Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Leadership - Essay Example Leadership is a vital part of being a successful manager. Employees would tend to follow a good leader rather than a manager that does not posses leadership skills and will respond positively to their direction. A poor leader will often fail to win over staff and will have problems communicating with and organizing workers effectively. But what makes a good leader There have been a number of studies that have been carried out in order to answer this question. Some debate that leader's are born with innate abilities, aura or charisma that others will find appealing. While others argues that leaders can be trained to adopt the key attributes of a good leader and if there is desire and will power it is possible to be a good and effective leader. The traits that can be associated with a good leader form into three broad categories. Personality traits of a manager are those characteristics that combine together and form into an appealing personality that would be attractive and would influence others. Personality traits can be further divided into general personality traits and task-related traits. The general personality traits include extraversion, dominance, psychological adjustment and assertiveness. While task-oriented traits can be emotional intelligence, internal locus of control and also flexibility and adaptability to the changing work methods, environments or people. (Kelly, 2007) Motives is another aspect of the traits of a leader. Motives are revealed as the intentions seen in the behavior of leaders. Motives are also evident through the emotional energy which shows how important the leader considers things to be. The motives of the leader need to be clear. The motives are of four forms. Power, drive and achievement, strong work ethics and Tenacity. The power motive involves the leader influencing the actions and behaviors of others. Power is further divided in personalized power motive and socializes power motive. Personalized power motive is when the leaders pursue their own interests and use their power for their own self fulfillment considering it as a form of high-status and luxury. While, socializing power motive is when the leader uses the power in achieving organizational goals and to help others. The second form of motive is drive and achievement motive is very important it means that the leader has the motivation and persistent energy that is need ed in achieving goals. This motive also means that the leader will consider the aims of the organization as their own personal aims and thus, will put in extra effort in finding solutions, planning and taking risks and responsibilities. The strong work ethic motive involved the leader having a strong belief in work dignity. Workers with strong work ethic believe in working hard and not wasting and resources such as time. Intelligence in leader is as important as are other factors. Mental abilities are one of the important traits that a leader must posses. A person that is smart and mentally sharp solves difficult problems, brings a creative edge to the company and also inspires others and comes up as more sensible and thus, motivates people in his or her

Exploring the Concepts of Karl Marx and Mao Tse-Tung Essay Example for Free

Exploring the Concepts of Karl Marx and Mao Tse-Tung Essay Karl Marx believed that in an industrialized society, the working class, known as the proletariat would revolt and take over the ruling class, and would in effect, create a classless society. Karl Marx believed this could only happen in an industrialized society. Once it became apparent that the working class would not rise above, Lenin intervened and confirmed Marxism obsolete in Russia. Since the late 1920s the Chinese Communist Party has altered Marxism in China. It became a peasant party with an anti-Marxist petty-bourgeois viewpoint and through all the fluctuations of the left and right turns of world Stalinism, it kept a utopian and reactionary perspective; in Marxist terminology, reactionary refers to people whose ideas might appear to be socialist, but, in essence, contain elements of feudalism, capitalism, nationalism, fascism or other characteristics of the ruling class. It kept a nationally based and classless socialism, or peasant socialism,† as worded by Trotsky. To call Mao Tse-Tung’s communist or Maoist, philosophy socialism is an understatement. Though encompassing many Marxist values, China has done a more effective job of forcing the Maoist agenda through more ruthless violence by utilizing the multitude of peasants residing within its borders as a powerful force, unlike Marxism which calls for a series of revolution by means of class struggle and uprising in the proletariat. Though the Maoist ideology had subsisted in China for some years after his time, today it is an important economic force, but is government-run, leaving it unstable without government regulation as the economy is dominated by large state-owned enterprises, but private enterprises also play a major role in the economy. State-owned enterprises are a major source of profit and power for members of the Communist Party of China and their families and are largely favored by the government. Karl Marx wove economics and philosophy together to construct a grand theory of human history and social change. His concept of alienation, for example, first expressed in his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, plays a key role in his criticism of capitalism. Marx believed that people, by nature, are free, creative beings who have the potential to totally transform the world. But he observed that the modern, technologically developed world is apparently beyond our full control. Marx condemned the free market, for instance, as being â€Å"anarchic,† or ungoverned. He maintained that the way the market economy is coordinated—through the spontaneous purchase and sale of private property dictated by the laws of supply and demand—blocks our ability to take control of our individual and collective destinies. Marx condemned capitalism as a system that alienates the masses. His reasoning was like this: although workers produce things for the market, market forces, not workers, control things. People are required to work for capitalists who have full control over the means of production and maintain power in the workplace. Work, he said, becomes degrading, monotonous, and suitable for machines rather than for free, creative people. In the end, people themselves become objects—robot-like mechanisms that have lost touch with human nature, that make decisions based on cold profit-and-loss considerations, with little concern for human worth and need. Marx concluded that capitalism blocks our capacity to create our own humane society. Marx’s notion of alienation rests on a crucial but shaky assumption. It assumes that people can successfully abolish an advanced, market-based society and replace it with a democratic, comprehensively planned society. Marx claimed that we are alienated not only because many of us toil in tedious, perhaps even degrading, jobs, or because by competing in the marketplace we tend to place profitability above human need. The issue is not about toil versus happiness. We are alienated, he maintained, because we have not yet designed a society that is fully planned and controlled, a society without competition profits and losses, money, private property, and so on—a society that, Marx predicted, must inevitably appear as the world advances through history. Here is the greatest problem with Marx’s theory of alienation: even with the latest developments in computer technology, we cannot create a comprehensively planned system that puts an end to scarcity and uncertainty. But for Marxists to speak of alienation under capitalism, they must assume that a successfully planned world is possible. That is, Marx believed that under capitalism we are â€Å"alienated† or â€Å"separated† from our potential to creatively plan and control our collective fate, but if comprehensive socialist planning fails to work in practice it is an impossibility. In consequence of China’s sizable rural population, the greatest point of conflict between the two lines of thought is Mao’s inclusion of the peasantry in the proletariat differing greatly with the Marxist-Leninist view that the beginning of socialist revolution should come from the urban working class. The Maoist faith in revolutionary enthusiasm and the positive value of the peasants lack of sophistication as opposed to technological or intellectual elites fueled the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s. The disastrous consequences of both upheavals led Maos successors to abandon Maoism as counterproductive to economic growth and social order. Maoism, since then, has been embraced by insurgent guerrilla groups worldwide. The Communist Party of the Philippines has adopted the ideas and concepts of Maoism which promote the use of revolution to obtain their goals. Professor Jose Maria Sison, the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines states, â€Å"Mao is indubitably correct in identifying the revisionism of degenerates in power in socialist society as the most lethal to socialism, and in offering the solution that succeeded in China for ten years before it was defeated in 1976. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the full restoration of capitalism in revisionist-ruled countries in the period of 1989-91 have vindicated Mao ´s position on the crucial importance and necessity of the struggle against revisionism and the theory of continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship.† The Philippines today practices modern democracy. This shows the sharp difference of ideology within countries. It is shown by Sison’s diction that he is passionate about Communism to the degree that he strongly adheres to Maoist theory by promoting revolution in the proletariat. In 2008, the New People’s Army in the Philippines managed to make 200 tactical offenses and captured 200 high powered rifles. Ka Oris claimed that the group has managed to return to the level of activity of when it was at its peak in the 1980s. The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, remains the biggest threat to national security according to National Defense Secretary Gilbert C. Teodoro Jr. This shows how Maoism only subsists with sheer violence. They seek to implement their agenda by compromising national security and putting many lives in danger. In order to form a fully Maoist society one needs to realize that the only means of achieving this is by deteriorating the conditions within a county. â€Å"The history of the NPA in Mindanao dates back to 1971 when a handful of inexperienced but determined communists established two cells one in Iligan and the other in Davao. The years that followed saw it exploit widespread poverty among both indigenous peoples and poor peasants in the countryside, as well as among many Christian settlers.† As one can see, poverty was a result of the attempts made by the NPA to form a communist/Maoist nation; therefore, the effects of revolution in the name of Maoism only worsens the well-being of the people as violence is utilized to oppress the people. Maoism is characterized by an extreme eclecticism and by subjectivism in theory and voluntarism in politics. Many traditional views of ancient Chinese political and philosophical thought have helped nourish Maoist ideology. From the anarchists Mao Tse-tung borrowed such principles as the absolutization of violence (â€Å"Power grows out of the barrel of a gun† and â€Å"To rebel is justified†) and reliance on nonproletarian, declassed elements and politically immature layers of young people to â€Å"organize† revolutions without regard to whether there is a revolutionary situation. According to Maoist declarations, similar revolutions, which in fact are a form of total purging and suppression of the real and potential enemies of Maoism, should be repeated periodically. If the inherent violence that Maoism encapsulates should be repeated, it would lead to the suffering of many people, which makes it unstable to the degree that the government forces outnumber the Maoists: a force that keeps them at bay. The Maoists cannot obtain their goal without the use of hostility, making it immoral and unstable. â€Å"Since 1978 hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty [in China] – yet hundreds of millions of rural population as well as millions of migrant workers remain unattended: According to Chinas official statistics, the poverty rate fell from 53% in 1981to 2.5% in 2005.† However, in 2009, as many as 150 million Chinese were living on less than $1.25 a day. The infant mortality rate fell by 39.5% between 1990 and 2005, and maternal mortality by 41.1%. Access to telephones during the period rose more than 94-fold, to 57.1% as did in many developing countries such as Peru or Nigeria. This shows inconsistency with data to instill communist propaganda. They only show what they want to. They never display the harsh violence committed in order to execute their agenda, which is also in the roots of Marxist theory. In consequence of Mao’s recognition of the peasan try as a powerful source of revolution, his political endeavors were largely aimed at rural China and less on urban industrialization. There is a strong emphasis in Maoism placed on the capability of conscious human action to overcome a lack of material resources. This is in reference to what Mao saw as great feats of endurance, such as the Long March and the resistance against Japan during the Sino-Japanese War. According to Mao, the success of such campaigns rested upon the commitment of man, without the aid of technology or material involvement. Complementary to such experiences, Mao naturally developed a theory that highlighted success as a product of the mind, not matter. As such, material goods were not constituent of, or significantly important to Maoism. It should be pointed out that in the present conditions, agriculture occupies first place in our economic construction. Mao was mainly concerned with agricultural production as a means of survival, and saw no political gain from mass industrialization. In fact Mao believed that industrialization weakened the proletarian movement, by creating further means fo r factory owners and management teams to exploit workers. However the Marxist-Leninist approach to socialist reform which contrasted against Mao’s agrarian views, relied heavily upon the encouragement of advanced industrialization in order to strengthen the sense of proletarian repression. In this sense there was a strong point of conflict over industrial and agricultural production values between Mao and the Russians, which was in direct consequence of the peasants over workers dispute. A fundamental facet of classical Marxist ideology is economic determinism; a concept whereby social change is driven by the economy. However Mao placed a much larger emphasis on the shaping of humankind, and the capacity to change human nature through sheer will power. Mao’s real conflict, of course, was not with Russia nor with revisionism, but with human nature. He believed that the ordinarily extended process of change could be hastened with appropriate stimulation; a positive political frame of commitment and action. While Marx also believed in the evolution of human nature, in contrast to Mao he regarded it to be a process beyond the control of man. Marx developed the theory of material determinism, which suggested that the economy is essential to social change and the development of human nature, a relationship almost ignored by Mao. Features of society such as classes, politics and ideologies were seen by Marx to be outgrowths of economic activity, whereas Mao regarded changes to such features as a result of human will. [Mao’s] process of remolding human beings†¦[is] almost in defiance of orthodox Marxist historical and material determinism. However what is generally agreed upon by Marx and Mao, despite the way in which it is done, is that this remolding of humankind could take many revolutions, which led to the development of the ‘continuous revolution’ theory, a concept whereby the proletarian’s struggle against the bourgeoisie is everlasting. Basically, the goals of Mao, Lenin and Marx were alike in terms of achieving a classless socialist society; there were distinct contrasting elements within the paths chosen to achieve these aspirations. Mao believed in the revolutionary and violent power of the abundant peasantry class, whereas the Marxist-Leninist approach to socialist revolution was to lead from the urban working classes. Resulting from this major disagreement came differing views on industrialization and urbanization, Mao tending to pay closer attention to agricultural development which was a large factor in China, and the Russians to urban development. There was also ignorance on Mao’s behalf of the nature of economics, a subject of which Marx was an expert which is most likely the reason why there is little on economics found on Maoism. Marx recognized the economy as a major driving force in social development, whereas Mao regarded human nature as something that could be changed by will. However while Mao may not have attempted to achieve socialism as Marx intended, a great difference between Russia and China during the twentieth century made such a turn away from classical Marxism to some extent. One could claim that Marxism has never truly been achieved in any setting, and with both China and Russia now leaning more towards capitalism, it leads one to question whether given the nature of humankind, such change is even possible; however, it can be concluded that both doctrines encapsulate instability and hostility, creating an oppressive environment.

