International Brand Strategy

4. Identify the factors that need to be considered when developing a brand strategy within the service-based industries and explain why the development a clear and consistent corporate brand image and reputation is a fundamental part of international brand strategy. Corporate brand image: Branding is the art and science of identifying and fulfilling human physical and emotional needs by capturing their attention, imagination and emotion.Your corporate brand is, more than anything else, the most significant thing that will define you in the public eye, and therefore the one that will help to ensure your success – or your demise. A strong brand image and name will boost confidence throughout the business, and create a strong, successful impression in the market. Keller (2003a) says, â€Å"technically speaking, then, whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand† A brand serves to identify a product and to distingu ish it from competition. The challenge today is to create a distinctive image† (Kohli and Thakor 1997) The resource-based view within the strategy literature has argued that sustainable competitive advantage is created primarily from intangible capabilities, including brands and reputations (Omar et al. , 2009) The relative importance placed by the firm on its corporate identity also influences brand structure. Companies such as IBM and Apple place considerable emphasis on corporate identity (Schmitt and Simenson 1997).In the case of IBM, â€Å"Big Blue† is associated with a solid corporate reputation and reflects the company's, desire to project an image of a large reliable computer company that provides products and services worldwide. The IBM logo is featured on products and advertising worldwide to convey this image. Equally, Apple used its neon apple logo to project the image of a vibrant challenger in the personal computer market. Why does it matter? †¢Identi fication of sources of product †¢Assignment of responsibility to product maker. †¢Risk reducer †¢Search cost reducer †¢Symbolic device Signal of quality †¢Promise or bond with product or maker Advantage: Awareness The harder a company works on its branding and identity, in most cases, the more awareness it creates. For example, Coca-Cola is known worldwide for its product. A consumer can see it in a foreign county, with labelling in a foreign language and know it is a Coca-Cola product. The red colour and shape of the bottle is an immediate trigger in many minds as to the fact that the drink is a Coca-Cola product. This is branding and identity at its best. Advantage: Consistency in the MarketplaceThe more often a customer sees your brand in the marketplace, the more often he will consider it for purchase. If the brand and identity are truly kept consistent, the customer is more likely to feel that the quality is consistent and to become a loyal follower of the brand. However, this means that the product must maintain a consistency that reflects the image as well. Attract stakeholders, which can aid the development of strong business relationships. Focuses on long term growth Disadvantage: Can Become Commonplace Many brands strive to be No. 1 in the minds of consumers. For example, in many parts of the U.S. , people request a Coke when they go to a restaurant, not necessarily meaning a Coca-Cola product, but any soda. While it is the goal of branding to become the standard, it is not the goal to become the generic term of a line of products. Disadvantage: Negative Attributes If a product or service experiences a negative event, that will become attached to the brand. For example, a massive recall or unintentionally offensive ad campaign can tarnish a company’s brand and image, causing the company to need to build a whole new brand and identity to recapture its place in the market.An important element of a firm's overall brand st rategy is its branding policy. Strong brands help the firm establish an identity in the marketplace and develop a solid customer franchise (Aaker 1996; Kapferer 1997; Keller 1998), as well as provide a weapon to counter growing retailer power (Barwise and Robertson 1992). They can also provide the basis for brand extensions, which further strengthens the firm's position and enhance value (Aaker and Keller 1990). In international markets, the firm's branding strategy plays an important role in integrating the firm's activities worldwide.A firm can, for example, develop global brands (using the same brand name for a product or service worldwide) or endorse local country brands with the corporate brand or logo, thus establishing acommon image and identity across country markets. The top three strategic goals for brand strategy nowadays are increasing customer loyalty, differentiating from the competition, and establishing market leadership (Davis and Dunn 2002). A company with a well-e xecuted branding strategy gains important competitive advantages over its rivals.An effective branding strategy creates a clear and consistent identity for your products, based on qualities that are important to the market. Your branding strategy positions your products clearly in the minds of customers and prospects, and differentiates your products from competitive offerings. A well-executed branding strategy builds on the strengths of your brand by communicating brand values clearly and consistently. The measure of a well-executed branding strategy is immediate recognition by your target audience with consequent impact on your sales success.The key questions that companies need to ask themselves when developing a brand include: * What is the need we need to satisfy? * What are our core competencies? * What is the reason for this brand to exist in the world? * What is the role of branding in the context of the business strategy? Is it a functional or emotional brand? And then ther e are the internal and external focuses. To maintain a positive brand reputation, there are 3 things that are required: Good leaderships skills from managers that can drive the company towards their aims and objectives * Dedicated staff that possesses the same values reflected from the brand even in the workplace. * A good clean image in the eyes of the public. No controversies The key factors that need to be considered when developing a brand strategy include: * Purchasing * Distribution * New products * Value Purchasing A well-executed branding strategy makes it easier for your customers to make purchasing decisions about your products.They have a clear perception of the performance, benefits and quality of your products. The confidence that the brand will continue to meet their expectations minimizes customers’ risk in purchasing your product. A strong brand helps you build long-term relationships with your customers. Customers continue to buy from companies they trust, so it is important to continually reinforce the brand values that are important. Distribution You can also strengthen your presence in retail outlets and distributors through a well-executed branding strategy.Retailers feel confident in stocking a product with a strong brand, because they know there is strong consumer demand for that product. Your brand strategy can help you sell into retailers and build retail sales by stimulating demand. Encouraging distributors to use your branding material in their communications can also help to build business by giving customers confidence in the service they receive from the distributor. New Products A strong brand makes it easy to introduce new products that carry the same branding. The new product could be a range extension — a different size, color or version of an existing product.In the minds of customers, the new product will have the same qualities as the existing range because of its association with the existing brand. Value A w ell-executed branding strategy ensures that your brand makes an effective contribution to profitability through increased revenue, improved distribution and growth through new products. This, in turn, creates greater value for shareholders, making it easier for your company to attract investment and fund future growth There are a few risks that could come up when creating an international brand strategy:Assuming the brand communicates the same meaning market-to- market, resulting in message confusion Over-standardizing or over-simplifying the brand and its management, ie: discouraged innovation at the local level Use of the wrong communications channels, resulting in inappropriate spending and ineffective impact Underestimating the investment, time for a market to become aware of the brand, try it, and adopt it . Not investing in internal brand alignment to ensure that regional employees understand the brand values and benefits and are able and willing to communicate and deliver con sistently.The brand image of an organisation represents the current and immediate reflection that the stakeholders have towards an organisation (Bick et al. , 2003). It is related to the various physical and behavioural attributes of the organisation, such as business name, architecture, variety of products and services, tradition, ideology, and to the quality cues communicated by the organisation’s products, services and people (Nguyen and Leblanc, 2001). Brand image must be consistent in order to have a positive image in the eyes of the public.For example, Clairol introduced a mist stick curling iron in Germany, only to later find out that the word mist was slang for manure. Pepsi translated the slogan ‘The choice of a new generation’ in Taiwan but came out as, Pepsi, it will bring your ancestors back from the dead. These small hiccups may not be enough for major brands that are already established around the Globe, but for smaller brands trying to break into i nternational territory, it could turn into a serious disaster, as it could have been the first impression of that brand for a lot of people.Reputation is an outcome of interactions between stakeholders and the organisation over time (Argenti and Druckenmiller, 2004). An organisation does not have a single reputation at any point in time. It has a number of reputations depending on the stakeholders concerned. Interactions with brand-associated stimuli (including mass communication, employees, agents or other individuals and groups that are linked to the brand), enables stakeholders to form their perceptions of an organisation. These perceptions consolidate to become a single impression at a point in time – the brand image.Over time these fragmentary images evolve to become the stakeholder’s perception of the reputation of the organisation. The corporate brand comprises two aspects: corporate expression and stakeholder images of the organisation’s identity. The fo rmer includes all mechanisms employed by the organisation to express its corporate identity to all stakeholder groups. Corporate expression links the organisation’s corporate identity with its corporate brand and accordingly is classified as part of both constructs.The strategic choices that organisational leaders must make to determine the corporate expression include the conceptualisation and communication of the visual identity, the brand promise and the brand personality. The second aspect of corporate branding encompasses stakeholders’ perspectives of an organisation’s brand. A stakeholder can never interact with an organisation’s corporate identity in its entirety – they interact with aspects of the organisation’s identity and in so doing build their perception of the corporate brand. As stakeholders experience the brand, they develop brand images.Corporate reputation is the sum of all the views and beliefs held about the company based on its history and future prospects, in comparison to close competitors. Corporate reputation: According to Firestein (2006), reputation is the strongest determinant of any organisation’s sustainability. While strategies can always be changed, when reputation is gravely injured, it is difficult for an organisation to recover. The key people who  assess reputation  are: your customers, your employees, your shareholders, competitors, trade bodies and other businesses and influential people in your sector.The key things that you do which  drive your reputation  are simply: your company values, the products or services you offer, the people you employ and how well they work as a team, and the processes that help you run the business. Fombrun and van Riel (2003) suggest that organisations with good reputations attract positive stakeholder engagement. A favourable corporate reputation results in business survival and profitability (Roberts and Dowling, 2002), is an effecti ve mechanism to maintain competitive advantage, and can aid in building customer retention and satisfaction (Caminiti, 1992)While the definition of corporate reputation is debatable, the one proposed by Gotsi and Wilson (2001, p. 29) is instructive: â€Å"A corporate reputation is a stakeholder’s overall evaluation of a company over time. This evaluation is based on the stakeholder’s direct experiences with the company, any form of communication and symbolism that provides information about the firm’s actions and/or a comparison with the actions of other leading rivals. Organisational culture and business processes are also important levers that ust be aligned with the brand promise. Development of a positive brand image will only occur when the brand promise expected by stakeholders is delivered. If this occurs consistently over time, a strong positive corporate reputation will result. Services currently represent a large and steadily increasing share of the g lobal economy (Lovelock et al. , 2004). In Australia, the top 20 brands ranking by Interbrand, reported in BRW, shows that 17 of the top 20 brands are from the services sector (Lloyd, 2001).In the next decade 90-95% of jobs created in the developed economy are expected to be in the services sector. The increasing dominance of the services economy world-wide has led some researchers to pay greater attention to unique aspects of branding services versus goods. For example, de Chernatony and Dall’ Olmo Riley (1999) conducted in-depth interviews with brand consultants and concluded that managers of services brands should not simply rely on FMCG branding techniques, and that adjustments were needed at the operational level to reflect the unique characteristics of services.Emphasising the heterogeneity and inseparability characteristics of services, Berry (2000) conceptualized a service branding model based on 14 high performance service companies, and proposed that creating an emo tional connection with customers was the key to success O’Cass and Grace (2003) found that services brands differed from manufactured goods brands and that services brand managers were faced with challenges that were distinct from those faced by goods brand managers because of the inherent risks associated with services purchasesBusinesses in the service industry are intangible so therefore are very hard to keep control of and measure quality. Kotler (1986) states that the disadvantage that it has over business selling tangible goods is that the service has to be ready whenever the customer wants it. For example, if he wanted to stay in a hotel, then there should be a room ready for him to sleep in. They are perishable, which means that the night that a room was not sold cannot be sold after the day, or an aeroplane ticket cannot be sold off after the flight has taken off. The service industry looks

