Proposed HR Program for CompuLearn Essay

CompuLearn is a private sector provider of IT-based teaching and learning programmes in business and management based in the UK, with corporate headquarters in Preston, Lancashire and with trading centers in Mumbai, Nairobia and Dubai. Its current global market is focused in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, with 200 education centers in 30 countries. CompuLearn partners with UK universities which validates its programs so that   students are able to qualify in the University programs leading to academic degrees. Its current manpower complement numbers 50 employees mostly based in the corporate office in Preston, Lancashire doing the following functions: Program Development, Customer Service, HR, Marketing, Finance, Sales, IT, Quality Assurance. CompuLearn has embarked on a mission to be market leader in e-learning delivery of University validated programs and foremost learning company in the world. It is on an expanded growth program and it adopted a new strategy to extend to 500 education centers in 60 countries over a span of 3 years. The role of HR is very critical in this new strategy, which is to attract top IT experts. It could be a relatively easy task if not for the following: 1. There is a high turn over in the IT industry in UK and new employees leave after only one month for a new job that offers better pay. 2. CompuLearn has a limited training system in place. Its strategy is to recruit highly trained staff instead of training them in house. The allocated budget for training is almost used up and was used to train the Sales team. 3. Employees have limited management skills as they are mostly technical staff whose training is not in the soft skills development. 4. The company does not have a Performance Appraisal System in place. 5. The staff at the corporate headquarters do not have a comfortable relationship with the staff of the UK universities largely due to complaints of attitude. 6. The HR Director’s strength is in micro-managing and does not have expertise in long-term management plans for the company employees. The Limitations and Constraints Faced by the Company The HR Department will play a very strategic role in supporting the growth of CompuLearn. Among other things, it needs to address the following limitations and constraints faced by the company, whether internally caused or faced by the industry in general: 1. The high turn over rate in the IT industry in UK 2. The lack of a professional or well-developed training and development program for employees 3. The employees’ limited skills in management, customer service and other soft skills 4. The lack of a well-placed Performance Appraisal System 5. The not-so-friendly attitude of the academic staff of the Universities towards the company employees at the corporate headquarters 6. The limited knowledge and skills of the HR Director in long-term planning for the management of the employees Recommendations The HR strategies recommended are based on the following assumptions: 1. Budget The company is working on a limited budget, which is just around 30% of the  annual budget of 25,000 Euros. 2. Lead Department The HR Department will take the lead in implementing the strategies. The HR Director shall formally appoint the section heads to serve as lead persons in implementing the strategies in their respective sections. The HR Director has the free hand in creating working committees to participate in the entire process from planning to implementation. The process will be participatory and with some amount of consultation from the employees. 3. Timetable The strategies are proposed for implementation on a focused basis within the first year (Year 1 – Month 1 to Month 12). Beginning Year 2 (Month 13) the focus of the activities will be on monitoring, evaluation, and implementation of improvements. 4. HR Management Perspective/Model Available literature identify different HR Management models that attempt to explain the various strategies adopted by different companies. General classifications fall under the â€Å"soft† and â€Å"hard† models, based on the definitions of employees considered as either â€Å"human† or â€Å"resource†. The hard versions consider employees as resource and adopt a rational approach to managing them, aligning their HR strategies with the strategies of the business. The soft version, on the other hand, considers employees as human and adopts strategies to train and develop them (Bratton and Gold, p. 5). The recommendations adopted in this case will be based more on the soft version of human resource management. Focus will be more on training and development as well as in developing commitment from employees. A limited form of the hard version will however allow the HR to link the strategies with the overall corporate strategy of the company. In analyzing the challenge faced by CompuLearn, a simplistic framework was designed around the following questions, based on the limitations/constraints faced by the company and to become the basis for the strategies: 1. On the high turn-over rate in the IT industry How can CompuLearn keep its employees from leaving the company after short- term engagement only? Or how can the company motivate its employees to stay longer? 2. On the lack of a professional training and development program Should the company train in-house or continue to hire experts from outside? 3. On the employees’ limited skills in management, customer service, and other soft skills. How can the employees learn the soft skills and apply them at work? 4. On the lack of a well-placed Performance Appraisal System Is there a need to formulate or adopt a Performance Appraisal System? 5. On the not-so-friendly attitude of the academic staff of the Universities towards the company employees at the corporate headquarters How can there be a more cordial relationship between the two parties? How can the company make the employees appreciate the importance of having good relations with the University staff? Can this be done through training or should the company replace those who transact with the University staff with other company employees, either through job rotation or job enrichment? 7. On the limited knowledge and skills of the HR Director in long-term planning for the management of the employees. Should the HR Director undertake refresher courses in management? Or should the company hire a new HR person who has the skills in long term planning to assist the HR Director? Below is a presentation of the proposed HR strategies and programs, in matrix form,   that can be implemented under the leadership of the HR Director. They are composed of both short term and long term strategies. The short-term strategies are those that can be immediately implemented, within the first six months from the time the recommendations will be adopted. The long term strategies are those that can be adopted over a longer period and on a continuing basis like the periodic reviews of policies and developing a system whereby improvements can take place every so often whenever warranted. It will be observed that most of the strategies will be newly introduced to the company and it can be expected that certain difficulties will be met. This will include among other things, resistance to the changes to be introduced, the difficulty of the HR Department to implement them for lack of the appropriate knowledge and skills, and with some â€Å"difficult† employees. This is all part of the process of the HR accepting the initial resistance  to the changes. The HR should be firm and consistent but at the same time adopting an attitude of openness and willingness to see through the improvements. Education and training are two important components of an empowered workforce. The saying that a company is only as good as its weakest employee is very much applicable here. Each employee is responsible for knowing about his company and performing according to the expectations set at the time of his engagement. However, it is the job of HR to find the employees who have the potential to learn more and continuously give them the opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills.

Interview questions for capital market & NSE Essay

What is capital Market? Capital market is a market of securities. Where a company and government raise long term funds. it is a market where money invested more them one year. In this we include the stock market and bond market Definition of ‘Debt’ An amount of money borrowed by one party from another. Many corporations/individuals use debt as a method for making large purchases that they could not afford under normal circumstances. A debt arrangement gives the borrowing party permission to borrow money under the condition that it is to be paid back at a later date, usually with interest. Definition of ‘Primary Market’ A market that issues new securities on an exchange. Companies, governments and other groups obtain financing through debt or equity based securities. Primary markets are facilitated by underwriting groups, which consist of investment banks that will set a beginning price range for a given security and then oversee its sale directly to investors Definition of ‘Secondary Market’ A market where investors purchase securities or assets from other investors, rather than from issuing companies themselves. The national exchanges – such as the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ are secondary markets. Secondary markets exist for other securities as well, such as when funds, investment banks, or entities such as Fannie Mae purchase mortgages from issuing lenders. In any secondary market trade, the cash proceeds go to an investor rather than to the underlying company/entity directly. What do you mean by Equity investment? Answer: An equity investment generally refers to the buying and holding of shares of stock on a stock market by individuals and firms in anticipation of income from dividends and capital gains, as the value of the stock rises. It may also refer to the acquisition of equity (ownership) participation in a private (unlisted) company or a startup company What do you mean by stock market or equity market? Answer: A stock market or equity market is a public entity (a loose network of economic transactions, not a physical facility or discrete entity) for the trading of company stock (shares) and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately. What do you mean by money market? Answer: The money market is a component of the financial markets for assets involved in short-term borrowing and lending with original maturities of one year or shorter time frames. What do you mean by stock exchange? Answer: A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. Securities traded on a stock exchange include shares issued by companies, unit trusts, derivatives, pooled investment products and bonds. What do you mean by Financial regulation? Answer: Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization What are the Aims of financial regulation? Answer: Aims of regulation The aims of financial regulators are usually: * To enforce applicable laws * To prevent cases of market manipulation, such as insider trading * To ensure competence of providers of financial services * To protect clients, and investigate complaints * To maintain confidence in the financial system * To reduce violations under laws List some financial regulatory authorities * Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) * National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) * Financial Services Authority (FSA), United Kingdom What do you mean by NSE? Answer: The National Stock Exchange was incorporated in 1992 by Industrial Development Bank of India, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, Industrial Finance Corporation of India, all Insurance Corporations, selected commercial banks and others. Trading at NSE can be classified under two broad categories: (a) Wholesale debt market and (b) Capital market. What are the advantages of NSE? (National Stock Exchange) NSE has several advantages over the traditional trading exchanges. They are as follows: * NSE brings an integrated stock market trading network across the nation. * Investors can trade at the same price from anywhere in the country since inter-market operations are streamlined coupled with the countrywide access to the securities. * Delays in communication, late payments and the malpractice’s prevailing in the traditional trading mechanism can be done away with greater operational efficiency and informational transparency in the stock market operations, with the support of total computerized network. Why India needs economic planning? One of the major objective of planning in India is to increase the rate of economic development, implying that increasing the rate of capital formation by raising the levels of income, saving and investment. However, increasing the rate of capital formation in India is beset with a number of difficulties. People are poverty ridden. Their capacity to save is extremely low due to low levels of income and high propensity to consume. Therefor, the rate of investment is low which leads to capital deficiency and low productivity. Low productivity means low income and the vicious circle continues. Thus, to break this vicious economic circle, planning is inevitable for India. What are general objectives of Indian Planning? The long-term general objectives of Indian Planning are as follows : * Increasing National Income * Reducing inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth * Elimination of poverty * Providing additional employment; and * Alleviating bottlenecks in the areas of : agricultural production, manufacturing capacity for producer’s goods and balance of payments. *

