Rebranding of Online Marketing Platforms Essay

Just a week ago, Rachel Abrams penned an exquisite piece in The New York Times titled, â€Å"Best Buy Profit Nearly Doubles in Quarter, With Online Sales up 22%.† The title of the article suggests every company’s sales dream envisions through a rigorous online marketing strategy but what is not known is that over the past decade Best Buy has experienced one of the most turbulent sessions in business history. Basing on this history, Rachel Abrams takes us through the steadily recuperating brand marketing strategy of a company that was on the brink of closure three years back. This paper therefore seeks to analyze Abrams article using the Porter five forces analysis to reflect on the benefits of analyzing markets before investing in a particular marketing strategy. Porter five forces analysis is a framework focusing on market competition analysis of specific industries and helps in the development of probable business strategies. Basing its tents on industrial organizations economics, it utilizes five major forces that are used to determine the competitive intensity of a market thereby determining the attractiveness of a market. The five forces of the porter framework are; threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers and the intensity of competitive rivalry- alternatively referred to macroenvironmental factors of the business. In this context the article contains various aspects of these factors and will be discussed in detail in the underlying chapters CITATION Aro14 l 1033 (Arons, Driest, & Weed, 2014). From the offset, Abrams introduces her article as a marketing piece with the introductory sentence which suggests Best Buys move to boost the visibility of thei r products through lowering their product costs and adopting a web strategy to boost online sales and marketing. Considering that Best Buy’s cost-cutting and web strategy was rolled out over two years back after they registered losses for not joining the online marketing bandwagon where competitors aggressively adopted online avenues to push their products; it is safe to say that their move will be beneficial to their sales in long run. Proof is in the Stifel Nicolaus survey which suggests that they have registered a 7% increase in their sales registering 15% sales increase in the financial year 2012/2013 and 22% sales boost in the just completed 2013/2014 financial year. This was only actualized after the company made several adjustments to its marketing strategies to strike their own competitive edge over their fellow competitors. Their major competitors are online retail giants like eBay and Amazon that over the past decade threatened to wipe out Best Buy from the market but since making adjustments in their marketing strategy, the company has witnessed top line growth considered as e roding to match up and even go to the extent of toppling their competition. Best Buy had to change from its rather abrasive told school brick-and-mortar sales strategy where customers had to go to stores to make purchases as opposed to a hands-on experience where customers can use gadgets can make online purchases and the company organizes delivery services for them. Threats of New Entrants Considering that the retail business rakes millions of dollars in revenue annually, upcoming companies have come to have a share of the big pie but still eBay and Amazon still top the online retailing businesses. However, several factors have impacted on the entry levels that will inhibit new players from making a go into a newly identified market. Take the instance of brands like Gap, banana republic and Old Navy stores who have registered drops in their sales considering the move by to adopt technology where stores are no longer viable and now what is being embraced in the markets is the new savvy online shopping. Best Buy’s Ship from Store Approach (Substitute Product Service) For their delivery purposes, Best Buy has an incentive where there customers upon purchase of a product are awarded a gift which is delivered to them considering that the country is currently experiencing bad weather conditions. Similar to other major retailers in the industry, Best Buy is moving from stocking their products stores and are now are shipping their products to consumers directly. Their market analysis suggests that 2% to 4% of traffic online is not responsible of purchases simply because there exists no inventory in its respective distribution facilities, however, most of the time the stock is usually available at their retail centers. This has been actualized through an expansion that saw over 1400 stores being opened up from the previous 400 stores in the past year CITATION Abr14 l 1033 (Abrams, 2014). This approach as simply being adopted to reduce foot traffic in stores; the company simply adopted a ship-to-store approach which was only piloted in 50 stores to see i ts impact on sales before actualizing it in the other stores across the country. This enabled all the distribution centers to handle online inventory as opposed to the previous approach where only one store was responsible for delivery of e-commerce purchases. In essence, the new shipping approach has ensured delivery of purchased products to be done two times faster than was the case in the past. It is important to note that the ship-to-store approach is responsible for achieving the sales registered in the current year considering it has ensured high clearance margins while at the same time ensures that the company reduces its out-of-stock messages thus improving online conversation with customers. Rebranding of Online Marketing Platforms The increased sale of Best Buy are credited to the fact that their e-commerce platform has been improved in the past year to engage the customers more in shopping for their perfect products by making their searches on the website simple. The improvements on the website have been actualized through introduction of new search elements, offering product prices and recommendations, optimized search engine tools and improved search elements. The involvement of these new tools helps customers easily identify products for purchase. To further make the whole process interactive and better than what their competitors are offering, Best Buy included a home-based design of their website where consumers could create a robust streamlined wish list with well enhanced navigation capabilities. Hubert Joly, Best Buy Chief executive therefore suggests that in the future, the company will be keen on transforming their print and television market spending to the new trend of online marketing channels CI TATION Dun12 l 1033 (Dunn, 2012). Above all, it is important to note that the most important aspect of a marketing initiative is the consumers who a company is trying to sell their brand to. ShopperTrack a surveying company suggests that over holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, there is an increased need for online shopping as people are seeking gifts for their families. Considering this, the survey suggest that foot traffic into malls and large retailing centers only receive 50% of this traffic and the rest goes to online shopping avenues. Consequently, following this trend, it is forecasted that during this year online sales will double brick-and-mortar sales in the current holiday season. Banking on this, Hubert Joly says that gifting customers who purchase their products online is an incentive aimed at increasing traffic online and they seek to reach out customers outside the United States specifically the China market through shipping of their products across the continent. Keen to go over their past holid ay one billion holiday sales of last year, Best Buy is seeking to go above this sales record during this Christmas and Thanksgiving season. From their previous experiences dealing with online customers, they learned six important aspects to consider while dealing with online multichannel customers. Firstly, in developing strategies, customer’s ever changing needs and behaviors have to be taken into consideration CITATION Tre07 l 1033 (Trefis, 2007). Secondly, customers need to be provided with the capability to research products before making an order while at the same time interact with the retailer; many customers want to interact before simply signing off a transaction. Best Buy should be able to give customers an entry point where they can easily access the website irrespective of their location; one way of doing this is making the application accessible on mobile devices like laptops, phones or tablets. It is also important for Best Buy to reinforce marketing across all media channels by reaching out to all audiences through product campaigns in different languages. Lastly, the company should not only focus o n growing a specific marketing channel but rather seek to fulfill customer needs on a multichannel perspective. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Abrams, R. (2014, November 20). Best Buy Profit Nearly Doubles in Quarter, With Online Sales Up 22%. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from The New York Times : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/business/best-buy-big-retailers-announce-q3-earnings.html?_r=0 Arons, S. M., Driest, v. D., & Weed, K. (2014). The Ultimate Marketing Machine. Harvard Business Review , 78-99. Dunn, J. B. (2012). How I Did It: Best Buy’s CEO on Learning to Love Social Media. Harvard Business Review , 12-28. Trefis, W. (2007). Macroenvironment factors and Online Business . New York: Barnes & Noble Source document

