The Situation of African Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel Essay

The Situation of African Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel - Essay Example This was the first of a series of acts that displayed Israel’s opposition to further entry.   At the end of the year, a violent dispersal of a demonstration by Sudanese asylum seekers in Egypt, in which dozens were killed, resulted into an increase of refugee entry into Israel.   The country responded by reviving and enforcing a 50’s law, the Prevention of Infiltration Law in the early part of 2006.   A wave of arrests followed shortly, putting many Sudanese asylum seekers behind bars without the benefit of a quasi-judicial review.   Since then, all those arrested under the Prevention of Infiltration have been held in the Ketsiot prison without their cases heard. Several NGO’s had petitioned the High Court of Justice to put a stop on the use of such law by Israeli authorities.   The following years saw more attempts of refugees to enter Israel via the border with Egypt. With the state’s strict enforcement of the Prevention of Infiltration Law, re fugees were systematically arrested.   Many were forcibly sent back to Egypt under a process called ‘hot return’.   The refugees only experienced worse human rights abuses in the hands of the Egyptian authorities.   Several sympathetic local governments with the help of NGOs briefly accommodated those that remained, specially the Eritreans.   However, in 2007, the Ministry of Interior implemented measures took away the rights of the refugees and asylum seekers in getting employment.   Many were still tracked for ‘hot return’ and were temporarily detained while waiting to be sent forcibly .  

Implications of Business Process Management for Operations Management Essay Example for Free

