Learning Experiences with Linear and Systemic Questioning Essay

In this paper I will have a detailed interview process laid out in order of focus. First, I am focusing my interview on the background of my partner and what motivates her to go to school and further her education. Secondly, I will ask her why she chose to specialize in her field of work and what are side hobbies or enjoyments that she does besides working towards her career goal. Lastly, I will be asking about her family and their views on education. I will be asking both linear and systemic questions to get my answers. I have looked up the meaning of linear and systemic questioning and their differences before writing out the questions I am using for Michele. I feel like this assignment has helped me to understand and recognize the difference in the questions being asked and which ones will give me a more detailed answer. Learning Experience with Linear and Systemic Questioning I am doing an interview process with Michele Renner to learn more about her as a student, professional, and person. I know that this assignment is a stepping stone to learning all I need to know to be a MFT. The interview process will teach me how to reply and question in a professional matter and how to talk with a complete stranger without there being any uneasiness. I believe that this interview essay is relevant to my education needed for MFT work. I think it is a great way to quickly get to know a part of my fellow classmate’s life and see the inside without having met her yet. Michele has a very busy life, I know this much from reading her introduction in class. She has six children and that isn’t the only thing keeping her on her toes. I admire the fact that she is continuing her education despite all that is going on in her life; it shows that her motivation is strong. Michele not only has a strong motivation for continuing her education but a very inspirational story. Question Development Michele chose education to be the main focus of our interview process with me as her interviewer. I have lined up eight linear questions and seven systemic questions all around the topic of education and how it affects her family and time with extracurricular activities. My questions are listed in Appendix A. Since Michele only chose education I was able to format my questions in a way to gain more insight on her everyday life by asking how education affects her, her kids, her spouse, and her work. All the questions are relevant to my case and were not over personal or intruding. She was a great person to talk to and I could imagine myself laughing with her over coffee or in an actual counseling set up. Linear Questions I developed my linear questions based on the information she may be willing to share. I am asking some closed questions that only require a short answer and some open questions that will follow with the systemic questions I have lined up next. The open ended questions will give Michele a chance to go into further detail with the question and her answers. Linear questions are questions that are problem explanation and definition questions, they usually begin with Who, What, Where, When, and Why? They are investigative questions that lead up to gaining some insight to the person you are talking to but they don’t give a full explanation. The limitations of linear questions are that they are narrow, short-term questions and don’t get to the heart of the problem. Short-term, linear approaches have several inherent limitations. First, they are based on a problem-solving model that is more associated with American corporate thinking than with client suffering and therapeutic healing. Typically, the model includes the following sequence: (a) identify the problem, (b) consider various interventions to solve the problem, (c) choose the best interventions, (d) apply the interventions, (e) assess progress periodically, and (f) modify the interventions as needed. This clear-cut, linear approach appeals to executives, administrators, and others in positions of authority and has proven itself effective as an approach to solving problems in corporate and other settings. It is no accident that the trend toward streamlined, linear approaches in clinical work coincided with the rise of managed care and its corporate mentality (Ackley, 1997; Miller, 1996c). Linear questions don’t help the client without the involvement of also another form of questions. Using linear questions alone are ineffective to getting the desired results from the client, which can leave the client and the counselor both feeling misunderstood and upset. Systemic Questions I developed my systemic questions based on what my linear questions were about. I wanted to make sure some of the questions were the same type of question as my linear question but worded in a circular way that would get me more detailed answers and more depth behind her answers. Systemic questions are both circular and reflexive. They are behavioral effect questions, difference questions, hypothetical future questions, and observer perspective questions. The reflexive questions are intended to indirectly influence the family and are predominantly facilitative. The circular questions are more exploratory as the counselor tries to discover the way everything is connected together. Because the distinction between lineal and circular may be regarded as complementary, and not just as either/or, these assumptions and their associations may overlap and enrich one another. Most therapists have internalized these concepts to varying degrees and probably operate with both sets of ideas, but in differing ways, with differing consistency, and at different times. Although these assumptions and presuppositions tend to exert their effects covertly and non-consciously, they still have a significant effect on the nature of the questions asked. Hence, this second dimension adds considerable depth to an understanding of differences among the questions asked. If the therapist assumes that influence only occurs indirectly, through a perturbation of preexisting circular processes in or among family members, the influencing questions are considered â€Å"reflexive questions. † (Tomm, 1988, p. 3). If the therapist has established a Batesonian cybernetic orientation toward mental process, and has developed skills in maintaining a conceptual posture of circular ypothesizing, these questions will come easily and freely. Two general types of circular questions, â€Å"difference questions† and â€Å"contextual questions,† have been associated with Bateson’s fundamental patterns of symmetry and complementarities. The Interview When I called Michele I was immediately at ease with her as a person. She was very upbeat and forthcoming with her information. After asking her how she was I jumped right into the questions. I explained to her which questions I was doing first and how many there were for each linear and systemic questionings. She had no problems going into elaborate detail about her life and why she is doing what she is doing today, she talked as fast as I could type her answers! Since I did not have a recorder I did have to ask her to repeat herself if I did not finish typing the answers that she was giving me but she was very nice about it and as soon as we concluded our interview I made sure to immediately formulate the answers into more coherent sentences while it was all fresh in my mind. Interview Themes  The themes and content that came out of this interview with Michele are few. One theme or content that was revealed to me was that her inspiration for education came from her mother who did not complete high school. The content that came out from the systemic questions would be how supportive her family is even though it is a financial strain on them. The linear questions brought out her main reasons for wanting her education and the systemic questions went into more depth of what the education means for her and her family as a whole. Theme one. The first theme would be her mention of her mother and losing her father when she was young. She brought up her mother quite a bit in our interview and I could tell that her mother was a great factor in her decision to keep going to school no matter how long it took her to succeed. She is very proud of her mother for the way she was, raising children alone with no degree and no financial backups. Michele doesn’t want her kids to ever have to worry about wanting or needing things and she wants to get her degree to be able to enjoy what she loves doing most. Theme two. The second theme is that of finances. She did bring up the fact that she has been in school for a very long time because she is only taking one class per quarter so that she can pay for it and still have time to do her work, school, and family life in a balance that is easier on her. She teaches her children that it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, it is important to have dreams and goals and make them come true. The future of her children won’t be as hard on them as it was on Michele growing up. Interviewer Role Stance. As an observer for the linear questions I realized that the questions were straight to the point without asking for more detailed information from Michele and it was pretty basic. I felt that I was getting to know Michele through my linear questions but I was able to understand more through the systemic questioning. My systemic questions were open-ended questions that helped our conversation go into further detail because Michele felt that the questions opened up for her to go into more of her life story. Relationship with the interviewee. I started each set of questions by letting Michele know what type of questions I was asking. She was very forthcoming and she said that some of the questions I asked her were really good because she hadn’t thought about it in the way that I asked it. She is a very nice person, easy to talk to and get along with. We talked about how we both found Capella, the weather changes, and the state we live in. The systemic approach definitely went into further detail but I feel like I gained a lot of insight from the linear questions as well. Multicultural/diversity issues. Michele and I did not talk about cultural backgrounds as she only wanted to talk about her educational background. I feel now, that I could have incorporated some cultural questions into the topic of education. We did talk about her family and how they are very supportive of her career and educational goals and we never stepped on a touchy subject that made her hesitate to answer me. Curiosity. I am naturally a very curious person about other people and how they think and what they do and why they do it. So it was no problem for me to ask more questions on top of the ones I have listed. I knew by intuition which topics not to go into further detail with her about since I don’t know her that well and it was irrelevant to her education. One thing I wanted to know was more about her dad. I did however; ask her about her grandparents influence and more about her mother. My curiosity helped me to see in greater detail the aspects of her relationship with each member of her family. Assessment of Interviewer. I really liked the questions that I asked, and I was polite and made jokes so that we were on easy footing. I do think back on the interview and wish I had asked different questions because some of them seemed to be repetitive even though she answered them each in a different way. For example, What made you change your path to this specific one? Was a question I asked after asking why she chose being an MFT. She had answered in the previous question the answer to both questions which turned out to be one and the same. I had chosen that question because in my experience most people at one time had wanted to be something else first and then changed their mind later in life.

Corporate Strategy Analysis Discussion Summary Essay

â€Å"Corporate strategy identifies the set of businesses, markets, or industries in which the organization competes and the distribution of resources among those businesses† (Bateman & Snell, 2011). There are four basic alternatives for corporate strategy. These strategies include concentration, vertical integration, concentric diversification and conglomerate diversification. Every company has their type of corporate strategy that they follow to include Coca-Cola, Xerox, Southwest Airlines, and VF. In 2004 Coca-Colas CEO Neville Isdell agrees to come out of retirement and becomes cokes new chief executive. Coca-Cola’s worse drop in sales at 24% resulted in the return of Neville Isdell (Foust, 2014). With the return of Neville, Coca-Cola agreed to use a corporate strategy of their own (vertical integration) when they bought Glaceau’s vitamin water. Coca-Cola also came out with their coffee cola (Coke Blak) and their green tea (Envigo). The decision to purchase vitamin water was vital to the increase of Coca-Cola’s sales and bring them back into competition with PepsiCo. Coca-Cola is using an aggressive strategy to expand globally with their carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. To this day Coca-Cola is still expanding with their products such as Fuze and Gold Peak tea. Anne Mulcahy began the transformation of Xerox by following a concentrated strategy by focusing on a single industry. She pursed concentrated strategy by first reducing Xerox nearly $18 billion in debt. She accomplished this by cutting billions of dollars through slashing of jobs and selling off divisions. Anne Mulcahy then evaluated alternatives by pouring resources into a consulting division; this made the company more accessible for potential clients and customers. She developed a new business strategic plan, although a risky choice helped the organization seize new opportunities or thwart challenges. She also closed the desk top printers division and moved away from expensive consumer  printers with functions nobody wanted. Xerox took new technology and moved into colored digital printing and started developing high end color commercial printers. Xerox made this decision because the profit margin of color pages was five times that of black and white copies. Xerox used the strategy of concentric diversification by moving into a new business that was related to the company’s core business. Xerox then purchased office Services Company and Image Services for 1.5 billion dollars to demonstrate its new marketable high end color digital printers and copier services. References Bateman,T.S., & Snell, S.A. (2011). Management:Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (9th ed.). New York,NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Foust, D. (2014). Gone Flat. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-12-19/gone-flat

An Unforgettable Experience.

