Ethical and Moral Issues in Business

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business LaTonya Beeler September 13, 2010 MGT 216 Ray Crum Ethics and morals are essential to the success of a business. The two are synonymous with one another. According to DeGeorge, â€Å"ethics is a systematic attempt to make sense of our individual and social moral experience†¦ to determine the rules that ought to govern human conduct, the values worth pursuing, and the character traits deserving development in life (DeGeorge, 2010, pg. 13). † Consumers rely on business to make moral and ethical decision regarding all business transactions.If the consumer does not believe that a business is moral or ethical he or she will not patronize the business, which in turn causes the business to lose money causing adverse effects on the economy. This essay will ascertain the differences between ethical and moral issues, the difference between personal and business ethics as well as provide examples of common ethical problems in business for each of the aforementioned ethics. Ethics and morals are words that people use interchangeably in regards to conduct and how people interact with society.However, some differences exist between the two in business. Ethics are a set of rules or codified system implemented by a company that explains how one should act on-the-job whereas morals are set in stone and is principles by which an entire society is supposed to live by. One can distinguish between ethics and morals by understanding that ethics is the action or conduct of what an individual deems right or wrong, therefore morals are the basis to which ethics stand on.For instance, if two big businesses were in competition with one another for the same customers one of the companies may choose to bribe an employee of the other company for internal information to use against the other company to gain a competitive advantage. Bribery is a common ethical problem that occurs in business. Personal ethics can refer to an individual’s life outside of work whereas business ethics pertain to the moral aspects of business to consumer interaction or business to business interaction. The foundation of personal and business ethics are equivalent.What differentiates the two are how they are enacted. For example, there are retail stores that require their employees to promote the sale of store credit cards. The customers may not be knowledgeable of the rules in the fine print; however the customer service associate is well aware but cannot disclose certain information because he or she has to comply with code of ethics of the company. This directly conflicts with the personal ethics of the employee and the business ethics to which he or she has to comply with.The aforementioned example is a common ethical problem seen in the retail business. Ethics and morals are essential in the success of a business because they determine whether or not a customer will continue to patronize the business or take his or her money to anot her business. A company is only as successful as the people who work there. The employee in a business goes to work and employs his or her personal ethics in conjunction with the code of ethics implemented in the place he or she works. Differences are apparent in morals and ethics.The difference is ethics are a codified system in a business to which employees have to adhere to and morals are the basis to which one determines right from wrong. Just as there are differences in ethic and morals, there are differences between personal and business ethics. The difference is how personal and business ethics are enacted. Businesses can prevent scandals within the company by ensuring that all employees including management adhere to the business code of ethics.Reference DeGeorge, R. T. (2010). Business ethics (7th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Mgt/216 Steve Fletcher October 18, 2010 One Ethics and moral issues in business become factors that individuals encounter at several times in one’s daily life. An individual becomes greeted each morning in the newspaper, confronted in the fundamentals of one’s daily jobs, and bided good night on the evening news. In a professional setting, a person’s behavior to act in a manner that upholds the good of society becomes expected. To understand ethical and moral issues in business, their differences must become imperative, the differences between personal ethics and business ethics become essential, and examples of common ethical problems in businesses become important. Ethics become extremely important to everyone in the workplace, and are the beliefs, values, and morals that an individual possess. â€Å"The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation,† defines ethics according to according to  Merriam-Webster, Incorporated  (2010). These values, belief, and morals become usually instilled in the individual from family, church, society, peer groups, profession, or other sources. A variety of ethical issues that becomes apparent within various organizations today include â€Å"conflict of interest,† â€Å"discrimination,† â€Å"harassment, Sexual and otherwise,† â€Å"recruitment and staffing,† â€Å"customer confidence issues,† and â€Å"corporate resources. † These ethical issues occur within today’s business environments and have a tremendous effect on organizations. Two â€Å"Moral principles, teachings, or conduct,† defines moral according to  Merriam-Webster, Incorporated  (2010). A variety of moral issues that becomes apparent within various organizations today include â€Å"falsification of facts, deception, concealing information,† â€Å"misrepresenting correspondence or publications,† â€Å" the swaying of people's feelings,† â€Å"cheating, rule-bending, misleading people,† â€Å"exploitation of weakness and vulnerability,† â€Å"excessive profit,† â€Å"greed,† â€Å"resistance to reasonable investigation,† â€Å"recklessness or irresponsible secrecy and lack of transparency and use of authority, power, reputation,† â€Å"breaking confidentiality,† â€Å"lack of compassion and humanity,† and â€Å"unfairness. Several influences define personal Ethics, which include family influences, religious beliefs, culture affects, personal experiences, and internal reflection. Parents or guardians dictate one’s morality during the early years of an individual’s life. They bec ome the first to voice and demonstrate ethical boundaries. Religious beliefs become important by allowing a person to accept an established set of moral rules. By following these moral rules, an individual behave ethically with the promises of rewards in the afterlife as a motivation. Culture dictates the ethical norms simply because of the customs and traditions in the society surrounding him or her, and becomes ingrained in an individual’s psyche. Personal experiences shift one’s ethics, which become events that happen in an individual’s life. Emotional and personal experiences cause changes one’s beliefs. Internal reflection becomes developed by one’s inward feelings. When an individual Three does something that goes against one’s moral code, a feeling of guilt or shame results. When an individual does something that fits into one’s ethical idea of â€Å"right† he or she becomes proud or happy. Business ethics become what constitute a business to its employees, customers, the community, vendors doing business with them, and all business relationships. Although guidelines, basic laws, and rules became created to maintain a business, the codes of conduct enforce ethics, and make an organization successful. When values in the workplace become viewed as fair and just with a collective willingness to provide services and products in an ethical manner; trust and confidence becomes stronger. When management adheres to company ethics, it sends a strong message to employees and often set strong ethical standards for what the company stands for. The Madoff investment scandal that became the largest â€Å"Ponzi scheme† ever committed by an individual becomes an example of ethical and moral issues in business. Money laundering, securities fraud, perjury, mail fraud, wire fraud, and making false fillings with the SEC became the federal crimes that Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty. â€Å"He actually managed to fool 4,800 clients. None of this money was ever invested; it was simply deposited into his  business  account. The losses of his clients were almost $65 billion and now Madoff faces a lifelong sentence and up to $170 billion in restitution,† according to (Articles base, 2010). Four The Enron failure that caused thousands of people to lose their jobs and pensions because of unethical practices by management becomes a prime example of personal and business ethical problems. â€Å"The SEC has uncovered several instances of financial fraud committed by high-ranking executives at Enron, and many of the executives have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy,† according to (Lawyer Shop, 2008). Appropriate business ethics become vitally important in businesses; both large and small. Several ethical issues may arise within an organization, but acquiring the right training, policies, procedures, and guidelines available and comprehensive to all employees, businesses will aid in a decreasing amount of ethical and moral issues in the workplace. Reference: Articlesbase. com, (2010), retrieved from http://www. articlesbase. com/law-articles/how-the-madoff-investment-scandal-was-uncovered-927189. html Lawyershop. com, (2008)  retrieved from http://www. lawyershop. com/practice-areas/criminal-law/white-collar-crimes/securities-fraud/lawsuits/enron Merriam-Webster, Incorporated,  (2010),  Merriam-Webster Dictionary,  retrieved Ethical and Moral Issues in Business While ethics refers to understanding and adopting moral values such as code of conduct, morals are the beliefs of individuals determining what is right and wrong in behavior. Although organizations may have set rules to standardize a working environment, individuals may follow standard procedures while the morality solely lies in individual behavior. While groups and organizations may provide values of establishment within a working environment, moral issues may obtain examples of lying, stealing and cheating. Personal ethics may also obtain morality and may affect an individual’s goals which may differ from business ethics. Business ethics have company policy and standards in which employees must follow such as being respectful within the environment. As there are many differences to compare between ethics and morality, common problems do occur in businesses because of the human traits of greed. Why do ethical problems occur in businesses today? The majority of times, invidividuals can be selfish obtaining values of self interest which may lead to unethical conduct (William, 2009). Whether issues lie in management, work centers or between individuals, the results of the companies may be directed towards poor company performance and bad reputable perceptions from overall consumers. Research has shown that companies with poor and lower in profits are more prone to commit unethical acts (William, 2009). Fixed-pricing is an example of unethical problems which, avoids fair competition between companies. This is an unlawful agreement between manufacturers, which is considered illegal in the United States (William, 2009). Stealing and lying is also one of many common problems within businesses. For example, individuals working in IT may take and steal computer parts like HDMI cables rather than going to Fry’s electronics to pick one up for personal use. When it is time to install or troubleshoot a client’s computer or network, missing resourceful products may lead to bad customer service. Software piracy in IT is also considered unethical and many programmers and IT businesses may lose profits. When IT businesses lose profits, so do employee jobs. It is important for individuals to hold ethical personal conduct and hold morals to never steal from any company because it increases the efficiency of work performance and cost benefits. These company resources are valuable and stealing is unethical within any company. Another example is making personal phone calls on a corporate phone which may cost the company’s bills to increase. It is up to individuals to separate personal ethics such as personal phone calls with business ethics in this situation. These ethics are usually in the majority of all company policies. Also such unethical business practices may include discrimination against protected classes, bribes, sexual harassment and dishonesty. Ultimately ethical issues require people or organizations to choose actions which may judge their character of right and wrong. While organizations may want preserve customer relationships and employee concerns, business ethics may promote standard policies for diverse individuals. Such examples of unethical and immoral doings within businesses were stealing IT resources for personal use, using company resources for personal use and fixed pricing. Other examples were lying and cheating. These are choices individuals are expected not to commit and hold moral values so that companies and businesses may prosper towards a bright future. References: William, P.  (2009).  Why Ethical Problems Occur in Business.  Yahoo! Contributor Network.  Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1429755/why_ethical_problems_occur_in_business.html?cat=3 Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and Moral Issues in Business LaTonya Beeler September 13, 2010 MGT 216 Ray Crum Ethics and morals are essential to the success of a business. The two are synonymous with one another. According to DeGeorge, â€Å"ethics is a systematic attempt to make sense of our individual and social moral experience†¦ to determine the rules that ought to govern human conduct, the values worth pursuing, and the character traits deserving development in life (DeGeorge, 2010, pg. 13). † Consumers rely on business to make moral and ethical decision regarding all business transactions.If the consumer does not believe that a business is moral or ethical he or she will not patronize the business, which in turn causes the business to lose money causing adverse effects on the economy. This essay will ascertain the differences between ethical and moral issues, the difference between personal and business ethics as well as provide examples of common ethical problems in business for each of the aforementioned ethics. Ethics and morals are words that people use interchangeably in regards to conduct and how people interact with society.However, some differences exist between the two in business. Ethics are a set of rules or codified system implemented by a company that explains how one should act on-the-job whereas morals are set in stone and is principles by which an entire society is supposed to live by. One can distinguish between ethics and morals by understanding that ethics is the action or conduct of what an individual deems right or wrong, therefore morals are the basis to which ethics stand on.For instance, if two big businesses were in competition with one another for the same customers one of the companies may choose to bribe an employee of the other company for internal information to use against the other company to gain a competitive advantage. Bribery is a common ethical problem that occurs in business. Personal ethics can refer to an individual’s life outside of work whereas business ethics pertain to the moral aspects of business to consumer interaction or business to business interaction. The foundation of personal and business ethics are equivalent.What differentiates the two are how they are enacted. For example, there are retail stores that require their employees to promote the sale of store credit cards. The customers may not be knowledgeable of the rules in the fine print; however the customer service associate is well aware but cannot disclose certain information because he or she has to comply with code of ethics of the company. This directly conflicts with the personal ethics of the employee and the business ethics to which he or she has to comply with.The aforementioned example is a common ethical problem seen in the retail business. Ethics and morals are essential in the success of a business because they determine whether or not a customer will continue to patronize the business or take his or her money to anot her business. A company is only as successful as the people who work there. The employee in a business goes to work and employs his or her personal ethics in conjunction with the code of ethics implemented in the place he or she works. Differences are apparent in morals and ethics.The difference is ethics are a codified system in a business to which employees have to adhere to and morals are the basis to which one determines right from wrong. Just as there are differences in ethic and morals, there are differences between personal and business ethics. The difference is how personal and business ethics are enacted. Businesses can prevent scandals within the company by ensuring that all employees including management adhere to the business code of ethics.Reference DeGeorge, R. T. (2010). Business ethics (7th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Mgt/216 Steve Fletcher October 18, 2010 One Ethics and moral issues in business become factors that individuals encounter at several times in one’s daily life. An individual becomes greeted each morning in the newspaper, confronted in the fundamentals of one’s daily jobs, and bided good night on the evening news. In a professional setting, a person’s behavior to act in a manner that upholds the good of society becomes expected. To understand ethical and moral issues in business, their differences must become imperative, the differences between personal ethics and business ethics become essential, and examples of common ethical problems in businesses become important. Ethics become extremely important to everyone in the workplace, and are the beliefs, values, and morals that an individual possess. â€Å"The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation,† defines ethics according to according to  Merriam-Webster, Incorporated  (2010). These values, belief, and morals become usually instilled in the individual from family, church, society, peer groups, profession, or other sources. A variety of ethical issues that becomes apparent within various organizations today include â€Å"conflict of interest,† â€Å"discrimination,† â€Å"harassment, Sexual and otherwise,† â€Å"recruitment and staffing,† â€Å"customer confidence issues,† and â€Å"corporate resources. † These ethical issues occur within today’s business environments and have a tremendous effect on organizations. Two â€Å"Moral principles, teachings, or conduct,† defines moral according to  Merriam-Webster, Incorporated  (2010). A variety of moral issues that becomes apparent within various organizations today include â€Å"falsification of facts, deception, concealing information,† â€Å"misrepresenting correspondence or publications,† â€Å" the swaying of people's feelings,† â€Å"cheating, rule-bending, misleading people,† â€Å"exploitation of weakness and vulnerability,† â€Å"excessive profit,† â€Å"greed,† â€Å"resistance to reasonable investigation,† â€Å"recklessness or irresponsible secrecy and lack of transparency and use of authority, power, reputation,† â€Å"breaking confidentiality,† â€Å"lack of compassion and humanity,† and â€Å"unfairness. Several influences define personal Ethics, which include family influences, religious beliefs, culture affects, personal experiences, and internal reflection. Parents or guardians dictate one’s morality during the early years of an individual’s life. They bec ome the first to voice and demonstrate ethical boundaries. Religious beliefs become important by allowing a person to accept an established set of moral rules. By following these moral rules, an individual behave ethically with the promises of rewards in the afterlife as a motivation. Culture dictates the ethical norms simply because of the customs and traditions in the society surrounding him or her, and becomes ingrained in an individual’s psyche. Personal experiences shift one’s ethics, which become events that happen in an individual’s life. Emotional and personal experiences cause changes one’s beliefs. Internal reflection becomes developed by one’s inward feelings. When an individual Three does something that goes against one’s moral code, a feeling of guilt or shame results. When an individual does something that fits into one’s ethical idea of â€Å"right† he or she becomes proud or happy. Business ethics become what constitute a business to its employees, customers, the community, vendors doing business with them, and all business relationships. Although guidelines, basic laws, and rules became created to maintain a business, the codes of conduct enforce ethics, and make an organization successful. When values in the workplace become viewed as fair and just with a collective willingness to provide services and products in an ethical manner; trust and confidence becomes stronger. When management adheres to company ethics, it sends a strong message to employees and often set strong ethical standards for what the company stands for. The Madoff investment scandal that became the largest â€Å"Ponzi scheme† ever committed by an individual becomes an example of ethical and moral issues in business. Money laundering, securities fraud, perjury, mail fraud, wire fraud, and making false fillings with the SEC became the federal crimes that Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty. â€Å"He actually managed to fool 4,800 clients. None of this money was ever invested; it was simply deposited into his  business  account. The losses of his clients were almost $65 billion and now Madoff faces a lifelong sentence and up to $170 billion in restitution,† according to (Articles base, 2010). Four The Enron failure that caused thousands of people to lose their jobs and pensions because of unethical practices by management becomes a prime example of personal and business ethical problems. â€Å"The SEC has uncovered several instances of financial fraud committed by high-ranking executives at Enron, and many of the executives have been charged with wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy,† according to (Lawyer Shop, 2008). Appropriate business ethics become vitally important in businesses; both large and small. Several ethical issues may arise within an organization, but acquiring the right training, policies, procedures, and guidelines available and comprehensive to all employees, businesses will aid in a decreasing amount of ethical and moral issues in the workplace. Reference: Articlesbase. com, (2010), retrieved from http://www. articlesbase. com/law-articles/how-the-madoff-investment-scandal-was-uncovered-927189. html Lawyershop. com, (2008)  retrieved from http://www. lawyershop. com/practice-areas/criminal-law/white-collar-crimes/securities-fraud/lawsuits/enron Merriam-Webster, Incorporated,  (2010),  Merriam-Webster Dictionary,  retrieved