Sectional Conflics in Early America Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sectional conflicts within the United States affected numerous domestic polices and even caused, in part, Andrew Jackson’s election. Andrew Jackson’s election was greatly affected by sectional differences because he represented only a portion of the United States, yet it was the portion with a majority of Electoral College votes. The sectional differences of the United States caused a protective tariff to be levied. The Missouri compromise was also affected by the differences between various differences between the divisions of the United States. Even Texas was affected by the sectional differences of the United States. The political divisions of the United States greatly affected politics between the years of 1828-1837.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Andrew Jackson’s election was caused, in part, by the sectional differences between the north and the west and south. Andrew Jackson was representative of the west and south in his virtues and views on national policy prior to entering office. He was for no tariffs and states rights in general. This meant that the majority of southern and western states supported him and allowed him to win a majority vote in the Electoral College. While his election was effected by sectional differences, his policies were not so much affected because of a rapid turn around to a federalist look of government and supporting the north in most every aspect. Andrew Jackson’s election, if not presidency, was greatly ...

How Do Trend in the Marketing Industry

1. How do trend in the marketing industry, such as integrated marketing, affect advertising? Nowadays, there are too many trends in the marketing industry which we can see all over the places. These trends do not only give implication to the industry itself, it also affects the advertising field as well. Internet Marketing is an all-inclusive term for marketing products and/or services online – and like many all-inclusive terms, Internet marketing means different things to different people. Essentially, though, Internet marketing refers to the strategies that are used to market a product or service online, marketing strategies that include search engine optimization and search engine submission, copywriting that encourages site visitors to take action, web site design strategies, online promotions, reciprocal linking, and email marketing – and that’s just hitting the highlights. This is one of the trends in the marketing industry. These trends affect the advertising field by allowing them to promote a product or services widely through the internet. Many firms are embracing a paradigm that is shifting the focus of advertising methodology from traditional text and image to the JavaScript and Adobe Flash, which is known as the online advertising. The potential customer can access information concerning the service or product to help in deciding the need or use of products through online. Another that are often used by the marketers is applying local cultures in a global product. In this trend they usually brings in a global product into a country and applies a local culture to it, such as the country’s national language, costumes, local celebrities and much more just to attract their local customer to buy the product. Understanding a country’s culture is a key to global success. Food, food retail, beverages, household cleaning and personal care products are highly subject to the influence of culture because they are rooted in local taste, traditions, and needs. While it is very difficult for marketers to overcome these differences, there is no real imperative to do so. It doesn't matter if a food brand has different incarnations in different countries; the vast majority of consumers will be completely oblivious. For an instance, Coke has taken in adapting both its product and its communication. As a standard practice, Coca-Cola modifies its product to meet local tastes and invests heavily in locally inspired communication to complement its global positioning. The longer a brand has been in market, the more likely people are to have grown up with it and accept it as part of the local scene. This trend in marketing industry gives more implication to the advertising field. Firstly, for this kind of trend, global companies have to come up with more advertisements just for one product. Because, they are selling their products all over the world, which to be said in different countries. Whenever they adopt a local culture in selling their product, advertising plays an important role by showing the criteria of local culture to the audience, such as using the local language, local celebrity, local customs, and etc. For an example, in the Pizza Hut advertisement in Malaysia, they use the local language, such as â€Å"sensasi† and the tag â€Å"halal† in their advertising strategy just attracts the local consumers. In conclusion, advertising field is always getting affected if there are any changes or new trends in the marketing industry. This is because, advertising is the tool that helps the audience to get information about a product or services and also it attracts them to purchase it. 2. Can advertising be a factor in relationship marketing? In what way? Discuss. Advertising plays an important role in relationship marketing. Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas, or services. Relationship Marketing were defined first as a form of marketing that developed from a direct response marketing campaigns which emphasize the customer retention and satisfaction, rather than a dominant focus on sales transactions. In others words, it recognizes the long term value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising. And also, Relationship marketing attempts to involve and integrate customers, suppliers and other infrastructural partners into a firm's developmental and marketing activities. In the most basic sense, advertising can help in promoting the sale of a particular product or service. Advertising in the olden times, was just spreading simply through word of mouth. It was to promote the sale of a product, good or service. As time advanced through the 17th Century, advertisements began to appear in newspapers, and later, in other forms of mass media, such as radio, television and cinema. Moreover, advertising in recent years, has maneuvered its way through the other forms of advertising, such as advertisements being displayed on fruit products, ads being displayed on vehicles such as buses and taxies, and even in public and social places, like the shopping malls and streets. Besides that, advertising in the recent years has been escalated through the airing of TV commercials, and the phenomenon of the World Wide Web, or simply the Internet. Banner ads and newsletters have been included in company websites, to encourage the number of customers logging on to a particular website. Advertisements have been helping to motivate the demand for particular goods and services. Advertising through the implementation, and setting up of billboards on the sides of streets and major shopping areas, is yet another growing tactic among marketing professionals, and advertising agencies. This has skyrocketed the product sales. Through this advertising, the images of particular products and services have enhanced, and resulted in a significant increase of sales over the recent years. In conclusion, advertising has created a sense of public awareness among the people about the products they use in their daily routine. On the other hand it is yet another means thorough getting a message across to a wider audience of people about a particular product. Advertising through television and billboards ensures that the sale of a particular product or service is amplified. Looking at it from a different perspective, advertising could be considered as an effective marketing strategy towards increasing the publicity of a product and in turn reaching out to a wider customer audience. Thus, it is an important factor of relationship marketing.