The guy who I really adored was Dustin Wong. He was the most handsome guy in the school. I was attracted to him since the first time my eyes locked into his eyes. His sparkling green eyes always gave an aura of intelligence. Every time he smiled it made my heart melt like a hot knife cutting through butter. The only one who knew about this feeling of mine was my best friend, Ida. She was a very encouraging friend of me. She even helped me hooked up with Dustin. I was the girl who only focused on my studies and my social life was not exciting.Dustin, on the other hand, was one of the top guys in the girls’ list who was a must-go-date with. His popularity started when he scored a lot of baskets for his basketball team. But most importantly, he was the Captain of the Tiger basketball team. One day, the Tiger Team had a big game with Leopard Team. He played brilliantly with great jump, shots, dunks and assists. His teammates also played their hearts out to win the game. Just two m inutes before the game ended, they were trailing 90-96. They managed to force three turnovers, two steals and scored five baskets.Three shots were made by Dustin. Finally, our Tiger Team won by 101-99. Ida and I were very excited and we screamed our lungs out for the victory. Dustin then took the microphone from the announcer. He said in front of hundreds of people that before he left high school, he wanted to tell everyone a secret. He liked someone, a girl. Nobody knew and not even his own friend. Suddenly, the stadium became quiet as all the girls wished that they were the chosen one. Then he said, â€Å"Amanda Ann, I do really like you,† â€Å"What? Did he just mention my name? I asked Ida. I was shocked and felt like fainting at that moment. I could not believe it. It was just like a dream came true. I suddenly dreamed that I was wearing a Cinderella gown and hearing the ringing of bells. Then, everybody in the stadium was staring at me. He then ran towards me and told me that he liked me a lot since the first day I sat foot in this school. I became dumbfounded and my face turned red as all girls were very envious of me. Even though this incident had happened a week ago, it was still fresh in my mind.

Materials and Hardware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Materials and Hardware - Essay Example The Change from One Material to Another in Aircraft Development The method for the choice of materials for aircraft development has changed over the years. For the Flyer, the Wright brothers utilized the first cast aluminium engine block and the major drivers for the material chosen were static strength and weight. The materials used on the main airframe were wood covered with a fabric. Wood is a natural compound possessing long fibres of cellulose, which are held together by a weaker matrix of lignin. The use of wood as a material for the aircraft structure illustrates that the use of composite airframes is not new in the aircraft industry. After the creation of precipitation hardening and the technique to protect the aluminium surface by anodizing and cladding, aluminium has been the main material for aircraft development (Merati, 2010). The reason why aluminium has been used as the primary material for aircraft development is due to its high toughness, easily recyclable, no low te mperature brittle fracture, long term performance, high specific strength (calculated by strength/density), ease of manufacture (particularly in extrusion), and readily joinable by mechanical riveting or welding. These advantages make aluminium the preferred metal for aircraft development. ... The design method for materials utilized in aircraft structures were linked with sufficient strength and low weight (Schijve, 2009). As time evolved, there was need to develop aircrafts that were lighter and faster. This was mainly driven by the needs of the market. Aluminium was the next material that came into the minds of the developers. The material is light, very tough among other advantages. Longer lifecycle, safety, low maintenance cost and reliability are other factors that have triggered the change from one material to another in aircraft development. Why Aluminium Alloys Are Used Instead Of Pure Aluminium in Aircraft Development Pure aluminium produced commercially is a white lustrous metal that ranks top in its resistance to corrosion, sixth in ductility, and second in malleability scale. Aluminium in combination with various levels of other metals creates alloys, which are then used in aircraft development. The principal ingredients used in the aluminium alloys include ma gnesium, chromium, silicon, and manganese. These ingredients make the aluminium alloy resistant to corrosive environments. However, aluminium alloys with substantial levels of copper are vulnerable to corrosive action. The amount of the alloying elements is rarely more than 6 or 7% in the wrought alloys (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], n.d.). Aluminium is the most widely used metal material in modern aircraft development or construction. It is important to the aviation industry because of its relative ease of fabrication and its high strength to weight ratio. The outstanding feature of aluminium is its lightweight (FAA, n.d.; Lye, 1989). The metal melts at relatively low temperature of around 1,250Â °F. It is an excellent conductor and nonmagnetic. The tensile

Gorporate Governanace Advisor for case PowerPoint Presentation

Gorporate Governanace Advisor for case - PowerPoint Presentation Example All these aspects of cooperate governance help in decision making capabilities. The decisions that the board have been making from the point of insufficient information and without due regard to either the risks or the environmental, social, and corporate governance issues involved. It is necessary to advice them on the growing importance of governance issues. It is imperative for the role of the good governance in corporate performance, and maximization of share holders’ value and the protection of investor’s rights. The decision by the board to invest a large amount of money which was raised primarily by bank loans, in developing a residential area by constructing homes, villas, a five star hotel recreational site and other required sites are informed by this lack of informed decision on corporate governance. The board should be advised that, the main objective of corporate governance is to reinforce a company, and encourage the standards of self rule so that the intensity of governance is in line with other domestic and international practices. It helps in the responsibility of handling money and the conduct of commercial activities. The serious concerns about the environmental impact of the construction plans and a very high probability that the project will be banned by the government’s Real Estate Standards Agency and the eventuality of the board cancelling the project, with a write off of the expenditure already incurred. This was possible to avoid, if cooperate governance was in place, as the scales of trade, and the size of companies’ bureaucracies’ involved makes it harder for individual control, and makes regulation externally by all the government agencies involved before a project can commence. To avoid the spread of failures corporate governance has come in handy for most companies in economies which are

Strategy discourse and strategy's role in social responsibility Essay

Strategy discourse and strategy's role in social responsibility and sustainability - Essay Example The plan consists of sustainable procurement, reducing environmental impact stemming from the company’s business model, reducing waste, recycling and curbing over-consumption of energy; as well as reduction of the firm’s carbon footprint. Having defined the Sustainable Living Plan by Unilever, Polman did an excellent job of using discourse, this being narrative and storytelling, to ensure successful implementation of these objectives. Polman opened discourse with influential members of the Consumer Goods Forum to agree to abide by practices related to sustainable palm oil production, an issue that had deforested many regions. The company is also trying to change behaviours of millions of consumers worldwide, getting them to abide by being more proactive in water consumption by taking shorter showers. The Sustainable Living Plan will not be effective without contributions by vendors, competitors and even consumer markets, something that requires discourse and narrative to achieve effectively. Storytelling is an excellent forum for sharing norms and values that have been built from an organisation’s past experiences and also describe a desirable future. It is through this discourse that leadership is developed and provides opportunities to provide a compelling vision (Buckler and Zien 1996). It is through shared stories and narratives that understanding and organisational dedication is created, familiarising individuals with dominant and compelling narratives and anecdotes that assist in gaining commitment by others to adopt the norms and values described in such stories. Storytelling is also recognised as being a predictor of trust development in relationships. Such discourse provides opportunities for the storyteller to indicate his or her competencies and level of commitment toward a particular value or objective. The process of revealing personal narratives and

Training and Developing Paper Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Training and Developing Paper - Research Proposal Example s training courses; although training courses are important, your training and education will be designed to also encompass in-house mentoring, work-based learning, reflective practice and shadowing. The healthcare industry is constantly evolving as new advances in medicine are discovered. As such, employees should constantly make good use of training and education so as to adequately prepare themselves for these changes (McConnell & Fallon, 2013). The threat of legal action leveled against professionals in the healthcare industry is increasing. It is important for you as newly recruited employees to continually undergo training that will keep you updated on any new legal developments that might be directly affecting you as professionals. Competencies are basically the eventual outcomes of the training and education process. It is important to measure your competences as individual employees in the organization as these measures will be a crucial indicator of your ability to perform definite tasks in a fashion that will eventually yield desirable outcomes. As new employees, it is important for you to understand that having high levels of competency basically implies that you are successfully able to apply skills, knowledge and abilities to new situations. It is important for organizations to assess organizational and individual competencies performance so as to assess the efficiency of the services that we are able to provide to patients. Healthcare organizations are singularly responsible for the overall quality of care they provide, as such, the assessment of competencies helps the organization in the determination of whether there is any need to design and implement new training programs aimed at improving the organization’s performance (Kelly & Vottero, 2014). Reaction: During this stage, participants hand in feedback questionnaires, they are also encouraged to provide any informal feedback that they believe is of importance. This information is

How technology has affected history Research Paper

How technology has affected history - Research Paper Example Lives have been saved, businesses grow, environment is taken care of and everything seems to progress with the aide of technology. In particular, the recent breakthroughs in computers and internet have allowed people to connect to anybody anytime and anywhere despite of the distance geographically. Barriers have been overcome by the technology and people are able to enjoy the benefits. Despite of the benefits from technology, some downfalls are seen by scientists and other professionals throughout history. Those may pose hazard to the environment, human health, education, morals and many more. There are many factors involved in those negative consequences of using technology but those are not signs of the end of the world. They may signal the need for change, innovation and further studies to create new solutions to the spurring problems and challenges for the betterment of the world towards sustainability. As technology has been noted in the preceding paragraphs, reflecting upon the changes as it passes through the history may give a clear picture and understanding to the readers regarding the importance and impact of technology to human existence. History has been divided into different eras and for the study, three eras would be mentioned and discussed: Renaissance Era, Industrial Revolution Era, and Atomic Era. Each era would be provided with introductions and the technologies used for each. Afterwards, the advantages and disadvantages of the technology for each era would be analyzed and compared and contrasted to other technology from other eras. Renaissance started since the time of the High Middle Ages wherein various improvements happened in terms of the economy, society, politics and intellects. Its roots came from the Renaissance of the 12th century which was considered to be the developments to sprout at the latter part of the Middle Ages. It became the avenue for the advancement in arts, literature and science although scientific developments occurr ed at the latter part of Renaissance.1 Renaissance originally means rebirth and it was a cultural movement that spanned from the 14th century to 17th century and became a wide-scale movement throughout Europe. It had produced the paper and type sped that allowed quicker dissemination of knowledge but still some nations in Europe had not experienced its boom equally. In terms of literature, it developed the Latin literature across the Western continent and the popularity was attributed to Petrarch. In particular, he had made linear perspective and other artistic techniques together with the reformation of education.2 The developments had given way to the practices in the Modern Era such as the conventions in politics through diplomacy and the importance of observation that became the primary tool for science. Renaissance had also catered to the developments of the polymaths who were considered to be geniuses in various fields of knowledge and abilities like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. They were known as Renaissance man as being such is attributed to the name of the era. Various issues had been laid down with the concept of the polymaths and even with the name Renaissance and its very existence.3 Some viewed Renaissance as just a part of the former eras with high respect for classical ages as culture and arts flourished. Nostalgia

Foundation Grants and Guaranteed Tax Base Grants in Education Finance Essay - 5

Foundation Grants and Guaranteed Tax Base Grants in Education Finance - Essay Example For the flypaper effect, it can be defined as a result that comes up when a dollar of grants-in-aid that are exogenous which lead to public spending that is significantly great as compared to a citizen dollar income. Money does stick at the point where it hits. It is evident, from the above figure that the matching grant leads to a greater increase in welfare spending than the block grant program. 2. In your own words, summarize and describe the Tiebout model/hypothesis. Explain how and why the Tiebout model implies that people will sort into relatively homogenous communities based on income or some other characteristic. Under given assumptions like perfect mobility and information, no spillovers that are inter-jurisdictional, no scale economies, and no head tax that finances a public good that is local. Then each household will move into an influence that makes the optimal collection of goods in the local scene. This will carry-on until households have fully sorted themselves creating a point of equilibrium. This implies that members of the community will be segregated by class, race, income, and so on. The reason for this is the fact that the taste of public goods in the local scene generally directly varies with the levels of income and other several characteristics. Whether a property tax is deemed regressive depends on the way someone views the tax. According to Zodrow (2001) â€Å"the incidence of property tax- still remains to be one that is controversial both in state and local public finance. The view which is traditional argues that property tax fully shifted towards the consumers’ loss when it comes to higher prices in housing. To the contrast, the â€Å"benefit view† of property tax has a conclusion that it is simply a payment for public services received locally.