Fly in the ointment Essay

A younger man visits his bankrupt father, who is depressed following the collapse of his business. The son is a disappointment to the father due to his choice of career. The father seems strong until, during their conversation, a fly enters the room, with the father overreacting in an attempt to get rid of this simple fly. This overreaction is perceived as weakness by the son, and driven by pity, he offers his father some money. Immediately the passion and vigor returns to his father, and the shrewd, cunning businessman reemerges and brutally demands to know why he had not been offered this money sooner. What does the title mean? Firstly we should take a look at the title since it could provide some insight into why certain aspects of this story are present. ‘A fly in the ointment’ is a proverb or saying that basically means that something spoils a situation that could have been pleasant. This is shown in the short story literally by a fly which enters the room and causes such an overreaction by the old man that foreshadows text that shows that everything is not as they seem; things are not alright. Why the father is such a memorable character: The young man, the son, is shown in the first paragraph to rather walk a distance than show up in a cab in front of his father since he thinks ‘The old man will wonder where I got the money’. This quote is the first sign that shows the reader that the old man is concerned with money. The author uses two statements to show the demise of the business, firstly ‘†¦ building a business out of nothing, and then, after a few years of prosperity, letting it go to pieces in chafer of rumour, idleness, quarrels, accusations and, at last, bankruptcy. ‘ The sons questions whether ‘they were telling the truth when they said the old man was a crook and that his balance sheets were cooked? ‘ and then secondly, later in the story the narrator shows the son’s thoughts when he thinks the father will tell him the embarrassing truth which he already knows about, that of ‘the people you’ve swindled’. These show the father in a bad light, a cheating businessman that fixed his sheets for acknowledgement and was concerned with money and the class of men it put him with. The father’s concern with social status is shown when he the author states ‘A small man himself, he was proud to be bankrupt with the big ones; it made him feel rich. ‘ This also foreshadows that despite the old man’s statements about having no need for money, he is still truly concerned about it, since he has a desire to feel rich. The use of foreshadowing and its role together with humor and irony There are many instances of foreshadowing, a few that have been mentioned above. One that is apparent is the use of ‘his father had two faces.  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ which shows the contrasting emotions the old man can show and his ability, like a businessman to show the face that will suite his end needs. This piece of foreshadowing should show the reader the truth behind the father but instead the reader is made to believe the old man, that he no longer has need of money. In the old man’s speech to his son on the irrelevance for money he states, ‘If you came in now and offered me a thousand pounds I should laugh at you. ‘ this shows the reader that the father has outgrown his cruel, greedy ways. The irony emerges when the son does in fact merely mention raising cash when the father, instead of refusing it, brutally demands why it had not been forthcoming. This complete ‘change of face’ (intended pun) is ironic since it goes against what the reader expects. It is almost humorous in the emergence that the father has not changed, and the reader will see the amusing side behind the fly. An actual fly foreshadows the proverb, that pleasantry will be spoiled, by the fathers demands of cash after his apparent no longer need for fiscal bounds.

Servicemarketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Servicemarketing - Case Study Example It is one of the most profitable and successful airlines in the world. It is known as an unusual company because it does not operate in the same way as all the other airline companies. Southwest Airlines, Inc. is a low fare airline based in Dallas, Texas. It is the largest airline in the United States by number of passengers carried domestically for any one year. Southwest Airlines carried more customers than any other U.S. airline in August 2006, marking it the first time that Southwest Airlines topped the monthly list for combined domestic and international passengers. Southwest Airlines is one of the industry's most profitable airlines and in January 2007, posted a profit for the 34th consecutive year. Its reputation of having low prices and a fun filled atmosphere has made it an icon of pop culture. In May 1988, it was the first airline to win the coveted Triple Crown for a month - Best On-time Record, Best Baggage Handling, and Fewest Customer Complaints. Since then it has won the award thirty one times, as well as five annual Triple Crowns for 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. In 1967, Southwest Airlines was a vision by an investment advisor Rollin King and his lawyer Herb Kelleher, they wanted to start a different kind of airline. Rollin King already had a small charter that ran between the smaller Texas cities. They began with one simple notion, If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make certain that they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. This new airline at first was to fly between the three largest cities in Texas, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Because of the fact that, U.S government was imposing very strict regulations regarding commercial airlines by regulating airline route entry and exit, passenger fares, mergers and acquisitions, and airline rates of return, the primary idea was to focus on a single state area (avoiding governments interfering) and to a substitute market (local) where major operators weren't giving the proper attention.T he next year in 1968 the Texas Aeronautical Commission approved their planes to fly between the three major cities. In early 1971, Air Southwest changed its name to Southwest Airlines, and the first flight was on June 18, 1971. Its first flights were from Love Field in Dallas to Houston and San Antonio. It offered short hops with no-frills service and a simple fare structure, features that became the basis for Southwest's popularity and rapid growth in the coming years. In the next couple of years the company went off to a flying start and by the next couple of years it had acquired four planes and employed about 200 people. In the first year of operation the company lost over $3.7 million dollars. It wasn't until the next year and a half that it was able to turn a profit and ever since then has been doing tremendous. By 1978, Southwest was the most profitable airline in the industry, and had already carried its 5 millionth passenger. The stock for Southwest was listed in the New York Stock Exchange as "LUV."Herb Kelleher, in 1982 took over as President, CEO, and Chairman of the board. He was well respected in his position focusing on employee and customer satisfaction. By 1996 the market had added Florida and California to expand in their services. By the year 1999, in the

How valid is the view that the German state which emerged between 1867 Coursework

How valid is the view that the German state which emerged between 1867 and 1871 was essentially autocratic, conservative and mil - Coursework Example Bismarck, on the other hand was the government’s chancellor (Turk, 1999). Their designations were in accordance with the Confederation’s constitution. Bismarck was actually the one who drafted the said constitution. He made it possible for the newly constituted state to have an emperor and a chancellor. He designed the constitution in such a way that he would be designated to a high position. The new constitution was observed to be the revised version of the Prussian constitution (â€Å"World,† n.d.). The main difference was the inclusion of the chancellor position. The addition of such designation in the constitution was of course with a purpose. It was designed by Bismarck so that he will have a greater role in the affairs of the Confederation. Significantly, the constitution accorded great powers to Bismarck, the chancellor (â€Å"North,† 2009). Although the constitution made Bismark responsible to the Reichstag, he was not accountable to them (â€Å"N orth,† 2009). This means that Bismark had power and control over the Reichstag. Nevertheless, the Reichstag did not have power over the chancellor. The grant of authority was one sided. Stated in another sense, there was no balance of power between them. The distribution of power under the Confederation’s constitution was unfair. It granted more power to the chancellor and less to the legislature. It could have been fine if the legislature was also accorded with the power to check the works of the chancellor, some sort of limitation. Nonetheless, the Reichstag did not have the authority to check the works of Bismarck. In other words, there was no check and balance between the two offices of the government. The legislature, instead of being the defender of the rights of the German people, became Bismark’s shield as to any expulsion attempt. Bismark then had the confidence to do anything he wanted to do. He was assured of the fact that the legislature does not have the power to evict him from his office. The constitution granted Bismarck an unlimited power to rule. Thus, in its essence, the new government was autocratic. Bismark was able to effectively control the internal affairs of the government. The set-up allowed him to become the direct intermediary between the people and the emperor (â€Å"North,† 2009). In a sense, the Reichstag was like a puppet to the government. It was part of the Confederation but it was absent in the minds of the people. In other words, it was a useless legislature. It was only there by its name and not by action. Bismark could have envisioned for such kind of legislature in his chancellorship. He could have aimed to be exercising some of the powers of the legislature. As a consequence, he was able to retain the power over the budget for German military (â€Å"North,† 2009). The ultimate decision with regard to the said budget depended on him. The Reichstag could not object or whatsoever to the deci sion that Bismark would declare. Its ability to reject any bill was only a theory (â€Å"World,† n.d.). In practice, the Reichstag was only restricted in the areas of foreign and military policy (â€Å"World,† n.d.). Moreover, Bismarck was also able to prevent some civil servants from becoming part of the Reichstag. These civil servants were the ones who opposed Bismarck’s political ideals in the year 1860 (â€Å"North,† 2009). In this sense, Bismarck had used his political power to advance his selfish desires and personal interests. He

Portfolio Cover Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portfolio Cover Letter - Essay Example However, the main assignments made me come to the realization that I had a long way to go to become an accomplished writer. The connect assignment, the literature review and rhetorical analysis essay as well as the class wikis were some of the assignments we engaged in and while the first ones were pretty simple, however as they became more structured and complex in nature it became more challenging. Assignments such as the forums, essays and creating my Twitter page about Journey to the west were all helpful in enabling me to better structure my writing and integrate the skills that I had gained from connect assignments. Each subsequent writing assignment enabled me to better my skills and open my mind to new, unique and creative ideas. I had the most difficulty with the wiki assignment since I had not yet learned how to be flexible in my writing enough to provide what was needed by the professor. It was also the first time creating a wiki and while I had thought that the presence of links within the information I was giving was optional, I did not do the assignment with as open a mind as I should have had. I also had a difficult time clearly researching on the provided topic which I think actively contributed to the low grade that I got. I did feel a sense of disappointment but fast came to the realization that I could improve and I therefore decided to take the comments that I had been given to heart instead of looking at it from a negative point of view. The connect assignments were also key in my growth; when we first began, I thought that it would be easy since I was familiar with the use of verbs and shifting tenses however the intensity and difficulty of the assignments got to me and I soon found that I was struggling to keep to the set time for handing in the assignments. However, while I was at times late, my level of engagement in each of the assignments I did was consistent and on point since I was driven by

Explanation Of Two Financial Giant Merger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explanation Of Two Financial Giant Merger - Essay Example It is apparent that due to increased local and international stiff competition in the banking sector, many organizations have resorted to mergers. Nevertheless, these merges have to be well planned for and articulated in a manner that would lay a firm foundation for the newly formed organization to maintain competitive advantage (Yates 7). One of such things that must be considered is the applicability of information system. With online banking services being on the increase, banks are very sensitive on how they engage in information system in order to retain and attract new customers. The case of merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia is no exceptional to the importance of prioritizing on integration of information system in their merger. In fact, having been familiar with purchasing and merging smaller banks and failing institutions especially in 2006, just before the merger with Wachovia took place, Wells Fargo is cited to have had been successful and had steady increase in stock value. In this regard, for such an achievement to take place, information system plays an important role in enhancing the success.... In light of this, it was crucial for the two firms to integrate information system in their merger in order to strengthen their approach on information system matters. Perhaps, one of the firms could have a workforce with proficient information system, but lacking personnel to propel such knowledge to a higher notch while the other could be having ideas of propelling such ideas, but lacking people to propel them. In such a case, integrating information system in the merger would have created a strong information system (Prakken 7). 2. It is apparent that although integration of information system in the merger was crucial and enabled the merger to be successful, difficulties were noted by the two firms. For instance, after being successful in most of its mergers before the merger acquisition of Wachovia, Wells Fargo had been successful in these mergers. The firm was well aware of the challenges of such a merge especially with a firm recording decrease in stock value. In essence, it i s evident when a firm is recording decrease in stock value, either it’s IT or the human resource or both could be less functional. In this regard, there was a challenge of incorporating the information system of Wachovia. This is because it could have been the one that led to decrease in its stock value. However, although there could be some aspects of it that was significant, the effort to identify and incorporate such aspects in the new merger could have been difficult as well. On the other hand, human resource that manages the information is system is very important. Therefore, if the Wachovia’s human resource was incompetent and probably leads to the downfall of the firm, then it is apparent that there were difficulties in incorporating it into the

Women Management Issues in Fisheries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Women Management Issues in Fisheries - Essay Example Related to these initiatives, a significant up-and-coming research focus is the ways that fishers' (and other usual resource users) information is created and how it expand in a society. Another up-and-coming area of attention involves questions that center on how protection and management practices expand in a society (see the other aid to this issue). This research highlights these issues in the context of the women management fisheries of the Canadian region of Newfoundland plus Labrador. Furthermore, these fisheries, by means of dynamic, global, profitable histories stretching back over 500 years, are considerably dissimilar from numerous of the fisheries that have been the focus of research about resource users' local or customary ecological information. While studying facts production and modify in these fisheries provides an chance to discover local knowledge creation and growth and their affiliation to conservation and management where fishing as a livelihood is strongly woven into the social, educational, and financial fabric of the community, yet where varied fisheries have become ever more market-driven, technically intense, methodically managed,' capital rigorous, and are operating in the context of thespian and rapid ecological transform (Grafton, R. Q. 2003). The principal goal of this research here, though, is to highlight the difficulty and vitality of the socio environmental network in which the fishers of Newfoundland plus Labrador today are embedded (and the implications thereof for their knowledge) by focusing on the rich detail that can appear from a focus on one personage. We chose Jack since he exhibited a sure pattern we wished to discover further. In general, fishery strategies for woman in Newfoundland were directed until lately towards industrialization, 'professionalization,' and an more and more technical approach to management (Sinclair, 1987; Wright, 2001). To a few degrees, Jack is one of those who most modified to this hegemonic philosophy, and is consequently an interesting case. Additionally, as noted, he and others like him have been in commission in a background of quick and considerate ecological modifying. The pattern of change over Jack's career, in our view, has implications not only for our understanding of the expansion of LEK, but also for the relationship flanked by LEK and science and woman management, and for the growth of management and management procedures. Women plays vital role in the wake of cod stock collapses; numerous have begun to question the legality of stock appraisal science and the quota management approaches it is planned to support. In part to retain their authority, the Canadian government has begun to signal a transfer towards (re)counting fishers and their information in management, though it is fundamentally unclear how this will play out in practice (Murray et al., forthcoming). We agree that good management for fish harvesters and their LEK can and ought to play a more important role in technical research and in

Financial assesment - Aviva PLC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial assesment - Aviva PLC - Research Paper Example Firms calculate their cost of equity using several methods, the most popular method being Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). This method assumes that shareholders expect a rate of return equivalent to the risk free rate plus a risk premium, and is expressed as - The current UK T-bill average yield was taken as the risk free rate. The recent T-bill average yield varied from 0.6725% (on Apr 3) to 0.6220% (on Mar 27) as per Financial Times (2009). The extract of the data is given in the Appendix as Exhibit 6-3. The average of these two figures (0.65%) was considered as the risk free rate. FTSE-100 was considered as the indicator of market return. The data range considered was between Jan 1, 2003 to Jan 1, 2009. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of FTSE-100 during this period was 2.55%. The relevant FTSE-100 data during this period is given in Table 6-1 of Appendix (Yahoo Finance 2, 2009). It is assumed that this is the rate of return that the market will expect in future. The historical dividend growth rate of Aviva works out to 6.20%. The divided payout details are given in Table 6-2 of Appendix (Aviva, 2009). It is expected that this growth rate will continue in future. A total dividend of 33 pence per share was paid for the year 2008. This amount is expected to be 35.05 pence per share during the year of 2009 using the current dividend growth rate. The share price of Aviva as on January 1, 2009 was 361.84 pence. There is subsThe cost of equity as per this method works out to (0.33 x 1.0620/ 361.84) + 6.20%, i.e., 15.89%. There is substantial difference between the cost of equity calculated using the two methods. Both methods use several assumptions and approximations. Therefore, it was decided to take the arithmetic mean of both these figures for the purpose of calculating the WACC. The arithmetic mean works out to 10.42%. Preference Shares/ Direct Capital Instrument: The Aviva has issued several types of hybrid instruments at different rates of

