Monday, December 30, 2019

Essay about The Revolutionary War - 1417 Words

The Revolutionary War The Revolutionary War started on April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord. America was very much unprepared with no central government or army. The congress stepped up as the government and began to organize an army. The Revolutionary War did not end until September 3, 1783 with the signing of the final peace treaty between America and Great Britain. The victory in the Revolution War led to the birth of a new independent nation. After the Revolution it was a time of cooperation. People in the nation were focusing on building a government, migrating west and their new found freedom. Military actions were more in surrounding areas mainly France, Mexico and Britain. In 1798 was the XYZ affair, an event that†¦show more content†¦After the first battle of the Civil War the Upper states in the South also seceded. Abraham Lincoln was able to persuade Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri to stay in the Union. By doing this Lincoln gained access to the river systems in Kentucky and Missouri that led into the heart of the South. This control effected the 1862 invasions of the south, which provided the North with most of its early military successes. The Civil War was total trench warfare. Technology was the main event that influenced total trench warfare. Technology led to ideas such as strategy, weapons, and transportation. It wasnt until 1865 the Civil War ended with the surrender of the Souths army. The Civil War was an event that impacted the United States greatly economically, politically and socially. This impact called for great reconstruction after the Civil War. *Political Constitutional Developments After the American Revolution ended there was a debate on if all ties should be broken with Britain. Support for American Independence rode strong up into 1776. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense. This pamphlet rebelled against King George III and argues for complete Independence of the American colonies. On July 4, 1776, a Declaration of Independence was adopted stating the colonies freedom from Britain. The time after the Revolution was a period of political reconstruction. A time were State franchises were developed andShow MoreRelatedThe Revolutionary War787 Words   |  4 PagesRunning head: Paine Thomas Paine’s Role in the Revolutionary War Dallin Hodgkin Mountain View High School Paine What sparks a revolution? What motivates the average man to rise up against everything he’s ever known? There have been many revolutions that have taken place in the past and each one has had different elements that powered them. The revolutionary war is an example of one such revolution. But what gave it power? There are two main ideas that start revolutionsRead MoreThe Revolutionary War957 Words   |  4 Pagestimes leading up to the Revolutionary War. These times include: Navigation Act, French and Indian War, Sugar Act, The stamp Act, Boston Massacre, Townsend Act, The Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts. All of these events are important in leading to the Revolutionary War. This essay will go into detail about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Starting with, the Navigation Act. The Navigation Act was the first event leading up to the Revolutionary War. The Navigation Act is whereRead MoreThe War Of The Revolutionary War1182 Words   |   5 PagesIn battling the British in the Revolutionary War, the American rebels did just as the great French military and political leader, Napoleon Bonaparte advised, â€Å"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake†. Though there were a great deal of missed opportunities and misguided actions taken by both sides of this war, none were as great as those by the ministers in London and British Generals Howe and Burgoyne. However, of these three, one held a great deal of responsibility for Britain’s failureRead MoreRevolutionary War1150 Words   |  5 PagesRevolutionary War Taylor Hunter ENG/101 October 26, 2014 The battle of Trenton and Princeton began to erupt in the same year of the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War had started because the Americans wanted the same rights the as the British citizens had. The British refused to give Americans the same rights because they (British) didn’t think the Americans shouldn’t be represented as a part of the British Parliament, instead their (British) minds were more focused on buildingRead MoreThe War Of The Revolutionary War1078 Words   |  5 Pagessubject to learn about in History is spies. With the ideas of secret ink and leaving important documents at Dead Drops would be someone’s dream to live. That does not mean that every story of a spy ended up that way. Several spies during the Revolutionary war were hanged if caught. Though, one major traitor in the United States did not get hanged. He escaped to England. The life of spies is quite different then what people imagine. Even the founding fathers of th e United States of America played suchRead MoreRevolutionary Artillery in the Revolutionary War Essay870 Words   |  4 Pagesovercome adversity and hardship. But with courage and dedication the artillery and its leadership were able to play a vital role in the success on the battlefields, and ultimately the victory resulting in America earning its freedom. During the Revolutionary War, the Artillery assets that were available were a combination of cannons, mortars and howitzers. There were two types of cannons used at this time. The Field Guns, which were lightweight and easier to move, and the Siege Guns, which were muchRead MoreThe American Revolutionary War796 Words   |  3 PagesThe American Revolutionary War was a long hard fought war that lasted about 8 years. Many Countries were involved in the war, such as The United States, France, Great Britain, Spain, and The Dutch Republic. Not all countries actually fought but they provided either side with weapons and supplies to help them have a greater chance of winning the war. More than 70,000 people were killed during the great American Revolutionary War. The Americans were tired of the loyalist British taking advantage ofRead MoreThe Revolutionary War And The War Of Independence1191 Words   |  5 PagesThe Revolutionary war another name for the war of independence and lasted f rom 1775 and ended 1783. There was a lot of tension between the 13 colonies and the British Monarchy. Smaller battles between British troops and smaller militias near Lexington and Concord kicked off the war. And by 1777 the rebels began a full scale war on Great Britain. The war turned into an international conflict when France joined the war and sided with the American colonists in 1778. With the help of the French the BritishRead MoreThe Revolutionary War Of Independence790 Words   |  4 PagesBy the War of Independence, slavery was deeply rooted in the American colonies. However, the Revolution provided African American slaves with several opportunities to obtain their freedom, including through military service in the British and American armed forces. From the war’s outset, both American and British government officials as well as military officers contemplated how they could use African American slaves to further their war efforts. This paper uses a case study approa ch to explore twoRead MoreThe Battle Of The Revolutionary War1263 Words   |  6 Pagesthe militiamen continued to move forward. As the militiamen closed in the British fired the first volley, Private Abner Hosmer and Captain Isaac Davis were at the head of the march and were killed instantly. That volley was the start of the Revolutionary War and is now known as the â€Å"Shot Heard around the World†. The militiamen returned the volley which devastated the Redcoats. Eight officers were wounded and one British soldier lay dead and another mortally wounded. The Redcoats returned the volley

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Annotated Bibliography On Postpartum Depression - 1518 Words

N232 Research Assignment Jiao Li College of Lake County October 14, 2017 Annotated Bibliography Borra, C., Iacovou, M., Sevilla, A. (2015). New Evidence on Breastfeeding and Postpartum Depression: The Importance of Understanding Women s Intentions. Maternal Child Health Journal, 19(4), 897-907. doi:10.1007/s10995-014-1591-z This journal article did research about the cause and effect of breastfeeding on women who have postpartum depression (PPD). They did research on the mother’s mental health status at the different time of postpartum, and inspected how breastfeeding could affect the mothers. The research found out that the effect of breastfeeding on postnatal depression is heterogeneous. Whether or not the†¦show more content†¦Weber, K. (2017). HEALING A MOTHER S PAIN. (cover story). America, 216(11), 18. This article talked about dealing with women’s postpartum depression (PPD) in a spiritual way. Similar to Borra, C., Iacovou, M., Sevilla, A’s article, the author also mentioned that the fluctuation of hormonal or chemical levels in women can be triggered by circumstances which include socioeconomic status, prior mental health history and their childbirth experiences such as if the mother had the experience of a traumatic delivery, preterm labor or difficulty in feeding. These factors not only influence on the well-being of the mother but also impact on the families, marriage and the lifelong health development of the child and their siblings. Interestingly, the study that was mentioned in this article found out that faith communities helped to alleviate postpartum depression symptoms. The collaborative work between churches and formal service providers increased the number of women who are willing to seek treatment. According to the study that was done in 2016, less likely PPD was found among women who attended religious services, and churches and faith communities can offer support for mothers who have experienced the PPD. The possible reason is that there are some women deacons so the women could share their life

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Opportunities and Challenges of Benchmarking Free Essays

string(30) " to the MTBF for the product\." The first question to be asked is what benchmarking can do for any organization. The process of benchmarking permits the entire organization to identify, share and use the knowledge that exists within the organization as also the best practices prevalent within the organization. The attempt is to concentrate on improving the situation of any business unit and not to just measure the best performances that have been achieved. We will write a custom essay sample on Opportunities and Challenges of Benchmarking or any similar topic only for you Order Now The method for this is to apply the use of best known methods of solving the problems that are facing the business. The results come from the utilization after determination of the problems and this can come only after a careful study of the problems. On determination it is expected that the best solutions will be implemented. (Defining Benchmarking) The result will come to the organization in the form of gaining important advantages for the organization in the form of advantages. These can be in any form or more than one form – strategic advantages, operational advantages, or direct financial gains. At the same time, it also is an indirect admission that some others are better at the function that we are involved in than ourselves. At the same time, we are being wise enough to understand our own shortcomings and are trying to improve our position so that we can improve and match them in performance. If all our efforts are in the direction of development, a stage may come when we would be in a position to perform better than them. (Defining Benchmarking) The process of benchmarking is not just calculating numbers, getting briefs about sites on which organizations are to be set up or traveling through the factories of other organizations, or even copying, spying or espionage. The process does not end here and it has to continue further throughout the entire life of the organization and as the organization improves to a better position, there has to be additional steps which have to be taken so that the organization can successfully step even further. When benchmarking is not performed and a major in any industry ignores the competition levels