Implications of Business Process Management for Operations Management Essay Implications of business process management for operations management Colin Armistead and Simon Machin The Business School at Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK Introduction Operations management is concerned with the management of people, processes, technology and other resources in order to produce goods and services. There is a resonance from operations management into business process re-engineering (BPR) of the process paradigm and of the concepts and techniques of designing, managing and improving operational processes. Doubtless much can be learned from operations management for the application of BPR[1]. But business process management is more than just BPR applied to operational processes. What are the implications of the wider consideration of business processes for operations management and can the concepts and techniques from operations management be directly applied to all types of business processes? This paper introduces the concepts of business processes and business process management, and reports findings from interviews in four organizations which are continuing to develop their approaches to managing processes. These findings are then positioned within a categorization of business processes, by way of research propositions. Finally, implications for operations management are discussed. What are business processes? Business processes can be thought of as a series of interrelated activities, crossing functional boundaries with inputs and outputs. Why are they important and why are organizations moving to adopt approaches to explicitly manage by business processes? Reasons include[2] that the process view: †¢ allows increasing flexibility in organizations to meet changing external demands; †¢ addresses the speed to market of new products and services and the responsiveness to the demands of customers; †¢ facilitates the reduction of costs; †¢ facilitates in creased delivery reliability; and †¢ helps address the quality of products and services in terms of their consistency and capability. Processes are part of the philosophy of total quality management (TQM)[3]. Both the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award[4] and the European International Journal of Operations Production Management, Vol. 17 No. 9, 1997, pp. 886-898.  © MCB University Press, 0144-3577 Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model[5], on which the European Implications of Quality Award is based, have at their heart the consideration of business business process processes. Such models require the identification of processes, the management management of these processes with review and targetary, innovation and creativity applied to processes and the management of process change. A second route that leads organizations to consider their business processes 887 is BPR[6-9] which promotes the radical change of business processes. Some have illustrated the complementary nature of BPR and TQM[10], others the conflict[11]. Regardless of this, the fact is that organizations come to consider their business processes through TQM, or through BPR, or potentially through both avenues. What is business process management? There is considerable debate about what business process management means and how organizations interpret the business process paradigm[2,12]. Business process management cannot be considered simply as BPR. Rather it is concerned with how to manage processes on an ongoing basis, and not just with the one-off radical changes associated with BPR. But how are organizations actually managing their business processes? What approaches have they developed? What lessons have they learned and what can be drawn from their experiences? The aim of the research reported in this paper is to address such questions by considering organizations at the leading edge of process management. Methodology A qualitative methodology was adopted in conducting the research. During a pilot phase interviews were conducted in four organizations: TSB; Rank Xerox; Kodak; and Birds Eye Walls. This, coupled with knowledge of the approach within Royal Mail, led to an initial understanding of the approaches being adopted by organizations[13]. This was followed by further interviews in four organizations (including within a different part of Rank Xerox), and it is these that form the basis of the findings reported in this paper. The four organizations, in this second phase of interviews, were: (1) Rank Xerox – European Quality Award (EQA) winners in 1992; (2) Nortel – Netas, a subsidiary of Nortel, were EQA winners in 1996; (3) Texas  Instruments – EQA winners in 1995; (4) Hewlett-Packard – who do not use the EFQM model, but have been using their own â€Å"Quality Maturity System† for several years, with many similarities to the EFQM model, including the central role of processes. While these organizations are at varying stages of their approach to business process management they can be considered â€Å"excellent† against many crit eria (including process management), as shown above, and the findings and lessons derived from the research should inform other organizations which are just starting their approach to process management. IJOPM 17,9 888 In two cases the quality director of the UK operation was interviewed; in one case the participant was the business process manager; in another the participant was a direct report to a service director. We consider that the roles and experience of the participants make possible sensible comparison between the organizations, based on the interviews. Semi-structured open-ended interviews (typically of between two and three hours), based on the ideas emerging from the pilot interviews, were carried out in each organization. The interviews were supported by other documentation from each organization which included process maps, planning frameworks and organizational structures. Interviews were transcribed and the transcriptions used as the basis for analysis. Each interview transcription was read and examined several times and lists of concepts developed[14]. A cognitive map[15] of all four interviews was then constructed showing the concepts emerging from the data and how the concepts i nformed on each other (based on the perception of the authors). Concepts were then clustered, with six clusters, or themes, readily appearing. The clusters were then checked against the transcripts from the pilot interviews and documentary material from the case organizations to ensure consistency of findings. Findings The six clusters emerging from the research we have labelled: organization coordination; process definition; organization structuring; cultural fit; improvement; measurement. While some of these might not be novel in  themselves we discuss them first individually and then as a set. Organization co-ordination One property associated with business processes is their â€Å"end-to-end† nature. They start with input at the business boundary and finish with outputs from the business boundary. Hence their cross-functional nature and, implicit in this, is their ability to integrate and co-ordinate activity. For example, â€Å"a better way to think about process is that it is an organizing concept that pulls together absolutely everything necessary to deliver some important component of strategic value†[16]. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that a strong theme emerging from the interviews was that the process paradigm provides an approach for co-ordination across the whole organization. This integration through the use of business processes is perhaps most simply illustrated by the fact that participants, in describing their approaches to business process management, described how they run and organize their entire business. The co-ordination took a number of forms. For example, business process management was strongly positioned in the overall approaches to business planning adopted by the organizations. This was illustrated in one organization with their long- and medium-term plans explicitly linked to annual plans for their key processes. Business process management also provided an approach for integration through increased knowledge within the organizations (for example, about strategic direction), without the need for bureaucratic procedures or hierarchical control: Implications of business process The concepts of business processes emerged as providing a link between the management top of the organization and activity at the lower levels: â€Å"the bit in the middle†. Central to this is the concept of different levels of processes and typically the organizations reported having identified three or four levels of process from the top-level architecture through to the individual or task level. In providing the co-ordination across the organization, the importance of managing the boundaries of processes was strongly emphasized. One organization, for example, was addressing these boundary issues between their processes through the use of networks of individuals representing the interests of their process. They used networks around each process to formulate and implement strategy, and identified which processes have boundary issues with  other processes. Individuals from one process network then attend meetings of the other process networks on this boundary to address the potential issues. Without some form of co-ordination between processes, changes in one process could also lead to changes in performance of other processes such that strategic goals would be compromised, typically in the areas of quality and costs. but what we were trying to do was create a very free environment, a very innovative environment, but an environment where we knew exactly where we were going. 889 Process definition Much of the literature on managing processes is concerned with process improvement[17,18] and this is typically directed at how to improve the actual operation of processes. However, a view expressed during the interviews was that the real value derived from the process approach is through the understanding and development of an approach at higher levels within the organizations, rather than simply process improvement activity at the task or team level. Nevertheless, these organizations recognized that they struggled with this and acknowledged that, in reality, the understanding of processes was often still at the task level, with a natural tendency for procedure writing. Approaches to help overcome this included communication across the different levels of the organization to develop common understanding (and, in particular, to develop better understanding between process owners and process operatives) and a focus within process flowcharts on value steps and decision points, together with the definition and management of process boundaries. Process flowcharting is often presented as a panacea for understanding and managing processes, but some organizations reported problems with applying the methodology to all processes: the methodology of flowcharting †¦ is OK for consistent, regularly operated, reliable processes – it is not that useful for processes that are very iterative and processes that run infrequently, the more complex processes. Certainly the organizations were coming to realize that such process maps in themselves were not sufficient: people talked a lot about process re-engineering and all they ever did was diddle around with process maps, and they didn’t really get the big picture. IJOPM 17,9 and we have used a flow-charting methodology widely deployed across the company†¦we have still got a lot of problems though in terms of processes gathering dust on the shelf. 890 Also, while the organizations recognized the need to specify processes beneath their high level processes, the need certainly did not emerge to map all processes to the same level or detail. It would be unusual to go to an entity and show all the processes in detail to all depths. In general, the drive appeared to be to use business process management more as a long-term and living tool than just a remedial tool for short-term, tactical issues. Long-term plans were needed for processes to enable the process owners to focus on the future requirements of their processes. Also there was the need to develop methodologies other than flowcharting to support a more holistic approach to business process management, and to directly consider the â€Å"process of managing processes†. Organizational structuring Much has been written about the role of processes in structuring organizations and, in particular, the development of horizontal organizations structured purely around processes[2,19,20]. In general, the organizations interviewed in this research appeared to be taking a less radical view. Instead they had developed matrix-based organizations between functions and processes, and tended to adjust their functional structure to align with their identified processes. They thus saw processes as simply another dimension of the organization structure[21]. Indeed they seemed to have implicitly balanced the dimensions of autonomy/co-ordination,  motivation/ control and efficiency/learning[22] and in doing so derived the matrix structure. This perhaps also reflects other organizational paradoxes[23]. Their reasoning was influenced by a view that personal relationships were the key to effective organizations, as much as the formal, imposed structure. Processes were seen to provide a framework for these relationships in terms of building understanding and common approach across the organization. This framework was reported to help establish empowerment in a structured way, matching level of empowerment with control and support. Hence the entering of the process dimension into their structure. However, they were unwilling to do away with the functional dimension, due to the perception that functions better supported the actual personal relationships within the framework of processes and better supported specialist expertise: people don’t necessarily align with processes, they align with other people, and entities and organizations. People don’t go to parties on processes! and if you start bashing on about process organizations, and â€Å"you’ve got to do away with the silos, and the function† and so on†¦you’re denying it in a way – something to do with that relationship side of things. This has a resonance with reports that moves to process-based organizations Implications of can be ineffective if the personal relationship and cultural aspects are business process overlooked[24]. management These matrix structures were regarded as relatively unstable[13] with a tendency to drift back to a functional structure, or to move too far towards a process focus, but the organizations saw the role of their â€Å"quality professionals† 891 as the catalyst to ensure balance between functions and processes. More interesting is that, in these matrix-based organizations, there appeared to be no desire to move towards a purely process-based structure, with the matrix recognized as a desirable state, enabling constant and efficient reorganization through its flexibility. Inevitably the matrix adds complexity, but it seems that these organizations are willing to trade this complexity against the flexibility and personal relationship aspects supported by the matrix structure. One organization did, however, report a  totally process-based structure, and this did appear to support a high degree of simplicity against the complexity of the matrix approach. There may therefore be value for organizations in explicitly considering the trade-offs between processes and functions in forming their approach. Regardless of the process/function structure, the approach of process groups and process owners at different levels of the processes was common. Cultural fit Culture is an ambiguous concept which is difficult to define[25]. However, most organizations have some notion of their culture, and this was the case in all four organizations, where culture had an implicit meaning. It is an important concept in thinking about organizations since people and processes m ust combine to produce output. However, within the organizations, processes were not seen as a constraint, rather, as reported above, as providing a framework for empowerment. There emerged a general view that the overall approach to business process management needed to fit initially with the culture of the organization, and allow that culture to be maintained, at least in the short term. This is not to say that there was not a longer-term objective to address culture, but culture drove the appropriate initial approach: that’s why it works well, because we’re a highly empowered organization, and a team of people are comfortable working as a team, so bringing them together for a process team is perfectly easy – all we had to do was teach them the tools to do it and a bit of flowcharting and away they go. But that fits well with the culture. This is in stark contrast to some business process re-engineering approaches which may often be insensitive to culture or may have an immediate objective of changing culture[26]. Where BPR was deployed in the organizations it tended to be positioned as part of the overall approach to business process management, for example, alongside process stabilization and continuous improvement, rather than instead of. When used in this context, there were examples of culture change for smaller organization groupings. There were also IJOPM 17,9 892 examples where the failure of BPR initiatives was directly attributed to a culture within the organization which so strongly supported constant, but incremental, change that radical change, as proposed by BPR was rejected. All four of the organizations embraced TQM and, in particular, continuous improvement. The concept and language of teams and â€Å"teams of teams†[27] featured strongly, with rewards and recognition often linked to team performance. The formation of cross-functional teams in improving processes happened naturally in these organizations, and appeared critical to the success of their approach in managing processes. Improvement through business process management Unsurprisingly the interviews supported a drive within the organizations to constantly improve processes and this is reflected in the above discussions of culture. Examples of specific approaches included the use of benchmarking to understand and set best practices and the development of compendiums and databases of best practices and the linkage of improvements to assessments against European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), Baldrige and other quality models. While BPR was clearly used in some of the organizations (indeed Texas Instruments and Rank Xerox are well known for their re-engineering work) this tended to be talked about more at the process simplification or process improvement end of the spectrum of definitions placed on BPR[28-30]: you would not change the overall process radically in a short space of time, but for people (in the process) I think it is a drastic step. and I would not anticipate the total process radically changing over a short space of time because one could not manage it, so you have to move forward in sizeful steps at each part of the process. One organization reported benefits through using human resource professionals alongside process engineers on BPR projects to â€Å"keep some sanity in what the re-engineering was doing†. Measurement and business process management Measurement is a key principle to managing processes[18] with the need to identify trends, assess stability, determine whether customer requirements are actually met and drive improvement. This was confirmed by the interviews  and measurement emerged as central to successful approaches to business process management. There seemed to be a genuine attitude of â€Å"living and breathing† measurement within the organizations: if you can’t actually get good metrics you won’t manage a process, so it’s absolutely fundamental to managing a process. and if we don’t define the metrics we’ve had it. Increasing importance was being given to customer satisfaction and customer Implications of loyalty measures and there was a recognition of the importance of developing business process efficiency measures for the processes as opposed to just measuring whether management processes actually delivered. There was also a drive towards examining the tails of distributions of the measures (process variation) not just average values, consistent with the view of statistical process control[31,32]. 