Human Resource Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example According to Armstrong (2008), with the compilation of the tasks to the human resource department, the scope has also enhanced; hiring, training, etc. all have come well under the umbrella of human resource department. One of the most challenging tasks for human resource department today is the fact that workforce within organization comprises of cross-national individuals i.e. people coming from various backgrounds, cultures, countries, etc. This essay is about how the demographics of a workforce are changing or have changed over a period of last decade or so i.e. identifying the trends and how it poses a threat or otherwise, implying to the human resource management. The following section is about the trends occurring and witnessed amongst the demographics of the workforce at a global scale. The attempt of making the world a global village, in accordance with Mathis (2007), has brought about a lot of changes in the global landscape – particularly there has been a rising trend amongst individuals wanting to move away from their home country in an attempt for enhanced earning, improved life style, and increasing the quality of living for their families in their own regions. As a complement to the same, organizations have also initiated the program of cross boundary hiring, with their own reasons to follow. Firstly, as stated by Bateman (2010) having cross boundary hiring is expensive, which is the downturn of the same; however, in the long run, it is cheaper primarily because in third world countries, very talented human resources are very cheap and easily available. Consider the live example whereby employment posts are held mainly by Asians in countries offering bright prospect of jobs such as UK, US and the Middle East; here individuals get good earnings, mainly due to the currency differential, they earn a lot more then they can do in their home town, and

Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address Essay Example for Free

Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address Essay The United States Civil War was initially clashed to bring the rebellious South back in to the Union according to Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. In his speech Lincoln says, â€Å"..to saving the Union without war,† he means here that at his first inaugural address, everyone was trying to desperately avoid a civil war, but still would do anything to help their cause. Lincoln then goes on to say, â€Å"..accept war rather than let it perish.† Here is talking about how the North changed in the sense that they would do anything to help their cause, even if it means war. Lincoln’s reason for why the war was originally started was the fact that the North knew war was the only option to preserve the Union See more: Satirical essay about drugs Although President Abraham Lincoln originally said the cause of the war was to defend the Union, he then states that the new purpose of the war was to free the slaves. He says, â€Å"These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war.† Lincoln specifically states here that slaves have all always been one of the greatest controversies of his time, and they ended up being the true purpose of the Civil War. Freeing slaves had always been an issue in America, only now, bloodshed was being cast in order to defend or uphold it. Lincoln’s post war plans for the Union are evident in this line, â€Å"let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him†¦to achieve†¦everlasting peace.† Abraham Lincoln brilliantly writes here that even if he beats up or wounds the South, he wants them back, as a part of the country. Also, not only does he want the South back, but he wants them to come back right away. Lincoln’s main goal was keeping the Union together, and he made sure his post-war plans continued this idea.

Amish Gone Wild Essays -- essays research papers

Amish Gone Wild   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main point of this video was to show how the lives of Amish teens are changed drastically when between the ages of 16 and 21 they are faced with a whole new lifestyle. This then leads them to face a very difficult decision. Durring the ages of 16 and 21, Amish teens are 'let lose' or able to live the life that English children live. They can move out, get their license, wear normal clothes and party on a regular basis. Then after this is over with they must make their decision, they can either continue to live the life of an English person and basically be free, or they can join the church and give their lives to God and the Amish ways. When these kids were allowed to be free they seemed to chose the wrong road, many following the path of drugs and alcohol. They weren't just messing around with common drugs either, they were actualy getting into more dangerous drugs like crystal meth, and in some cases even gettin involved with drug dealers and police. There w ere definitely elements of structural funtionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism present in this video. Structural functionalism was present in their everyday behavior. Their society is so stable in their own world because of how they work things out. They marry, grow beards and work for the rest of their lives for God. This all helps their own society function. They comitt their lives to the church and they are all content with that. They stick to the ...

How far do you blame Curley’s wife for what happens? Essay

There are lots of different pro’s and cons for this statement. Therefore I have started to take each character, Lennie and Curley’s wife separately and then create a conclusion from the evidence. Curley’s wife seems to be a weak character in the novel, but however this is just the way she seems, and not the way she really is. This is because there is also a powerful side to her. It’s similar to a split personality. The main ways in which Curley’s wife is portrayed to be weak is that Steinbeck purposely gives her no name, therefore she has no status. Also, Curley’s wife is portrayed as a powerful person. This is shown when men are frightened are frightened of her. This is due to all of the workers on the ranch seeing her as `jailbait`. Also Curley’s wife likes to impose herself upon people, for example Lennie and Crooks. This is because she sees them as weak, and from that she can hopefully get friendship and comfort, which is what she really wants. However, because of this she can also be seen as a troublemaker or flirtatious, which makes the men on the ranch, avoid her. The first side that Curley’s wife shows, which to relates to â€Å"what happens†, is where she shows her sneakiness. This is shown below: â€Å"Curley’s wife came around the end of the last stall. She came very quietly, so that Lennie didn’t see her.† (Pg 84-85, lines 33-1) After Curley’s wife had sneaked up on Lennie, she persisted in talking to Lennie even after he said not to, and she repeatedly did so until he gave in. The reason that I think that Curley’s wife did this was that she saw Lennie as an easy target, due to his child-like mental state. Also, the reason for Curley’s wife wanting so desperately wanting to talk to someone, was that she was lonely and never had the opportunity to have a conversation with anyone. Therefore she knew that she would be able to talk to Lennie due to him not fully understanding everything. This is shown in the quote below: She said, â€Å"What you got there, sonny boy?† Lennie glared at her. â€Å"George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you – talk to you or nothing.† (Pg 85, lines 8-10) This quote above also shows the difference in power between Curley’s wife and Lennie. It is the part of the quote where Curley’s wife says â€Å"sonny boy†. This shows the power and dominance that Curley’s wife possess’ over Lennie. This also comes through in order to get Lennie to talk to her. Then, after the above quote, Curley’s wife still repeatedly continues to pursue her harassing of Lennie, whilst acting in a sympathetic way. She continues to do so, until Lennie gives in. This is shown below: â€Å"Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.† (Pg 85, lines 24-25) â€Å"Lennie said, â€Å"Well, I ain’t supposed to talk to you or nothing.† â€Å"I get lonely† she said.† (Pg 85, lines 26-27) This then results in Lennie talking to Curley’s wife about what had happened to the puppy, even though it was against his will, as he was still reluctant about going against the wishes of George. This is shown below: â€Å"He was so little, said Lennie. I was jus’ playin with him†¦an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me†¦an’ I made like I was gonna smack him†¦an’,,,an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead.† (Pg86, lines 7-10) Here is Lennie talking to Curley’s wife, about what had happened to the puppy, but he shows concerns over what George, would, think of them, and also most probably about the rabbits. The conversation then becomes closer, and Curley’s wife starts to flirt, with Lennie, this confuses Lennie, as is easily done. Curley’s wife gets Lennie to touch her hair, and he very much enjoys this, due to his fondness of feeling â€Å"nice† things. As a result of this, Lennie starts to stroke her hair harder and harder. This is at the same time as Curley’s wife encouraging him to feel it more. Then, as a typical child would goes over the top. But she continues to encourage him, not knowing how hard he would react. This is shown below: â€Å"Some people got kinda coarse hair, she said complacently. Take Curley. His hair is jus’ like wire. But mine is soft and fine. ‘Course I brush it a lot’. That makes it fine. Here – feel right here. She took Lennie’s hand and placed it on her head. Feel right aroun’ there an’ see how soft it is.† (Pg 89, lines 18-27) This then leads to frantic shouting from Curley’s wife shouting for him to get off her hair. Lennie becomes frightened and as he can’t handle the situation, like an adult would he holds on tight, for dear life. Then due to Curley’s wife’s frantic shouting and wriggling to get him off, Lennie becomes muddle up and confused. That is when Lennie becomes angry and kills her by breaking her neck. Lennie, I don’t think would have purposely tried to kill her, he just held on too tight, and wanted her to stop the shouting, yet he couldn’t cope with the situation in hand. This is shown below: â€Å"And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her. `Don’t you go yellin’,` he said, and he shook her; her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.† (Pg 90, lines 14-18) Now, I think that this could be partly Curley’s wife’s fault, as she knew that Curley doesn’t like big/tall men, and therefore she knew that he would do anything to `get one up` on one, so I think that she would have known Curley would have gone for him, for dead. However, I also think that Curley’s wife didn’t expect for anything to happen, as it did. Also, at the end, when George shoots Lennie, I don’t think that she would have thought that George would have shot him, for any particular reason. As a conclusion, I would put a lot of the blame of Lennie’s death upon Curley’s wife. This is mainly because Curley’s wife was adamant that she would have a conversation with Lennie, even though it wasn’t what he wanted, as he told her to leave him alone several times, yet she did no such thing. Also Curley’s wife was then flirtatious with Lennie, which would have given him a lot of mixed thoughts. I wouldn’t put the whole blame upon Curley’s wife because she didn’t know how Lennie would react to the situation, and she was purely looking for friendship. This is because she felt alone.