Management Principles & Practice Essay

A group of twelve lifelong friends put together $1,200,000 of their own funds and built a $6,000,000, 48-lane bowling alley, near Norfolk, Virginia. Two of the investors became employees of the corporation. Ned Flanders works full-time as General Manager and James Ahmad, a licensed CPA, serves as Controller on a part-time basis. The beautiful, modern-day facility features a multilevel spacious interior with three rows of 16 lanes on two separate levels of the building, a full-service bar, a small restaurant, a game room (pool, videogames, pinball),and two locker rooms. The facility sits on a spacious lot with plenty of parking and room to grow. The bowling center is located in the small blue-collar town of Wallingford. There is no direct competition within the town. The surrounding communities include a wide-ranging mix of ethnic groups, professionals, middle- to upper-middle-class private homes, and apartment and condominium complexes ranging from singles to young married couples to senior citizen retirement units. Nearly 200,000 people live within 15 miles of Wallingford. The bowling center is open 24 hours per day and has a staff of 27 part- and full-time employees. After four years of operation, the partners find themselves frustrated with the low profit performance of the business. While sales are covering expenses, the partners are not happy with the end-of-year profit-sharing pool. The bowling center operates at 100 percent capacity on Sunday through Thursday nights from 6:00 P.M. until midnight. Two sets of men’s leagues come and go on each of those nights, occupying each lane with mostly five-person teams. Bowlers from each league consistently spend money at both the bar and restaurant. In fact, the men’s leagues combine to generate about 60 percent of total current sales. The bowling center operates at about 50 percent capacity on Friday and Saturday nights and on Saturday morning. The Friday and Saturday â€Å"open bowling† nights include mostly teenagers, young couples, and league members who come to practice in groups of two or three. The Saturday morning group is a kid’s league, ages 10 through 14. There are four ladies leagues that bowl on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Business is extremely slow at the bowling center on Monday through Friday and Sunday mornings, and on the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is not uncommon to have just three or four lanes in operation during those time periods. The owners have taken a close look at the cost side of their business as a way to improve profitability. They concluded that while the total operating expense of $1,466,000 might appear to be high, there was in fact little room for expense cutting. At a recent meeting of the partners, James Ahmad reported on the results of his three-month-long investigation into the operating cost side of other bowling alleys and discovered that the Wallingford Bowling Center was very much in keeping with their industry. James went on to report that bowling alleys were considered to be â€Å"heavy fixed cost operations† and that the key to success and profitability lies in maximizing capacity and sales dollars . QUESTIONS 1. Apply the decision-making process described in the chapter to this case. What is the major problem facing Wallingford? List five specific alternative solutions that could be implemented to solve that major problem. 2. As general manager of this company, how could you utilize and manage the group decision-making process and technique to improve company profits? Which employees would you include in the group?

Free Essays on The Modoc War

The Modoc War The Modoc war was the perfect case of cultural conflict. Many know the story of Custer’s Last Stand but not as many know the story of Captain Jack and General Canby. It was a period in U.S. history when the settlers coming out west did whatever they needed to do in order to claim land. Many of the Native Americans gave up their land but there were some who fought for it to their death. The reason for the Modoc war goes back to around the 1850’s when settlers were coming over on the Oregon Trail. The Applegate’s decided to carve a new route that would lead the route more southern. To do this they trekked through Modoc country around what today would be Klamath Falls. For the most part the Modocs kept the settlers alone. Some people said occasionally they would steal supplies or livestock but usually kept to themselves. Eventually the government claimed their land because the Natives didn’t have any written proof that it was theirs. They didn’t have it because they had never needed it before. Since the land shared the Oregon-California border, both states had treaties for it. They agreed that the Modocs should be moved to Klamath country that resided around Lower Klamath Lake in Oregon. So in the 1860’s the Modocs made the short trek to the Klamath region. At this time the Klamaths and the Modocs didn’t get along w ell at all. Due to this, there was much hostility with the new inhabitants. Many of the people dealt with it and carried on their lives. Then there were the ones including Captain Jack, Hooker Jim, and Scar-faced Charley, who couldn’t live among their enemies. These men, (who were known by their English names by the military), and more decided to go back to their homeland to live. They moved back, and then they were kicked out again. This repeated a few times until they were fed up with it. They weren’t leaving for anything or anyone . There were many meetings set by appo... Free Essays on The Modoc War Free Essays on The Modoc War The Modoc War The Modoc war was the perfect case of cultural conflict. Many know the story of Custer’s Last Stand but not as many know the story of Captain Jack and General Canby. It was a period in U.S. history when the settlers coming out west did whatever they needed to do in order to claim land. Many of the Native Americans gave up their land but there were some who fought for it to their death. The reason for the Modoc war goes back to around the 1850’s when settlers were coming over on the Oregon Trail. The Applegate’s decided to carve a new route that would lead the route more southern. To do this they trekked through Modoc country around what today would be Klamath Falls. For the most part the Modocs kept the settlers alone. Some people said occasionally they would steal supplies or livestock but usually kept to themselves. Eventually the government claimed their land because the Natives didn’t have any written proof that it was theirs. They didn’t have it because they had never needed it before. Since the land shared the Oregon-California border, both states had treaties for it. They agreed that the Modocs should be moved to Klamath country that resided around Lower Klamath Lake in Oregon. So in the 1860’s the Modocs made the short trek to the Klamath region. At this time the Klamaths and the Modocs didn’t get along w ell at all. Due to this, there was much hostility with the new inhabitants. Many of the people dealt with it and carried on their lives. Then there were the ones including Captain Jack, Hooker Jim, and Scar-faced Charley, who couldn’t live among their enemies. These men, (who were known by their English names by the military), and more decided to go back to their homeland to live. They moved back, and then they were kicked out again. This repeated a few times until they were fed up with it. They weren’t leaving for anything or anyone . There were many meetings set by appo...

Understand Phase of Business Process Management Essay Example

Understand Phase of Business Process Management Essay Example Understand Phase of Business Process Management Essay Understand Phase of Business Process Management Essay Understand Phase of Business Process Management Overview of the Understand Phase of Business Process Management. The understand phase aids in providing understanding of the business process to the project team members. When this understanding is gained, the business is able to commence to the innovative phase. During this phase, the project team members should understand the business goals. This phase authorizes the current process certainty in the organization. It also specifies the improvement priorities required in the project. It helps determine project changes where needed. The project team and the business should focus only on understanding the process. Documenting the process in complex details is not necessary. The project team members only need to understand and document the process. This process gives the business results such as, measurement and documentation of the current and actual performance level and many others. Implication of the outputs in Understand Phase to other phases in the BPM model People in the organization should be updated on the project, its objectives and scope. This communication should continue through out the other phases in the entire project. This is due to the changes made in the project scope and plans. This ensures the success of the project. The implementation phase should be considered during the understand phase since it provides options on implementation. This enables great selection for the correct implementation to be applied in the project. This phase is developed during the understand phase of the project. It usually causes high investments at the beginning but once implemented, it provides great results. This provides great guidance for the other phases and steps in the framework and the continuation of the project (Hlupic, 2003).

Making Sense of Since

Making Sense of Since Making Sense of Since Making Sense of Since By Maeve Maddox Sometimes a word that is clear in one context, may create ambiguity in another. Consider the following excerpt from a professional newspaper review of Hotel for Dogs. The story follows 16-year-old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her 11-year-old brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin) who, since the death of their parents, have lived in five foster homes over two years. Each move is challenging as they have to find ways to smuggle their charming Jack Russell terrier Friday, a member of their family since happier times, into each new household. If you havent seen the film, can you tell from this paragraph if the children had the dog before their parents died? Dont study it. Just base your impression on one quick reading. The first time I read it, I thought it meant that theyd had the dog before the parents died, but as I went on with the review, I began to wonder if the children had acquired the dog after being sent into foster care. In both phrases, the word since is a preposition. The OED gives two meanings for since as a preposition: 1. Ever or continuously from (a specified time, etc.) till now. 2. During the period between (a specified time) and now; at some time subsequent to or after. OED In the phrase since the death of their parents, the since marks a specific starting point. In the phrase since happier times, the time period is ambiguous. This since could, like the first since, mark a starting point subsequent to the happy times enjoyed with their parents, or it could indicate an earlier starting point, during the happy times. I havent seen the film, so to figure out the writers intended meaning, I googled (Oh, dear. I made a Google search of) They had a dog named Friday and found this refreshingly unambiguous statement in a review written by a high school senior: When their parents were still alive they had a dog named Friday and after their parents passed away they kept the dog Janeane White Not every reader would have had difficulty with this paragraph, but at least one did. And if one reader stumbles, its likely that others will. To avoid confusion, its probably a good idea for a writer to avoid using the same word twice in the same paragraph, especially words that have more than one meaning, however slight the difference. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial ExpressionsSelect vs. SelectedList of Prefixes and Suffixes and their Meanings

Empirical Paper Assignment Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Empirical Assignment - Research Paper Example The rate however increased in five states and remained constant in 11 other states. Kentucky recorded the most significant percentage decrement, though the state’s unemployment rate remained above the nation’s average value. There were additional job opportunities in the state in October but some people also left their jobs, with retirees as examples of those who left their jobs. The lost jobs in Kentucky were however filled with new employees and not really lost from the economy. Kentucky recorded the greatest fall in unemployment rate with a deviation of 0.5 percent while four other states realized a decrease of 0.4 percent in their unemployment rates. Unemployment rates per state remained lower that national statistics in Rocky Mountain States. On the national level, unemployment rate reduced by 0.1 percent, from 5.9 percent in September and this resulted from creation of 214000 new jobs. The report includes states’ unemployment rates for September and October of the year 2014 and for the month of October 2013 (Sparshott 1). The author’s statistics are reliable because data and generated graphs from FRED support them. Below are graphs of two indicators of employment rates, as retrieved from FRED databases that support the author’s report. The graphs, inteprated together, offers information that is consistent with Sspartshott’s report and therefofe support the author’s viewpoint. From graph 1, it is evident that employment rates have been increasing, steadily, over the past one year. Consistency in the increament can be used to forecast further increament to october and the rest of the months in the year 2014. Consequently, it can be concluded that the number of employments in the private sector improved from its value in September 2014 into October 2014. The graph of number of employment in the public sector is however unstable and suggests a decrease in employment rate from September 2014 to October 2014. Rate of