Islam is the second religion of the book Essay

Incidentally, the term: â€Å"People of the Book† comes from the Qur’an which cites both Judaism and Christianity, religions which came before Islam, as having part of its origins in the prophet of Abraham. In this, we can see a respect for the other religions; a respect which is lost on the perception of a vocal minority of Muslims and as a result, a perception that Muslims hate all other religions. This is false and dangerous assumption for both sides. Belief in Islam requires that a convert believe in only one God, the revelations which he has given to his people from his angels, his messengers and chiefly, the prophet Mohammad whose writings from 610AD until his death in 632 AD helped to compose the Holy book of Quran. It is a central belief and one that is seen as the most important: That there is no â€Å"God but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet. † This is required of all those wishing to consider themselves Muslims and followers of Mohammad and his teachings. There are an estimated 1. 6 billion Muslims with an annual growth rate which exceeds all other religions in the world. Muslims are spread all over the world but are highly concentrated in the Middle East. Pakistan is the most heavily populated country of Muslims and even America has an estimated seven to ten million Muslims in the country. Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God and was made such by a visitation of the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammad. Angels are described in the Koran as: â€Å"messengers with wings. Two or three of four pairs. He adds to Creation as He pleases. † This is a central belief as well as the fact that Mohammad, despite his greatness in the religion of Islam, is not considered a deity of any kind. Neither is Jesus who, despite being highly regarded in the official teachings of the last fourteen centuries, is considered to be only a man and a prophet of God’s, although his greatness is not to exceed that of the prophet Mohammad. God is a central theme of the religion and his is referred to as: â€Å"God, the One and Only: God, the eternal, Absolute, He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto him. † It is also a central theme of Islam; the Day of Judgment. Similar to the Christian belief in predestination, many Muslims believe that people are predestined as to whether they will enter heaven or enter hell on the Day of Judgment. That is not to say that an individual does not have the freedom to choose, rather that God, from the beginning of time, knows the destination of every person who ever existed, or who will ever exist. In this fervor, the message of a complete submission to God is central as well as to the belief in Islam. Disbelief and a failure to submit to the will of God are one of the main offenses which, according to the Koran, will result in a person, on the Day of Judgment, going to hell. The latter is one of the main appeals that individuals have for Islam as in many countries with a high population of Muslims, the living conditions are less than substandard and people live a very tough existence. Lastly, one of the most important and central teachings of Islam is called the â€Å"Five Pillars of Islam. † There are five major aspects of Islam which individuals are strongly encouraged to observe. The first is belief in Mohammad as the prophet of God and that the words of the prophet which are located in the Koran are the literal word of God. The second is praying in the direction of Mecca, five times a day. The third is the giving of alms or charity to the poor and needy. The fourth is fasting during the month of Ramadan in which one must not eat or drink from dusk to dawn. The last is called the Hajj or a pilgrimage during the fourth Islamic month to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. † The latter will compel millions of Muslims, sometimes two and three million Muslims at a time, to go to Mecca at the same time in order to fulfill their last duty, or pillar of Islam. When asking Mr. Aziz about the importance of the religion of Islam within his own life, he gave a very passionate and informed response. â€Å"In America, there is a great deal of misconception about the religion of Islam and as a Muslim; it is my responsibility to live in a way that would help to dispel those myths. Although not in the same light, nor with the same amount of spotlight, it is similar to the experience that the American boxer, Joe Louis had while he was the Boxing heavyweight champion of the world. His manager was careful not to have Joe Louis portrayed in a way that would add to the misconceived stereotypes about African Americans at that time since the last African America boxer, Jack Johnson, had done the opposite and was shunned by America. † When asked if he has found this to help within his own life; the conception of others about him, his ethnicity and his religion, Mr. Aziz had a mixed response. â€Å"There will always be people who will not change their opinions about the Middle East or Islam. I can’t really help that. However, for three high majorities of people who make the effort to know me, they have sometimes come out and said that they were wrong about Muslims, or at least about me. There is still a hint of racism within such sentiments. However, it is progress. † Mr. Aziz then talked to me about his religion. â€Å"In Islam, there are five pillars which every Muslim is expected to respect and obey these pillars. In no specific order, these five pillars are to travel to Mecca at least once in your life, to give to charity, to pray five times in the day while facing in the direction of Mecca, to fast during the Holy Months and to believe that there are no gods but Allah and that Mohammad is his messenger. The last is the most important and is what helps to connect the more than 1. 