Research Paper and Power Point on Artist Claude Monet

And Power Point on Artist Claude Monet - Research Paper Example Monet got born in 1840 in Paris but got raised in the Normandy region. He was the second born to his father Claude Adolphe Monet and mother Louise Justine Aubree Monet. His parents were second generation Parisians (Whiting 8). His father worked in the family’s shipping business while his mother was a housewife who took care of the family. His mother was also a trained singer who liked poetry and was also a very popular hostess. His family relocated to the Normandy region when he was aged 5 years. Monet developed his love for drawing at an early age through his interest for being outside than confined in a classroom. His mother greatly supported his artistic pursuit while his father wanted him to join the family business. Upon his mother’s death in 1857, Monet suffered greatly (Katilina & Brodskaya 50). Monet became well known in the community for drawing many of his town’s resident as well as for his caricatures. Monet started to develop a liking for the natural world in his works when he met a local landscape artist in Eugene Boudin. Boudin was influential in introducing Monet to outdoor painting also known as plein air painting, which eventually formed the basis of his works. Monet moved to Paris in 1859 to pursue his artistic dream where he enrolled at the Academic Suisse as a student(Katilina & Brodskaya 22) . His enrollment was also fuelled by the works of the Barbizon painters earlier in the century who showed close observation and great naturalistic representation in their works. His time as a student at the institution led him to meet Camille Pissarro, a fellow artist who became his close friend for years. The years 1861-1862 saw him serve in the military in Algiers, Algeria where he got discharged for poor health. His return to studies in Paris saw him meet other a rtists in Alfred Sisley, Frederic Bazille, and Auguste Renoir. The four developed an artistic friendship. Monet also worked

Budgets are time-consuming and costly to put together. How does the Essay

Budgets are time-consuming and costly to put together. How does the cost of traditional budgeting approach lead to the birth of beyond budgeting - Essay Example In addition, Goode says that some companies uses up to $1.2 billion shillings per year during budget process. This can prove to be very expensive considering that budgeting process only add little or no difference to the shareholders assets These problems associated with traditional budgeting led to the birth of beyond budgeting. This is because it has the ability to reduce the amount of money spend during the budget process. In connection to this, beyond budgeting has been adapted by many companies (Rothberg, 2011, 2). In summary, the birth of beyond budgeting has been at the center of some of the best performing companies because it reduces the amount of money spend during the budgeting process and it also a little time is required for the budgeting processes. Rothberg, Arthur F. (2011) Traditional budgeting Vs beyond budgeting: Three core differences. Retrieved from

Rogers Chocolate Essay Example for Free

Rogers Chocolate Essay Introduction R gers’s Chocolates is Canada’s oldest chocolates company that was formed in 1885 in Victoria, British Columbia by Charles Rogers. The company specialized in producing different varieties of ward winning hand-wrapped, high-quality chocolate brands as well as premium novelty ice cream which it sold through its retail outlets, sales through wholesale delivery, online/phone sales, and through Sam’s Deli restaurant in British Columbia. The goal of the organization is â€Å"to double or triple the size of the company within 10 years† (Zietsma, 2007) Rogers’ target market is both end users and consumers who buy chocolates to indulge themselves or to give as a gift. Rogers’ target buyers are new and existing chocolate buyers that love quality chocolates. Demographics tend to be mainly women ages 25-55 years old with middle to high household income of $50,000 upward. They generally have college education and are professionals, white-collar workers, managers, or owners. The majority will be frequent travelers on cruise ships and Internet users. In order to develop a successful growth plan for the Rogers’ Chocolates, it is very important to get an integrated understanding of the external and internal environment effecting the chocolate industry in whole and Rogers’ Chocolate in particular. An organization’s external environment represents the opportunities and threats while focusing three major areas that include general, industry and competitor environment. The firms understanding of the external environment is matched with its knowledge about the internal environment (resources, capabilities, core competencies, organization, management etc.) in order to develop a strategic growth plan that will bring competitive advantage and above-average returns. External Analysis P. E. S. T Analysis: Political/Legal: * Legal issues regarding child labour in cocoa farms. * African countries are more affected by child labour. * Large manufacturers are seeking a redefinition of the term â€Å"chocolate† under USFDA guidelines so that they can produce cheaper version of the product and still call it chocolate. Economic: * Falling growth rate in the chocolate industry due to economical factors. * Due to seasonal vulnerability of the product, it is hard to manage inventory resulting in higher costs for wasted material. * Higher cleaning and maintenance costs for the equipment for large producers. * Sociocultural: * Increasing trend towards healthier diet, organic food, low-trans fat and no-sugar chocolate. * More demand for dark chocolate due to its heart-healthier anti-oxidant properties. * Consumers and employees stressing on more corporate social responsibility. * Human rights concerns on forced labour in West Africa. * Environmental concerns influencing packaging, procurement and operational decisions. Technology: * Less focus of private and government supported RD expenditures. * Farmers are less efficient in growing cocoa beans because of lack of proper knowledge, education and training. Industry Analysis: Even though there had been a gradual decline in the growth of chocolate industry as a whole, there is still opportunity in the premium chocolate sector of this industry, which is growing at 20% annually. The Canadian market size for chocolates was US$167 million in 2006 and it was projected to grow at 2% annually. The change in demographics with aging baby boomers and their emphasis on brand and quality has given an opportunity to traditional chocolate manufacturers like Hershey’s and Cadburys to shift their focus on the production of premium quality chocolates. Rogers’ Company is faced with many factors that are directly influencing the company, its competitive actions and competitive responses in the overall industry. The Five Forces of Competition Model: Michael Porter’s five forces of competition is an analytical tool that can be for Rogers’ Chocolate to measure the intensity of the industry competition and an industry’s profit potential. Threat of New Entrants: Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving towards the premium chocolate market through the acquisition or upmarket launches (Zietsma, 2007). The profit potential present in this sector supported by its 20% annual growth rate make it very attractive for large organizations to come forward and avail this opportunity. There is a low threat of new entrants prevailing in this chocolate industry because of the high capital requirements and expected retaliation by current manufacturers. Current players in the industry also possess some barriers to entry for new entrants by maintaining economies of scales with their large production capacity and keeping their product differentiation with their specialized and novelty chocolate products. Even though there are low switching costs and easy access to distribution channels, but still the brand loyalty of the customers including the Rogers’ Chocolate itself make it harder for new firms to come into the competition. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: There is a high bargaining power of suppliers because of the need of the key ingredients required for chocolate manufacturing and limited number of suppliers for this industry. Since cocoa trees require tropical climate, it forces the main producers in the west to import them from countries in West Africa or other hot places where suppliers are dominated by few large companies The chocolate and cocoa industry relies on suppliers to deliver high quality products that meet food regulations and consumer taste tests. If the suppliers’ product is not available or does not meet the quality expected, the industry will suffer greatly. This dependency on the suppliers’ product and the absence of substitute products increases the suppliers’ bargaining power. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Even though there are no substitute products for the manufacturing of chocolate, the buyer groups are still powerful because they purchase a large portion of the industry’s total output. Since there are many wholesale buyers of cocoa beans for the manufacturing and selling of the chocolate, it increases the bargaining power of the buyers that forces suppliers to lower their prices or increase their product quality. Another condition that affects the power of buyers is product differentiation. If the product is undifferentiated, the buyer has the power to play competitors against each other and reduce the cost. The chocolate and cocoa industry has a differentiated product, which reduces the power of buyers. The industry has several large players that have brand identification and customer loyalty, which makes it hard for buyers not to use a particular supplier. Threat of Substitute Products: Majority of the chocolate sales occur during the Christmas season and people buy chocolates to give as Christmas gifts or during the Valentine’s Day or Halloween. Other types of gifts during these occasions are considered as substitute products that may include flowers, jewellery, stuffed toys etc. Many people consider chocolate as unhealthy while some people can use other flavours such as lemon, vanilla, peanut butter or mint instead of chocolate that brings a low to moderate threat of substitute products to replace chocolate. Intensity of Rivalry Among Competitors: The presence of a many and equally balanced chocolate producers increases the rivalry among the competitors by permitting vigorous actions and responses by the competitors. With the slow industry growth, chocolate industry for instance, markets become more intense as companies battle to increase their market shares by attracting competitors customers. It results in more price wars, marketing and advertising battles between the competitors. Another factor that intensifies the competition and rivalry among competitors is the high storage and fixed costs that pushes chocolate producers to maximize their production capacity. In order to sell this excess capacity, organizations give purchase rebates and other special discounts to customers that increases the competition. Standardization and differentiation along with low switching costs in chocolate industry also fuels competition. Competitor Analysis: Competition in the chocolate industry in Canada is led by some regional brands along with a few larger producers. Major players in the market include Godiva (Nestle), Bernard Callebaut, Lindt, Purdy and a few local premium chocolate companies like Laura Secord and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company. There are many factors influencing the competition in this industry that include variations in the price points and quality of different premium chocolate product lines. Each individual company has its own unique technique to boost itself from its competitors. Many companies have their own fancy packaging styles for their products’ delivery that target different customers helping them in getting above average returns. Widespread distribution of products and attractive presentation and displays are some other effective tools that are adapted by many companies in this business offering them good returns on their investment. A company with good and intense marketing and advertising along with widespread geographical location gains more market share compared to the one that is limited to a certain area. Some companies have focused more on their mall outlets while some have taken spots in different tourist attractions. For some companies, retail sales are more promising than wholesale strategy, which shows that selling strategy plays an important part in the success of a company. Even though all forces stated above hastens competition among these chocolate companies, product quality surface to have least impact on extent of competition (Zietsma, 2007). Attractiveness and profitability of chocolate products is determined by how the product is moulded, coloured, and packed (Ellis, M.et al, 2007). Key Success Factor Analysis: Numerous factors that can add up to the successes of Rogers’ Chocolate are as follows: Understanding and Satisfying Consumer Needs Part of the external analysis is to scan, monitor, forecast and assess the timing and importance of environmental changes and trends. In order for Rogers’ Chocolate to get strategic competitiveness, it’s very important that it understands the trends in the chocolate industry that are moving towards premium chocolate with high-quality and high-taste matched with classy packaging, beautiful retail experience and fair pricing. Rogers’ Chocolate already has award-winning reputation with its friendly customer service, pretty theme in its retail outlets with images and aromas. Customers buy premium chocolates for special events or for corporate gifts, so it’s very important that special focus is put on their attractive and unique packaging. Rogers’ Chocolate has it all. Rogers’ Chocolate needs to focus on the sale of its wholesale orders that constitute 30% of the total sales but it has been declining gradually due to inclination of the buyers towards other cheaper brands. It needs to reconsider its pricing strategy, marketing and relations with these customers. Extensive marketing in order improve brand awareness: Regardless of Rogers’ Chocolate being the dominant player in the chocolate industry, it only occupies 7% share in the $167 million market. Premium chocolate is a growing sector with high profit potential and Rogers’ Chocolate has the ability to avail this opportunity if it extends its marketing strategy in order to grow in the near future. Pricing Strategy: Price of chocolate product also affects success of producing firm. Company’s Price of the product determines consumption rate of the product. Whether price is regulated by the organization itself or state-based decision, it affects demand of the product. Demand and price of any product are inversely related. Low market demand implies low net sales, which makes success of the company to be uncertain. Another aspect of price factor is in determination of production cost. Lower prices than other producers of the same type of commodity make production cost expensive. On the other hand, high price reduces market demand of any product. In a case where different companies sell similar product at different prices, companies using extreme prices are at risk of failing Geographical Distribution: It is very important for the success of the company to have a widespread geographical distribution of its products. A company with many locations is more likely to have its customers familiarized with its products and image. Brand loyalty increases when customers know that their preferred brand is located not too far from them. Product Diversification: Product diversification is applied in cases where stiff competition exists in the market. Instead of maintaining production of only one type of chocolate product, modification in shape, color, and different composition ensures further success of a company. Internal Analysis: Strengths: * Well-established and reputable Brand * Experienced Management Team * Rich history and tradition in Canada * Award winning recognition * Revenues * Loyal customers * Devoted Employees and Passionate Employees * Quality products hand wrapped Weaknesses: * Production process – not efficient and no measuring capabilities * Demand forecasting – difficult due to seasonality of sales * Management’s and Employee’s resistance to change. * Management team conflicts * Packaging * Lack of brand image and customer awareness * Cost of setting up and cleaning equipment * Inventory Management – Out of Stock and Over stock – production planning issues * Decrease in Wholesale * Online Sales only 4% Opportunities: * Growth in European and Asian markets * Retail and Online expansion * Increased production capacity * Trends and shifts in consumer confectionary market * Kiosks in airports * Organic trade line Threats: * Economy and demand fluctuations * Competitors * Decreased number of tourists. * Environmental concerns and human rights concerns expressed by some consumers * USFDA guidelines for â€Å"redefining† chocolate Rogers’ Chocolate has 24,000 sq. ft. production facility with 110 non-unionized retail and production employees. 75 employees work in retail while 35 in the production. Hand making and hand packing made the chocolate production very labour intensive while big portion of the costs were that of set-up time and cleaning time for the equipment during the batch processing. There are no means of measuring the productivity and efficiency in the plant. Another issue faced by the Rogers’ Chocolate is its inability to forecast the demand and hence the production of its products due to the seasonality of the sales. This problem is dealt with excess production to deal with the out-of-stocks during the peak seasons. The delays in the import of art tins for assortment from China also throw the schedule off for the next product in production line. Rogers’ Chocolate has a very low turnover rate because of its historic heritage of 120 years and strong family values. Some workers were third-generation Rogers’ employees with strong commitment and passion for the company. However, it created a problem for the company because employees were resistant to any change in the company. Rogers’ Chocolate was also involved in the local community service by employing people with disability and a group of brain-damaged individuals. The organization had a very good and friendly corporate culture where people respected each other on first-name basis. Compensation packages offered to the employees were also very competitive in order to retain the experienced employees. Rogers’ Chocolate has the potential of growth with its present resources. The company has a well-managed and competent workforce, which is the driving force for the entire organization. The board of directors consist of educated and experienced people who have good know-how of the industry. The production facility and other tangible and non tangible assets permit Rogers’ to come forward to lead the industry. It has all the right business tools that are required by an organization in order to succeed. Rogers’ has access to the main markets of the country that include its retail outlets, wholesale sales and online sales. All these resources and its ability in making premium chocolate with high quality and high taste make it a potential threat to its competitors. If utilized properly, these resources and capabilities can allow Rogers’ Chocolate to formulate a strategy to earn above average returns. Recommendations: * Focus on strengthening current retail operations than wholesale. * Roger’s good corporate social practices will also focus on human rights (labour laws), packaging, procurement and operational decisions. * Increase brand awareness to capture more market share. * Focus growing the retail business into new geographic markets. * Continue to grow complementary business lines (i. e. Ice Cream) * Develop core competence in operations management to drive efficiencies and reduce inventories. * Upgrade technology in production to increase capacity * Create new product lines and packaging to broaden the customer base. * Franchise Sams Deli. It has large amount in administration expenses. * Franchise retail chocolate stores. * Offer promotions on special events like Christmas, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s Day etc. * Keep existing customers happy with special discounts and customer loyalty programs.