Civilization and Complex Institutions

Sydra Gianassi Period 5 9/12/12 Civilization Interpretive Essay â€Å"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities. † – Mark Twain. Civilization is the most highly developed phase of human social development and organization. Over thousands of years historians have come to the conclusion of minimums of being a civilization instead of only being a society. The five criteria of a civilization are advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology.The standard high-school criteria are used for analyzing every society to conclude if it is a civilization or not. There is controversy whether connection to a world system should be an addition to the criteria or whether civilization is even a valid concept. The perception of civilization has dated back thousands of years concluding that civilization is a valid concept because it helps categorize alike nations. The high-school criteria are suitable princ iples of civilization and should not be changed.Connection to a world system shouldn’t be added to the criteria because of the redundant contribution to society. The five standards a civilization needs to endure are advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology. These 5 criteria are the exact definition of civilization, each principle balances the other. Without these 5 things a civilization would crumble immediately. Cities are the birthplaces or the uprising of the first civilizations.A city is a large group of different people with different cultures. Cities are a center for trade, allowing the city to grow and advance in a structured location. Another standard of civilization are specialized workers. Specialized labor came from the Agricultural revolution, when humans settled in one place and grew their own food. This caused a surplus of food allowing others to do other jobs which cultivated their culture and society. Without specialized workers societies would survive by hunting and gathering.Complex institutions were started in ancient Egypt. Examples of complex institutions are government, economy, tax systems and law. These types of institutions are used to stabilize the civilization so it won’t fall. Another standard is record keeping. As civilizations became intricate they needed to keep track of everything. Without record keeping we wouldn’t know anything about our past and would make the same faults as our ancestors. Finally the last criteria are advanced technology. Advanced technologies are tools to help improve the civilization.Without tools our ancestors wouldn’t be able to create the simple tools of survival ending humanity all together. With these 5 criteria of being civilization humanity has been able to develop to the different cultures there are today. Civilization is a compelling perception although it has many definitions. Submitting to human society in its entirety is a civilization. The Greek Empire separated them from anyone else who don’t speak Greek. They called the outsiders barbarians or the uncivilized. Another empire that labeled other communities was the Roman Empire.They labeled themselves as a society with its own set of distinctive qualities from other civilizations. The word civilization is an expression utilized to portray societies that have advanced farther than other communities such as Paleolithic life of hunting and gathering. Connection to a world system is not needed to make a successful civilization. Connecting with the outside world doesn’t compose the civilization; it only shapes the society within. It merely advances the civilization further to a modern age such as trade and religion.Trade improves advanced technology and culture. For example the Silk Road was a major trade route. The religious and artistic changes our culture has accustomed today came from the Silk Road. It also changed social acceptance and amplifies social interaction with other cultures. These different cultures whose beliefs and cultures help open new and different cultures from one's own culture, and unlocked wealth and opportunities. The Silk Road was essential to day by day life in route-side settlements. Trade is a key part of civilization but is not needed to survive.An example of a civilization that lived without connection to a world system was Feudal Japan. Feudal Japan was a very private civilization with very little trade decreasing the advancement in technology and weapons. But even without the modern technology from the outside world, Feudal Japan was a successful civilization. So a civilization does not require connection to a world system to survive. In conclusion, civilization is a valid concept because it helps organize areas based on similar culture and technology in an area.Since the five criteria are suitable principles it should not be changed or added to. Connection to the world s ystem should not be a supplementary standard of the criteria of a civilization because of its less important contribution to society. Civilization is the state of advanced culture including advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology. â€Å"Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. † – Vince Lombardi

Comparing two main characters from the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Essay

Comparing two main characters from the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Essay Example Rachel was an eldest daughter of the Price family, and the most unlikely person in the world who can bear with Africa. Incidentally, she happens to remain in the South Africa, successfully running a luxurious hotel, the Equatorial. However, she with several failed marriages was a disillusioned person. Rachel is the youngest of the wise sisters. Leah decides to live in Angola. She has her own humble family with a well-educated black man, called Anatole. Moreover, along with this, she spends her days, devoting her whole life for the needs of the native people; and her family in Africa. Though Rachel and Leah were of the same parents, and shared their childhoods together, they have different personalities and values. In addition, their approaches to overcome various hardships when they were young are dramatically different. Some of the extreme situations show Rachel as a person chasing her selfish and materialistic goal, with her superficial scope of thoughts. Leah, on the other hand was a model of what people ought to be. This gradually shapes Leah's life into a meaningful one, whereas Rachel lives a meaningless life. The beginning of the book depicts the arrival of the Price family to Congo. The way, Rachel and Leah respond to this new environment and their efforts to understand the new cultures are quite different. They are poles apart in the personalities and their perspectives of life are different from each other. Throughout their lives, they show different attitude to the issues, they encounter. Rachel, as a closed-minded newcomer, avoids the Congolese and their culture. She constantly complains about the discomforts she meets here. Her first words uttered in Congo demonstrate her closed-mindedness. "Hey, Ade, Leah, isn't you glad you use Dial Don't you wish everybody did" (26). Although she definitely knows that Congo is not like North America, and is a less civilized, she cannot help saying these impolite words. This proves her immaturity. Rachel's selfishness is highlighted in the event of the invasion of flesh-eating ants. In the middle of the chaos, she worries about, one precious thing. Something from home. Not [her] clothes, there wasn't time, and not the Bible - it didn't seem worth saving at that moment. It had to be [her] mirror .Her idiotic but knowing selfishness does not stop: in the running crowd, she immediately recalls "something she'd read once: if ever you're in a crowded theater and there's a fire, you should stick out your elbows and raise up your feet" and as consequence, she "stuck [her] elbows very hard into the ribs of the people who were crushing in around [her], and kind of wedged [herself] in" and " picked up [her] feet" (363). As an eldest of four girls, Rachel should have at least worried about her younger sisters. Instead, she chooses to worry about her mirror and decides to use other people's power to move her body along to the safe place. From these instances, a reader can conclude that Rachel's personality is immature, selfish, and superficial. Leah, in contrast shows extremely different attitude toward the new environment and her personality is clearly differs from that of Rachel. Leah is opened-minded and respects the new culture. Soon after the Price family settles in the Congo, Leah makes a friend for the first time. She describes her friend Pascal to her family as "[her] nkundi: [her] first real

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 399

Assignment Example Eventually, I realized that I could competently rehearse the notations from the book to the physical environment by playing the right keys of the piano. It is apparent that playing the piano as a music instrument requires the devotion and intelligence of every participant. During the â€Å"Light Bulb† experience, one would acknowledge the essence of enforcing intellectual variations to acquaint slow learners, mid-range individuals, and the competent group with varied tasks that would ease the process of learning. The class session would evoke competence among the majority group of students if the instructor would appreciate the contribution of every student. Further, the evaluation of one’s cultural and lingual background would empower instructors with the ideal approaches in training different groups of students to emulate the ideal notations to the physical environment. The course presented different aspects of acquiring music through the workshop training sessions that were informative on different musical orientations. The unprecedented variations in playing Asian, African, and American among other social systems’ musical notations among through the piano provoked an understanding of the psychological events that revolve around a person’s mind in playing and depicting competence choreography classes of music. However, instructors should critical in predicting the extent at which a student would learn the different notations fast over another, as such would contribute to professionalism and competence in the

Enhancing Cyber Situational awareness through Active Defence Research Paper

Enhancing Cyber Situational awareness through Active Defence - Research Paper Example They include: i. Visualization of Situation Awareness data/ information ii. Metrics iii. Dynamic Risk Assessment for Mission Assurance However, Cyber Situation Awareness is still considered a new field of research that made its mark with Denning’s (1987, 2002) pioneering work on using expert systems to detect computer attacks in 1987, followed by a plethora of experiments thereafter. The early stage of experiments shaped the concept of tactical fusion, which was proposed by the JDL (Joint Director’s Laboratory) model in 1992. This model contains five functional levels such as 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. It was published by Hall, and Llinas (1997). It focused solely on data management to prevent cyber attacks. In it, most of the tasks are concentrated on level 0, 1, and 4. Tadda finds JDL model as a bottom-up, data driven model (Figure 3). The significance of JDL model lies in the fact that it highlights the significance of algorithmic techniques towards supporting situation awar eness (Salerno, Hinman, & Boulware 2005). Figure 3: Tactical Fusion/JDL Model [Adapted from (Tadd 2008)] Explanation From a simple point of view, SA refers to the knowledge about ongoing events in the cyber environments. According to Ensley (2000: 3), SA defines three essential drivers which include perception, comprehension, and projection. As per Ensley, perceptions of cues (which he refers to as Level 1 SA) are fundamental, since in the absence of basic perception of important information the chance of wrongly visualizing the situation drastically increases. In support of this argument she cites a finding that showed 76% of SA errors of the pilots emanated from lack of perception of the required information (Jones & Ensley 1996). Comprehension on the other hand, refers to an outcome of how people interpret, associate, store, and retain information, and thus makes its place in SA process as Level 2 SA in Ensley’s (1995c). The Level 3 SA, i.e., Projection helps operators to perform at the highest level of SA, since it enables the operators to forecast on situation events and its dynamics, Ensley (2000). Ensley further explains that SA is all about â€Å"knowing what is going on,† while from a formal point of view it is all about â€Å"the perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status in the near future† (Ensley 1995b: 36). In a nutshell, Ensley consolidated the theoretical perspective of SA by adding human factors in it, thereby opening a new horizon of developments towards achieving quality SA (Wickes 2008: 397). Endorsement of the above view from a host of researchers (Ensley 1993, 1994; Ensley & Rodgers 1994; Ensley & Robertson 1996; and Endsley et al. 1998) highlighted the temporal aspects of time, as the above view showed that both perception of time and temporal dynamics associated with events play crucial roles in the formulatio n of SA, and a critical part of SA involves understanding of the amount of time available in the occurrence of an event or in the course of an action. Such developments helped researchers to underpin time as an integral part of Level 2