6 billions Muslims in more than a hundred countries in the world, each one to the other. It is very important to all Muslims. I have not yet gone to Mecca but I hope to by the end of the decade. I have not always been faithful in the completion of the other four on a daily basis as most people of faith experience a lapse in their faith and devotion. That has happened before. However, I am quick to connect the dots and to separate myself from whatever vehicle is serving as an impediment to my faith. † â€Å"Fasting is also important. During the Holy month of Ramadan, there is to be no eating during sunlight. This is one of the most difficult of the five pillars. The reason to fast is that it will help to bring the believer closer to God through the realization that God is the supplier of everything and that nothing can be done apart from him. We eat his food and breathe his air. We use his sunlight and are stewards of his world. In comparison with God, man is so small and weak. Sometimes people forget that. Fasting helps to remind them. † Mr. Aziz also prays five times a day as well as gives to charity. â€Å"I wake up at 5am and pray then as well as at 8am, noon, four pm and before I go to bed at 9pm. Since I was raised to do this and to adhere to the five pillars, this has become a habit of mine and is not really difficult. I remember as a child, I rebelled a great deal towards this especially since I wanted to stay in bed. It was not until two consecutive years, did I feel its difficulty ease and I began to enjoy it. † It is also important to give to charity. This does not solely mean money. There are many people in the world who are very poor and do not have the money to give. To give to charity, or to give alms, means also to be helpful to one’s neighbor. Whether it is shoveling the snow from an elderly neighbor’s driveway or simply just informing a person at the grocery store that they dropped their purse; these all are examples of charity. † Mr. Aziz also speaks to the importance that his religion has towards his community. â€Å"Even though here in America, there is an estimated three to seven million Muslims, there are very few where I live and no places of worship. One of the reasons for the latter I believe is caused by the beliefs that the people in the surrounding towns have about Muslims and that we are all terrorists. Therefore, there have been many attempts, to diffuse any building plans for a mosque. † How do you feel about that? â€Å"It is discouraging to me but me and fellow Muslims meet in people’s homes in order to worship and pray. It is similar to the 1st century Christians who were barred from worshiping by the Roman authorities or the Jews who during WWII were not allowed to worship either. We are not under the same level of persecution but as these other two groups. However, it still requires some planning. † â€Å"It is my family and friends which help to lay a foundation of faith within my life. There are few Muslims in the surrounding areas. Therefore, the friends that I do have and which practice Islam as well as my family, for more than one reason, provide a structure and foundation for me. This is very important. America does not have the same problem with their Muslim population in comparison to the troubles in Europe because we have assimilated. This is important to a degree. We do not want to become completely Americanized but in the process, love American sports and the traditions that come with this country. † So we are then relegated to worship nearly in private. † It is one of the prices to pay for being a Muslim in America. However, since the majority of American Muslims are doing well in America and enjoy this land, we are content to pay some of that price. We are Muslims first however and Americans second. Just as Christians have as a major aspect of their identity in which it cannot be separated from who they are, the same can be said about Muslims. † â€Å"The societal restrictions towards Muslims in America have eased up. However, as a Muslim in America, I still feel as though I am a foreigner in a country that I immigrated to legally over twenty years ago. America has still given me more opportunities than my homeland. I just look forward to the day when I can be truly being considered an America. If I do not live to see that day, I will be sad but I will remain happy that I have had such a rewarding and blessed life while living in America. † Mr. Aziz still continues to work and to support his family. When asked about the faith of his two daughters, Mr. Aziz comments: â€Å"They are eight and ten years old so they are young, but not too young to understand some of the world around them. I hope that I can keep them from experiencing instances of racism or prejudice. I do not however, that the worst that they receive in America, is still better than what they could have hoped for in Pakistan. That is why I am hesitant to complain too loudly. I am still able to raise my children, along with my wife, in the ways that we choose. This is a great freedom that America has; its religious freedom. I recently watched a documentary on Thomas Jefferson and learned that he was instrumental in creating a foundation of religious freedom that is present in America. This happened more than two hundred years ago. Yet, I am a recipient of such actions even today. It is very amazing to me and I am very appreciative. † â€Å"I am proud to be an American. However, I am also proud to be a Muslim. It seems that in the past few years, especially since 9/11, such sentiments have been seen as an oxymoron. I believe that they are one in the same as America promises religious freedom to all who will practice their religion of choice without breaking the law. This is the great gift that America’s forefathers and all who help to preserve such efforts, to contemporary Americans and all who will follow. It is the effort of every Muslim, not to be swayed by the fleeting morals of a society but to hold firm to the faith and teachings of Islam. This is what I am attempting to do. I have not always been successful and have fallen away from my faith from time to time. It is important, just like with anything in life, that once somebody has fallen short of their personal expectations, to get right back up and to try again. Religious faith is an ongoing process and does not stop while one is alive. † This is my hope and prayer for me and all others who feel that the law can only go so far and that a personal relationship with God is paramount in a person’s life. WORKS CITED Armstrong, Karen Islam: A Short History New York: Random History 2006 Burns, Ken Thomas Jefferson New York: Steeplechase & PBS Films 1997 Miller, James Religions of the World. New York: WW Norton 1987 The Holy Qur’an (2002) New York: Oxford University Press An Interview with Mr. Aziz. Recorded with his permission on November 1, 2007 and Transcribed on November 4, 2007.