A Consulting Opportunity in Any Area of Commercial Essay

A Consulting Opportunity in Any Area of Commercial - Essay Example The researcher states that organizations invest in business aspects that would profess in terms of sales. In this sense, businesses invest in such research during emergencies. It is vital to highlight that sales projection would best occur at all periods of a business. In the traditional context, revenue projections and cash flows are viewed as the key controls for managing a business. However, the sales forecast is a vital management of other figures to business. It becomes a critical point of initiating ventures in an existing business. In sales forecasting, consultancy would achieve a different route since it relies on accurate data. This creates a necessity for having a consultancy system that calculates data for a given piece of advice. For established businesses, the consultancy project would help in identifying prior years’ figures that are vital for drafting a sales forecast. This considers the sales’ growth expectations. On the other hand, small businesses woul d necessitate scenarios of studying the industry. This would relate to a compilation of consumers’ profiles and understand the existing and the expected competition. In the end, the consultancy would help in striking the sense of making sales’ projections. It also aims at heralding sales forecasting as a less cryptic endeavor. This is a time series methodology of establishing a sales’ projection according to a manifesting pattern from the earlier period sales. Another method relates to the regression analysis method. This method also utilizes historical sales as a basis for predicting future sales. In this sense, the forecaster strives to foster a relationship between the sales and the independent variables. Autonomous variables encompass the GDP and population. In simple regression analysis, forecasting involves the use of one independent variable. Conversely, multiple regression analysis would entail the employment of two or more independent variables.

Mistaking africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mistaking africa - Essay Example It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the critical concern of cultural bias is quite discriminative in nature (Flanagan 153). With this concern, this paper intends to provide a comprehensive understanding about own cultural biases towards Africa through reading the text i.e. Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’. DISCUSSION The book of Curtis A. Keim i.e. ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ has portrayed certain significant ideas and perceptions that have broadly influenced or imposed extensive impacts especially upon social along with cultural aspects of Africa. This particular book provides a general idea about the existence of cultural biasness within the nation of Africa. According to the findings of the aforesaid book, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that an individual can acquire a valuable idea about diverse aspects such as the use and the misuse o f stereotypes, racism, exploitation and various other sorts of cultural aspects. The author in this book revealed that for several Americans, the nation i.e. Africa appears to be the indication of various surroundings i.e. dense jungles, safaris, strangely dressed tribesmen and ferocious animals. It is worth mentioning that Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ mainly concentrates upon conducting historical evolution and addressing the most widespread preconceptions along with myths concerning dissimilar cultures and people belonging to Africa (Keim 101-170). In order to present my own notions regarding cultural biases towards Africa through reading the abovementioned book of Keim, certain significant aspects need to be taken into concern and discussed broadly. In this similar context, it can be observed in Keim’s text that a huge majority of Americans considered the facets of exploitation and racism against A frica to be quite acceptable. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the Americans did enslave Africans and maintain segregation along with slavery system, though they by no means ruled colonies in Africa. According to my own perception, as the Americans did enslave the Africans, it can be stated that there laid the existence of cultural biasness within the nation by a significant level. Moreover, apart from enslaving the Africans, the treatment of the Africans as inferiors by the Americans also demonstrates the prevalence of cultural biasness within the nation at large. There also lay certain other significant evidences that have eventually developed my perception towards recognizing the prevalence of cultural biasness in the region of Africa. One of the evidences can be apparently observed in the readings of Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’. This particular evidence which proves to be quiet effe ctive in determining the existence of cultural biasness in Africa can be related with the notion of prejudice. With reference to the reading i.e. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’, it can be revealed that with every passing decade, Americans are incessantly treating Africans with less prejudice. Though the nation i.e. Africa is growing to play an imperative role in developing worldwide economy because of its huge size, greater amount of population and accessibility of vast resources,

Delegating for Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Delegating for Growth - Essay Example They fear loosing status, hence fail to assign high-profile jobs to their staff, and delegation of work is compromised, as the rookie manager is afraid of being resented by his peers (Walker, 2002, p.4). Secondly, rookie managers tend to depend highly on their bosses; this is usually a sign of disaster, since the new mangers will not learn to do his duties on his own. However, setting up brief meetings with their bosses may be of help to the new managers. In addition, lack of confidence contributes to a manager’s failure to inspire their team. These managers face the challenge of addressing their staff members. Other than addressing the problem faced by their staff, they sit back hoping things will improve, whilst the other staff members become frustrated by their lack of actions. Lack of experience from managers compromises the efforts of addressing a problem that is affecting the organization and the team as well (Walker, 2002, p.7). Therefore, there is need to train the roo kie managers on managerial skills so as to ensure that they understand their new roles, hence delivering effectively. Supporting arguments. Delegation of duties is a function of a manager. Walker (p 4) insists that a rookie manager needs to understand that his new role has nothing to do with personal achievement; instead, it entails building his staff members. However, these rookie managers tend to have insecurities especially when assigning duties to their staff members, as they fear that the employees may outdo them. Therefore, managerial skills are very important, as they enable the new managers to understand their roles; these managers need training and coaching to enable them deliver. The new managers need to be trained on how to delegate tasks effectively, hence enabling them to develop talented staffs that are an advantage to the company. Therefore, the managers will not be insecure about assigning duties effectively without prejudice. Supporting the new managers is necessary . When rookie managers are supported by their bosses, work life becomes easier; however, the kind of support given may be at a disadvantage, for instance, heavy reliance on their bosses could render them reluctant. Walker (p5) insists that managers should only consult their bosses on critical issues, but not on the nitty-gritty ones. Brief meetings between the bosses and the managers are necessary, whereby, the new manager can ask questions and receive feedback on the pressing issues. The new manager is then able to organize his thoughts on how to deal with his staff members. In addition, a manager should be capable of projecting confidence to enable him inspire the team members This is due to the rapid changing technology that requires every manager to be updated and capable of dealing with challenging issues; failure to this leads to stress in the place of work. The ability to deal with arising problems by addressing them other than watching and ignoring the situation is paramount for a manager. Employees gain confidence in a manager who addresses the problems affecting them and certainly puts the matter to rest, thus giving employees the will to perform. Bruch & Ghoshal (p5) add that, managers are not expected to do the inevitable; however, focused managers respond immediately to any arising issue that interferes with the organizational goals. It is however important for the managers to adopt managerial skills before being

Tales from Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tales from Shakespeare - Essay Example The public apology of Claudio is also excluded; 6. It is intended for very young readership; and 7. The tale is intended to convey positive values. Lamb's tale version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing tries to convey to the readers the beauty of the English language by incorporating the original dialogues in the play to the narrative prose. Since it serves as an introductory tale to Shakespeare's plays, the tale gives the readers a taste of the master's original language. In it the reader's interest to read further the original plays is heightened and thus they are being ushered into the beauty of Shakespeare's genius. These and more have made the tale version incorporate in it a true "touch" and "feel" of the beauty of the Shakespearean English used in the original play. The dialogues when read aloud are so poetic that even young readers could memorize and recite them at random and these are pleasing to the ears. The Lambs have preserved the plot of the play and have remained faithful to the rendition and description of the events and characters except for some exclusion which are made due to some valid reasons. The names of the characters are preserved as well as the succession of events. This shorter version of the lengthy play is a good start for first time readers of Shakespeare. The setting, Messina, is retained. ... The names of the characters are preserved as well as the succession of events. This shorter version of the lengthy play is a good start for first time readers of Shakespeare. The setting, Messina, is retained. So are the characters, like Leonato, Hero, Beatrice, Don Pedro, Don John, Claudio and Benedick. So are the minor characters, Margaret, Ursula, Borachio, the Friar and others. The series of events are as faithful to the original as possible. It begins with the coming of the guests, the courtship between Hero and Claudio and the clash between Beatrice and Benedict. It is followed by the announcement of Hero and Claudio's wedding. In the same line, Beatrice and Benedick were tricked into loving each other by the collaboration of Leonato, Don Pedro, Claudio, Hero, Margaret and Ursula. Then follows the plot of Don John to stop the wedding by setting up Borachio to deceive Claudio and Don Pedro into believing that hero has been unfaithful to Claudio by talking to a man in the eve of their wedding. The next scene is in the church where Beatrice was shamed and accused by Claudio and the suspension of the wedding rites. It is followed by the friar's advice to keep Hero in hiding and to tell the people that she had died until the truth about her innocence would be revealed. It is also at the church that Benedick and Beatrice were drawn closer to each other. When Hero was found innocent by the magistrates' catching of Borachio and Don John, Leonato punished Claudio by letting him marry his niece who in fact Hero. The play ends with Benedick proposing to marry Beatrice. The only details that are excluded are the love-making of Borachio and Margaret