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

History - Essay Example Pappas (1) in his article supported this claim where he mentioned that Americans tend to be calm, sensible and comforting. Such virtues were emulated in them in the midst of disasters. Just like any country, America had many difficulties too but what made them great and were able to stand is their composure and sensible actions. Although, they have diverse religion, Americans had lived up the virtues that are Godly guided since doing so is believed to contribute to the true essence of happiness leading to a better life (Slack, 454). On the other hand, concern for the others is also evident in charity works maintained by Jane Addams in her time and had been adopted by significant figures in the political arena where they find ways to make themselves mutually supporting. The act of giving is also expressed among the ordinary citizens as part of their family or personal life. Charity services were also extended outside the country making America known for its support worldwide. Along th is line, virtue to them likewise connotes power. For this reason, most elected politicians had included in their programs the goal to make the life of people better in times of economic insecurity. Politicians who do not support economic and social flourishing generally lost in elections as they are not popular without such agenda in their program. Not only virtue is concern for self awareness, self development, and duty for others to the Americans, but it also means respect for human rights. Human rights in America have expanded where freedom is acquired and secured for them to live a life suited for the changing times. However, to them rights are useless if they are trampled upon by others, denied by the powerful few, and misused by the individuals. With this, they seek to know themselves better and not just to accept themselves as what they are or what the society think of them. For virtue to be put to use, Americans have to exercise their own judgment from within and not to be d ictated by the rules from the books. They do not believe that the handed rules to live one’s life could make them live a good life but rather consider rights as an intermediary to allow them to live their life well. To sum up, America is a nation who respects the individual and believes in liberty rather than to be dictated (Gary, 527). Added to what was mentioned, virtue is tolerance and appreciation for diverse lifestyle. Thus, they are open to accept individuals from any country to enter their territory as immigrants as long as they meet the qualifications stipulated in their requirement. Unlike other countries, Americans are tolerant to any religion an immigrant may bring in and so with their culture. As such, they are open- minded to give value to varied contributions in these aspects from other people to guide them in their lives and in an effort to reform society. In this aspect, Americans give a high regard to perseverance even in the face of adversities. To ensure th at American citizens and their leaders possessed virtue, they reject dishonest people. This is reflected in the action of the government in terminating the services of government officials and sanctioning those who misuse their power to accept bribe in exchange of approving or tolerating illicit activities. Such action shows their rejection of corruption

What is the effect on african people of growing up in poverty Essay

What is the effect on african people of growing up in poverty - Essay Example African countries fall near the bottom of any list measuring small size economic activity such as gross domestic per capital and income capita, despite the wealthy natural resources. Poverty in Africa is mainly in rural areas. Over seventy percent of the African poor people reside in rural areas and highly rely on agriculture for livelihood and food. Eastern and Southern Africa are the parts with a high concentration of persons. The situation of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is rising faster than the population itself (Kavanagh, 2011). In many parts of Africa, poverty has its origin from the colonial system and the institutional and policy constraints that is forced on poor people. The land is a major issue in Africa, with many African nations having land ownership disputes leading much useful land being unused. In some other parts of Africa, there is the unreliability of rainfall causing lots of food shortages. There is an association between poverty and climate change. Poverty raises the propensity and severity of calamities reduce people’s ability to reconstruct and recover. Africa’s economic depression is self- perpetuating as it leads to more of the warfare, diseases, misgovernment, and corruption. Poverty in Africa makes people have difficulties in attaining their basic needs like food, clothing and shelter. People are living in extreme poverty rarely access highly nutritious food. Even if these foods are accessible, it is likely that they are not able to buy them. People in poverty are scrawny simply because they do not have enough food to eat (Cleveland, 2014). One of the most severe effects of poverty in Africa is health effects. Diseases are most common with people living in poverty since they do not have enough resources to maintain healthy living conditions. Sanitation conditions are indigent, increasing the possibility of contracting diseases. Additionally, due to

British Media and Cultural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

British Media and Cultural Studies - Essay Example It is often called as Pop culture or popular culture since this is followed by people irrespective of their class or religious affinities. Mass media plays a very importanty role in disseminating values or ideas of mass culture. In fact, mass culture is possibly acquired due to modern communications and electronic media. These agencies use their wide networks and mass reach to popularize and transmit ideas and values that are picked by the population. Thus mass culture is different from so called subcultures where there is a certain distinctiveness due to community or religious or regional concepts. This culture or concept actually gains recognition because it is loosely based on ideas of freedom and liberalization. People can choose to be free from their regional and religious disparities and gain common ground for interaction with each other. This could in a form of music, art, films, fashion or the form of language they use to comminicate with each other. Earlier. It was thought t his mass culture or pop culture is only associated with young population. But it is not so , even the adults or the older generation identifies itself with with the value system or the new ideas. Thus mass culture is the value system whose appeal cuts across all barriers of education, sex, age, religion or community. Paul Hodkinson talked about the concept of subcultural substance in h... These four criterias should be used to ascertain the worthiness of something being a subculture. Thus these criteria are used as a tool for description and analysis of different subcultures. A subculture is a distinct subset of a culture, which coexists within a culture and is distinguishable from the majority culture by its values, ideas and a common way of life. Fischer defines a subculture as, "...a large set of people who share a defining trait, associate with one another, are members of institutions associated with their defining trait, adhere to a distinct set of values, share a set of cultural tools and take part in a common way of life" (Fischer, 1995). Identity: The people of a subculture have a distinct feeling of identity which they share with other members.of their group. This feeling is the feeling of oneness amongst them. Commitment: The commitment of the members of a subculture towards a common shared way of life is another important factor. The people follow certain rules or set of practices that they follow in their everyday routine. And they show a particular commitment to guard or protect their unique practices or the values that make them distinct from others. This is passed on from generation to generation within the community. Consistent distinctiveness: The third criteria of consistent distinctiveness is the existence of a set of shared tastes and values which is distinctive from those of other groups and reasonably consistent, from one person to the next and over the years. This is again passed from generation to generation. Autonomy : As per Hodkinson, autonomy is the fourth criterion to be evaluated when defining something as a subculture. Autonomy is nothing but a action of self government. This is not a sort of

Tip Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tip - Assignment Example The practice has become a common thing to diners, waiters and other customer servers and customers, alike. Yet there are different reactions to it that it is interesting to note and learn from what people think about the matter. For the receiver of the tip, it is always a welcomed blessing for them to be given a tip for whatever service they have given. To some, it is considered a just compensation for what they did because whether they work well or not, their salary is often low. Thus, better performances are compensated through tips. However, there are also some who look at customers demandingly, thinking that it is but right for customers to give them tips because of the little favors they have done expecting to be paid in return. Still for others, tips can become a motivation for them to do even better in giving services. This brings problems to the attitude of employees towards customers. Sometimes, workers tend to do better when they serve potential clients whom they think would be benevolent enough to give more money but they would not give their best efforts in serving ordinary people. This brings problems that make customers feel discriminated and unsatisfied which in general affects the waiters, r eceptionists and other employees in being perceived negatively. On the other hand, the givers also have different reactions to tips. Some people think about it as a form of begging because they perceive tipping as a forced additional payment that they are obliged to give to the people who served them. Oftentimes, such reactions come from the similarly hard-working people who are not paid very well. However, there are also those who give tips grudgingly considering that they worked harder than the people who served them therefore, they are more entitled to the money than the one who served them. There is the perception that such employees are paid by their employers so they should not give more money to

The Applicability of the Porter Diamonds Framework Essay Example for Free

The Applicability of the Porter Diamonds Framework Essay The car industry contributes for 40% of German exports. Germany is the third world car producer and approximately 6 million cars are produced every year. Among these firms are the luxury firms such as BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Audi. Let’s consider, first of all, the factors conditions in relation to the car industry. These factors express the Nation’s position in factors of production such as unskilled labor, skilled labor, infrastructure, natural resources†¦ * The industries are based on a high technological region, in the center of a zone of economic development. * Germany has always considered very important the transmission of scientific and technical knowledge: from the mid XIX century, a huge net of technical schools has been created (the Gewerbeschulen). Those schools became later engineers school and technical universities. Today, Germany sustain this effort in favor of a â€Å"knowledge society† by taking measures such as the â€Å"Exzellenzinitiative† which is backed by Angela Merkel and allocate 1,9 billions in order to maintain German research among the top 3 in the world. This initiative wishes also to sustain the creation of clusters. * In Germany, approximately one job out of seven is linked (directly or indirectly) to the car industry. The labor is very skilled. * Germany’s position is also an advantage: the country is in the heart of Europe and shares borders with many countries. * The transport infrastructure is optimal (railway, important harbors, road infrastructure†¦) The Demand conditions are another factor of the Porter’s diamond: * The local consumer is demanding: quality is very important * Huge population. * The wage level is high among the population * Increase of revenue levels in emerging countries. The demand abroad is high. The Related and supporting industries (clusters of industries) factors: * Presence of competitive suppliers * Presence of clusters (and government incentives in order to develop them) * Presence of a labor market that develops specific skills relevant for the cluster Firm strategy, structure and rivalry factors: * The four luxury brands are based in the same region. Therefore there is a strong competitiveness among them. However, each brand has a specific positioning. * The local context favors investments and constant improvements. Government: * There are no speed limits in Germany therefore sport cars can be used to their full potential. * Incentives to sustain scientific development and the creation of clusters. [ 1 ]. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89conomie_de_l%27Allemagne.