Customer Loyalty in a Business To Business Context Essay

Customer loyalty is considered to be a powerful tool for most organizations in ensuring that they gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries ( Lam, Shankar, Erramilli, & Bvsan, 2004, p. 294). Customer loyalty is necessary for ensuring that organizations remain profitable while also achieving growth through reaching out to new market grounds. The importance of customer loyalty in the world of economics has developed gradually as an area of study especially business to business (B2B) environments. This is due to the need to study and identify factors that ensure customer loyalty is maintained and even increased, according to Haghkhah et al., (2013, p. 156). Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 156) further noted that increased competition for customers in the market signifies that business ought to react even faster and more specific to the demands and wants of clients in order to win their loyalty. For this reason, marketers in most organizations tend to focus on customer retention techniques and also to lay an emphasis on increasing their loyalty levels. In order to achieve this, B2B has offered vast opportunities to ensure that most organizations achieve their objectives of customer retention and loyalty. Thus, the latter shows the importance of understanding customer retention and loyalty as an important area of the research study. Customer loyalty is viewed as a behavior of repetitive buying and further developed moving forward with factors such as antecedents, consequences, and factors. This has led the researcher to gain an interest in conducting further research on customer retention and loyalty, therefore, this research paper will be on the various ways and techniques that organizations can implement in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context Customer loyalty According to Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 157) a high rate of loyalty in a B2B environment is a competitive advantage to the seller due to the client’s willingness to pay a higher price for goods and sensitive since they start becoming less price sensitive as a result of trust that has been gained. This means that the income generated is likely to increase and remain stable to move forward Customer loyalty is viewed as a strategy that aims at ensuring customers gain behaviour of repetitive purchasing from the same company. Customer loyalty in a B2B environment achieves a mutual reward that benefits both the customer and the organization. It is usually considered as ways of gaining competitive advantage by an organization over its competitors. Various companies have applied the strategy of maintaining customer loyalty since it is considered cheaper in regard trying to gain new customers in order to increase their revenue base. ÄÅ'ater.T & ÄÅ'ater.B (2010, p. 1322) view customer loyalty based on activities such as contract renewal, making recommendations to clients and increasing patronage in a business to business environments. They further note that these factors will likely influence the level of loyalty to clients of an organization. In other research, customer loyalty in a B2B environment is based on the experiences of the client, the future expectations that a client may have about the organization and the frequency at which a customer buys goods and services from the organization( haghkhah, Abdul Hamid, Ebrahimpour, Roghanian, & Gheysari, 2013, p. 158). Further, (ÄÅ'ater & ÄÅ'ater, 2010) notes that in order to influence the loyalty of clients in a B2B context, and then the organization has to understand the behaviour of the client and the attitude of the client. Literature review 2.1 Limitations and Gap in Literature The field of customer loyalty is one that has much information, but very little attention has been given to business-to-business scenarios. Most previous research has mainly focused on the customer’s point of view (Mascareigne, 2009). This could be because most view customer retentions as a behavioral factor. (Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003) In any economy, businesses have to transact to perform their daily operations. Some businesses, such as audit firms, exist to serve other businesses. Extensive research on this area could aid other businesses to learn the dynamics of customer loyalty amongst themselves. A major limitation that was also experienced in the research was the over generalization of the research based on a B2B context. Since different businesses have different operations and strategies, some aspects may works for a certain sector that may not necessarily work for another. For example, concepts that may be used to increase customer loyalty in the banking sector, may no t work in the manufacturing sector. According to Buttle (2008, p. 267) commitment is defined as the relationship that exist between the two firms and is likely to be terminated at a reasonable future date. In a B2B environment, the commitment shared by the two firms is usually on a mutual agreement. Doma (2013, p. 72) notes that commitment between two firms is usually bonded by trust among the two firms. The level of trust that is usually shared by the two or more firms that conduct business affects their commitment framework. The more a firm is committed to another increases the level of loyalty shared by the two firms. Moorman & Rust (1999, p. 183) in their research notes that commitment is usually the level of effort that is put by firms in ensuring a valuable relationship enjoyed by the two firms is maintained in the long term. The relationship usually has economic benefits for the two firms in their bid to ensure they remain profitable in their operations. For this reason, there exists a belief among organizations that the relationship has economic benefits; thus efforts are put in maintaining it. However, according to Hennig-Thurau (2004, p. 463) states that many scholars tend to argue that there is no major difference between loyalty and commitment. That school of thought has been dismissed by Morgan & Hunt (1999, p. 24) who argued there is a difference between loyalty and commitment. They, however, noted that the two are related, with a commitment being an antecedent of loyalty. This means that commitment is a factor in B2B environment that will increase the level of loyalty. This also meant that the existence of commitment had a strong positive impact on the level of commitment. Shabbir et al. (2007, p. 280) in their research demonstrated that commitment is an antecedent of loyalty. They argued that commitment in the B2B environment, it played a central role in ensuring that loyalty is always maintained and even increased to higher levels. Sharma, et al. (2006, p. 77) in their study note that commitment is the situation whereby there is a desire to make a relationship stronger with another person or even group due to familiarity or even friendship has that has been developed over time due to the personal interaction that has occurred between the two over a period of time(Eakuru & Mat, 2008, p. 125). Therefore, commitment should be as a result of identifying the values that are shared commonly between two organizations. It is crucial to note that the customer will retain a relationship with another party due to the positive effect they have with the supplier. At times, a client may be forced to continue staying in a relationship with another party due to lack of valuable options that may be available to them (Fullerton, 2005, p. 1388). However, most relationships are maintained with a commitment as a result of the benefits that both parties will benefit from (Brandi, 2001, p. 67). When commitment is the guiding principle of B2B environment, and one organization performs poorly in comparison to the incumbent organization, then due to the level of commitment shared the partners are unlikely to switch to other options (Stephan , 2002, p. 20). This makes a commitment an underlying factor that will help in influencing the level of loyalty in a B2B environment (Stephan , 2002, p. 33). Akin (2012) gives an example, in comparing the loyal between customers with low loyalty and customers with high loyalty and explains that customers with high loyalty will be not be swayed by discounted prices from other suppliers. Therfore, the higher the level of commitment that will be shared between organizations an increase in loyalty levels between the organizations will be experienced. If the level of commitment is increased through activities such as contract renewal and making of recommendations to the other organization, it will in turn increase the level of loyalty enjoyed by the two firms. Therefore, if organizations want to increase the rate of exit by their clients, then they have to build a relationship that will be founded on a commitment. Commitment will in turn increase the level of loyalty in a B2B environment. This will ensure that the future of the organization is maintained as it will continue making profit. In a study conducted by CITATION Gus05 l 1033 (Gustavsson & Lundgren, 2005) they give an example whereby airline companies use their frequent flyer programs as a means to enhance repeated purchase through provision of economic incentives to ensure that they increase and also maintain loyal among their clients. 2.2 Theories and Methodologies A common principle that has emerged from the total quality management (TQM) movement is that the decisive path, to retaining customers, is to satisfy their needs (Colby, 2013). The theory holds that if by identifying what customers expect and by meeting these requirements and expectations, these customers are less likely to opt for the services given by a competitor. Past research conducted by Colby (2013) has shown a positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. In other words, if a client is satisfied with the services offered by a business, the client is bound to be loyal to the business. Other studies have also identified a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty (Van Es, 2012). However, a certain level of satisfaction does not always guarantee the desired loyalty. In a certain survey, Colby suggested four indicators of customer loyalty and this include; demographics, past behavior, perception of gain or loss of switching to a different brand and attitudes towards openness to new brands. Studying these four indicators can give a better understanding of customer loyalty. For instance, if a business expects to save on costs by transacting with another business, then they are most likely to be loyal to that particular partnership. The attitudinal approach takes a view of purchase behavior and tends to explain in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes. Deterministic theory entails the logical relationship between variables and researchers in this field are responsible for identifying which variables affect customer loyalty. It appears to be acceptable to most cognitive researchers that attitude comes before behavior in a scenario that involves repurchasing a product and is very important because attitude comes before a choice. The behavioral approach holds that internal processes cannot be measured and, therefore, have no place in research (Bennet & Bove, 2002). Understanding customer loyalty in a B2B scenario is a long term relationship regardless of the importance of the transactions. Both methods may differ in views but can be both used to understand the concept. Although customer loyalty research has evolved over the years, most of this research uses a logical empiricist paradigm(Paavola, 2006). Information about customer loyalty has been derived mainly from cognitive psychology, with theories about attitude forming most of the work. Current theoretical framework could, therefore, bring a new perspective into the loyalty research. Paavola (2006) uses the social constructionism paradigm to examine the notion of customer loyalty critically. The study gives a detailed description of customer loyalty that is based on the social reality of customers. The results imply that different types of loyalty should be taken into considerations when making managerial implementations. Categorization can also be very beneficial when it comes to future loyalty research. Most theories, which are associated with loyalty studies, deal with issues such as loyalty programs, customer satisfaction, customer value, service quality and social bonds (Jacobsen, Olsson, & Sjovall, 2004). A model constructed by Jacobsen, Olsson and Sjovall (2004) shows that social bonds have the most significant effect on customer loyalty with companies in the banking sector. The study shows that the most important factors, in maintaining customer loyalty in the banking sector, were social bonds and personnel. This is because, banking services are very similar and to survive in such as market, strong competitive personnel are required to make the right connections. The same study revealed that monetary benefits are not a significant factor in that area of business. According to Kuusik (2007), the factors, trustworthiness, satisfaction, importance of relationship and image are important factors that play a role in the different levels of customer loyalty. Traditionally, most research has focussed on either the influence of individual factors on loyalty or the nature of different levels of loyalty. It is important to not only view loyalty through behavioural criteria, but also attitudinal criteria as well. Behavioural clients could be divided into; forced to be loyal, functionally loyal and loyal due to inertia (Kuusik, 2007). For instance, in a B2B context, when a certain company is a monopoly, getting supplies from them is the only logical answer, and this forces a company to be loyal by force. Businesses can be loyal by inertia due to the importance of a certain process. If the process is of low importance, then there is practically no need to get another partner. This can happen in situations where the transaction is routine such as trash- pickup. Functionality loyalty is gained from when organizations have to partner with other organizations because they have an objective reason to be. Research has shown that inertia is a situation opposite to loyalty CITATION Aki12 l 4105 (Akin, 2012). For example, a business may select another business since they require minimal effort to reach them. Dahlgren (2005) used multivariate data analysis techniques to build a link between dimensions of brand loyalty and to capture the different levels of customer loyalty. The result showed several differences in the loyalty dimensions. In a similar study, Kuusik (2007) uses a LOGIT regression model to determine the significant factors that affect customer loyalty. The model comprises of various factors that affect customer loyalty. The study reveals that image, satisfaction, importance of relationship and trustworthiness are the most significant factors in loyalty research. According to East et al. (2005) the definition of loyalty is useful if they can be used to predict phenomena such as search, retention, and recommendation. The authors establish that combination measures of customer loyalty often act as poor indicators of consumer loyalty as compared to other singular indicators such as recommendations. Apart from viewing these combinations to be of limited value, the research also establishes that there is no form of loyalty that always predicts different loyalty outcomes and a general concept of loyalty should be abandoned (East, Gendall, Hammond, & Lomax, 2005). For instance, instead of using indicators such as loyalty programs and money rewards, researchers should either look for retention of customers and any recommendation given by them. 2.3 Identifying relationships between ideas and practice to increase loyalty in a B2B context Various ideas have been drafted in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context. For example, from the above review, it is noted that identification of the company’s prospects and acting on them will help in increasing the loyalty. However a company can deliver on all the needs of their clients, but the delivery of their services will influence the level of loyalty moving forward. If when delivering all the needs of their client, and they produce a poor delivery service, then this will likely lead to a decrease in loyalty level. For example according to Akin (2012) factors that help increasing the loyalty of customers is high-level service quality delivered by firms that will lead to a high level of customer satisfaction. In another scenario, companies tend to try and find ways in which they can influence the frequency at which their clients access their websites for information. However, research indicates that half of the customers get information from their website. The lack of companies to invest and provide websites that are easy to access and provide the necessary information to their clients will lead to a decline in the level of loyalty. For this reason, there is a clear distinction between the ideas developed to increase loyalty and the practices a company will adopt. Conclusion From this literature review, it can be shown that various researches have tried to establish the existence of a positive relationship between loyalty and aspects such as service quality and customer satisfaction. Some studies have employed the use of correlation analysis to investigate this relationship. Correlation research allows a researcher to determine whether a relationship between variables exists, it allows one to define the extent of the relationship between the variables (Gall, Gall, & Bord, 2005). Qualitative and quantitative research methods both have their benefits and drawbacks. For instance, when the correlation between two variables has been established, it still does not tell the researcher what should be done, but rather what can be done. Qualitative methods, as used by Paavola (2006), can also bring out knowledge that is not familiar with other researchers. The results can also be influenced by the researcher’s personal biases. However, some of these studies tend to cover wide areas that may take long periods of research. The benefits of customer retention have been recognized by many researchers (Feihua, 2011). In the business to business scenario, certain aspects of retaining a customer bring out themselves than conducting business with the ordinary customers. For instance, paying attention to the ordinary, like attending meetings on time is not a necessary, but a crucial habit to consider. In a B2B relationship, the parties are more defined, and this is based on the assumption that both parties are seeking common benefits in the relationship (Oy, 2010). In a normal business to customer relationship, the dissolution of the relationship ends up in the consumer leaving the services of the provider. In the B2B setup, the end of the relationship is thought in terms of a process while in switching is thought as just as a change in the relationship. In customer loyalty research, perhaps it would be of vital importance to consider the industry in which the research is being conducted on. In industries wher e the businesses provide similar services, social bonds could be the prevalent factor that promotes consumer loyalty between businesses. In other industries, where the services offered are different, probably loyalty programs and monetary rewards could be the way to win customer loyalty. References Akin, E. (2012). Literature Review and Discussion on Customer Loyalty and Consciousness. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 158-170. Brandi, J. (2001). Building Customer Loyalty: The 21 Essential Elements †¦ in Action. Texas: The Walk The Talk Company. Buttle, F. (2008). Customer Relationship Management (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Doma, S. A. (2013). Relationship Quality as Predictor of B2B Customer Loyalty. SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS, 111(1), 72-78. Gustavsson, S., & Lundgren, E. (2005). Customer Loyalty. Lulea University of Technology. Haghkhah, A., Abdul Hamid, A. B., Ebrahimpour, A., Roghanian, P., & Gheysari, H. (2013). Commitment and Customer Loyalty in Business-To-Business Context. European Journal of Business and Management, 15(19), 156-164. Lam, S. Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M. K., & B. M. (2004). Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration From a Business-to-Business Service Context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(293), 294-311. Bennet, R., & Bove, L. (2002). Identifying the Key Issues for Measuring Loyalty. QUT Digital Repository, 1-29. ÄÅ'ater, T., & ÄÅ'ater, B. (2010). Product and relationship quality influence on customer commitment and loyalty in B2B manufacturing relationships. Industrial marketing management, 39(8), 1321-1333.Colby, C. (2013, December 9). A New Paradigm for Understanding Customer Retention. Retrieved from Rockbridge: http://rockresearch.com/a-new-paradigm-for-understanding-customer-retention/ Eakuru, N., & Mat, N. (2008). The application of structural equation modeling (SEM) in determining the antecedents of customer loyalty in banks in South Thailand. The Business Review, Cambridge, 10(2), 129-139. East, R., Gendall, P., Hammond, K., & Lomax, W. (2005). Consumer Loyalty: Singular, Additive or Interactive? Australian arketing Joural, 10-17.Feihua, Q. (2011). Customer Retention in E-commerce business. Haaha-Helia University press, 1-56. Fullerton, G. (2005). How commitment both enables and undermines marketing relationships. European Journal of marketing, 39(11), 1372-1388.Gall, J., Gall, M., & Bord, W. (2005). Applying educational research: A practical guide (1st ed.). Boston: Pearzon. Hennig-Thurau, T. (2004). Customer orientation of service employees: Its impact on customer satisfaction, commitment, and retention. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(5), 460-478. Jacobsen, D., Olsson, M., & Sjovall, A. (2004). The Creation of Customer Loyalty. Kristianstad University, 1-71. Kuusik, A. (2007). AFFECTING CUSTOMER LOYALTY: DO DIFFERENT FACTORS HAVE VARIOUS INFLUENCES IN DIFFERENT LOYALTY LEVELS? Tartu University Press, 1-29. Mascareigne, J. (2009). Customer Retention. Lulea University Press, 1-88. Moorman, C., & Rust, R. T. (1999). The role of marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 180-197, 63.Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1999). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. The Journal of marketing, 20-38.Oy, O. (2010). IMPROVING CUSTOMER LOYALTY THROUGH A REGULAR CUSTOMER PROGRAM. TAMPEREEN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU University Publications, 1-45. Paalova, H. (2006). Categories of Loyalty. Toward Meaning-based Theory of Customer Loyalty. European Advances in Consumer Research, 420-428. Ranaweera, C., & Prabhu, J. (2003). The influence of satisfaction, trust and switching barriers on customer retention in a continuous purchasing setting. international journal of service industry management, 374-395. Shabbir, H., Palihawadana, D., & Thwaites, D. (2007). Determining the antecedents and consequences of donor †perceived relationship quality—A dimensional qualitative research approach. Psychology & Marketing, 24(3), 271-293. Sharma, N., Young, L., & Wilkinson, I. (2006). The commitment mix: Dimensions of commitment in international trading relationships in India. Journal of International Marketing, 64-91. Stephan, B. (2002). Customer Loyalty Programs and Clubs (2nd ed.). London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Van Es, R. (2012). The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty, and its Influence on Business Model Design. Universiteit Twente, 1-85. Source document