Delegating for Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Delegating for Growth - Essay Example They fear loosing status, hence fail to assign high-profile jobs to their staff, and delegation of work is compromised, as the rookie manager is afraid of being resented by his peers (Walker, 2002, p.4). Secondly, rookie managers tend to depend highly on their bosses; this is usually a sign of disaster, since the new mangers will not learn to do his duties on his own. However, setting up brief meetings with their bosses may be of help to the new managers. In addition, lack of confidence contributes to a manager’s failure to inspire their team. These managers face the challenge of addressing their staff members. Other than addressing the problem faced by their staff, they sit back hoping things will improve, whilst the other staff members become frustrated by their lack of actions. Lack of experience from managers compromises the efforts of addressing a problem that is affecting the organization and the team as well (Walker, 2002, p.7). Therefore, there is need to train the roo kie managers on managerial skills so as to ensure that they understand their new roles, hence delivering effectively. Supporting arguments. Delegation of duties is a function of a manager. Walker (p 4) insists that a rookie manager needs to understand that his new role has nothing to do with personal achievement; instead, it entails building his staff members. However, these rookie managers tend to have insecurities especially when assigning duties to their staff members, as they fear that the employees may outdo them. Therefore, managerial skills are very important, as they enable the new managers to understand their roles; these managers need training and coaching to enable them deliver. The new managers need to be trained on how to delegate tasks effectively, hence enabling them to develop talented staffs that are an advantage to the company. Therefore, the managers will not be insecure about assigning duties effectively without prejudice. Supporting the new managers is necessary . When rookie managers are supported by their bosses, work life becomes easier; however, the kind of support given may be at a disadvantage, for instance, heavy reliance on their bosses could render them reluctant. Walker (p5) insists that managers should only consult their bosses on critical issues, but not on the nitty-gritty ones. Brief meetings between the bosses and the managers are necessary, whereby, the new manager can ask questions and receive feedback on the pressing issues. The new manager is then able to organize his thoughts on how to deal with his staff members. In addition, a manager should be capable of projecting confidence to enable him inspire the team members This is due to the rapid changing technology that requires every manager to be updated and capable of dealing with challenging issues; failure to this leads to stress in the place of work. The ability to deal with arising problems by addressing them other than watching and ignoring the situation is paramount for a manager. Employees gain confidence in a manager who addresses the problems affecting them and certainly puts the matter to rest, thus giving employees the will to perform. Bruch & Ghoshal (p5) add that, managers are not expected to do the inevitable; however, focused managers respond immediately to any arising issue that interferes with the organizational goals. It is however important for the managers to adopt managerial skills before being

The Financial Enviroment of Healthcare Organizations Essay

The Financial Enviroment of Healthcare Organizations - Essay Example Sharing financial information with the employees of a business should be done by corporations even if they are not required do so such as private firms. A lot of different aspects of the financial performance of the firm should be released. The four major financial statements of a company are the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and the statement of cash flow (Garrison & Noreen, 2002). These statements are prepared upon completion of the accounting cycle. An employee of the firm can perform an evaluation of the financial performance of the company using ratio analysis if he is given the financial statements of the firm. The five categories of ratio analysis are liquidity, asset turnover, profitability, market, and financial leverage. Analyzing the cost structure and expenses of a firm is important for an employee. Companies whose cost structures are too high are at risk of downsizing or closing its facilities (Capella, 2008). The income statement shows the expense accounts of an organization. Profits are obtained by subtracting total expenses from the revenues of a firm. Costs are classified as fixed or variable costs. Fixed costs do not change over time, while variable costs change as a company increases or decreases production output (Thomason, 2014). An important accounting metric that stakeholder groups such as employees need to understand and be informed about is the breakeven point. The breakeven point is the amount of sales that a company needs to generate to cover all its fixed and variable costs. Profit at the breakeven point is cero. The formula to calculate the breakeven point in units sold is fixed expenses divided by unit contribution margin. Unit contribution margin is calculated dividing sales price minus variable cost per unit. The employees must know whether its company is breaking even because the solvency of the firm is dependent on it. Controlling the inventory of a business is

The International Civil Servant in Law and in Fact Essay Example for Free

The International Civil Servant in Law and in Fact Essay Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The article presents an issue that is of great significance to all nations. It notes a statement made by Chairman Krushchev, which states, while there are neutral countries, there are no neutral men. This statement seems to challenge the stability of international permanent organs, such as the League of Nations and the United Nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The article traces the history of the institution called as international civil service, and recalls that the Covenant of the League of Nations did not originally contemplate a Secretariat of an international character. Thus, there was, initially, a need to hire people from different nations in order to secure that interests of such nations are represented in the body and that no one nation could have a monopoly in providing material to the international body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first Secretary-General of the League, Sir Eric Drummond, first expressed the principle of an international secretariat. For him, those men and women to be appointed by the Secretary-General should be carefully selected, because upon assumption to power, they would no longer represent the respective countries of which they were citizens; rather, they would become international civil servants. Their duties would already be international in character, and they become the servants of the League of Nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   International civil service is characterized by three major ideas. First, it has an international composition. Second, international civil servants have international responsibilities. Third, the international Secretariat is an administrative organ that must avoid partisanship. Similar to the concept of civil service in United Kingdom, the civil servant is a neutral officer, who must be separate and distinct from another officer who is authorized to make the political decisions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another relevant characteristic of the international civil service is independence. This characteristic, together with international responsibility, bars an international civil servant from receiving instructions from a State. Conversely, states and governments are enjoined to respect such independence and international responsibility of the Secretariat. These principles, which have been mostly founded on the experience of the League of Nations, found expression in various provisions of the UN Charter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These principles have not been easy to maintain. Article 99 of the UN Charter had caused quite a stir when it opened the door towards the exercise of political discretion by the Secretary-General, contrary to the long settled nature of his power as purely administrative.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The problem with the nature of the power of the Secretary-General arose with the inclusion of new provisions in the Charter of the United Nations that have broken away from the principles set forth in the Covenant of the League of Nations. One such provision can be found in Article 97 of the Charter, which places the Secretary-General to the position of â€Å"chief administrative officer of the Organization.† This provision is a big leap for the Charter, as this station had not been expressly provided in the Covenant. If at all, the office of the Secretary-General rested on implied grant of powers, and not as explicit as Article 97. Thus, this provision mandated that the Secretary-General administer the Organization; this removed the discretion of the principal organs to merely delegate such power to the Secretary-General.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other original provisions of the Charter are found in Articles 98 and 99. Far from the questions raised by Article 97, these provisions put the very nature of the office of the Secretary-General to controversy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Article 98 mandates that the Secretary-General shall act in such capacity during the meetings of the organs. However, it adds that he â€Å"shall perform such other functions as are entrusted to him by these organs.† This provision clearly allows the organs to delegate some of their functions to the Secretary-General, which functions, in all likelihood, would be political in nature. This provision therefore opens the door to the acquisition of a political role by the Secretary-General.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Article 99 then opens the floodgates to more controversial issues. This provision allows the Secretary-General to bring matters to the attention of the Security Council. More importantly, it gives the Secretary-General the power to â€Å"conduct inquiries and engage in informal diplomatic activity in regard to matters which ‘may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.’†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such discretionary powers certainly convert the nature of the office of the Secretary-General from a neutral administrative office to a political one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite these developments, it is believed that the post of the Secretary-General remains a neutral one, provided that neutrality is defined as freedom from the influence of national interests and pressures. The conflict is therefore reconciled by viewing the political powers of the Secretary-General as having an international, and not a national, basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other conflicts, such as the inevitable effect of national interest on the appointed staff of the Secretary-General likewise arose to test the neutrality of the Secretariat. Nevertheless, history proved that the United Nations succeeded in keeping its civil servants responsible to the Organization alone and not to their respective nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The international civil servant sure has a lot resting on his shoulders. He is expected to remain unaffected by national pressures. He must make sure that sympathies and antipathies do not cloud his judgment. Thus, his only standard when performing his duties is whether his actions are guided by the goals and rules set by the Organization he serves. Questions and Discussions: What is the issue discussed in the article?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The article discussed the issue of neutrality of the office of the Secretary-General. It discussed the development of the position from the time it was conceptualized in the Covenant of the League of Nations up to the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The article discussed how the recent additions to the UN Charter affected the initially neutral and solely administrative function of the Secretary-General. The article likewise discussed how the seeming contradiction can be reconciled so that the provisions of the Charter would not contradict each other. How does the UN Charter maintain the neutrality of international civil servants?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The UN Charter mandates that appointees of the Secretary-General become internationally responsible officials to the Organization, and no longer to their respective countries.   The Charter recognizes that international civil servants should not be neuters who are unaware and apathetic of the concerns of their nations; however, the Charter demands that such concerns be disregarded when the international civil servant acts in the performance of his office. References Hammarskjold, D. (1961). The International Civil Servant in Law and in Fact.