there are chances that it would tend to fall behind in its own development and leadership qualities. It is also not the same with regard to establishing benchmarks which involve the setting up of acceptable levels of standards, so that the product or service can move forward to the next immediate step and not be rejected automatically as a result of quality control. Benchmarks are defined in terms of how many units are to be produced in one unit of time, how quickly the product line can transfer itself into manufacturing another product, how high the production levels can be from one shift, or what the minimum levels of production are which are being acceptable. The similarity of benchmarking and benchmarks is in that benchmarking tries to find out and understand the direct reasons for the production to be high in certain relevant situations and not be so high in other situations/conditions. Once the reasons are being determined then the same methods can be expanded for use in other parts of the complete production process so that the total production level can be at higher levels and correspondingly the profits of the organization as well. This is the real benefit that can be obtained from the practice of benchmarking. (Defining Benchmarking) Looking at the acts of benchmarking in benefiting the organization, one can see some direct benefits. It prevents reinventing the wheel and what is meant by that is that since the process or machinery or item has already been invented, anybody else trying to reinvent the same is only wasting money. The second method in which it provides benefits is through using tested and proven practices that have already been used successfully by others, it convinces people who do not take kindly to fresh ideas by demonstrating to them that it works, and it forces the organization to move at a rapid pace as it knows that competitors are already using the method. The third advantage is that it leads to development of some ideas that were not being used earlier and these are innovative ways to improve methods and in many cases they have come from outside the industry. The use of benchmarking also forces organizations to check on the present process and many times these may lead to direct improvements in terms of quality or quantity directly. The last use of benchmarking is also advantageous in making changes more likely as the process involves the direct participation by the owners. Today is the age of competition and it is very difficult to say which manufacturer is the best, and at the same time, this is an age when every manufacturer can claim that they are the best based on scientific studies of their machines. Let us view it in a simpler context and try to determine which team is the best in baseball, and may be you have a reason for determining this – you may love the game, you may be laying a bet on the results of the current season, or just curiosity. It is known that New York Yankees have won the World Series Championships seven consecutive times. In the opinion of quite a few of the fans, that would make them the best team. Thus one of the first points in benchmarking is deciding on the benchmark, and then one has to decide as to how the performance can be measured against the benchmark. If the required standard is not known by the organization trying to be the best then it cannot possibly reach the target. (Who’s best? How good are they? How do we get that good? ) In certain cases they are measured by definitions like Mean Time between Failures or MTBF. This will help the customer also and make him ask the manufacturer as to the MTBF for the product. You read "Opportunities and Challenges of Benchmarking" in category "Essay examples" Then let us say that on one of the products of the client is 120 hours and on another product is 150 hours, then that will have to be mentioned to the customer. Then to be the best, the concerned organization has to find out or determine the method to get to the best possible benchmark. Now let us say that on investigation it is found out that for competitors, the MTBF is 10,000 hours. It is clear now as to which manufacturer will get the order. Thus often benchmarking is not a stand alone exercise, but a part of a Process Re-engineering or Quality Improvement Initiative. The requirement is not a management fad, but is a requirement to be able to compete in the market. Most of the initial work on benchmarking was done in manufacturing, and it is important that it is still done there, but benchmarking has now developed into a management tool that can be used anywhere. (Who’s best? How good are they? How do we get that good? ) One has to develop a system which permits the organization to produce material of a certain quality, as if that is not produced many incidences may occur which are of great importance to the organization but also to the nation. Let us take a few examples of this and one of them is the case of the disaster of the space shuttle Columbia, and another is the power outages in August 2003 in New York which was followed by power failures in United Kingdom and Italy. There are reasons for this and one reason which is often quoted is â€Å"failure of maintenance†. (An Introduction to the Maintenance Scorecard) At the same time, maintenance is also a part of benchmarking and it is not a benchmarking of the product, but of the service system in the organization. Thus the problem can be manifest in many different ways in the field. There were four charges of manslaughter placed on individuals who were in charge of maintaining or managing railways in United Kingdom at the time of the Hatfield Train Disaster. The charges against these people were dropped only in August 2004. Among the people who were charged was the previous Chief Executive Officer of the company who owned all the assets indirectly. Another case is the legislation in Canada which imposes criminal liability on businesses and individuals when workplace accidents take place. In short it is becoming very important that proper maintenance is done and for that purpose, benchmarking is essential for the assets. (An Introduction to the Maintenance Scorecard) Desired future state and goals against which to evaluate alternatives It is clear that benchmarking is an activity of the individual organization undertaken with a purpose of developing the organization and giving it benefits or advantages over competition. The details for such studies are obviously not available, and we got information only from an instance when the exercise was done at the initiative of the Surface Mining Association for Research and Technology. They commissioned a research project the main purpose of which was to enable comparison of equipment performance in the mining industry, and this was due to collaborative relationships between the mining industries to gain competitive advantages at a global level. There was not much collaboration between the different units of the industry and as a start the attempt was made to establish some common definitions for availability and utilization. The entire exercise was conducted over some twenty five mining operations based in Canada and United States. (Standardization of Definitions for benchmarking) After developing the common definitions the next stage was to collect the response from different members of the industry and put them in a position where the responses could be classified. In terms of operations there were some typical events that were encountered as all the units were involved in the operation of a mine. These also had to be identified and included in the entire exercise for study. At the end of the study it was found that among the entire group the formulas and definitions for availabilities and utilizations of different parameters were similar, yet there were differences in the meanings of the formulas that were used by different units. There are also differences in classification of different events in terms of their importance. The two differences combined in the final report to show differences in the operating characteristics of different mines, and the events that we are referring are fairly common in the operations of mines. Thus it was possible to find out some common definitions for the mines in terms of operating parameters, yet all comparisons between them are meaningless. For any comparisons to be made, it is important that the discrepancies which are clearly seen to be happening due to their differences in meanings first being turned into some common time categories. In practice it was not possible to get the different mines to change their formulas or collection practice for data as these systems had been well established over many years, it was seen that it was important to develop a parallel system which could collect similar data from the existing data collection system. This of course could be done only in organizations which wished to continue in the entire exercise of benchmarking all these units and getting to some results. (Standardization of Definitions for benchmarking) This led essentially to the establishment of a central database. This is where all the units participating in the study would be able to reach the data that they wanted or needed. They would also be able to compare their own formula and definitions with the new data that was collected. This would permit them to comparisons with the earlier data that they had, or even the standardized benchmarking formula that they were using. This was the first method of industry wide comparisons. Once these were developed they would be the benchmarking definitions for the industry and thus the first step to development of industry-wise standards for required operating measures. Most of the mines understood that this was required, but very few wanted to proceed on these lines, and all their actions are concentrated to their own mines. There does not seem to be much collaboration in the industry and most organizations are doing the same thing over and over again. There is a certain amount of interest in sharing of maintenance information there is scope for a study in which the maintenance practices can be compared as also the development of performance standards in the area of maintenance. This would be of great use to the mining industry. Standardization of Definitions for benchmarking) Identify two to four potential solutions Here again the solution are different for every application of benchmarking and the solutions will depend also on the problems for which the solution is being sought, the nature of the industry, state of development, projected future growth, etc. Since we have started with the mining industry, let us continue with the same industry. One point that has to be remembered is that this industry has continued to remain behind other industries in the application of benchmarking. The reasons for the shortcomings have already been discussed to some extent – a reluctance to share information as they feel it violates confidentiality and privacy concerns with a special sensitivity to cost data; available resources within the different units to spend time on the required initiatives for benchmarking; a specific lack of commitment and support for the benchmarking exercise at all levels of the organization; and the lack of consistent and relevant indicators for performance. The problems of these organizations has to be solved by meeting the difficulties in all these respect and this makes the first solution as to stop comparisons till the operating events are clearly classified. Till this issue is resolved, there is very little value in suggesting common definitions for availability and utilization. The clear resolution thus also involves on consistent allocation of operating events as per agreed time classifications. (Standardization of Definitions for benchmarking) The second solution comes from the survey interviews and that stated clearly that there is a great interest in information sharing and comparison, and still none of the organizations showed that they would be willing to accept new definitions for their operating parameters or accept new standards for the allocation of operating events so that they could get information in exchange. At the same time, there is strong interest in the exchange of data. There is a solution to this apparently conflicting position and this can be done only through information sharing taking place in a manner that existing operating