John Jay College GPA, SAT and ACT Scores for Admission

John Jay College GPA, SAT and ACT Scores for Admission John Jay College GPA, SAT and ACT Graph CUNY John Jay College GPA, SAT Scores and ACT Scores for Admission. Data courtesy of Cappex. How Do You Measure Up at John Jay College? Calculate Your Chances of Getting In  with this free tool from Cappex. Discussion of John Jay Colleges Admissions Standards: The CUNY  John Jay College of Criminal Justice has moderately selective admissions. The admissions bar is not overly high, but the college gets enough applications to keep the acceptance rate well below 50%. In the scattergram above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. You can see that most admitted students had a GPA of 2.5 or higher, an ACT composite score of 18 or better, and a combined SAT score (RWM) of roughly 950 or higher. In the middle of the graph, youll notice a few red dots (rejected students) and yellow dots (waitlisted students) overlapping with the green and blue. This means that some students who were potentially on target for admission to John Jay College were not admitted. On the flip side, a few students were accepted with test scores and grades below the norm. This is because the CUNY application used by all of the CUNY campuses is evaluated holistically. John Jay College and the other CUNY schools want to see high grades in rigorous courses and strong test scores, but they also take into consideration your application essay and letters of recommendation. To learn more about John Jay College, high school GPAs, SAT scores and ACT scores, these articles can help: John Jay College Admissions ProfileWhats a Good SAT Score?Whats a Good ACT Score?Whats Considered a Good Academic Record?What is a Weighted GPA? Related Articles: The CUNY CollegesSAT Score Comparison for the CUNY CampusesTop New York Colleges and Universities If You Like John Jay College, You May Also Like These Schools Stony Brook University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphCUNY Hunter College:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAdelphi University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphNew York University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity at Albany:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphFordham University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphCUNY Lehman College:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphHofstra University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBinghamton University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSUNY Buffalo State:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphCollege of Staten Island CUNY:  Profile  University of New Haven:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT Graph