Human Resources Management And Persistent Approaches Commerce Essay

Human Resources Management And Persistent Approaches Commerce Essay Human resource management has become a persistent and prominent approach to the management of employment in an extensive range of market economies. In concern of management theorists and for many managers, HRM is the imperative to the survival and success of organisations in the twenty first century. According to Peter Drucker (1993), defines one single, simple idea: that people their skills, knowledge and creativity- are the key resource for economic and organisational success i.e. the knowledge- based economy. Despite the popularity of the term HRM, there is still no universally agreed definition of its meaning. According to Watson (2002:369) suggests that a rather messy situation currently exists whereby the term HRM is used in a confusing variety of ways. In its broadest sense HRM can be defined as a generic term to describe any approach to managing people; whereas Boxall and Purcell (2003:1) described HRM as all those activities associated with the management of employment relationships in the firm. Though, HRM comprises a new approach to managing people that is extensively different to more conventional practices. Even there are number of perspectives which make HRM distinctive. However Storey (1995:5) defines HRM as a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. Whereas related to strategic nature o f HRM, Buchanan and Huczynski (2004:679) approaches HRM as a managerial prospective, which argues the need to establish an integrated series of personnel policies to support organisational strategy. Two main modification of HRM were acknowledged early in scholastic discussions of HRM: According to (Guest, 1987; storey, 1992) Hard HRM with an emphasis on the Strategies of cost minimisation (e.g. low wages, minimal training, close supervision), Quantitative aspects of managing human resource as an economic factor in production (e.g. in lean production- downsizing, work intensification). Soft HRM approaches aimed at enhancing the Commitment, Communication, Motivation, Quality, Leadership and flexibility of employees. Strategic HRM:- A strategic approach to Human Resource management has great appeal, According to Johnson and scholes (1997); describe strategic HRM in concern of business and management as the direction and scope of an organisational over the longer term, which ideally matches its resources to its changing environment, and in particular to its markets, customers and clients to meet stakeholders expectations. Strategic decisions in management are likely to be concerned with: Enduring direction of the organisation Extent of the organisations deeds Identical organisations deeds to its environment (i.e. PESTLE) Identical organisational deeds to its resources The Harvard model of HRM:- Source: Beer et al (1984; p.16 Map of the HRM territory) Long term consequences Individual well -being Organizational Effectiveness Social well- being HRM Policy choices Employee influences Human resource flow Reward systems Work systems HR Outcomes Commitment Competence Congruence Cost effectiveness Situational factors Workforce characteristics Business strategy and conditions Management philosophy Labour market Unions Task technology Laws and societal values Laws and Ideal types of Human Resource Management:- Characteristics Human resource management Strategic nature Dealing with day to day issues; but proactive in nature and integrated with other management functions. A deliberately long-term strategic view of Human resources Psychological Contract Based on seeking willing commitment of the employee Job design Typically team-based Organisational structure Flexible with core of key employees surrounded by peripheral cells High degree of outsourcing Remuneration Market based Individual and/or team performance Pay for contribution Recruitment Sophisticated recruitment for all employees Strong internal labour market for core employees. Greater reliance on external labour market for non-core Training/development Transformed into a learning and development philosophy transcending job related training. Strong emphasis on management and leadership development A learning organisation culture Employee relations perspective Individualistic; high trust Organisations of the function Largely integrated into line management for day to day HR issues Specialist HR group to advise and create HR policy Welfare role No explicit welfare role Criteria for success of the function Control of HR costs, maximum utilisation of HRM over long term Source: adapted and developed from Guest (1987) Recession:- Organisations have been focus to enormous stress over the past few years, with foremost principal structural changes in industry sometimes obscured behind the short or long-term issues of recession which in other words can be described as the circumstances of the economy turn down; a extensive cut in the GDP, Employment and Trade (Business). In numerous ways, recessions are a motivating natural experiment to examine. According to Paul Geroski Paul Gregg (1997) describes recession involve a major reduction in demand sustained over a substantial period of time, it affect some organisation far more than others and they are exogenous to the actions of individual organisations. The reduction in demand is most important and sustained means that those organisations that are deficiently affected by a recession are expected to be rethinking the essential premises of their competitive strategy. The evaluation between the strategy and composition of organisations who are exceedingly harshly affected by a recession with those less harshly affected endow with indication on what composes a few organisations more susceptible to surprises them others, and on the toughness of diverse strategy choices and diverse organisational constitution to changes in market conditions. As a consequences recession also throw at least some useful luminosity on how organisations counter to unpredicted changes in demand. Additionally the effects of recessionary demand surprises are unavoidably reassigned reverse to labour markets. Current scenario of Recession:- According to Mike Schraeder and David J. Hoover (2010) the global economy has experienced massive confront in the previous two years as businesses have struggled with apparently insoluble financial crises which disclose a shocking compilation of industries that have closed a business, economize, or occupied in other strategic indispensable in the expedition for survival. Providentially, there is a number of substantiation that the influence of the global crises possibly will be deteriorating. Moreover, organization and their leaders are now faced with the harsh certainty of demanding to recuperate from the shock of these crises, whereas concurrently creating divisions that are proficient for competing effectively in a decrepit global environment. Cost-effective aspect Peak to through so far Real GDP decrease 3.7% real decline from December 2007 until June 2009 totalling $500 billion Personal Income individual wages declined by $339 billion from mid-2008 to the 1st Qtr of 2009 Investment Fixed investment has declined by $543 billion, or 24%, since December 2007 Unemployment There are  8.1 million less people employed today than in 2007 Industrial Production Has fallen 12% since 2007 Bankruptcies National bankruptcies have risen from 800,000 in 2007 to 1.4 million in 2009, a 75% increase Trade Exports and imports declined by 22% and 31%, respectively, between July 2008 and June 2009 Currency The USD has fallen 17% in the last year versus a basket of world currencies Bank Failures 140  banks   failed in 2009, with  700 banks in danger of failing, according to the FDIC Source: Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic breakdown (Economics/ Recession 2008-2010) by James Quinn, (March 4th, 2010) available from Internet URL http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/2010/Mar/recession-4-1.jpg Source: Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic breakdown (Economics/ Recession 2008-2010) by James Quinn, (March 4th, 2010) available from Internet URL http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/2010/Mar/recession-4-2.jpg Source: Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic breakdown (Economics/ Recession 2008-2010) by James Quinn, (March 4th, 2010) available from Internet URL http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html Impacts of recession on top of global/ domestic organizations:- As per given data in graphs of above mentioned, the major area to focus in concern of HRM is unemployment, during ending phase of 2007 employer were recruiting employees without forecasting the demand of prospective which results into redundancies/ unemployment, job insecurity, demotivation, stress , depression, reduced flexible working hours and increase in responsibilities on working employee in the organisations also. Whereas James Quinn (2010) describes a depression is categorized by irregular enhance in unemployment, a decrease in the accessibility of credit, extract productivity and venture, frequent liquidation, condensed sum of business and exchange, as well as extremely explosive comparative currency price variation, mostly depreciation. Price devaluation, economic crisis, and the stock market/ bank collapse are also universal fundamentals of a depression. According to Sally Walters (2009); International national Downsize/ recession related issues: Business environment Business closures Redundancies Modification in terms and conditions of employment Cash flow complications Deficiency of credit Reduction in the value of authentic Consolidation Condensed margins Public overheads Recover costs and competences Recruitment Employee revenue Recruitment complications Aged employees Skill development Understanding future complications when economy start to rise Facing difficulty to invest in skill development Training Compact training obligation Emphasize the specific needs of business Lack of apprentices in young employees in concern of employment prospects HRM Strategic perspective in concern of recession (issues):- According to David Hussey (2002), during recession there are no simple solutions and, success will depend, as always, on the soundness of the strategic decisions taken by top management, and ability of the organisation to implement those strategies. This would push the Human resource phase of the business to the forefront, even without the additional difficulties of sustained revolutionize and the demands. HRM, which is already very proficient in many organisations, requires to be obsessed by the business requirements of the organisation, but without losing prospect of the decisive value and significance of people in making strategies turn out to be reality. While attempt to come out from the recession, companies perspective in concern of HRM; (issues which has been taken by companies/ organisations to survive in time of recession) Redundancy/ Job cuts Cost retrenchment and downsizing Hiring freezes Modification in terms and conditions of employment Laying off temporary/ part time employees Condensed training dedication Freezes in previously planned Pay, Incentives and Bonus policies Enhance the use of premature retirement Restructure Reduction in employee hours Affecting employees offshore Employee revenue HR department should obtain into depiction barely the liable effectiveness of their deeds but also their apparent impact on employee commitment. HRM activities in relation to HRM outcomes and performance (under perspective of recession):- Issues Impacts Solutions Positive Implications Negative Implications Redundancy Cost retrenchment and downsizing, Demotivation Stress Depression Rejoin the employee in state of increase in demand, Contract based employee Employee might perform well compare to previous performance Fluctuation in employee working hours Employee might not have commitment and loyality towards organisation or might lose trust Less work commitment, Insecurity in aspects of full time employees Reduce pay, incentives and change in bonus policies Freeze on promotions Low motivation Low motivation Less employee engagement and commitment, trust Offering rewards by increasing pay/ incentive/ bonus Performance appraisal for highly skilled employee and core employee of the organisation to keep them in trust and motivated It might have significant affect on employee performance Motivation Dedication towards work Employee engagement and commitment It might only motivate few employee in organisation, as money is always solution of short term situations, Appraisals are sometime demotivated expensive Might also affect on cost cutting strategy of organisation Reduction in training commitment Decline in leadership and learning development, Poor performance Provide continuous improvement training programs Development in knowledge Skill enhancement Expensive might not be effective for all employees Issues Impacts Solutions Positive Implications Negative Implications Relocate/Redeploy transfer of employee (domestic as well as globally depend upon organisation Low morale, insecurity in concern of job, Cultural dispute Provide social network, Provide comfortable zone by management , Provide facilities and benefits Depend upon individual behaviour of employee; it might goes well as employee will get exposure and it might help to learn different cultural/ countrywide organisation strategies and guiding principle Expensive but sometime it is not possible in real world to do so. Depend upon employee individual personality to have capability to cope up with different culture Laying off part time/ temporary working Workload, Less employee engagement towards work and commitment Provide a more flexible alternative to full time employee, Cover temporary peaks in demand Cost effective To protect the job security of core employees To cover for holidays and sickness absence Might not be effective for all industry expertise Depend upon contextualities of the situation HRM strategic planning and sustainable implementation for current market conditions prospect economy crisis:- Indicates in accomplishment plan Description Strategic planning Strategic personnel forecast Link employees scheduling with business strategy by establishing demand and supply circumstances by employment category Productivity controlling Launch a innovative efficiency metric such as worth additional per individual to administer productivity programs Work force adaptation Employees flexibility Exploit working-time implements like generation work accounts, vacation programs, and engagement with unions Employees reduction Amend employees size to the new economic environment with respect to job category forecasts Human resources Cost management Optimize workforce cost programs by converting cash inducements to noncash ones Persistent recruiting of key workforce Employ top applicants for assignment- decisive jobs HR and performance improvements Restructuring the HR organisations Measures all HR actions to certify superiority throughout bunching procedure optimization, and ascendancy process Performance management Support performance process to the new environment by discarding interim observations and implementing enduring philosophy Sustainable implementations Employee Engagement Focus on such values as honesty and trust and start an initiative to bring discipline and motivation into balance Leadership Competences Coach leaders to evolution from intensification to crisis with workshops, communication process, and support from top management Modify management Establish best-in-class support by illuminating accountabilities, enforcing transparency, and soliciting employee feedback Internal and external communication Organize a comprehensible communication strategy and methods that target decisive stakeholders Source: Rainer Strack , Pieter Haen et al. (March 2009) Creating people in advantage in times of crisis; how to address HR challenges in the recession. Boston consulting group; European association for people management For visionary companies who wants to develop state-of-the art nation development in the existing environment:- In todays impulsive environment, the HR department is frequently dragged in numerous directions. According to Rainer Strack), Pieter Haen et al. for illustration, specialist recruiters who usually focus on hiring may need to take on other HR tasks, such as managing the introduction of shortened working hours. Strategic personnel forecast: predict future scarcity to reorganize capabilities Performance management: shift from diminutive to extensive term approaches Employee engagement: attention on motivation and accountabilities Leadership competences: endow leaders for turbulent conditions Modify management: espouse a methodical, cascading approach Internal and external communication: talk the walk Strategic planning:- Strategic personnel forecast: predict future scarcity to reorganize capabilities Generally organisations do not fully comprehend how downsize will influence their demands for individuals and how layoffs will influence their prospect. Even if the economy prolongs to depreciate, the majority of companies will still features lack in precise jobs. To overcome from this Rainer Strack), Pieter Haen et al. suggests that companies have to evaluate their employees by generating job categories with comparable expertise requirements. While in dispensation these companies will capable to categorize probable scarcity in skills as well as pockets of competence where retraining opportunities exist. Once companies will recognize their requirements for job category, companies might discover smarter and longer term preference about their employees. productivity controlling: progress from input to output On the whole HR departments do a high-quality job of determining headcount, human resources costs and relative inputs. Work force adaptation:- Employee flexibility: generate reversible circumstances Companies expecting to recuperate from the current downsize should attempt to establishment headcounts method with built in flexibility; moderately than layoff employees particularly in those marketplace where employees diminution are expensive and time intense. Employees reduction: be suspicious to engrave in the accurate places Companies whose businesses are in extensive decline require, thinking the steps that are additional enduring, like laying-off full time employees. Companies have to identify the core employees who should be engaged. Human resources cost management: produce inventive reimbursement model Whereas companies may espouse a flexible or restructure strategy, the action might be in several ways like relating to wages, deferring bonuses etc. Persistent recruiting of key workforce: promote talent In this consumers marketplace, elegant corporations are discerning fortitude key employees from competitors or the marketplace. HR and performance improvements:- Restructuring the HR organisations: be lean HR department requires being highly effective and efficient in scenario of downturn, otherwise it will affect on trustworthiness while HR will endeavour to lead individuals proposal elsewhere in company. Performance management: shift from diminutive to extensive term approaches Presently Companies have a major chance to standardize their performance management and incentive methods to extensive term business objectives that might expand new significance, such as growth and sustainable business traditions Sustainable implementation:- Employee engagement: attention on motivation and accountabilities Employees are most essential and effective assets of company when they are motivated while working in well-organized system. In downsize, it is tough to achieve balance between motivation and well organized system due to unavailability of promotion and high wages. Leadership competences: endow leaders for turbulent conditions Leadership is motivating the corporation to modify its commencement of superlative performance. In time of crisis organizations are arranging training for their mangers to coach them how to lead in tough times. Modify management: espouse a methodical, cascading approach Companies requires clear agenda and sustained and meticulous program management. HRM needs to create schedules, metrics and clear accountabilities to mobilize the establishment. Internal and external communication: talk the walk In organisation working environment; one to one communication, an open door policy and active listening skills all are significant. Conclusion:- Though it is complicated for HR to recognize techniques and HR practice that promotes a environment of modernization in support of the organisation objectives. Present scenario of downturn has immense impact and creates challenges for all departments, production units and workforce within organisation. HRM top management is itself in crucial situation; they have to rethink about their previous strategies before recession and compare it to the present scenario of crisis, then need to implement in concern of present situation. There is enormous requirement of critically analysing the strategies and necessitate to structure the new strategies undertaking consideration of employees supply and demand, maintaining employee engagement, developing forefront for leaders to assist for survival in crisis for companies and employees in tough time and restructuring the organisation and HR as per obligation of businesses. Work force might respond to the complicated situation like downsize positive ly if their leaders are truthful, straight and compassionate about the complications and generate enthusiasm about the prospects. Recommendations for Managing Human Resource Management in downsize/recession in addition to foremost prospective:- In present scenario of global as well as domestic organisations, many of countries are coming out of recession, not fully because there are still uncertainties how stable the global market is however nobody has firm scenario when will the next recession occur, since still companies are trying to cope up with economy crisis in few aspects. According to Rainer Strack , Pieter Haen et al. (2009) the first casualty of a downturn is people; the employees, on whom the fortunes of a company rest. Companies do whatever they can to get costs under control, and they often act swiftly by cutting employee hours, imposing a hiring freeze, and taking other steps that affect their employees. In perspective of HRM; there are hazards for corporations that engrave their employees too swiftly. While individuals may emerge to be in immense contribute today, the demographic wave will soon twist. Whereas Rainer Strack , Pieter Haen et al. (2009) elaborate further their point by saying the talent pool is poised to shrink, as the baby boom generation retreats into retirement and as younger and similar generations enter their prime working years. Look for ways for cost effectiveness without laying off work force Reallocate employees wherever probable Keep on fostering and emergent employee talent/ capabilities All decisions must have taken under consideration of suspicious personnel planning Ensure that company pursue the legislative dismissal course of action to the correspondence if company necessitate doing redundancies. Let remaining employees know that they are valued, essential and essence of company. References:- Beer, M., Spector, B.,Lawerce, P.R., Mills, D. And Walton, R.E. (1984), p.16; Managing Human Assets, New York: Free Press Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. (2003), p.1; Strategy and Human Resources Management, Houndmills:Palgrave Macmillan Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2004), p.679; Oraganizational Behaviour, 5th edn. Harlow:FT/Prentice Hall Drucker, P. (1993), Post Capitalist Society, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Geroski, P. A. Gregg, P. (1997), p. 2-3; Coping with Recession: UK Company Performance in adversity, United Kingdom: Cambridge University press (eBook resource : available from internet URL: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=enlr=id=neo3ZneOXp8Coi=fndpg=PP16dq=business+coping+strategies+to+avoid+the+effects+of+recessionots=TEB2ESH_5asig=zaVSjowL5UBTTSpZa0FhWzeUp1w#v=onepageq=f=false Guest, D. (1987), Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Journal of management studies, 24, 5: 503-521 Hussey, D. (2002), p.5; Business Driven HRM, New York: Wiley Sons ltd. Jhonson, G. and Scholes, K. (1997), Exploring Corporate Strategy, London: Prentice Hall Quinn, J. (2010), Economic Recession, Depression, or Systematic Breakdown, E- Resource Article published on Mar, 4th 2010 available from internet URL: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17665.html Rainer, S. Haen, P. et al. (2009), Creating People Advantage in Time of Crisis: How to address HR challenges in the recession, Journal of Mangerial psychology, Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, E-Resource available from Emerald. Schraedar, M. and Hoover, D. (2010), vol.24, 2: p.11-13, Enhancing Organisational Recovery in Tough Times: a pragmatic perspective, Development and Learning in Organisations, Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, E-Resource available from Emerald; http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0810240203.pdf Storey, J. (1992), Developments in the Management of Human Resources: An Analytical Review, London: Blackwell Storey, J. (1995), p.5; Human Resources Management: A Critical Text, London: Routledge Walters, S. (2009), p.5-8; The Impact of the Economic Downturn on business and skills in England, Journal of Social Economics, Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, E-Resource available from Emerald. Watson, T. (2002), p.369; Organising and Managing Work, Harlow: FT/Prentice Hall