Strategies to Motivate and Manage Employees

Strategies to Motivate and Manage Employees Introduction:- Motivation is one kind of behaviour of man which related with economics, psychology to qualified morality, initiation, direction, intensity and persistence with desire object, hobbies, goal and ideal activities. At present environment, success of any commercial organization depends on employees using their full talents motivation. There are available theories and practices, managers often view motivation as something which is mysterious to them. The core thing of motivation is to give people what they really want most from the work. The more the managers provide what they want, the more they can expect what they are looking for like productivity, quality, and services. A positive motivation philosophy and practice should improve productivity, quality, and service. Motivation helps people to achieve goals, to gain a positive perspective, to create the power to change, to build self-esteem and capability, to explore potentiality with creativity, to manage their own deve lopments and their own abilities. Description: There are few popular method of motivation, for example, An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a way in which employees of a company can own a share of the company they work for profit sharing also one kind of motivation, scanlon plan, it is a type of gain sharing plan that pays a bonus to employees for incremental improvements, merit plan, gain sharing, annual bonus etc, these all are the way to reward people. Dessler discussed (1999), the scanlon plan is actually an early version of what today is known as a gainsharing plan, an incentive plan that engages many or all employees in a common effort to achieve a companys productivity objectives;any resulting incremental cost-saving gains are shared among employees and company. (588) According to Adair (2003), selecting the right man for right job, punishing the bad and rewarding the good, winning the goodwill of those under them, altering allies and helpers, keeping what they have gained, being strenuous and industrious in their own work (p.16). this strategy should be followed properly to get more from the employee.If we look at the disadvantages of motivation, actually there are no real disadvantages to successfully motivating employees, but there are many obstacles to overcome. Barriers may include unaware or absent managers, inadequate buildings, outdated equipment, and entrenched attitudes, for example: people might think that weare not getting paid extra to work harder etc. McGregors X and Y theories and Maslows hierarchy of need, although these theories date back some years, they are still valid today. the main theme of their theory, it will be helpful for building a climate of honesty, sincerity, and trust.Nickson said, (2007), performance management is about getting better results from the organization, (page, 169) People may want more status, higher pay, better working conditions, and flexible benefits. But it is easy to find out what really motivates employees by asking them in performance appraisals, attitude surveys, and informal conversations what they want most from their jobs. People might want, for example; more interesting work, more efficient bosses, more opportunity to see the end result of their work, greater participation, greater recognition, greater challenges, more opportunities for development, friendly environments, helps from others, respect and flexibility.Clearly one of the most important aspects of enhancing performance is perfo rmance appraisal.A recent survey by IRS (2005a) suggests that over 90 per cent of workplaces have some form of performance appraisal, Nickson (2007) Clegg (2003) said, It cant be so depressive that your staff, your peers, your boss, your friends and family can achieve more and yet they dont. Often all that is latching is the motivation succeed. Motivation is one of those terms that can mean very different things depending on exactly where you sit. According to the dictionary its about giving someone a motive or an incentive or rather more darkly, about inducing something. If I am motivating someone else, its easy to see that it is positive. Who can be motivated :-Anyone can be motivated and a trained up manager can be the one to do it. In fact, the potential for motivation starts with a responsible person .The cynical view of motivation is that it is a matter of subtle manipulation; that motivation is just a way of getting other people to do what you want them to do. Probably the hardest individual motivation is dealing with the high performer, some-one who is already doing the job well. So, why bother to motivate them at all? In part because of retention. Just become someone does a job superbly well, it doesnt mean that they want to stay in it. They are susceptible to outside lures that makes positive motivation to stay a real benefit for the company (page.4). Managers responsibility/role: Harzing (2004) said, there is an indication of a lack of commitment to the organization by employeesas as we have seen in the context of Africa (Blunt Jones, 1992).Corporations in Japan have been successful in harnessing the wider societal cllectivisism to corporate life, in order to foster commitment by employees in a reciprocal relationship with the corporation, (240) A manager should find someone doing something well and tell the person that the company is appreciating his work.. The manager should make sure the interest he showed is genuine which is without being bore or something just for showing people that he is interested to do this job . If the manager has ideas as to how employees work could be improved, he shouldnt shout them out, but help them to find their way to do more efficiently the same job because we know that, it is not necessary to be able do everything better. A manager should help to the employee to make it clear what levels of support employees can expect. The Manager should have proper trained up to be a mentor of the employee. they should know the position, time, situational demand to exchange any idea with them or any kind of teaching, training if required, sometimes managers need to keep silent, and wait for the proper time to teach or trained up the employee, because if every time managers try to teach them, it might be the cause of unexpected situation to the employee, so sometime managers should keep quiet to make a real situation to say something to the employee. According to Bell (1998), well timed silence hath more eloquence than speech (p124) The reason for Pay for performance, Dowling (2008) discussed, to increase the pay of those employees with superior performance, to reduce upward and pressure on base salaries, to detect those employees whose performance was unacceptable and take steps to remove them from the organisation (Page 351). A manager should be able to find out or identify factors that demotivates staff they may be physical like any kind of equipment, or psychological like boredom, unfairness, barriers to promotion, lack of recognition etc. Among these sorts of problems, some can be dealt with quickly and easily; others require more planning and time to work through. The fact that a manager concerned to find out what is wrong and do something about it is in itself a motivator. Working environment is one that is full of mistakes and penalizes error .Sometimes, it might happen that some mistakes promote as learning opportunities. However staff need to understand the kind and levels of support they can expect. Motivation practice and relationship building often hesitate because staff do not feel they are receiving adequate support. Many people say they are working for money and claim in conversation that their edge benefits are an incentive. But money actually comes low down in the list of motivators, and it doesnt motivate for long . Edge or fringe benefits can be effective in attracting new employees, but benefits rarely motivate existing employees to use their potential more effectively. Actually company should consider policies, that affect flexible work, reward, promotion, training and development, and participation, Dowling (2008). Rewards impact: As clegg said (2000), Reward people and recognition are important tools for any organization or work places .Reward can vitally enhance employees morality with explore potentiality through the organization and increase the realization of belongings of the employees. though a great deal of research has been conducted on merit pay, employees who have worked under a merit pay system have been given little opportunity to express what is in their mind about the job and what they think of this reward system. As the definition of merit, it seems relatively straightforward, for example, in the context of retention, promotion; since everyone who is meritorious can be rewarded, there is no need to compare different kinds of achievement. The paper reports on a performance-based pay plan implemented in a large company and employees reactions to the plan. Employees should have the right t to say their honest opinions on merit pay and indicate whether they believed the concept to be worthwhile. Th e reply was resoundingly positive, with forceful support for the idea of merit-based compensation. The effective use of money as a motivator, employees attach a high value to pay, employees believe good performance will result in higher pay, employees have enough control over the job and superior performance to more positive than negative result. Dessler (1999) told in his discussion, remuneration, benefits and rewards are ways in which an organisation recognises and remunerates its employees.Financial rewards such as salary, merit increases, benefits and employee bonuses can reinforce desirable or undesirable behaviours.For example, term based reward that have been well designed help to reinforce and encourage team behaviours.Individual recognitiosn by a manager as a, wel done;can be also help to encourage and reinforce positive behaviours.However, an organisation that encourages term based behaviours but rewards individuals will find it difficult to institute a teaming culture. (4 20). Reward system and designing In corporate culture where non-management employees earn raises through seniority only, there is always a group calling for merit raises. The common tendency to take it easy is greatly increased by bringing a number of men together on similar work and at a uniform standard rate of pay. When a naturally energetic man works for a few days beside a lazy one, the logic of the situation is unanswerable. A question can comes in the energetic employees mind that is why should I work hard when that lazy one gets the same pay that I do. that sentiment expressed in practically so many employees mind. But the fact is that their supervisors and co-workers do not share their self-assessment.Performance-related pay is a method of remuneration that links pay progression to an assessment of individual performance. Pay increases awarded through are Performance-related pay normally consolidated into basic pay although sometimes they involve the payment of non-consolidated cash, while the focus of this factsheet is individual, consolidated Performance-related pay as a means of pay progression, Performance-related pay can be defined more broadly to include many differing systems that link individual and group performance to pay, as for example bonus schemes, Dr.Gilam (2004). How a manager measure performance and what should be the strategy of rewarding strategy, in this case Dr.Gilam (2004)s opinion is, on first examination this model of strategic reward management seems highly rational, but it makes significant assumptions.First consider the main driving force of the rewads strategy.The business strategy and external operating environment Organisations business strategy Required employee behaviours Reward strategy Organisations core reward values Reward process Reward structure Internal Operating Environment Fig:-Key elements of reward system design Paying for Indivisual job performance is, for many organisations, at the heart of a reward strategy, this raises what for many employees is a highly contentious issue.the putting at risk of a employees think about pay in terms of base pay (Schuster and Zingheins, 1992): The fixed amount which traditionally has increased yearly to reflect inflation and often, length of service.Base pay will also change of course, upon promotion to a more responsible job.For some organisations base pay is of declining importance.This raises the question:how can the traditional reward objectives of attracting, retaining and motivating people be achieved while making the pay budget most cost effective.One of the key decisions that needs to be taken into account is whether to pay the variable elements as a lump sum bonus or to consolidate this into salary.The trend in the USA has been for variety pay to be one off cash bonus (Kanter 1987).This is hardly surprising given the cost saving that the organisati on enjoys.By not raising base pay, one-off cash bonuses do not affect future base pay increases or other associated payments such as overtime and, of course, pensions. (Page.436) However, in order for performance to be rewarded, it is first necessary to have an effective means of measuring that performance most commonly via a performance appraisal or review system. Using this approach, each employees performance is ranked on the scale, like ranging, for example, from unsatisfactory to superior. Some systems allow for management discretion in translating these scores into levels of pay rise. However, it is more usual for the performance element of the pay rise to be determined by the use of formula or a matrix system as an example each grade of employee, level of the employee or zone of work of the related employee to each of the performance categories. This may involve the use of a comparison ratio, this term given to the relationship between each employees current salary and the mid point of their grade. Thus for an employee at the mid point of their pay range, the comparison ratio would be hundred percent., Dr.Gilman (2004). Performance related pay in public sector: Considerable interest in linking pay to performance in the public sector dating back many years, this has proved harder to translate into practice. If we want to know the placeses where the performance pay does occur, as an answer, we will get the result is, it often takes the form of non-consolidated bonus, or team based incentives, individual merit pay etc. However, there have been recent years of a high-profile initiatives such as the introduction of a performance related pay scheme for employee, which has resulted in some discernible performance improvements. A number of distinct issues arise when introducing performance-related pay into a public sector setting, including the real difficulty of measuring individual effort in certain roles and actual result of the findings, Martin (2000). Moreover, public sector workers such as nurses, teacher, trainer are arguably motivated by a public service which could actually be undermined by some forms of performance-related pay, performanc e related pay in a public service setting can help employees to work more effectively rather than to work harder without a correct instruction, with the proper guideline which encouraging employees to focus on key objectives what they actually have to do.This is a very important part to perform at the best level .Again we can say that there are various forms of incentive pay and bonuses in the public sector, as an example, public sector workers do respond to financial incentives and, while responses are sometimes small, this reflects the fact that the incentives are also small. Any overall benefits to society in respect of higher levels of public service are harder to assess.So, whenevr the resposibility is small or less harder than other job, the incentives also become less, this is completely different in case of higher responsibility.The higher the responsibility the higher the incentive rate is. If we want to make effective Performance-related pay, employees need to perceive a c lear and prompt link between the effort expended and the reward that will be obtained, and it is necessary to feel that the level of reward on offer is based the effort. These are the main issues for employers implementing performance related pay, Martin (2000). The role of the higher manager is make sure to the effective implementation of Performance-related pay and necessary steps should be taken to involve this group at an early stage in arranging systems, and to ensure consistency and transparency while the management team assessing performance of the employee. Some time it can be happen that all managers make a certain proportion of staff as a group for each performance pay. The management should be careful in those serious, potential for unlawful discrimination for example by gender, ethnicity, discrimination. It is important for appraising managers to have proper training and awareness of these issues and for monitoring of merit pay awards to take place . Training and Development: Taining and practice can be helpful to perform very well., in this case Martin (2000) discussed, Reference information on matters such as employment legislation and training material on almost any business subject readily available through the interest and through the internet and through organisationss intranets.This means better informed personnel staff.When used for training, such material creater the potential for greater performance from all employees in their job areas. (page149) If we talk about distribution of pay awards, pay might not be the only motivating factor, even it might be proven that it is not so important for some kind of employees. The problem is occured during times of low inflation when the pay bill increase is usually limited to relatively small percentage. Even where the performance related pay may have a motivational impact for high performers, and it might be unacceptable to the people of the bottom performers, even they might be demotivated from that. Afte r a very careful assesment and careful consideration of pay distribution, the use of performance management techniques in support of performance related pay can help to tackle such kind of issues, it means it can be helpful for those who are bottom performer in the work place Martin (2000). In the case of identification of development needs, a major concern for human resource practitioners is that the when they will go for finalize the award like pay awards on the performance basis, review process may inhibit an open, clear and honest discussion of an employee, then training and development might be a needAs Armstrong (2006), in this case management development activities might need, the management development strategy will be concerned overall with what the organization intends to do about providing for its future management needs in the light of business plans.The startegy will be concerned with the roles of the parties involved and with the approaches the organization proposed to use to develop its managers. (pages 594-95) One solution is to separate the pay review aspect of performance measurement from the broader performance and development review. By arranging separate meetings some weeks or months to asses the performance of a employee and the development requirement can be set up.. But still it is ime-consuming in nature, the processes associated with Performance-related pay can be very time-consuming. In general, it is important to allow sufficient time away from day-to-day duties for managers and employees to be able to engage in the performance related pay process respectively. Armstrong discussed (2006), learning is the process by which a person acquires and develops new knowledge, skills, capabilities and attitudes.A williams (1998) defined it, learning is goal directed, it is based on experience, it impacts behaviour and cognition, and the changes brought about are relatively stable, (559). Performance-related pay is approaching to succeess, so an reliable and effective arrangements must be in place to define, measure, appraise and manage performance. The focus should be on encouraging high performance by effective performance management and appraisal systems and only this time higher on pay as an incentive to help achieve that goal. To create and maintain a sustainable high-performing workplace, the whole range of financial and non-financial rrewards or incentives should be be carefully planned to ensure that they are supported by Performance-related pay . If the manager cant afford significant pay differences between high and low performers, or if the manager believes that his staff is underpaid in relation to the cost of living in labor market, then he should postpone the implementation of merit pay for non-management employees, but it is in rare case. Instead of this, give everyone predictable seniority and reward the high performers with positive response, new resp onsibilities, and promotions will be more acceptable. A manager should put his managerial time and attention into better coaching and counselling of employees with performance problems, and more timely corrective action, including removal of poor performers who demoralize the rest of the workforce, or to find out the strength and weakness in the employee and find a solution to help them to come out from their limitations. Conclusion:- If the management is happy to implement merit pay, then they should separate the performance and pay reviews by at least several weeks or months. At the time of the pay review, management should set a pay decision on their performance which is progressing day by day or on progress observed toward the goals set in the performance review. Also the management should make sure that the pay ranges are wide enough to make the employee happy after winning the reward. In true sense, there is no pay system on earth that will satisfy all the employees. But a successful management team can have a pay system that supports their goal for a high-performing and motivated staff.. Thats why motivation is a basic and important tool for a commercial organization to go ahead with creative structure and innovative changing aspect of globalization. Reference: Adair, J (2003) Effective Strategic Leadership, Panbook, 2nd edition (page.16-38) Armstrong, M (2006), A handbook of Human resource management practice, Kogan page, UK, 10th edition, pages (559, 594-95) Bell, C (1998) Managers as Mentors, A bard press, Inc.production (page.124-135) Clegg, B (2000) Instant Motivation, Kogan page ltd.1st edition (page.4-25) Dessler (et.al), (1999), Human resource management, Prentice Hall, AustraliaPages (420-432, 588-590) Dr.Gilman, M (2004), The Management of Human Resourses, Pearson Education Limited, (Page.436- 4450) Dowling, P, Festing, M Engle, A (2008), International Human Resource management, Cengagae Learning, 5th edition (Page351-368) Harzing, A Ruysseveldt, J (2004), International Human resource management, Sage Publications, London, Page (240) Martin, M Jackson, T (2000) Personnel Practice, Cromwell Press, 2nd edition (page149-158) Nickson, D (2007), human resource management, Elsevier Publications, Uk, pages169-172 Bibliography: Barrett.R (1998) Liberating the corporate soul, Elsevier Prints. Cava, R (1990) Dealing with difficult people, Judy PiatkusLTd. Dr.Hunt, N (2007) Conducting staff appraisals, How to books Ltd.6th Edition Fowler, A (1998) Get more and more valu from your people, Crowell press. Forsyth, P (2001) Develpoing your staff, Kogan Page Limited. Fournies, F (2000), Coaching for improved work performance, R.R donnelly Sons company Fowler, A (1999), Good practice Induction, Short Run press, Exeter Leigh, D (1996) Practical Trainer Series, Kogan Page Ltd.2nd edition Mannering, K (2000) managing difficult people, How to books Ltd Rabinovici, M (1997) An expect eye on pay roll, International R D business education Ltd. Thomson, R (1998) People Management, Orion Business press.

Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix

Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix Dorothea Dix Nekisha Riley In this paper I have chosen the public health pioneer Dorothea Dix to discuss. Dorothea was the person responsible for devoting her time to the welfare of the mentally ill. She was also and educator and an activist for many. In this paper, I will discuss the impact that Dorothea had on public health, what she did to advance public health, and some of the obstacles that she had to overcome. Dorothea Dix also known as Dolly was born in 1802 in Hampden, Maine to Joseph and Mary Dix. Dorothea was the eldest of her two siblings (Norbury, 1999). Dorothea’s father was a Methodist preacher and an alcoholic while her mother suffered from mental illness. Her father was known to be abusive, but Joseph was known for educating his children (Parry, 2006). Dorothea’s father taught her and her two brothers how to read and write. In 1812, the Dix family took up and moved to Vermont due to the war of 1812 (Gollaher, 1993). Dorothea and her family remained as one until Dorothea felt she had had enough of her dysfunctional family. At this time, Dorothea had dealt with enough of her father’s abuse, so she decided to run away at the age of 12 to live with her grandmother in Boston. Dorothea stayed with her grandmother for a brief amount of time before moving with her aunt in Worcester, Massachusetts (Parry, 2006). After staying with her aunt for two years, Dorothea opened up her first private school to help children learn to read and write. When Dorothea realize that her school was now a success, she went back to reside with her grandmother Dix in Boston. This is when Dorothea opened her second school and added a night school for the poor, which was one of the first ones in the nation (Gollaher, 1993). After being an educator for almost four years now, Dorothea met Edward, which later became her fiancà © (Gollaher, 1993). The unrealistic thing about her new relationship was her now fiancà © was also her first cousin (Parry, 2006). It was about three months later her father died and Dorothea decided that she no longer wanted to get married. Dorothea spent the next couple of years educating as many people as she could. She was also attending conferences to educate herself. At this point, Dorothea has been working so much without getting the proper amount rest that she has fallen very ill with a severe upper respiratory ailment. It was at this time, Dorothea decided to move to Liverpool, England to stay with the Rathbone family for almost a year while recovering from her illness (Ivan, 1976). The Rathbone family took a liking to her and showed her more affection that her family had. In 1837, Dorothea returned to the United States . At this point her grandmother passed away which her mother died a couple of days afterwards (Ivan, 1976). She was still ill and did not have the strength to resume teaching yet, so she used the Dix estate and savings to support herself (Ivan, 1976). In 1841, Dorothea met a ministerial student, who was teaching Sunday class for women who were incarcerated in East Cambridge Jail (Norbury, 1999). The ministerial student became so frustrated with his efforts of trying to teach these women, that he asked Dorothea for advice. When talking to Dorothea, Dorothea realized that this could be an opportunity for her to volunteer at this jail. This was the turning point of Dorothea’s life. She started volunteering at Cambridge Jail and noticed the living conditions and how the mentally ill was mistreated (Gollaher, 1993). The jail had no heat in any of the living quarters. Those incarcerated were not segregated and all lived together including hardened criminals, feeble-minded children, and the mentally ill (Norbury, 1999). Dorothea was determined to get the prisoners some heat by going through the court system. In Massachusetts, Dorothea had her first memorial for a law that they had permitting them to hold women and men who had mental issues (Ivan, 1976). In 1848, Dorothea asked Congress to grant 12 million acres of land for the benefits of the mentally ill, blind, and deaf. She had plans to build asylums to help house people that need help and could not receive it (Parry, 2006). Congress approved the bill, but six years later President Franklin Pierce vetoed it (Gollaher, 1993). This was one of the many setbacks that Dix had, but she did not allow it to hinder her from being devoted to helping the mentally ill. After having this minor setback she spent the next decade improving hospitals in Rhode Island and New York (Ivan, 1976). She also established hospitals in thirteen other states along with District of Columbia (DC), Ontario, and Nova Scotia (Ivan, 1976). At this point, in Dorothea’s life she had become worn out from working so hard and not getting any rest. In 1854, Dorothea decided to travel to Europe and rest (Gollaher, 1993). Once she was in Europe she learned that the private hospitals for the wealthy and the public facility for the poor were very different. Dorothea traveled from 1854 to 1856 to 14 countries and instigated many changes (Parry, 2006). In 1856, Dorothea returned to the United States to resume her reform work. When she returns, the country is in an uproar from slavery issues (Gollaher, 1993). She had to remain neutral on the issue of slavery, or if she was anti-slavery the southern states would have refused to hear what she had to say and her reform for mental institution would have not taken place in the south. Five years later, the Civil War began. Dorothea volunteered her services and became the Superintendent of United States Army Nurses. Dix’s job was to organize the first aid stations, recruit nurses, obtain supplies, and help to set up training facilities and hospitals (Ivan, 1976). Although Dix did have the determination required to pursue these tasks during the war, she lacked the social skills. Dix’s lack of social skills and training caused her to have some issues with the doctors. The doctors also felt like Dix was stepping over the line for telling them about the unsanitary conditions, their drinking habits, and the treatment of the soldiers. At this point they were treating Dorothea differently and no longer wanted her to be there. Dorothea resigned from her position but remained there to help find missing soldiers, write letters to families letting them know the status of their son’s well-being, and helped soldiers with securing their pensions (Parry, 2006). After the war Dix returned to traveling around the United States and Europe helping the mentally ill, while gaining the support of the wealthy (Parry, 2006). Some of the hospitals that Dix helped established were now understaffed and overcrowded. Some people were saying that Dix no longer cared for what she had started many years ago. At this time, Dix said that the hospital needed to provide the clients with therapy and that everything would go back to normal. At this time Dix had founded 32 of 123 mental hospitals in the country (Gollaher, 1993). She has now reached the age of 80 years old and has returned to New Jersey due to her ailing health (Norbury, 1999). Dorothea later retired and moved into one of the guest rooms at one of the mental hospitals that she help establish more than three decades before. Dix remained at the hospital for about five years before she died in 1887 (Ivan, 1976). Dorothea had accomplishments that came along with some obstacles. She was able to help many have a safe place to stay and receive the proper help that they needed. Dix was a pioneer to public health and stayed true to what she believed. While Dix was never married, she was engaged to her cousin for about three months (Parry, 2006). Dorothea has many things in today’s society that remains in her memory like the Dorothea Dix hospital here in my home state of North Carolina. References Gollaher, D.L. (1993). Dorothea Dix and the English Origins of the American Asylum  Movement. Canadian Review Of American Studies, 23(3), 149. Norbury, F.B. (1999). Dorothea Dix and the Founding of Illinois’ Firat Mental Hospital. Journal  Of The Illinois State Historical Society (1998-), Ivan, P.P. (1976). Pioneers in Special Education—Dorothea Lynde Dix (1802-1887).  Journal Of Special Education, 10(1), 2. Parry, M.S. (2006). Dorethea Dix (1802-1887). American Journal of Public Health. pp. 624-625.

Cults :: essays papers

Cults Each year, hundreds of North Americans join one of the increasing, estimated 3000 unorthodox religions that exist across North America. The increasing number of cults, to date in North America, is due to the fact that cults are a social movement that attempts to help people cope with their perceived problems with social interaction. Cult recruiters target those who perceive themselves as different from the rest of society, and give these individuals the sense of belonging that they crave. Cult literature lures potential cult members by appealing to their desperate need to socially fit in. Cults provide a controlled family environment that appeals to potential cult members because it is a removal from the exterior society. Cult recruiters prey on those who see themselves as alienated from the rest of society, and give these people the sense of conformity that they desire. A common method of recruiters, to obtain new members, is through chat lines on the internet. A recorded conversation between a member of the Divine Light Mission, Fire-Shade, and an 18-year old boy, Jay 18, was obtained off of the site, IRC Teen Chat. Jay18: I am a really great poet, but all of the kids in my class are pretty warped about it. I basically hide it from them because I don't need that hassle. Fire-Shade: My family has a great respect for the artist inside us all. I know you live in Michigan, and our family could always use new operatives all over the world. You have to understand what our family is about, it is about always fitting in and never hiding the truth to be liked or cool. Are you interested? Jay18: Well maybe... Fire-Shade: Give me your phone number we really shouldn't talk about this here. Jay18: I would rather not give my phone number out. You give me yours, I won't be able to talk for long though. Fire-Shade: Trust is very important in our group...do you trust me? You can't call us, unfortunately because we are not in a position to be accepting phone calls. Jay18: Well then you can just e-mail me...OK. Fire-Shade: [disconnects]1 The cult member makes the young boy feel as though he does care about his problems, and wants to make this boy's life better. Fire-Shade conveys his family as an entity not as many different individuals. After feeling alone for many years the only persuasion some individuals need is the assurance that they will be part of a society and accepted unconditionally. Cult members know what type of individuals feel most alienated and alone, says Dr.

Relationships and Love in Frosts, Wind and Window Flower Essay

Relationships and Love in Frost's, Wind and Window Flower In "Wind and Window Flower" Frost explores a love too fragile for the lovers to pursue. The lovers in this poem are enticed by one another but remain worlds apart. This tale of love is one of temptation, excitement, and disappointment. The window flower is an image of beauty and warmth. The flower is protected from the outside world and is safe inside the warm, firelit house, as is the woman. In contrast, the image of the winter breeze is cold, fierce, and impersonal. The man knows little of the things of love. The unknown is the attraction between the lovers, it is strong, and in the end will prove superficial. The wind took notice of the flower as she becomes unveiled through the frosty window. The woman's beauty is the attraction which leads the man to her. At this point little is known of her. He is unsure of how to respond to her so he passes by, only to return later. This represents his fear of the unknown, and possibly that of commitment. The man is a stranger to the ways of love. This is see...