Future Years ACT Test Dates 2019, 2020, and Beyond

Future Years' ACT Test Dates 2019, 2020, and Beyond SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Future ACT dates are only confirmed a little more than a year in advance, but at PrepScholar, we’ve researched patterns from previous testing years to predict future ACT test dates. The ACT test dates for 2019-20 have been officially released, but I’ll also provide the confirmed and likely dates for 2020-21 and 2021-22. From the data we’ve looked at, we can predict these dates with a fair degree of confidence. 2019-2020 ACT Test Dates Here are all the ACT dates, registration deadlines, and score release dates for the current 2019-20 school year. All dates and deadlines have been confirmed by ACT, Inc. Test Date Deadline Late Deadline Online Score Release* Sept 14, 2019 Aug 16, 2019 Aug 30, 2019 Sept 24; Oct 10, 2019 Oct 26, 2019 Sept 20, 2019 Oct 4, 2019 Nov 12; Nov 26, 2019 Dec 14, 2019 Nov 8, 2019 Nov 22, 2019 Dec 24, 2019; Jan 7, 2020 Feb 8, 2020 Jan 10, 2020 Jan 17, 2020 Feb 18; Mar 3, 2020 Apr 4, 2020 Feb 28, 2020 Mar 13, 2020 Apr 14; Apr 28, 2020 June 13, 2020 May 8, 2020 May 22, 2020 June 23; July 7, 2020 July 18, 2020** June 19, 2020 June 26, 2020 July 28; Aug , 2020 *The first date is when multiple-choice scores come out, and the second date is when complete scores become available**No test centers scheduled in New York for this date. 2020-2021 ACT Test Dates This is the anticipated schedule for the ACT test dates, registration deadlines, and score release dates for the 2020-21 school year. All dates are based on our own projections. Test Date Deadline Late Deadline Online Score Release* Sept 12, 2020 Aug 7, 2020 Aug 21, 2020 Sept 22; Oct 6, 2020 Oct 24, 2020 Sept 20, 2020 Oct 4, 2020 Nov 3; Nov 17, 2020 Dec 12, 2020 Nov 6, 2020 Nov 20, 2020 Dec 22, 2020; Jan 5, 2021 Feb 6, 2021 Jan 8, 2021 Jan 15, 2021 Feb 16; Mar 1, 2021 Apr 10, 2021 Mar 5, 2021 Mar 19, 2021 Apr 20; May 4, 2021 June 12, 2021 May 7, 2021 May 21, 2021 June 22; July 6, 2021 July 17, 2021 June , 2021 June 25, 2021 July 27; Aug 10, 2021 *The first date is when multiple-choice scores come out, and the second date is when complete scores become available 2021-2022 ACT Test Dates Finally, let's take a look at the projected dates and deadlines for the 2021-22 ACT testing year. As noted above, all of these dates are our own projections. Test Date Deadline Late Deadline Online Score Release* Sept , 2021 Aug 6, 2021 Aug 20, 2021 Sept 21; Oct 5, 2021 Oct 23, 2021 Sept 19, 2021 Oct 3, 2021 Nov 2; Nov 16, 2021 Dec , 2021 Nov 5, 2021 Nov 19, 2021 Dec 21, 2021; Jan 4, 2022 Feb 5, 2022 Jan 7, 2022 Jan 14, 2022 Feb 15; Feb 28, 2022 Apr 9, 2022 Mar 4, 2022 Mar 18, 2022 Apr 19; May 3, 2022 June , 2022 May 6, 2022 May 20, 2022 June 21; July 5, 2022 July 16, 2022 June 10, 2022 June 24, 2022 July 26; Aug 9, 2022 *The first date is when multiple-choice scores come out, and the second date is when complete scores become available How Accurate Are These Future ACT Test Dates? The 2019-20 ACT test dates and registration deadlines have been confirmed by ACT, Inc. All other dates are our projections based on the testing patterns from previous years' schedules. The ACT test dates and registration deadlines for future years should be fairly accurate, as there's little variation from year to year. The score release dates for all years are less predictable, but scores should come out within a week of the anticipated score release dates. Also, note that not everyone receives their multiple-choice scores at the same time. How to Use These ACT Test Date Projections Most of the future ACT dates in this article should be correct. If you have an idea of the month and year you want to take the test, you can check to see whether your test date is on the same day as, say, prom or your birthday. Basically, these charts make it easy to figure out whether you’ll have any possible conflicts. If any of the test dates are off, they’ll most likely be exactly a week earlier or later. Remember, though, that there is some margin of error and these are still just projections. You can plan your ACT schedule using our projections, but definitely check again within a year of the test for the confirmed dates. Nevertheless, the above dates should give you a good idea of when future ACTs will take place. What's Next? Are you wondering when you should sign up to take the ACT for the first time? This guide to choosing the right ACT test date describes the most important considerations to help you choose the best test date for you. Starting your ACT prep? Check out our guide on the best ways to study for the ACT for all the tips you need to know to reach your goal score. In addition, learn how to make your own study plan. Practice tests are an important part of ACT prep, and our guide to using ACT practice tests will explain everything you need to know about how to use them correctly. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Character Descriptions How To Write Them (in 3 Steps)

Character Descriptions How To Write Them (in 3 Steps) Character Descriptions: How To Write Them (in 3 Steps) Character descriptions - those key passages that describe what a character actually looks like - are almost as crucial to a written story as the characters themselves. If you’re writing a novel, you’ve probably created an awesome, vivid protagonist in your head: motivated, quirky, maybe even memorably named. But how do you convey all that to a reader without depleting the magic?Writing strong character descriptions actually requires quite a bit of finesse. If you skimp on descriptive passages, you run the risk of leaving your readers with forgettable characters. But if you get too descriptive, you wind up leaving no room for the reader’s own imagination. So what does it take to strike the right balance? We’ll tell you! Here are three cardinal rules on how to write character descriptions without falling off that tightrope. Do you know the three cardinal rules for describing characters? Find out in this guide! 1. Choose your words carefullyWhen writing character descriptions, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself. After all, this is the first time you’re introducing a character you’ve created from the ground up.But just because you know everything about them, doesn’t mean the reader needs to. Character descriptions aren’t about doling out every detail in lavish language - they’re about succinct characterization. Here are a few tips on how to achieve just that.Be descriptive in your languageWe’re talking about character descriptions, after all - it’s quite literally in the name. When describing a character that you see clearly in your mind, it’s easy to simply give a laundry list of attributes: she had black hair, brown eyes, and freckles. But that tells us nothing about the character and is frankly a waste of words.Sure, your protagonist might have brown eyes. But so does half the world’s population! And characterization is all about showing what makes a character unique.Sometimes, this can be done through word choice alone. Take this example from Huckleberry Finn:â€Å"There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed; it was white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s flesh crawl – a tree-toad white, a fish-belly white.†From this passage, we clearly understand how Huck’s father looks, as surely as if Twain had simply written, â€Å"He was white.† But through the use of figurative language and excellent word choice, another image sticks in our head: that of a sickly, grotesque drunk. Bonus points for the use of â€Å"tree-toad† and â€Å"fish-belly† - descriptors that match the tone of the adventure novel.Use adjectives sparingly Feel free to stretch the boundaries of what you’re describing and how you’re describing it. Rather than simply pointing out concrete characteristics or actions, feel free to describe abstractions, like this passage from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere:â€Å"Mr. Croup likes words, while Mr. Vandemar is always hungry. Also, they look nothing alike.†Or, describe physical characteristics in an abstract way - that is, use similes and metaphors. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens does not describe Scrooge as a Christmas-hating miser. Instead, Scrooge is:â€Å"Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.† How did Dickens turn Scrooge into a Christmas-hating miser without ever calling him one? Be biasedWhether you’re describing yourself to a friend or a friend is describing you to someone else, it’s very unlikely either of you would give a painstaking, perfectly objective account.. Biases exist in every aspect of life, so it’s okay to be biased in character descriptions, too.If a first person narrator is describing themselves, they might comment on their own attractiveness, like Humbert Humbert in Lolita:â€Å"I was, and still am, despite mes malheurs, an exceptionally handsome male; slow-moving, tall, with soft dark hair and a gloomy but all the more seductive cast of demeanor.†Or you could have one character describe another, which illuminates the attributes of the latter and the perception of the former. Take, for example, this particularly scathing description of one person by another from Jodi Taylor’s The Nothing Girl:â€Å"The only talents he possessed were delusions of adequacy.†This sentence succinctly describes a not-quit e-self-aware underachiever. But it also illustrates a narrator with a not-so-objective opinion of him.Show, don’t tellYup. The golden rule of writing applies here as well. At the end of the day, no matter what you decide to reveal to your audience, the most important aspect of character descriptions is how you reveal it. Regardless of how special, unique, or honest-to-god awesome your protagonist is, a reader forced to trudge through page after page of intensive description will find any character boring.Instead, think of how we learn things about other people in real life. Very rarely does the color of our eyes or the shape of our nose describe who we are. We don’t tell everything there is to know about each other - we show it, through our expressions, perceptions, actions, preferences, and even our stuff. Apply that same rule to your character descriptions, and your characters (and readers) will thank you for it.Are there any character descriptions that stand out to you? Leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below!