Fast Food and Healthy Food

Life today is not like how it was before. Along time ago, people ate foods that were field with balanced amount of nutrients value. Not with chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors which are known as Fast Foods. Long days of working and training effects our choices for food, a meal from nearest fast food restaurant becomes most appealing idea. Most of people who eat junk food more frequent don't know its bad effect on their body which can be prevented if they use more healthy alternatives . Although, we consume both of them as food, yet they are majorly different. Fast food remains extremely popular, despite their unhealthy impact to our body. However, there are many reasons to try to make healthier choices. Eating junk food as a primary method of nourishment will lead to diseases and illness because your body is being deprived from its needed nutrias. While, by eating healthy you are strengthening your body and giving it proper nutrients to defend it in a time of illness . While, Obesity, diabetic, Hypertension, cancer and other chronic diseases are highly related to fast food. It has more calories on average meal than healthy food do, leading to greater weight gain and illnesses. It is important to watch carefully what you eat, especially at fast food restaurant. Knowing the nutritional content is very important. Beware of the processed and fast foods that have long ingredient list you can hardly pronounce Junk foods are loaded with lots of sugar, salt and worst types of fat . Healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grain, lean meat and fish provides a balanced amount of nutrients . They are by definition nutrient-rich, with vitamins, Minerals and fiber that benefit your body. If you are trying your best to be healthy it is essential to find food that will treat your body well . Healthy food helps you focused and make you more productive. It provide not only energy source for your body , but also makes your body performs in its optimum . Because, junk foods are heavily full with fat they slow down your metabolism and make you lazy . it will leave you tired and do not supply your body with proper nutrient needed to function adequate . Thus, the next time you think about burger, pizza or chips just think about the harm they can do to your body over a period of time. Do not give in temptation instead eat fruits and vegetable, nourish your body with vitamins and fiber. Remember if you eat well you will feel and look well.

Ikea-ERP Management Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ikea-ERP Management Information Systems - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that IKEA leads in the world as a furniture retailer dealing with home appliances, ready-to-assemble furniture and accessories. The company has over 313 stores and operates in more than thirty-eight countries. IKEA launched a project aimed at introducing a Geographical Information System (GIS) into the wood sourcing system of the company in the year 2007. The problems that the GIS aimed to solve involved; availability of forest resource data on sub-country resource level, and region of origin in wood tracing. Using the GIS, the company could solve problems by getting the data, inputting into computers and storing them for reference and retrieval by the managers and other workers interested in using them. Implementation of the GIS by IKEA The company developed a forest tracing system for the regions of origin. According to IKEA, the region of origin referred to a unit of the territorial division of a country, which the company suppliers refere nced in the declarations of wood origin. The territory, in this case, was a forest management unit or had an administrative status. The company failed in the implementation of the system in that there was no clear definition of boundaries of the territories. In addition, the company’s forestry policy implementation failed due to lack of clear characteristics of the territorial divisions chosen. There was not enough information about the forest resources of the territories leading to failure in the implementation of the system. If the units were smaller than they are, data management would have been easy. However, as we have seen, the company used large areas and thus the territories were large. This made reporting from such units irrelevant and reduction in the credibility of doing so. In this case, the suppliers had problems in using the division structure to separate wood flows. Furthermore, there was a large variation in territorial sizes in both territorial division units and territorial divisions of a country. The forest resource, data availability at regional levels should be according to tree species groups or tree species. However, the company failed to implement the system according to this criterion. There was a lack of crucial statistical information such as growing stock and cuttings in some cases. For example, Romania had no reliable data giving the growing stock in the region. These problems, therefore, lead to generalizations. For instance, the data on three groups rather than on individual tree species leads to complete uncertainty and thus difficulties in using GIS successfully. The GIS functionality According to the IKEA Company, there could be three users of the GIS. These users include the forestry staff, suppliers and buyers. The forest staff was to use the technology in the following ways: 1. Entering, visualizing and editing the data of forest tracing system and that of wood procurement planning 2. Performing risk assessment at th e regional level defined for the purposes of audit planning 3. Obtaining summaries of the wood volume from wood procurement planning and forest tracing data 4. Exporting and saving tables, maps, wood procurement planning, and forest tracing data.

In the light of the modern case law on review on the grounds of error Essay

In the light of the modern case law on review on the grounds of error of law and error of fact, is it still possible to say that - Essay Example In light of modern case law on review on the grounds of error of law and error of fact, to say that judicial review is concerned with the legality and not the merits of a decision remains to be seen in how they determine such cases. A critical analysis reveals that error of law and error of facts are indeed only errors inasmuch as the rules of natural justice apply during decision-making. Even so, sometimes a decision maker may not adhere to legal requirement that makes it mandatory for them to comply with the statutory procedure such as wrongfully admitting evidence in the absence of evidence. There have been concerns and various interpretation as to what happens in such a failure, whether it is reviewable as an error of the law2. It is vital to note that failure has the probability of being an error of the law or just a ground for review. For any possible review, the admissibility for a review is only that the ground is an error of the law and an applicant fit into that ground or t here is a failure. On the grounds of consideration of certiorari, a prerogative writ overturns a defective decision. As such, it is usually up to a plaintiff seeking certiorari to show that a legal defect in making the decision in question is indeed an error of the law. Taking into consideration judicial authority, there are a number of cases that hold in their specific circumstances that a failure by a decision maker to comply with judicial requirement is an error of the law. For instance, it is an error of the law if a tribunal remitted a matter being determined to an office, which had been abolished as was in the case Commonwealth v Angel3. Besides, a failure to give reasons in beach of a statutory obligation is an error of the law as demonstrated in Dornan v Riodan4. Likewise, the same applies when a judge fails to give proper reasons for a decision in breach of the common obligation law to do so as was seen in the case Commissioner for Railways v Peter5. Error of facts on the o ther hand may be seen to have a close relationship with error of law. It appears then that there is always a need to engage in fresh analysis whenever there is a need to distinguish between law and facts, and consequently between error of .aw and error of fact. One should observe that the fundamental part to this analysis between error of fact and error of law is anchored on the fundamentals of the law, which are achieved through interpretation of the law, establishing facts, applying the law, and analysis of their compliance with legal procedure. In layman’s language, an error is committed when something is not done in the way it should be done. Therefore, it is determining of an error using law that creates an error of law. The relationship with error of facts errors of fact are always judicially admissible as errors of law. Even though, errors of fact have two claims. The first one is that wrong findings of material facts impede the very purpose of the law by preventing th e law from applying to material facts when it should. The law fails to apply to material facts in the sense that the real facts do not come before the law for consideration. On the other hand, the law may also fail by failing to apply wen it should indeed apply6. To understand better the error of facts, a

Report for Advance Software Engineering for Stage Two Essay

Report for Advance Software Engineering for Stage Two - Essay Example As discussed earlier in stage 1 reflection that all of us were working on pair level and it was not easy for us to conclude the best idea therefore we suffered a lot during project planning. Through mashwara, we felt better understanding because every one was only giving his opinion instead of dictating his strategy. Instead of working on the project in isolation we also experienced and enjoyed the pair programming strategy. It was really an amazing approach which reduced the development time errors quite significantly. The incremental approach also helped quite significantly as it enabled us to abstract the future details of the project and allowed us to focus on the issues at hand. Specifically speaking during the thread management and usage of patterns it was very much effective to keep concentrating on the local issues rather than thinking upon the 'unseen challenges of the later aspects of the project'. To me, planning the whole project and then breaking it down into modules cou ld be useful and beneficial approach for all experienced managers and for a team with a higher level of communication, support and trust within them. However, for groups like ours, I found it better to set some short terms goals, complete them and then proceed towards the later parts of the project. Indeed, I feel integration may be a problematic issue for very large projects but not of course for this project. From technical aspects, the most interesting parts of the project are thread management and usage of patterns. Understanding threads as a tool for concurrent programming within the application is an exciting experience. It took some time for me to get comfortable with thread programming because of its different nature as compared to other programming techniques. During the project it was not a big deal to apply threads; however, I think handling concurrency issues, race conditions and avoidance of deadlocks may wreak havoc in a heavily multithreaded application. To be honest, I still have to learn a true multi threaded environment and how to optimally use this powerful technique to improve the efficiency of the application. Improper usage of the threads may also cause unwanted delays and other vulnerabilities during the program. As compared to the agile programming approach I found 'Design Pattern' to be more complicated, interesting and powerful software design technique as a learner. A design pattern introduced by the gang of four is an incredible way to structure the application design for extensions, flexibility and more towards a generic design. INDIVIDUAL REPORT Threads Threads can be used for concurrent execution of the unit parts of the programs within the application execution environment. A program may be fragmented if no dependencies are found within each block and can be executed through threads concurrently. This concurrent execution speeds up the application and is very helpful for (some how) parallel processing tasks over a single process or. Fortunately, recent processors are significantly supporting the usage of threads and improving the program throughput quite noticeably. Furthermore the threads allow a programmer to accurately map the real world scenarios with the application as it was the case in our project too. There are several 'works' or 'processing’s' going on concurrently in the real world. Like, the