The Patriot Act Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Patriot Act. On September 11, 2001 Muslim terrorists instilled with a hatred of the west attacked the United States in a brutal fashion. Planes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center in New York. Over three thousand people were killed and the impregnable nation known as America was know scared and vulnerable. Almost immediately the legislature began drafting an act that would make the war on terror and the fight for homeland security a little easier to fight, this would come to be known as the Patriot Act â€Å"PATRIOT† is an acronym for â€Å"Uniting and Strengthening America by providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The Patriot Act allows the government and law enforcement agencies to have certain freedoms that have not been allowed since before the attacks. The most controversial part of the Act is that surveillance guidelines have been relaxed along with investigative guidelines, while no system of checks to safeguard civil liberties are provided (Podesta) Another problem that is somewhat alarming was the quickness and haste with which the act was introduced-less than a week after the attacks. President Bush signed the Act on October 26 with no House, Senate, or conference reports. (Podesta) The Act is an expansion of the Anti Terrorism Act of 2001 (ATA) which was also intended to strengthen America against terrorism. Both acts expand the ability of law enforcement and an intelligence agency, the only difference is that the ATA contained safeguards against violations of constitutional rights. One of the safeguards was known as the â€Å"sunset provision†, which stated that certain sections of the Act expired after a period of time if it was not renewed by congress. Due to the fear and pandemonium our country was suffering the implementation of the Patriot Act commenced without any sort of judicial oversight. This has caused people to be discontent with the violation of their constitutional civil liberties. In the months before September 11, 2001 many ideas and provisions that are found in the Act were already being proposed and debated, especially those relation to electronic surveillance. Podesta states that the topic of broadening electronic surveillance was criticized harshly but after the attacks people chose panic over their misgivings. This is why the act passed so quickly. Podesta warns that many of ... ... an inferno. â€Å"But its my toy† they would complain, and your duty as a parent would be to tell them that trying to hold on to that toy would result in a serious injury to themselves and people around them. Civil liberties will come back to America in the coming years but for now I want my security to be first priority. Works Cited Frieden, Terry. â€Å"Attorney general defends Patriot Act† CNN.Com Apr. 6, 2005 http://edition.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/05/patriot.act Hatch, Orrin G. "Judiciary Statement: 'America After 9/11: Freedom Preserved Or Freedom Lost?'" Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Nov. 18, 2003. http://hatch.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.View&PressRelease_id=215260 Masci, David. "Civil Liberties in Wartime." The CQ Researcher Online 11.43 (2001). 4 May 2005 http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2001121400. Document ID: cqresrre2001121400. Podesta, John. â€Å"The USA Patriot Act: The Good, the Bad and the Sunset†. Winter, 2002. http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/ The American Civil Liberties Union. "Civil Liberties after 9/11". 2004. http://www.garynull.com/Documents/ACLU/911_Report.htm