Nutritional assessment and management of patient with Acute Essay

Nutritional assessment and management of patient with Acute Pancreatitis - Essay Example Both these types may lead to the development of pancreatic cancer. Various factors are attributed to the aetiology of acute pancreatitis. The risk of development of pancreatitis differs with age and sex, and it most commonly occurs among the black population than any other race (Yadav & Lowenfels 2012). The most common cause of acute pancreatitis is gall stones and can be eliminated with the help of early cholecystectomy (Yadav & Lowenfels 2012). Alcoholism and smoking lead to be independent factors in the development of pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis can occur within hours or 2 days following the consumption of alcohol. Other causes of acute pancreatitis include abdominal trauma, infections, medications, tumours, and genetic abnormalities. The symptoms include upper abdominal pain which may be gradual or sudden followed by consumption of food. The pain may be mild initially and may result in severe form later. Symptoms like nausea, vomiting, fever, rapid pulse may be present. Seve re acute pancreatitis may be fatal to the patient with failures of the kidney, the lungs and the heart. In the following essay, an attempt is made to critically evaluate the clinical condition of Mrs. Barrowman diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and to identify the factors that may affect her nutritional status, and to assess her nutritional risk status using ‘MUST’ (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool). Mrs. Barrowman, 54 years, got admitted in the ITU with the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. During admission, the patient was presented with symptoms of severe abdominal pain and vomiting, which are one of the main signs of acute pancreatitis. Physically, height of the patient is 1.78 m and weight 58 kg prior to the period of ill health, and might have possibly lost 1-5 kg during her illness. Third day observation charted the following: BP: 105/75 mm Hg, heart rate: 130 bpm and is presented with sinus tachycardia. She has pitting edema all over the body. Other laboratory

What are the key challenges facing educational leaders in relation to Thesis

What are the key challenges facing educational leaders in relation to Information and Communication technology - Thesis Example Educational leaders are excited as well. They are aware of how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can have a great impact on education and on the students they cater to. However, there are many challenges that beset them. They need to equip students with increasingly higher levels of knowledge and skill not only through the provision of a conventional curriculum incorporating ICT, but also help them develop personal qualities such as being autonomous, self-organizing, networking, enterprising, innovative (Hargreaves, 1999), with the capability constantly to redefine the necessary skills for a given task, and to access the sources for learning these skills (Castells, 1998). Such aims are truly challenging to achieve. The openness and attitudes of teachers, being the frontliners in this particular educational reform is examined. Most teachers are not adequately prepared yet to make use of exciting new educational technologies because neither their teacher education programs nor their schools have provided sufficient time or incentives for them to learn (Norman, n.d.). Teachers themselves need to be transformed from the traditional ways of organizing teaching and learning in school to using more technical skills in more open, user-friendly, peer-controlled, interactive, virtual communities. Teachers need to model flexibility, networking and creativity which are key outcomes for students to survive the next millennium (Hargreaves, 1999). Training of teachers in ICT and staff development is one huge challenge faced by educational leaders. Psychologically, technology can pose problems for staff feeling threatened and insecure of being dispensable, and easily replaced by the new innovation (Jones & O’Shea, 2004). This is mostly appeased by effective training. Human resources strategy and practice is central to the successful staff development. Enhancing

Epidemiology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Epidemiology - Article Example Various studies have been performed in order to determine the risk involved in the sector of occupational cancer in falling ill with cancer for those working in this sector. The purpose of the study was to determine the risk of lung cancer as a result of occupational exposure to wood dust. For this research, there were two population-based case-control studies in Montreal, Canada. There was different study populations used in this research. The first study was conducted from the year 1979 to the year 1986. It included men of the age of 35-70 years. These men were diagnosed with cancer at any of the 19 sites. The second study was conducted between the years 1996 and 2001. This population study included both men and women who were aged between 35-75 years. This group of men and women were diagnosed with lung malignancy. In both of these studies, the patients included all had incident histological confirmed cancers identified across all major Montreal area hospitals and restricted to Canadian citizens. Both of the studies also included a series of population controls. These population controls were randomly selected from electoral lists. The first study was to explore the possible associations between hundreds of occupational substances and multiple cancer sites that included lung cancer. This study was conducted in the early 1980s and was a population-based case-control study that was done in Montreal in Canada. A similar study was then later performed in the same region in the late 1990s. This was the second study and it focused more on lung cancer. Both of these studies examined the risk of lung cancer associated with occupational exposure to wood dust while controlling for the major confounders that include smoking and other occupational exposures. The exposure in the study was to the wood dust in occupations such as construction and timber making industries. It was to analyze the first and second study in

Issues in corrections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Issues in corrections - Essay Example According to research, the correctional systems are running out of ideas on how to manage the issues affecting the correctional systems. The United States of America correctional systems are believed to be one of the most advanced prison system globally. This is because of the increased crime rates in the country. However, like other countries globally the American correctional system faces many issues that tend to be hard for the legal system to handle. There is one major issue of overcrowding in the prisons that have been caused by high crime rates, harsh laws made by the legal system for certain offenses, high rate of criminals returned to jail for committing felonies and long term sentences for certain offenses (Scott, 2010). The rate of the population of inmates is growing faster making it hard for the prisons to hold the capacity. The issue of high population in prison has pushed the legal system to set free the well-behaved criminals in prison, which has posed a threat to society (Scott, 2010). The law is forced to release the criminals to create space for the other criminals. Criminals serving long sentences are freed through good behavior and presidential pardons. Alternatively, according to researchers, some prisoners are pretenders who only pretend to behave well so that they are set free and proceed to carry out their vengeance on the witnesses who testified against them in court. The problem for the correctional system not being able to accommodate the criminals until they are has posed a major threat to society. Over population in the correctional system has also led to various problems to the inmates. The inmate’s health is at risk due to various airborne diseases caused by overcrowding. Diseases can also emerge from the dirty toilets shared by the large number of prisoners. Prisoner’s health has also in turn affected the economy of the country trying to treat various diseases that arise among prisoners like HIV/ AIDs,

Marine Dolphins Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marine Dolphins - Research Paper Example Other dolphins have a varied diet that may include lobsters, crabs, squid, shrimps and fish. The dolphins bear live young ones and feed the young ones with milk. Many marine dolphins are facing extinction due to human activities, but some laws have been formulated to protect their existence (Nakamura 64). Types of Marine Dolphins The major types of marine dolphins are pacific bottlenose, rough-toothed, spotted dolphin and spinner dolphin. The bottlenose dolphins are the most famous of all cetacean species. The scientific name for bottlenose dolphin is Tursiops truncatus. Rough-toothed dolphin has vertical grooves that run from the gum line to the tip. The scientific name for rough-toothed dolphin is Steno bredanensis. Spotted dolphins are of smaller size than rough-toothed or bottlenose dolphins. They have a dark cape that extends from their forehead to the dorsal fin. The scientific name for spotted dolphin is Stenella attenuata. Spinner dolphins are smaller than the spotted dolphin s. The spinner dolphins got their name from their spinning behavior. Their scientific name is Stenella longirostris (Shirihai 77). Adaptations of Marine Dolphins Like other marine animals, dolphins have become adapted to the sea life. Anatomically, the bodies of the dolphins are streamlined to enable them to move more efficiently in the aquatic environment. The streamlined body ensures fast movement of the dolphins as it reduces the resistance of water when the dolphin is moving. The hind limbs of the dolphins have disappeared, and front limbs are developed into flippers (Gordon 26). This helps the dolphin in steering balance and changing direction. The dolphins have a powerful tail, which helps in propulsion. The speed under which the dolphins move at is closely related to the feeding habit of the dolphin. Research has shown that those dolphins that feed on slow moving prey do not exceed a speed of 10 mph. Other dolphins that feed on fast moving fish species usually attain a speed of up to 15 mph. In addition, dolphins have a smooth skin. The dolphin’s skin is thick, hairless and lacks glands. It is kept smooth by the constant slough and replacements. For example, the bottlenose dolphin replaces its outermost skin layer after every two hours. This smooth skin of the dolphin increases the speed at which the dolphin moves. Like other marine mammals, the dolphins have a thick layer of blubber below their skin. This layer of blubber is important since it insulates the dolphins against heat loss. The dolphins rely on their sense of hearing to detect any danger around them. The sense of hearing in dolphin is a very complicated behavior referred to as echolocation. Echolocation is where, a dolphin emits a series of split clicks by its blowhole focusing the sound to the melon and the melon directs the sound pulses in a directional beam. When the directed sound waves hit an object on its path, it is reflected back to the dolphin, and the dolphin detects an obst ruction ahead on its way. Through echolocation, a dolphin is capable of detecting the distance, size, shape and direction of movement of objects in water (Smolker 54). Factors Affecting Marine Dolphin Population Tuna and Dolphin Issue Dolphins and Tuna often swim together. The tuna tries to take advantage of food finding tactics of