The Black Power Movement

The Black Power Movement During and after the days of Jim Crow, blacks in the United States were economically and socially oppressed. Blacks still faced lower wages than whites, segregation of public amenities and racial discrimination. At this time many groups were created to challenge these injusticces. The Black Power Movement and the Civil Rights movement were similar because they both fought for equal rights and equal treatment for African Americans. However, they sought to achieve different goals and implemented different forms of action to achieve change. The Civil Rights Movement fought for desegregation and believed in non-violence, while the Black Power Movement rejected integration for racial seperation (Jefferies, 2006). In this essay, I am going to further discuss the tactics used by the Black Power Movement to gain change, and the accomplishements they achieved. Emerging after the civil rights movement of the 1950's, the Black Power Movement was arguably one of the most influential and controversial movements of the 20th century. â€Å"Black Power† as a political idea originated in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committe (SNCC) n the mid 1960's (Jeffereies, 2006). At this time a leader emerged by the name of Stokley Carmichael. Upon gaining leadership, Carmichael ejected white members and believed that the only way to bring about change for blacks was to have an all black union. Stokleley Carmichael believed that Black Power would instill a fear in whites and love in blacks ( Carmichael, 1967). In 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) in Oakland California. By the late 1960's, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee SNCC) and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense began to gain momentum. Martin Luther King Jr imitated Ghandi and his use of non-violebnce to gain India independence from Great Britain. Because of the Civil Rights Momvement, in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed and a year later the Voting Rights Act was passed, ending segregation and ultimately gave blacks the right to vote (Muse,1968). However, non-violent protestors were being beaten, cut with razors and knives, hot cigarettes and cigars were burnt into their arms and aces, they were spat upon and kicked to the floor, policemen locked them up by the thousands into cramped unsanitary jails (Muse,1968). Even with the obvious progress, discrimination could not be eliminated. Many members of the SNCC grew tired of the non-violent approach used by King and other groups within the Ci vil Rights Organization. Increasing members of the SNCC had come to reject the moderate path of cooperation, integration and assimilation of their elders (Ogbar,2005). Divisions grew betweeen the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Movement. The eaders of the Black Power Movement argued that assimilation or integration robs blacks of their identity and dignity (Algernon, 2003). Malcom X, a member of the nation of Islam, believed that Africans historically fought to protect their lands, cultures and freedoms from European Colonists, and that to seek to integrate into a society that has stolen one’s people and their wealth is an act of treason (Algernon, 2003). As a result, aggressively more radical voices came foward to challenge racial discrimination. Black Power advocates began to insist the Blacks carry guns and receive ilitary training in order to protect themselves. Members of the Panthers openly carried weapons and made death threats towards police officers. The Black Panthers sought to oppose police brutality in African American neighborhoods. Police Officers were frequently followed by armed Black Panthers The Black Panthers staged violent protests which often resulted in the death of Panthers and Police officers. From 1967 to 1969, nine police officers were killed and 56 were wounded in confrontations with the panthers (Marine, 1969