Mission And Vision Of Etihad Airways Tourism Essay

Mission And Vision Of Etihad Airways Tourism Essay 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify the Mission and Vision of Etihad Airways. The national flag carrier of the UAE, Etihad Airways and its journey so far since its inception in 2003 have come a long way to exudes in class, quality and ample hospitality which were crucial for the airliner to create a competitive edge in the industry at large and in the market often known for its competitive environment. However, the bigger challenge is staying at the top and progressing further in such volatile market environment. Taking a tour of the company website (www.etihadairways.com) we come to the knowledge that Etihad and its services in the industry is at par with world class expectations. Hence it will be proper if we analyze all the relevant factors of the structural process of the company and how it functions day in and day out in setting a road map for itself to be recognized as one of the fastest growing national flag carrier of the UAE, and a competitor in the industry. And the following discussion relates to each aspect the macro-economics analysis, PESTLE concepts, and SWOT analysis. Mission and Vision of Etihad Airways Before we attempt to identify the vision and mission of Etihad airlines, it will be proper to relate on Etihad story and its making. In that essence, the corporate communication from the airliner part describes how in particular the airline is different from the maddening crowd. In addition to put pleasure back into flying is also one of the airliner motto and narrative of an account of their cultural aspects. (Etihadairways, 2010) We can further add that the vision of Etihad airline is also closely linked to its Arabian heritage in particular. Take for instance the corporate communication in that regard, which states that reflecting the national identity of the country and its Arabian heritage and hospitality is one dominant factor, where cultured approaches to hospitality, apart from considerate, generous and warm hospitality are at the roots of Etihad cultural blend. The vision of the airline is also to become one of the global airliners that exude a truly 21st century, where challenges, and changing environment, plus an engaging vision to break the convention, (Etihad, 2010) constitutes its deep rooted vision. Thus, Etihad Airways mission like any considerate corporate is to give a refreshing welcoming to their guest, where travel should be safe and secure in an environment that is friendly, and where global standards in both terms is practiced, be it hospitality or in the technical aspects in assuring a safe journey for its guests. (Etihad, 2010) 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How is the Macro-Environment of Etihad Airways in UAE? Analyze the influences of the PESTLE variables in the decision making. Macro-Environment of Etihad Airways in UAE In economic terms, macro-environment relates to factors that are uncontrollable and that which are fluctuating. Thus, in macro-economics sense, and when it concerns businesses, macro-level criteria includes objectively based variables and factors such as social, cultural, technological and the likes of political forces, languages, religion geography, economics blocs, (Mooij, 2004, p. 55) etc, which plays a significant role in deciding organizational comparative management in a global economy. Hence, it is no different when it concerns Etihad as well in that regard, given that market forces at times plays a crucial role in deciding the company strategies and its management, where the understanding of convergence and divergence at the macro-level is very important (Mooij, 2004, p. 56) especially for airliner that face a competitive environment in the global industry. Nonetheless, to be more precise in reflecting the macro-environment of Etihad Airways, news reports gives thumbs up for the Etihad in terms of macro-environment factorial aspects, given that the airline recently extended its market cap and global networks, where an agreement was singed with Yemen airways. (Karam, 2008)Hence in economic sense, the agreement with Yemen airlines will gives Etihad customers a higher hand in the two way travel and in the meantime it will also gives Yemen Airways customer an access to Etihad airways networks, say CEO of the company, James Hogan. (Karam, 2008) In such respect to the development of the macro-environment factors, it appears that Ethiad is very well placed in terms of its competitiveness. And the first quarter growth for the financial years ending 2010, Etihad reported a 25.4% jump in its growth, which as per industry wise comparison is way above, due to factors such as the increase in numbers of seats in Etihad, which is one crucial investment that decided the airline fate accordingly. (BIStaffReporter, 2010) Thus, the above news report is one good example to reflect the macro-environment of Etihad airways in UAE, and a fact that Etihad stood the test of time in macro-economic sense. Influences of the PESTLE variables in the decision making In the case of Etihad, it is assumed that decision making is also at the roots of management imbroglio. However, what surprises us is the fact that Etihad in all instances involving its strategies have come out with flying colors and success. That makes it curious to reflect on how the PESTLE variables influence decision making at Etihad. But what is a PESTLE variable? Understood in simple terms, PESTLE variable or PESTLE analysis of macro-environment reflect the macro economic concepts such as the one discussed above. In addition taxes, new laws and the likes of governmental policies etc, also influences firms decision making. (OxfordUniversityPress, 2007) Hence, A PESTEL variable constitutes the factors that are relevant to influence decision making. It can take the form of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and finally Legal factors which defines the environment of a company. (OxfordUniversityPress, 2007) Laying emphasis to this notion, we can drive home the facts that Etihad Airways is in line with respecting all the environmental regulation while conducting business. The partnership with Masdar signed in 2009 is one crucial factor on the environmental front and decision reached in that regard. (EtihadAirways1, 2010) On the political factors, Etihad is known be compliant with local and foreign policy makers, be it in US, UK and in UAE. Moreover, on the legal factors, its influences are paramount concerning Etihad management. Moreover, technological and social aspects also take centre stage in influencing decision at Etihad, and the following SWOT analysis bears testimonial. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conduct a SWOT Analysis of the Internal and External environment of Etihad Airways. Concluding on SWOT analysis: The Internal and External environment of Etihad Airways Strength: The biggest strength of Etihad can be laid emphasis to its world class services. And as a competitor in the market, Etihad awards itself speaks volume on this front. (EtihadAirways2, 2010) Weakness: When it matter to Etihad weaker points, news report relates that its cargo division present some of it, given that revenue factors are also considerably made out from cargo operations. Without any strategic outline, cargo division suffers. However, with new leadership in line and strategic development undertaken, there is a positive scope that such weakness also can be overcome, say Etihad insiders. (KhaleejTimes, 2010) Opportunities: As we have related above, Etihad Airways is in the process of numerous agreements, be it with Yemen Airlines as related above, or the likes of expanding its destination far and wide in foreign markets. Hence, the international Air Service Contract awarded by the Federal Government of Australia very recently as reported in AmeInfo.com (AmeInfo, 2010) presents the opportunistic platform of the company, we can conclude. Threats: In the global environment, threats are paramount, especially concerning airline industry. In that respect, Etihad has taken special measure to update and keep it guest informed of any changes in regulation, be it in the domestic or international routes, (AmeInfo1, 2006) in order to avoid with any issue that may arise due to business threats.

The Main Themes of Journeys End Essay -- Journeys End R.C. Sherriff

The Main Themes of Journey's End Sheriff showed a lot of themes in this book, which made it very effective. The main themes were: Heroism, The reality of war Grief/mourning Irony of the play Cowardice/fear Hopelessness of war The cross section of types of people/officers The coping of the pressure of war. Duty In heroism, in this text, we clearly see that Raleigh tries to be a hero but fails. Raleigh (excitedly): "I say Stanhope's told me about the raid". This suggests that Raleigh had a set picture of war (go and kill the enemy and be a hero), but he didn't know the reality of it (death). In the text, we see a quiet hero shown in Osborne. Osborne: "my names Osborne. Second in command of the company. You can call me 'sir' in front of the men". This suggests that Osborne went day in and day out for his country and did his duty, even though he knew he was going to die for a hopeless cause. He was also very level headed, and was referred by everyone by 'uncle', so he made a great hero. In the text, we see that Stanhope is nearly everyone's hero (Raleigh's the most). Raleigh: he was skipper of rugger at Barford, and kept wicket for the eleven". This suggests to us that he was a born leader, as he led school teams, making him a great leader and is also admired by a lot of his collies, as he is very committed to his job. In the reality of war, in the text, we see from Raleigh it is very quiet. Raleigh: "I've never known anything so quiet". This suggests Raleigh is very inexperienced, and he is learning the reality of war in this aspect. In the text, we see that the expectations of Raleigh about the war are very different. Raleigh: "it seemed so frightfully quiet and uncanny... ...o cope; this must be very effective that's why he's coped so long with the war. In the theme of the coping of the pressure of war, each person has his own way of coping with this pressure, some pretend life at war is like life at home. In Duty, we see Osborne not complain about the raid. Osborne: Oh (pause) Why Raleigh"? This shows us that Osborne is ready to die for his country, and doesn't try to find a way out. This also shows he's very honorable to his country as he's been in the war long, always doing his duty. In the text, we see Hibbert try to waste time. Stanhope: you're just wasting time as much as you can". This shows Hibbert is not bothered to do his duty; he'd rather die not being a coward, than going out there and dieing for your country. In conclusion, all the themes above where used to great effect in this play, by R.C Sherriff.

The Mexican War Essay -- History Historical Mexico American Essays

The Mexican War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The factors that started the Mexican War lay heavily on American shoulders. Whether if the factors were created by social, political or economical needs, they have all become the center of attention for the question of being a national interest or disgrace. However, the Americans felt that they existed for â€Å"†¦spreading the blessings of peace.† according to Andrew Jackson. There will always be controversy between the two sides of this matter, the Americans who feel that it had to be done, to the Mexicans who felt that it was an injustice done to their nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, socially, the Americans felt that it was their duty to spread their blessings of democracy and peace. Through manifest destiny, they insisted that their motives were pure and unselfish, and were done to help their neighboring nations. However, it actually served as the main driving force for America’s desire for the conquest of Mexico’s land that stretched to California. Another factor that added to their decision of America’s territorial conquest was best said by Walt Whitman, â€Å"†¦What has miserable, inefficient Mexico-with her superstition, her burlesque upon freedom, her actual tyranny by the few over the many-what has she to do with the great mission of peopling the new world with a noble race? Be it ours, to achieve that mission! Be it ours to roll down all of the upstart leaven of old despotism, that comes our way!† America felt that inferior races like Mexico were there ...

The Character of Ophelia Essay -- William Shakespeare Tragedies Essays

The Character of Ophelia In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the characters all have flaws that eventually lead to their undoing. In the play Hamlet, the character of Ophelia is ultimately killed by her flaw. It is apparent that Ophelia is an obedient person but, upon closer inspection, the audience can see that she is not merely obedient. Ophelia’s thoughts and actions go beyond obedience to show that she is a weak and entirely dependent character. Nothing that she says or does is a representation of herself but mostly that of her father. Ophelia’s cruel actions towards Hamlet, which go against her feelings for him, demonstrate her obedience to her father. In the beginning of the play, Ophelia tells her father that she likes Hamlet but her later actions sacrifice these personal feelings under the order of her father. She does as her father says regardless of how it could affect her own life. In particular, Ophelia agrees not to see Hamlet anymore after the request from her father: â€Å"I shall obey, my lord...†(act 1, scene 4). Ophelia’s actions show that Polonius has complete control over her because she sacrifices her personal feelings to please him. Ophelia’s obedience goes deeper than her trying to please her father and shows what a weak character she is. When Hamlet harasses her and tells her to go to a nunnery where she can no longer harm anyone, she does not try to defend herself. Instead, she just feels sorry for herself. Ophelia could not su...