Society of Free Clinic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Society of Free Clinic - Essay Example Some governments happen to be reluctant in running these projects due to the high costs. They have long delicate processes which cannot be assumed and so the relevant authorities happen to postpone them. This explains the reason as to why many politicians rely on them for promises that would convince the public to vote for them. It is encouraging to experience a government that pays attention in fulfilling these promises. For a government to put up a free clinic to serve citizens in a specific area there is a procedure to follow that guides it in considering the necessary factors. Assessment must be done to the area to find out whether a free clinic will surely be of help to the inhabitants. It is in order to find out whether there could be presence of any other sector providing health services to the people. This helps to find out whether the inhabitants of the targeted area are really uninsured in terms medical facilities. The process also helps to evaluate the possibility of the community supporting the clinic. It is important to find out how well members will appreciate the project and join hands towards supporting it. Their support could be in terms of volunteering time, donations and even funds towards making the clinic run in the most effective way possible (Hall, 2011). These evaluations in terms of the public participation may also help to find out for how long the clinic is able to run and how effective it could be. In the process of putting up the clinic it is good to access additional support from nearby local hospitals. This helps in seeing to it that the delicate services that may require great skills will possibly be taken care of. Finally, the process must involve a research on the best location for the clinic, where it will be effective to those who need it (Starting a Free Clinic, n.d). These clinics have benefits to the members of the society.

Critical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Critical Analysis - Essay Example Healthcare expenditure of the United States constituted almost 17% of the GDP. Healthcare costs rise at a rate faster than the income of the nation. Healthcare costs are expected to rise in future. A control in the rise is the need of the hour as healthcare costs are negatively affecting the growth and economic stability of the nation. Even though health care systems of America are benefited from the investments in healthcare, the heavy increase in healthcare costs, increasing federal deficit and the general economic slowdown are negatively affecting them. Medicare, Medicaid and other health-insurance coverage sponsored by employers are extremely burdened with increasing healthcare costs. Family premiums available for healthcare coverage sponsored by employees also increased, putting trouble on workers as well as employers. Income of workers is growing at a fast rate when healthcare costs are increasing at a fast rate. Medicare and Medicaid and other government systems contribute a b ig chunk of healthcare expenses. However, compared to private insurance government programs are increasing at a slow rate. Enrolment in government programs have increased significantly because of economic recession. Expenditures of government programs have increased considerably these days. The high spending figures is putting government programs under great pressure. Affordable Care Act or The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act signed by US president in 2010 is considered as a highly beneficial healthcare reform (Mantel 221). It is a far-reaching and useful healthcare reform. It is expected to bring good result like what Medicare did. This Act makes the Health and Human Services (HHS) department to offer essential health benefits to people. These benefits should be dispensed through health plans, covering the plans that include in the health insurance markets. However, this process that extends

Emotional Intelligence as Applied to Sales Essay

Emotional Intelligence as Applied to Sales - Essay Example In the first example, I went with three friends to have breakfast at a local pancake house. While a waitress position is often thought of as a service, it is important to remember that part of her job is selling a return visit. Our waitress met us with a pleasant attitude and projected friendliness. She seemed to immediately pick up on the individual mood of the person she was addressing and adjust her responses accordingly. This was done verbally as well as non-verbally through the use of expression and body movement. I felt welcome, familiar, and comfortable. Her level of service was excellent and she seemed to have a sense of what was needed and when it was needed. She refilled the coffee in a timely fashion at various points in the meal and checked at the appropriate times to see if we needed anything else. She also inquired shortly after we began to eat whether everything was all right. The order was correct and the food was on the same high level as the waitress. By observing this waitress and evaluating her service it became clear that she had a high degree of EI. This trait enabled her to anticipate our needs and follow the three golden rules of sales. She could adjust her communication to make you feel familiar. This was accomplished through slight verbal variations and facial expressions that felt warm and non-threatening. In addition, she had fulfilled her responsibility to the restaurant by selling a return visit and creating a repeat customer. The Tire Salesmen I had accompanied a friend of mine to a Wal-Mart store to get new tires installed on his car. Before we left the house, we gathered all the information we needed regarding the tire size and style that he wanted to purchase. At the store, there were two employees behind the counter that were simply standing there while we looked over the inventory. My friend had decided to get a tire one size larger than the tires that were on the car, which had come with minimum tires as a cost saving measure. We inquired about the location of the tires and the employee motioned in the area and said 'all the tires are over there'. He offered no assistance in explaining the various prices, styles, and applications for the tires. We finally located the tires we were looking for at an acceptable price. However, when we brought the car inside he said he couldn't sell them because Wal-Mart has a store policy of only selling and mounting the manufacturer's original size. They showed little if any compassion or emotions about our dilemma. His attitude was one of neglect and uncaring. His level of emotional intelligence was very low, and he was subsequently forced to violate the golden rules of selling. While we understood that he was following store policy, he didn't seem to care about the trouble we had gone through. The Carpet Installer I recently helped an acquaintance of mine move some furniture when she was having some new carpet installed in her home. She was having the whole house carpeted and it required shuffling furniture around as the installers worked. The installer had the foresight to make a visit to the home prior to installation to advise my friend on the sequence of rooms and where the furniture could be moved to as he progressed. This simple step was extremely helpful and

Cultural and Teamwork Map and Self Reflection Essay Example for Free

Cultural and Teamwork Map and Self Reflection Essay 1. Introduction and Purpose Sharing of knowledge across the border is becoming very widespread phenomenon. Companies are well aware that hidden in their disperes, global operations is a treasure trove of ideas and capabilities for innovation(Wilson Doz, 2012). Therefore, working with multicultural groups is getting more and more common very rapidly since last decade. However, in global teams, team memebers have different feed back techniques, different uniqueness levels and different communication patterns. People belonging to different cultures have difference in values, geography, ethencity,belief system and lauguage. These difference can lead to cuture clash . In this paper I am writing about where I find myself in a cultural and team work map and my reflections about my placement thereon. I have judged myself with reference to my placement in high and low context  cultures, cultural paradigm , my preffered and performed roles in my team keeping in mind Belbin‘s team roles and my position in Johari window. Purpose of this assignmnet is to judge where I find myself right now in a cutural map in context of team work and to bring improvement in myself if I am away from the normal scale .The actual purpose of this assignment is to save me from cultural clash by giving a chance to get self-awareness and to make us conscious about behaving accordingly for future interactions. Just like these two rivers in the below mentioned picture are merging, people from different cultures should merge the same way. These two rivers have different native base but after merger nobody can find any clash between them. 2. Self-assessment Below mentioned is my self assessment and reflections thereon. 2.1 First impression My first impression on my team members was that I am trust worthy. When asked, they answered that they made this impression from my body laungauage and my tone of voice. I believe that my such impression was made because of my uniqueness levels i.e. personality culture and human natur. After practicaly working with them my group as well as me have assessed that I focused on working collectively as i believe collectivism is the key to group success. 2.2 Assessment with reference to Communication Patterns On the cultural map I find my self as the person who works better in the middle of high and low context. l worked more better after every next team meeting because in meetings we discussed our desired outcome by spoken words and I shared all my ideas and problems with my team. Secondly, I was not fully relying on what was shared among us through emails. But I cannot say that I am just a high conext person because, contrary to high context couumincation patterns, I wanted detailed information about the assignment and I used direct speech during the whole correspondance .It helped me to exchange ideas quickly . Looking further into communication pattern ,I find myself as a person who is more task oriented than people oreinted.I prefer to do work first.Relations are aligned after task completion. In gropu, I only talked about assignment till the work is finished. After submition of assignemnt I discussed my personal things and hobbies with them. My time orientation is ploy cronic. I was working on the assignment as well as I was seeing the others part also. More over, I was comparing my work with the wok done by other groups in the class. I kept on updating the absent team mebers about activities (relevent to assignment) conducted in class through a social network simultaneously. Hence I can say that my communication pattren is neither high context nor low context.Its somewhere in the middle of both. 2.3 Assessment regarding Placement in Belbin’s team roles My preferred team role is team worker. The reason of saying so is that I remain mild and gentle. I like to work in depth but I am not willing to work in pressure and tried to avoid working under stressful situations. I played the role of team worker in practical. We revised the work plans many times  initialy and I accepted that without much resistance which indicates that I am easy to be influenced. I remained mild and friendly. I worked on that part of assignment which required extensive out of the box research and long working hours. My second preference is the role of resource investigator. I always look to find smart opportunites or methods to get work done effectively, efficiently and economically. I performed the role of resource investigator in passive manner in the group. I was enthusiastic in suggesting my fellow colleagues which part of assignment should be done by whom. I also shared few articles with them.I guided one memeber about how he can do his part more accuratly. However I was little over optimistic because we spent alot more hours on assignment then i initially predicted. My third preference was to perform the role of Shaper because I am having tendencies to fit things into frame and strives to get the action start immediately. However I could not execute this role in my group as the assignment work was very dynamic and it was being revised too quickly. Secondly, one of my fellow colleagues was performing this role better than me. My third performed role was of finisher. I proof read the document many times, found the errors and gave ideas to team members to revise few workings. I was not willing to rely on other team members for final proof reading and I was worried for the acuracy of assignment. I focused to create a balance in three roles that I performed in group and tried to avoid overlapping. However team worker was the frequently performed role. 2.4 Johari Window The Johari Window, named after its inventors, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, is a model that provides a dynamic framework for understanding and improving self-awareness. Helping one to become more self-reflective, to learn about oneself, and to become more therapeutic is an exercise in self-awareness(South, 2007). In the context of Johari window, my arena (open area), has increased and I became aware of blind spots. Eventually my hidden areas are disclosed. During the group work, I experienced that my open arena has been gradually broadened and my blind spot has been subsequently decreased after every next working step. 3. Conclusion The combination of roles i.e. two from people oriented frame (resource investigator and team worker) and one from task oriented frame (shaper)  shows that I am not on any of extreme on cutural map. On the culture paradigm, I find myself on the middle, niether too weak nor too strong. I can infer that I am flexible, observant and non-judgmental. l Communicated respect and sake knowledge and understanding. I am in the last stage of confrontation and entring into adjustment phase. I am passing through W-model quickly because of level of education and support from family and network i.e. swede friends.In Johari’s window, my arena has broaden which indicates that I am more self aware after completion of group assignment. Bibliography Wilson, K. Doz, Y.L. (2012). 10 Rules for Managing Global Innovation. Harvard business review, 85 (10), 84-90. South, B. (2007). Combining mandala and the Johari Window: An exercise in self-awareness. Teaching Learning in Nursing,2 (1), 8.

