motor, Ford, Toyota, Martz-Benz which produce different kinds of luxury automobiles for high-or-mid income consumers but also lots of small m anufacturers such as Hyundai, Geely, or Chery (another Chinese automobile company) which focus on lower-income market. Another threat is fueling fears. Since Asia economy boom, the demand of natural resource such as petroleum is increased dramatically. However, nowadays, the oil reserve is decreasing. Due to the high demand and short supply in oil, consumers start to consider not only the prices of automobiles but also the ability of gasoline saving while they purchase the cars. The change of consumer purchase behaviors will directly affect automobile manufactures’ market strategy and R&D. In sum, S. W. O. T analysis is very helpful for both domestic-oriented and international-oriented companies to analyze internal or external economic environment. However, after finish this analysis, there is another analysis to do – country analysis before we choose an appropriate entry model. US Country Analysis In US, automobiles play an important role in our daily lives. We can not finish our duties without driving a car. According auto Automotive News, there are 16 million cars in US. Most of the car sales are not made US car companies. US made cars sales is around 44. 9 %. That means 55% of cars sales in US are from foreign company. Japanese cars are the most sales cars in US. There are a lot of reasons why the Japanese cars are popular in US market. First, Japanese cars are better quality and lower price than US cars. Second, the Japanese cars saves their customers in gasoline cost. Because gasoline price increases so quickly, the US economy is experiencing a inflation problem. The daily life product prices are in a rise. People have less spending power than before. The market for cheap cars will increase year by year. On the other hand, people who have higher income still want to buy an expensive car. Most of the rich people want to buy Europe cars, such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi. As for the cheap car market, Korean cars are taking over most of the sales. China automobiles may have a good chance to break into US market, because China may be more competitive than Korean cars. The car come from China also consume less gas. It is may have a good opportunity to break into US market. Entry mode Since the objective for Geely Automotives is to eventually dominate the U. S. low end vehicles market, the most appropriate way for Geely automotives to do this would be through the direct exporting along with sales subsidiary method of entry. Geely will start out by selecting markets that are more susceptible to buying Chinese vehicles such as California and certain parts of Texas. Additionally, this process is set up to allow Geely to move carefully, develop a good foundation in the U. S. markets and if the future looks favorable then Geely may eventually grow and expand from there. Since China already has some of the lowest labor costs in the world, Geely automotives may be able to leave their manufacturing plant in China and the cars will then be directly exported to the U. S. from China. Once the cars arrive then Geely U. S. subsidiary will be responsible from there on and transport the vehicles to the dealerships for sale. To augment the exporting process, Geely will open up sales subsidiary dealerships in the selected locations in California and certain parts of Texas. The function of these sales subsidiaries will be sales, customer support and along with repair and maintenance on the vehicles. The management team will be also be imported from Geely’s headquarters in China, whereas sales, customer support and mechanics can be hired locally, since there is a good supply of well trained car salesmen in U. S. already. While a sales subsidiary dealership may be more expensive to set up in the U. S. than a simple sales branch, the sales subsidiary will be better for long term growth and the expenses should be off set by higher revenues earned from the subsidiary. According to Dr. Sullivan in Exploring International Business Environments, a sales subsidiary will also be better for long term growth because a sales subsidiary will allow Geely to â€Å"1. Be closer in touch with end-user needs. 2. Have more control over distribution channels, And 3. Being perceived by customers as more committed to the market. † ( 263). Dr. Sullivan also notes that the major disadvantage of a sales subsidiary is in finding sales personal with the right mix of experience, language skills and willingness to work for foreigners. However this should not be a big issue for Geely since there is a large Chinese population in California and many well trained sales people. (263). The major thrust behind Geely’s entry mode is to expand through economies of scale even if it means sacrificing short term profits. Lawrence Ang, executive director of Geely describes it clearly when he said in a recent news update: â€Å"We're the most aggressive market player in pursuing price-cuts and economies-of-scale strategies,† Ang continues by explaining that â€Å"Market share is relatively more important for us in the near term than profit margin because China's auto industry will experience a trend of declining profit margins in the next couple of years,† Furthermore, Ang concludes that â€Å"†We need a critical mass. Then we can push down our per-unit costs, leaving room for maneuvering on pricing. † (china. org. cn) Case study†¦ Hyundai Motors To understand the effectiveness of this entry mode better, let us look at Hyundai as an example. Hyundai first entered the U. S. market in 1986, their timing was perfect because it was a time when most automobile manufacturers were striving to dominate the higher-end markets, and this left plenty of room in the low end vehicles market. Hyundai took advantage of this by providing affordable cars for college students and lower income families. Hyundai also started out by exporting to Canada and later to the west and east coasts of U. S. where these markets are more liberal to foreign cars. Hyundai’s success was immediate, setting a record by selling their 100,000th Excel in just seven months of their first appearance. (Hyundai. com). With the American car manufacturers slowly loosing market share and Hyundai moving up in their target market, this could be the perfect opportunity for Geely to enter the U. S. market and reproduce Hyundai’s astounding results. Conclusion Eventually, as U. S. has huge demand of automobile, and slowly looses its market share to the Asian automobile manufacture, and as Hyundai moves to higher-end markets, this presents an opportunity for Geely. According to S. W. O. T analysis, Geely has its strength on low cost of natural resource and labor, and opportunity on focusing large demand of low-income consumers but the threat on powerful competitors, and weakness on poor reputation. Thus, if Geely could fully utilize its strength and opportunity, and build up its reputation by improving its qualities, we strongly believe that Geely could successfully enter U. S. market, and has high chance to capture part of U. S. automobile industries.