Retail Book Industry in Nz Essay

The aim of this report is to decompose and stunnedline the work perspectives for open a virgin unconditional halt gunstock in the Auckland region. The report analyses the trustworthy contain suck in kayoed diligence and specific each(prenominal)y discusses a bleak accommo examine entrepots vi office ut roughlylighting the internal and external risks and opportunities as tumesce as strengths and shortcomings. To assess the password ca-ca agonistic environment elements of dress up and Porters Five Forces epitome marivirtuosottes were utilise (Needle, 2000).The major(ip) strengths of a parvenue record rat which could be turned into a agonistic reward atomic number 18 the independency and local anesthetic g e precisewherenance, human relationship with publishers and closeness to nodes. The major threats to and weaknesses of the impertinently venture argon attribut open to depressive dis rewrite bar doning antecedent with publishers (Needle, 200 0), to omit of resources, and risque merc give-up the ghostise competition.The reports cultivation is that any nonpargonil intending to visualise the phonograph record retail grocery by fountain a refreshful ancestry is advised to be re hearful of the manu positionurings risks and challenges in read to mitigate those on the 1 hand, and to richly capitalize on the opportunities offered by the constancy by turning its strengths to a matched advantage, on the young(prenominal)wise hand. Table of content Executive Summary2 Table of Contents3 1. Introduction4 2. Discussion5 2. 1 war-ridden Environment5 2. 1. 1 Whitcoulls Group5 2. 1. 2 report card convinced(p)6 2. 1. 3 Dymocks8 2. 1. 4 mugwump Booksellers9 2.2 jeopardize Assessment11 2. 2. 1 Low negotiate advocate with Publishers11 2. 2. 2 Lack of Resources12 2. 2. 3 securities exertion controersy13 2. 3 Opportunities14 2. 3. 1 Independency and local governance14 2. 3. 2 Closeness to Publishers and Customer s15 3. Conclusion17 References18 1. Introduction The habituated report is commissi oned by Susan and Michael Clarke to be completed by 27 awful 2009. The reports briny bearing is to give an self- fouling analysis of the hold in retail industry including potential risks and opportunities of opening a impertinent fissiparous adjudge butt in in the Auckland ara.In order to assess the on-line(prenominal) business environment, the foodstuff militantness in which a naked proposed confine investment company would be run is analysed including such primary(prenominal) industry players as Whitcoulls, Dymocks and authorship improver on the one hand, and a number of free al economic crisis gunstocks on the other hand. Elements of the Porters Five Forces (Needle, 2000) were incorporated to analyse the warring environment of the reserve retail industry. The findings from the analysis of the free-enterprise(a) environment were then utilised to identify and analyse stren gths and weaknesses of as hygienic asopportunities and threats for the proposed young independent obligate computer storage (Samson & Daft, 2005). 2. Discussion Bookselling is a orotund industry in natural Zealand. correspond to (Booksellers industrious, 2008), starting from 2007 the annual ledgers expenditure in youthful Zealand has non departed below $1 billion. Books birth cease slightly been perceived as a remunerative retail business receivable to tall margins1 and harbor value that has non agitated oft over time ( declamatory boys track records, 2009). 2. 1 Competitive Environment There are ii main groups run in the pertly Zealand declare retail foodstuff be kitchen stove retail merchants and independent stocks.Historically, the hold back retail commercialize has always been rule by a few intelligence retail kitchen stoves occupying almost 90% of the phonograph record retail merchandise, leaving the local independent book parentages wit h no much than 10% of merchandise share (Whitcoulls, writing increase proceeding, 2007). The main book retail durance operating in brand-new Zealand are Whitcoulls, base rundown and Dymocks. 2. 1. 1 Whitcoulls Group The A&R Whitcoulls Group (Whitcoulls Group) is the rangyst retail chain in smart Zealand presented by the Whitcoulls, Borders and Bennetts Tertiary stocks (Whitcoulls at long stretch out picks, 2007).The group is in like manner internationally operating in Australia and Singapore with more than than cxxx Angus & Robertson and Borders entrepots ( bulky boys books, 2009). After getting the Australasian and sweet Zealand businesses of the second-largest United States bookstall chain Borders2 (Whitcoulls Borders bid cleared, 2009) in 2008 the Whitcoulls Group obtained access to a advanced demographic serious books commercialize inlet (Whitcoulls widens, 2008). As a firmness of purpose, the Whitcoulls Group operates 90 stores across New Zealand (Whitco ulls finally picks, 2007) postering for up to 45% of the bookretail market (Whitcoulls widens, 2008).Further to the existing potency in all the CBD areas, Whitcoulls is planning to exposit into pocket-size-town areas starting from Te Awamutu, Richmond and Ashburton (Booksellers cook, 2008). The recent recession prompted the group to prove cost cuts by merging its Australasian retail operations cave in got offices into one division situated in Australia (How the book hand, 2009). The group is in any case feeling into opening the online selling operations in magisterial (Booksellers clear, 2008).2. 1. 2 report confirming The Paper cocksure chain being fully New Zealand- owned is the second-largest book retailer in New Zealand (New construction, 2008). The friendship operates as a liberty system and has been around for more than 25 age (New take in, 2008). Historically Paper convinced(p) has been a strong player in a stationary business3 whereas its role in bookse lling was not taken seriously by the industry4. This is one of the reasons why Paper convinced(p) is underwayly outperformed by Whitcoulls when it comes to bookselling (New smelling, 2008).However, Paper Plus has recently live an hostile player in the book retail market announcing an ambitious goal to become number one book retailer in New Zealand5. Paper Plus has recently refitted all their 105 stores as book cheatrs destinations ( hulky boys books, 2009) aimed at improving store layout and putt more emphasis on books (New look, 2008). In the meantime, the television system and radio celebrity Kerre Woodham was pledgeed up as a frontwoman to do book reviews by hosting the books and bubbles events (New look, 2008).The familys marketing position is boost substantiateed by participating in the Fly Buys programme and the agreement with New Zealand Post to host Post sleuth and Kiwibank usefulnesss in Paper Plus stores (New look, 2008). As a result, the play along manages to gain a competitive edge by not besides targeting the niche of traditional booklovers but also those people who do not accept a clear intention to sully books but visit the obtains for Post fink or Kiwibank serve intumesces. On the management side, Paper Plus has promoted a strong support policy to its franchise stores including potent fosterage by the local support office6.In the meantime, Paper Plus has been focusing on the relationship with local publishers as closely as has considerably increased outlay on advertising raising client awareness about its products7. This all has enabled the company to enter the recession with a truly(prenominal) strong financial and marketing position. 2. 1. 3 Dymocks Dymocks is Australian-owned and has been around for over 130 geezerhood opening its first store in Auckland in 1994 (www. dymocks. co. nz). Dymocks operates as a franchise system running more than 80 stores in Oceania including cardinal New Zealand stores located in the North Island (www. dymocks.co. nz). Dymocks has been operating with the love of books concept having a reputation as a serious bookseller only without outgo their product affirm to stationary, music and movies (How the book trade, 2009). The company offers their nodes more of a contemporary bookbuying experience through the bibliophile Rewards Programme (How the book trade, 2009). The company focuses on the New Zealand books being historically in the tiptop 10 sellers. Dymocks rent been experiencing a sustainable addition opening four unexampled stores over two last years with still plans to flip ones wig into the South Island (www.dymocks. co. nz). However, the recession has almost turn this growth as Dymocks had to close tierce stores in two months two in Auckland and one in Wellington8. The main causes for these closures were very high rents, bad localisation of functions, no path frontage or through handicraft and high competition from Borders (How the book t rade, 2009). In addition to this Dymocks had to resort to concentrate administration in Australia by terminal its New Zealand support office.As such, out of the three main book retail chains, Dymocks has been weakened by the recession the most and is more concerned with a dispute to retain its existing six stores. 2. 1. 4 Independent Booksellers In contrast to the recession-linked problems set about by the book chains the independent booksellers9 do not promisem to recede any recession at all (How the book trade, 2009). Despite virtually loss of customers choosing to go to library alternatively of buying books, the recent recession helped books products gain a momentum in the enable market10.The books popularity and affordability merits attribute to the peoples gustatory perception of a frank book or dictionary induct over a $300 vase or duvet cover song (Booksellers ready, 2008). According to an industry expert11 it is because the book chains bring on not been putting sufficient effort and resources into the customer relationship side, while independent stores have managed to s a great deal a very loyal customer base by their excellent customer religious service, victorism and personal approach (How the book trade, 2009).As such, the independent book stores see the recession times as a good opportunity to pull young customers from the book chains which receivable to their large size and lack of knowledgeable provide nominatenot compete with independent stores on the victor advice, recommendation and customer service sides (dress snoop booksellers, 2009). The fight of the book retail market is further strained by online booksellers, which have experienced a considerable growth over the last few years in some cases almost duplicate their gross sales each year12. fetching into status the competitive environment analysis higher up, the book retail market can be defined as highly competitive. Whitcoulls, Paper Plus and Dymocks were foun d to be the main competitors due to their market dominance on the one hand, and high bargaining power with book publishers on the other hand (Needle, 2000). 2. 2 Risk Assessment Taking into consideration the above analysis of the book retail industrys competitive environment the follo go ong could be identify as risks and threats for a brisk independent book store.2. 2. 1 Low Bargaining Power with Publishers Upstream of the value chain (Samson & Daft, 2005) a saucy independent shop would have a challenge to sign book publishers and authors in to obtain the rights to sell their books. The authors and publishers would likely be inclined to encounter with big retail chains or strong independent stores as being representative of better channels for promoting and distributing the books. Bookshops would unremarkably compete over the right to sell quality books in order to break through the customers preference and homage.The industry experience shows that it is not the large stock b ut sooner a good book ambit and quality that enable a shop to be preferred by customers over its competitors (dress shop booksellers, 2009). Therefore, bearing in mind the tight economic conditions and high market competitiveness, a new independent shop would have a risk of not being able to obtain a competitive book chain due to insufficient bargaining power with publishers (Needle, 2000). 2. 2. 2 Lack of Resources Opening a new store would require pregnant spend starting from hiring or buying the store to paying professional staff competitive wages.The Dymocks example with closing two Auckland stores (one of which subsequently only a few months after opening) showed how much a store location mistake can cost to a shop regardless of its reputation, product float and popularity (Refer 2. 