Litigation and Midwifery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Litigation and Midwifery - Essay Example Knowledge on which persons are allowed to file a claim, which places can the claims be filed, the time that the claim has to be filed, and how the claim is to be filed is also necessary. There exist several types of litigation. These include business litigation, commercial litigation, public interest litigation, personal injury litigation, mesothelioma litigation, civil litigation, and patent litigation (Laws.com, 2011). Business litigation refers to a particular field of law that handles disputes that arise between businesses and individuals or between two businesses. The law states that all businesses ought to operate under a specified code of ethics while at the same time carry out practices that are legal. A business may fail to operate legally and in the process result in the loss of finances by a client or harming the client. Such a client has the legal right to file for business litigation. In many instances, such cases essentially seek financial settlement. A criminal sentenc e may be awarded in some cases for the immoral conduct by the business entity (Laws.com, 2011). Commercial litigation refers to an area of law that is concerned with disputes that involve commercial companies or businesses. In most cases, the legal disputes that fall under this category are usually with regard to disagreements between the companies. This type of litigation focuses on legal disputes that may be emanating from drafting of contracts, mergers between companies, and real estate laws. The companies may disagree on management of property and finances. In most of the cases an out of the court solution is sought by the litigators and litigants (Laws.com, 2012). Public litigation refers to an area of law to covers all wrong-doings, incidents, and /or legal situations that affect the community’s well being. Interestingly this type of litigation is initiated by the court. The court system is responsible for initiating this legal proceeding. Although many view it as a rel atively new type of litigation, it has featured prominently in environmental law practice. Any action taken by an individual or by a corporation that results in inhibiting a particular society’s progress or damages a necessity is punishable under this type of litigation. Public Interest Litigation is an attempt to fulfill the guarantee of fundamental rights that citizens have been guaranteed (Kirpal, et al, 2000). In certain cases that involve injury to persons, legal processes may be initiated in order to realize the dispute. These legal proceedings are referred to as Personal Injury Litigations. In a typical case, an individual filing for this type of a case seeks to be compensated for injuries. This type of litigation arises from the deliberate or negligent action by a given party that precipitates to the physical injury of another party. Many clients are advised to seek the advice of the PIAB (Personal Injuries Assessment Board) as a first step towards seeking compensatio n. The PIAB provides an assessment for victims of personal injury and are seeking compensation. It assesses victims of injury at the workplace, public liability accidents and motor accidents (Malcomson Law, 2008). Mesothelioma litigations are common litigations that focus on companies that expose their employees to asbestos without protecting them against it or without even warning them.

Global governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global governance - Essay Example As such, global governance is understood to be a process that yields guidelines and treaties through consensus. These agreements and regulations in turn influence the operation of each country in the global perspective. No single definition of global governance has escaped criticism. In the same dimension, there has never been a common understanding of the meaning of the term global governance, with different scholars trying to find their won suitable definitions, which have only proved controversial.3 Global governance is an unstructured term with numerous interpretations. However, all users of the term global governance conform to the idea of absence of global anarchy.4 The concept of sovereignty is that every nation can make decisions and act autonomously without interference of other nations. On the other hand, global governance demands that each country should make decisions and act in such a manner that does not violate global regulations and agreements. Therefore, global governance, in as much as it appears to challenge national sovereignty, does more on the reinforcement and balancing relationship between national governments than it challenges the concept of sovereignty. Pattberg, Philipp. Global Governance: Reconstructing a Contested Social Science Concept, GARNET Working Paper: No 04/06, Accessed on November 9, 2014

Online dating Essay Example for Free

Online dating Essay Online dating which allows individuals, couples and groups to make contact and communicate with each other over the Internet, usually with the objective of developing a personal romantic or sexual relationship. Around 30% of Americas 80 million baby boomers are single. Since 2003, several free dating sites, operating on ad based-revenue rather than monthly subscriptions, have appeared and become increasingly popular. These advertisements are nothing but merely deception. The way it works is impractical and unrealistic. Id say it is one of the most passive ways that some lonely person sitting on his couch all day can find the fantasy woman of his dreams. Advertisers use different methods to attract consumers in an effort to entice them to buy their products. E-Harmony, an online dating service, uses a form of deception to attract the consumer in an attempt to lure the person into signing up for their dating service. Their practice is not entirely deceptive, but is for the most part. The ad portrays two people, blissfully in love. With brightly lit smiles while gazing lovingly into each others eyes, each person explains how he or she found their own true love by using this service. The e-Harmony success story continues as they explain how the person they are madly in love with is simply perfect for them in every way. Love and romance practically jumps out from the ad. The ad is somewhat deceptive because it makes it look like all a lonely person who is looking for a meaningful relationship has to do is go to e-Harmony, and he or she will instantly find true love. Yes, it is possible to find someone using this service but it is not realistic. People who use the service go through a longer process, meeting different potential partners, getting to know them and more than likely moving on to the next prospect. The ad makes it look too easy to find someone to be involved with in a serious relationship. By placing the entire focus on the ultimate goal, and exaggerating the potential end result (two people madly in love) plays on the viewers emotions. Someone who is in this situation may be vulnerable, so being subjected to the image of lovers ultimate bliss, may cause him or her not to think rationally. That picture of two exceedingly happy lovers is what that viewer may yearn for to the point of believing what the ad sells, an expectation that is more than likely too high.

Four Main Forms Of Deviance Criminology Essay

Four Main Forms Of Deviance Criminology Essay There are four main forms of deviance, those are societal deviance this is an act which most of society would agree is not classed as part of normal behaviour. Drug abuse could be considered as societal deviance, most of society believes that it is not normal and encourages criminal behaviour. Drug users become outcasts and are considered to be deviants. Concealed deviance is that which no one sees, something which a person can keep hidden away it is still considered not part of societies set of norms. A man, who likes to dress up in womens clothes, could be considered a concealed deviant as they do this in the privacy of their own homes. This however, is considered to be not normal behaviour of the wider society and he would be considered deviant. In Arab countries such as Dubai and Yemen it is socially unacceptable, due to the religious culture of these countries for women to be seen without wearing the traditional hijab, however in western society any women wearing one is seen as being deviant as it is not part of western culture. This would be considered situational deviance, where it is only considered deviance in the culture you are in at that time and may not be considered deviant by every society. There is also collective or public deviance, this is deviance shared by a group of people which does not conform to that which is considered social norms, however follow a set of norms they have created within their own subculture. Gang culture could be described as deviant as most would say that the values of the gangs would not conform to the values of normal society. This is considered anti-social behaviour and in 2003 the government considered this a problem they created the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (legistlation.gov.uk). Crime is considered to be the act of breaking the law of the society you are in however, a crime can often be considered deviant by some societies. An example of this is speeding, some may consider speeding to be deviant however the police and social institutions consider this to be a crime. Although we have a set of laws and social norms in this country these may not be considered either crime or deviance in other cultures. With the introduction of the Firearms Act 1968 it became illegal for anyone in the United Kingdom to freely carry a weapon on their persons and all weapons had to be locked away (legistlation.gov.uk) however in some states of America people can still carry firearms in their everyday life. Troyer and Markles (1983) study of smoking in the USA illustrated how attitudes to smoking and cigarettes changed over time, and in fact ended with smoking being bans being introduced in the 1990s. During the late 19th century smoking was considered deviant behavior by many as it was associated with low social status and immigrants. Women who smoked were thought to be particularly deviant as it was also associated with prostitution. These attitudes began to change after World War 1, and smoking began to increase however by the end of the 1940s smoking was considered a socially acceptable with people of all classes now choosing to smoke. With the advance of science came the downfall of the cigarette and by the 1960s evidence towards smoking ruining health began to surface. This led to the ban of cigarette related advertising in 1970 and the eventual ban on smoking in public (Troyer Markle, 1983 as cited in Moore et al, 2006). Some believe that the need to commit crime comes from biological construction that certain types of people have hormonal or brain differences which causes them to become deviant from society and makes them more inclined to commit crimes. Cesare Lombroso one of the first criminologists did studies of criminals and believed that you could tell what crime a person committed just by how they looked, that physical abnormalities in a person made them more likely to commit crimes. This theory has now been discredited but some do still believe that there are some biological factors contributing to why people commit crime. Over time and as social attitudes change so do the norms and values of those societies these can often lead to acts which were once considered crimes or deviant to become norms. Until 1969 homosexuality was considered a crime and anyone caught would be brought before a judge and punished. In 1967 it became legal for men over the age of 21 to have consensual sex in private. This age was then lowered in 1994 and 2001. (Haralambos Holborn, 1980). It is now considered a norm to see couples of the same sex. Crimes change with time and culture and what is considered a crime in one society may not be in another, it is believed by most that crime is a social construction made up by norms and values of each society and culture. As each society evolves with time so does its set of Norms. Can we ultimately say that we gain our knowledge of what is right or wrong comes from the society we live in and the values that are set upon us as not everyone brought up in the same society falls into criminal or deviant behavior. References Anon.(2012) Firearms Act 1986(online). Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/contents (accessed: 18th October 2012) Anon. (2012) Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (Online). Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/38/contents (accessed: 18th October 2012) Moore S et al. (2006) Sociology A2 for OCR. 2nd Ed. London: Collins Haralambos, M and Holborn, M. (2004) Sociology, Themes and Perspectives. 6th Ed. HarperCollins: London Troyer, R.J and Markle, G.E (1983) Cigarettes: The battle over smoking. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Cited in Moore et al. (2006) Sociology A2 for OCR 2nd Ed. London: Collins Type: Outline: Strengths: Weaknesses: Police Statistics These are the official statistics that are used by the government, they based on what is reported to the police and also can tell which crimes have been resolved They can be used to show what types of crime are most prevalent in which areas. Police statistics can be useful in showing how many crimes get reported and what sort of crime is being reported. Not all crimes get reported so often the statistics cannot be 100% reliable Not all crimes can be categorised a crime and what one force might consider one type of crime another might not for example, distinguishing between burglary and theft. Often these statistics can be manipulated to show better results Doesnt take into account the dark figure of crime. Victimisation Surveys These studies, the main being The British Crime Survey, were introduced by the government to try and uncover the dark figure of crime. They choose a section of people at random and ask them to talk about crimes which they may not have reported and crimes which have been reported within the last year which they have been victim of. They are now considered part of the official statistics used by the government They account crimes which may have not been reported to the police They can help to uncover the dark figure of crime It goes deeper than the police statistics They rely on people remembering if or what crimes were committed against them They rely on people telling the truth about crimes committed Still assumes that everyone defines what is or isnt a crime the same way Self-Report Studies These studies are not part of the national crime statistics used by the government. They are questionnaires which rely on people admitting to crimes which they commit. Can be used to compare against official states to high light differences Can highlight crimes that are not generally report Again relies on peoples memory It relies on people telling the truth about the crimes they committed. May only concentrate on only a limited range of groups.