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 13

That night I lay in bed, gazing up at the ceiling. The moon shone through the gauzy white curtains, and the house hummed with activity, a melee of footsteps, heartbeats, and mice skittering inside the walls. It felt as though the entire house were alive, with the exception, of course, of myself and Damon. The Sutherlands had no idea, but when they'd opened their home to me, they had invited Death in. I was a cancer on their happy existence, and soon the darkness would spread, eating through their world until there was nothing left. Though I was no willing participant in Damon's twisted plan, it would be no different from how Katherine insinuated herself into my life and decimated the entire Salvatore family. Like it or not, this family's well-being rested squarely on my shoulders. If Damon killed them, their blood would be on my hands, too. But how could I stop him? I was so much weaker than my brother, and I had no plans to begin feeding on humans again for fear that I'd be unable to stop. I rose from bed and pushed the curtains aside with a violent flick. As I stared at the moon, that orb that had witnessed so much of my ill-doing, I replayed the conversation we'd had with Margaret over and over in my head. The firm set of her jaw. The clear tone of her eyes. The way her lucid blue eyes had sized up me and Damon, as though she could see straight through our skin to our unbeating hearts. Winfield was ready to sign his fortune over to Damon, yet his daughter remained immune to my brother's Power. But how? The only protection I knew against vampires was vervain, but I'd not inhaled its cloying scent since arriving in New York. When trying to draw out Katherine, my father had spiked my whiskey with vervain, sending Katherine into a miasmic fit when she drank my blood. If only my father had thought to protect me sooner, he and I might still be in Mystic Falls, poring over accounting books as I studied to take over Veritas. Sliding the window open, I stepped out onto the narrow balcony. The night was eerily still. No wind rustled the trees, and even the pigeons that roosted on the neighbor's roof were quiet. My balcony faced east, toward the muddy East River and the narrow spit of land they called Blackwell's Island, where the city had recently rebuilt the lunatic asylum. A wry smile twisted my lips. If only I could check Damon in there. But then I let out a groan and clutched the wrought-iron rail with my hands. I had to stop wishing and hoping and thinking of millions of if onlys. I could not wish Damon into oblivion and I could not rewrite the past. What was done was done. Even at my peak Power, I could not cause the world to spin backward, could not turn back time and undo what Katherine did to me and my family. But I was not powerless over the future. I had free will, I had experience, and I had the choice to fight. Hoisting myself up on the rail, I leaped to the roof, landing on the tar with a soft thud. New York was a large city, and someone, somewhere, had to grow vervain or at least have dried sprigs. I'd run up and down the streets until I caught the telltale scent of the herb. Spiking Lydia's drinks would be impossible – Damon was feeding from her – but if I could just sprinkle some in Winfield's whiskey†¦ I ran across the roof, preparing to jump to that of the neighbor, before scaling down their fire escape to the street below. â€Å"Where are you going, brother?† The cheery words sliced through the night like gunshot, and I froze on the ledge. Slowly, I turned around to face a smiling Damon. He looked ready for the second part of his evening jaunt, wearing a three-piece suit and twirling a gold cane in his hand. I recognized it immediately – it had belonged to Callie's father, the man who had imprisoned Damon, torturing him and starving him before forcing him to do battle with a mountain lion. Damon must have stolen it after he killed Callie. Unbidden, an image of Callie bloomed in my mind. Her kind green eyes smiling at me, the freckles that dusted every inch of her body, the way she had so bravely given herself to me on the shore of the lake, offering her blood even though she knew what I was and what I could do to her†¦. Her dead, twisted body lying in the grass behind Lexi's house. â€Å"You bastard,† I said in a low, fury-filled voice that I barely recognized as my own. Rage that had been building for weeks with no outlet tore through my veins, and I felt as though my muscles were on fire. With a growl, I threw myself at him. â€Å"Why won't you just let me be?† Our bodies collided, like stone on stone. Startled, Damon fell backward, but instantly he pushed me off and flipped to his feet. He wrapped his arms around my neck with a vise-like grip. â€Å"If you were so desperate to be free of me, you shouldn't have forced me to become a vampire with you,† he hissed, all traces of joviality gone from his demeanor. I struggled to free myself, but his knee pressed more forcefully into my spine, pinning me to the roof. â€Å"You were the one who urged me to become what I am – to see what Katherine gave us as a gift rather than a curse.† â€Å"Trust me,† I gasped, trying to twist from his grip. â€Å"I would take it back if I could.† â€Å"Tsk-tsk,† Damon chided. â€Å"Didn't Father teach you that part of being a man is living with your choices?† He pressed my cheek into the tar roof, scraping open the skin there. â€Å"Then again, you were such a disappointment to him at the end – not wanting to marry Rosalyn, taking up with a vampire, killing him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You were always a disappointment,† I spat. â€Å"I should have killed you when I had the chance.† Damon let out a dry laugh. â€Å"Well, that would have been a shame, because then I couldn't do this.† The pressure on my spine abated as Damon hoisted me up by the back of the shirt. â€Å"What are you – † I started. Before I could finish, Damon launched me forward with the force of a lit cannon. My body careened through the night air, and for a brief, weightless moment, I wondered if I was flying. Then the hard pavement of the alley between the Sutherlands' and their neighbor's home rushed up to greet me, and my bones cracked loudly on the impact. I groaned, pain radiating through my limbs as I rolled to my back, blood dripping down my face. I lay like that for hours, staring at the stars until my Power healed me, resetting my bones and stitching up the gash in my cheek more swiftly than the most skilled medic could. But when I stood, a new pain shot through my chest. Because there on the brick wall of the Sutherlands' home, written in red ink that could only be blood, were three terrifying words: I'm always watching.