Anishinaabe People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Anishinaabe People - Essay Example The people could shelter these women and their children but they did not have similar positions with children born with Anishinaabe fathers in the society. Doodem which is their word for clan was borrowed from the English word totem. The clans which are mostly based on animals are very instrumental in conventional occupations, marriages and inter tribal relations. Even in modern day, the clan remains a very crucial part of the Anishinaabe identity (Basil 9). I came to understand that Anishinaabe’s understanding of kinship was very complex and included not only the nuclear family but also the extended family as well. It is regarded as a merging kinship system that is modified. As with any bifurcate merging kinship system, the children basically share similar kinship term with their parallel cousins since they are all part of the same clan. The bespoke system permits younger siblings to share similar kinship terms with cross cousins who are younger. The complexity vanishes further from the speaker’s instantaneous generation but some of the complexity is retained with women relatives. This kinship system reflects the philosophy of the Anishinaabe people of balance and interconnectedness among all the living generations as well as of all other generations from the past and of the future. Additionally to the Anishinaabe totem, clans belonging to other tribes are regarded as being related to the clans of Anishinaabe if they shar e the same designation. Consequently for instance, blending of an Anishinaabe bear clan.

Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity - Essay Example This paper will try to explore through an interview of three nurses with different religious sects in order to understand differences and similarities in spiritual healing practices, as well as how to incorporate them despite the diversity of religious beliefs in the health care setting. (1) What is your spiritual perspective on healing? In an interview with a Sikh nurse, she shared that their soul unites with their god. They believe in reincarnation so that healing is not limited to the physical aspect, but more importantly, spiritual healing of which a dead body will reincarnate into a greater being once they have overcome the obstacles of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. They believe in meditating on the Waheguru or holy name, that they must be diligent and honest in their work, and share the fruit if their labor based on the principles of truth, equality, karma, freedom and justice. For the Buddhist nurse, spiritual healing meant a refuge in the triple gem of the Buddha or enlightened one, the teachings or Dharma, and the community or Sangha. They practice meditation and mindful of others and their environment through cultivation of higher wisdom and understanding. They also invoke their buddhas and bodhisatvas to achieve healing. The Shinto nurse I interviewed said they also believe in spirits they call as â€Å"kami† of which Shinto also is known as â€Å"kami-no-michi†. The spirit and the body are one although even inanimate objects are believed to be inhabited by kami. In achieving spiritual healing, the Shinto practice purification ceremonies called harae or harai, divination, shamanic or third-party healing, and the spirit possession. These are influenced by Buddhism and Taoism or Confucianism traditions. (2) What are the critical components of healing, such as prayer, meditation, belief, etc? For the Sikh and Buddhist, meditation is a vital part of their spiritualism, while the Shinto offer prayers, food, or others in their purif ication ceremonies. In addition, it is part of the Sikh and Buddhist’s spiritual life to maintain harmonious relationship with their fellow beings and their environs. The Shinto on the other hand use ema of which to write their wishes then left at shrine grounds, believe in talisman or ofuda, and the amulet omamori for better health. (3) What is important to people of a particular faith when cared for by health care providers whose spiritual beliefs differ from their own? The hospital and clinic settings have evolved as such that of cosmopolitan structures where various cultures merge. For patients and health care providers, diversity has been accepted if not continuously being promoted. Religious differences are respected but due to the high possibility of difference between the care provider and the patient, spiritual activity is hardly discussed or encouraged by care providers (McLaren, 2004). It is a given that majority of care providers may be Christians who believe in p raying to their God for spiritual and physical healing. This may pose a difficulty for non-Christian believing patients, and therefore, a lack of spiritual assistance may occur. However, as mentioned earlier, diversity calls for respect and acceptance of other faiths, beliefs, culture and tradition of fellow humans in daily encounters such as in a hospital setting. This is most important

Institutional adoption of Open Source Software pros and cons Research Paper

Institutional adoption of Open Source Software pros and cons - Research Paper Example When OSS got momentum, the buzzwords start flying quick and loose. But the very boom of open source software forces the different institutes to take into consideration the OSS depending upon its advantages. The availability of free open source softwares (OSS) is a sort of great help at individual and at institutional or organizational level. The OSS is gaining popularity in both commercial and government domains. An interesting issue in the soft technology is the issue of choice between the proprietary and OSS. Institutes or different organizations are seeing the OSS as an alternative of the proprietary software. The open source applications like Apache, Perl and Sendmail are the focus of different organizations or institutions for their internet based applications or systems. As quoted about open source software: The vision for many developing countries is that by using affordable yet effective open source software to bridge the digital divide, they can achieve rapid and sustainable economic and social development. (Joshua L Mindel, Lik Mui, Sameer Verma, 2007) Most of the institutions or organizations adopt open source software due to certain advantages which open source applications are providing. The advantages which are taken into consideration are low cost of license, more stable features, high security, user friendliness, support cost and facility to upgrade the existing tool according to the new requirements due to the availability of source code. So in the presence of all these advantages we can conclude that open source software is free to use, copy, distribute and modify. In the adoption of an OSS institutes also pay severe attention to economic growth that what is the Return On Investment (ROI). The ROI must be taken into account as an advantage of OSS. But there are certain disadvantages which must also be taken into account by an institute

Comparative Media Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comparative Media Analysis - Research Paper Example The first article is on the report that was presented by Chymlley Organization. According to the article, they had a perception that the use of pests is not effective given the fact that this is another way that reduces the insects that are in the environment. According to the organization, their view in regard to the pests, they view them with an aesthetic perception and not in a layman’s way. This is the benefits accrued o having diverse types of animals (Mtsiva, 2003). The National Environment Management Authority, (NEMA) of the republic of Singapore however encourages this natural suggestion in controlling pests. According to the organization, they view this as an environmental friendly method owing to the fact that there is no chemical that is discharged on to the ground. The organization considers this method in mind environmental conservation (Khopkar, 2007). The weakness of these two articles is that in the first article, it focuses on the aesthetic benefits of the pests and insects but not mentioning the adverse effects of the pests on productivity. The second article on the other hand focuses on the environmental conservation measures but not mentioning the ecological balance in terms of biodiversity (Bharuch,