Causes and Effects of Absenteeism in Local Government (UK)

Causes and Effects of Absenteeism in Local Government (UK) 1.0- ABSTRACT Absenteeism can happen through authorised and unauthorised absence and these can be grouped into: situational, personal and attendance factors. Causes: headaches, hang-over cold flu, unchallenging jobs and poor management are common causes of absenteeism and managers generally suspicious of employees reasons for absenteeism. Effects: Unplanned absence is disorganising, frustrating and expensive for organisations. UK absenteeism rate in European is similar to Denmark, (see p11-12). Absenteeism is positively correlated with employee motivation and satisfaction. Combating absenteeism: absence can be minimised by providing challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and maintaining a zero tolerance to absence. Return-to-work interviews are empirically proven method of reducing absenteeism in local government. Adding, studying industries with lower absence rate may prove a useful tool for minimising absenteeism in local government. This report acknowledges that limitations such as privacy and Human Rights laws protects workers privacy from being invaded by organisations, HR managers ought to know there limitations. 2.0- INTRODUCTION Absenteeism is the avoidance of or failure to attend ones place of work hence unable to perform a contractual working obligation owing to absence. In other words, absenteeism is unplanned or planned absence created by an employee intentionally such as deliberately avoiding work through non-attendance for personal reasons or unintentionally like maternity leave, bereavement and ill-health. This research essay shall be confining the report to intentional or self created absenteeism which can be disruptive, expensive and difficult to manage, (Armstrong, 2006). Undoubtedly, this form of absenteeism is the worst nightmare of all managers because of having to deal with the same workload with limited workforces. According to Benington, (2000) site in (McHugh, 2001) the UK local government has become a ‘‘last chance saloon meaning failure to ‘put-up will require government takeover or privatisation. Furthermore, CBI, (2004) cited in Taylor (2005), acknowledged that absenteeism costs the UK government  £12 billion pounds yearly. Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism and it means ‘110% attendance with the view to impressing ones boss. The most regular mentioned ‘causes of absenteeism reported by employees especially in local government are: headaches, cold, flu, stress, back pain, food poisoning and family issues. It must be stated that other causes such as repetitive jobs, poor management, leadership, and organisational climate are factors. 3.0- LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1- CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM Public sector absenteeism has attracted much research especially in the local government probably because of better monitoring systems such as extensive documentation than the private sector. Noteworthy is the fact that there are no universally agreed causes of absenteeism however; there are some regular cited ones are claimed to contribute to absenteeism. According to Taylor, (2005), a research company called My Voice asserted that 56% of employees admitted to taking a ‘sickie. That is calming absence from work under false pretence. Interestingly, the real reasons stipulated by the survey for the absence includes: hung-over, stress and hatred for the job itself. Consequently, managers are generally suspicious of employees claiming absence on sick grounds based on the above survey. It is an undeniable fact that such findings breeds mistrust between managers and their employees. Obviously, one can understand why managers might be frustrated by employees absence because it brings disorder to management plans and the execution of scheduled activities. Gennard, Judge, (2005) are of the view that death, paternity leave, inability to return from planned holidays and ‘ alleged sickness are the main causes of absenteeism. It is abundantly clear that bereavement does cause absenteeism but on limited scale however, this report is less concern with that form of absenteeism because it is natural rather than intentional. Paternity leave being a cause of absence might sound baffling however, this report maintains that paternity leave even though a planned absenteeism, might potential cause some form authorised absence for reasons like a sudden developments- such as mother falling sick, babys health, family and family visits and gatherings. This report maintains that the possibility of this form of absenteeism being abused is not unlikely. Adding, planned holidays might degenerate into unplanned absence due to certain unforeseen circumstances. This is likely to affect those who take holidays abroad. This form of unplanned absence might be caused by flight delays and cancellations due to political issues like wars and protest as happened in Thailand, natural disasters such as disease outbreak, for example the pandemic ‘‘H1N1 Swine Flu which first broke out in Mexico and for that matter the quarantine of infected victims had to be done, earthquakes as happened in Indonesia. According to Armstrong, (2006), the causes of absenteeism could be broadly attributed to three (3) factors namely: ‘Situational factors, Personal factors and Attendance factors: ‘Situational factors include the nature of the job itself; is it repetitive and boring or interesting and challenging enough? Obviously, a repetitive job may generate stress and job resentment. The sort of leadership and organisational climate employees operate under may generate absenteeism. While agreeing to some extend that these situational factors might generate absenteeism, it is worth acknowledging that some people hate change and will always struggle to maintain the status quo. These people may rather prefer doing a repetitive job than a challenging one. ‘Personal factors are: the worth of an employee, his or her personality, age and sex may contribute to an employee absence. This research report concedes to the fact that these stated factors are influencer of absenteeism in local government based on a valid research: Barmby et al, ‘survey (1999) cited in Taylor (2005), p316 recorded that men were unlikely to be absent from work than their female counterparts and even more profound was the fact that England has lower absenteeism than any were else in the UK. Quite obviously, the wage disparity across the UK has a lot to with it hence the lowest rate (absenteeism) in England than anywhere else in the UK. Lastly, attendance factors include; the sort of incentives allocated to rewarding good employee behaviour like regular attendance as well as sickness policies. It is an undeniable fact that most people respond positively to incentives and rewards both in kind and in cash. According to Jacqueline A.-M et al, (2003), the ‘psychological contract plays a significant role in contributing negatively or positively to employee performance and attitudes in the local government. Absenteeism is gradually gaining the publicity it deserves in the local government according to CBI, (1999); Local Government Auditor, 1999) cited in (McHugh, 2001). This report is of the view that organisations either private or the local government can no longer afford to remain in a vacuum but rather to face up to the challenges like the unpredictability of the marketing environment. This means all local governments and organisations are compelled to make the necessary savings they can get from all areas in order to survive in this aggressive but compelling marketing environment called ‘the survival of the fittest. In fact, there has never been a century that has imposed and forced change on all manner of organisations like the 21st century. The present business environment is one that constantly says keep changing or you will be made obsolete. Furthermore, Johansson, Palme, (2002) proposed that a positive attitude to ‘a short- term sickness and taxes encourages absenteeism. In other words, encouraging ‘nanny culture such as paying for sick leave encourages local government workers to take off sick for private reasons other than genuine sickness. In short, such policies however well intentioned may rather be taken for granted and instead abused. IDS, (2001b, pp2-3) cited in (Taylor 2005), p329 proposed that the public sector workers records higher absenteeism than the private sector because, there are less punitive measures taken against public servants than their private sector counterparts. This research lends support to some extend to the argument however, contrary to the point; local government organisations do take longer time to act due to bureaucracies but does not necessarily mean that punitive measures are not exercised in the public sector as claimed. Adding, this report supports the view that absenteeism is more prevalent in the private than the public sector. This is due to the fact that public employees receive better treatment and are valued fairly than their private sector counterparts (the psychological contract), (Jacqueline A.-M et al, 2003). This report observes that certain councils are renowned for recording high rate of absenteeism for instance, Northern Ireland councils than those in England, (McHugh, 2002). In summary, there are disparities between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as regards to absenteeism. And in Europe as a whole, the UK is not doing badly according UK government statistics. Also, it is an undeniable fact that poor record keeping encourages absenteeism. If organisations and for that matter local government organisations like the NHS, keeps up-to-date records of all employee absence, it would discourage absenteeism because most people hate being monitored. Proper documentation and monitoring of employee absence is likely to generate the needed attention absenteeism deserves leading to a collective action against the perpetrators of absenteeism. Conversely, it is not an exaggeration that the costs of keeping up-to-date information on employee attendance are expensive and complicated because of the technology involved such as biometric data collecting systems like the ‘Swipe in Swipe out, ‘phone book-ins and finger and hand scanning are expensive systems which are not without disadvantages. For instance, an employee may give his or her card to a colleague to wipe them in discretely and on the other hand, an employee may genuinely forget to swipe in and out. 3.2- EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM The effects of absenteeism are difficult to quantify though various researches have attempted valuing it. Absenteeism costs the UK government  £12 billion pounds yearly, (Taylor 2005). That figure can be a full year budget for most developing countries especially in Africa and Asia. Adding to the above, Davis, Geddes, (2000); Blair, (1998) cited in (McHugh, 2001), p43 was reported to have issued a warning to local councils to stop wasting local government funds by providing ‘value for money services by combating preventable issues like absenteeism. Quite earnestly, absenteeism is an avoidable cost which if managed properly has benefits for all organisations both public and private firms. The US economic is on record for losing $40 billion dollars a year on absenteeism, (Dalton, Mesch, 1991; Unckless et al 1998) mentioned in (Gaudine, Saks, 2001).That money is enough to provide employment for hundreds of people especially under this current economic turbulence. Another disadvantage of employee absence, despite it being costly for the local government is that it also disrupts management plans and decisions according to Armstrong, (2006). Managers are usually provided with a specification tasks with limited time-frame within which to report back to their superiors for assessment. Consequently, an unplanned absence may significantly affect managers flexibility, time and the speed at which the work and for that reason, may cause irritation for management as a whole. Lastly, an employees sudden absence may stir up negative feelings among his fellow work- colleagues. It is a convincing fact that more often, managers are unable to fill in or organise a quick replacement for an absent employee but rather, overburden their subordinates with the same magnitude of workload. Nevertheless, they (managers) still expect their workforce to deliver the same level of performance without considering the manpower shortage. Consequently, this leads to the development of hatred and resentment among work colleagues which is not healthy for the organisation and for that matter the local government because, synergy may be lost in the process (working against one another rather than as a team or 2+2=5). Is absenteeism a function of employee motivation or dissatisfaction breeds absenteeism? This research report argues that a good psychological employment contracts is a recipe for a better employee attitude as in the case of local government employment than the private sector (Jacqueline A.-M et al, 2003). Obviously most government jobs are fairly stable and permanent hence the issue of job security is guaranteed as opposed to the private sector. Moreover, Martocchio, (1994); Johns, Nicholson, (1992) cited in McHugh (2001, p44), claimed that an employees commitment and dedication are a function of his or her motivation in the organisation. This report shall concede to this fact because people generally response positively or otherwise to incentives and rewards depending on their situation (perception). Ehrenberg et al, (1991) claims that students absenteeism impact on their academic performance especially during examinations. Now, if this assertion is true then, one can justifiably maintain that employee absence affects their work in terms of quality, speed and concentration. CIPD, (2006), cited in (Torrington et al, 2008), p339 found that absenteeism was high in food and drink sector, and in local government; however, NGOs, Media and the leisure sector had lower absence rate. Arguably, it is not surprising that voluntary and leisure organisations had better attendance because they are satisfying jobs with high commitment and goal congruence. According to the CBI, (AXA, 2005) and (CIPD, 2005) mentioned in (Torrington et al, 2008), UK absence is similar to Denmarks but lower than Norway, Sweden and Finland. This statistics were rather surprising to because, these three countries above beaten by the UK are usually among the top 10 countries for quality living hence they should have beaten the UK. 3.3- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ABSENTEEISM AND MOTIVATION? Kass, et al, (2001) empirically concluded that unchallenging and uninteresting jobs profoundly determine the performance (poor) of an employee, their longevity in the organisation and even more importantly the frequency of absenteeism he or she exhibits. This reported utterly concedes to the above fact that boredom breeds laziness and the attitude of it because people who are boredom prone such as activists and kinaesthetic learners (hyperactive) performance may be hampered by unchallenging tasks and subsequently but inevitably lead to worker absenteeism. Interestingly, Wyatt, (1929) cited in (Kass, et al 2001, p318), concurred that performance, motivation and employee attitude to work are correlated (positively). This means that an employees performance is a function of the level of motivation he or she enjoys from the job. In other words, an unmotivated employee will obviously demonstrated a lackadaisical attitude to his or her job and for that matter the company. Furthermore, in Maslows theory, ‘man is an insatiably need driven animal who is always seeking for the fulfilment his or her present need but in a successive order of prominence, (Croft, Norton, 2005). Ultimately, Maslows needs theory shares light on employees behaviour in the sense that, it categorically emphasises studying and listening to the workforces in order to avoid being ‘out of touch and concluding that what motivates Mr. A will motivate Mr. B, as it were and even more importantly the theory advises a full analogy of an employee before concluding on sort of incentives that will induce a desired behaviour. The Hawthorne study supports that recognition of a workgroup motivates performance and arguably the Hawthorn enquiries are in line with Abraham Maslows needs theory. Another useful theory for analysing the relationship between motivation and performance is Herzberg et al (1957) two factor theory: Motivators- responsibility, recognition and achievement and Hygiene factors-wages or salaries, job security and supervision, cite in (Armstrong, 2006). The absence of hygiene factors results in worker dissatisfaction claims Herzberg. In other words, hygiene factors do not creates satisfaction by themselves but rather, their absences leaves employees dissatisfied according to Herzbergs theory. Now if Herzbergs theory is anything good to go by, an employees absence (regular) should trigger an investigation and a subsequent identification of the causes. For instance, employee absenteeism can be due to lack of job satisfaction because of repetitive and boring jobs, due to lack of recognition for the employees achievement also, poor leadership in the form of supervision may equally cause dissatisfaction. Herzbergs two factor theory failed to anticipated the change in the psychological employment contract which has shifted power away from the employer to employees consequently, Herzbergs assertion that money is not a motivator is debatable (untrue) today and for that matter, it leaves the famous two factor theory for criticism. Adding, it is an undeniable fact that money is a real motivator taking into account the actual causes of this current financial turmoil or the current recession across the world. It is emphatically clear that this recession was engineered by greedy people whose sole motivation was nothing rather than big bonuses, pay packages or simply put, money to be precise. If these outrageous financial institutions heads, bankers and money lenders were not motivated by money then what else brought this financial ‘meltdown to this world? Furthermore, Vroom et al (1960s) cited in (Croft, Norton, (2005), p16, states that persons motivations defines the measure of input he or she will expands. This means that the package (employment contract), the job itself and the organisational climate all have a definite role in contributing to the performance of an employee in a company. This report utterly agrees with this view because workers generally expect interesting and challenging jobs, good leadership, a fair pay for their work done and of course recognitions for their efforts. Consequently, the infulfilment of these expectations inevitably results in all sorts of attitudes and behaviours such as absenteeism. Porter and lawler, model (1968) mention in (Armstrong, 2006) is arguably complementary to Vrooms thought because it advocates that two instruments were central to the contribution of workers in an organisation: value of reward and the relationship between their efforts and the outcome taking into account the individual capability and expectations, (Armstrong 2006). In other words, when rewards are carefully crafted strategically taking into consideration the abilities and expertise of the individual then good performance is an inevitable outcome because there will be goal congruence between organisation and the individual which leads to superior organisational performance known as competitive advantage. Sometimes this sort of strategic fit between organisations and employees does make a company an ‘employer of a choice- a company which most people would love to work for due to several factors like good employee treatment, fairness and the organisational climate (good) for instance, British Airways, Microsoft Corporation, NASA (space centre) and the BBC. 4.0- COMBATING ABSENTEEISM. According to Taylor (2005), punitive solutions, using rewards and tackling the root causes of absenteeism is the answer to minimising absenteeism. Obviously, the use of the ‘carrot and stick method is being advocated and finding out the real triggers of absenteeism as well. However, this requires proper documentation and monitoring of employees attendance which can be expensive. Most research supports the view that using punitive styles like basing promotion and rewards decisions on employee attitudes (attendance) reduces absenteeism. This strategy creates and communicates a clear message to employees that their future especially in that organisation is a function of their contribution and commitment which convincing. Gennard, Judge (2005) also agreed that ‘return-to-work interviews are the most effective means of reducing absenteeism because it assertively notifies the worker that such attitudes would be punished if necessary. This strategy integrates investigation of the case with documentation as well as communicating to the perpetrators that they are being monitored which I think, must be applauded. According to Armstrong, (2006), absenteeism can be eradicated through management commitment, trust, and return to work interviews. Management commitment is about harnessing management support and commitment to abrogating absenteeism while nurturing and development trust through transparent policies, regular dialogue and communication between management and their subordinates. In resounding, local government absenteeism can be reduced by tackling stress by way providing training and development to management and leadership with the aim of inculcating and developing good leadership and people skills into leaders. Furthermore, boredom can be prevented from inducing absenteeism by making jobs interesting and challenging like providing job enrichment, job enlargement and the empowerment of workers. Rewarding attendance (100%) has been empirically proven to reduce absenteeism from 10-8 days, (Silcox, 2005d) cited in (Torrington et al, 2008). Finally, even though this report labours to avoid the ‘stick method of reducing absenteeism, it is conceding to note that return-to-word interviews are empirical proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are profoundly effective in reducing employee absence in both the public and private section organisations. 5.0- CONCLUSIONS Absenteeism is problem faced by all organisations and the causes include: hang-over, headaches, boring jobs and poor management however, management believes that most ‘alleged causes are non-genuine which costs organisations money. Some writers claimed that absenteeism is more prevalent in the public sector than the private sector. This report disagrees with that argument because, undeniably, absenteeism is positively related to motivation consequently, since the public sector gets be employment contract than their private sector counterparts, absence must be less prevalent than private organisations. Punitive measures such as return-to-work interviews are particularly effective in reducing worker absenteeism. Conclusively, this report maintains that absenteeism cannot be eradicated but rather minimised because providing a challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and good leadership cannot change personal habits cultivated over decades. Adding though return-to-work-interviews is an effective means of reducing absenteeism; the process cannot intrusively used due to privacy concerns. For instance, (IRS, 2002a) cited in (Torrington et al, 2008), p 349 emphasised that the Human Right Act, 1998 awareness is important. The report recommends a specific study into low absenteeism sectors: non-profit organisations, voluntary sectors, Media and recreational sector to ascertain the real causes of employee absenteeism. REFERENCES 1. Michael Armstrong, A Hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice, 2006, 10th Edition Kogan Page, London, UK. 2. Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Randy A. Ehrenberg, Daniel I. Rees and Eric L. Ehrenberg; School Leave Policies, Teacher Absenteeism and Students Achievement, 1991, journal of Human Resources, vol. 26. no. 1 pp 72-105 University of Wisconsin ,Press, URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/145717 3. Alice P.Gaudine1 and Alan M. Saks2, Effects of Absenteeism Feedback Intervention on Employee Absence Behaviour 2001; 1.School of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Canada, 2. School of Administrative Studies, York University, Ontario, Canada, journal of organisation Behaviour, vol.22. No.1 Pp15-29. Feb., URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3649604 4. John Gennard and Graham Judge, Employee Relations, 2005, 4th edition CIPD, London. UK. 5. Jacqueline A.-M, Coyle-Shapiro and Ian Kessler, the Employment Relations in the UK Public Sector: A Psychological Contract Perspective, a journal of Public Administration Research and Theory; j-part, Vol. 13, no. 2. April 2003, pp213-230, Oxford University Press on behalf of the Public Management Research Association. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3525711. 6. Per Johansson, Martin Palme, Assessing the Effect of Public Policy on Worker Absenteeism, 2002, The Journal of Human Resource, vol. 37, no. 2, pp 381-409, University of Wisconsin Press, URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 3069652. 7. Marie McHugh: Employee absence: an impediment to organisation health in local government,2002 School of Management, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, International journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 14, no. 1, pp 43-58, MCB University Press, 0951-3558, URL:www.emerald-library.com/ft 8. Marie McHugh: Employee absence: an impediment to organisation health in local government,2001, School of Management, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, International journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 14, no. 1, pp 43-58, MCB University Press, 0951-3558, URL:www.emerald-library.com/ft 9. Stephen Taylor, People Resourcing, 2005, 3rd edition, CIPD, London, UK. 10. Derek Torrington, Laura Hall and Stephen Taylor: Human Resource Management, 7th Edition, 2008, Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, FT, England and Spain.