Nothing Impossible

Management Introduction Review of Management Articles Article assigned ANALYSING the thinking of F. W. Taylor using cognitive mapping Introduction Scientific management is one of the three major branches within the classical approach to management. Although the concept was suggested approximately a century ago, it still makes a significantly important role in 21st century management with new conditions and a considerable number of challenges. Frederick Winslow Taylor who was regarded as the father of scientific management suggested his concepts in 1911.Scientific management is defined as a theory that emphasises careful selection and training of workers, and supervisory support (Taylor, 1911). Taylor (1911) believed that precise procedures that were developed after careful study of an individual at work should replace the tradition on decision-making. The purpose of this essay is to review three articles that analyses the Taylorism and present how Taylorism is applied in current mana gement sphere. Analysis of Assigned Article Cossette, P. 2002. Analysing the thinking of F.W. Taylor using cognitive mapping. Management Decision, 40 (2): 168-182 The author of this article used the cognitive map and the Decision Explorer to present and analyse the thinking of F. W. Taylor to produce a more in-depth and detailed knowledge and understanding of his ideas. Cossette (2002) demonstrated that the two key variables in Taylor’s scientific management were â€Å"Maintenance of a rapid pace†¦Loafing or soldiering† and â€Å"Harmonious relations between employers and men aware of their mutual interests†.As Taylor’s scientific management related to efficiency, the first concept that the author highlighted had completely reflected the Taylorism. Cossette (2002) concluded that â€Å"the maintenance of a rapid pace† was the most important concept for Taylor, since it was also by far the most important â€Å"consequence† of the cognitiv e map. Taylor’s scientific management was always considered as the division of labour pushed to its logical extreme, with a consequent de-skilling of the worker and dehumanisation of the workplace (Kanigel, 1999).However, the author showed another aspect of Taylor’s idea which was related to harmony. In cognitive map, the concept of â€Å"Harmonious relations between employers and men aware of their mutual interests† had the second largest number of direct links and the third centrality score compared to other concepts (Cossette, 2002). In addition, Cossette (2002) stated that â€Å"the prior conditions required to improve production and the results of this improvement for both employees and employers, are the two main dimensions that Taylor appears to use as a basis for his conception of the organization of work. Although a small number of concepts from Taylorism were less relevant, they suggested that Taylor’s thinking was not significantly complicated . This article helped us have a better understanding of the ideas of F. W. Taylor, demonstrated the relative importance of the concepts suggested by Taylor and revealed another side of Taylorism. Analysis of Article 1 Wrege, C. D. & Hodgetts, R. M. 2000. Frederick W. Taylor’s 1899 pig iron observations: Examining fact, fiction and lessons for the new millennium.Academy of Management Journal, 43 (6): 1283-1291 However, the authors of this article were in dispute with Taylor in a particular circumstance. Wrege & Hodgetts (2000) stated that Taylor simplified the observation by presenting only some of the information and, he omitted many significant facts. The insight thinking of the authors was that contemporary organisation should apply new tools and techniques to achieve their objectives, and managers should increasingly concentrate on data collection and analysis and fight the tendency to accept anecdotes and hearsay as accurate (Wrege & Hodgetts, 2000).The authors studied an d analysed the case called pig iron observation, which came from Taylor’s scientific management principle, and concluded that although Taylor had made a great contribution to management history, he did neglect some significant real facts in this case such as failure to take the cost of damaging gondolas into account.In addition, the authors suggested five points that we could learn from this observation, which are â€Å"anecdotal data are often erroneous, primary sources must be consulted, all data have inconsistencies, replication is hallmark of good science and digital archiving is now critical† (Wrege & Hodgetts, 2000). Moreover, the authors had concluded some suggestions that are valuable for the managers in new millennium. Wrege & Hodgetts (2000) demonstrated that researchers’ being more systematic and sophisticated was important in their approach to chieving their goals, and that â€Å"benchmarking† was going to be a critical activity in the 21st ce ntury. This article revealed the limitation of Taylor’s scientific management, and the authors of this article recommended a considerable number of approaches and methods to help today’s managers reach their objectives successfully and efficiently. Analysis of Article 2 Boyns, T. 2001. Hans and Charles Renold: entrepreneurs in the introduction of scientific management techniques in Britain.Management Decision, 39 (9): 719-728 The author of this article used the case study of Hans Renold Ltd to extend Taylor’s scientific management theory, and explained how it was applied in this enterprise during the first and second decades of the twentieth century. The core ideals of the author were to confirm the contribution that Hans and Charles Renold made to introduce and develop scientific management in Britain, and distinguish the different methodology between Hans and Charles. It has been accepted that Hans Renold Ltd has been the first company to introduce Taylor†™s scientific management in Britain (Boyns, 2001).Hans Renold â€Å"probably was the first British industrialist to appreciate the work of F. W. Taylor and adapt it to British management practice† (Urwick, 1956). He started to change the organisational structure and introduced a new functional organisation supported by a system of committees in 1908 (Boyns, 2001). Although there were some problems arising such as little resistance from the bulk of the workforce, scientific management principles were eventual successfully adopted at Hans Renold Ltd eventually (Boyns, 2001).The author of this article introduced the first application of Taylor’s scientific management in Britain and emphasized the fundamental position of scientific management in management history as it has already been applied for a century and it still plays a significantly important role in increasing the efficiency in the organisations in the 21st century. Application to Current Management Practice A round the Twentieth