Environmental Analysis and Long-term objectives Essay

The organization selected for this paper to discuss the environmental analysis and long-term objectives is Dunkin Donuts. The main focus will be on the forces and trends operating in the environment which have a considerable effect on the running of the organization. The paper will first discuss these forces and trends in detail and then provide an insight to how these forces effect the organization and align themselves with the vision and values of the organization. The trends selected are: 1. Social responsibility 2. Environment 3. Fuel Social Responsibility One of the environmental trends is social responsibility which adds to the credibility of an organization. Social responsibility basically refers to the responsibility or the duties of an organization, government or even an individual towards the society in which it functions. Every organization has a responsibility to keep their actions and practices in the best interests of the people living in the society so that it does not endanger them in any way. Instead organizations should work to provide comfort and help to the society as a whole. This is a part of their corporate social responsibility. The company can also be involved in eradication of unethical practices and behavior taking place in the society so that the lives of the people could be made easier. For example, some companies take initiative in planting trees or constructing gardens in an area which serve a place for community people to come together and meet each other (Kotler and Lee, 2004). Social responsibility at Dunkin Donuts has actually helped the organization in a considerable manner. The restaurant holds a respectable position in the society due to its charity and community involvement programs. The company as well as their employees contributes for the community service organization in order to make the lives of the people better. Moreover, they are extremely committed to the environmental responsibility. The restaurant follows the environment regulations and promotes cleanliness. The restaurant itself is very clean and tidy with a proper system to discard the garbage. The company supports charitable programs and takes initiatives for supporting and participating in the welfare of the community people. They even sponsor educational programs in local community schools and provide funds for different events like Special Olympics, AYSO soccer teams etc. Recently Dunkin’ Donuts has entered into a relationship with a non-profit organization ‘Coffee Kids’ for supporting families in the coffee-producing regions of Mexico and Central America. On 22 May, 2008, the company went ‘green’ by initiating its first LEED (Leadership in energy and environmental design) restaurant which is a part of their corporate social responsibility commitment. This way the company hopes to improve the quality of life of the community people by making the area clean and green (Kotler and Lee, 2004). The trend operating in the environment must be aligned with the mission, vision and values of the organization for it to work in the best possible way. At Dunkin’ Donuts, there are seven core values and one of them is responsibility towards the environment and the community in which they are functioning. They are committed for improving the people’s quality of live. The first LEED being built up by the company is an effort towards promoting a healthy life for the people and improving their quality of life. The social responsibility practices of the company reinforce their mission, vision and values which are focused on making the ‘world a better place live and work’ (David, 2006). Environment The second force the paper talks about is the physical environment in which the organization is functioning. The trends in the environment have a much larger impact on the organization; here we are discussing the physical environment. Changes happen in the physical environment without any notice which might result in shock or disaster or even opportunities. Organizations need to have a contingency plan to deal with such contingencies resulting from the physical environment (Shaffer, 2000). In the physical environment outside the Dunkin’ Donuts Company and restaurant, variable changes can take place which can sometimes help the organization or hinder its processes at some other instances. The environment can provide opportunities as well as threats to the company. Since Dunkin’ Donuts has now essentially become a beverages company so it can specialize in different kinds of beverages and become a market leader. Moreover, the increasing number of suppliers in the industry can also result in new opportunities. Threat comes mainly from the substitutes and the new entrants. The company faces tough competition from Starbucks and their success becomes a threat for the company plus the industry doesn’t offers high barriers for the new entrants so more beverages company can be set up thus giving rise to the competition. Apart from this, the physical environment also includes the threat from natural disasters which can cause huge losses to the company so the company needs to have contingency plans for dealing with them. Thus, the physical environment can both help and hinder Dunkin’ Donuts depending on the situation (Reeve, 2002). The organization strives to accommodate any changes emerging in the physical environment in its strategy. The company was essentially based on donuts first but now it has developed into a beverages company. This was because it saw greater opportunities for itself in serving the beverages market. It saw the changing taste of people towards coffee and decided to establish a strategy based on a coffee company. Today Dunkin’ Donuts is known as the no. 1 retailer in hot and ice regular coffee. Thus, this shows the organization’s strategic adaptability towards the changing forces resulting in the environment (David, 2006). Rising Fuel Costs The burning issue facing the organizations today in their environment is the rising fuel prices. Companies have to face rising costs due to this shooting up in fuel prices which have almost doubled this year. As the costs are increasing so the companies have to raise the prices of their products and services which decreases their sales. This way many companies are facing problems due rising fuel costs which in turn decreases their average sales. Therefore, the third issue is of fuel which this paper will examine (Reeve, 2002). The rising cost of fuel is a trend in the environment which hinders the company by raising the costs of doing business and thus, decreasing the sales and profits. Since electricity is produced through fuel so increase in fuel costs also increases the electricity cost. At Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants, the food including the donuts and beverages is prepared to sophisticated machines which run on electricity. They have to pay higher for electricity which increases the cost of inputs and simultaneously, the cost of doing business. The company has raised the prices of its products worldwide recently but that has caused the sales to decrease and thus, it earns lower profits. This way fuel is actually a hindrance towards high profits for the company and simultaneously, its long-term objectives. Since rising fuel costs are hindering the company’s sales and profits, Dunkin’ Donuts is trying to find out ways of producing the products efficiently so that they involve low costs and the profits of the company could be increased. The company tries to specialize in certain beverages which can be produced with hands so that machine use could be limited thus, saving up the electricity. The company tried to adjust for these rising costs so that it can acquire an increasing number of customers to boost up its sales as well as profits (Shaffer, 2000). Conclusion The paper has discussed in detail the environmental analysis pertaining to social responsibility, environment and fuel. It first discussed what these forces actually mean and then identified their relevance with the organization and how organization adapts to these forces operating in the environment. Social responsibility at Dunkin’ Donuts is aimed at winning the hearts of the masses through charity and community involvement activities. The mission of the company is to improve the quality of life and this is effectively done through their social involvement programs. The company also takes immediate action to the changing environment which may involve rising incomes or changing tastes of the people and tries to accommodate the change in its strategy as it did from shifting to beverages industry from donuts industry. Finally, the company is also trying to cope up with the rising costs of fuel through cost efficient methods and increasing the prices since the income of a common man has also increased. All these forces or trends help or hinder the organization and its strategy in their own way. Thus, it can be said the Dunkin’ Donuts is a very capable organization who has effectively dealt with difficult times and has become the no. 1 retailer in coffee throughout United States (David, 2006). References David, F. R. (2006). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. , & Lee, N. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause . Wiley. Reeve, R. N. (2002). Introduction to Environmental Analysis. Wiley. Shaffer, J. (2000). The Leadership Solution. New York: McGraw-Hill