What To Write :: essays research papers

What to Write?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Do you recall the last 500-word essay you had to write? Or perhaps the last 500- word essay you had to read? As a teacher, Paul Roberts spent a large portion of his time reading 500-word essays. Paul Roberts found these compositions were uninspired, and done in the last possible minute. Paul Roberts wrote three books to aid you in becoming better writer. â€Å"How to Say Nothing in 500 Words† comes from Roberts’ best-known book, Understanding English. â€Å"How to Say Nothing in 500 Words† aids you by suggesting what not to say. This exert from Understanding English has 10 mistakes, and possible ways to avoid these mistakes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first three sections deal with making your paper interesting. These three sections include: â€Å"Nothing About Something,† â€Å"Avoid the Obvious Content,† and â€Å"Take the Less Usual Side.† In the First section, â€Å"Nothing About Something,† Roberts goes through the steps a normal student would take in writing a 500-word essay on college football. You may begin shortly after they receive your assignment. Often times you may start well. But after about one paragraph, you run out of things to say. Therefore, you put it off, which causes you to run out of time. Then you find yourself writing your paper at the last possible moment, which makes it dull. Writing your paper at the last possible moment also fills it with unnecessary information, and oversized margins. After reading through these steps many people realize that this is exactly what they do. Robert tells you this paper would, more like than not, earn you a â€Å"D.â₠¬    Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next two sections, â€Å"Avoid the Obvious Content† and â€Å"Take the Less Usual Side,† deal with making your paper more interesting. To avoid obvious content do not use the first things that come to mind. The reason for this is because whatever comes to your mind first is what comes to everyone else’s mind, making it obvious. Once you have decided what not to use, make another list of subjects or reasons. From this list pick the most unusual aspect. Roberts says not only will this be the easiest to write about, but it will also be more interesting. Roberts also advices, â€Å"it is good manners to avoid personality.† By avoiding personality Roberts means don’t write what you think your instructor wants to hear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The remaining seven sections deal with word choices. These categories include: â€Å"Slip out of Abstraction,† â€Å"Get Rid of Obvious Padding,† â€Å"Call a Fool a Fool,† â€Å"Beware of Pat Expression,† â€Å"Colorful Words,† â€Å"Colored Words,† and â€Å"Colorless Words.