data collection and reporting systems at individual units proceed on their operations unaffected, but the data that had been collected earlier are not touched through any mode. The solution comes from utilizing data storage and manipulation with a capability of existing data collection systems being utilized for this purpose. This will take care of the constraints. The third solution is from the general interest in sharing of maintenance information between different units. This arises as most of the units understand the importance of improving maintenance management systems and processes. In general it can be said that development of maintenance performance management has not developed as fast as the other production systems in mines. This area requires collaboration, but much of that has not been coming. Thus it is clear that most organizations are just concentrating on doing the same job under different names. The solution would be to implement a study comparing management practices and development of performance standards for maintenance. This would be found to be useful by the entire industry in that area. The fourth point is that once the data collection is built up, then it may be applied to other areas of the entire system so that those areas could also benefit. Some of those areas are the large tire user group that requires data common to the entire exercise; OEM availability guarantee reporting and lost control system benchmarking. It could also be seen that the structure which would be established for such initiatives could become the basis for a framework that could be used by the group for purchasing. Standardization of Definitions for benchmarking) Let us now go to another area of benchmarking that we have used earlier and this is with reference to asset management. This has been important throughout history, and yet poses a special economic challenge during the 21st century. The reason for the challenge is from our efforts to release economic value from our investments in asset investment as much as is possible and the main cause for that is the extreme competitive nature of industry and business now. The challenge has led to our tackling the issue of benchmarking asset investment in three different areas and these are through minimizing life cycle costs of asset ownership, minimizing direct costs that are related to asset management and minimization of costs associated with new asset purchase and renewal of assets. Here the question of asset renewals means the overhauls and renovations that are carried out to the assets. All our benchmarking efforts are now directed to this area so tat any new effort should give benefits in these terms. The question is whether that is enough? An introduction to the Maintenance Scorecard) Apart from this there has been a very rapid change in the use of technology and this has forced many professionals from other areas rapidly into the functional areas of management of assets. The new managers are making, managing or even otherwise deciding on assets. Do they have the capability? They have no experience or any depth of knowledge or experience in the area that they are now managing. In terms of areas, these may be system selection, implementation and regular day to day management. This is leading to decisions being taken many times on issues which are not connected to management and the decisions may not concern the assets themselves or the asset managers. These sorts of incidents are happening throughout the world. The issue of maintenance was earlier seen as a secondary rollout of a large scale system originally decided for financial or supply chain reasons, and the decision was taken whether the solution was the best for asset management or not. Another important change has been the shifting of maintenance function to outsourcing and this is also likely to affect the function. This is a change that has been predicted many times by management consultants and also recommended by them as a method of reducing direct costs, improving the level of contact with specialized skills and of avoiding the complications that exist in finding and controlling a skilled workforce. This is very useful when the total production function is being outsourced. This has also led to many changes in employment patterns throughout the world. Many technical and repetitive roles like software development, call center management and some engineering functions are being shifted away to the third world from the first world. In those countries the salary levels with the similar competencies as those in the 1st world are much lower. (An Introduction to the Maintenance Scorecard) Now that we have talked a lot about the advantages of benchmarking, let us also take a look at the other side. These refer to the times that existed before benchmarking came to be called benchmarking, and it was viewed as just application of common sense. It is always true that the best method of learning how to do a job is to see how others do the work and then trying to do it. It is said that the great Henry ford went through the operations of production methods in a Chicago slaughterhouse before deciding how to set up his own production line for which he is rightly renowned. At the time, and probably for many decades since that time, it was called a good idea – till in the 1980s, this process of learning was given the name of benchmarking. It is true that benchmarking can provide very good improvements of the product and deserved returns based on efficiency, cost savings and new revenues. The process also is able to reduce cycle times, productivity, customer service, quality and production costs. This can make them a part of an effort of the company to change the culture of the organization to a more customer oriented and results focused. Yet many companies make a mistake in letting this excellent process of benchmarking to become an end in itself. This is quite common in corporate settings which have already established full fledged benchmarking teams. (Benchmarking: The trend line) The organization ends up loosing sight of the objectives and start on benchmarking as an objective in itself. This can be seen in the case of Florida Power and Light Co. This received the Deming Prize in 1989 as it had performed excellently in benchmarking. In the same year, the company was put under the charge of a new CEO and he dismantled large sections of the company as those sections were mainly based on benchmarking and less on functions of the company. Alan Weiss, president of Summit Consulting Inc said â€Å"He found the company was more committed to winning awards than serving the customer†. (Benchmarking: The trend line) This is a loss in focus that can happen if benchmarking is made a part of the jobs of line managers and they have other responsibilities. They are more inclined to take up practical applications for their talents. (Benchmarking: The trend line) Let us take a case of a computer based service organization. The organization is trying to speed up the service of its computers when they fail as the computers are the main machines which help them keep their business in running condition. The question is that there are many parts inside a computer and every time it was repaired, there used to be a serviceman who would come and replace the part. Of course the bill for the part would be received and the amount paid. The organization decided to go through an exercise of benchmarking so that the cost of repairs can be reduced. The decision was to introduce the system of codes so that it would be known which part was failing. These codes are numbers which are cross referenced to a complete list of code descriptions. The codes may also be a series of alphanumeric descriptions. Now since computers are fairly commonplace the full descriptions of the failed parts are now being stored. (Failure codes) The storage of the complete list was in the computerized management system. The required parts are input by the person who was reporting the failure and if it was not known to him then it had to be input by the technician when he repaired the equipment. The main use of these codes is in providing statistics about machine failures. Thus one can know the reasons for machine failures and take corrective actions. (Failure codes) The risks of using such a procedure is very low as the computers also have self assessment procedures and that can often tell the region of failure. This information is unlikely to be wrong. For the technician when he comes in to repair, he has to change the required part for the machine to start running again, and thus he is also unlikely to be wrong. The risks with finding out the part number are thus very low and can be safely viewed to be accurate. The objectives of determining the part numbers are also very simple as each part stops certain functions that the machine is supposed to do. This slows down operating procedures and once the reasons for delays are known, action may be taken to speed up the entire process. Once the operations are speeded up, the organization is expected to earn more revenues. The total impact can only be assessed after the full analysis is made. This sort of a system is also used in certain organizations where computerized systems are used to deliver items at fixed schedules like newspapers, milk processing machines, etc. Present the recommended solution and the rationale behind the recommendation We are now in a period of history where we have to totally depend on machines for all our functions and most industrial tasks. At the same time, repairs and other tasks are becoming increasingly complicated as no extra persons are available. Computerized machinery is very good as long as they run, but when they fail, they fail completely and no action can be taken till they are repaired. Thus getting the machine repaired is very important. The technicians come quickly, but often they do not have the needed parts and when that happens, the machine will continue to remain out of order fro quite a few days, and that is what is sought to be avoided through this exercise. The objective is not to increase profits directly, but make the operations more dependable. The new machinery has been responsible for dramatic increases in productivity levels, but it has also led to high direct costs for asset management over the last few years. (An Introduction to the Maintenance Scorecard) The problem with determination of reliability in most cases is that some factors may be brought up by theory and through strategic planning, but they do no translate into reality at the end of the day. In many cases, the results that are achieved cannot justify the investments that are made to achieve them. There are many areas which hurt the realization of benefits. Here the change in process is just the recording of a part number and that should not take much time when compared to the total time lost in terms of production. We are talking about the requirement to note down the part numbers when the machine fails. Identify the expected impact and value The expected impact is in terms of costs is not much as has been explained earlier, but the impact in terms of value is expected to be high. The effect will be in terms of extra production capacity that should be available. The exact benefits can only be determined when the total picture is known. It is not useful to make advance calculations in such cases, as the present production is for the total usage of the company and no extra jobs can be taken up without meeting this requirement. Provide a summary of how you would approach implementing the recommended solution and measuring its effectiveness The implementation methods are very simple. Prepare a list of the parts that go wrong in the machines in different areas and hand them over to the operators. Every operator has to make a failure report and when that is submitted, the reason for failure that is given has to include the part number. Once the part numbers are made available in this way, then in the report itself they should be noted, and after a period of six months, a search program or a summary should be made of the reasons for failures. This is a totally internal exercise and we do not have to observe the other requirements now. APQC has now developed and wants adherence to the following code – â€Å"guide benchmarking efforts, advance the professionalism and effectiveness of benchmarking, and help protect the members from harm†. (Benchmarking Code of Conduct) According to this code will help the implementation of efficient, effective and ethical benchmarking. (Benchmarking Code of Conduct) The question is that ultimately the entire process is for internal development and to be done totally internally, so why are we all getting so excited about it? Make the changes that you have to after a cool consideration. How to cite Opportunities and Challenges of Benchmarking, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Strategic Human Resource Development