893 One danger that was reported is related to the â€Å"level† issues discussed above: detailed measures were implemented into lower-level process maps, directly related to processes, as one would hope – however, this resulted in a large number of measures that it was then difficult to prioritize, because, at a higher level, measures had not been (or had not been properly) defined. A particularly interesting approach to measurement was in one organization where they had established â€Å"business fundamentals† as performance measures on key processes, deployed worldwide and at all levels. All professional staff in the organization have business fundamentals which are deliverable, cost, customer or people measures, but self-driven measurements rather than management-driven measurements. These business fundamentals are linked to the key processes, and individuals self-assess their progress against these, using a simple rating scale. Every quarter there is then a formal review across the organization against the business fundamentals. The same approach is used to track individual performance, performance against plans, and process performance, providing an integrated approach to measurement across the organization, and a strong illustration of integrating process measures with other organizational measures. Process categorization Different categorizations of processes have been proposed in the literature[28]. For  example the CIM-OSA Standards[33] use the categorization of manage, operate and support. In describing processes we have found a categorization into operational, support, direction setting and managerial processes to be useful (see Figure 1). The separation of direction setting and managerial processes is driven by two considerations: Operational Managerial Direction setting Support Figure 1. Categorization of business processes IJOPM 17,9 894 (1) on a practical level models, such as the EFQM model, adopted by organizations, separately identify leadership from policy and strategy formulation; and (2) the strategy literature regards development of strategy as a process in its own right[34,35]. Operational processes are the way in which work gets done within an organization, to produce goods and services. These processes are the ones which have been the subject of much of the focus to date in TQM and BPR. They run across the organization and are associated with outcomes such as product development or order fulfilment. They are recognized in the ideas of integrated supply chains and logistics and in simultaneous engineering and are part of justin-time approaches. The same ideas for improvement in flow and reduction in cycle times come through into service organizations in the practices of BPR. Support processes are those which enable the operational processes. They are concerned with the provision of support technology, or systems, with personnel and human resource management, and with accounting management. Direction-setting processes are concerned with setting strategy for the organization, its markets and the location of resources as well as managing change within the organization. Direction-setting processes involve a mix of the prescribed steps within a formal planning process and also less well-defined  frameworks. Managerial processes are to some extent superordinate to the other categories and contain the decision-making and communication activities. For example, the entrepreneurial, competence-building and renewal processes proposed by Ghoshal and Bartlett[20] are managerial processes. Some organizations have tried to formalize these processes and have adopted a structured approach to, for example, decision making and communication. This categorization, like any other, does not necessarily fit with the view taken by all organiza tions (for example, some organizations would position the direction setting processes as part of their operational processes) but it provides a useful framework for discussion of the research findings, and for describing propositions for further research. Discussion and propositions arising from the research The six clusters identified in the findings of organization co-ordination – process definition, organization structuring, cultural fit, improvement and measurement can be considered in the light of these process definitions. The issue of process definition at a top level is a view of how organizations work to satisfy strategic intents. The translation of top-level architecture into an operational reality is influenced by aspects of organizational culture which affect both organizational co-ordination and organizational structure. In no cases is the disappearance of functions apparent; rather the functional organization is replaced by a matrix structure. This form of organizational structure derives its co-ordinating strength from the formation of cross-functional teams. The issues of measurement and improvement reflected in the findings reinforce the need for Implications of effective measurement which drives process improvement in a form which co- business process ordinates and prioritizes activity; something which many organizations find management difficult. The findings suggest that taking a business process management approach is one way to overcome some of the difficulties. It is our observation that organizations in approaching business process 895 management tend to initially address their operational processes, then move to focus on support processes, while continuing to improve their operational processes, and next to focus on direction setting processes while continuing to improve operational and support processes. Thus there is a similarity to the operations management  sandcone model, as proposed by Ferdows and De Meyer[36], used to show that cost reduction relies on the cumulative foundation of improvement in objectives. We propose that an organization’s approach to process management is similarly constituted by its approach across process categories, and that to build a stable sandcone the approach to, first, operational processes must be created (see Figure 2). This proposal has practical value, since it is the operational processes that directly impact on customers and so can yield quick benefits. Thus attention to the operational processes ensures capability of delivery; attention then moves to encompass support processes, since these in turn ensure the capability of the operational processes; attention to the direction setting processes recognizes that capability can only be maintained with good direction setting. The superordinate nature of managerial processes positions them outside the sandcone, with influences from the other categories. This sandcone model for business processes implies further propositions based on our findings. P1: As organizations develop their approach to business process management, moving through the sandcone, the appropriateness of techniques will change. Flowcharting methods are well tested in understanding operational and some support processes. However, the organizations in this phase of our research were discovering that such methods were inflexible for other types of process. Operational Operational + support Operational + support + direction setting Figure 2. A sandcone model for developing approaches to business process management IJOPM 17,9 896 The appropriate methodology for understanding the managerial and directionsetting processes may lie in the fields of systems thinking[37] and business dynamics[38] and the shape of a process for managing such processes needs further attention. Thus the appropriateness of â€Å"soft mapping† techniques increases as an organization moves through the sandcone. P2: As  organizations move through the sandcone there is an increasing impact on organization structure, with the need to address structural changes to reap the benefits from the process approach. Increasingly organizations will need to consider organization design as an explicit, rather than implicit, activity to ensure organizational effectiveness. This need not necessitate a move towards a complete process-based structure, but may mean a trade-off between process and functional structures[39]. This trade-off includes the need to consider factors such as personal relationships and cultural aspects. For example, in some organizations a purely processbased structure will be appropriate while in others the process-function matrix approach will be best utilized. P 3: We propose that there is an increasing need for maturity in TQM throughout the organization to ensure a successful process paradigm, as the organization moves through the sandcone. This raises the immediate question as to whether TQM is a necessity before a process-based approach can be effectively initiated. Certainly all organizations in this phase of our research had developed a TQM-based culture. It also raises questions as to whether the continual application of the radical end of the BPR spectrum[28-30] makes it impossible to address all process categories, with the associated lack of care for the human dimension and resulting demoralized workforce. P4: We propose that the degree of co-ordination across the organization increases with moves through the sandcone. As the process approach spreads through the sandcone it forces the question of what integration actually means for an organization and clarifies the requirements for coordination. This is readily understood for operational processes, with a key element being the elimination of barriers to flow. The co-ordination includes the need for a co-ordinated approach to measurement (an example is illustrated in the measurement section above). Further implications for operations management There is a clear message emerging from this research of the need to manage the boundaries between the categories of processes and between the processes themselves. The appropriate approach will be determined by the category of process being addressed and organizations may find the sandcone logic useful in placing their current position. There are different requirements at different points in the sandcone: knowledge and understanding of process flowcharting techniques at one end of the spectrum through to knowledge and understanding of â€Å"softer† mapping techniques; the need to consider the Implications of appropriate organization structure and trade-offs between process- and business process function-based structures; the degree of maturity in TQM; the degree of comanagement ordination desirable and possible and, in particular, the need for a co-ordinated approach to measurement. The research supports a view that there is a need to consider performance 897 improvement methods and concepts such as TQM, lean production and supply and â€Å"agile† manufacturing in a wider context, as applied to all business processes, and not just operational processes with the associated need to manage the interfaces between operations management and other disciplines. References 1. Armistead, C., Harrison, A. and Rowlands, P., â€Å"Business process re-engineering: lessons from operations management†, International Journal of Operations Production Management, Vol. 15 No. 12, 1995. 2. Garvi n, D., â€Å"Leveraging processes for strategic advantage†, Harvard Business Review, September-October 1995, pp. 77-90. 3. Oakland, J.S., Total Quality Management, Heinemann Professional, Oxford, 1989. 4. George, S., The Baldrige Quality System, Wiley, New York, NY, 1992. 5. Hakes, C., The Corporate Self-assessment Handbook for Measuring Business Excellence, Chapman Hall, London, 1995. 6. Hammer, M., â€Å"Re-engineering work: don’t automate, obliterate†, Harvard Business Review, June 1990. 7. Hammer, M. and Champy, J., Re-engineering the Corporation, Free Press, New York, NY, 1993. 8. Johansson, H.J., McHugh, P., Pendlebury, A.J. and Wheeler, W., Business Process Reengineering – Breakpoint Strategies for Market Dominance, Wiley-Hamilton, Santa Barbara, CA, 1993. 9. Davenport, T.H., Process Innovation: Re-engineering Work through Information Technology, Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993. 10. Macdonald, J., â€Å"Together TQM and BPR are winners†, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 7 No. 3, 1995, pp. 21-5. 11. Mumford, E. and Hendricks, R., â€Å"Business process re-engineering RIP†, People Management, 2 May 1996, pp. 22-9. 12. Hinterhuber, H.H., â€Å"Business process management: the European approach†, Business Change Re-engineering, Vol. 2 No. 4, 1995, pp. 63-73. 13. Armistead, C. and Grant, A., â€Å"Business process management: the future of organisations?†, Proceedings of the Third European Academic Conference on Business Process Redesign, Cranfield University, 21-22 February 1996. 14.  Strauss, A. and Corbin, J., Basics of Qualitative Research, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, 1990. 15. Eden, C., â€Å"Cognitive mapping†, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 36, 1988, pp. 1-13. 16. Browning, J., â€Å"The power of process redesign†, McKinsey Quarterly, Vol. 1, pp. 47-58, 1993. 17. Tucker, M., Successful Process Management in a Week, Headway-Hodder Stoughton, Sevenoaks, Kent, 1996. 18. Melan, E., â€Å"Process management: a unifying framework†, National Productivity Review, 1989, Vol. 8, pp. 395-406. 19. Stewart, T., â€Å"The search for the organisation of tomorrow†, Fortune, May 1992, pp. 91-8. IJOPM 17,9 898 20. Ghoshal, S. and Bartlett, C., â€Å"Changing the role of top management: beyond structure to processes†, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1995, pp. 86-96. 21. Galbraith, J.R., Designing Organisations, Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1995. 22. Hendry, J., â€Å"Process reengineering and the dynamic balance of the organisation†, European Management Journal, Vol. 13 No. 1, March 1995. 23. Cameron, K.S., â€Å"Effectiveness as paradox: consensus and conflict in conceptions of organisational effectiveness†, Management Science, Vol. 32 No. 5, May 1986, pp. 539-53. 24. Majchrzak, A. and Wang, Q., â€Å"Breaking the functional mind-set in process organisations†, Harvard Business Review, September-October 1996, pp. 93-9. 25. Kroeber and Kluckhohn, â€Å"Culture; a critical review of concepts and definitions†, Harvard University papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 47, 1952. 26. Ascari, A., Rock, M. and Dutta, S., â€Å"Reengineering and organisational change: lessons from a comparative analysis of company experiences†, European Management Journal, Vol. 13 No. 1, March 1995. 27. O’Brien, D. and Wainwright, J., â€Å"Winning as a team of teams – transforming the mindset of the organisation at National and Provincial Building Society†, The Journal of Corporate Transformation, Vol. 1 No. 3, 1993. 28. Childe, S.J., Maull, R.S. and Bennett, J., â€Å"Frameworks for understanding business process re-engineering†, International Journal of Operations Production Management, Vol. 14 No. 12, 1994, pp. 22-34. 29. Coulson-Thomas, C.J., â€Å"Business process re-engineering: the development requirements and implications†, Executive Development, Vol. 8 No. 2, 1995, pp. 3-6. 30. Crawley, W.J., Mekechuk, B.J. and Oickle, G.K., â€Å"Powering up for change†, CA Magazine, June/July 1995, pp. 33-8. 31. Deming, W.E., Out of Crisis, Cambridge University Press, 1986. 32. Wheeler, D.J., Understanding Variation – The Key to Managing Chaos, SPC Press, Knoxville, TN, 1993. 33. CIM-OSA Standards, CIM-OSA Reference Architecture, AMICE ESPRIT, 1989. 34. Araujo, L. and Easton, G., â€Å"Strategy: where is the pattern?†, Organisation, Vol. 3 No. 3, 1996, pp. 361-83. 35. Segal-Horn, S. and Bowman, C., â€Å"Strategic management and BPR†, in Managing Business Processes: BPR and Beyond, John Wiley Sons, New York, NY, 1996, pp. 85-101. 36. Ferdows, K. and De Meyer, A., â€Å"Lasting improvement in manufacturing performance: in search of a new theory†, INSEAD Working Paper, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, 1989. 37. Senge, P.M., The Fifth Discipline, Century Business, London, 1990. 38. Davies, M., â€Å"Business dynamics: business process re-engineering and systems dynamics†, in Managing Business Processes: BPR and Beyond, John Wiley, New York, NY, 1996, pp. 215-42. 39. Armistead, C.G. and Rowland, P., Managing Business Processes: BPR and Beyond, John Wiley, New York, NY, 1996, pp. 39-61.