Telpresence

Synopsis: Telepresence is key to offering businesses of every size and location to grow globally with low cost expansion. Telepresence offers face to face interaction between individuals, with miles and miles between their monitors. The technology of telepresence offers many avenues of expansion, growth, costs saving and co.uk/memo-the-retreat-and-corporate-team-building/">team building, as an all in one product. Businesses of today need to step on board with the meetings and preferred â€Å"contact† of tomorrow. 1) What kinds of limitations do you see for users of telepresence? Is it really a substitute for face-to-face meetings?Make a list of features of face-to-face meetings. Then consider a range of business situations as an employee, from initial hire, to working with a team, to understanding what your boss wants, and even a termination meeting. How would telepresence work for you in these situations? The limitations presented for users of telepresence are the eye contact , body gestures, actual feeling of the atmosphere present with the other individual(s). There is a lacking of personal warmth. I believe that it has to be the substitute for face to face meetings as the world is changing.If it was my decision, I would not think that it is best for business, I appreciate face to face, smell, touch, and feeling. However in today’s business world, it has to be the substitute. Telepresence would work for satisfactory of the business purpose at hand, in an interview, employers can save time by logging onto their computer screen, instead of taking up time meeting, greeting, seating applicants etc. It would allow the employee the benefit of being in familiar surroundings during the stressful interview, as well as cut costs on time, gas etc.Understanding what a boss wants can be achieved, as if your boss is out of the country, he can still be reached and seen and spoken too about the project at hand. He is always available. That is kind of the same a s working with a team; you can consistently be in contact with your team members, even if your team members live on different continents. This allows for technology to stream together continuously as a whole. A termination meeting would be a lot less stressful if it happened somewhere else other than work in front of coworkers; also, I am the kind of person that is a better speaker when I am in confrontation, via phone, Skype etc.This would benefit me as I would be persistent and persuasive, more so than I would be in person. 2) What are the business benefits of telepresence described in these videos? What is the benefit of a hologram? The benefits are the strategic communications solution, time management, creating stronger relationships with customers and clients, as well as partners and suppliers, decision making is increased, as well as studies (as you can have individuals in another country with separate data speaking and working with you at once).Travel costs are cut, and empl oyee time is better spent actually working on the project and/or tasks at hand. Also, there are no limitations to how far your business can grow and reach, if a computer is at hand. A hologram benefits individuals as it creates the design of the human, not an avatar but actual human. This is a benefit as it creates the more personal, believable online meeting. 3) In the past, work was organized into central buildings located in central locations (like cities) in order to facilitate face-to-face interactions.What impacts might telepresence have on the organization of work? How could you use these tools to organize work on a global scale with actually building physical facilities in remote locations? The impact of telepresence in large and small origination is immense. Large corporations can place headquarters, units, etc in low cost areas, allowing for cost saving and centralizing of the area. Small businesses are impacted as they are able to compete and operate on a global scale, wh ile still saving money and operating in low cost areas, or even homes.Telepresence strengthens the ability of businesses to operate and expand globally, while decreasing costs, and space needed in the previous central buildings in skyscraper cities. 4) Why is it important that the remote locations using teleprescence have the same lighting, seating, and style? I believe it is to create a more realism meeting, distracting the viewer with separate lighting, colors, objects, areas etc, only adds to the distraction that it is a teleprescence meeting at hand.The goal of the teleprescence product is to create transparency among users. 5) What applications of telepresence would be useful for marketing to customers? I believe there are many different aspects of telepresence that would be useful for marketing to customers. Customers could see the product in real time being used. They would be able to ask the instructor questions about the product, just as they could be using or showing the p roduct and defects that they are finding.It would be a product that would gain trust as customers could speak with the supplier company in real time. Also, customers could speak about what they don’t like about the product, as well as helping to design future products. It all depends on the product at hand, if it was a large scale product placing demos in remote locations would add to the products success, no matter where the customer lived. The customer would always be able to see and hear the business, and their questions would not go unanswered.