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Human Resource Development. Answer: Introduction Training and development of employees are considered to be an important segment of human resource practices. With the intense competition within the market, it is imperative for companies to heavily invest in this field to reap substantial benefits in future. In the current report, discussion shall be made on managing different attitudes of employees to ensure that the company can obtain a more productive and efficient workforce. According to Delahaye (2015), Strategic Human Resource Development is the used to develop strategies ensuring that the training and development program is effective in performing the job and enhancing the overall productivity for the firm. For the purpose of conducting this report with efficacy Woolworths a leading name in the retail sector of Australia is chosen. Woolworths Limited Woolworths Limited was established in the year 1924. Woolworths Supermarket is retail store chain owned wholly by Australia. Woolworths specialises in retailing groceries but moreover sells DVDs, stationery and magazines also. It currently is operating across 980 stores in Australia and has 16 convenience stores (Wang, 2015). It currently employees 205000 employees including employees forms its subsidiaries. Furthermore, it serves 21,000,000 customers each week, i.e., 3 million an average per day. Woolworths limited is also the largest hotel and gaming poker operator in Australia. In the list of biggest retailers worldwide, Woolworths limited was ranked 19th in 2008. Since its establishment, it has acquired many stores including 126 Safeway stores in 1985 in eastern Australia and many companies as well. This has helped Woolworths limited to cement its place as one of the biggest and one of the most flexible companies around the globe. The company wasnt just expanding its operations in Australia, but in New Zealand as well. Starting in 1929, Woolworths limited was slowly expanding and finally, in 1956 they opened their first fast food store in Auckland, and by 1971, supermarkets were opened across New Zealand (Keith, 2012). The expansion worldwide wasnt possible without the help of proper management, administration and training. Woolworths limited made sure they knew when and where to allocate its resources and how to make use of those resources to grow as much as possible in order to grow quickly. Every now and then, as previously mentioned, Woolworths limited kept acquiring other companies in order to reduce competition, and this helped them gain as much market share as possible, after all, its not an easy task to be 2nd largest retailer across Australia and New Zealand. Although there were some hurdles, one of such was during the period of World War II, when the growth of Woolworths was very badly affected as the military of Australia and the United States used the warehouses for storage (Herington, and et.al. 2012). But since then, the growth has been rapid, and in 1955, Woolworths limited opened its 200th store. As diversity is very important for a company as big as Woolworths limited so that it doesnt depend too much on just one department, they entered the petrol market in 1996. This wasnt just it, in 2004, they wanted to attract more customers, and so they started offering discounts on petrol prices but only if the customers are willing to shop at their supermarkets. Importance of developing SHRD through Training and Development To meet the competition, it was important to adopt various smart strategies from time to time in order to make sure customers are attracted towards Woolworths limited instead of choosing another supermarket. Another important aspect of Woolworth's limited growth was its location and range of products it offered, and this was important because when a customer entered the supermarket, he/she must be able to find everything that they needed (Mello, 2014). This wasnt just profitable for the company, but also for the customers as well as it helped them to cut down the burden of travelling from one place to another and save their time. One of these strategies is to provide efficient training and development to its core employees. The training and development will help in circulating the requisite information aesthetically, and the technical changes can be updated within them to progress towards achievements (Werner and DeSimone, 2011). The organisation can install top quality programs that will help in the detailed understanding of the customer-supplier relationship. This will help in meeting the level of quality and shortage of supply. Furthermore, it has been observed that training and development through strategic human resource development will help in resisting changes that occur under regulatory context like taxation issues, deregulation, privatisation, etc. Need for training program The retail sector has been playing a crucial role in the world economy. Over the past three decades, the significance of retail has grown drastically in varied economies of the world. With the change, there has been an increase in both size and resources managed by retail (Cekada, 2010). This has made it imperious to recognise the impact of dynamic features of retail on its respective performances and strategies. Woolworths has been showcasing its best efforts to be recognised as a leading retail store in Australia. It just not aspires to gain best in class position in retail industry but also to exceed the demands of its customers. Training can be referred to as an endeavour one aims to enhance or develop additional skills or competencies within an employee to increase its performance and productivity. The aim of this task is to assess the key Training and Development need due to the following issues that were predominantly seen in Woolworths are: Imbibing the competitive challenges spread across the retail sector, Lacking employees in delivering efficient customer services, Shortage of supply of stock (Herington, and et.al., 2012), Price hike, and Popular brands werent able to see the likely demand of customers. The training and development shall help in gaining the possible solution and best resort to solve these issues. Training and development are proposed to recognise the reliability of employees and to motivate them to perform with an efficiency which enhances their business overall productivity (Niazi, 2011). The training industry in Australia is strong and currently, stands at an estimated $1.7 billion of which 1/3rd indicated behavioural and soft skills training. The growth in the industry signifies the importance of training within the workplace to endure more proficient workforce within the workplace. The training strategy focuses on narrowing the gap between organisational needs and employee needs. The target is towards sustaining the quality of labour that possesses varied education, analytical and technical skills Training, vocational and education programs can help in meeting out the productivity, enhanced performances, motivation, job satisfaction and uniformity at work. It has been evident that the presence of these variables within the training program can help in enhancing the overall productivity rate of the organisation. The presence of such factor ensures the increasing employee commitment through such training program can lead towards company enduring growth and success. The training strategies shall be developed in the light of motivating and retaining employees for a substantial period of time (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Such strategies will help in developing an emotional and psychological relationship between the employee and its organisation. The training is done to tie up employees for a longer duration of time within the organisation, which will reduce company costs in hiring new talents. This form of commitment strategy introduced within the training program shall help Human resource managers in gaining requisite loyalties and sheer commitment from its employees. Thus, it can be seen that training and development are advantageous not for the organisation only but also equally holds relevance for individual workers as well. From one perspective the training prompts towards profitability as well as gaining optimistic attitude towards profit augmentations, enhance the base of its current workforce and help employee relate to organisational objectives (Kadir and et.al., 2011). Similarly, on the other hand, individuals can reap better choices, gain critical thinking, help them in empowering self-advancement, gaining esteem level of satisfaction and ultimately enhancing its interactive skills. Training Need Analysis The analysis to evaluate the need for training is to identify the training gap between the current performance and desired performance. The training and development plan shall help Woolworths in recognising what skills, behaviour and knowledge is needed to persuade employees to work effectively and embrace the changes in an enhanced manner to fulfil the aim of the company. Successful evaluation of training needs can help in identifying who is required to be training and what means of training it should seek. The Sources that are necessary for determining the type of need analysis is: Organizational Analysis: Woolworths needs to assure that the strategic wants of the company are taken into consideration. The training and development program must be arranged in a manner that it ensures company to reap benefits from employees effective performances (Needs Analysis: How to determine training needs, 2015). Personal Analysis: this component specifically targets towards worker distinctively. It is vital to research about what necessary KSAs (skills and abilities) have been already gained by the potential trainees this helps in sustaining the valuable time by not repetitively imparting something that has already been obtained. Operational Component: in evaluating the need for training it is important to have an outlook over the company objective whether its short or long term (Niazi, 2011). Woolworths needs to be sure that company potency is able to make enhancement in functional productivity. Training Needs at different level It is requisite to provide a different level of training for different functional employees. Every employee showcases its performance differently based on the skill and efficiency acquired by him. Thus, below training needs are shown differently at supervisory and operational level: Training Method Level of Management Goals Workshop, Role playing, Performance Appraisal Supervisory Level Enhance the overall decision-making aptitude. Recognise the areas of improvement, performing team leadership and development of effective career path (Pineda, 2010). Supervision, Workshop Operational Level Gaining practical knowledge, development of skill, improvement in production and adaptability towards change Proposed training program In order to gain faster adaptability towards change, the employees require more determined and adequate training to be initiated. For this Problem Solving technique of training program can be initiated, as this will help employees in facing the current issues within Woolworths. Herein the employees will be placed within a real-time problematic situation and will be asked to undertake adequate analysis and serve its possible solutions (Corsica, 2011). Then final assessment will be undertaken by the expert team, which shall come up with best solutions relevant to the situation. This is a continuous process where employees are motivated to develop their analytical skills whenever a new problem occurs in context to customer service enhancement, efficient production, changing dynamics of the competitive market, etc. This training program will boost employees to participate in decision-making to provide more convincing solutions to a specified problematic situation. The