Century, Taylor’s scientific management theory had been widely used in the manufacturing and services industries.In the 21st century, scientific management does play an important role, and it is applied in several modern organizations. McDonalds is the world’s most famous brands, which is leading in the globally branded quick service restaurant applied the scientific management successfully in their business operations. Initially, Taylor (1911) stated that wage systems without incentive result in low productivity if no matter how much is produced the employee will gain the same pay. McDonalds stimulates employees in many effective ways.Regardless of the base pay, McDonalds develops competitive wage and promotion programs, hard work, motivation and results are recorded and rewarded at McDonalds (McDonalds, 2006). In addition, McDonalds also establishes great incentive programs in which employees have an access to gift and free food (McDonalds, 2006). McDonalds also offers an incentive pay system and provide the opportunity to earn competitive total compensation for employees when they successfully achieve the goals (McDonalds, 2006).Moreover, Long-term incentives are ensured to employees who are qualified to both reward and long-term creation at McDonalds (McDonalds 2006). Secondly, one of the most important principles of Scientific Management is scientifical training. Taylor (1911) suggested that each company should train the workers scientifically rather than passively leave them to train themselves. McDonalds has a strong belief in training, and training becomes a tradition at McDonalds, because they know its value to the bottom line of their business.Everyone in the business should attend a significantly important training, whether part, full time, hourly paid staff or salaried managers undergoing their compulsory restaurant training (McDonalds 2006). When a new employee joins McDonalds and starts his first working day, he will accept training at once. McDonalds even set up a Hamburger University, and the purpose of this action is to provide all McDonalds Corporation and Franchisees employees with training exclusively in various aspects of the business (McDonalds 2006). Those training systems make their staff more efficient and professional.Finally, Taylor (1911) taught that the only one method of work that maximized efficiency was to develop a standard method of performing each job efficiently by companies. McDonalds builds up a series of detailed and strict working standards, which guarantee that every product from any chain restaurant has high quality (McDonalds 2006). Moreover, McDonalds staff is specialized in different production procedure (McDonalds 2006). McDonalds has developed a standard method of performing each job and the employees can perform efficiently. ConclusionIn conclusion, the authors of the above three articles explained the Taylorism precisely and explicitly. The core thinking o f Taylor’s scientific management was efficiency particularly was speed, and it is widely applied in most modern organizations such as McDonalds to help increase the productivity. Although Taylor’s scientific management has some limitation as sometimes managers could overlook to collect important data by relying on it excessively, it still made an important contribution to the business world in the 21st century.Taylor laid the foundation of management, and with the application of scientific management, production efficiency has improved. Much of core of Scientific Management remains with us today, only been modified, updated and given a human face (Freeman, 1996). Term Paper on Functions of Management Eritrea Education Sector Development Program – Program Management Unit ESDP-PMU Management Functions 1. Introduction: Management is defined as the process of getting activities completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people . It encompasses an a rray of functions with which it accomplishes different tasks done successfully.These functions include planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and controlling. The Eritrea Education Sector Development Program – Program Management Unit, abbreviated as ESDP-PMU, is an institution destined to accomplish education sector program objectives that have to be viewed in terms of the government policy to boost the education sector in all aspects. Through the educational sector intervention, ESDP-PMU works to ensure increase in access, improve quality, boost capacities in all levels of the sector, and ensure equity in delivery education services.This paper explores the management functions in the ESDP, highlights strengths and weaknesses in view of the theoretical aspect of management function. Finally, it highlights some few salient points that are worth mentioning and by way of recommendations it tries to shed lights on issues that need improvement. 2. Overview of the management fu nctions: Henry Fayol defines management as a science of forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. The most commonly cited management functions are planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and controlling.Planning refers to the base of the other management functions. It is the management of the organizations’ future in an uncertain environment . Plans can be strategic, tactical, and operational. They can also be long-term or short-term. Plan should be built on specific, attainable, and challenging objectives. In the materials for the management course of SMAP it is mentioned that planning is important in that it offsets uncertainty and change, focuses attention on objectives, helps in coordination, gains economy of operation, helps in control, and increases organizational effectiveness.In that sense it divides plans to standing and single-use plans. Organizing refers to the organization of resources in an organization. Such organization ca n be charted on an organizational chart . Through this function management tries to determine the inside directorial configuration, establish and maintain relationships, and also assign required resources of the organization. Staffing functions follows the organizing function of management. Staffing refers to the filling and keeping filled positions on positions created by the preceding organizing function .Thus, staffing encompasses tasks such as recruitment, selection, training and retraining of employees. Directing refers to the control and supervision of the actions of the staff, thus, enables them to achieve the company’s goals and also accomplishing their personal or career goals which can be powered motivation, communication, department dynamics, and department leadership . Controlling refers to activities related to setting performance standards based on the objectives of the organization, measuring and reporting