HR Challenges In Companies International Expansion

HR Challenges In Companies International Expansion Nowadays with the companies increase pace to expand internationally, seeking new markets and chances, HR managers face different problems and challenges in human resources department. Knowing that it is more difficult to manage employees abroad, than if employees were in the home base. The growth of companies internationally determines new assignment and tasks and there is a need to successfully manage this for the benefit of both the firm and the individuals. This research study observes the change from domestic to international HR management, which examines issues of culture, contracts, agreements, recruitment process, and remuneration in companys expansion to other countries. All the same, the paper discusses suggestions for HR managers, which involve cultural research, and the functions of selection, training, performance management and remuneration. In this new era of globalisation, international human resource management is becoming a vital concept for human resource managers to be able to practice human resources functions, starting to mention, recruitment selection, performance appraisal, compensation benefits, training development and finally employees relations. This is important for human resource managers in multinational corporations and also in domestic based human resource managers who import employees from overseas. To stay updated with the changing world, human resource managers will have to have an international vision of how to manage their individuals successfully both at home and abroad. Managing international human resources allows companies to participate more effectively in the market place, and is a developing tool for its employees. Part 1: Introduction Human Resources Definition These last decades, humanity is witnessing the growth of globalization. Nowadays Human resources is no longer a traditional personnel, and administration, however Human resources role is more strategic that deals with strategic aspect, to make sure that employees contribute effectively and works in parallel with the company direction to achieve the firms goals and objectives. In other words, Human Resources is no longer only involved in paperwork, paying the employees their salaries and providing them with the benefits; yet it plays one of the organizations important role that is through hiring, training developing and most importantly retaining employees for the benefits of both parties. (McNamara, 1999) Gilley define human resources as The people employed by an organization (Gilley, Eggland, Gilley, 2002, p. 5). They define human resource management as the recruitment, selection, retention, development, and utilization of and accommodation to human resources by organizations (Gilley, et al., p. 9). Human Resources refer as well to the policies, systems and employment practices that are common to most firms, which are used first to attract talented people by recruiting and selection, secondly retaining talented people by salary, benefits and employees relations, and finally developing the people by training, development and performance appraisal. Thus, human resources is considered as an organization function, that focus on recruitment, providing career path for the people who work in the firm, and deals with personnel issues such as hiring, compensation benefits, performance appraisal, safety, employees motivation and finally training development. Knowing that Human Resources are no longer a business partner, but a strategic partner more related to the firm strategic goals. I will focus on the challenges that HR managers face while international expansion. How HR manager role differs around the world, and the need of the HR professions to be more familiar with culture awareness, language barriers, social differences and diversity promotion. (Halcrow A, 1998). Nearly every company say it People are our most important assets Human Resources importance and Need in International Companies The Human Resources department is important in all multinational and international companies. Recruiting and selecting is one function completed by HR, and their main responsibility is hiring and retaining companys most important asset that is our PEOPLE. Failure to do so, and lack of strong, motivated and satisfied employees, working in the right place in a firm will leads to hiring the wrong people, high turnover, employees will not do their best in their jobs and having some candidates demotivated. Thus, without good employees, the best business plan and ideas will be unsuccessful. Moreover Human resources take care of all the employees concerns, make sure to solve employees issues immediately and to play the fair judge between the employee and the organization, for both sides advantage. Nevertheless, Human resources guarantee smooth functioning of the operation, good and safe working conditions and ensure that all staff is performing their jobs efficiently and toward the organization goals and objectives. Accordingly, Human Resources Manager evaluates all the employees, reward, takes disciplinary actions or dismissal. Another important role under the human resources umbrella is training and development, and creating career path for all employees, to retain and develop the existing employees, and attract new talented people, in this way the HR will improve the organization reputation and commitment from staff, thus become an employer of choice and reduce turnover. Why Human Resources are important and needed for international expansion? In this world of globalization, and companys expansion to other countries, Human resources are important to be able to adopt new cultures, and take care of all legal requirements as per the new country rules and regulations, as well as managing payroll, and other presented benefits. These new skills create a new role for HR managers, requiring them to be strategic business partner.(Bharti Venkatesh). What could be the HR Challenges in companies International Expansion? Part 2: Analysis of the Organization Through the research study, I am discussing out the HR challenges that companies face while international expansion, and the study that companies have to accomplish from an HR perspective before opening in new markets. I am also investigating on the importance of HR functions in companys international expansion. For this aim to see how HR functions operates in the real life I took the example of Wooden Bakery expansion to KSA. Thanks to my manager, and due to my personal experience in Wooden Bakery human resources department, I had the chance to know in details the challenges the HR department face, while international expansion. Additionally I read lot of articles, books and blogs that I will mention in the end of my research. I will start by a small presentation of Wooden Bakery and then i will go deeper into the challenges of international expansion to KSA. 2.1- Wooden Bakery History Wooden Bakery was founded in Jal El Dib Lebanon in 1969 by Mr. Edward Bou Habib. It was a simple Bakery providing the market with freshly baked quality Bread. In the last decade Wooden Bakery literally revolutionized the bakery industry in Lebanon by setting new standards and upgrading its products and services. Edwards two sons Assaad and Ghassan Bou Habib planned and designed the new concept on paper in 1996. With immense vision and an innovative spirit, Wooden Bakery developed a unique concept gathering Bread (of all kinds), Pastries, Sweets, Sandwiches, Salads and Deli. The first Wooden Bakery Outlet opened at Zalka highway in October 1999. Wooden Bakery launched the first franchised operation in 2002 and expanded to 26 franchised outlets in Lebanon by the end of the year 2012. Wooden Bakery opened the first Master Franchise Operation in Saudi Arabia in July 2009, and currently negotiating the scale of the Master Franchise with a number of companies from the GCC countries. (www.woodenbakery.com) The Concept of Wooden Bakery Factory Wooden Bakery system revolves around a state of the art industrial baking facility. It includes the latest and most advanced machinery and equipment in the baking industry. Human Resources department make sure to hires top Master Bakers, Pastry Chefs, and highly qualified Managers and Quality Controllers to assure the freshest and most consistent products for our markets. The Wooden Bakery factory produces from 100 to 150 tons of flours per day depending on the market need and factory size. Wooden Bakery is the leading supplier of high quality Freshly Baked Arabic Bread in the Lebanese market. The Concept of Wooden Bakery Outlet Wooden Bakery Outlets are designed to service all classes of people in any market around the globe. All Wooden Bakery Outlets are located on Main Road Arteries in Strategic Areas, and considered as a One-Stop-Shop where one can buy Fresh Hot French and Arabic Bread, French, Arabic and American Sweets. The Wooden Bakery Outlets offers all mentioned products at Competitive Prices and offer a warm ambiance through its Unique Design, Clean Safe Environment and Excellent Service for its customers. 2.2- Mission and Vision Mission Statement: Our mission is to push our presence and create a brand in the Bakery Industry by Offering MORE and Delivering BETTER Vision Statement Our vision is to dominate the market by building stores on all main road arteries and major cities and towns in Lebanon and beyond, Our products would be available at ALL grocery stores, supermarkets, catering companies and therefore in every single home in Lebanon. 