experts before conveying their solution will undergo a prolonged session with the management team. This will bring forth with the managers the gaps that are persisting in the performance of employees. The QA session for staffs will also give employees a chance to understand the scenario (Frensch and Funke, 2014). The requisite discussion and findings will be disseminated by the managers and will let manager acknowledge about the areas it needs to enhance. Thus with the expert's team of management and discussion made through QA session will be evaluated and most appropriate solution shall be selected. Evaluation of Training program Evaluation is the last step of the entire training process it helps the trainer in evaluating the key efficiency of the overall training program (Saks and Burke, 2012). The Evaluation helps in evaluating the outcomes, actions of employees and the relevant gap between the perceived and desired outcome. This evaluation process thus instigates upon reforming the process of action, which has unlikely results on the performance of employees. Kirkpatrick Four Level Training Model In order to measure the effectiveness Kirkpatricks Four Level training evaluation model is employed. The evaluation segment holds significance, as it is important to measure the benefits gained after all the time and money invested in training (Praslova, 2010). The Kirkpatrick's Four-level training evaluation model will help in analysing the efficiency of training system adopted and its relevant impact so that one could make improvements accordingly as per the future needs. The four levels are as follows: Level 1: Reaction- this level seeks to how the trainees,e., people who are given training, have reacted to the overall process of training. The reaction shall be framed on the basis of what members perceived of the training system like its feature, technique, material, content and rest (Steensma and Groeneveld, 2010). Since the aim of the trainer is to ensure trainee feel good and gain a valuable experience, it is important to measure their reaction to understand how well training purpose was achieved by its trainees. It also helps in enhancing the training segments for which effective reactions were not given to improve the training for future respondents, embracing key areas or topics that are not present in the current training program. Level 2: Learning: this level measure upon what trainees have acknowledged from the training program. Training begins with setting up of some learning objectives, which are the start point for measuring the level of abilities; techniques, information and concepts are gained (Lin, Chen and Chuang, 2011). It is essential to know about what trainees are learning and the difficulties they face in others, this will help in enhancing the future training program. Level 3: Behaviour- at this level the change in the behaviour of the trainee is assessed, and it is done on the basis of training received by them. This aim is of identifying how trainees can apply the specified information. It is essential to identify that behaviour can be changed only if conditions are favourable (Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model, 2016). The behavioural change helps in determining the level till which the requisite knowledge and skill have been acquired which can be converted into improvised behaviour as per the job needs. Level 4: Results- this is the last level at which the last results of training is analysed. This incorporates the relevant outcomes that the trainer has determined to be fruitful for the organisation and its employees. For effective and more accurate evaluation following documents can be used to assess the training program: Trainee feedback on every training event shall be taken. The feedback and individual opinion are necessary to evaluate the reactions of employees towards the training program. To take feedback requisite questions can be asked to know the exact participant response to the overall training program (Hogan, 2010). Customer comments is also an important aspect in ascertaining how the effective employee has been applying its learning in the different context of the business Customer comment shall help in stating the positive or negative change that has occurred due to the training program. Conclusion Woolworths is a leading retail supermarket that has been possibly driven by the competitive market dynamics. The management is responsible for bringing requisite facilities to promote faster performance change of employees. The training and development are sought as an alternative to help employees fight in the stiff competitive market and gain a substantial level of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The problem-solving training method is chosen to develop decision-making and analytical skills of employees to fight the competitive market effectively. The lastly evaluation method of Kirkpatricks is chosen to ascertain the efficiency of training system adopted and its relevant impact on the organization. Reference Cekada, T.L., 2010. Training needs assessment: Understanding what employees need to know.Professional Safety. 55(03). pp.28-33. Corsica, J.A., 2011. Problem-Solving Training. InEncyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology(pp. 2032-2033). Springer New York. Delahaye, B., 2015.Human resource development. Tilde Publishing. Frensch, P.A. and Funke, J., 2014.Complex problem solving: The European perspective. Psychology Press. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organisational excellence. Pearson. Herington, C. and et.al., 2012. Brand, value and relationship equities and loyalty-intentions in the Australian supermarket industry.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.19(5). pp.526-536. Hogan, R.L., 2010. The Historical Development of Program Evaluation: Exploring Past and Present.Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development.2(4). p.5. Kadir, S.A. and et.al., 2011. Entrepreneur training needs analysis: implications on the entrepreneurial skills needed for successful entrepreneurs.The International Business Economics Research Journal. 10(1). p.143. Keith, S., 2012. Coles, Woolworths and the local.Locale: The Australasian-Pacific Journal of Regional Food Studies.2. pp.47-81. Lin, Y.T., Chen, S.C. and Chuang, H.T., 2011. The effect of organizational commitment on employee reactions to educational training: An evaluation using the Kirkpatrick four-level model.International Journal of Management.28(3). p.926. Mello, J.A., 2014.Strategic human resource management. Nelson Education. Niazi, B.R.A.S., 2011. Training and development strategy and its role in organizational performance.Journal of public Administration and Governance.1(2). pp.42-57. Pineda, P., 2010. Evaluation of training in organisations: a proposal for an integrated model.Journal of European Industrial Training.34(7). pp.673-693. Praslova, L., 2010. Adaptation of Kirkpatricks four level model of training criteria to assessment of learning outcomes and program evaluation in higher education.Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability,22(3), pp.215-225. Saks, A.M. and Burke, L.A., 2012. An investigation into the relationship between training evaluation and the transfer of training.International Journal of Training and Development.16(2). pp.118-127. Steensma, H. and Groeneveld, K., 2010. Evaluating a training using the four levels model.Journal of Workplace Learning.22(5). pp.319-331. Wang, Z., 2015. Supermarkets and gasoline: An empirical study of bundled discounts.Resources for the Future Discussion Paper, pp.15-44. Werner, J.M. and DeSimone, R.L., 2011.Human resource development. Cengage Learning. Online Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model, 2016. [Online]. Available from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/kirkpatrick.htm. [Accessed on 3 December 2016]. Needs Analysis: How to determine training needs, 2015. [Online]. Available from https://www.hr-guide.com/data/G510.htm . [Accessed on 3 December 2016]. Strategic Human Resource Development Question: Discuss about the Strategic Human Resource of Goodman Fielder NZ. Answer: Introduction: Strategic human resource management supports the long term business goals of an organization. As commented by Knies et al. (2015), the management of an organization is responsible for coming up with certain strategic formulae that would support the organizational business activities. These strategies are HR strategies and might include determining better opportunities for reward and performance. The aim of this report is to evaluate a situation in an organization that could be easily resolved by the means of employee training programs. For the analysis, Goodman Fielder New Zealand has been selected. Therefore, the report shall evaluate the present situation of the employees in the Organization. Based on the analysis, a training program will be recommended that shall improve the condition of the organization. Overview of the Organization: Goodman Fielder is one of the leading regional food companies operating in Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific. The Company is responsible for manufacturing, packaging as well as distribution and marketing of a wide range of food products (Goodmanfielder.com 2017). The Company focuses on efficient distribution network and has been working for over tens of thousands of outlets in major places including supermarkets, dairies, service stations, cafes and restaurants. With the increase in the number of outlets, the organization has been facing a number of challenges in meeting the demands of the consumers as well as the business activities (Goodmanfielder.com 2017). Identification of the issue: Goodman Fielder being a manufacturing company as well as the largest retailer and food supplier in New Zealand has always focused on delivering services to the consumers as soon as the products are manufactured from the manufacturers end. This activity obvious reason requires fast and effective contribution of the employees working in the organization. It has been found that some of the employees at Goodman Fielder have just school education and thus they are not completely aware of the entire work process that is carried on in the organization (Nz.indeed.com 2015). The Organization always focuses on increasing the productivity of the organization which requires efficient and prompt contribution of the employees. The ultimate motive of the organization is to support the consumers and arrange the best possible help to them. Therefore, it is important to train the employees thoroughly that they can be able to address the needs of the consumers well. Importance of the training program: As commented by Fee (2014), training is important for both new and experienced employees. It is important for the employees to acknowledge a number of things in order to remain active in their work. Effective training of employees helps them to understand their individual responsibilities and duties towards the organization. It is when they understand the actual work that they have to do there remains the possibility of saving time. In addition to this, the employees also feel motivated and good about the particular company for whom they are working. Therefore, even if the employees are trained at the first go, the possibility of better performance increases when they are again trained (Marler and Fisher 2013). Therefore, it can be easily said that there remains a need for the training program to the employees of the organization in order to meet the needs of the regular business activities. In addition to this, it has to be understood in the recent market situation, customer servicing is one of the key elements that drives the success of an organization (Storey 2014). Organizations like George Weston Foods, Steric, Arnott are the major competitors of the brand. Although Goodman Fielder is well known and acceptable among the consumers for the quality of food products that they provide, but there always remain the impact of treating the consumers right (Goodmanfielder.com 2017). Theories of Strategic Human Resource Development As stated by Purce (2014), to an organization, training intervention is an important part of the human resource management. The effectiveness of the training and development program depends on the degree of participation of the employees in the training program. Training provides