actual performance, comparing the two, and taking corre ctive or preventive action as necessary.As management is a creative problem solving , the coordination of the various functions mentioned above contribute to an efficient and effective accomplishment of tasks. The section below review the management functions in the ESDP-PMU. 3. Review of the management functions in the ESDP-PMU: The ESDP-PMU is destined to accomplish education related projects. These projects are financed through the proceeds coming from International organizations such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, as well as other UN bodies such as UNICEF and UNFPA.Each financier or development partner requires the need to follow ones procedures. The other dimension of the matter that needs attention is that each financier or development partner is set up to achieve each project objectives. Thus, there are kind of awkwardness in reaching a harmonized program objectives. Planning function in the PMU The PMU believes that proper planning is a prerequi site to success. It is concerned with the future impact of today’s decisions. In the PMU there is a section that deals with planning issues.It prepares tactical and operational planning in view of the project objectives. The planning that is made part of the Financing Agreements with the respective development partner can be taken as a strategic one. The Planning Section of the PMU prepares an Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB). On the basis of which, the procurement section derives its procurement plan, and the finance section derives its financial and disbursement plan. Therefore, we can see the following relationship in the planning function of the PMU. Graph 1.Planning function relationship From the foregoing planning relations graph, we can observe that all the activities envisaged to be done in a year or a year and half through the plans of the respective sections. Overall, all these plans reflect the scenarios â€Å"where we are now? †, â€Å"where do we want t o be? †, and â€Å"how do we get there? †. It is good also to note that the submission of plans and seeking approvals is mandatory. This procedure is deemed appropriate and practically does positively affect the projects. Organizing function in the PMUTo the PMU organizing function refers to establishing the internal organizational structure of the business. The focus is on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information within the organization. It is through this function that the manager distributes responsibility and authority to employees. The organizational structure of the PMU is shown below. It takes into consideration the objectives and tactics already identified in the planning stage. The structure decides the division of labor, delegation of authority, departmentation, span of control nd coordination issues. When we come to the division of labor, the PMU is divided into 5 sections, viz. , Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PM&E), Pr ocurement, Finance, Engineering, and Administration sections. And all the employees are recruited in such a way that they are fully occupied. In regards to the delegation of authority, as reflected in the organizational structure, the authority is exercised as per the stipulated structure. The sections coordinate their work so as to achieve the objectives. This means that no section can stand alone.Staffing function in the PMU Staffing encompasses the tasks of recruiting, hiring, training, lay-off, and compensation of employees. The PMU recruits its staff with due regards to the management and labor needs. In so doing, it prepares job description, builds a pool of applicants, review the applications and select those to be interviewed, do the interview, check references, and select the best suited candidate and hire him. The PMU provides training to its staff in view of the timely job related developments and requirements.For instance, the staffs are made to be actively involved in t he endeavors to upgrade themselves. Similarly, the PMU lays off its staff in view of staff’s reflections of incapacities in doing the tasks or showing other behaviors that are believed against the norms of the organization. It is the right of the employees to receive the needed compensation related with the job they undertook during their stay in the PMU. Directing function in the PMU Directing is influencing people's behavior through motivation, communication, group dynamics, leadership and discipline.The purpose of directing is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the organization's mission and objectives while simultaneously helping them accomplish their own career objectives. Highly motivated people perform better than unmotivated people. Motivation covers up ability and skill deficiencies in employees. The PMU gives motivation top priority. Employees are motivated through the material, financial, as well as work environment privileges. This is very impo rtant aspect that expedites the realizations of the objectives.Besides, the communication issues are very important as part of the directing function of management in the PMU. The staffs are careful enough in their communicative efforts such as with the financiers, partners, suppliers etc. The staffs are appraised for what they do, and disciplinary measures are taken for incidents of misbehaviors. Controlling function of the PMU Controlling in the PMU is done in view of the performance standards (indicators) set in each financing agreement back before the start of the implementation of projects.The Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Section of the PMU take care of such tasks as monitoring activities and evaluating against standards. The Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Section undertake routine or surprise checks of activities. At the mid term and final term of projects, they also conduct evaluations. In so doing, the section seeks preventive and corrective measures such as th e incorporation of new mechanisms of implementations. The controlling function is done in all aspects of the program, such as controlling assets owned by the office, control on the staff in terms of their work hours. . General Observations in the PMU The PMU is known for its staff that is aware of the virtues out of team working, learning by doing, and complementarities. These attributes are very important for the management function to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in the tasks that are destined to accomplish. Most of the staff members are young professionals that they can learn easily from experiences of others, and that they possess the merit to catch up things through continuous reading. The team work in the PMU has assisted the effective accomplishments of activities as