2.3- Local and Multinational Expansion Wooden Bakery first Outlet opened at Zalka highway in October 1999. The first Wooden Bakery franchised operation launched in 2002 and expanded to 26 franchised outlets in Lebanon by the end of the year 2012. Baabda-Hazmie Mansourieh Bauchrieh Elyssar Awkar Zouk Mikael Zouk Mosbeh Jounieh Jbeil Kfarhbab Amioun Tripoli Zahleh Zalka Jal El Dib Fanar Dekwaneh Chtaura Roumieh Burj Hamoud Sour Zgharta (Soon) Achrafieh (Soon) Chiah (Soon) Naccach (Soon) Bayada(Soon) Wooden Bakery opened the first Master Franchise Operation in Saudi Arabia in July 2009, and currently negotiating the sale of the Master Franchise with a number of companies from the GCC countries. Wooden Bakery KSA Wooden Bakery plan was centred on the key concept that customer satisfaction all over the world is the main goal. It has established and developed its first Master Franchise in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on July 2009. Its successful set up can be measured by how our products and services that we supply meet however surpass the Saudi customers expectations. The Bread Factory Outlet was built on a 10,000 m2 space to house all the production equipment that will supply Bread and Pastry products and Central Kitchen Food Production to a number of outlets along with the wholesale distribution of Wooden Bakery Products. The Store is spread over two levels that house a main showroom with an eating area and a restaurant. Wooden Bakery has received the award for the Fastest Growing Lebanese Company at the prestigious Social Economic Award 2011, instituted by the global communications agency First Protocol to recognize outstanding achievements by organizations in the social and economic sphere. Today, the name of Wooden Bakery not only spells trust and quality, however, it has become a marked proof that a brand can be born, even in the Lebanese bakery industry. Wooden Bakerys expansion in the Lebanese territory has facilitated the achievement of the owners mission, proving that Wooden Bakery is worthy of the award that comes as a natural translation of its ever-expanding drive to Offer More and Deliver Better. 2.4- Wooden Bakery SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Serves all classes of people Big Variety of products (produced and non-produced by WB items) One Stop Shop Mushrooming Franchise (outlets are located on main roads in strategic areas) All outlets have the same image Product differentiation in the PRESTO section sandwiches. Ex. Rustic Bread Customers loyalty Quality (Shelf life limited) Freshness products (core value) Diversity of products (Arabic, French Pastries Viennoiserie charcuterie Arabic Bread) Rank among the top 25 companies in Lebanon Hold high level of market share in Leb. Balance menu (variety, quality, and price) Quality Control Management during process, on final product and in outlets Franchise Support Weaknesses Outlets are rented premises which leads to increase the operating expenses Franchise operated outlets might not have same level of loyalty as the outlets owned by Wooden Bakery Increase in raw materials and labour costs Not every franchised store owner get involved in the PL statement No direct authority High start-up cost Delivery Service Advertising plan to increase sales through brand awareness Family Business Opportunities Market trend turning bakeries into a wider shopping outlets Healthy eating trend Opening new and international markets New inventions for competition Threats Increase in Labour costs put pressure on button line margins Increase in raw materials costs put pressure on gross profit margins Quality of service focus with the presence of competitors in the market Many competitors (bakerys, supermarkets, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Recommended Strategies to decrease the weaknesses and threats Part 3: Methodology and Results 3.1- Describing Human Resources at Wooden Bakery At Wooden Bakery, the human resources department used to work the traditional personnel management tasks, generating payroll and registering employees in NSSF. With the new era of globalisation, Wooden Bakery had to create a new concept and expand more to be able to compete with the market, with this new idea that exceeds only serving the market with bread, Wooden Bakery needed people to make the concept a reality. With more than 500 employees, the company needed a human resources department implanting all human resources functions to be able to succeed with the plan and become more a strategic partner. The Main human resources achievement was shifting from personnel management to human resources management, implementing all human resources functions, and be more involved in Wooden Bakery strategic plan. Human Resources department today mainly concentrates on recruitment, management, and providing directions and guidance for the people who work in Wooden Bakery, and off course hiring the right people in the right places. Human Resources department deals with employees concerns such as compensation, hiring, performance appraisal, employee motivation, safety, benefits, employees relations, and training development. Knowing that no one can evaluate employees better than the direct managers with the help of the HR department, The HR department main goal was to promote a positive atmosphere to be able to expand internationally with an encouraging environment. However, Wooden Bakery HR department make sure that all the employees are effectively contributing to the overall company direction and to accomplish the organization goals and objectives. The administration roles usually played by the Human Resources department are becoming increasingly aligned with the company strategic plan, which in turn is evolving the HR into becoming: Human Resources Management. 3.2- HR Functions in Wooden Bakery 3.2.1- Recruitment and Selection The ability of Wooden Bakery to achieve its objectives of profitable and sustainable growth and high-quality product and service standards depends on the quality of its Human Capital. The recruiting function, which directly affects the quality of Wooden Bakerys human resources, will represent a critical function in the companys development. It is therefore important that a clear recruiting mechanism is established in order to optimize applicant selection, while supporting Wooden Bakerys strategic orientation and values. Proper and professional recruiting is necessary in order to avoid undesirable effects, including: Negative publicity or damage to the companys image Wasted time and effort to interview applicants who do not meet Wooden Bakerys needs Cost incurred in training recruits who should not have passed the recruiting interviews High turnover rates The hiring process in Wooden Bakery includes Recruiting, Processing, Eliminating, Selecting, Rejecting, File Building, Placing, and Orienting. The recruiting process is divided into three phases: Pre-recruiting, Recruiting, and Post-Recruiting. It involves: Posting a job advertisement in appropriate places Evaluating the information provided on each application Screening candidates to determine which ones to interview Verifying references and information Conducting personal interviews Deciding who will be offered the job Orienting the new employee about the organization 3.2.2- Performance appraisal Wooden Bakery faced a problem in its environment, having a negative atmosphere among its employees, almost a good number of its employees have the impact that they are not fairly treated, and based to my research employees have to be motivated to be able to give the best to their job. Wooden Bakery had to promote a positive environment to be able to expand internationally with employees with high morals. Accordingly, Wooden Bakery created a new assessment concept for evaluating employees, 365 Evaluation, that is created to monitor and evaluate the productivity of Wooden Bakery administration and management staff throughout the year. The concept covers three different aspects and tackles employees productivity by looking at: Missions accomplished (Monthly Evaluation) Key performance indicators (KPI) (Quarterly Evaluation) Yearly competency evaluation The purpose of the 365 Evaluation is to: Monitor the productivity of Wooden Bakery administration and management staff throughout the year. Compensate and reward exceptional achievements, and where applicable take disciplinary actions against under-achievers. The benefits to be gained from conducting performance appraisals include: Recognizing accomplishments and reflecting the results through monetary terms (Salary increase, Promotion, Bonus, etc.) Identifying newly acquired competencies Preparing employee development plans Planning improvement where deficiencies are found Goal-setting Communication between supervisors and employees Monthly Evaluation Mission Based Mission based evaluation is a tracking system that records and rates the mission undertaken by Wooden Bakery administration and management staff on Monthly Basis. Title Subtitle Illustration 1-Mission Details Title Missions name Date Duration Date of registering the idea and expected mission duration Owner The employee who created the idea and who is the custodian for its implementation Department Self-explanatory Mission Scope Objectives Scopeis the sum total of all products, services and outcomes needed to make sure that the mission is successfully done. Objectivesare the benefits, outcomes, or performance improvements that are expected to be accomplished by the mission. Authority Structure List of personnel involved and needed for the completion of the mission and the designed authority distribution 2-Mission Program Task Breakdown Breakdown of