certain new skills to the employees that are important to perform their job well. Therefore, it can be easily said that training can directly contribute to the development of the human resource of the organization. In this respect, Ford (2014) highlighted that it is by the implementation of certain training programs, it becomes easier for the employees to cope up with any kind of changes occurred in the organization. Jehanzeb and Bashir (2013) highlighted a number of steps which are involved in the training and the development process of the employees. The strategic learning strategy is the main aim behind designing the training and the learning program. The primary step of the training program is by evaluating the need of the training program (Fee 2014). The training program should be focused on a particular issue that the organization has been facing in the recent time. After the evaluation of the issue, the viability of the particular training program to be undertaken is checked (Goyal and Chhabra 2016). It has to be understood that whatever the training program has to be designed should focus on the strategic management of the particular organization. The commitment level of the management should be based on long term development opportunities that would in turn increase the productivity of the organization. Training also increases the collaboration among the employees and provides the scope to share and transfer information (Knies et al. 2015). Developing the training program The training session has to be conducted as a means of teaching the staffs. As commented by Goyal and Chhabra (2016), training and learning programs are always effective because it is by this process, a particular organization can easily mold the employees or the human resource according to their needs. Moreover, as pointed out by Ong et al. (2016), in the era of globalization and utter competition, product or service differentiation is a major criterion that an organization should undertake in order to make a positive mark in the market. Moreover, it is also important to service the customers well and help them whenever they look for any assistance. This help can be easily attributed from the employees and the staffs working at Goodman Fielder (Fee 2014). As it has been identified that there are a number of issues and problems that the employees at Goodman Fielders face, a training program can be implemented that shall improve the organizational culture and strategies. It has been observed that the employees are less productive and they have a lot of time to spend in the organization (Falola et al. 2014). Therefore, the employees can be trained easily that can match the need of the organization and at the same time shall improve the productivity of the organization as well. It is expected, that the training program should be applicable right at the basic recruitment step that can be easily adaptable by the recruited employees that would ultimately benefit the organization to improve the productivity of the organization (Knies et al. 2015). The training program can be narrated as below: Key contents to be covered: 1. At the time of recruitment: There remains a sea of applications who apply for the job but it emains on the responsibility of the management to think of the best possible way to hire the most eligible applicant of all. Sometimes, finding the right person might not become an easy part of the recruitment and thus, there should be certain parameters that can be used to determine the right candidate. As stated by Goyal and Chhabra (2016), the cost of hiring and recruitment are borne by the organization and thus, any kind of failure in the recruitment process results in loss of the particular organization. Therefore, the recruitment process should be validated enough to increase the impact of better recruitment. It is expected that Goodman Fielder should adopt social recruitment policy. The social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIn can be utilized as the source for getting potential employees. 2. On boarding: As commented by Falola et al. (2014), once an employee gets recruited in the organization, the on board process starts. The way the new hires are treated and are launched in the organization holds great importance for the particular organization. Therefore, it becomes very important to train the employees. For a company like Goodman Fielders it holds much importance to train the employees and the staffs to take care of the needs of the consumers visiting their outlets (Knies et al. 2015). A pleasant and good behavior from the staffs is expected by the visitors and if the same is received from the staffs, there remains a greater chance of creation of a loyalty of the brand. In order to train them, the managers and the other authorities are responsible. It is expected that a training program shall be designed where the employees will be trained based on the requirements of the clients needed for a super market like Goodman Fielders. Moreover, as commented by Marler and Fisher (2013), for an organization like Goodman Fielder, caring about the needs of the customers is important and thus, the importance of teaching the employees and the staffs is far most important. 3. Talent management: Another important perspective of the training program has been highlighted by Purce (2014), it is talent management. There are a number of employees in every organization who performs or have the capability to perform better than other employees. These employees can be easily utilized by the management of the organization to increase the productivity of the organization. Moreover, these particular employees can be easily targeted and they can be trained as well to retain the talent in them (Goyal and Chhabra 2016). This particular perspective can be easily applied by Goodman Fielder in order to improve the situation of the organization and increase the productivity as well. 4. Performance management: It is the means by which the employees can be directly involved in the practice of learning and teaching. This method is used by many organizations and a buddy is referred to the employees who could not perform well in the business activities (Fee 2014). This same procedure can be applicable in case of the Goodman Fielder. There is no doubt that there are certain employees who are remained at the organization for a long time and that they can easily guide or help other employees in the organization (Falola et al. 2014). This same process can also be called as on-job training. The process can be easily applied by the organization to boost the enthusiasm of other employees. All the above mentioned process can be utilized by Goodman Fielder to train the employees and at the same time increase the productivity of the organization as well. Employee training and learning process remain one of the sole responsibilities of the management of an organization to undertake. If the management undertakes the entire process correctly, there remains greater chance of getting the desired outcome. Delivery methods: Primarily, the management is responsible for coming up with a proper plan that should be implemented among the employees in order to make them aware about the needs of the organization. Secondly, it is expected that the management will hire a team of experts who shall be responsible for undertaking the entire employee training program (Fee 2014). For the said training method, it is expected that both fresher and the experienced are given the training and they are narrated about the jobs and responsibilities that each of the employee has to perform both as an individual person and as a part of a group (Marler and Fisher 2013). It is recommended that a time frame of 15 days session should be applicable for training a single batch of employees. Apart from theoretical understanding, it is also expected that the employees would be given certain practical examples as well that would clear out their conception on how to deal with the customers at the stores (Purce 2014). With the completion of the complete training session, the employees shall also be asked to pass an exam that would test their development on the particular matter. It is only when they pass the exam thoroughly the success of the training program can be declared. Potential learning outcomes: The potential learning outcome could be either positive or negative. However, it is expected that the teaching and the training program would be effective enough and that it is by the means of the training program, the organization would be much benefitted. If the negative or the risky factors are taken into consideration, it can be said that the organization would have to face certain amount of financial losses (Knies et al. 2015). Impact of the training program: The outcome of the training program can lead to the better success of the organization. When proper training is given to the employees, it is expected that they would become more productive. They could easily understand the needs of the visitors and the consumers also find it welcome and pleasant to visit the outlets of Goodman Fielder. However, there remains a risk of the fact that the company has to incur a lot of expenditure on the training program (Fee 2014). This might cause a financial burden or extra expense for the particular organization. In addition to this, there are chances that the training program does not become an effective one. The learners might not learn the things taught to them properly or the trainers might be not effective enough to train the employees (Storey 2014). Therefore, the management has to be excessive conscious about the type of training program and the intensity with which the employees will be trained. If proper checks and measures are kept into co nsideration, there remain the chances that the training program would be a successful one and the organization would be much benefitted. Conclusion: A detailed analysis of the work culture at Goodman Fielder has been carried on. It has been observed that the organization is facing certain issues regarding the productivity of the employees towards the organization. Keeping this particular perspective into consideration, it has been stated that there is a need for a training program to be implemented on the organization. A number of strategic human resource development theories have been undertaken during the discussion. It has been found that training is an important part of the work culture of an organization. In fact, training can be provided to each level of the staffs and managements in an organization. In case of Goodman Fielder, it has been proposed that the employees or the staffs who are responsible for taking care of the needs of the customers visiting the outlets of Goodman Fielder need to be trained. A training program has been recommended with a proper justification to it. It is expected that if the training program is carried on with greater focus, there remains a positive chance of the improvement in the complete organizational business activities. References Falola, H.O., Osibanjo, A.O. and Ojo, S.I., 2014. Effectiveness of training and development on employees'performance and organisation competitiveness in the nigerian banking industry.Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V,7(1), p.161. Fee, M.C., 2014. Human resources management. Ford, J.K., 2014.Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press. Goodmanfielder.com 2017 Goodman Fielder Available at: https://goodmanfielder.com/ [Accessed on: 14-2-2017] Goyal, S. and Chhabra, N., 2016. Benefits of employee training for developing economy.PARIPEX-Indian Journal of Research,4(10). Jehanzeb, K. and Bashir, N.A., 2013. Training and development program and its benefits to employee and organization: A conceptual study.Training and Development,5(2). Knies, E., Boselie, P., Gould-Williams, J. and Vandenabeele, W., 2015. Special issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management: Strategic human resource management and public sector performance. Marler, J.H. and Fisher, S.L., 2013. An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management.Human Resource Management Review,23(1), pp.18-36. Nz.indeed.com 2015 Goodman Fielder Available at: https://nz.indeed.com/cmp/Goodman-Fielder/reviews [Accessed on: 14-2-2017] Ong, D., Ong, D., Jambulingam, M. and Jambulingam, M., 2016. Reducing employee learning and development costs: the use of massive open online courses (MOOC).Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal,30(5), pp.18-21. Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals),67. Storey, J., 2014.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Small business marketing plan. Dans Auto and Trucks Repair Company