scheduled.Synergism is common place, and supporting one another is highly worked upon. 5. Recommendations From the foregoing we can understand that the PMU fully undertaking management functions. In order to cement the positive sides of what is going on in the PMU, I recommend the following points: †¢ that the various projects need to be harmonized †¢ that the staffing function be done in view of the experiences already nurtured. This means the job description in trying to hire staff has to be used in such a way that team work is given greater weight. that more training need to be provided to the staff †¢ that the young professionals be retained as a team in order to pursue the implementation of similar projects in other sectors such as agriculture, etc 6. Conclusion Efficiency and effectiveness are key words related to the realization of plans. The realization of this is the task of management. Management does these through the coordination of its functions. These functions are planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.The PMU is reputed for pursuing a management style that assists in the realizations of set objectives effectively and efficiently. Al l management functions are employed in the PMU, and thus the fruits of these concerted efforts are tangibly realized. 7. Works cited Website http://choo. fis. utoronto. ca/fis/courses/lis1230/lis1230sharma/plan1. htm http://www. ag. ohio-state. edu/~mgtexcel/Function. html http://www. ag. ohio-state. edu/~mgtexcel/Staffing. html http://www. buzzle. com/articles/management-concepts-the-four-functions-of-management. tml http://choo. fis. utoronto. ca/fis/courses/lis1230/lis1230sharma/history4. htm Kiflemariam Abraham, Reading on Principles of Management. March 2007 Management Term Paper * * Help Desk Operations for the Operating Forces Wilfredo Santiago Park University Author Note This is an insider view on how to streamline and improve the services provided by MCTSSA (Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity) Help Desk to the Operating Forces. Abstract MCTSSA Help Desk was established over 10 years ago to provide technical support to the operating forces.Today the Help Desk is referred to as OFTSSC (Operating Forces Tactical Systems Support Center) with a specific mission stated as: to provide continuous, distributed technical support, troubleshooting, and problem resolution for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) systems, in order to optimize those systems as force multipliers in assisting Marines to win battles. While the OFTSSC focuses on the needs of the Marine Corps, it offers technical assistance to all C4I system users across the entire Department of Defense (DoD), U. S. Government and all U.S. Foreign National Allies. The OFTSSC provides its customers with remote technical assistance by facilitating online access to supported system documentation, system software and offering live interaction with system subject matter experts (SMEs), via phone, online chat, and email. If a solution to a customer problem is not immediately available, OFTSSC personnel will actively work to obtain a solution by elevating customer issue s to MCTSSA support engineers, system vendors, Marine Corps Systems Command program managers or other commercial or DoD customer support agencies.Help Desk Operations for the Operating Forces The OFTSSC from the start operated in an ad-hoc manner maintaining its mission capability with a support staff composed of contractors and civilian government analysts and a limited number of uniformed personnel. This odd mix of employees with identical goals as a mission end state has presented a management challenge that has hampered efficiency and responsiveness in providing the services as defined in the stated mission. This paper will address three persistent problems that exist within OFTSSC.First, the lack of a verifiable control measure to gauge analyst productivity and quantified work output. Staffing is also a source of issues that continue to impact OFTSSC’s ability to maintain its credibility as a reliable source of SME (Subject Matter Experts) and it has a continuing difficu lty at retaining well trained employees to stick around. In fulfilling its function as a help-desk/support center for the operating forces, employees routinely receive calls from customers describing problems they encounter when employing tactical systems whether in garrison or on deployment.These calls are inducted into a database repository, Remedy. Here the adequacy of Remedy in providing as an output control comes into question. Although Remedy is widely used in the help desk community it is a system that requires a lot of labor intensive modifications to get take advantage of its capabilities as a help desk database tool. Currently, Remedy is employed as an out of the box software with limited modifications. Remedy can be modified as an output control tool that will enable management to effectively monitor employee productivity and efficiency.By design Remedy not only archives problems customers refer for solutions it also is a repository of all solutions created by analysts wh ich is then made available for future use or reference as a knowledge based article (KBA). As calls are received from customers analysts input all data related to problems being referred for assistance into Remedy. The information will include system type and nature of the problem and complete customer information. All these information is populated onto a standard template. The analyst then proceeds to research the KBA archives by using a key word search related to the problem.If a solution match is found this is provided to the customer and the problem is marked resolved and archived. The utility of the Remedy database is not fully exploited as any type of record created is only available only thru accessed. With all these information available within a central repository it should be made available for for all analysts at a glance providing a snapshot of the problem, the status, whether pending, resolved or in progress. This should be displayed on a large monitor for all to see. With this information on display all analysts will have current status of all problems available at a glance.At a minimum this should display two weeks worth of activity. This display will serve as visible output control measure to gauge analyst activity and productivity. This quantifiable and measurable display of work output can be used as an objective measure of performance and used as a basis for compensation rewards. For the analyst this will also serve as a current constant visible reminder of work that is pending, in progress or completed. Today the mix of employee analysts within OFTSSC has a variety of skill sets whose qualifications for the jobs are based on their past work