Issues in corrections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Issues in corrections - Essay Example According to research, the correctional systems are running out of ideas on how to manage the issues affecting the correctional systems. The United States of America correctional systems are believed to be one of the most advanced prison system globally. This is because of the increased crime rates in the country. However, like other countries globally the American correctional system faces many issues that tend to be hard for the legal system to handle. There is one major issue of overcrowding in the prisons that have been caused by high crime rates, harsh laws made by the legal system for certain offenses, high rate of criminals returned to jail for committing felonies and long term sentences for certain offenses (Scott, 2010). The rate of the population of inmates is growing faster making it hard for the prisons to hold the capacity. The issue of high population in prison has pushed the legal system to set free the well-behaved criminals in prison, which has posed a threat to society (Scott, 2010). The law is forced to release the criminals to create space for the other criminals. Criminals serving long sentences are freed through good behavior and presidential pardons. Alternatively, according to researchers, some prisoners are pretenders who only pretend to behave well so that they are set free and proceed to carry out their vengeance on the witnesses who testified against them in court. The problem for the correctional system not being able to accommodate the criminals until they are has posed a major threat to society. Over population in the correctional system has also led to various problems to the inmates. The inmate’s health is at risk due to various airborne diseases caused by overcrowding. Diseases can also emerge from the dirty toilets shared by the large number of prisoners. Prisoner’s health has also in turn affected the economy of the country trying to treat various diseases that arise among prisoners like HIV/ AIDs,

The effects of global recession on local economies Essay - 1

The effects of global recession on local economies - Essay Example Multinational and international industries, local industries, government establishments and the consumers themselves are all affected by the changes in the economic standing of the country. Global recession has a great impact on the value of local and international currencies, generally affecting end-users and households. In effect, the buying capability of the consumers goes down. The general concept in putting up a business is simple, to profit from it. However, this simple concept requires a lot of fields to be taken into consideration before investors or businessmen can make it happen. In a basic business planning, the structure of study for putting up a business or developing an existing one is as follows: investment, resources and raw materials, market demand and profit and loss forecast. Investment is the capital cost is one of the most common things that are taken into consideration in a large or small medium business setup (Northcott 1992). This is the total amount of currency or money a businessman or a corporation invests to put up or develop an existing business. The total cost of the investment will be a basis for the company to determine the total cost of their liabilities. There should also be funds or a part of the budget that goes to the emergency funds for unexpected situation. These are part of the investment cost and are called funds margin or more commonly known as petty cash. Although this is the type of fund that should be replenished every month, quarter or year depending on the initial business funding structure of the company. Its initial will still be included in the total investment cost. Resource is also one of the major factors to be considered in putting up or developing an existing business. Raw materials are products that are bought together for the use for production purposes (Blair and Hitchcock 2001). There are two major types of categories in the business industry: the

Leadership Assessment Essay Example for Free

Leadership Assessment Essay Leadership can be best defined as beauty. One may say that is in the eye of the beholder. The best managers consistently allow different leaders to emerge and inspire their teammates. My prior organization, Comcast Corporation, a telecommunications provider, mission statement is to deliver a superior experience to their customers every day. Jason Biske, whom is Director of Sales and Operation, created an environment where Comcast is focused solely on customers by building relationships. When we would see him, he would always speak and ask how your day or sales was going. Jason was really big on keeping the sales floor informed of new promos or contests that were going on by sending constant email communications, ongoing training sessions, or holding focus groups on various processes of improvement in the sales process. When it came to leadership styles, Jason Biske demonstrated several. He embraced democratic, coaching, pacesetting, and authoritative. He initiated structure and created an environment that made you feel a part of something. Along with that he showed consideration. We felt like our opinions mattered and there was a concern for the employees. Leaders provide a sense of direction for the employees of the organization. Without this sense of direction (both strategic and ethical), the organization and its employees could easily lose their direction.In order for any leader to be successful all styles need to be incorporated. Leaders, therefore, are given the responsibility of creating and shaping culture. The organizational structure that has been created has positioned the company in the smartest way possible. † As the world changes, the culture of organizations must sometimes be re-shaped to better fit the environment and the overall strategy of the organization (Buhler)†.Comcast strongly believes in teamwork, integrity, creativity and commitment within the organization. Managers must be convinced of the benefits as well as higher performance for their teams if they are to become enthusiastic leaders of change. â€Å"Above all, senior executives should encourage managers to think big: the new world of work opens up new possibilities for how companies define their boundaries and organize work (Lund, 2012)†.Having such a strong team of leadership gives employees as well as potential talent something to look forward to in regards to a career. The positive thing about having a clear organizational structure is simply it allows you to see the formal relationship that exits between the departments. Jason Biske‘s job as director was to improve the sales process and increase revenue in the sales department. As a result he increased revenue by 24 percent. He also rolled out a process called Sales Pro which would make the sales process simpler by focusing on relationships. Even though his styles motivated employees, he used communication through m ass emails mostly. On a daily basis, you would receive several reports on how the company is profiting. At my career level no one understood how we were contributing to these successes. Jason would get you excited to make money but somewhere in there the leadership failed.† According to Moorhead and Griffin (1998) employee motivation and ability jointly contribute towards employee performance and the most challenging task of the managers is to motivate employee to execute the utmost of their ability†. (Iqbal)†. When you have middle managers that are not as excited about their jobs, it is hard to keep the customer service reps motivated to sale the product or meet numbers when the objectives are not clear. In an organization, an individual has to be seen as a contributor. Most importantly, you have to keep your employees motivated. Most people never make it to the top because they are successful at being a doer instead of being a leader. â€Å"Leadership is more about inspiration, about guidance, about communication and building trust among the team. Management is probably the day-to-day running of an organization. It is about developing and organizing aspects of your businesses and running those businesses (Toor, 2011)†. Some best pra ctices that organizational leaders can follow are 1. Accept feedback from the people that work with you. No one knows best other than the people that deal with the customers every day. Some of the most successful companies are profitable because the organizational leader listened to what the employees shared. There is value in shared values. Secondly, try a crazy idea every now and then. Employees like creativity and a challenge to keep them on their toes. Lastly, show courage. Effective leaders sometimes have to issue orders whether or not it means they are popular or not. If you are leading effectively then your team will support you. Leaders are made, not born. â€Å"I consider leadership as something long term with a clear vision of what to achieve. Management, however, is more about function; it’s short-term and involves setting a target and achieving it. Diversity is not only important to the work environment and the business but it can also have some legal ramifications if not followed properly.† Workplace Diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. The roots of diversity does not begin to range from race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, educational background etc., rather it begins from perception of the employees towards each other (Andrew Patrick, 2011)†. Ccompanies that embrace employees from different cultural backgrounds, experiences and even countries are better positioned to succeed in this century. Hiring a diverse workforce helps a company stay in compliance with employment laws and build workplaces that are more inclusive. It also assists employees in reaching their fullest potential. When hiring and managing employees from different cultures and backgrounds it can be challenging, but it can also be very rewarding. â€Å"Diversity is not a photo opportunity. Anybody can recruit anybody. Keeping people is the challenge (Sreedhar, 2011)†. Most corporations have diversity council which allows you to manage diversity globally therefore allowing others to learn from different perspectives and cultures. From a business perspective, companies have become more innovative requiring expansion into global territories. It requires them to move people as well as products around. With that being said, a company must be able to understand international customers, their commerce and their competition better than before. Works Cited Andrew Patrick, H. (2011). Knowledge Workers Demography and Workplace Diversity. Journal Of Marketing Management, pp. 2(2), 38-73. Buhler, P. M. (n.d.). The evolving leader of today. Supervision. pp. 59(12), 16. . Iqbal, J. Y. (n.d.). EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION IN MODERN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW OF 12 YEARS. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business,. pp. 4(3), 692-708. Lund, S. M. (2012). Preparing for a new era of knowledge work. pp. Mckinsey Quarterly, (4), 103-110. Sreedhar, U. (2011). Workforce Diversity and HR Challenges. Advances In Management. pp. 4(10), 33-36. Toor, S. (2011). Differentiating Leadership from Management. An Empirical Investigation of Leaders and Managers. Leadership Management In Engineering, pp. 11(4), 310. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)LM.1943-5630.0000138.