Introduction Marketing forms one of the most important factors that dictate the progress that an organization can make since it constitutes the last step in the chain of production. Marketing analysts generally concur that the process of marketing brings consumers and an organization together, a consideration that makes it crucial to establish the correct face of products, service, and most importantly, the company making the products.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Small business marketing plan. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An effective execution of marketing however requires a closely coordinated and a highly analytical application of marketing plans and special skills to win customers. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company has continued to grow and widen its market since it was formed. The latter has been attained through active marketing of its produ cts both in the United States and across the globe (Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair, 2013). This paper provides an evaluation of the company and particularly its marketing plan. Besides, an effective SWOT analysis of the company has been conducted by exploring the key strengths and opportunities. In addition, possible threats and opportunities have been addressed in the paper. A brief company background- Dan’s auto and track repair The ability of any business to assimilate the correct productivity and profitability is highly dependent on its ability to formulate and apply the mission, goals, and objectives in its management plans. According to Johnson (2002), a business should formulate its marketing objectives in line with its long term strategies upon which it intends to deploy technology, human resources, and funds to enhance the realization of its mission. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company is one of the fastest growing small auto and truck repairs businesses in the United States. The owner who is known as Dan Wozniac began this business in 1991 in Arlington, Texas. It is worth mentioning that Dan’s business is family-owned and it provides wide range of vehicle service repairs to its customers (Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair, 2013). Its channels of primary sales and services are the regular customers and roadside assistance services conducted on a 24-hour basis. It also offers fleet services which includes state certified vehicle inspection, wrecker services, vehicle products, fleet priority service, DFW Metroplex area, vehicle repair and on-site maintenance. Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Its staff includes a small group of highly qualified technicians. The company’s management structure has undergone major reviews that push it towards decentralization and greater responsibilities to workers and custom ers. Ahenkora and Peasah (2011) indicate that a lean hierarchy allows employees to have direct touch with their top management and contribute to long-term planning. Besides, it reduces the overall time used to respond to workers, environmental, and consumers’ issues. In order to further emphasize on lean management, it is vital to mention that the inventories are greatly reduced while additional focus is given to corporate social responsibility. The structure has created important arms that reach out all stakeholders and therefore makes it easy to understand issues affecting them. The latter is a crucial consideration in defining the point of entry by the company. The company has seen significant growth in its market changes over the years. The latter has been accompanied by eventual success in business. This has been due to its efficient leadership, marketing skills and innovation. In addition, it focuses on improved and a wide range of service delivery and expertise of work ers. This has attracted the attention of truck and vehicle owners as well as several other well established and successful companies. It has also been attributed to the adaptive enterprise and corporate marketing strategies that provide the type of technology and services as well as the efficient marketing practice to apply. Other important services include diesel and electronic and non-electronic repairs, complete service and repair of clutch, air brake systems, axle, front-end, undercarriage among others. It has several business segments such as vehicle care segment, inspections for all vehicles, preventive maintenance and product segments, having new and used tyres, engine parts and other assorted vehicle spares. Mission statement Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company has immensely benefitted from the intimate relationship with its workers, consumers and the environment since it was incepted. It is one of the most important components that drive its success (Dan’s Au to and Trucks Repair, 2013).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Small business marketing plan. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, it has taken great strides in ensuring that the provision of better and unmatched services and sustainability are carefully ingrained in its mission and leadership structure. This has been used as a mechanism of ensuring that the company’s ideology and principles are implemented. The company’s mission is built on core values that define its services and products. Its mission can be summarized as the provision of outstanding customer service. This denotes the responsibility of the company in fostering effective service delivery. Statement of goals and core competencies Johnson (2002) points out that a small business can be able to explore the successes in its environment by developing or focusing on its core compete ncies. Dan and his team of workers have come to develop effective strategies in catapulting their business to success over the past few years. In their provision of services, they have been able to aim towards exploiting, leveraging, strengthening, maintaining and developing core competencies. Core competencies as in a firm may include an organization’s functional skills such as research and development, technology, finance, marketing and manufacturing. A decision to develop a strategy via exploiting core competencies might in the next three years ensure that the firm does not merely produce quality products. It may also deliver valuable services and unique benefits to customers. Additionally, exploiting core competencies as a means of developing strategy requires that resources in a business are shared equally across all existing units. Johnson (2002) points out that the best and effective core competencies that should be shared need to be the intangible ones. Dan has showed a deeper understanding in his practice in the sense that intangible competencies are important in the sense that his competitors are not be able to see them because they are invisible. The company has been able to utilize competencies relate to skills and knowledge which its employees have.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The business knowledge potential perspective currently entails viewing the business marketing strategy and provision of services through embracing technology as the driving force behind organisational success. The top management has sought to provide vision regarding technology-focussed service provision and marketing which involves designing and implementing the required IT infrastructure. The latter takes into consideration the external IT strategy components such as competencies, scope and governance. Competitive potential alignment perspective in the next three years appears to focus primarily on exploitation of the emerging IT capabilities in order to bring about new products and services. This can expand the business scope. It is also concerned with influencing the critical attributes of the strategy which involves distinctive competencies, and the development of new types of customer relationships. This perspective is considered unique because it allows business marketing str ategy to be modified using the emerging IT capabilities. Overall marketing strategy Janicijevic (2010) posits that developing a marketing strategy that is effective and oriented for long term requires key strategic planning and effective leadership methods. Developing a marketing plan gives a firm enough time to meet its goals. As a strategy, it reflects Hamel and Prahald’s view in their model of strategic intent. Hamel and Prahald argue that planning is a strategic marketing intent which is aimed at leveraging core competencies, capabilities and internal resources a firm has in order to accomplish unattainable goals a competitive market environment presents (Ahenkora Peasah, 2011). On the same breath, Strategic scholars point out that while strategic intent is crucial for higher levels of performance, its effects can only be realized when employees in an organization show commitment to a vision or a specific performance criterion. SWOT analysis Strengths Since its inception in 1991, Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company has continuously grown its marketing activities and processes to become one of the major providers of diesel vehicle and truck service providers in Texas (Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair, 2013). Analysts have pointed out that the services the company provides which ranges from computerized diagnostics of all diesel and other engines to a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance have immensely attracted customers who have in turn developed preference and confidence to the company’s available services. Besides, it is worth mentioning that its variety of unique fleet services and its ability to meet the convenience of its customers have enabled it to gain competitive advantage over the competitors. This has aided it in enhancing its profitability due to repeat customers. Weakness Marketing analysts indicate that the availability of substitute products and increasing demand for cheaper products and services presents small an d growing businesses such as Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company. Such a company may be faced with massive difficulties of lowering cost to ensure economies of scale. While many local auto shops and garages around Arlington Texas have opted to lower their product and service costs prices to gain a competitive edge, Dan’s business has maintained its service charges over others. This has had a negative impact on its expected gains as many of its customers opt for alternative service providers. Its fleet service costs are not reflective of the affordable prices necessary for capturing the ready market in the region. Opportunities Modern sales and marketing operations for products and services that a company provides demand the application of better technological platform. The company has been known to offer quality services. It uses technology to enhance the effectiveness and quality of its marketing plans and service provision. This in turn presents it with numerous opp ortunities to reach the market and introduce fresh ideas in the market. Threats One of the major threats facing the company is the nature of the highly competitive market environment where the company is carrying out its operations. The company is exposed to a stiff competition from its competitors. It is worth mentioning that since its competitors are selling similar vehicle products and lowering the cost of their services, Dan’s business faces a great threat of losing =its marketing strategy. An analysis using Porter’s five forces model New entry threat Though services provided by Dan’s company are exceptional, many similar companies have come up to in Texas to provide auto services. The fast increase in Dan’s profitability has agitated their concerns for a share of profits. Indeed, the market was insatiable by the company’s services and therefore provided a ripe opportunity for new entrants to fill the gap. However, the company still enjoys the advantage of a large number of customers who have developed loyalty due to its special services. Buyer and supplier power Winer (2009) notes that the bargaining power