Cuba :: essays research papers

Cuba   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cuba is the largest island of the West Indies, lying south of Florida and east of Mexico's Yucatà ¡n Peninsula. The Republic of Cuba is combined with the surrounding islands. On the East, Cuba is separated from the island of Hispaniola by the Windward Passage. The U.S. maintains a naval base at Guantà ¡ namo Bay in the Southeast. The capital and largest city of Cuba is Havana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island extends about 760 miles from Cabo de San Antonio to Cabo Maisà ­ , the western and eastern extremities. The average width is about 50 miles. The total area is 44,218 square miles including the area of the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) and of other islands of the country. Land and Resources   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About 1/4 of the surface of Cuba is hilly, the remaining consists of flat or rolling terrain. The hilly areas are scattered throughout the island and do not come from a central mass. The main 3 ranges are the Sierra de Trinidad in the central part of the island, the Sierra Maestra, in the Southeast, and Sierra de los Órganos in the West. The first two ranges are under 3000 feet. The Sierra Maestra, has the greatest in altitude and mass, and contains Pico Turquino (6561 ft), the highest point in Cuba. Most of the soil of Cuba is relatively fertile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the natural features of the island is the large number of limestone caverns. Most of the many rivers of Cuba are short and unnavigable. The main river is the Cauto, located in the Southeast. The coast of Cuba is very irregular and is indented by numerous gulfs and bays. Cuba :: essays research papers Cuba   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cuba is the largest island of the West Indies, lying south of Florida and east of Mexico's Yucatà ¡n Peninsula. The Republic of Cuba is combined with the surrounding islands. On the East, Cuba is separated from the island of Hispaniola by the Windward Passage. The U.S. maintains a naval base at Guantà ¡ namo Bay in the Southeast. The capital and largest city of Cuba is Havana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island extends about 760 miles from Cabo de San Antonio to Cabo Maisà ­ , the western and eastern extremities. The average width is about 50 miles. The total area is 44,218 square miles including the area of the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) and of other islands of the country. Land and Resources   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About 1/4 of the surface of Cuba is hilly, the remaining consists of flat or rolling terrain. The hilly areas are scattered throughout the island and do not come from a central mass. The main 3 ranges are the Sierra de Trinidad in the central part of the island, the Sierra Maestra, in the Southeast, and Sierra de los Órganos in the West. The first two ranges are under 3000 feet. The Sierra Maestra, has the greatest in altitude and mass, and contains Pico Turquino (6561 ft), the highest point in Cuba. Most of the soil of Cuba is relatively fertile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the natural features of the island is the large number of limestone caverns. Most of the many rivers of Cuba are short and unnavigable. The main river is the Cauto, located in the Southeast. The coast of Cuba is very irregular and is indented by numerous gulfs and bays.

BBQ Fun Case Study

Title Page It is all about analysis figures of market trends and developments in order to determine their influence on the business. The statistical analysis will take you to valuable analysis of comparative market information. It will show us the overview of sampling methods, quantitve research methods etc. Besides this it will tell you that how to understand the market trends and how to find them. Executive Summary BBQ fun is leading to that products which are we use in outdoor lifestyle . It is catering to growing need for furnishing new and renovated dwelling in the Brisbane area.It produces the different verities of BBQs, outdoor furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQ fun as best in class for outdoor lifestyle retailing. In other section we learnt that use statistical analysis of market trends and developments to determine their potential impact on the business. Apart from that we looked that how to perform qualitative analysis of comparative market information to revie w organisation performance, opportunities or threats . we discussed market research techniques and sampling. Introduction BBQ fun is well known company in Australia.It is also one of the best companies which are producing outdoor living products. This company started since 1950 in Brisbane. First of all BBQ fun’s owner started his business from a little shop and he started his business with the making of charcoal ovens. That became very lovable in the people of Brisbane. However time has passed. BBQ fun started producing more outdoor living products and they became famous in all over Australia. In upcoming time the management of BBQ fun thing to take this company in all over the world. We hope that with our hard work and good quality of products we will be on number 1 in the world.Strengths. Excellent staff that are highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor lifestyles.. Retail space that is bright, functional for a commercial urban district.. High customer loyalty among customers. | Weaknesses. A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of critical mass and store cover.. The struggle to continually fund the growing long-term repayment plans taken out by our customers| Opportunities. A growing market in a high growth area with significant percentage of the target market still not aware of BBQ fun’s offer..Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area-greater Brisbane. | Threats. Competition from local independents that can reduce price as owner operators lower than our staff-run stores.. competition from national chains moving into the Brisbane market. A slump in the economy reducing customer’s disposable income spent on outdoor lifstyles. | Finding and discussion In the initial phases of the markrting plan development,several focus groups were held to get insight into a different types of patrons of outdoor lifestyle stores.These type of groups provided useful insight into the decisions and decis ion-making processes,of custmors . An additional source of market research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system in store. Last thing of market research is reasonable appreciation. For two reasons the management of BBQ will come on the stores. The first one is competitve analysis. The second one is that local business owners are often part of an informal fraternal organisation where the support each other’s business.Brisbane city (BC) vs Sunshine city (SC) Customer number| BC:HouseholdIncome $| BC:OutdoorHome warespend $| CustomerNumber| SC:HouseholdIncome $| SC:Outdoor home ware spend $| 1| 141917. 4| 17030. 09| 1| 99724. 51| 5983. 47| 2| 132476. 7| 15897. 21| 2| 73762. 43| 4425. 74| 3| 120251. 5| 14430. 18| 3| 67561. 46| 4053. 68| 4| 119381. 9| 14325. 83| 4| 109280. 6| 6556. 83| 5| 126690. 5| 15529. 86| 5| 60555. 51| 3633. 33| 6| 129411. 7| 15529. 40| 6| 80996. 57| 4859. 79| Recommendations If we want to build up our company in other coun tries then we should know bout the people of that country like about their customs, religion, habits and soon. Apart this quality of stuff is very important to build up any business. If we provide the good quality product to the consumer in reasonable price then he will come back again and he will recommend to others as well to buy the things from our shop. The very important thing is area. Before start the business we should chose a good area that what kind of people are living there. How good their income is. Will they able to buy our product. These are the main tips which we keep in eye to start the business.