experience with a particular system.This has been a detriment to OFTSSC’s ability to provide reliable analysts consistently without periodic unavailability due to SME absence. This is a cause for concern because of its impact on the service reputation that is expected by the customers – av ailability among others. To fill this requirement gap it is imperative that the depth of analyst skill sets be enhanced. There are thirty analysts currently employed supporting over forty varying systems which include a variety of tactical radios. The systems are grouped into Command and Control (C2) or Tactical Applications (TacApps) with tactical radios included into TacApps.This grouping is done for purposes of limited management and tasking deconfliction. Personnel tasking however blurs the lines of personnel assignments as analysts are often randomly assigned to provide assistance on systems that he or she is not officially assigned. The practice has in many situations caused unexpected disruptions in service quality. Because too often analysts assigned to tasks do not possess the subject matter expertise to provide support requested. To mitigate this situation a training program that will involved cross training all analysts need to be instituted within OFTSSC.Staffing has to be reviewed and a reorganization of the analyst teams will have to be done in a manner that permits a well defined tasking of all analysts based on skill sets and grouping them based on previous assignments. Within each grouping a program of OJT (On the Job Training) will be initiated by pairing each analyst together and each one go thru a training program designed to increase their depth of skill and familiarity with systems other than those they are qualified on as an expert. During the training period ample opportunity will be dedicated to having the trainer and trainee to conduct business as a team.This process will be akin to a mentoring process that facilitates the transfer of knowledge and skill that will improve the services provided to customers. Reorganization and staffing once completed will result in a reliable and available analyst well trained on the system supported. The improved skill sets will require to be maintained if the quality of service is to be credible, thi s can be achieved with a programmed sustainment training that should include in-service training and follow-on continuing education to keep current with the dynamic nature of technology.Summary The operation of a support center such as OFTSSC is unique in that its main customer is the operating thus the focus of its services are the uniformed personnel who maybe in harm’s way, because of this it is critical that the quality and accuracy of service and information provide require a level of expertise that is above the norm. Analysts are assumed to be the experts on the systems they support therefore it is imperative that their training and quality of service measure up to the standards.If the service provided is to have any value or credibility the provider must have the requisite knowledge and training to be consistent with the required standards. At the onset staffing should focus on critical skill sets that are vital to the operational demands of the customers and they shou ld sustain the currency of those skills. In order to maintain and improve the depth of knowledge and skill sets training is essential and once established sustainment will be required.Hiring standard is another area that will have to be visited to ensure that standards are maintained and qualified personnel are selected. This will preclude the impact of substandard services to the customer. References -3 points for not utilizing MG352 text to support term paper. 1. Operations Chief: OFTSSC Standard Operating Procedures, 2010 2. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) version 3, 2011 3. http://www. bmc. com/solutions/itsm/it-service-management. tml -3 points for improper citing of reference; below is how article from the Internet should be cited Author (2012, May 15). Name of Article, Date retrieved from the internet & http://www. link. com 4. http://www. marines. mil/unit/marcorsyscom/mctssa/Pages/OFTSSC. aspx -3 points for improper citing of reference; below is how article from the Internet should be cited Author (2012, May 15). Name of Article, Date retrieved from the internet & http://www. link. com

Diversity in the Workplace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversity in the Workplace - Research Paper Example Some of the repositioning programs used are mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and demergers. It helps in running business operations effectively: Efficient strategy management by reorganizing business operations can guarantee a role in corporate market. Disadvantages of Restructuring. It can be a ploy: The biggest disadvantage of the restructuring process is that it can be a ploy of saving the company from bankruptcy or acquired by another firm to leverage the buyout by a private equity firm. Staff Retrenchment: It may result in staff cutting as some business segment is sold to another company. Question 12 Evaluating the effectiveness of Propco’s program for increasing diversity of its work force Propco’s program for increasing diversity of its workforce lacks density of devotion on the part of senior management. Racial discrimination has been institutionalized here. They are not giving enough opportunities to the blacks at higher levels. On the name o f restructuring, maximum number of black workforce is being shown pink slip. The company is not benefitting from the multicultural advantage (Greenberg, 2009). Feelings of the black workforce are highly hurt because being a rich company, it is on the spree of firing staff although it could have found some other way like working with the Governor to settle tax breaks and such other options, which the senior management didn’t Diversity helps in promoting unbiased agreement programs through workplace environment and culture to find ways amid differences. It is about learning from the experiences of others who are not similar but respect for all helps in achieving the benefits of varied outlooks (Cornell University, 2010) but in its desire to become one of the more leaner and flexible organizations, Propco is not keeping on regular duty the interns it provides summer jobs from the minority community colleges. No workforce diversity program can be fruitful if incessant lay-offs ye ar-on-year are made. Although there are regular diversity meetings but no genuine effort seems to be made on recruiting more women and minorities. Blacks are there on the company rolls because of contract obligations with the government. As per the rule performing government function requires it to recruit some blacks in the workforce. That’s