of consumers and suppliers dictate the ability of a company’s products to trade effectively in the market. The management of the company has sought to ensure that its customers, as indicated in the mission and goals, obtain the highest quality of the product possible at the best prices that could be able to effectively compete in the market. This is therefore essential for the company to stabilize its service provision and raise prices with time to encourage better production. Competitive rivalry Competitive rivalry on the other hand, forms a major business consideration that dictates the overall ability to forcefully infer the much needed impact in the market. The company suffers strongly from its general lack of enough resources that dictated the overall ability to reach its consumers. This has given larger co mpanies the general advantage to maintain bulk of the market share. Threat of substitution Since its conception, Dan’s company has been faced with strong forces of other vehicle products in the market. Though Dan has sought to infer the best method to counter the products that are in the market by use of unique technology, the threat of substitute products requiring greater knowledge continues to be very strong owing to their demand in the market. In addition, it cements their overall preference by ccustomers. Target market In his publication, Winer (2009) points out that segmentation and targeting of a market is an important component since it boosts the competitive advantage, increases product identification, and improves market segment and marketing mix. In the case of Dan’s company, it should be able to select potential locations where a mixture of low class, middle class and upper class car and truck owners can buy its products and services. In these segments, it may be able to market and carry out promotions of its products. Product strategy Dan’s company product ought to be transformed so that it can win the market and build the brand in the US and other parts of the globe. Its services include repairs of engines, brakes and exhausters. The company must adopt a new and unique style to attract customers. This may include ensuring efficiency and speed in carrying out services. Distribution strategy A producer to consumer channel has been lauded by scholars of chain management studies as a channel which enhances a distributor’s profit margin. In agreement, the option by Dan’s company to adopt a producer consumer channel can be considered to be attractive in the sense that it can maximize profits. Indeed, as Mary Jo Hatch Posits in her model of business dynamics, direct selling or provision of services is a key business concept that enables a producer to favorably manage sales and enjoy all the profits without having to sh are with distributors or other intermediaries (Winer, 2009). Promotional strategy Promotional methods should be purposefully designed in a manner that more consumers are able to get the message on the availability of the services that Dan’s company is offering. A good consideration at this point is intensification of online promotion and use of billboards to reach more consumers alongside the current methods. Notably, intensified online promotion would enable the company to reach more consumers even beyond its already established locations. However, greater care should be taken to ensure that the system is secure and its brand carefully guarded. Pricing strategy The pricing of Dan’s services and products has always been a key consideration for the company because it determines their affordability. As a result, Dan should establish a clear method of determining the prices of different products in a manner that several people are able to afford the products. In order to further promote accessibility, different products and services should be priced differently depending on complexity of their production and design. Conclusions To sum up, developing marketing plan requires managers to employ strong systems of control for their companies so that they can enhance objectivity. There is need for a change in Dan’s company mode of marketing operations. It should be made a key platform for continuous improvement. As such, putting in place a new marketing plan is very crucial if the pre-established objectives are to be met. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company should gradually increase its marketing goals while heightening the much needed promotion to inform and persuade the consumers to seek its services. References Ahenkora, K. Peasah, O. (2011). Crafting strategy that measures up. International Journal of Business and Management 6(10), 278-283. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair (2013). Full Service Automotive and Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck and Trailer Repair Facility. Web. Janicijevic, N. (2010). Business processes in organizational diagnosis. Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 15(2), 85-106. Johnson, L. (2002). Issue selling in the organization. MIT Sloan Management Review, 43(3), 8-9. Winer, S. (2009). New communications approaches in marketing: issues and research directions. Journal of Interactive Marketing 23(2), 108-117. This term paper on Small business marketing plan. Dan’s Auto and Trucks Repair Company was written and submitted by user Amber K. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Analysis of Gluckel Hameln essays

Analysis of Gluckel Hameln essays Gluckel of Hameln was a seventeenth century Jewish woman from Hamburg who wrote a lengthy memoir in Yiddish. While she was not a famous person in her time, Gluckel's memoir has been regarded as one of the most important documents for European Jewish history, of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and the earliest autobiography written by a Jewish woman. Beginning in 1690, Gluckel's diary of a German Jewish widow is addressed to her fourteen children, and is written as an undertaking as a kind of therapy after her husband's death, to get her through her sadness and, "melancholy thoughts." She writes to her children reassuring them that she is not writing these memoirs as a book of morals, but rather the memoir is an attempt to include her children into her experiences, memories and life. In her memoir she explains how she directed the financial and personal destinies of her children, how she engaged in trade, while promoting the welfare of her large family. Gluckel's memoir enables a reader to gain an understanding of what a widowed Jewish woman would face in Christian dominated Germany both from a personal and public perspective throughout seventeenth and eighteenth century. Throughout her memoirs Gluckel describes the worries that a mother would have over her children, her relations with both her first and second husband while addressing the responsibilities she faced as a businesswoman. Gluckel arranged her life narrative in seven books. The first four books and the opening section of the fifth book have been written consecutively in the months or year of mourning after Haim's (her first husbands) death in 1689. The rest of Book 5 was written during the decade of the 1690's but given final form after her second marriage. The sixth book was written in 1702 or shortly afterward, during the initial shock of Hirsch Levy's (Gluckel's second husbands) bankruptcy in Metz, and the seventh and final book was...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

JEMSS Keywords Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

JEMSS Keywords - Assignment Example JEMSS provides the same in collaboration with various universities. The key concepts taught in the JEMSS Masters course are advanced keyword research techniques and proven ways to use the social media to market any product successively in a short time. Major concepts related to keyword research starting from choosing a niche based topic to finding out the keywords used in the competitor’s website are covered. Keywords are nothing but the search phrases used by the internet surfers to browse for a certain topic. For example, JEMSS provides social media marketing courses. The website will be displayed to any person typing in the phrase social media marketing courses or other related wordings like ‘online marketing courses’, ‘digital marketing courses’ and ‘social media training’. The keywords most often used by the internet surfers are gathered through tools like Google Adwords, Google Trends, BootSuite etc. Typing in ‘social media marketing courses’ in any of these tools will give you a list of related keywords listed above. Effective SEO is the process of utilizing these keywords in proper places like the title, metatags and the paragraphs headings (Smith, 2008). This will increase the chance of search engines finding your website more frequently, resulting in your page being displayed in the Top 10 listing of the search engine. Being displayed on the first page of Google or Yahoo will get you more organic traffic and a steady stream of income in a short period of time. JEMSS courses train you to teach all the related tricks in the field to achieve the same. The three keywords ‘online marketing courses’, ‘digital marketing courses’ and ‘social media training’ were found using Google Trends. They are used effectively in the JEMSS website several times (Key word Research Bible, 2014). Once the keywords are selected, their relevance can be

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Restorative Justice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Restorative Justice - Research Paper Example Restorative justice according to some scholars is the opposite of retributive justice since they differ in terms of characteristics, values, and outcomes of the legal process (Daly, 2002). Unlike retributive justice, restorative justice encourages offenders to take responsibilities for their wrongdoing and help them address the causes of their behavior and gives them an opportunity to make the rights their wrong. Miller and Iovanni (2013) supports that restorative justice is presented as a forward-looking problem solving approach to crime that involves the parties themselves and the community in active relationship with various agencies that help solve the crime. It brings victims and offenders in contact with each other thus giving victims an opportunity to get answers to questions that are direct concern to the parties in the disputes. Restorative justice process presents the offenders with the opportunity to offer an apology to their victims thus giving offenders chance to make am ends for their wrongdoing. Restorative justice applies as a single set of principles that allows victims, offenders, and communities to have participatory roles in matters that are of direct concern to them. ... According to Miers (2004), the restorative justice system places all at the mercy of the judicial process unlike retributive justice that only places the victim at the mercy of the judicial system. Stubbs (2007) also adds that the potential advantage of utilizing the restorative justice system is that it allows a victim empowerment and input as a means of addressing the harm caused to the victim. In restorative justice models, the victims have a voice and participate fully hence enable him or her to address all the issues surrounding the case (Daly, 2002). The offender may get to participate fully in the process unlike in other trials where he just sits in the dock to answer questions arising from the charges raised against him. The environment in restorative justice also differs with the environment in other forms of justice. The environment is restorative justice is more communicative and flexible than the courtroom environment making both parties feel comfortable during justice de livery system. According to Rodriges (2007), the direct engagement with the harm caused through communication with the victim has a greater potential for resolution and restoration in the dispute. He adds that through a less formal environment, the process allows for more individualized approach to the needs of the victims while offering a less threatening environment that may interfere with the justice delivery process. The restorative model of justice delivery is a very flexible model for the victims can choose to have a direct role in the restoration process. The results is that the process is less victimizing than the courtrooms and the offenders find themselves in the face with the direct