Reflective Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective Report - Coursework Example Different activities or roles are performed throughout a meeting to assist partakers in attaining the meeting objectives. Enabling or simplification of successful outcomes is the duty of both executives and members. Executives who are equipped to be competent, productive, and self-confident are capable of accomplishing tasks, cultivate a solid, unified group environment, and form strong relationships (Dwyer, 2012). They enable the attainment of goals and encourage the full involvement of others at the meeting. Specifically, I have learned that an executive with competent meeting skills is capable of guiding and strengthening the meeting at every phase. At the start of the meeting, the executive should explain and obtain agreement on objectives, specify conditions, rules, and duties, and promote a strong group environment. For the duration of the meeting, the executive should assist the team in adjusting and implementing the programme, achieve the task goals, formulate action plans, make decisions, create and sustain positive relationships, and make sure the team environment is productive (Dwyer, 2012). At the end of the meeting, the executive should sum up and specify any aspect that demand future response and call the attention of participants about the important details of the meeting. After the meeting, the executive should distribute or communicate outcomes in a prompt way; assess the success of the meeting; observe execution of the action plan; and recommend adjustments for prospecti ve meetings. Open and effective communication and competent executive meeting skills result in a successful meeting that facilitates decision-making and implementation of actions in order to attain desired outcomes. Moreover, developing a vision, making preparations early on, establishing goals throughout the meeting and setting requirements for feedback or follow-up and evaluation later on are crucial. Simply put, an

Legalization of Marijuana Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Legalization of Marijuana - Research Paper Example â€Å"The discussion concerning the legalisation of drugs, mainly the soft drugs resembling cannabis (or marijuana) is able to be categorized as one which depths the perception of liberty of the individual in opposition to the idea of a paternalistic situation. Supporter of legalisation argues, between other things, that cannabis is least harmful than legal stuffs like alcohol and tobacco† (Debate: Legalisation of Marijuana par. 1). According to this debate I feel the drug should be legalized due to the good reasons of them,but as considering the parenting issues, they need to be kept within certain limits and the usage should be prohibited within the certain age. In simple terms, the fundamental debate on marijuana in the US is, should marijuana be banned to citizens supported on health possessions, medicinal principles, and expenses to the country. The reason for the argument is so significant and vast. As before stated, marijuana is a commonly used prohibited drug in the wo rld, with millions of citizens using it. Approximately 100 million in the country have used it and so any legislation concerning the drug guilty influence its citizens. That the explanation behind the prohibition of this drug is being rethought systematically, collectively, and economically. Marijuana comes from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Its detection in 2700 BC in China. The case is not regarding Marijuana being healthy or highly qualitative for anyone. A few terms presented in the debate should to be understood. Marijuana is shaped when the leaves and female flowers of the plant called hemp is dried out. THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main intoxicant of marijuana, and the THC from Marijuana with brain receptors can cause a kind of drowsiness, increased appetite, dizziness, hallucination, as well as other feelings. Topical Issues in the Dispute over Marijuana Legalization: Whether it has medical value? Is Marijuana injurious enough to stay illegal? How does it contrast with ot her lawful illicit substances What is Marijuana’s consequence on our country and how would legalization alter this? Of the four issues connected to the marijuana legalization, marijuana and its medicinal use may be the most extensively conversed of them all. Opponents of medical marijuana carry up many important debates as to why it must not be overlooked. The American Medical Association in 2001 confirmed that Marijuana must remain a timetable 1 drug, based on basic conclusion that it has â€Å"no conventional medical use† and own a â€Å"high possibility for mistreatment†. The FDA has an explicit process, in which the combined medical and scientific society carry out certain procedures to decide whether drugs can be measured safe and successful as medicine, and marijuana is not accepted by this process. The government also maintains that marijuana users are by all means trying to use â€Å"the medical angle† as a strategy to get the drug legalized. Medi cal Benefits: â€Å"The American Medical Association mainly argued for legalisation of this drug according to them it was least harmful when compared with alcohol and cigarettes; they also say that it can be used as other counter medicines, they also states that the Marijuana, in its original variety, is one of the good therapeutically dynamic stuff known to man. By any evaluation of rational analysis marijuana can be securely used within a managed routine of medical care. For marijuana to be unlawful in the United

Porters Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Porters Management - Essay Example This essay stresses that the management styles or the fourth factor that was described by Porter has become very blurred. A dynamic approach is required towards management of organization and it has become imperative to follow a management practice that is sustainable. It has been observed that shareholders have become very demanding and the excessive reliance of the business enterprises on the capital market have made it important for organizations to depend on information in a timely manner. This paper makes a conclusion that the case of national competitive advantage over comparative advantage, an idea created by Porter has both been a source of debate and discussion. A discussion in this topic reveals that the traditional competitive model described by Porter using the developed countries can also be extended to certain other developing countries as well. The case of Ireland, India, Singapore, Korea and Saudi Arabia has revealed that Porter’s model of national competitive advantage is still relevant to explain competitiveness of these nations. All of these nations have developed their competitive advantage over time and provides a thriving climate both for domestic and international businesses. However, there are certain aspects of Porter’s model that is not relevant in present case. For instance, the management styles that have been described by Porter for specific countries are no longer valid in the present organizational structures. The financial cris is of 2008 has revealed that excessive speculation can be extremely dangerous.