Managing An Overseas Branch Office Management Essay

Managing An Overseas Branch Office Management Essay Cabelas Inc. is a well-established specialty retailer of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, since its founding in 1961 by the brothers Dick and Jim Cabela, it has grown from a small company from their parents kitchen table into a 3 billion NYSE publicly listed company with 41 stores in the United States and Canada. In order to have better support and more effective communication with vendors, the Cabelas HK office had been started in 2005 to cope with the rapid increase in merchandise styles and the growing demand of an overseas quality assurance team. For the first 43 years Cabelas would only need to manage offices, warehouses and retail locations all inside United States, with the new HK office in 2005 and Canada office in 2009, and possibly an Australian store in the coming 2 years, it is time to identify the methodology of Managing an Overseas Office. 1.2 Rationale for Identifying the Issue At the beginning there was only 5 contract staff in the Cabelas Hong Kong office, as the company grew to a 25-employee office, to manage it becomes a challenge. As a member of the Cabelas HK office, seeing the differences between the US and HK team, and also the issues with communications with respect to differences in background, culture, language, knowledge, relationships, etc., its important to identify the issues and tackle them using the 3Rs Recognize, Remedy and Report. When interviewing our CEO and President Mr. Tommy Millner, he said, The challenges of running an international office are pure cultural in my view. Specifically, how do we get our employees in China to accept and embrace the values that were created in the farm lands of Western Nebraska? Whereas when interviewing the HK Office Manager Mr. Justin Gordon his view is very different, as he mentioned The main challenge for a manager is to ensure he /she gets clear instructions / directions / objectives from those he /she reports to. Without these it is virtually impossible for the manager to give clear instructions to those that report to him/her. This then results in what appears to be poor management. These would be 2 of the most important HR related issues with managing an overseas office Cultural and Communication. This document will discuss all the related challenges and provide recommendations for management on how to effectively manage an overseas office, in order to create a happy working environment that creates trust and value their employees, with responsible HR practices aligning to CSR values. 1.3 Recommendations for Management The question of how to better manage an overseas office has been a broad issue, there are many variables and could have a lot of ways to do it better, which should all be catered to a particular situation. The below outlines a few main concerns and recommendations to management to make a difference in the overseas office. Cultural Differences For urban dwellers it would be hard for them to imagine the life of people growing up in the nature while hunting, fishing, hiking and camping is embraced in their everyday lifestyle. It is not easy to change how employees think, except to fly them to Nebraska to really experience it, listen to stories how hunting should be done ethically, and why hunting is considered essential in some areas of the world. The reason for thinking it is cruel is that they are not exposed before and thus do not understand, by education and exposing them with the reality, this could be corrected in times. Of course for them to fall in love with hunting would not be very possible, but taking another direction and lead them to appreciating the nature could be a better approach. Cabelas has recently launched a new anthem Its In Your Nature. It has always been a controversial topic in the office where hunting equals cruelty. As the anthem suggests, its in your nature to respect for tomorrow, it could apply to hunting and fishing, and it could also apply to overseas staff with preserving the environment by less greenhouse gas emission, switching off the lights behind you, and printing conservatively. The difference in the traditional cultural background could also be creating issues at work. Nobody intends to offend anyone else, but may do so inadvertently if not educated in the cultures. For example Americans casually throw their name cards over their desks, while Asians considered that as rude. Relationships in Chinese context are very important in businesses, but westerners might see that as bribery in some ways. It would take both sides to learn each others culture, as a responsible corporate this difference must be respected and HR policies should be sensitive in addressing this through values, ideas and beliefs. It would also be HRs responsibility to educate employees about diversity, that different people would act differently for the same circumstances, and respect would be the key to work together. Suggestions to Management: Educating and exposing employees to company culture lead employees into appreciating the nature and wildlife HR policies should be sensitive in addressing cultural differences HR should educate employees about diversity Coordination between Corporate Office and Overseas Office As the HK Office Manager has identified, clear instructions from corporate office to overseas office would be essential for managers to communicate directions to employees. These would include long and short time objectives and goals, HRM initiatives as well as CSR commitments. Objectives and goals could assist employees recognize their value, have a target to look forward to, knowing what they are doing is making a difference, and would be contributing to the sustainable growth of the company. The current Employee Handbook is written for US outfitters, the Director of Human has commented that the company will follow the same HR practices for overseas outfitters where the policies are not otherwise dictated by local laws or customs. Of course ideally there should be a customized local version as the office grows, it would be the best if employees can be involved with setting the policy so that what they are looking for could be considered and included too. Whereas for CSR commitments, bear in mind that employees nowadays not only look for the salary, but also if they are working for a responsible employer with greater corporate disclosure  [1]  . With the cultural differences, it would not be surprising to see different expected CSR initiatives between US and overseas employees, and therefore staff involvement would be crucial to make sure HR is working on the focused areas when drafting the CSR commitments for overseas offices. It is important to keep your HRM initiatives and CSR commitments alive in your corporate communications on a regular basis. Very often employees of overseas offices would have a feeling that they are being neglected being far away. Semi-annual or even seasonal meetings with the corporate HR department could pull everybody together so that employees will get to hear first-hand updates and HR can hear about comments to policies and procedures. Either somebody from the corporate office visits the overseas office regularly, or the video conferencing system could be utilized, as face to face meetings create warmer atmospheres. Also whenever anybody from the senior management team visits the overseas office, make sure they schedule an hour to meet with the whole office and update them with what is happening at the corporate office, how is the business for the last quarter, new management level changes, exciting new store opening announcements, comments from US team to the work from the overseas team, etc., could be great information for the employees. Other than that, sharing corporate presentations, keeping employees updated through company announcements and regular newsletters are the instruments necessary to keep employees energized about the organizations socially responsible initiatives. Suggestions to Management: there should be a customized local version of the Employee Handbook with employee involvement when drafting CSR commitments for overseas offices take into account employees needs too regular meetings with the HR department from the corporate office keep employees updated whenever senior management team visits the overseas office Good communication within Teams Although emails would do for day to day routine communications, weekly departmental or whole office face to face meetings would also be a good way for the team to sit together and go through the agendas and projects to see if there are obstacles and any help could be provided. It would also be a good time for the HR manager to announce anything related to the office well-being, such as new medical care plans, job duties assigned, or new regulations imposed by the corporate office etc. Currently there is a lack of these weekly meetings in the Cabelas HK office for the office manager to know if there are any concerns with work, although the office manager usually keeps an open door policy, it would still be beneficial to start so that employees will feel warmer with the closer communications and a feeling that they are well taken care of with their job security and career progression  [2]  . Managers should also not be locked up in their room the whole day but to walk out and talk to the team more, through these day to day communications would the manager be able to know how employees have been working hard to gain the trust and advance on the targets. Managers could also be able to establish a loving environment and let the employees feel a sense of belonging through additional interactions. Whenever the office manager needs to make a big decision he should ask the employees for advises so that they feel respected and a better sense of confidence. Sometimes interdepartmental task forces would be created for special tasks, these groups could have members from both US team and overseas team. To ensure better communication web conferences on a regular basis could enhance the communication and grow the bond between the teams, as well as eliminating misunderstanding through email communications too. Suggestions to Management: More face to face meetings should be arranged between Office manager and all employees Manager should check with employees for comments before making major decisions Web conferences should be utilized for tasks forces to communicate with the US team The Role of HR Manager Talents that are well suited into a companys culture are hard to find but are the greatest asset any company can possess. In order to obtain and retain these talents, HR would need to make sure the company brand is well managed to attract talents, and competitive packages, rewards and incentives are offered to retain talents. Employees nowadays would also be looking forward to involvements in giving back to the society, the HR manager could send surveys and discuss with the staff what employee volunteering would they prefer, and work with social enterprises to arrange volunteer projects. At times of major disasters the company can setup donation boxes and send love to organizations that uses the money most wisely. Also working with employees to preserve the environment by switching off lights behind, printing less, and avoiding non-reusable utensils cold help too. Other than daily administration work, the HR Manager should also periodically hold workshops with employees to go through employee handbook and code of conducts and make sure everybody understands their rights and obligations. Employees also work happier in an environment without discrimination, one that promotes a diversity workforce and inclusion in the workplace. HR in US has recently employed a Senior Diversity Manager, whom would be planning events for diversity and inclusion. The HR manager could take the initiative and work with the diversity manager to create diversity programs specially catered for overseas office, especially with a big cultural difference in HK. Suggestions to Management: HR manager should hold workshops to go through employees rights and obligations HR should make sure company brand is well managed to attract talents HR should ensure there are competitive packages, rewards and incentives to retain talents Staff volunteering should be arranged for employees to give back to society HR should work with Diversity manager to promote diversity and inclusion in overseas offices Staff Involvement Employees nowadays look for working with a good and responsible company that they have pride working for, and not only for a stable income. Many CSR initiatives fail as a result of the lack of employees involvement and failure to embed the socially responsible values into organizational culture. Before policies are imposed, HR can set up a review committee to ensure staff involvement and to collect comments of what the employees actually want. In this way they will be more involved in the process and will actively follow up, thus internalizing corporate culture. Also try to get the staff involved as much as possible with every project that involves multiple parties, they will feel respected by their contribution and the knowledge they possess, higher morale leading to better results. Whenever employees take pride in their work strengthen employee identity, making them the brand ambassador. Although there are no retail stores in Asia, this brand ambassador will work with vendors and factories as well to be sending positive message to partners and ensuring them mutually benefits by working with Cabelas. Although taxidermies are mounted to make the office more Cabelas, its still difficult to feel the nature-loving culture with from overseas offices. To further enhance staff involvement management should send employees to the corporate office at their first year so that they can feel the passion of corporate employees towards outdoor living, going out to the fields to inhale the scent of nature, and stepping into the retail stores and be greeted by the outfitters, would they feel how enthusiastic customers would feel when they step into a Cabelas store and feel the sense of belonging. When the employee return, HR should also encourage them to share their experiences so that other teammates could feel the same too. With this sense of involvement, whenever employees identify risks at the factory they would know where to report so that the company can work on risk management remedies immediately, reducing the possibility of destroyed reputation if sweatshop factories being identified, child labor found, etc. Employees that are less involved might simply pretend not seeing the risks and give a pass to the factory audits in order to do less. Suggestions to Management: HR can set up review committee to ensure staff involvement in setting up of CSR policies send employees to the corporate office at last once when the employee returns arrange for experience sharing encourage staff involvement so that risks would be identified and reported Fair Employment Practices and Leveraging Diversity In job posted for openings in