Parkinsons Disease: Is It All In the Brain? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Parkinson's Disease: Is It All In the Brain? "When I should go lay down on the couch, but I know that I will never find a comfortable position, so if I'm to be uncomfortable, it may as well be here, in front of this gently glowing screen. I feel the last of last night's meds burn away in my throat and then the dreaded "heebie-jeebies" come" (6). Parkinson's disease otherwise named the "shaking palsy" in 1817 by James Parkinson affects 50,000 Americans every year. The risk of the disease is higher amongst men giving them twice risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to women (5). It is not clear why men are more prone to getting the disease, but it may be related to them not having the female hormone estrogen. (5). The general population that is at risk for developing Parkinson's disease are people older than fifty (1,5).The disease is related to a motor system disorder that cause the patient's hands, legs, jaw, face, and arms to tremor. Parkinson's disease may also cause bradykinesia (slowness of movement) as well as a loss of balance, and a difficulty in doing ordinary daily activities such as walking, talking, eating, and writing (1,2,5). How does this disease then affect the I-Function? If we already have all of our learned capabilities stored there then how do we account for such a loss once Parkinson's disease h as occurred? Symptoms associated with the disease such as tremors are very rhythmic and usually ends when the patient is sleeping. The resistance of the body to move causes rigidity in motion and is caused by an imbalance of opposing muscles in the body. Postural instability is a disturbance in the patient's balance and coordination (1). Notice many of these symptoms occur in relation to a certain movement the body makes. This is because it is said our brains control our movements, thus Parkinson's disease must directly affect some aspect of the brain. By the previous symptoms stated associated with Parkinson's disease it is clear that most would directly link the disease to the brain. Parkinson's disease is caused by a decrease in the nerve cells in the brain that produce the chemical dopamine (1,4). A chemical in the synapse is what breaks down the dopamine levels and once that occurs it continues to try to deplete the little dopamine that is left (4). The importance of the dopamine is so that messages can be relayed steadily between the substantia nigra (movement control center in the brain) and the corpus striatum (part of the brain that helps regulate motor activities) (1,4). Parkinson's Disease: Is It All In the Brain? :: Biology Essays Research Papers Parkinson's Disease: Is It All In the Brain? "When I should go lay down on the couch, but I know that I will never find a comfortable position, so if I'm to be uncomfortable, it may as well be here, in front of this gently glowing screen. I feel the last of last night's meds burn away in my throat and then the dreaded "heebie-jeebies" come" (6). Parkinson's disease otherwise named the "shaking palsy" in 1817 by James Parkinson affects 50,000 Americans every year. The risk of the disease is higher amongst men giving them twice risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to women (5). It is not clear why men are more prone to getting the disease, but it may be related to them not having the female hormone estrogen. (5). The general population that is at risk for developing Parkinson's disease are people older than fifty (1,5).The disease is related to a motor system disorder that cause the patient's hands, legs, jaw, face, and arms to tremor. Parkinson's disease may also cause bradykinesia (slowness of movement) as well as a loss of balance, and a difficulty in doing ordinary daily activities such as walking, talking, eating, and writing (1,2,5). How does this disease then affect the I-Function? If we already have all of our learned capabilities stored there then how do we account for such a loss once Parkinson's disease h as occurred? Symptoms associated with the disease such as tremors are very rhythmic and usually ends when the patient is sleeping. The resistance of the body to move causes rigidity in motion and is caused by an imbalance of opposing muscles in the body. Postural instability is a disturbance in the patient's balance and coordination (1). Notice many of these symptoms occur in relation to a certain movement the body makes. This is because it is said our brains control our movements, thus Parkinson's disease must directly affect some aspect of the brain. By the previous symptoms stated associated with Parkinson's disease it is clear that most would directly link the disease to the brain. Parkinson's disease is caused by a decrease in the nerve cells in the brain that produce the chemical dopamine (1,4). A chemical in the synapse is what breaks down the dopamine levels and once that occurs it continues to try to deplete the little dopamine that is left (4). The importance of the dopamine is so that messages can be relayed steadily between the substantia nigra (movement control center in the brain) and the corpus striatum (part of the brain that helps regulate motor activities) (1,4).

Sweatshop Labor: Wearing Thin Essay example -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For most people in the United States, the term â€Å"slave to fashion† relates to an individual’s desire always to be wearing the latest fashions from trendy clothing lines. In a twist of supreme irony, the designation applies much more literally to the legions of poverty-stricken sweatshop laborers worldwide who toil away under miserable conditions to produce the snappy apparel that Americans purchase in droves on a daily basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conditioned by a media that places considerable emphasis on possessing a stylish wardrobe, the majority of U.S. consumers are far too awash in their own culture -- one that is notorious for the value it places on material wealth -- to be sensitive to the plight of these indigent foreigners. And although the US media’s fleeting scrutiny of sweatshop conditions five years ago did make the issue a greater part of the national consciousness than ever before, not enough people changed their buying habits as a result -- or at least not enough to make a dent in the all-important bottom line of guilty corporations. Indeed, major American retailers of clothing and other apparel products have not changed this despotic element of their business practices in the least despite the negative publicity; in fact, they continue to exploit laborers in foreign, mostly Third-World countries to an alarming degree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The scope of the problem is such that hundreds of residents in a town as small and isolated as Santa Cruz have at some point been employed in sweatshops in impoverished nations. Santa Cruz resident Lorenzo Hernandez endured years of mistreatment at a Doall Enterprises factory in El Salvador before immigrating with his wife and two sons to Santa Cruz in September, 2000. He now works full-time as a cook at Tony and Alba’s Pizza in Scotts Valley, and while he scarcely earns above minimum wage in his current position, it represents a substantial improvement to the abject conditions under which he labored for so many years in his home country. â€Å"They treated us very badly (in El Salvador),† Hernandez said. â€Å"I earned not enough to live on. My family could only buy two shirts and pants (per person), and we were always hungry. I worked 14, 16 hours a day but still did not make enough.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hernandez speaks and moves with the languor of a man... ...ation or escape in religion. Fittingly, while more affluent people in the United States disregard the reality of sweatshop labor because they are preoccupied with trying to sport cutting-edge fashions, the people of Ciudad Juarez seek to disguise their realities because they are so painful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Faced with such unsettling tales of human suffering, Saganovich remains resolute: â€Å"Wal-Mart is simply looking out for its best interests, and this alleged mistreatment of foreign laborers isn’t anywhere near as bad as a lot of people make it out to be. The people who are speaking out so strongly against us are little more than a type of propagandists with their own agendas. Nobody forces anyone to work anywhere, and a lot of them are coming to America and making better lives for themselves.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hernandez is one of a relatively small number of lucky immigrants who have realized a greater level of wealth and comfort in the States, but he will never forget the anguish his previous jobs brought him and his compatriots. â€Å"It’s great, I can afford clothes and food here now,† he said. â€Å"But I try to buy from stores (that) don’t have sweatshops.†