Promotional and Advertising Strategies Essay

The author comes from Iran, with an ideological and religious fanatic government which owns and controls all of economical and industrial activities with an armed to teeth minority. In such countries they can produce and sell any low quality with any prices that they want, and actually customers have not many choices, and almost all of promotional techniques and strategies are meaningless! So here we are talking about free trade and free market countries like US. This paper review and scrutiny the circumstances surrounding the promotional and advertising Strategies for two automotive companies: TOYATA and HUNDAI. The author is very curious about those companies, because HUNDAI (1967) began car production almost 32 years after TOYOTA (1935)! But now, in all aspects both companies are equal in quality, branding, marketing, price and customer service, even HUNDAI is further! HMC (Hyundai Motor Company) was unknown brand with low quality and cheap price cars, but after it came in the US market converted its products to high quality and luxury quickly and stealing loyal customers away from many industry pioneers! But how was this late-moving car maker able to gain an advantage in this extremely competitive market? (Graf B, 2013) Introduction Definition of Advertising: The term â€Å"Advertising† first appeared in the 17th century. It has its root in the Latin word â€Å"advertere,† which means, â€Å"to make people notice or know. † It can be roughly explained as â€Å"to extensively notify the public. † According to the Dictionary of Chinese Etymology, the Chinese definition of advertising means, â€Å"openly announce to the public,† with the annotation of â€Å"such as putting up notices or publishing advertisements in newspapers. † (Yan Boqin, 1978) Definition of Marketing: â€Å"Marketing† is an economic term meaning promotion and distribution. Originally applied in agriculture, it drew more and more attention after the 19th century and spread rapidly. From economic, social, business and customers’ angles, the property of its definition can be determined (Li Zongru, 2004). For highlighting the brand in the eyes of public and attracting new customers, product promotion is one of the essentials. There are many channels to promote a product or service. Successful promotions strongly depends on believe and culture of people, style of living, income level, government policies and economical and industrial infrastructures. Some firms use multiple methods, while others may use different methods for various marketing purposes. Irrespective of the type of service or product, a strong group of promotional strategies can help position the company in a favorable light with not only current customers but new ones as well. The following are top ten promotional strategies: â€Å"1- Contests, 2-Social Media, 3-Mail Order Marketing 4-Product Giveaways, 5-Point-of-Sale Promotion and End-Cap Marketing, 6-Customer Referral Incentive Program, 7-Causes and Charity, 8-Branded Promotional Gifts, 9-Customer Appreciation Events, 10-After-Sale Customer Surveys† (Carl Hose. 2014; Small businesses; Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/top-ten-promotional-strategies-10193. html) Comparing the promotional strategies used by Toyota and Hyundai for a similar product Today almost all of carmakers have a lot of experiences and they have access to modern and new technologies. So they can produce good quality and good design cars and also offer good services to customers, especially in US, there is no way to sell any products with low quality and low customer service. In result the best promotional strategies are those that involve culture, attitudes and beliefs of the people. The following are some examples of such strategies. Green Environment: Increasing public awareness about environmental protection, governments forced to implement hard regulation and criteria for automobile firms. Toyota published on its website: 1. Diversifying energy sources: â€Å"Toyota is developing various new technologies from the perspective of energy saving and diversifying energy sources. Environment has been first and most important issue in priorities of Toyota and working toward creating a prosperous society and clean world. † 2. Fuel Cell: â€Å"By generating electricity from hydrogen, Toyota’s fuel cell vehicles are not only environmentally friendly they’re also highly energy efficient. With such eco-friendly characteristics, Fuel Cell Vehicles are the next step toward achieving sustainable mobility. † 3. Plug-In Hybrid: â€Å"Introducing the next step for eco-friendly cars; a combination of the proven engineering of current hybrids with home recharging. It has an increased electric range and produces lower emissions. † 4. Measuring environmental issues surrounding vehicles: â€Å"For more improvements in efficiency, Toyota proactively manages power train efficiency, reduces vehicle load, and controls energy management by integration of fuel-saving technologies such as charge control, idling stop, etc. † 5. Various vehicles: â€Å"Along with our emphasis of conventional vehicles and hybrid vehicles as fundamental core technology while pursuing further advancement. † 6. Alternative fuels: â€Å"Based on these core technologies, Toyota will develop next-generation vehicles utilizing alternative fuels such as gas fuel, electricity and hydrogen. † (Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://www. toyota-global. com/innovation/environmental _technology/) Hyundai published on its website: 1. Blue Drive: Our Blue Drive ® technology gives you lower pollution and higher performance. Blue Drive is a philosophy that guides Hyundai in its effort to become the automotive leader in sustainability. It’s helped focus our engineers and designers on creating lighter vehicles, developing more efficient power trains and even inventing proprietary hybrid technologies. 2. Plug-in and zero-emission: In the future, Blue Drive will expand to include plug-in hybrid vehicles, zero-emission electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles that run entirely on hydrogen. Their only emission is water. 3. Electric hybrid: Hyundai introduced the first electric hybrid with electrifying performance. Our engineers have invented the industry’s most advanced hybrid vehicle. 4. New battery: Unlike other hybrids on the market, ours uses a patented Lithium Polymer battery. It has 40% less volume; it’s 25% lighter and 10% more efficient. The battery also has a longer life-span-it comes with a lifetime warranty guarantee. So you can feel good about preserving the environment for the life of your vehicle. (Retrieved December 2, 2014 from https://www. hyundaiusa. com/new-thinking/environment. aspx) Slogan: â€Å"An advertising slogan is usually a short tagline – less than five words — that tells potential customers the benefits they can expect when choosing your product or service, or establishes your company brand. † (Kristen Hamlin, 2014; Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/ importance-ad-slogans-31343. html) 1. Toyota’s ownership slogans: marketing efforts in North America have focused on emphasizing the positive experiences of ownership and vehicle quality. The ownership experience has been targeted in slogans such as â€Å"You asked for it! You got it! † (1975–1979); â€Å"Oh, what a feeling! † (1979 – September 1985, in the US); â€Å"Who could ask for anything more? † (September 1985 – 1989); â€Å"I love what you do for me, Toyota! † (1989–1997); â€Å"Everyday† (1997–2001); â€Å"Get the feeling! † (2001–2004); â€Å"Moving Forward† (2004–2012); and â€Å"Let’s Go Places† (2012–present). 2. Hyundai’s Brand slogan: â€Å"NEW THINKING. NEW POSSIBILITIES. †; reflects the will of Hyundai Motor Company to create new possibilities to benefit the world and its people by encouraging and developing new thinking. All members of Hyundai have the brand slogan deeply engraved in their hearts as they move forward in their effort to provide new values and experiences desired by today’s customers through innovative ways that are unique to the brand, driven by new thinking about customers and cars. ( Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://worldwide . hyundai. com/WW/Corporate/Corporate Information/BrandSlogan/index. html) New Compact Vehicle Strategy: According to the Ford India President, compact car sales are expected to double by 2018 from around one million units in 2013. This surge in demand in expected to be fueled by rising disposable incomes in the second most populous country in the world, and also owing to the increasing demand for fuel-efficient smaller cars due to rising fuel prices. ( Trefis Team ,2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www. forbes.com/sites /greatspeculations/2014/06/13/tata-motors-looks-to-improve-passenger-car-sales-by-penetrating-the-compact-segment/) 1. Toyota: The automobile market in emerging markets is growing each year in tandem with the economic growth of each country. Within those markets, there has been marked growth in the sales of compact vehicles, so Toyota is promoting a new compact vehicle strategy that emphasizes the compact vehicle lineup and seeks to meet the needs of consumers in emerging markets. 2. Hyundai: The South Korean automaker ranked seventh among mass-market brands in the this year’s U. S. Initial Quality Study by J. D. Power and Associates, topping such brands as Toyota, Infiniti, Audi and Lincoln. Hyundai’s Accent compact and Elantra small car were named among the top three cars in their segments. (Hans Greimel, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://www. autonews. com/article /20101206/RETAIL03/ 312069982/hyundai-plans-new-brand-strategy) Financial Services Strategy: Every year, millions of people around the world transition out of poverty in any number of ways—by adopting new farming technologies, investing in new business opportunities, or finding new jobs, for example. Effective tools for saving, sending, and borrowing money and mitigating financial risks can help people weather setbacks and achieve greater financial stability over the long term. (Retrieved December 4, 2014 from http://www. gatesfoundation. org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Financial-Services-for-the-Poor) 1. Toyota: Toyota Financial Services has constructed a global network that covers approximately 90% of the markets in which Toyota sells its vehicles. Mainly concentrated on auto loans, leases and Toyota dealer floor plan requirements, TFS provides auto sales financing to approximately 5. 4 million customers. Thus effectively helping them in making their own cars more affordable to their potential consumers all around the world. Again being a strategy that helps them a stronger competitor in the market. 