the corporate office, it will quote Cabelas as an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)  [3]  , this is not included in the job ads from the HK office and should be added to make sure eligible candidates know that the company is a responsible employer. The ads will also list the workplace as inclusive, embracing diverse background, life experiences and perspectives. This will be very important to send a message to candidates that this is the company that they would love to work for. From within, HR has to be living up with the promises and be fair with the selection, interview and recruitment process for new employees, not discriminating candidates with race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. As the employee handbook clearly wrote, Cabelas is committed to improve the quality of life within our community. To be a fair employer all benefits should not be withhold for certain employees as well, therefore benefits including vacations, medical insurance, dental coverage, employee insurance, provident funds, etc should have the same treatment as US colleagues. As the Director of Human Resources has mentioned that The entire area of compensation and benefits must of course be administered based upon international differences. We do need to be aware of any differences by culture or customs. This fairness will also be enhanced when the group gains more awareness with diversity program being carried out both in US in overseas offices. By leveraging diversity, a company should respect and relate to people from varied backgrounds, see diversity as an opportunity, creating an environment where diverse people thrive, challenge bias and intolerance, and understand diverse worldviews and are sensitive to group differences. Cabelas has a moral and ethical commitment, as well as a legal responsibility, to promote equal opportunity within all operating units. Overseas offices should make sure employees understand their rights to be treated equally, if there is unlawful and discriminatory treatment, they should inform supervisor or HR manager immediately, and if they are the source of the problem, employees can utilize the Cabelas anonymous In-Touch Hotline to report concerns. HR should re-communicating this information to employees periodically. Corporate HR has been doing a good job last year with the Diversity week, arranging a diversity photo competition and inviting all employees to submit photos related to the Cabelas Core values. By taking part in the game employees go through self-evaluation to think what is important in their work that relates to the core values, thus promoting CSR initiatives from within. Management should be encouraging overseas employees to participate in living the company culture. Suggestions to Management: Job postings in HK should include Cabelas as an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) HR should be fair with the recruitment process for new employees make sure benefits provided to overseas team match with the corporate office make sure employees understand their rights to be treated equally encourage employees to participate in diversity competitions Recruitment, Retention, Redundancy and Performance Appraisal Many successful CEOs had identified the most important measure of corporate success and main business objectives as hiring and retaining of talents over profitability  [4]  , and treating the talented workforce as the most valuable asset, as Cabelas CEO has also stated that the right talents are often hard to find but are the greatest asset any company can possess. Employer branding is essential with attracting talents, recruiting the right person at the right time, retaining them and as a result, strengthening the employer brand.  [5]  Good CSR initiatives will attract good employees as candidates will look at a companys CSR policy before they apply. Employees that look for a responsible employer would at the same time be more committed in helping with improving the CSR policies after they have joined. With fair employment in mind, HR should be selecting, interviewing and recruiting new talents with an aim to attain a diversity workforce. Job advertisements should be posted in the main career newspapers and websites, as well as sending to agencies to recruit the best candidates available. For management posts head hunters could be utilized to capture the experienced. It is very important that we have leaders in place to manage the staff that understands the importance of the companys core values and treating everyone with respect, honesty, and integrity. Once talents have been obtained, the orientation programme for newly recruited employees should be designed in a manner that corporate philosophies will be well communicated, with CSR being highlighted. It would take a new person weeks or months to understand a companys culture by himself, so a thorough introduction would be beneficial, and managerial positions should be sent to the corporate office as soon as possible to learn the culture too. Good CSR leads to improved staff retention and better motivated and innovative staff and thus improving work performance and profitability of the company, therefore making sure employees are aware of the efforts done in CSR would help in building faith and trust with employees. Employees have a lower morale when there are other individuals not performing up to standard or have a comparatively smaller workload. HR would need to work with the manager to give him more responsibilities, or consider this as redundancy and let him go. Carefully handling this case could make sure a positive impact on the morale of other employees Given replacement costs is 100% to 250% of annual compensation, HR should investigate if this person is having a work life imbalance or not that result in lower performance and use the 3Rs to try and fix it. Current performance appraisals have been done annually, but to effectively manage and retain the talents, this should be done every 6 months to make sure employees are on track with their yearly planning and expectations. Senior managers can have a CSR bonusable goal, while employees could set personal CSR objectives to be reflected in their annual performance reviews. In Chinese society appreciation and incentives is a big push to better performance, if possible, mid and end of year bonuses could be motivations to better performances. Suggestions to Management: make sure the employer brand is established to attract and retain talents recruitment process should be fair and aiming at a diversity workforce orientation programmes should communicate corporate philosophies with CSR highlighted Investigate if an employee has become redundant and try to remedy before letting go. Performance appraisals should be done mid-year as well HR should assist employees in setting personal CSR goals Bonuses as incentives could better motivate employees Leadership Development and Mentor program Employees nowadays not only look for career advancement, but also how would the company assist them to step up to the next level, therefore leadership development and mentor programs are common staff requests. Cabelas CEO Mr. Tommy Millner has picked 24 managers from all locations to attend his From the Field Leadership trainings, which he would be talking about his own experience on various topics, through interesting work experience sharing, managers could learn to be a good leader and how to handle different situations. More of these leadership courses should be held through the Cabelas University, an online Learning Management System where courses are provided for various topics from policies explanation to how to be a good leader. HR should encourage overseas employees to attend as many courses so as to better equip themselves. The Women in Leadership council will also be working on mentor programs to train up potential women into higher positions. HR should work with the WIL council to make sure these programs will consider overseas employees as well. Suggestions to Management: HR should encourage staff to attend training classes on Cabelas University Make sure the Woman in Leadership program consider mentorship in overseas offices Staff Engagement and Development For employees to be more engaged in work and the company, one of the easiest ways is to make them satisfied and happy with their work and with their supervisors  [6]  . People tend to be happier when they feel the trust. The first office manager of the Cabelas HK office has returned to US after 7 years, upon re-joining the US team one of his responsibilities is to educate US team about the role and connection the HK team had played in the business, and how important it is to include the HK team when making important decisions. With involvement of more big projects, the overseas teams could all be more engaged. The management should also persuade directors to further empower the overseas team, like moving Quality Assurance and Sourcing to HK as the team is closer to the factories and suppliers. With each individuals vast knowledge of the industry and environment and also with the common language, work would be done more effectively and employees would love to be trusted by corporate office. As for staff development, internally, management should encourage employees in utilizing the Cabelas University for courses such as leadership, communication, process management, etc. to equip staff with the necessary skills and be more confident at work. Cabelas also has a Tuition Reimbursement Program where job related courses could have tuition fee reimbursed. Management should encourage employees to look for further education to increase their industrial knowledge, stay ahead of the trend, and to be more professional in their work. Suggestions to Management: Management should encourage US to get overseas team involved in projects. Further empowering the overseas office could increase staff engagement Encourage more internal training through the Cabelas University Encourage employees to attend external trainings and further education. Managing Work Life Balance Making sure employees has a balance between work and life is a very important task for the Human Resources team. Using the 3Rs, HR professionals should be able to easily recognize if an employee has too much stress at work or from life that has affected their performance. Once issues were identified they will also need to remedy or report it. In the US employees can enjoy a very flexible working hour system, they can shift their work given that they work 40 hours a week. Some prefer to start earlier at 6am and leave earlier by 3pm to fetch their kids from school. Some might need to take care of personal matters on Fridays, and therefore work a 10-hour per day schedule for 4 days only. This should be applied to the overseas office as well, where if employees prefer to stay late at night, they can go to work slightly later as well. This has traditionally been not accepted by the older generation managers since they look for punctuality, however flexibility is very important as well, if shifting work schedule slightly and start working at 9:30am could enable employees to take their kids to school they would be more happy with their managers. Too much overtime could be due to slow performance, but could also be due to too much work and understaffing. Managers should evaluate each employees workload and check if extra staffing will be necessary. Of course to be keeping a smaller team could save extra headcounts, however if employees are working late into the night, the next day they will come in with a lack of sleep and the possibility of incorrect calculations and human input errors would increase. If the manager could remedy the situation by increasing staff for the same amount of work, employees can leave work earlier, enjoy their own personal life, and come back with a fresh mind, increasing productivity and result in happier employees too. Suggestions to Management: Be flexible with working hours HR should assist employees reach a Work Life balance by recognizing stress. Make sure the teams are not understaffed to avoid excessive overtime. Managers and the Generation Y team Among the 4 managers in the Cabelas HK office, only one of them is from the Generation Y and at least 2 of the managers are still using the traditional way of managing their team. Generation Y employees are more diverse, achievement oriented, attention craving, confidence, collaborative. In order to keep them interested in their work, managers should periodically check with the team if they are satisfied with their current work, and if they have any suggestions to changes, the job nature, the way projects are handled, the way information is gathered, etc., anything that they could find challenges in, manager should evaluate and give it a try. Managers should also ask employees if there are any courses that theyd like to take to enrich their knowledge. In this way the employees will feel they are being respected with their ideas and needs and the manager has been an open minded one that they can continue to work for. Keeping the Gen Y employees busy is another key to managing them. Manager should be setting short to long term goals and targets with employees that are feasible and mutually agreed upon. New projects and challenges could keep the employees challenged and prevent them from feeling bored too. Another characteristic of Gen Y employees is they prefer to work anytime anywhere, this would require a change of mindset to traditional managers, but as long as they can deliver their work managers should give them the flexibility. Bear in mind that they are accustomed to multitasking, managers might see a surprising better result with the change! Newer generation employees like to be acknowledged, managers should be holding team meetings for them to share achievements, and everybody should be encouraged to praise good work done. This creates a sense of belonging to the company and further boost productivity. Suggestions to Management: Managers should be educated the characteristics of Gen Y employees Keep the Gen Y employees busy and entertained. Praise good work from the employees. 1.4 Conclusion The key to better manage an office is always, trust, respect and communicate. Managers that understand what the employees want and act upon them, know how to keep them happy, be innovative with providing little benefits, have CSR initiatives in mind, keeping the employees entertained, competitive and educated, assist with preparing for the next step, etc., could be good managers. To manage an overseas office will be very similar, add the ability to handle cultural differences and be able to communication well between parties, employees will stay happy and loyal. Think, decide and act, and managers would have a devoted workforce that drives better performance and profitability. (4992 words) 2a Question 1 Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion within Cabelas Established since 1961 in the farmlands of Western Nebraska, Cabelas has a large workforce of mostly white people at the corporate office, with male dominance in some departments a