Microsoft Corporation’s Strategy Essay

1. Executive Summary Microsoft is a computer business company. It is famous for software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office suite, and Internet Explorer web browser. It is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues. Also Microsoft has a new development strategy in  recent year which approaching to smart-phone industry. Microsoft built on the partnership with Nokia since 2011, and the significantly increasing success of Nokia’s Lumia smart-phones. Microsoft’s purpose is to use the acceleration growth of its share and profit in mobile devices through the speed innovation, addition synergies and centralized brand and market. At that period for Nokia, this transaction was significantly accretive to earnings, strengthen its financial position, and provide a solid basis for investment in its continuing businesses. This acquisition will promote competition, Microsoft offer competitive alternatives to Google and Apple which helped by integration of hardware and software. Also, Microsoft gains proven ability which from key personnel to success in devices and services, it remains committed to working with partners in the windows & windows phone ecosystems. Moreover, the acquisition can benefit consumers, it has pulled down Microsoft’s devices and services costs from development through the market and by gaining cost savings from Nokia’s. 2. Introduction Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational company, and its mission statement is use human diversity and inclusive of ideas and solutions to satisfy the needs of its increasingly global and and diversification consumer base . Microsoft get into the smart-phone market would be a big step for it to develop more for its business, that is one of the reasons that purchasing Nokia in 2013. Microsoft’s acquired Nokia on 3rd September 2013; and announced that to used approximately $ 7.2 billion to purchase almost all of Nokia’s mobile phone business which spent $ 5 billion on equipment and service departments, also paid $ 2.1 billion for related patent. This report aims to analyze the strategy of Microsoft acquisition of Nokia which included SWOT, also the analysis of PESTLE and five forces of the strategy, then finally would be the Value chain, the recommendation of its strategy and retaliation of competition. SWOT analyzes that after changed the strategy how to affect Microsoft as a good and bad way, also how it inspires more chances to develop the business, and any risk from this strategy. It shows that electronic product industry competed in the firm. Secondly, the report explains the reason of Microsoft has to change strategy by political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal, all  those factors show that when strategy changed by Microsoft. Thirdly, this report will talk about Nokia entered into Microsoft is the strategic change the business by using five forces; it explains the current rivals and potential new entrants in the industry with the businesses change in strategy. Also, with the value chain, the original Nokia’s technique skills have changed the organization and competencies. Finally, this report will talk about the future of this company development, it will tell core competence and innovation strategies are most likely to improve its absolute and relative performance in the next 3 to 5 years. With those analyses, this report will explain the details of this strategy from Microsoft, and both advantages and disadvantages by usi ng this strategy for its future business. 3. The Environment Analysis With technology great development, Apple’s produce iPhone and products to cater the market as Google’s does have Android to compete in. Thurs made a decision with Microsoft acquired Nokia in 2013. 3.1 SWOT Analysis 3.1.1 Strengths Microsoft and Nokia’s huge influence in the world Microsoft Corporation is world leader of personal computer software development; also it currently is the world’s largest provider of computer software. At the same time, according to Steve Ballmer Microsoft Chief Executive (2013), Microsoft’s Windows occupy 91.49% sharing of the global PC operation system. Nokia has had powerful hardware design concept and abilities of manufacturing, also Nokia’s Lumia occupied approximately 82% of the market. So, acquisition of Nokia was a great record for Microsoft’s corporate strategy. Brand loyalty Microsoft has been managing operation systems and software provider, it establishes over 90 % of the PC operation system’s market share. Most of people grew up with Microsoft’s operating system because of the easy manipulating and will use continually, there are not much brands can compete with it for those reasons. Even open source operating system; it is totally  free, suits ordinary users. Profits of the mobile phone market Profit is a big principle of Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia. According to the US technology blog estimating, Microsoft earned 10 US dollars gross profit from each Lumia phone, but after the acquisition, the gross profit of Lumia has increased to over 40 US dollars, which mean that Microsoft can recover the cost of acquisition of Nokia with 25 million Lumia phones be sold. 3.1.2 Weaknesses Saturated Market Microsoft approached too late to the smart-phone’s market, it has already saturated when Microsoft stepped into. Most of the market shares have been taken by Apple and Android. According to Bamburic (2013), in 2013, Window Mobile only occupied 2.9 % from the smart-phone market share, it is a bad record which compare with Apple’s 18.2 % and Android’s 74.4 %. Innovate slowly Microsoft is difficult to ask people to accept the whole system moved to a smart-phone operating in a short period. Although consumers have not totally approved Window Mobile, Microsoft still updates the mobile system slowly. 3.1.3 Opportunities Offer Option Android occupies most of the market share of smart-phone, however the loyalty of Android’s users are unstable, also Apple’s products are too expensive for consumers, with no more choice for mobile system, Window mobile get a chance to attract those customers. Functional With the developing Information Technology, people see mobile as a necessity, and mobile phone is not just a communication tool, consumers concern about the multi-function and the brand of mobile phone. 3.1.4 Threats Substitutive The threat of substitutive, same level of smart-phone will be the greatest  substitutive of Microsoft, such as Samsung, LG, Sony; developed technology and internet, net communication also are the substitutive, such as E-mail, MSN, Skype. Limited Creative & Cost The creative abilities of the whole industry are declining as Apple or Samsung. With the quick developed in these years, systems and function are getting homogeneous. This is the same problem for the whole industry. Moreover, with the developing creative function, cost also is a main element to win the competition which how to spend less to do more. 3.2 PESTLE Analysis Macro environmental influences on Microsoft are summarized with in following six categories to identify the key drivers for change. 3.2.1 Political The US government concerns the investment in high-tech industries and supports the development of high-tech enterprises which made the Mobile Enterprises starting the patent competition. Mobile manufacturers defray a large proportion of cost by the strict US patent system. Also America has the most complete and strict for mergers and acquisitions law. 3.2.2 Economic America’s tertiary industry occupied for about 78 % of GDP, which the contribution of high-tech owned the most, the technology is crucial for the US which is the power source of economic development. The global economic crisis of 2008 caused a huge blow to the world economy, under the impact of the economic crisis, Nokia’s share price fell sharply which just made a great offer for Microsoft to purchase as a low cost. 3.2.3 Social With the development of the information age, people rely on mobile phones increasingly. By changing the concept of value as people’s lives changed as well, people do not see mobile as a communication tool at all, they attach importance to the multi-function and brand of the products. Consumers’ brand awareness is getting stronger when they are selecting mobile phone.  Smart-phones are no longer for teenage only, it turns to be public goods for everyone. With the smart-phone fashion rising, mobile phones have become a symbol of renewal as a consumer, so the mobile phone market is very considerable. 3.2.4 Technological Walking in front of others is the only way to survive in the high-tech field and the fierce market competition. High-tech products have rapid upgraded and short life cycle, it inspires higher requires to enterprises’ special application software and ability of continuing to update the hardware configuration. Nokia as a former mobile phone giant obviously hold numerous patents, specialized technical personnel and technical reserves the phone which is an advantage to help Microsoft to develop on smart-phone industry. 3.2.5 Legal Microsoft corporate supervised by laws, and it followed the laws which contain Labor law, intellectual property and the tax regime. 3.2.6 Environmental Microsoft is an ecofriendly company, it is green IT and the company request customers to recycle the product which are used. 3.3 Five forces 3.3.1 Existing Competitions With fierce competition in the electronics industry, Microsoft’s mobile is facing every kind of problems in development, smart-phone’s challenged from Apple and Google, also there has problems with products, research and development, marketing strategy and enterprise development strategy. Microsoft needs to plan its strategy as an â€Å"universal key† to open each locks. 3.3.2 Threat of New Entrant New entrant is a threat of Microsoft. HP (Hewlett-Packard) purchased Palm mobile firm in 2010, HP was a global information technology company, main business focused on printers, computer and software. HP is just one of the new entrant, most of the famous computer industries involve as well, such as  Lenovo, Dell. They have stable trust on consumers and market in society, now they invade to mobile phone industry which is a serious threat for Microsoft. 3.3.3 Threat of Substitutes With development of information technology and continuous improvement of people’s living standards, network, iPod and even digital cameras are more popular to substitute with phones by more functional and professional. As a result, the substitutive has a certain threat to Microsoft. 3.3.4 Power of Buyers The products’ quality and quantity depends on the power of buyers. Nokia’s technique could not satisfy buyers enough to buy their products because of the lower level in the smart-phone market which cause buyers’ bargaining power are getting stronger. But Microsoft has good reputation and well system, after the acquisition of Nokia, it increases buyers’ confident of products which successfully reduce the bargaining power from buyers and raised profits. 3.3.5 Power of Suppliers Mobile phone suppliers had great competition before 2010, so enterprises picked very seriously of their suppliers which caused a low bargaining power in the market. After 2010, Apple’s products sold well and had significantly outstanding result which leaded to other enterprises’ profit sharply dropped down; also suppliers got reduced by them at the same time. So Microsoft purchased Nokia at the right timing which earns a good bargaining power. 4. The Value Chain According to Walters (2007), Microsoft knew that the company should have an efficient value chain and offering the customer great value with its products. People would discover that Microsoft’s value chain is completely integrated to crop-net which is their information technology infrastructure network. The management of central control and efficiency are brought by the integration with their technical capabilities, it allows them to use the minimum effort and minimum mistakes at the right time to make a right  decision, thus value increased when cost saving. Microsoft provides software to them is minimal for need of logistics, because they can send the software through internet to the local agents. They also do customer services and maintenance by information technology, and they have to recruit, support, market, maintain, interview, finance, customer service, deliver, consult, advertise for the network. The development of technology is interior, there have the cost benefits of development and maintaining technology of value chain for compared to competitors. According to Johnson (2011), Porter’s Value Chain Model, margin has significantly increased after the Microsoft acquisition of Nokia. For the primary value chain activities, the inbound logistics of Microsoft allows Nokia to provide equipment, also the marketing and sale of Microsoft has many advertising platform that can increase publicity and sales. Procurement area is an important part of the cooperation between Microsoft and Nokia. This development must source raw materials for the business and obtain the best price for doing so. The challenge for procurement is to obtain the best possible quality available on the market for their budget. At the same time, purchasing inputs that means it buys product cheaper from suppliers. Because of Microsoft’s core competence is the system software; the development of mobile phone hardware is not completed. On the other hand, Nokia’s core competence has the good hardware system and stable suppliers’ source, so this result is becoming a win-win for both companies which reach the cost efficiency. Microsoft can directly use Nokia’s equipment to sell and reduce the costs, also it improves the margin. Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows that after Microsoft got the Nokia, both of them operating margin profit and market value increased. In summary, Value chain model defines the cost advantage after Microsoft acquisition of Nokia; it achieves cost efficiency and associated with core competencies and capabilities in order to perform them better than do competitors. 5. Retaliation of Competitors Facing acquisition of Nokia, current rivals and potential new entrants in mobile market which are Google, Apple and HP should do something to deal with this Microsoft’s corporate-level strategy. As Burrows comment that Google and Apple did the same thing which is advertise their products. For  example, Google-operated retail Web site, use â€Å"Web meets phone† as a statement for introducing. In terms of the five force, existing competitions will make a plan for strategic change form same industry, so new entrants does. 6. Recommendation Mobile space could be one of the serious problems for Microsoft in recent years. Windows Mobile platform is still dominated by innovative in market, such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system. The plan of Microsoft to compete with those providers this year would be releasing Window Phone 7, although it is little bit late to the smart-phone market, Microsoft realizes what consumers really needed, and Window Phone 7 will be the best explanation in the next 3 to 5 years. Innovation has been a big issue for Microsoft, Windows is a special case as an innovative product when it first released, but Microsoft did not provide anything that even matching the innovation. Because of the competitors have developed more creative products, all companies want to be the main competitor in the high-tech space. Innovation is the most necessary element in the smart-phone market which Microsoft has to improve. 7. Conclusion Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia is opportunities as well as challenges. As the analysis of opportunities and threats with Microsoft’s mobile phone business, for Microsoft entered lately to the mobile market and the decline of the old mobile phone giant Nokia, how to achieve the advantage complementary through the merger of both sides, Microsoft has to put smart-phone system and PC operation system together as soon as possible to achieve the great new innovations of smart-phone. Microsoft has to be originality of mobile system for its business, it will be the big step for Microsoft to be success. Microsoft has been the dominant PC computer software manufacturer over years, but now the sales growth of the PC has slowed sharply because of consumers have been the turning to smart-phones and tablets. The sales of PC’s expectation was 409 million units in 2011, it was a 15.9 % increased which lower than 18.1 % the previous estimate of the company. According to Research director of Gartner Ranjit Atwal (2013), this  result reflects the weakening of consumer demand, the recent increase in shipment is expected to decline, increasing consumer interested in the iPad and other tablet PCs are the main factors leading to rising slowing sales growth of the PC in the long run. As Lomas comment that (2013), in the future of 2014, tablet will replace PC for over 10 % of sales, Microsoft and Intel believe that Windows software could attract a variety of users by the touch features, especially business users, and it inspires the development of Windows Tablet PC, touch-screen laptop and their products. Technology is the most influencing Macro environmental factor by the PESTEL analysis. Microsoft strategy through Bowman’s clock as an explanation which both bases of differentiation and intended strategy for low price are detailed. 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