tasks and assigning a start and a duration for each task Start Duration 3-Mission Kick-off Registration Owner Signature The mission owner has to register the mission with the HR department after it has been noted by the direct supervisor and approved by the concerned VP Direct Supervisor VP (Concerned) Human Resources Manager 4-Mission Evaluation Score for Innovative At the completion of the mission, the owner has to get the formal evaluation of the concerned VP. 3 criteria will be used to evaluate the mission (Innovative, Importance, Impact) Score for Importance Score for Impact 5- Approvals 3 parties and the checking of the Internal Audit department Once rated by the concerned VP, the mission score is registered by the HR in the Mission Tracking System. The internal Audit team is entitled to monitor the proper implementation of the system. Quarterly Evaluation (Productivity Based) The Quarterly Evaluation is a system that measures the productivity of Wooden Bakery administration and management staff by looking at five (5) aspects: Attendance Mission Accomplishment Policy and Procedure Development (creation and implementation of new procedure) Introduction of Improving Ideas (Cost saving ideas Process improving ideas) Productivity Measurement (Vary from one department to another each department will be evaluated by using five indicators) Yearly Evaluation (Competency Based) The Yearly Evaluation is a systematic way of measuring, reviewing and analysing employee performance on a yearly basis and using the information gathered to plan for the employees future with Wooden Bakery. The feedback is used to judge employee effectiveness as well as provide necessary Training and development to improve the employees contributions to the Wooden Bakerys goals. The purpose of the Yearly Evaluation at Wooden Bakery is for the manager or the direct supervisor and the concerned employee to have an open discussion about performance expectations and actual performance. The employees actual level of performance is compared to the estimated level of performance using standards that were developed by the supervisor. This expected level of performance is to be derived from competencies needed to perform the job in the highest level of professionalism. The comparison of actual performance with expectations and standards serves as a basis for recognizing accomplishments and planning for improvement where insufficiencies are found. Performance appraisals may also be utilized in a progressive disciplinary process to resolve continuing poor performance. 3.2.3- Training and development Wooden Bakery encourage growth and career development of its employees by coaching, and helping them to achieve their personal goals, through providing adequate training, encouragement of staff development, and chances for growth. Wooden Bakery training methods include: Orientation training, Orientation training is the process Wooden Bakery use for welcoming a new employee into Wooden Bakery family. New employee orientation, often organized by a meeting with the Human Resources department, that generally contains information about the new job description, the work environment, company culture, company history, the organization chart, tour of department, introduction to colleagues, Wooden Bakery rules and regulations, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ On-the-job-training, on the job training is used in both our branches and factory to teach new employees how to perform job duties. Sometimes training sessions take place in the headquarters and some other times on site. For example, customer service, food safety and hygiene, menu implementation. Conferences and Seminars, Wooden Bakery works on developing its employees skills by sending them to international conferences, Seminars and Workshops. Some of the trainings attended by Wooden Bakery administration employees: RD Technician and RD Manager were sent in 2010 to Las Vegas to attend Baking Industry Trade Fair Production Manager and RD Manager were sent in 2012 to Bulguim to attend Professional training session held by PURATOS Quality Controller Supervisor and RD Supervisor were sent in 2012 to Paris to attend training with Chopin Technologies Maintenance Manager was sent in 2012 to Vienna to attend a conference in ROSENDAHL Company. 3.2.4- Compensation and benefits The term compensation in Wooden Bakery refers to the wages used to reward employees. As for benefits, Wooden Bakery offers paid vacations to its employees. Wooden Bakery wishes to maintain a sense of fairness and equity within the pay structure Grading System. For each position at Wooden Bakery the following will be defined: The Minimum, the Middle, and the Maximum fixed salary range The minimum and maximum of each fixed salary range is selected in line with market realities, and based on external salary surveys of comparable organizations. The parameters used to determine the weight of each job and thus giving an accurate grade based on numerical study: Know How Technical Knowledge Management Extent Human Relations Highest Education Level Problem Solving Reasoning Decision Making Communication Influence on Others Accountability Freedom to Act Magnitude of Action Impact of Decisions Working Conditions Long Working Hours Working during Holidays Extensive Traveling Hazardous Environment and Critical Encounters The grading system at Wooden Bakery offers a clear career path for employees who show potentials to advance within the company hierarchy. Moving horizontally within the same grade is governed by different factors including: Seniority (1.5 years spent in each level) Performance Appraisal Recommendations Acquiring Additional Skills (Experience and Education) Top Management Discression Moving vertically is governed by different factors including: Performance Appraisal Recommendations Acquiring Additional Skills (Experience and Education) Availability of the vacancy 3.2.5- Employees Relations Wooden Bakery promotes a positive atmosphere, and encourages positive relations between employees, to be able to reach the organization goals and objectives. Employees Relations is concerned to prevent and resolve problems involved by employees which arise out of or might affect Wooden Bakery work atmosphere. Wooden Bakery employees relation involves the relation between the employees with each other or their relation with their supervisors. Wooden Bakery concerned supervisors provide advises on how to correct poor performance and employee misconduct. The Company Disciplinary Action is to help and encourage employees to improve, achieve and maintain standards of conduct, attendance and job performance. It also enables management to deal effectively with those employees who do not comply with Wooden Bakery standards of conduct, attendance and performance in the workplace. Employee relations are designed in a manner which is non-discriminatory and which is Fair consistent and effective. It must also be applied in a timely manner and without undue delay. 3.3- What are the differences between Local HR functions and Global HR functions? The below mentioned HR functions will be the same for the HR management operating locally and globally; Recruiting and staffing Training and development Compensation and benefits Employees relations Performance appraisal But when the company operates globally it has to take into consideration additional aspects. (Jayant R Row, 2010) Globalizing the HR functions: After taking into consideration all the above HR functions and the additional global aspects, the HR department have to make sure that the HR policies fit with the new organization country, the HR department have to modify the policies to fit local requirements. 3.4- Human Resources Planning for Global expansion Global expansion is a growth strategy for the future. It is at the heart of Wooden Bakerys development strategy. The owners are constantly striving to raise market share through expansion primarily in the Middle east and subsequently worldwide, in order to win over increasing numbers of customers. Wooden Bakery began seeking out growth and expansion, looking to reach out into new markets through Master Franchising and/or Partnership/Joint Venture. Wooden Bakery planned to expand worldwide after going through a number of challenges and risks that need to be taken into consideration along with is the Human Resources. The human recourse factor refers to the hiring of employees in the foreign markets, and the challenges and risks that come with doing so. Wooden Bakery will always take into consideration the foreign country laws, rules and regulations, which might be far different from our country of origin and which may seem difficult to manage with. One of the differences is the employees contracts in other foreign countries, which define the parameters of an employees job benefits, including vacation time, working hours, salaries, compensation, severance pay, etc. The differences stated earlier will mandate that the total packages offered abroad are tangibly higher than those offered within the Lebanese region. Thus, the existence of all the above variances means that any organization looking to expand internationally will need to do unlimited researches in regards to the foreign markets, since it might affect its operation. Implementing a global business strategy requires having the right people in the right places; it requires specialized leadership skills-managing the work of people with different backgrounds and customs. 3.5- How to prepare from an HR perspective, for international expansion When a company seeks new opportunities and decide to target new markets, and ex