Models of decision making and problem solving Essay

Models of decision making and problem solving - Essay Example Decision making is about choosing from several options or ideas and taking action to generate a particular result. It is usually considered to be a rational and logical thinking process. It is defined as a process of choosing a course of action for dealing with a problem or opportunity (Schmerhorn, 2003, p 174). Problem solving is one of the steps involved in decision making. Decision making is a part of everyday life for all of us. However this essay is confined to analysis of the process of decision making in an organizational context. In an organization, decision making is one of the key managerial activities. Decisions taken in a timely manner, making optimum use of information and a sound implementation are the hallmarks of organizations which perform effectively. This essay covers aspects of decision making processes in an organization and the models which can be used to describe them. The roles of creativity in individual as well as organization decision making, intuition, gro up and collaborative decision making and leadership that makes the decision making and problem solving in organizations efficient is also discussed.It is important to understand the context under which decisions are made in the organization. Decision making within organization can be broadly classified as happening at four levels. The first is the long-term strategic decision making process. ... The operations level managers will be involved. Speed and implementation of decisions will be very important here. Very often problems to be solved will be routine in nature. The last is the corrective decisions that an organization will have to make based on the monitoring it does of its decisions and the feedback that it receives through such monitoring. Another type of classification on the decisions within an organization are those that can be differentiated as programmed decisions , those which are routine and can be solved by standard methods and the other un-programmed, those which cannot be solved by routine responses, but which require tailor made solutions. Decisions are usually made by managers as individuals, but in organizations, the particular decisions or policies chosen by decision-makers can often be explained through organizational culture and practices. These practices may be decision making by committees and groups, or by adopting fixed or standard operating procedures. Culture of the organization will decide whether decisions are taken autocratically, creatively or through participation. Decisions are often not made by an individual alone in an organization alone. Decisions are made through a complex set of interaction between different people at different parts (functions) and levels of organizations, since the stakeholders of the outcome of decisions will be many. In real life in organizations it is rare to find decision making and other processes where social and political activity does not play a significant part (Teale et al, 2003, p 289). Decision making depends upon the environment under which decisions are made. Schermerhorn, (2003, ch. 17) describes these as certain, risky and uncertain environment. "Certain"

Develop a stock market Essay Example for Free

Develop a stock market Essay (a) Dependable law and regulations The existence of dependable laws and regulations, not only from the government but also from the enterprises themselves is a necessary conditions since these all the organizations to compete and cooperate with the oversea and worldwide companies. (b) Resolution of policy risk Investor confidence in reliable property right and stable, market-oriented policies are a necessary condition for financial integration and the development of emerging stock markets. Announced market-oriented policies may be reversed, however, and are initially not fully credible. We argue that sustained privatization and liberalization programmes represent a major test of political commitment to safer private property rights, successful privatization has a significant effect on emerging stock market development through the resolution of policy risk, i.e. the risk of ex post policy changes with redistributive impact on investment returns. The evidence showed the progress in privatization gradually leads to increased confidence. (c) Promoting healthy financial institutions Healthy financial institutions especially banks, is a crucial prerequisite for financial stability. The largest number of crises still arise, be it in emerging market economies or industrial countries, from financial institutions overextending themselves when times seem good and then retrenching violently afterwards. Governance would first benefit from a greater internal focus on risk-adjusted rates of return, particularly when rewarding traders and credit officers. The relentless pursuit of shareholder value, without this crucial adjustment, could prove a very dangerous strategy. (d) Developing worldwide acceptable accounting and audit standard It is recommended profession should be is self-regulated through accounting  standard board instead of regulate by government, improve the credible of accounting and auditing report up to international accounting system (IAS) standards.