Philosophy †Conscience (90/90) Essay

Discuss critically the view that we should always follow our conscience when making ethical decisions It has traditionally been proposed that the conscience is an established body of authority, essentially justifying the view that it should be ‘followed’. Many notable figures throughout history – Aquinas, Butler, Plato, Freud – have structurally placed it in a potent rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le. Whether this is by means of tripartite analogies, hierarchical standing or even religious eminence, the conscience serves a theoretical, and indeed practical, function as the human and societal arbiter. But then, there is also a possible disparity between the states of individual and collective conscience, contributing to the difficulties in determining which conscience is more suited to enacting ‘ethical decisions’. This predicates an interesting dichotomy: the conscience either does not maintain this degree of control or, conversely, the conscience’s increased social standing grants it an even greater level of authority. It can similarly be questioned whet her or not the conscience’s proposed supremacy necessitates an individual’s reliance on it, or even, whether it is needed at all. Ideas in connection with the conscience are far-reaching. The notion of ‘ethical decisions’ being governed by the conscience implies that there is a principal rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le the conscience must play in enacting them. But, as addressed above, there are solid questions over its reliability: its seemingly potent position and even its existence. My argument follows an objective line, paying close attention to that factor in which man is of sole importance. The human being is the entity the conscience must work alongside, and vice versa. There is a clear discrepancy between common definitions of ‘consciousness’, in turn emphasising the inconsistency of thought on the matter. The Collins Dictionary, for example, defines ‘consciousness’ as being â€Å"aware of one’s surroundings†1; in contrast with the Concise Oxford Dictionary which classifies it as being â€Å"aware of and responding to one’s surroundings†2. Herein, at the outset, lies an issue. ‘Surroundings’ and conditions are clearly noted by both definitions, yet the human acknowledgement and ‘response’ to them are not so. This irregularity is highly relevant when trying to determine the conscience’s rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le in the individual’s ‘decision’-making. The mind’s influence on the individual, the individual’s place in society, and, indeed, individuals themselves, are key to this matter. ***************** â€Å"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ† 3 Presented above is the Biblical proposition most considered to be supportive of the tripartite theory of the Godhead. Theologically, ‘three’ has been a consistent Biblical presence, â€Å"It should be noted at the outset that the Biblical authors’ use of the number three is abundantly attested†4 – The Holy Trinity, Noah’s three sons and Job’s three daughters being notable cases of this. Accordingly, the human being consists of ‘three’ separate elements; either ‘body’, ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’, as is noted above, or, most applicable to the question of conscience: i) appetites ii) affections, and iii) reason – the latter having familiar associations with the conscience. But where does this come into the idea of ‘following’ one’s conscience? Simply put, it is the idea that the conscience is dominant in its essence; that theologians, philosophers and psychologists throughout times past have placed it above appetites and affections. Noted examples of this are Aquinas’ ‘Hierarchy of Being’, Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Chariot’, Freud’s idea of the id, ego and superego, and others; all leading to one literally presented conclusion – conscience is ‘boss’, and ergo, should be ‘followed’. Thomistic philosophy places the conscience in a divine rank; alongside the Bible, the Church and Mankind as a whole. It is divine and institutional law; guided through human mechanisms by the Synderesis Rule: â€Å"the innate principle in the moral consciousness of every person which directs the agent to good and restrains him from evil†5. This can be seen to relate directly to the idea of a benevolent conscience making ‘ethical decisions’ – ‘good’ being the ultimate goal. Butler takes a similar position – â€Å"man is born to virtue†6 – ‘self love’ and ‘benevolence’ being the individual’s guide. But, one might ask whether the apparent requirement to do ‘good’ is really an objective balance. Can one really make an ‘ethical decision’ without knowing the evil? 7 Aquinas asserted five primary precepts which the conscience formulates in an ‘ethical’ judgement – self preservation and preservation of the innocent, continuation of the species, education of children, living in a society and worshipping God. Despite the need for these to be followed, and, of course, definitive of how we make ‘ethical decisions’, it is the fifth that one finds enticing for this particular study. ‘Worshipping God’, the church – a state of authority – or, indeed, perceived authority, guiding our actions. It conforms to the hierarchy of being (an apt link with the tripartite theory) and is a premise for God’s ‘benign tyranny’. God is the pure form of Reason, and is so at the top of the hierarchy, subordinated by mankind – affections – and animals – pure appetite. By this we can see that this hierarchical method is multi-levelled – the human being comprises these attributes just as a collective hierarchy does. They are simply metaphors for the conscience’s divine authority on a bodily and societal level. This is further supported by Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Chariot’; the charioteer representing Intellect/Reason/Conscience, the white horse signifying the aforementioned morals and affections, and the black horse symbolising appetites. One might be too facetious in making this interpretation but the use of a horse somewhat indicates that human beings are majorly of beastly appetites, other than reason – are we God’s ‘beasts’ as it were? Plato himself judged that: â€Å"man†¦is a tame or civilized animal; nevertheless, he requires proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be insufficiently or ill-educated he is the most savage of earthly creatures.†8 Yet, he conversely gives the analogous horse human traits: â€Å"he is a lover of honour and modesty and temperance, and the follower of true glory; he needs no touch of the whip, but is guided by word and admonition only.†9 Even more interesting is Plato’s use of a human being in God’s rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le. This gives two ideas; God is either being anthropomorphised (putting him in inferior standing) or, alternatively, human conscience is God-ly10 – maybe God is our conscience. Maybe He is mankind. Newman supports the former idea; â€Å"an echo implies a voice; a voice, a speaker. That speaker I love and revere†11, by the literal hearing of voices. The ‘speaker’ is the indwelling voice – the conscience – and the reverberation of God’s direct message. Here, on the surface, we can clearly see, due to the divine cloud hanging over this matter (‘God is good’), that the conscience should be ‘followed’ when making ‘ethical decisions’. Yet, one might ask the fundamental question of whether the conscience is worthy of its place above appetites and affections. The empiricist, David Hume, makes his opinion on the matter quite clear: â€Å"reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them†12. He provides a clear argument against ‘always’ ‘following’ our conscience when making ‘ethical decisions’, in favour of our appetites. One might take the view that our primitive nature, without the influence of our conscience and an interventionist (or determinant) society is more equipped to make ‘ethical decisions’. Indeed, the Reformation encouraged the break-away from the Church of Rome and set the individual conscience, not ecclesiastical authority, at the centre of religious life. As will be addressed in further detail later, if our conscience is distorted by society the individual may not be in full control of his own ‘ethical decisions’. One could conversely argue, however, that, as Plato seemingly hinted at above, Hume degrades humanity to the level of animals; that we have no power to reason and therefore cannot achieve ‘God-liness’ or make ‘ethical decisions’ at all. Plato supplemented the ideas purveyed by his ‘Allegory of the Chariot’ through another work The Republic, which, for this essay, provides the basis for examination of the relationship between individual and societal conscience. As with Aquinas, it is a question of hierarchy. The workers – appetite followers – and the soldiers – protectors of the state and morals – are both subservient to the philosopher-kings – the embodiment of reason. Plato’s view was that of an elitist society with the core conscience in charge; â€Å"knowledge is power†13 (â€Å"Conscience is king†14) or, as I might conversely argue, ‘power is knowledge’ (‘King is conscience’). One can draw parallels with Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which, for me, offers an even more appropriate portrayal of this idea: the lowly ‘proles’ comprising the vast majority of society – governed by appetites – the Outer Party – controlled by state values and propaganda, morals, affections – and the Inner Party and Big Brother, the core of the state; the quintessence of the conscience, â€Å"it is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party†15. These two examples demonstrate the conscience of the individual being mirrored in society. It raises issues as to whether the conscience of the collective should be ‘followed’ when making ‘ethical decisions’ as opposed to that of the limited individual; â€Å"only in the mind of the party, which is collective and immortal†16 – drawing distinctly Marxist parallels, and, perhaps more relevantly, conforming to the Thomistic precept of ‘living in a society’. One can link this to the thoughts of Soloveychik; that â€Å"conscience can’t be someone’s own. Conscience is both personal and universal†17. The pluralism, ‘we’, established in the initial proposition is markedly addressed with these connections to societal conscience. One extremity that may arise from this elitist, authoritarian ideal, however, is the issue of mind-control (â€Å"Big Brother Is Watching You†). A conscientious hierarchical society controlling the psyche of the masses may fulfil the rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le of the individual in a more oblique, inflated manner. Appetites, affection and reason being governed by class structure; bringing about a socially solidified conscience. One might apply this to F.H. Bradley’s personification: â€Å"our function [is] as an organ† in a â€Å"social organism†. Thus, if conscience is uniform among individuals, why might ‘ethical decisions’ not be carried out similarly? Baruch Spinoza believed that God’s knowledge is distilled through humanity: â€Å"an idea is adequate and perfect insofar as it represents knowledge of the eternal and infinite essence of God†18. Giving further substance to the idea of an individual’s morals (their ‘ethical’ make-up) being reflected on a collective level. Hume, however, argues against this, â€Å"nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few†19, pondering the dominance of a reasoned minority – the collective’s core conscience – in turn eradicating the starting point for this theory. An answer to the issue in the proposition, however, is still not possible at this point. One cannot yet determine whether the conscience should be ‘followed’ when making ‘ethical decisions’ because of the sheer amount of subjectivity over the ethics of elitism. Still, the plausibility of a societal conscience maintaining this degree of authority is questionable. Despite the seemingly loose connections mentioned above, the conscience of the collective is undoubtedly dissimilar to that of the individual. The juxtaposed issues of freedom and conflicting individual mentality are enough in themselves to maintain this viewpoint. Obviously, this makes us question whether making references to literal states of authority is actually worthwhile. The individual has a conscience which both conflicts and complements the state/collective consciousness. Linking to the above issue, are governments/collectives always an objective balance? Seemingly, there are corrupt governments; history has shown there to be corruption in the Church and other elements of society that control the individual’s mindset. Yet it is indubitably the case that the mind (and conscience) is always influenced by the society in which it operates. This presents a mind-blowing paradox. Society is not only determined by a central conscience but the conscience of the individual is conversely determined by society. This might then suggest that whatever the case, the sole function that drives societal conditions, indirectly assumes its authority over the individual. J.B Watson – the ‘Father of Behaviourism’ – proposed: â€Å"give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select† 20 He places himself – a core being with societal influence – in an authoritative position over specified individuals. This can be compared with the Freudian idea that the superego develops throughout childhood by external influences. The human being is born with the id; the basis for appetites, eros (sex) and thanatos (death) drives – these drives could interestingly be seen in a belligerently potent rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le, supporting the idea of appetital authority à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ la Hume. Subsequently, the ego develops; the presentable faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade that we apply to the world; our affections. Then the superego, our reason and conscience; the irrefutable censor of the human mind. It develops throughout childhood. In tandem with the environmental development, or determinism, mentioned above, â€Å"children are completely egoistic; they feel their needs intensely and strive ruthlessly to satisfy them†21. So by this then, we can see that the tripartite, ‘three’; is a consistent literal basis for the presentation of the conscience. I would, however, question whether this is a valuable method by which to present its authority. There are obvious differences between the theories presented by each of these figures; Freud – socio-psychological; Aquinas – religious; Plato – the soul. These differences mean something. For one, each has specific rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½les. Some may apply strictly to societal conscience (Plato’s Republic and Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four), others may apply merely to the individual (Freud and Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Chariot’). It is nonetheless interesting that the tripartite is consistent throughout different periods and cultures. Ultimately, it comes to the point where one must consult Freud’s verdict to prove what these give us, â€Å"analogies, it is true, decide nothing, but they can make on e feel more at home†22. How else, then, can the conscience be interpreted authoritatively and conclusive of how we make ‘ethical decisions’? Put simply, the conscience is an alarm: it is disturbing; it forces the individual to put themselves in uncomfortable situations and concurrently feel the effects of these. Although there are religious sides to this, for example, the threat, â€Å"he who acts against his conscience loses his soul†23, the principal factor here is indeed guilt. Of course, guilt is the one thing that the layman will consider alongside the conscience. Conscience is guilt to many. The objective conscience works by putting the individual at a discomfort, Freud believing that guilt is the consequence of not obeying it. Dostoyevsky provides a fine example of this in his notorious work Crime and Punishment, where the protagonist, Rodion Raskolnikov, experiences continual mental anguish following his homicidal actions. The novel gives the idea of mental demons – â€Å"If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment as well as the prison.†24 Rodion’s shame ultimately forces him to confess. He ‘follows’ his guilty conscience to make an ‘ethical decision’. This issue is also given great attention in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, in which the king, Claudius, comes to realise, in retrospect, the implications of his fratricide; â€Å"my stronger guilt defeats my strong intent†25. He is, however, prone to continuing his murderous tendencies. Although this is a literary construction, one might suggest that Claudius reverts to his thanatos drive, the superego not taking precedence. Another interpretation is that he adheres to the belief that you â€Å"perform a sin twice and it will cease to be a crime†26, providing a distinctly self-centred stance. Above all, however, this notion of guilt leads us to question whether the conscience’s precedence actually does entail our reliance on it. If the conscience can be seen to be malicious one might assume it is not all good or a worthy mechanism by which to make ‘ethical decisions’. Should we ‘always’ ‘follow’ our conscience if it occasionally encourages us to impart malevolence towards others? Yet, admittedly, I have placed the conscience, somewhat clumsily, in a potent rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le by inappropriately treating it as an inanimate transcendent ‘object’. ‘The conscience’ is a misleading phrase – it can not be addressed in literal terms as the above-mentioned figures and I have done so. It is an ambiguous concept; a culmination of ideas, not a figurehead or core being that people must obey. In doing this I have partially neglected the fundamental points initially outlined; those of human response to the conscience, as well as the issue of ‘ethical decisions’. The point is that the human being is its conscience – they work in tandem – yet the individual conscience is contingent on the social conscience and vice versa. It is an eternal cog of human reasoning, working jointly to maintain relations and prevent wrongdoing. There is a deterministic problem associated with this question: if the conscience is a necessary mechanism then seemingly we cannot escape it – ‘always’ following our conscience places it in a more authoritative rà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½le than a judicial one. Aquinas, for one, believed that ‘following’ our conscience is ‘always’ right despite it not necessarily entailing good – is this really the kind of mindset we want when making ‘ethical decisions’? If one is to take Hume’s view of appetital dominance, the human essence being the guidance of our nature, we can, to an extent, countermand this. One might argue that the conscience is just a constraint on our essential urges. A constraint on the collective’s blossoming; Sartre asserting that â€Å"we must act out passion before we can feel it†27. Even today in such a complex, interlaced world there is a question over whether our primitive essence would beget greater happiness. Not at all am I suggesting that humans should revert to being primal, nor that happiness should be the human race’s ultimate goal, but, in terms of making ‘ethical decisions’, must one rely on the conscience? Indeed, there is a danger that reliance on appetites would encourage societal and individual regression. Hence, a viable alternative must be suggested. For me, this comes in the form of Social Darwinism (‘survival of the fittest’); that mankind evolves by means of competition, â€Å"the very essence of instinct is that it’s followed independently of reason†28. Darwin appeared to prioritise appetites; using them as a means for societal progression. One might assert that this ideal comes closest to loosening the fetters of both individual conscience and societal restraint, whilst not jeopardising our future. In answering the question, the various examples presented in this essay – of the conscience being dominant in its essence – suggest to me that in any case the conscience deters our ‘decision’-making. Indeed, if we feel by any means constrained we are unable to make pure, objective ‘ethical decisions’, ergo, we should not be subservient to the conscience when making them. 1 Collins Dictionary & Thesaurus: Two books in one, 2004 2 Concise Oxford Dictionary: Tenth Edition, 1999 3 1 Thessalonians 5:23 4 Richard D. Patterson, The Third Day Motif, The Use Of Three In The Bible 5 The Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 6 Joseph Butler. Class notes. 7 This is addressed further with the issue of guilt later on. 8 Plato, The Republic 9 Plato, Phaedrus 10 This is intended to mean the essence of God, rather than merely ‘god-like’ attributes. 11 Pope’s Letter On Newman 12 David Hume 13 Sir Francis Bacon 14 Joseph Butler 15 Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part 2, Chapter 2 16 Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part 2, Chapter 2 17 Simon Soloveychik, Free Man 18 Spinoza’s Ethics 19 David Hume 20 John B. Watson 21 Sigmund Freud 22 Sigmund Freud 23 Fourth Lateran Council 24 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment, Chapter 19 25 Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 3, l. 40 26 Jewish commentary 27 Jean-Paul Sartre 28 Charles Darwin

Identify the Mission, Objectives, and Responsibilities of an Organisation Within It’s Environment Essay