2. Hyundai: Through our service brands, Hyundai Motor Finance and Kia Motors Finance, we provide financial products tailored to meet the needs of Hyundai and Kia dealerships nationwide, including dealer inventory and facility financing. And, through these dealerships, we provide indirect vehicle financing and leasing solutions to over 1 million retail customers. Our subsidiary, Hyundai Protection Plan, Inc.offers vehicle service contracts and other vehicle protection products under the Hyundai Protection Plan and Power Protect brands. (Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://www. Hyundaicapital america. com/hca. aspx) Two uses for consumer-oriented promotions that could assist a company in both the short and long term for the carmaker companies What are consumer-oriented sales promotions? There are two points of view: 1- Retail Promotions consist of inducements offered by retailers to consumers includes retail coupons, price discounts, double coupons, special displays, features etc. 2- Consumer Promotions consist of inducements offered by manufacturers to consumers includes manufacturer’s premiums, bonus packs, coupons, samples, rebates, etc. There are some reasons for the importance of the sales promotion. First, the growth of retailer power in distribution channels has led to an excess in consumer promotions. Sometimes, manufacturers make special offers to consumers because a powerful retailer insisted that they do so. Another time, as a way of neutralizing retailer power by intensification the bonds of loyalty consumers may feel toward the brand. Either way, retailers frequently serve as the driving force behind consumer promotions. Second, the type of competition has converted significantly during recent years resulting in ever greater consumer price sensitivity. The growing of brands and brand extensions, intensity segmented consumer markets, and lower brand loyalty have combined to make consumers much more aware of price given that many product categories are populated by several competitors. Third, price deals have become the rule rather than the exception for many products. Rebates on certain brands of automobiles, department store sales, and coupons on many grocery items are only a few areas where consumers have grown to expect price breaks. Indeed, the expectation is more than, when possible, many consumers will wait for promotional offers rather than buy with no deal. Fourth, advertising clutter has forced marketers to find new ways of getting consumer attention. Product benefits alone frequently prove insufficient to prompt consumer action much less get their attention. Thus, marketers increasingly look to sales promotion to find ways of breaking through to customers who face a constant bombardment of promotional messages. Eventually increasing of consumer promotion can also be attributed to more pressure on marketing management for short-term results. Investors want to immediate bottom-line results rather than the long-term health or stability of the companies in which they invest. Sales promotions are tools to increase near term sales. However, as their use becomes more common, their costs become regular and recurring and therefore potentially self-defeating. (Retrieved December 5, 2014 from www. udayton. edu/†¦ /Consumer%2520Promotion. p) The strategic manner in which the leading car company has made its pricing decisions by using one or more of the four pricing objectives â€Å"The four Ps of marketing is the combination of product, price, place (distribution), and promotion. Marketers develop strategies around these four areas in marketing to enhance branding, sales, and profitability. â€Å" (Ross Gittell, 2014, Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://catalog. flatworldknowledge. com/bookhub/reader/3157? e=gittell_1. 0-ch06_s02#). Price is the only revenue generating element amongst the 4ps, the rest being cost centers. Pricing objectives or goals give the company direction to the whole pricing process and consider the following: 1- Survival; 2- Get competitive advantage; 3- Financial, marketing, and strategic objectives of the company; 4- Enhance image of the firm, product or brand; 5- Hold price leadership; 6- Increase market share; 7- Consumer price point and elasticity; 8- Available resources; 9- Catch target of return of investment and sales; 10- Prevent new entrants; 11- Match competitors prices. Toyota gets credit for being the most known brand on the market; however the Corolla comes up nowhere in the competitor charts in terms of price, model distinction, or performance (TrueTrends, 2012). Providing a competitive advantage for the Corolla requires differentiating the car in pricing, quality, service, innovation, brand, convenience, and anywhere else that makes it more desirable over its competition (McCrimmon, 2008). How Toyota as a leading company can offer lowest prices? i. e. $89 a month for lease! The answer is: by maintaining its lowest costs. Along with differentiation Toyota also uses low cost to try and gain a competitive advantage in the automotive industry. â€Å"Toyota is (or was at the time) the low cost producer in the industry. Toyota achieves its cost leadership strategy by adopting lean production, careful choice and control of suppliers, efficient distribution, and low servicing costs from a quality product. †(Michael E. Porter, 2013) This quote from Michael Porter sums up how Toyota achieves this low cost strategy. Through research, it is evident that Toyota is still the low cost leader in the automotive industry. Societal trends have moved away from an individualistic culture—which identified social status and hierarchy based on material possessions—to an environmentally aware society (Grewal & Levy, 2012). With consumers’ minds wrapped around things like fuel mileage, cleaner emissions, and hybrid technology we find them moving further away from SUVs and trucks (Farooq, 2012). However, the 2013 Corolla is foreshadowed to be outshined by the Dodge Dart, as it loses some of its competitive edge in pricing and other award winning features (TrueTrends, 2012). By 2012 Toyota is planning to have more than 20 models that use batteries to extend fuel economy just like their Prius (Krolicki). Although they have not been as aggressive in the electric car market recently, like their competitors, they are planning to release a rechargeable version of their Prius by June 2012 (Krolicki). This re-chargeable version will position Toyota to attempt to take over as a low cost leader of hybrid technologies within the market, which supports Toyota’s overall strategy of low cost (Krolicki). Two actions that other car companies may take in order to differentiate themselves and gain a competitive advantage Hyundai rightly understood the consumer motivations to create magnetic products, price them strategically, position them sharply and keep making the magnetism more potent. Having understood the finer differences in consumer motivations, it opted for sharp arrow ‘reasons-to-buy’ differentiation over the ‘blanket-all approach’ taken by most of the other players. It is an aggressive marketer. It focuses on medium and low price products. Hyundai has also started premium products range to capture the growing market. (Anshuman goyal, pricing strategy of Hyundai, 2007; Retrieved December 9, 2014 from www. hyundai. com) The segments are based on type of customer like age group, attitude, end use of product, demographic behavior and purchasing power, status of the people of the region. Each competitor has its own strong point and value and position there product so as to attract maximum number of customers. (Kottler, Keller, Jha, Koshy, 2007, Marketing Management) Hyundai brand continues to dominate the market for premium cars, despite increasing competition. The firm should first consider the competitors price. If the company i. e. Hyundai contains features not offered by the nearest competitor, it should evaluate their worth to the customer and that value to the competitor price. Competitors are more likely to react when there is high competition. In case of Hyundai, many products are there such as Sonata, Santro, Hyundai i10, Accent etc. Hyundai continues to provide stiff competition to Honda in all the segments and poses an even bigger threat to expansion plans of Hyundai. (Anshuman goyal, pricing strategy of Hyundai, 2007; Retrieved December 9, 2014 from www. honda. com) Two examples of the most effective advertising medium for a Car company The TV advertising have been having the largest audiences in all ages, but car buyers are specific ages who have not enough time to watching TV even less than one hour per day, because they are too busy in today competitive era. Instead the internet via smart phones and computers is like a ghost became as a inseparable part of their life, at any time more than 15 hours a day, and even when they are eating, showering, walking, sporting, biking, swimming, and in any place even in high mountains and deep forests, roads and villages! Another reason for effectiveness of internet rather than TV is: new intelligence algorithms via data mining analyze the behavior of customers and put proper Ads to the web pages related to the target customers with very lower advertising costs. As a most important subject which advertisers should also pay attention to it is cultural differences, they have to be careful since cultures vary in different countries, they must understand the local audience culture before releasing new commercials, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Another internet related way for advertising can be the online promotional games, such as Toyota’s use of MSN commercial games to promote its products, for instance. There are two interactive contents focusing on entertainment: fun activities and downloads. Both of them were found in about one third of the 100 web sites, respectively. Fun activities were also utilized to promote the brand in the sites and they are not related to scores or performance. Activities for fun included virtual test drive (www. gmc. com), virtual plant tour (www. cocacola . com), virtual auto show (www. lexus. com), e-cards (www. saturn. com), a coloring sheet (www. wendys. com), a virtual skin beauty analysis (www. neutrogena. com), and so forth. Downloads promoting and affiliated with the company’s brand were also analyzed. Desktop images such as wallpaper and icons were the most offered downloads, followed by music (Seounmi Youn, 2001, Retrieved December 9, 2014 from http://list. msu. edu/cgi-bin/wa? A3=ind0209c&L=AEJMC&E =0&P=3326464&B=†¦ _&T=text%2Fplain;%20charset=us-ascii) For the carmakers, another impressive promotion method is â€Å"complete test ride†. The buyers are very keen to getting experience to drive with a brand new car and having the opportunity to really feel its advantages and disadvantages. For encouraging the customers to more participating in test drive activities, offering some gifts can always increase the interest and willingness of then. Getting the best result always does not correspond with the cost of the advertising. So carmakers should choose their advertising media in accordance with today era. However as always, inviting stars to speak for different models with different appeals will have so effectiveness to increasing the public awareness. Conclusion Some observers suspect that Hyundai’s recent successes may be anomalies, abetted by the difficulties that the company’s U. S. and Japanese competitors faced after the global economic crisis, the rise in the yen’s value, Toyota’s wave of recalls, and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and Fukushima nuclear disaster. Others say that the company’s highly protected home market has enabled its growth, allowing Hyundai to establish a global presence while its domestic competitors restrict themselves to tiny slivers of the Korean market. But the single factor that has made the most difference is the company’s own interest in building world-class capabilities. Starting in 1998, Hyundai’s leaders set out to develop the kind of prowess the company would need to become a global automobile powerhouse, able to hold its own in the United States and other fiercely competitive markets. Early on, that meant offering a comprehensive warranty and taking specific steps to dramatically improve its quality ratings. Once customers were convinced of the brand’s reliability, Hyundai added other capabilities, such as design, which led to a more diversified product line and more stylish features. Meanwhile, it developed a knack for getting the word out through clever, consistent marketing. The result is a coherent mix of quality improvement, design, and marketing that gives Hyundai a clear advantage over its industry competitors. Although these are required capabilities at all automakers, Hyundai has excelled at combining them over the past decade, and its sales numbers reflect this success. The company’s effort to become a world-class automaker is beginning to pay off, and it’s far enough along that its story can be credibly told. (Source: Strategy & Business. February 26, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://www. strategy-business.com/article/00162? pg=all). References Anshuman goyal, pricing strategy of Hyundai, 2007; www. honda. com Anshuman goyal, pricing strategy of Hyundai, 2007; www. hyundai. com Carl Hose. 2014; Small businesses; http://smallbusiness. chron. com/top-ten-promotional-strategies-10193. html Hans Greimel, 2011. http://www. autonews. com/article /20101206/RETAIL03/ 312069982/hyundai-plans-new-brand-strategy Kottler, Keller, Jha, Koshy, 2007, Marketing Management Kristen Hamlin, 2014; http://smallbusiness. chron. com/ importance-ad-slogans-31343. html http://www. gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Financial-Services-for-the-Poor Ross Gittell, 2014, http://catalog. flatworldknowledge. com/bookhub/reader/3157? e=gittell_1. 0-ch06_s02# Trefis Team, 2014. http://www. forbes. com/sites /greatspeculations/2014/06/13/tata-motors-looks-to-improve-passenger-car-sales-by-penetrating-the-compact-segment/ Seounmi Youn, 2001, http://list. msu. edu/cgi-bin/wa? A3=ind0209c&L=AEJMC&E =0&P=3326464&B=†¦ _&T=text%2Fplain;%20charset=us-ascii Strategy & Business. February 26, 2013. http://www. strategy-business. com/article/00162? pg=all.