why they are there in the company. There is a classic case of not adopting workplace diversity as a policy. A black employee who worked on hourly basis and reached high up the ladder to earn $40,000 a year as manufacturing engineer was demoted as a dispatcher on hourly work basis as soon as his mentor left the company. Although he had an engineering degree, his services were not utilized the right way. In stead adding insult to the injury, he was shown an alternative way which went nowhere other than leaving the job. Question 13 Propco needs to make strenuous efforts in the direction of increasing workplace diversity. It should deinstitu tionalize racial discrimination: Racial discrimination seems to be at the heart of the company’s human resource policy. For that a changeover in the mentality of those who matter the most in the company is must. Until the company changes its policy to promote workplace diversity, all efforts would be just a cover. Real progress will come from genuine efforts, which can be easily brought to the notice of all by recruiting more women and blacks. Prejudiced behavior by the seniors by cracking jokes at

The Freedom of Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Freedom of Education - Essay Example Foucault calls this concept of mental change â€Å"panopticism†. The main key to this concept is to build a mechanism which would be able to suppress and control people’s minds and thoughts in order to make all we feel happy. As a result of this concept, social institutions, such as schools, prisons, and hospitals, were created. In an essay called â€Å"The â€Å"Banking† Concept of Education† by Paulo Freire, the idea of â€Å"panopticism† is intruding into an educational process, where children are treated and educated as â€Å"robots†, where the independent way of thinking is totally prohibited. In an ancient world, people were always thinking about the perfectly governed city which they called Utopia. This city of state could be primitive and simple but at the same time one of perfect happiness and fulfillment. Today a perception of a perfect governed city was slightly changed. Michel Foucault, who was one of the world’s leading intellectuals, gives us his own point of view regarding a definition of Utopia. In order to make this world more positive and decent, â€Å"some bunch of people† should build a machine that would control and even change people’s ways of thinking, and once this creation is built, the evolution of thoughts completely depend on it (Foucault, M 210-213). According to Bentham’s point of view, that machine would be a perfect key to manipulating the educational training of people. He calls this creature Panopticon, which is the architectural figure, the purpose of which is to observe and control people from the side (Bentham 213-214). The main point of this structure is that the inmate must never know whether he is being looked at during any one moment, but he must be sure that he may always be so (Foucault 215). This perfect concept of control gives the opportunity to create a society where there are no crimes, violence, or child abuse; where all people are happy and love each other.  

Read Case 7.2 titled Poverty and Pollution, prior to starting this Essay

Read Case 7.2 titled Poverty and Pollution, prior to starting this assignment - Essay Example In many third world countries, large volumes of the population live in poverty conditions due to lack of quality infrastructure, lack of taxation revenues for government improvements, or even warring regimes attempting to seize power as a primary goal that depletes national resources. This is why businesses that conduct their operations in poor nations disregard pollution control standards: Because they can easily get away with these actions with little to no consequence. Thoroughly assessed the connections between economic progress and development, on the one hand, and pollution controls and environmental protection, on the other. Thoroughly suggested the reasons a business may conduct operations in a third world country and disregard any standards of pollution control. Many third world nations, since government is unable to stimulate economic growth internally, rely on foreign direct investment as a means of trying to stimulate the national economy. Many will provide taxation incen tives or even removal of tariffs as a means to foster foreign investment, which provides an ample incentive to move operations from developed nations to the third world country. For example, in Yemen, there are viable opportunities for water-based transport industry leaders to invest in the nation. The Yemen currency is substantially below that of major nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, therefore companies attempt to exploit these opportunities for substantial profitability when local investments require very little start-up or asset procurement capital. Between 2009 and 2011, transport and shipping projects were estimated to be valued at $9 billion, with much of this foreign investment being recruited by the country’s Council of Ministers (United Nations, 2009). Using Yemen as the relevant example, companies will establish operations in this country due to the political problems currently plaguing the nation. Powerful militant groups in this country took over the majority of government oversight, forcing the nation to consider a complete rewrite of its constitution. Instability in this country politically defies opportunities for the business to devote resources to attempt to impose sanctions on businesses that pollute, therefore it becomes simplistic business practice to simply dump its unwanted waste in the country and in its waters without concern of local government backlash, fines, or complete dejection from the nation. Yemen is a member of the United Nations, however the UN only maintains jurisdiction in partnership with the legal systems abiding in the country. By the time nations such as Yemen with difficult political environments make legally-supported appeals to the UN to curb pollution by foreign companies, the ensuing process is so elongated that the business is able to exploit foreign nation resources and simply move to another, less developed third world country. Are the aforementioned practices of bu siness polluting in other nations due to lack of authority over government or UN-supported legalities ethical? Any reasonable individual that believes in corporate social responsibility and many global standards of human rights would absolutely indicate that this is highly unethical. However, at the same time, a person considering the ethical responsibility of foreign businesses must consider the theory of ethical relativism before making a determination. Those in global society that are strong supporters of ethical relati