An organisation is defined as ‘A group of people working together’ (Collins Dictionary 2001). An organisation is generally accepted as a unit working together to achieve the same goals. Concurring with this statement, Mintzberg (1997) defined goals as ‘the intentions behind decisions or actions, the states of mind that drive individuals or collectives of individuals called organisations to do what they do’. In order for an organisation to work, set guidelines have to be put in place for both short and long term aspirations, to ensure that the organisation is moving as a whole, a unit, to avoid separation, miscommunication, and misunderstanding. This can be achieved by administering a meaningful and worthwhile strategic plan consisting of a progressive, hierarchical set of aims. This will give each individual, as well as the organisation as a whole, a purpose. A set of aims can be as follows (Business Essentials 2010); An example of this would be my current place of employment. Their Vision Statement is as follows; ‘We are committed to providing a modern, efficient, and cost effective service focused on meeting our customer’s needs in a friendly , timely, and accurate manner, and will provide the necessary resources to enable achievement of our objectives. We will be readily accessible to everyone in the community to maximise social inclusion, minimise barriers to work and assist people to live in decent housing. We will process claims quickly and accurately, while actively reducing the incidences of fraud or error through investigation. Where fraudulent intent is proven, we will seek to apply appropriate sanctions as a deterrent against future activity. Where we seek to collect money, we will issue bills promptly and correctly. Where recovery action is required, we will act quickly, fairly, and impartially, but with due regard to social welfare and human rights of our customers.’ (Heather Tiso, 1995) However something so unobtainable may not be in the forefront of people’s minds. This is summed up in the following article statement ‘Mission statement in some companies has a huge influence in all management levels of the firm, but in others it is still just addition on the wall and usually what’s forgotten.’ Values of an organisation are more likely to be remembered, as they are more relatable to people within. The values upheld by the people within my organisation, are that of trust, respect, pride in work, ability to take ownership, two way communication – to give as well as to receive, to maintain excellent customer service at all time, to help each other out if need be, to feel comfortable and confident enough to speak up if they have any ideas for improvements, to strive for fairness, equality, and diversity, versatility, flexibility, taking responsibility for their own development, to be open minded as our line of service is ever changing. This encourages a culture of people that are able to pull together against constant adversity, and still achieve excellent results, as well as continually exceed Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The key objectives of my organisation, can be broken down in to the following examples; †¢Operational Goal – to increase revenue (Objective – decrease number of incorrect subsidy claims by 10%) †¢Non Operational Goal – to modify behaviour of customers (Objective – to get customers to act and think in a productive manner) †¢Primary Objective – to maximise revenues with as little expenditure as possible †¢Secondary objective(s) – to maintain excellent customer service, to strive for 100% accuracy, to maintain excellent working relationships with stakeholders. †¢Corporate Objectives – To increase customer satisfaction, to minimise risk, to ensure a glide path is in place for these objectives. †¢Unit Objectives – to answer all calls within 20 seconds, to deal with all work items with a turnaround of 9 days, to see all customers visiting the offices within under 5 minutes, to identify and understand our customer’s needs, to maintain a very high level of service, to develop personal/professional relationships with stakeholders. The influence of stakeholders Identifying Stakeholders is a process of integration within the said organisation. This can be summarised with a statement from a World Bank Group article – ‘All parties should be listed which are likely to be affected by the development, both positively or negatively, directly or indirectly.’ Stakeholders in our company are highly valued and important, and therefore our relationships with them are maintained to a very high standard. Our organisation has numerous companies identified as Stakeholders. This is not just on a professional level, as on top of Internal Stakeholders (i.e. staff) we recognise a number of Connected Stakeholders (customers, suppliers,) and External Stakeholders (local community, the government). Therefore, overall Stakeholder influence is vast, extending way beyond just making a customer happy. The knock on effects of the positive or negative experience of that customer may affect my organisation greatly. As different Stakeholders have different interests, it is not possible to focus on all of them at once with a blanket gesture in the hope of satisfying all their needs. Their needs have to be prioritised by looking at individual objectives, and balancing important/urgent needs with needs that would not have an adverse effect or affect relationships by waiting to be dealt with. Examples of Stakeholders in my organisation, are employees, customers, and the Government. As staff are immediately and intimately connected with the organisation, their influence is going to possibly be the strongest influence. It has been said numerous times that employees are the most influential. Motivated employees are highly likely to be more productive in producing work, ideas, and meeting objectives. Coincidently, the objectives of staff, are to be treated fairly, be given equal opportunity, be recognised for the consistently excellent work they produce when the odds are stacked against them, feel secure in their job and working environment, and have a sense that they are achieving. These objectives are met in the most part, however, as the organisation as a whole has a hierarchy , and it tends to be the senior managers setting objectives and deciding whether these have been met. This can lead to the human element being lost, and people judged by numbers, as other factors aren’t always taken into consideration. This can affect morale, but ultimately, our nee ds are met. Achieving objectives of stakeholders One of our Connected Stakeholders, our customers, are generally the focal point of our work. The bottom line, is customers want a service provided with their individual interests in mind, with the least possible output from them. The saying ‘The Customer is Always Right’, is incorrect in my opinion. The customer may not know what they need, they need to be asked open and closed questions in order to ascertain exactly what service they require. Customers wish to be heard, treated with respect, and for a positive experience with whatever organisation they deal with. The needs of our customers are met, as they are one of the most important stakeholders. Failure to meet these needs may result in loss of business, complaints, and repercussions from higher management if objectives are not met. The Government is an example of our External Stakeholders. This is due to the fact we are a public sector organisation, and a direct derivative of Central Government. The Government’s objectives are mainly that their Corporate Objectives influence our Unit Objectives, as well as Primary/Secondary Objectives. We meet the requirements of the Government by adhering to their laws, policies, procedures, and implementing them whilst maintaining a professional forefront to other stakeholders, such as the general public.