Western Medicines Impact On The Traditional Belie Essays

Western Medicine's Impact On The Traditional Belie Essays Western Medicine's Impact On The Traditional Beliefs Of The Kaliai The people of the Kandoka village, located in Papua New Guinea, have quite a unique way of life that differs from that of Western civilization in several ways. They are essentially a simple society based on subsistence horticulture and occasional hunting. With a population of approximately four hundred people, the Kandoka village is the largest of the five coastal villages of Lusi-Kaliai speakers. Travel between these different communities is achieved by foot or sea and usually requires a substantial amount of time. This can be quite problematic in cases of medical emergency. Although a registered nurse is located at an Aid Post a few miles from the village, more serious cases are often referred to hospitals quite far away. The Kaliai have now been in contact with Western culture for over a century and with Western medicine for almost fifty years. They have still managed to maintain their strong cultural beliefs and practices while at the same time integrating certain aspects of West ern culture into theirs. In this essay I will discuss how the availability of Western medicine has affected how the Kaliai perceive and explain causes of illness and methods of treatment, when they seek this type of treatment, and how they explain and deal with it's failure. I will then proceed to comment on how and when traditional treatment is exercised and what happens if this method fails. The information used in the discussions is provided in a series of case histories documented by Drs. Dorothy and David Counts. It is from these cases we find that the people of the Kandoka village have generally accepted Western medicine and use it in varying combinations with traditional practices. Western Medicine's Impact on Perceptions of Illness With the introduction of Western medicine into the Kandoka village came new ways of explaining illness and providing treatment. Contact with Western missionaries had established a great deal of respect for their culture through both their kindness and their exciting different way of life. When Western medicine became available near by at a relatively low cost the Kaliai experimented with these new methods of treatment. This new system of health care differs from traditional Kaliai care in that it is based more so on scientific facts and discoveries. Illness and disease are diagnosed according to what symptoms the victim possesses. Once the diagnosis is established the associated treatment is administered. From the information presented in the case histories it does not appear that the Kaliai were unwilling to seek aid from Western medical care providers. Several of the victims mentioned in the cases sought advice and treatment provided by Westerners. In the majority of situations this was even the first avenue explored by them. Such was the case with Paul, Tina, Nathan, Bruno and Christy. It generally appeared that this method of treatment was selected over traditional medicine especially when symptoms were recognized as being similar to ones that had been cured through Western medicine in the past. Examples of this involve the infection of Paul's thumb, Tina's high fever, and Nathan's swollen face. Shortly after the symptoms appeared, Paul approached the Counts for first-aid treatment. With this infection continuing to worsen, his next action was to travel to the mission clinic to see if they could heal him. In Tina's case her parents wanted to take her to the Health Centre but bad weather prevented them from travelling there. They, like Paul, then approached the anthropologists for help. In Nathan's situation he was administered treatment at the Kaliai Health Centre and was then paid a visit by the Counts. The anthropologists, and their pills, were credited with predicting the time of his recovery and with his cure. These cases suggest a high level of confidence in Western medicine's ability to heal. Unfortunately, in Paul's case he was unable to get to a better medical facility in time and ended up needing to have his thumb amputated. Drs. Dorothy and David Counts were often consulted both because of their close proximity and because they were highly respected by the villagers. The other common place travelled to for treatment was the Kaliai Health Centre staffed by trained nurses. Although the people

Free Essays on Todays Resume

Today’s Resume In today’s vastly changing technological world, paper resumes are becoming obsolete. â€Å"As the Internet continues to revolutionize the business world, job-seekers must show their ability to excel in an increasingly digital environment.†(Ramage, 1998, p78) E-mail is now the preferred way to receive resumes, over 34 percent of human resource professionals prefer resumes sent this way while only 17 percent of job seekers send resumes via e-mail. With the on slot of these changes preparing a useful resume and cover letter becomes highly significant. â€Å"A good resume is well organized and effectively communicates a candidate’s goals and experiences.†(Hattersley, 1999, p.4) It should include short concise measurable statements that are free of clutter and erroneous detail. â€Å"They are pleasing to the eye, easy to read and have a balanced amount of white space.†(Bowden, 2001, p.56) Good organization helps the employer to locate major points such as the candidate’s intention and role they want to fulfill. Under all circumstances the resume should be no more than three pages long, one or two pages are preferable. In a tight labor market a well-developed resume should capture the essence of a candidate’s career direction in 60 seconds or less. The cover letter to a resume quite frankly gets a foot in the door. A boss filing through hundreds of possible candidate’s will rapidly narrow the search to a few individuals who fit the profile. The cover letter should â€Å"make the hirer want to learn more about you.†(Tucker, 2000, p.20) It should show that the applicant is familiar with the organization, placing emphasize on how your education and training qualifies you, be crisp and punchy, and most importantly have zero mistakes. â€Å"Good conventional cover letters adopt a Me-You-We model.†(Hattersley, 2001, p.4) For instance, a cover letter should convey to the employer how you qualify for the job... Free Essays on Today's Resume Free Essays on Today's Resume Today’s Resume In today’s vastly changing technological world, paper resumes are becoming obsolete. â€Å"As the Internet continues to revolutionize the business world, job-seekers must show their ability to excel in an increasingly digital environment.†(Ramage, 1998, p78) E-mail is now the preferred way to receive resumes, over 34 percent of human resource professionals prefer resumes sent this way while only 17 percent of job seekers send resumes via e-mail. With the on slot of these changes preparing a useful resume and cover letter becomes highly significant. â€Å"A good resume is well organized and effectively communicates a candidate’s goals and experiences.†(Hattersley, 1999, p.4) It should include short concise measurable statements that are free of clutter and erroneous detail. â€Å"They are pleasing to the eye, easy to read and have a balanced amount of white space.†(Bowden, 2001, p.56) Good organization helps the employer to locate major points such as the candidate’s intention and role they want to fulfill. Under all circumstances the resume should be no more than three pages long, one or two pages are preferable. In a tight labor market a well-developed resume should capture the essence of a candidate’s career direction in 60 seconds or less. The cover letter to a resume quite frankly gets a foot in the door. A boss filing through hundreds of possible candidate’s will rapidly narrow the search to a few individuals who fit the profile. The cover letter should â€Å"make the hirer want to learn more about you.†(Tucker, 2000, p.20) It should show that the applicant is familiar with the organization, placing emphasize on how your education and training qualifies you, be crisp and punchy, and most importantly have zero mistakes. â€Å"Good conventional cover letters adopt a Me-You-We model.†(Hattersley, 2001, p.4) For instance, a cover letter should convey to the employer how you qualify for the job...

The Four Ps of proposal writing - Emphasis

The Four Ps of proposal writing The Four Ps of proposal writing People who have the gift of being able to write a persuasive proposal tend to go a long way, regardless of whether theyre in sales or the Civil Service. Yet far from being a dark art, the skill of effective proposal writing is something you can teach yourself.  In fact, theres one formula that can bring you success time and time again. We call it the Four Ps. Position This is where you should start. Establish where the client or reader is at this moment. Your proposal might well be read by several different decision-makers – at different levels – in the organisation, but this will be the one thing that has everyone in consensus from the outset. In sales, don’t begin with a long-winded introduction to your company: you’ll make a much better impression by showing you’ve taken the time and interest to get to know your prospective client. Problem Despite the name, this could be a negative or a positive. There may be a problem to address, or the opportunity of a lifetime could be in sight. All it means is making it clear that a change must be made. Salespeople: again, the focus is on them, not you – their needs, not your product. Make it clear you understand those needs, using facts and figures as appropriate. Possibilities Here you can cover all the potential routes, including taking no action, with pros and cons for each. Don’t try to gloss over any possible downsides: it could look like they haven’t occurred to you. Rise above trashing competitors by name, though you can argue the flaws of their ideas – if you know them. If there’s only one option, you won’t need this section. Proposal This is your recommended route, with your reasons for it. Be succinct and specific. Make it very clear how your proposal relates to what the client or reader has asked for. They should be left with no doubts about why they should go with you, why they should do it now and what they need to do next. Ok, so we can’t completely guarantee you a win every time. But this is always the best p-p-p-place to start. For more help perfecting your proposal writing, why not arrange an  in-house bid, tender and sales-proposal writing course for your team, or book a spot on one of our bid-writing courses for individuals?

Telecommunications Industry-Marketing of Vodafone Essay

Telecommunications Industry-Marketing of Vodafone - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that the main products of the company as well as its main marketing activities, their evolution over time and the major hurdles in this regard are evaluated. Moreover, how they are successful in their decision making are also evaluated. The organization of the essay is as follows. Section 2 discusses the company in detail including its products and services and its mission and vision. Section 3 discusses the orientation of the company towards marketing including the attitude towards marketing, its evolution over time and the major barriers for the company to be faced. Section 4 discusses the  Ã‚   marketing research activities of Vodafone for the decision making purpose and its evaluation. Section 5 concludes the essay.As the paper highlights  Vodafone is one of the most famous mobile companies in the telecommunication industry with its headquarters at United Kingdom. The company has branches all over the world mainly focused in Europe.  It has been growing very fast in the last two decades with its financial performance increasing significantly. The main products of the company include web.  The main products of the company include web box and two varieties of Vodafone.  The main services of the company include business solutions, personal solutions, marketing solutions, personal ideas and mobile solutions. The main markets of this company include Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Africa and the United States.... Section 5 concludes the essay. 2. The company Vodafone is one of the most famous mobile companies in the telecommunication industry with its headquarters at United Kingdom. The company has branches all over the world mainly focused in Europe (Vodafone, 2011a).It has been growing very fast in the last two decades with its financial performance increasing significantly (Vodafone, 2011b). The main products of the company include web box and two varieties of Vodafone. Moreover, the products include handsets, smart phones, voice and messaging services, and branded handsets. The main services of the company include business solutions, personal solutions, marketing solutions, personal ideas and mobile solutions (Vodafone, 2011).The main markets of this company include Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Africa and the United States. The mission of the company is to become the world leader in telecommunications industry .The vision includes leading the telecommunications industry in response to public concerns like mobile phones, masts and health. The primary goals of the company include driving operational performance, pursuing growth opportunities in total communications, execution in emerging markets and strengthening market discipline. All these are aimed at the main objective generation of free cash flow. Accelerated customer growth and immediate geographic expansion had been the two guiding factors behind the company’s success. Based on these, the next section discusses the attitude of the company towards marketing and its evolution over time. The main barriers and challenges for the company are also shown below. 3. Orientation towards Marketing The company tries to retain its image in markets already existing as well as uses celebrities like David