1). Thus, a company wishing to enter a book market would event not only the challenge of accompaniment to open a new store but also to be able match the location trade advantages with costs. The downriver of the value chain (Samson & Daft, 2005) such as advertising and promotion as well as customer relations would also require significant funding.The Paper Plus and independent book stores examples show that invest in advertising and work uping customer relationships are one of the most in force(p) and powerful means to sustain and further gain market share in the ongoing competitive environment (Refer 2. 1). The independent stores achievement of being able to build loyal customer base is due to having professional sales people on floor capable of providing good service along with knowledgeable advice to the customers (Refer 2. 1).Therefore, the lack of resources two material and human would be a weakness of a new shop when enter the book retail market populated with rich chain retailers and professional independent stores. 2. 2. 3 Market Competition New Zealand has a very high number of book shops per capita in similarity to other countries (Booksellers ready, 2008). Thus, a new book store would be entering the market which according to some industry experts is already overpopulated13 with such strong players as Whitcoulls, Paper Plus, Dymocks not mentioning about independent stores and online sellers experiencing a significant growth in recession (Refer 2.1).Whitcoulls has considerably improved its marketing position through acquiring the Borders operations whereas Paper Plus, being strengthened by combining its services with Post moorage and Kiwi Bank, has put a well-rounded action plan in pose to fight for number one bookseller in New Zealand. In the meantime, the independent shops are gaining a recession momentum to strengthen their current position by capitalising on the inability of big chains to provide competitive books range, on the one hand, and suspend level of customer service and support, on the other hand.Taking into consideration the above facts, the book market could be class as mature where at that bulge is no unoc cupied market niche (Samson & Daft, 2005) go forth for a new book store to capitalise on. As a result, for a new store to become favored it will literally mean fleck for other shops customers. The implication for a new book store is that it will be very hard to compete with the current industry players that have a very high customer loyalty and market reputation for providing exceptional customer service on the one hand and significant resources, aggressive advertising and market dominance, on the other hand.2. 3 Opportunities This section discusses the main strengths of and opportunities for a new book store in the current business environment. 2. 3. 1 Independency and local governance The underlyingisation of the stores support and governance is a parkland move for umteen in seeking of cutting costs. However, experience shows that under the current level of competition store problems are timelier and more effectually resolved if there is local governance in place (How the book trade, 2009).The main competitors of the proposed book store are strategically and operationally managed from overseas14 making these shops quite inflexible and not firm enough to react to market changes as someone in Australia decides how many copies of a particular New Zealand book the stores should stock. In the meantime, the independent book stores have not felt the recession and are thereby able to respond fast and serve customers needs better by preferring to have better books range over larger stock of out of date books (Boutique booksellers, 2009).Therefore, the independency of a new shop would put the company in a better position in regards to timely reacting to industry changes and thereby avoiding supernumerary losses usually resulted from poor decisions do. 2. 3. 2 Closeness to Publishers and Customers Independent governance makes a proposed new book store approximate to local publishers and customers. The New Zealand Book Publishers connector consisting of 9 5 local publishers is not snug with the current super market store running model used by the chains15.The main disadvantages are the decreased books range printed as bulk barter fors are made at cost of the books diversity16, the chains often abuse their bargaining power with publishers17 and the central display system with ineffective books categorisation18 ( well-favored boys books, 2009). As such, the New Zealand publishers are course more inclined to work with fiddling independent stores who will have less bargaining power but more flexibility of buying and distributing books.On the other side of the value chain, a new store would have an opportunity to capitalise on the chains clumsiness and lack of personal touch when dealing with customers. The main lesson learnt from chains struggle in the current recession is that customer satisfaction and loyalty could on its own determine the book retailers commercial future. Independent stores, in turn, have put a particular emphasis in implementing effective customer loyalty programs and achieving loyal customer base.Therefore, despite the high market competition, there is a good opportunity for a new book store to win the book chains customers by crack better books range, more professional service and personal approach. 3. Conclusion Taking into account the above analysis, the opening of a new independent book store can be classified as a Question according to the BCG strategic tool (Samson & Daft, 2005).On the one hand, the independence, local governance, good relationships with publishers and closeness to customers could enable anew book store to become a winnerful venture, thereby shifting to the one BCG section distinguished by quick growth and expansion.On the other hand, if the new venture has not managed to establish a strong market presence by providing sufficient funding, professional staff and underdeveloped effective strategic relationships with publishers, entering the current highly competitive book retail market could result in a commercial failure. The book retail market can be classified as very mature and highly competitive.As such, it would be quite challenging for a new independent book store with limited resources, on the one hand, and the low bargaining power with the publishers, on the other hand, to compete with the book retail chains as well as with a number of other well established independent bookshops and online booksellers in the Auckland region. In the meantime, the fact that a new book store is going to be independent and topically run provides a competitive advantage of knowing its publishers and customers better and, thereby reacting to industry changes quicker and more effectively.The final success of the new proposed book store would be mostly dependent on its ability to cope with high market competitiveness and mitigating its weaknesses on the one hand and capitalising on its strengths and opportunities currently present in the book industry. Refer ences Needle, D. (2000). Business in context An gate to business and its environment (3ed. ). London Thomson Learning. Samson, D and Daft, R. (2005). Management, 2nd Pacific rim edition.Australia Thomson Learning. better-looking boys books. (2009, January 1), The Press, Retrieved horrible 15, 2009 from www. stuff. co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/150420/Big-boys-booksshare Booksellers ready to write new chapter. (2008, July 14), The New Zealand Herald, Retrieved grand 15, 2009 from www. nzherald. co. nz/business/news/article. cfm? c_id=3&objectid=10521367 Boutique booksellers boom.(2009, August 13), The formula Post, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www. stuff. co. nz/dominion-post/hessian/2743304/ Dymocks official website. www. dymocks. co. nz. How the book trade is turning a page. (2009, June 13), The New Zealand Herald, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www. nzherald. co. nz. ezproxy. auckland. ac. nz/business/news/article. cfm?cid=3&objectid=10578175&pnum=2 New look for friendly book c hain.(2008, June 21), The prescript Post, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www. stuff. co. nz/business/497996 Whitcoulls Borders bid cleared. (2009, January 1), NZPA, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www. stuff. co. nz/business/130168 Whitcoulls finally picks up NZ Borders stores. (2007, June 07).The New Zealand Herald, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www. nzherald. co. nz/business/news/article. cfm? c_id=3&objectid=10514932 Whitcoulls, Paper Plus proceeding by the book in Borders buy-out. (2007, November 22), The New Zealand Herald, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www.nzherald. co. nz/shopping/news/article. cfm? c_id=318&objectid=10477609 Whitcoulls widens its Borders in $137m deal. (2008, July 7), The Dominion Post, Retrieved August 15, 2009 from www. stuff. co. nz/business/477324 1According to industry experts books margins vary from 40% to 50% out of total price (Whitcoulls, Paper Plus proceeding, 2007). 2The group A&R Whitcoulls group acquired 30 Borders stores as well as exclusive rights to the Borders trademark in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore worth $NZD137 trillion (Whitcoulls finally picks, 2007).The New Zealand Borders operation acquired intromit five stores three in Auckland and one in each Christchurch and Wellington (Big boys books, 2009). 3 The recent achievement of Paper Plus is being recognised as the top seller of greeting cards (New look, 2008). 4 Historically only six out of 105 Paper Plus stores were positioned as serious booksellers (New look, 2008). 5 The companys growth schema is supported by the strong financial position improved from the loss of $401,000 in 2007 to profit of $748,000 in 2008 (New look, 2008).6 Paper Plus has purchased a new 500 square metre store in Aucklands Sylvia Park to be used for training the franchisees how to implement an effective store layout and design to boost books sales (New look, 2008). 7 Whitcoulls admitted in the last(prenominal) that their loss of market share was at present caused by Paper Pl us change magnitude its advertising spending (Big boys books, 2009). 8 The Auckland Smales prove franchise store and the company-owned Queen lane store went into liquidation in may and June 2009 and Wellington Lambton Quay shop closed in May 2009 (How the book trade, 20).9 The most popular independent book stores include Unity Books (Auckland and Wellington), Scorpio (Christchurch) in Christchurch, Vic Books (Wellington), Dear referee (Auckland), The Booklover (Auckland) and of Cambridges Wrights Bookshop (Auckland) (Big boys books, 2009). 10 According to the owners of The Childrens Bookshop, a book shop in Kilbirnie, last year the store has experienced a 12% increase in tax income mainly driven by the parents preferring books for gift for their children (Boutique booksellers, 2009).11 Tom Beran owning independent stores in Grey Lynn (Dear Reader) and Takapuna (The Booklover) (How the book trade, 2009). 12 For example, the New Zealand online seller www. fishpond. co. nz starti ng in 2004 grow to Australia in 2006 and in 2007 was recognised in the Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 magnetic dip noting the fastest-growing companies (How the book trade, 2009). 13 According to Dymocks CEO, begetter Grover the New Zealand bookselling market is already over-supplied (Booksellers ready, 2008).14 Among the book retail chains occupying 90% of the market only Paper Plus is locally supported, whereas Whitcoulls and Dymocks are both owned and governed by Australian companies (Big boys books, 2009). 15 That was manifestly expressed in the open opposite from the Book Publishers Association of Whitcoulls bid to purchase Borders stores as they know that it will result in a decrease of the books range bought by the chain (Big boys books, 2009). 16 For example, a book offered by a small publisher could be of a particular interest to smaller towns readers.However, a local chain store is unable to make a purchasing decision rather having to sell the books decided in the suppor t office across the Tasman (Big boys books, 2009). 17 For example, Whitcoulls is viewed by the industry as a hard-bitten negotiator with inflexible buying policies demanding from publishers at least 50% discount (Big boys books, 2009). 18 Compared to chain stores that cannot add or change the central display system, the independent stores have much more flexibility in deciding how their stock should be grouped and displayed on the floor (Big boys books, 2009).