Prp Theories

HUMAN RESOUCE MANAGEMENT CONTENTS 1. Introduction1 2. Literature review2 2. 1Emergence of PRP2 2. 2Concept of PRP3 2. 3Relevant theories of PRP4 2. 3. 1Maslow’s hierarchy of needs & Herzberg’s motivational theory4 2. 3. 2Equity theory in PRP5 3. Case study6 3. 1Case one: â€Å"Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? † (Bender, 2004)6 3. 2Case two: â€Å"Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service† (Dowling & Richardson, 1997)9 4. Analysis and Evaluation of PRP Theory in Business Organisations11 4. 1Comparison11 4. Contrast12 4. 3Performance related pay theory in business organizations13 4. 3. 1Motivates employees and improve their performance14 4. 3. 2Facilitates change to organizational cultural14 4. 3. 3Encourages the internalization of performance norms15 4. 4Problems of PRP in practice15 4. 4. 1Setting performance objectives16 4. 4. 2Assessment and ratings17 4. 4. 3Reward17 5. Concl usion18 Reference19 Appendices21 1. Introduction Nowadays, Human Resource Management has become a strategic and coherent approach more than just managing the competencies and skills of employees in an organization. Armstrong (2002) noticed that HRM is much more focus on people not jobs, and so does business organization (Lewis, 1998). Yet, people have been placed as an important role of business. To this extent, this essay will take a critical look at PRP which is based on people, and also considered as an essential and sensitive part of the HRM in organizations today. The paper starts with a brief review of recent literature which reports studies of PRP systems. It continues with describing two case studies related to the practical discrepancy to PRP theories. It goes on to our own independent critical analysis by comparing the PRP theories and practice in real world. Finally, there are conclusions being drawn about the appropriateness of PRP in a research environment. 2. Literature review 2. 1 Emergence of PRP Performance-related pay (PRP) emerged in the early 1980’s which attempts to relate individual performance at work to reward, aiming to motivate people ad develop performance-oriented cultures. Besides business organisations, some public institutions such as governments and universities also adopt PRP as an essential level for championing values. By comparing with other payment schemes, the PRP idea was whole-heartedly accepted by employers and played a much more positive effect on improving employees’ behaviour and organisations’ culture. According to the IPD research into performance management practices in 1997, 43 per cent of respondents had PRP; additionally, IBS research in 1998 showed that 61 per cent of answers satisfied their merit pay. These figures make it easy to see that PRP have been widely applied among organizations whatever businesslike or public facility (Armstrong, 2002). There are a variety of reasons why organization may applied PRP. Armstrong and Murlis (1994) stated that ‘it is right and proper for people to be rewarded in accordance with their contribution’. According to Pilbeam & Colbridge (2002), there are a number of factors contributing to the emergence of PRP, which is identified in Figure 1. The Thatcher legacy and ‘enterprise’ values in the public sector Increasingly competitive environment and concern with employee performance Unitary and neo-unitary employment relations perspectives Reassertion of the ‘right to manage’ and increasing managerial control Influence of HRM demagogy & Strategic integration of reward Trends towards individualism and the weakening of collectivism Emergence of PRP Figure 1: Factors contributing to the emergence of PRP (Pilbeam & Corbridge, 2002) 2. 2 Concept of PRP ACAS (1990) defined individual performance-related pay (PRP) as â€Å"a method of payment where an individual employee receives increases in pay based wholly or partly on the regular and systematic assessment of job performance†. Additionally, Murlis (1996) claimed a significant distinction between the use of PRP to managing performance straight from the motivational stimulation of financial rewards (motivation) and the use of PRP to identify different levels of performance (reward). Based on these points, PRP can be commented as a combination of three key factors: motivation, performance and rewards, which work in two ways that motivating people to achieve expected performance; and rewarding these people who have achieved successful performance. Based on these three factors and their relationships, Pilbeam and Corbridge (2002) identified three stages for PRP application: Firstly, setting individual performance criteria by imposition, discussion or agreement firstly; secondly, assessing performance against individual performance criteria which established in stage1; thirdly, allocating pay to the assessment of performance by the exercise of managerial prerogative. 2. 3 Relevant theories of PRP 3. 2 2. 3. 1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs & Herzberg’s motivational theory in PRP Maslow’s (1943, 1987) hierarchy of needs and the two factor theory of Herzberg (1959) indicated that pay can be considered as the most effective way to satisfy human’s need and further to motivate people to work more effectively, which means appropriate payment can stimulate employee to achieve successful performance that maximizing organisation’s benefits. Kessler and Purcell (1922) noted that employees will be easily motivated if there is a direct and close relationship between performance and reward. Therefore, PRP schemes could motivate the employees to increase their efforts to accomplish good performance. 2. 3. 2 Equity theory in PRP The Equity theory of Adams (1965) identified that employees have a strong need to be treated fairly which can be balanced by an equity between their input like work performance and output like rewarding. Compared to other types of pay like non-incentive pay which is based on collectively-negotiated rule, PRP associates employees’ productivity with their behaviour, rewarding employees for their successful performance, which is much more fair and reasonable. From these theories, we can see that PRP has brought a lot of potential benefits on improving HRM efficiency of organization. However, there are some shortages in PRP application in practice, which will be discussed in following two empirical case analyses. 3. Case study 3. Case one: â€Å"Why Do Companies Use Performance-Related Pay for Their Executive Directors? † (Bender, 2004) The paper focused on the issue of rewards to the listed companies’ executive director. There are variable ways to pay the rewards. Thus the performance-related pay introduced to this paper. At the beginning of this paper prior research introduces three types of theory to explain why companies use performance-related pay: agency theory , motivation theories (expectancy, equity), and institutional and legitimacy theories. Research designing utilized 12 companies’ interviews with 35 persons who stand in different positions. These interviews lasted for two years from December 2001 to May 2003. The interviews reflected different opinions about the influence of PRP. Some of the answers demonstrated PRP could motivate people to do work well: Alan Wilson, chief executive of Skandia UK regarded pay as a motivator; a HR director thought if everyone was paid the same base salary, they would always do the same. But a part of the respondents denied that PRP made an effort in motivating people in the work. A CEO argued that whether PRP works depends on which market you were in and also on when the people were on flat salaries. Also another respondent held a neutral idea on motivation of PRP to managers. A CEO categorized his employees into two types: one type chased money and the other worked for vocational interests and he realized that PRP was in a position to exert influence on those who chased money and not on employees worked for vocational interests. At the end of this part the author reaches the conclusion that lack of money is a de-motivator. Furthermore, interviews demonstrated some different ideas: a) Payment represents personal value of employees. The more contribution you have made, the more you can earn; b) Focus and fairness: according to the answers from interviewees, we can find that the company adopts PRP with the intention to make executives focus on their work efforts and fairness can improve employees’ performance; c) The need to provide alignment: here is a large number of factors influence performance in long-term and some of those cannot be observed currently; d) Other reasons to introduce performance-related pay: the requirement of government to adopt PRP and because of everybody has it so you has to have it; e) Problems with performance-related pay: a consultant pointed out that PRP system would bring unpredictable problems especially in long-term and it is difficult to select appropriate measure and tar gets. Market Practices Need for Legitimacy Need to Attract and Retain Implement a performance-related reward scheme Set performance measures and targets and use it to communicate strategy Directors’ actions and behaviours Business performance Performance-related award Monetary award Increased human capital for future negotiations Effect on individual’s self worth Figure 2: Why Companies use performance-related pay (Bender, 2004) In the final part, the author summarizes this case study according to three theories mentioned at the beginning of our description and draws figure 1 to show why companies performance-related pay. . 2 Case two: â€Å"Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service† (Dowling & Richardson, 1997) This paper includes 4 sections. Section 1 explains the NHS system which means the performance related pay system for general management in 1989. Section 2 concludes the evaluation criteria and explanatory framework. PRP is introduced on the initiative of management. According to Cannel a nd Wood’s survey, PRP could be introduced to overcome problems with existing systems, o encourage employees’ motivation, to improve communication with work force, to reduce problems of recruitment. Kessler suggested that the PRP might also be used to improve the fairness of a payment system, to reduce union influence and the importance of collective bargaining, can also give additional influence to line managers. The purpose of PRP is said to reward those manage who achieve a more than competent standard of work and motivate managers to perform better. Section 3 values the efficiency of the scheme and four measures are utilized to check the outcome of the scheme. Managers had to be assessed by their supervisors and receive reward based on their performance if they had finished targets set at the beginning of the year. In NHS, the HR department designed the PRP system in order to motivate managers. However, through self-reported data from the managers covered by the PRP system, a majority of respondents saw the scheme as having little or no effect on their motivation to do their jobs well. Also the authors did not found solid evidence to show that there are corresponding negative consequences of PRP. The initial examination of the raw data clearly suggests that the three elements of the scheme achieved different degrees of success. The objective-setting elements seemed to be widely supported. It could be observed that the scheme's rewards were either not appropriate or not sufficiently attractive to act as a motivator. PRP include the way in which performance standards are set and monitored. Section 4 explains the effects of PRP in the NHS. About 85% respondents showed satisfaction with the objective –setting process. Furthermore, they also agreed that the challenge offered by the objective measures increase their determination to achieve their goal set before. On the other hand, there was also much critical comment on reward system such as subjectivity and appraiser bias. In addition, the PRP reward system was always cash limited. 4. Analysis and Evaluation of PRP Theory in Business Organisations 2 3 4. 1 Comparison Both of the two cases are involved in the topic of PRP, and focus on the effectiveness of PRP scheme. In addition, both of the researches partly agree that PRP is successful in some areas or in some extend, however, PRP is still not a perfect scheme due to various reasons. As what has been pointed out to be the problems in PRP, among all of the reasons mentioned in the papers, the objective-setting process has been pointed out in both of the researches, which indicates that this might be one of the key points which should be considered to improve PRP scheme. What is more, both of the papers mention that PRP is introduced in order to â€Å"attract and retain executives with the potential of large earnings†(Bender, 2004) and â€Å"to improve the fairness of a payment system, to generate employee commitment† (Dowling and Richardson, 1997), which can be considered as the positive points of PRP. 4. 2 Contrast The methods used in the research in the two cases are different. The case about PRP in the National Health Service used both quantitative and qualitative date from a questionnaire survey (Dowling and Richardson, 1997). While, the case conducted by Bender (2004) used qualitative date from an interview survey. Moreover, the perspectives used in the two papers also vary. As to the reasons why PRP is not more successful, Dowling and Richardson (1997) consider that there are three kinds of employees as being particularly important: firstly, those who think that the objective-setting process of PRP is coped with terribly; secondly, those who think the assessments are handled badly; lastly, those who believe that the rewards are not attractive enough to encourage their motivation. They hold the opinion that PRP has a less important influence on these people, which indicates that the improvement of objective-setting process, assessments and rewards might lead to improving the effect of PRP. While, the paper conducted by Bender (2004) indicates that the reason that PRP is not so successful is also related to the market in which directors are. Besides, salary and rewards are not the only recourses that could motivate managers. For instance, leisure can also play a significant role in the performance of managers. Additionally, PRP scheme has less important impact on those people who mainly work for vocational interests. Meanwhile, this paper (Bender, 2004) pays more attention to the reasons that PRP is used by companies. The writer points out some more reasons from interviews with directors other than the strong points of PRP which have been mentioned above. To be exactly, pay can be deemed as a symbol of worth and how much one can earn is associated with the self esteem for the executives. In the end, we can see from the two papers that PRP has developed successfully from 1997 to 2004 because what are reflected in the papers shows us that PRP has been used much more and been recognized in a wider range. As a result, we can conclude that with the use of PRP, this scheme has become and also will become more and more mature and contribute a lot to business organizations. 4. 3 Performance related pay theory in business organizations This section conducts analysis of two empirical cases critically and assesses the value of PRP theory and benefits it achieves in business organizations. The whole objective of pay related systems like the PRP and other HRM theories is obviously to bring or add to the value of business organizations. When we take a look at the first paper, it is obvious that on the average PRP increases an organization’s value. The following are the perceived benefits of the PRP theory: 4 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 5. 4. 1 Motivates employees and improve their performance The human needs hierarchy theory of Maslow (1943, 1987) and the two factors theory of Herzberg (1959) indicate that in modern society satisfying human needs like payment is in a position to motivate people to work harder. Furthermore, in business organisations payment related to performance can stimulate people to accomplish the performance that organizations want. Kessler and Purcell (1992) claimed that if direct relationship exists between effort, performance and reward, employees would be motivated. PRP schemes act exactly as this direct link motivating the employees to increase their efforts. 5. 4. 2 Facilitates change to organizational cultural Kessler and Purcell (1992) argued that PRP refers to flexibility, dynamism, entrepreneurial spirit and careful allocation of resources, leading to a performance-orientated culture. Therefore, the introduction of PRP facilitates change in business organizations culture from collectively negotiated formula to individual contribution, which assists in solving problems, increasing value of organizations, and reducing problems of recruitment and retention. 5. 4. Encourages the internalization of performance norms â€Å"PRP can encourage the internalization of the organisation’s goal or norms of behaviour among the employees of the organization† (Geary, 1992). In the implementation of PRP, the organisation’s norms of behaviour can be enhanced by rewarding congruous work effects and by punishing incongruous performance. Th ereby, it strengthens management control and clarifies job roles within organizations. 5. 4 Problems of PRP in practice Theoretically, PRP can produce many benefits for organizations, which have been demonstrated above. However, there are always gaps between theories and practice of PRP. In this part data from the NHS case will be utilized to illustrate some problems of PRP. Figure 3 above shows that only 2 percent respondents consider PRP as the motivator for them to work harder while respondents with opposite idea accounts for 45 percent. Also 67 percent respondents embrace neutral idea on the question of whether PRP scheme affect motivation to do the job and 77 percent respondents did not feel more co-operation after the introduction of PRP scheme. Question| Negative Positive| Does PRP have effect on your motivation to do the job well? 2| 3| 67| 25| 4| You consciously work harder because of the PRP scheme. | 45| 26| 17| 10| 2| You focus on PRP objectives rather than other activities. | 34| 34| 20| 10| 2| PRP changes co-operation level among colleagues| 2| 12| 77| 8| 1| Figure 3: PRP in the National Health Service (Dowling and Richardson, 1997) 5. 5. 4 Setting performance objectives It is essential for organizations to set up clear and measurable objectives so that the behaviour of employees can be guided by objectives. However, imposition and narrowness of PRP in objective-setting could lead to failure of the implementation. What’s more, short term approach stemming from narrow and misleading objectives could make employees ignore intangible aspects and long-term tasks. Therefore, the weakness of PRP in objective-setting could discourage behaviour that is not financially rewarded and prevent business organizations from functioning well. 5. 5. 5 Assessment and ratings Assessment and ratings are indispensable stage of PRP system. In practice, two crucial elements during these processes, scales of ratings and fair appraisals made by managers are difficult to achieved, which make employees not satisfied with ratings given to them. As Belfield and Marsden (2002) argued that the use of PRP will do more harm than good if the right monitoring environment is not in place. 5. 5. 6 Reward PRP regards reward as the motivator for employees to work hard, which is often not the case in practice. Maslow’s theory of the Hierarchy of Needs (1943) stated that payment is not the only need of human beings. Besides payment, people also have mental requirements such as belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualization. 5. Conclusion After critical analysis and assessment we can finally reach the conclusion that in theory PRP is in a position to provide business organizations certain benefits such as motivating employees, improving their performance, attracting executives, facilitating change in organizational culture and encouraging the internalization of performance norms. However, due to imposition and narrowness in objective-setting, unfairness and inaccuracy in assessment and ratings, and diversification of human needs, theoretical benefits of PRP cannot be reached. Therefore, more attention should be paid on the gap between HRM theories and their application in practice so that HRM theories can assist business organizations in increasing their values. Reference ACAS, 1990. Appraisal-related Pay. London: ACAS. Adams, J. S. , 1965. Inequity in social exchange. In: Berkowitz, L. ed. , Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press, 267-299. Armstrong, M. , 2002. 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