History of the Japanese in North America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of the Japanese in North America - Essay Example People from Japan began migrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924 banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese. The ban on immigration produced unusually well-defined generational groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an immigrant generation, the Issei, and their U.S.-born children, the Nisei. The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924 were--by definition--born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences. Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the Sansei. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the Immigration Act of 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries. The Naturalization Act of 1790 restricted naturalized U.S. citizenship to "free white persons," which excluded the Issei from citizenship. As a result, the

Human resources paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human resources paper - Essay Example Judgements based on the individual’s status are known to have a negative impact on those individuals with high status. This is because those who perceive themselves to have higher status than others will demand to be treated differently from those with lower status. Reducing status differences among individual is a good and important way to address the issue of individual productivity based on status. I believe more god results can be found as status is seen to have an impact on job satisfaction and procedural fairness at work. Individual’s sensitiveness with regard to approval ratings means that the moment they are made to feel inferior, automatically their self-esteem becomes broken. This mostly have a greater effect on those who posses high value status. Thus reducing this phenomenon will help cushion them in the event of them being made to feel less deserving (Lyndah et al, 2009). Personality problems too can arise when high status individuals too feel badly treated- like getting angrier or not engaging in future associations with those persons who treated them unfairly. In an exclusive study, we conducted on salespersons of electronics’ shop, we asked them how they feel when their managers and supervisors treated them according to jobs. Many said they felt mistreated while others said they felt greatly undermined more than their colleagues who had higher status than they did. This in essence showed the disparities that occur when there is an acute difference in terms of status. While it has been showed by other similar studies and research, the phenomenon is inappropriate. Human resource managers need to identify with this problem and find ways of solving it, because it has a direct impact on employee work morale. It is only fair to work in an equal environment where individuals are of equal status, where

Special Effects in the movie Inception Research Paper

Special Effects in the movie Inception - Research Paper Example Special wooden rooms were created that were supported by steel tubing. Several hotel sets were created in an airship which included a long hotel corridor that can rotate both clockwise and anticlockwise. The actors were hung on wires and with two months of rehearsal and training, they were able to ‘defy’ the law of gravity and the amazing scene was created. The scene shows Arthur fighting a couple of men in a rotating corridor under zero gravity. Then in the absence of gravity, he moves on to his four teammates and ties them by a rope and puts them in a lift. This scene is a perfect example of showing the invalidity of the laws of science in the world of our imagination. The scene appears near the climax of the movie and mind boggles the viewers with its special effects.The dreams are also shown to lose shape as they begin collapsing. In the very start of the movie, the building where Cobb was standing begins to collapse and starts to get filled with water because the dr eam was about to end. Another interesting use of special effects is in the designing of dreams. Cobb hires Ariadne to design the dreams which would contain the team when it is on its mission. Designing the dream is not like designing in reality. The dreams are not bound by any laws and impossible structures cam be built just by using one’s imagination. In the movie, we see this when Cobb is sharing a dream with Ariadne during her first lesson. Appalled by the truth that she was a dream, the revelation shakes her subconscious and the dream collapses. The film shows minute details of the scene which shows structures break into fragments and the buildings tear apart, resulting in Ariadne waking up. In the other lessons, we see Ariadne as a brilliant architect who knows how to play around with the laws of science in the world of dreams.3 Then it is the world created by Cobb and Mal during their limbo state. The world has been created at such deep levels of dreams that it is unsta ble even though it appears real to the dreamer. Chunks are constantly seen to be breaking away from the buildings and falling into the sea. To create the limbo world also made use of a lot of special

Women driving in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Women driving in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Due to this, it should impose stringent measures to ensure that women do not drive in public and instead leave driving to men. Women should not be allowed to drive freely as men do and they should not drive cars in men’s presence as this contradicts the Islamic laws (Macfarquhar n.d). Due to this, any woman found driving in presence should be arrested since she would have violated the government laws and lack of respect of Islamic laws. On the other hand, I think women should be allowed to drive since driving is not a reserve for men (Wollstonecraft 56). Banning women from driving is a sign of an oppressive society that does not care about the welfare of other people. Additionally, with persistence discrimination and subordination of women in Saudi Arabia, women lack self –confidence and esteem. In this case, it will be difficult for Saudi Arabia to attain gender equality by the year 2015 as enshrined in the millennium development

Progressive Movement and Social Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Progressive Movement and Social Control - Essay Example In this progressive era, a  young man with   great   political   experience   became   the   president   of   United   States   named     Theodore   Roosevelt. At   the   age   of   forty   he   became   the   youngest   president   of   United   States. The   main   cause   that   made   him   popular was   his   policies   that   reflected   his   personality   as   an   activist   and   moralist.In   this   progressive   era, a   young   man   with   great   political   experience   became   the   president   of   United   States   named     Theodore   Roosevelt. At   the   age   of   forty   he   became   the   youngest   president   of   United   States. The   main   cause   that   made   him   popular was   his   policies   that   reflected   his   personality   as   an   activist   and   moralist. His   main   concern   was   railroad   regulation   which   ended   up   with   a   compromise   between   the   two   positions. His   greatest   achievement   was   to   conserve   America’s   natural   resource. He   won   a   noble   peace   prize   for   negotiating   an   end   to   Russo-Japanese   war   and   preserving   open   door   policy   in   China. Woodrow  Wilson was the   governor   of   New   Jersey   and   became   the   president   of   United   States   in   1912. He   started   the   Federal   Reserve   Act   in   1913. This   act   provided   the   control   of   government   over   banking. He   also   introduced   Federal   Trade   Commission   Act   that   regulated   the   trade   by   taking   commission   from   these   trade   corporations. He   appointed   commissioner   to   regulate   these   trades   affairs. The   appointment   of   these   commissioners   was   not   liked   by   progressives. The   progressivism   was   exploited   mostly   by   the   white   men. Women   were   the   victims   of   progressivism. This   resulted   in   the   launch   of   National   Women   Party     which   fought   against   women   suffrage. Black   were   also   the   sufferers   of   progressivism. Rich   people   were   exploiting   poor   and   hampering   cultural   ethics   by   making   wrong   use   of   progressivism. But   above   all   its   drawbacks   progressive   reform   developed   the   culture, lifestyle, new   trade   methods   and   much   more   advancements. The   government   became   more   responsible   towards   the   economic   and   social   welfare. Middle   class   people   became   more conscious   towards   their   right   in   the   society. The   banking   procedure   was   changed   and   got   under   the   control   of   government. Progressivism   preserved   the   capitalist   system. Progressivism   introduced   many   democratic   ideas   from   different   parts   of   the   society. This   was   the   end   of   nineteenth   century   and   progressivism   was   the   major   reform   of   this   century.

Women driving in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Women driving in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Due to this, it should impose stringent measures to ensure that women do not drive in public and instead leave driving to men. Women should not be allowed to drive freely as men do and they should not drive cars in men’s presence as this contradicts the Islamic laws (Macfarquhar n.d). Due to this, any woman found driving in presence should be arrested since she would have violated the government laws and lack of respect of Islamic laws. On the other hand, I think women should be allowed to drive since driving is not a reserve for men (Wollstonecraft 56). Banning women from driving is a sign of an oppressive society that does not care about the welfare of other people. Additionally, with persistence discrimination and subordination of women in Saudi Arabia, women lack self –confidence and esteem. In this case, it will be difficult for Saudi Arabia to attain gender equality by the year 2015 as enshrined in the millennium development

Professional Credo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Professional Credo - Essay Example I have come to realize that this is a rather significant and influential value in the course of the interaction between people. In a school setting, this value is portrayed through the interactions of educators with each other and with the students. I believe that for a system to function properly it is of the essence for respect to be existent between the various stakeholders that keep the institution alive. This is because respect is an element, which is two-way. One of the most controversial issues which educators are faced with, and one, which brings about the questioning of respect is when a student means to differ with what the educator is presenting. The notion in this case is that the educator is mostly right in almost all the occasions. For starters, it is significant to note that respect for other people’s opinions is something, which is highly valued in a particular setting. For this reason, an educator has to be in a position to take in and respect what another par ty, particularly a student may pose. Teaching is defined as the cause of knowing something. In this case, the teacher imparts knowledge on the students. This, however, is not to say that the teacher necessarily knows everything. There are those elements which the teacher does not know and on the other hand, there are those elements which the students may have some knowledge of in comparison to the teacher. The one thing, which will make these two parties come to agreement with each other, is the element of respect in them. Respect is something, which I will hold with high esteem in the course of my interaction with the various people in the school. I would not like to disrespect a person because equally I would not like them to disrespect me. I believe that if the students respect each other, they will be in a position to exercise this same respect in other areas, say their education, for example (Noddings, 2010). They will be in a position to see how important this education is. Co mpassion In the course of the teaching profession, there are various instances in which the teacher will get to encounter situations that will demand compassion on the part of the tutor. This is especially in the course of their interactions with their students. There are those students who will be on the wrong in some instances. The true test of compassion on the part of the teacher will be portrayed in the way he or she will handle such students. A case example in this case may be an issue to do with a child who has not carried out his or her assignment majorly because of some upheavals at his or her home. This, as child psychology establishes, is something, which may have some rather devastating effects on the child in question. How will the teacher handle the case of such a child? This is especially if the teacher is punishing other children who have not done the assignment. I believe that compassion is something, which automatically comes up on the part of the teacher majorly a s a result of the situation which he or she may be in. The day-to day activities that are involved with the teaching profession pose situations where the teacher has to exercise compassion (Pierce & Newstorm, 2006). This is especial