Analysing strategic business decisions in us cereal industry

Analysing strategic business decisions in us cereal industry The purpose of this essay is to use game theory and barriers to entry to analyse strategic business decisions in the US ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry. An industry analysis was done using different published journals. An overview of the oligopoly industry was also done for a broader understanding of the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry. Bertrand competition was used as the oligopoly model adopted by the industry. Game theory was used to analyse the strategy firms in the industry will adopt and a discussion on barriers to entry as it applies to the industry was done. Introduction This essay will discuss the US ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry. An overview of oligopoly, discussions on Game theory, Nash equilibrium, Bertrand Price Competition and Barriers to Entry will be used to analyse the industry and the strategic business decisions as they relate to the industry Analysis of the Ready-to-eat Breakfast Cereals Industry Connor (1999) described the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry as a capital intensive industry requiring huge capital investments in production plants. To a large extent, this has contributed to Barriers to Entry in the industry. This industry market structure though having quite a few number of suppliers, is dominated by four major companies which are Kellogg Company, General Mills, Quaker Oats and Kraft. According to Nevo (2000) these companies have consistently continued to post high profits in comparison with the other food industries. A key characteristic feature of this industry is product differentiation. Brand specific knowhow is apparently present since established firms are sometimes unable to duplicate each others brand. The existence of this however, does not prevent them from producing, promoting and distributing successful new brands. Existing brands differ in such potentially relevant dimensions as sweetness, protein content, shape, grain base, vitamin content, fibre content and crunchiness (Schmalnesee, 1978) Connor (1999) has argued that competition in this industry does not involve the use of price war and therefore not a competitive strategy. Different researches conducted on the industry have shown that there is a level of collusion amongst the top firms though not openly done. This assumption was made popular by a case of anticompetitive complaint by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against the top three manufacturers Kellogg, general Mills Post in the 1970s (Aviv Nevo, 2000) Because of the absence of price wars in the industry, the use of other non-price strategies to gain competitive advantage are employed by firms in this industry. The consistency of zero price wars over the years, however was broken when in the late nineties, a price reduction by Kraft led the other big three Kellogg Company, General Mills and Quaker oats to respond by also reducing their prices as suggested by ( Nevo, 2000). This pricing strategy by Kraft significantly affected the overall industry price forci ng its competitors to reduce their prices as well. Innovation through the launch of new products and aggressive media advertising are strategies employed by firms in the ready-to-eat cereals industry to compete for market share. This is a major factor contributing to the consistent high profits in the industry. The result of Connors (1999) research revealed that the rivalry in the breakfast cereals industry tends towards the choreographed grunts of televised wrestling than a cutthroat dual to the death and that the ultimate weapon, steep price cuts, is rarely unsheathed. According to Connor (1999), media advertising and new product introductions are intimately related. New product introductions are one of the principal mechanisms for effecting rapid price increases in the breakfast cereals industry. His research revealed that all the new cereals introduced by the big four companies between 1981 and 1987 in the first year of sales, were priced 12% above the companys existing brands average prices. Connor (1999) in his research further showed that the extraordinary attachment of consumers to branded cereals (or at least to the boxes they come in) has made entry by private-label products extremely difficult. This high degree of brand loyalty in the industry has significantly posed a threat to any firm considering entry into the industry. Invariably, the more a firms brand is recognised, the higher the sale of a newly introduced cereal will be. The cereal industry has oligopolistic tendencies and characteristics and will be classified as one. An overview on oligopoly below highlights the characteristic nature of oligopoly. Overview of Oligopoly Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) defined oligopoly as the theory of imperfect competition among the few. The industry is characterised by a few firms selling differentiated products. Because there are only few firms, each firm realises that its competitor may respond to any move it makes and takes that into account because each firms decision affects the other firms in the industry. Earl and Wakeley (2005) described firms in the Imperfect competition as having differentiated products which are close substitutes. These differentiated products are supported heavily by advertising. Advertising tends to persuade consumers to patronise a particular brand over other brands of the other competitors. Advertising is used as a crucial weapon to create brand loyalty in the industry as consumers are assumed to be highly mobile. The existence of strong brand loyalty makes entry difficult because consumers are likely to have strong preferences for the already existing brands. This implies that the behaviour of oligopolists are strategic with each firm taking explicit account of the impact of their decisions on competitors and the expected reactions from them (Lipsey + Chrystal, 1999, page 176). Besanko et al (2004) also defined oligopoly as a market in which the actions of individual firms materially affect the industry price level. The strategic behaviour of oligopolists is attributed to the highly competitive nature of the industry. For these firms to make strategic decisions that can give them comparative advantage, they make use of oligopoly models and game theory (Besanko et al, 2004). Game Theory and Bertrand Price Competition Besanko et al (2004) defined Game theory as the branch of Economics that deals with the analysis of optimal decision making when all decision makers are presumed to be rational and each is attempting to anticipate the actions and reactions of its competitors (Besanko et al, 2004, page 36) Game theory is a strategic business decision making tool in areas such as pricing and capacity expansion. Bertrand Price competition Model Besanko et al (2004) has described Bertrand competition as a model of competition in which each firm selects a price to maximize its profit given the price that it anticipates its competitor will select. Each firm views its competitors price as fixed and believes that its own pricing practices will not affect the pricing of the competitor. In an oligopolistic industry with differentiated products, price competition is usually mild. When products are differentiated, a firm will not lose all of its business to competitors that embark on a price cut. This is majorly attributed to competition being based on a variety of product parameters such as its quality, availability and advertising. The US ready-to-eat- breakfast cereal industry like all oligopolistic industries is highly competitive. The strategy of each firm will be to maximize profits and outputs given its rivals strategy. To use game theory to analyse what choice is best for a firm at any given point, two companies will be used; Kellogg Company and General Mills as they are one of the top four and are each others competitors. Game theory and Nash equilibrium will be used to analyse the best strategy for profit maximization given that each firm sets a price for its cereals. A Nash Equilibrium is the strategy combination where each player is doing its best given the strategies of its competitor. An assumption is made that each firm sets a price that maximises its profit and that a price cut by either of them to achieve a larger market share will impact their profits given the strong influence of brand loyalty. The consequences of each firms actions are described in the game matrix below; In the game above, the strategy (Co-operate, Co-operate) is both a Nash equilibrium and a dominant strategy because each firm maximises profit at this point. It is a Nash equilibrium because with the pay-off of ($120, $120) no firm will unilaterally want to deviate knowing that it will achieve a lower pay-off by doing so. Furthermore, co-operate strategy is a dominant strategy because no matter what the other firm chooses, to co-operate will always yield a higher pay-off. Barriers to Entry According to Earl and Wakeley (2005), barriers to entry exist when potential competitors find there are obstacles which hinder their proposed entry into an otherwise attractive industry. Typical barriers to entry include: incumbents owning all sources of essential raw materials; incumbents patents; economies of scale providing incumbents with a cost advantage; and incumbents past expenditure on advertising (which gives them a higher profile in the minds of buyers relative to newcomers). The important point to note about barriers to entry is that they protect all of the industrys incumbent firms from the threat posed by competition from outside of the industry As fierce as rivalries are and as highly competitive as the oligopolistic industry may be in nature, Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) stated that there are determining factors that make a few large firms dominate in the industry. According to Lipsey + Chrystal (1999), some of these factors are natural or structural, and some are firm-created or strategic. These same factors are deterrents to firms seeking entry into an oligopolistic industry. The natural/structural barriers as it applies to the cereal industry include economies of scale, cost of introduction of new brands and economies of scope, and marketing advantages of incumbency, while firm-created/strategic barriers include capacity expansion. Natural/Structural Barriers Economies of Scale According to Besanko et al (2004) production process for a specific product exhibits economies of scale over a range of output when the average cost drops over that range. Economies of scale exist when the unit cost of production declines as the quantity of output increases. When production becomes standardised and highly specialised, the concept of division of labour must be applied. Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) described division of labour as occurring when the production of a product is broken up into hundreds of simple, repetitive tasks. They further stated that the division of labour is, as Adam Smith observed long ago, dependent on the size of the market. If only a few units of products can be sold each day, there is no point in dividing its production into a number of specialised tasks. Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) further stated that larger firms have advantage in industries that have potentials for economies based on the division of labour because the larger the scale of production, the lower their average costs of production. Economies of scale also lead to minimum efficient scale. According to Besanko et al (2004) and Earl and Wakeley (2005) minimum efficient scale is the smallest level of output at which economies of scale cannot be sustained further. Minimum efficient scale can only be achieved in the long run. Based on this, it will be difficult for a firm considering entry to achieve MES because of the costly nature. The cereal industry is capital intensive and is dominated by a large few with the long years of existence. As a strategy to deter entry, the incumbent firms may decide to increase the quantity of output to further drive down their costs and achieve a higher rate of economies of scale. Because economies of scale are present in the industry, the incumbents average cost of production will be lower than that of a new entrant who will have difficulties trying to attain MES which can only be achievable in the long-run. Doing so will entail acquiri ng excess capacity and increasing production output which will both be costly and unprofitable as brand loyalty is extremely high in this industry. Costs of Introducing A New Product and Economies of Scope The cereal industry is categorised by the introduction of new brands. It will be difficult for a firm attempting entry to recover such costs in a short period of time bearing in mind that it will need to break even before making profits. Economies of scope are associated with lower cost scales derived from having multiple production lines within a plant. According to Besanko et al (2004) The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry provides a good example. For several decades, the industry has been dominated by a few firms including Kellogg, General Mills, General Foods and Quaker Oats, and there has been virtually no new entry since World War II. There are economies of scope in producing and marketing cereals. Besank0 et al (2004) further explained that for an entry to be successful in the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry, the newcomer will need to introduce 6 to 12 successful brands. This requires heavy capital and makes entry a risky proposition. The introduction of new brands is associated with a high cost of advertising. An incumbent firm in the cereal industry can consistently employ the use of introduction of new cereals to deter further entry by new firms. It will not be as expensive for the incumbent firm to advertise its new cereal product as it will be for a new entrant because of the high brand loyalty in the industry and the economies of scope cost advantages. C) Marketing advantages of incumbency Umbrella branding has been described as a situation whereby a firm sells different products under the same brand name (Besanko et al, 2004). According to Besanko et al (2004), an incumbent firm can exploit the umbrella effect to offset uncertainty about the quality of a new product that is been introduced. The umbrella effect may also help the existing firm negotiate the vertical chain. Retailers are more likely to devote scarce warehousing and shelf spaces to the firms new products more than it would for a new entrant. Likewise, suppliers and distributors may be more willing to transact businesses with the incumbent firms more than the new entrant in the areas of credit sales and relationship-specific investments (Besanko et al, 2004). Incumbent firms in the cereals industry can use umbrella branding as a strategy to deter new entry or force new entrants out of the industry. Umbrella branding also has an effect on consumers. The possibility of a newly introduced brands been widely a ccepted by consumers is higher for firms enjoying umbrella branding than for new entrants. Umbrella branding has the ability to reduce uncertainties associated with the introduction of a new cereal brand. Furthermore, the development of close relationships by an incumbent firm with its vertical chain is another strategy for barriers to entry. Firm-Created/Strategic Barriers Capacity Expansion The incumbent firm may decide to embark on capacity expansion. A new entrant will find it difficult to match up its plant size with the plant size of existing firms and may incur losses at entry. With the expansion of capacity and increased sales, the incumbent will continue to enjoy economies of scale thereby forcing new entrants who are unable to achieve such low unit cost of production out of the industry as their average cost of production may consistently be higher than the market price of the cereal brands and the price. Conclusion The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry is an oligopolistic industry requiring the firms to employ non-pricing strategies to maximize profits and sustain competitive advantage. Because the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry has natural barriers to entry, firms in this industry do not need to do much in the area of strategic barrier to entry to prevent of or force new entrants out of the market. However, the constant introduction of new cereals is crucial to earning higher profits.

The Americas to 1500 Essay -- essays papers

THE AMERICAS TO 1500 I. Methodology in the History This period, which deals with the world the Indians knew before the arrival of European explorers, poses difficulties flowing mostly from the lack of the usual evidentiary foundation for doing history: written documents (for example, letters, speeches, treaties, constitutions, laws, books, newspapers, magazines, almanacs). This lack need not be a major obstacle to historical study, however. Indeed, one of the most important things we can accomplish in teaching this period is devising ways to give students a sense of the spectrum of methods that historians use to investigate and understand the past. We can give students a sense of the breadth and depth of the historian's task and the remarkable array of tools and techniques available to the historian to find out about the past. In seeking to understand the first human beings who settled North and South America either 15,000 or 40,000 years ago (the dates are a matter of vigorous historical dispute), historians use some or all of the following: archaeology (digs for artifacts, examinations of burial sites, close study of ancient constructions such as the cliff dwellings of the western United States, or the mounds left by the mound-builder peoples of the southeastern United States); comparative religion and folklore -- the study of creation myths, legends, and folktales told by Indian peoples; medicine -- tracing such biological factors as human bloodtypes to show how different peoples (the Aztec, the Comanche, the Seminole, the Kwakiutl) may well share a common ancestry, or studying the differing responses of Indian and European peoples to diseases to illustrate how contact between the cultures occasionally proved fatal to the indigenous culture; geology, climatology, and ecology -- to reconstruct the land as the Indians found it, to identify the ways they lived off the land and in harmony with it, and to provide a basis for comparison between Indian and European understandings of the relationship between human beings and t he natural world; linguistics -- to trace the origins and development of Indian languages and the genealogy of Indian language families; anthropology -- to identify shared cultural elements and cultural distinctions between Indian peoples; and even "conventional" techniques of history -- e.g., close interpretation of such histo... ..., and that technological insights such as the wheel are not inevitable.) Indian economies were shaped by their geography, climate, and ecology. As noted above, some Indian peoples were primarily hunters and grazers, while others were primarily agricultural, and still others possessed complex, sophisticated, and successful mixed economies that rivaled European economic systems. One last point: Again, all these areas remain controversial in the extreme, implicating as they do such disputes as whether Indian peoples are "primitive" and whether the concept of "primitive" is useful or even appropriate in analyzing a different people's culture and way of life. Further, as we see in essay II, a complicating factor in the study of the Americas before the arrival of European explorers and settlers is the idea -- widely circulated and discussed during the 500the anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the "New World" -- that the Europeans dispossessed the rightful inhabitants of these continents, and that all later American civilization and history, however notable and estimable its achievements and ideals, is based on a colossal series of acts of expropriation, fraud , and genocide.

The Effective Use of Imagery in Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea Ess

The Effective Use of Imagery in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea has engendered some lively debate in literary circles. Critics have concentrated on everything in the novella from the verity of Rigel's early evening appearance over Cuban skies in September (Weeks 192) to William Faulkner's judgment that Hemingway discovered God while writing The Old Man and the Sea (Bradford 158-62). Yet the most insightful commentary has gravitated invariably toward biblical, natural, and classical imagery in the novel. These images turn an otherwise simple fishing tale into a sublime narrative of human endurance. A reading that examines these images will serve to clarify the hidden significance in Hemingway's novel. Biblical imagery literally abounds in The Old Man and the Sea. The name "Santiago" itself is a biblical allusion. Donald Heiney informs us that "Santiago is simply the Spanish form of Saint James, and James like Peter was a fisherman-apostle in the New Testament. Santiago de Compostela is the patron saint of Spain and is also greatly revered by Cuban Catholics" (86). Sam Baskett enhances this image by indicating that Saint James "was martyred 'with the sword' by Herod" (278). In the novel, we see Santiago entrenched in battle with a swordfish, and, if we are to believe Baskett, he eventually dies after the struggle (269). In a sense, Santiago, like James, is martyred "with the sword." Santiago's battle with the fish produces myriad biblical images, and while the most obvious are Santiago-as-Christ, others exist as well. Arvin Wells, for example, provides a Santiago-as-Cain analogy: "Repeatedly, [Santiago] addresses the fish as 'brother'. . . Yet, at the same ti... ...y, Donald W. Barron's Simplified Approach to Ernest Hemingway. Woodbury: Barron's Educational Series, 1965. Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: MacMillan, 1952. Jobes, Katharine, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Old Man and the Sea. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Moseley, Edwin M. Pseudonyms of Christ in the Modern Novel: Motifs and Methods. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1962. Rosenfield, Claire. "New world, Old Myths." Jobes 41-55. Sylvester, Bickford. "Hemingway's Extended Vision: The Old Man and the Sea." Jobes 81-96. Weeks, Robert P. "Fakery in The Old Man and the Sea." College English 24 (1962): 188-92. Wells, Arvin R. "A Ritual of Transfiguration: The Old Man and the Sea." Jobes 56-63. Young, Philip. "The Old Man and the Sea: Vision/Revision." Jobes 18-26.

Company Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War

Writing Assignment : Company Aytch History 101/ Company Aytch is a book that depicts the idealistic memory of a young confederate of the Civil War named Sam Watkins. Some historians articulate towards Watkins having insufficiency of precise facts and sometimes alteration or exaggeration on certain issues. Watkins & Inge, Introduction) However, it is important to appreciate that Sam Watkins was a survivor that has revealed his recollection of the battles as he has experienced them, and although some may believe his memory has some deficiencies he has a real life testimony that cannot be too farfetched from the reality of the life of a soldier during the Civil War. Sam Watkins was born on the 26th day of June on his father’s farm in Columbia Tennessee where he worked during his youth.There is not much told about other work experiences other than Sam working as a clerk in a local store until he enlisted with Company H of the First Tennessee Infantry in the year of 1861. Sam was o nly 21 years old, a young confederate, and at this time many signs of war were uprising between the North and the South. (Watkins & Inge, Introduction). His entry is the beginning of the memoirs told by Sam Watkins, an ordinary soldier, not of any high rank, which indeed gives the reader another perspective of the reality of the battles faced during the Civil War.Furthermore, it broadens the view of the emotional triumph a frontline soldier and what they went through rather than focusing on the higher ranking officers. Watkins tells in great detail his experiences and writes of his historical remembrances years later, but he never hides the fact that he is writing solely on his memory and what he saw. In addition to him repeatedly reminding the reader that he writes of his recollections only, he also reminds the reader that what he writes is true.Furthermore, he encourages the reader to refer to history for other historical facts. Later in the report I will tell of an occurrence tha t gives the reader an idea of what Sam Watkins’ soul is all about and directs one to believe in his testimony of truths. Sam Watkins shares with people so many different experiences during the war that it is hard to write what may have affected him the most. He writes of many things that he has been through like starving, suffering through harsh weathers, the triumphs and losses of each attle; he watched death occur repeatedly, he tells how he could feel the angel of death upon them, he talks of good friends, and speaks of his true love back home, he tells about fears he has, and also the pride of serving. In all of his writings it is hard to believe he can recall so much in great detail and it is understandable for one to question exaggeration or the precise details. For example, Watkins quoted poems, songs, and some speeches.None of these were hard to believe because if his recollection was not exactly word for word it was probably pretty close to the point. This goes for h is details during the battles as well. All in all his character speaks of loyalty to his troops, to his people, to his love and to God regardless of the circumstance. It is apparent that Watkins is affected by the deaths of several friends and leaders in every battle. He makes sure to speak of the men that lost their lives in very high regards.He gives not only the great leaders honor, but he includes the ordinary soldiers with no rank, an extraordinary honor in his book. Also, in giving them the respect by reiterating that these men were good and died for their people and they are now in heaven, Watkins gives explicit detail of how the men were injured and to the extreme they suffered. In doing this he makes the reader value what each man went through and makes their honor that much greater despite the reasons for the Civil War.It appears that he tries to recollect at his best, the names of all he could, but explains that he does not write of the names he is unsure of, in order to keep correctness and credit to the places it was due, as he would not want to discredit any man. One particular incident that seemed to have struck Watkins with much emotion and must have had a huge impact on his soul was the hanging of two spies. Watkins explains he goes to the hanging to see to Yankee spies get hung; soon he realizes the spies were not Yankee men, but very young boys around the ages of 14 and 16.He states this â€Å"I was appalled; I was horrified; nay, more I was sick at heart† (Watkins, p. 74). This clearly makes him sick and reading about the two kids being hung, envisioning this incident is heart breaking. Could anyone imagine being there and watching this happen first hand and not having the means to do anything to stop it? This occasion that Watkins writes about depicts the impact that it had on him plus it shows the severity and harshness of the war.The incident that tells so much about the morality of Sam Watkins is the story of the hog. After Sam a nd a few other men from his infantry ate with a poor lady, the other men killed and stole her hog while Sam was inside talking with her. Sam appears to help with this incident during the escape back across the river, but he truly was not okay with this. This horrible theft weighed on Sam Watkins’ conscience. He could not even eat the hog as he felt guilty for what had happened.Sam then makes a special trip back to see the poor widowed woman so that he could repay her for what they had done. Although, the woman did not accept his offer at first, he insisted on making the situation right (Watkins & Inge, p. 108-110). This is the incident that really shows what kind of things impacted Sam Watkins. It was not only the life and death of the battles of the Civil War he cared and spoke about, but he had values and cared for others. This particular incident opened the readers view to see the honesty and sincerity of Sam Watkins’ soul.Finally the surrender of the Army of the So uth happened and Watkins was free of the physical Battles of War, free to be with his true love. Yet even the surrender saddens him to a degree and has an impact on him as he encompasses all of what took place during these four years of the Civil War from beginning to the end in which he eventually wrote about in the book that was read, Company Aytch (Watkins & Inge, p, 213-214). Reference Watkins, Sam R and Inge, Thomas M. (November 1, 1999) Company Aytch: Or a Side Show of the Big Show. Retrieved November 2012.