Performance Appraisal: Functions and Implementation

Performance Appraisal: Functions and Implementation Chapter 1: 1.1 Introduction This dissertation project has been undertaken for the fulfilment of the business degree MBA, General Management from the University of East London. The findings of this dissertation will contribute to concerned company and the author to complete the MBA degree. At the beginning, a leading mobile tele-communication organisation in Bangladesh named Banglalink was chosen as the research organisation. In the middle of the study, the management refused to cooperate with providing information. As a result the author had to find and choose a suitable company to collect research information and data to finish the study. Secure Facilities Management Company Ltd. (SFM) was the new company chosen to finish the research. The introduction chapter gives an overall idea about the study. In this part, the background, objectives and research questions and the structure of this dissertation will be discussed. 1.2 Background of the Study The study discusses about the functions and the implementation of performance appraisal in the new era. The concept of ‘Welfare Personnel was developed in the end of the British golden colonial history by the humane concerns of some business families like Cadbury and Rowntree. Then within the next century, the concept had changed and became Personnel Management and later on Human Recourse Management. Now the world has just entered into a new millennium and the concept of human resource management has become a strategic partner for the business organisations. (McKenna Beech, 2008:2 3) Organisations require many things in order to be effective, a method for producing a product or service, financial resources, a way of marketing and human resources. While all of these are important to organisational effectiveness, the only factor that represents a potential competitive advantage is human resources. This is why the concept of human resource management is s important to every organisation.. The basics of managing people are getting people, preparing them, stimulating them motivate them. To manage human resources in any organisation the following questions are to be considered: (Dessler, 2005:4-5) Are the persons hired for the job wrong? Is the organisation able to milk out the best from the employees? What is the most frustrated area of human resource management? Is the rewarding system working properly? The above refers to how people worked in the past, what changes are required in future to make the production system effective, what are the weaknesses of the system and how to improve. These actually refer to the evaluation of employees of job which is called Performance Appraisal. Performance appraisal system is an important function of personnel department in any organisation. The system has a close relationship between organisation goals and individual performance. The performance appraisal system represents a year round exercise of managing individual performance in an integrated manner with a view to enabling employees to perform at their performance standards. (Dessler, 2005:310) With the view of increasing organisational effectiveness through the effective management of human resources, the organisations use different methods of appraising performance of their employees. For this research a small security service company named ‘Secure Facilities Management Company Ltd. (SFM) a private single owner security service company has been chosen. SFM became a successful organisation in the last few years. Their high standard efficient employees are one of the key factors for their success. For that, SFM has been chosen to practice the theoretical knowledge and to get familiar with the existing system of Performance Appraisal of a small private company. 1.2 Research Question In general, most of the organisations have a kind of formal or informal performance appraisal system. Through the performance appraisal system, the employees get to know their performance standards, which area of their performance needs to be developed etc. The supervisor also provides them with feedback, development and incentives to help them eliminating their performance deficiencies. If performance appraisal system is effectively used, it can improve attraction motivation of the employees on the job. If inappropriately used the appraisal process can have disastrous effects (Dessler, 2005:310). Hence the discussion leads to the research questions: What is the level of understanding and compliance of the employees on performance appraisal? What are the reactions of the employees regarding the performance appraisal? What are the constraints of the performance appraisal in practical life? 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study The research has been undertaken for the fulfilment of the requirement for completion of MBA, General Management for the year 2008/2009. This is mainly aimed to develop the job expertise in the performance appraisal activities under the guidance of expert faculty member of University of East London. It is really a difficult task to assess consistency, relevance and reliability of the tools and techniques of the system, however and effort is made to have some ideas about the matter. 1.3.1 Aims The study mainly aims at knowing about the awareness, the level of understanding and compliance of the employees of SFM regarding performance appraisal system. The study attempts to analyse the present performance appraisal system and the role of both appraisers and appraises in connection with the implantation of the system in real life situation. 1.3.2 Objectives To be acquainted with and acquire practical knowledge regarding performance appraisal system of an organisation. To relate the theoretical knowledge of performance appraisal with practical implication. To determine the acceptability and reliability of the performance appraisal system in a certain organisation. To assess the constraints/factors which influence the performance appraisal system. 1.4 Scope of the Study Target group includes officers of all level. The working forces those who are working in the head office and also in the other sites. Value Perception of both appraisers and appraises of the organisation under study. 1.5 Limitations of the Study While preparing this report, the following limitations had been faced: At the beginning a renowned mobile Tele-communication company in Bangladesh, Banglalink, was chosen for the study but they refused to deliver any information and cooperation just one and half month before the submission date. As a result, the author had to choose a small security company, Secure Facilities Management Company Ltd. (SFM) to carry on and finish the study within such a short time. SFM has a master plan on performance appraisal, but at present implementing a part of it. As a part of the business strategy, SFM did not provide all information on their performance appraisal procedure. The major limitation of the study was the lack of time for such an intensive work which compelled the author to narrow the scope of the study. All officials were very busy with their own assignments. As a result, they had a little opportunity for giving much time in this regard. Limitation was faced on the volume of the report due to which many relevant and important things will remain unexplored in detail. 1.6 Organisation Profile Introduction to Secure Facilities Management Company Ltd. (SFM): Since its formation SFM has built its reputation by providing security personnel of the highest calibre. This has been achieved by combining sound management with sensible terms and conditions for all staff. SFM strives to ensure that their clients and staff benefit from a focused and well-defined professional approach, the ratio of management to client is kept to no more than one manager per 10 clients. SFM strives to provide the highest standards of efficiency to all its clients, both large and small. SFM understands the importance of first impressions and that their personnel are often the first point of contact for their clients visitors and residents. 1.7 Structure of the Research This structure of this study has the following five chapters: Chapter 1 is the introduction chapter where the background, research question and rationale, objective, company profile and structure of the research are stated. Chapter 2 contains a brief literature review on performance management, history and meaning of the performance appraisal, purposes, functions, types of performance appraisal, MBO, 360 degree appraisal, problems and solutions of performance appraisal and essentials of a good performance appraisal. This chapter will provide a basic understanding about performance appraisal which is related to the research questions. Chapter 3 contains Research Methodology which includes research framework, the design of the research, population and sampling, and questionnaire. Chapter 4 provides Data analysis, statistical analysis and findings of the research. Chapter 5 describes the critical review of the findings. Chapter 6 discusses on recommendation and conclusion of the study and reflection summery. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Organisations require consistent levels of high performance from their employees in order to survive in a highly competitive environment. In a view of this, performance appraisal can be a systematic system through which evaluation of an employee is done analyze effectively to determine required performance. It plays a key role in rewarding systems. It is the process of evaluating the performance of employees, sharing information with them and searching for ways to improve their performance. Appraisal is necessary in order to: Allocate resources in a dynamic environment; Motivate and reward employees; Give employees feedback about their work; Maintain fair relationships within groups; Coach and develop employees; and Comply with regulations. It is also a formal opportunity to do what should be done much more frequently in organisations to express appreciation for employee contributions. Companies must administer their employee performance reviews, at all levels, fairly and without discrimination. Since all appraisals can be used against a company in an appraisal employee lawsuit, it is critical that these reviews should be completely accurate. This practice of performance appraisal has been given a variety of titles. The academicians call it performance appraisal, performance review etc. In Government services in Bangladesh, it is known as ACR (Annual Confidential Report). In private organisations, it is often described as merit rating, personnel rating, progress rating, annual performance, etc. Performance appraisal plays a major role in Human Resource Management. The subject is a part of Performance Management. It is necessary to discuss the performance management briefly before proceeding to performance appraisal. Performance Management The primary concern of performance management is the improvement of individual and collective performance. It is a continuous cycle of self-renewing. The aim of performance management is make direct link together individual goals, departmental purpose and organisational objectives. It integrates the major elements of HRM like appraisal and employee development, performance-related pay and reward management, individualism and employee relations. In other way it can be called as day-to-day management activity as it deals with organising works to get the best result. â€Å" a strategic integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organisations by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of tams and individual contributors†. Armstrong (2001:467) According to Armstrong (2001:475) the main activities of performance management are Role Definition, The Performance Agreement or Contract, The Performance Development Plan, Managing Performance Throughout the Year and Performance Review. These activities are a continuous cycle. According to Marchington Wilkinson (2004:187), the process of performance management system involves Induction and Socialisation, Reviewing and Appraising Performance, Reinforcing Performance Standards and Counselling and Support. Beardwell and Holden (2001:538) stated â€Å"Performance Management is not simply the appraisal of individual performance: it is an integrated and continuous process that develops, communicates and enables the future direction, core competencies and values of organisation, and helps to create an ‘horizon of understanding†. Performance Management is an effective tool by which the employees work behaviours are aligned with the organisations goals. There is no one way to manage performance. Whatever system is adopted needs to be similar with the culture and the principles of that organisation. However, most system of performance management has several parts: Defining Performance: Carefully defines employee performance so that it supports the organisations strategic goals. Setting of clear goals for the individual employee is a critical component of performance management. Measuring Performance: Measuring performance does not need to be narrowly conceived, but can bring together multiple types of performance measured in various ways. The key is to measure often and use the information for mid-course corrections. Feedback and Coaching: In order to improve performance, the employee needs information (feedback) about their performance, along with the guidance in reaching the next level of results. Without frequent feedback, employees are unlikely to know that behaviour is out of synchronization with relevant goals, or what to do about it. The major aim of performance management is to find ways of continual improvement of levels of both organisational and individual performance and performance appraisal is the perfect weapon for that improvement. The Rise of Performance Appraisal The performance appraisal has a long history which started China in the third century, the reign of Wei Dynasty. It was mainly used for the civil servants, army officers and managers until recently. Now it is very much wide spread all over the world and has become a popular management tool. In the UK most of the private sector organisations has introduced and are practicing performance appraisal during the last decade or two. Some people suggested that the reason behind for its growth is to use the individualised performance-pay system. Some other factors like market competition, managing change, organisation goal, milk out the best from the employees etc. are also important. Now the terminology ‘performance appraisal is changing to ‘personal development review and ‘performance review and development. (Taylor, 2004:247-248) Meaning of Performance Appraisal Performance Appraisal (PA) is a methodical, on the job-review of an employees abilities and accomplishments. Performance appraisal functions as a valuable management assessment tool and a superior employee motivation weapon. It enables us to strike a workable balance between organisations need for qualified and trained personnel and employees need for feedback and motivation. Performance is the contribution and appraisal is the procedure of measuring the contribution. Performance appraisal is an integral part of a system of managing individuals working in an organisation. Performance appraisal is an inevitable inspire of modern technology and all the systems and controls coming into widespread us, people remain the most important factor in all kinds of business, government agencies, charitable organisations and all other organisation. Performance appraisal is a process of bringing together the approaches of performance management like counselling, training, improving performance etc. that helps the managers to exercise them to achieve the goal of the organisation. It is a procedure of rewarding and disciplining the employees to improve the over performance of the organisation. It is the process of evaluating performance or contribution of an employee to the organisation during a specific period of time by his or her supervisor with relation to his or her job requirements. An effective, reliable and valid performance appraisal system recognizes the legitimate desire of employees for progress in their professions. Integration of organisational demands and individual needs through career management is the part of performance appraisal. Therefore, the performance appraisal program is inevitable for measuring the contribution of both â€Å"employees and managerial personnel†. Performance appraisal program is the basis of determining who is profitable to higher position and who is to be rewarded for better contribution to the organisation he or she belongs to. Performance feedback lets employees know how well they have performed in comparison with the standards of the organisation. Performance appraisal program is the administrative and employee development tool, which is the domain of the management not shared by the employees. Opponents of the performance appraisal attack it on a variety of grounds but without appraising performance of the employees career development, organisational development, recently a number of organisations have revamped their appraisal system in a bid to reduce possible negative outcomes. Appraisal, no doubt is a complex issue and it is clear that to be effective, a system must be designed and implemented with great care. â€Å"Performance appraisal means evaluating an employees current and/or past performance relative to his or her performance standards†. (Dessler, 2005:310) Michael Armstrong (2001:486) says â€Å"Performance review discussions enable a perspective to be obtained on past performance as a basis for making plans for the future.† He explains that the five elements of performance management (measurement, feedback, positive reinforcement, exchange of views and agreement on action plans) can be achieved through performance review. In the conclusion it can be said that, performance appraisal is the process by which an employees contribution to the organisation during a specific period of time is assessed. Performance Feedback then lets the employee know how well they have performed in comparison with the standards of the organisation. Who Should Do The Appraisal? By traditionally a managers authority typically has included appraising subordinates performance. The logic behind this tradition seems to be that since managers are held responsible for their employees† performance, it only makes sense that these managers do the evaluating of their performance. The employees immediate boss conducts about 95 percent of all performance appraisals at the lower and middle levels of the organisation. Purposes Purposes of Performance Appraisal: HRD Employees View Performance appraisal or evaluation serves a number of purposes for Human Resources Department and for the development of the employees. Management uses performance appraisal for general human resource decisions. Evaluations provide input into such important decisions, transfers, and terminations. Performance appraisals identify training and development needs. They pinpoint employee skills and competencies that are currently inadequate but for which programs can be developed to remedy. Performance appraisal can be used as a criterion against which selection and development programs are validated. Newly Hired employees who perform poorly can be identified through performance appraisal. Similarly, the effectiveness of training development programs can be determined by assessing how well those employees who have participated do on their performance appraisal. Performance appraisals also fulfil the purpose of providing feedback to employees on how the organisation views their performance. Furthermore performance appraisals are used as the basis for reward allocations. Decisions as to who gets merit pay increases and other rewards are frequently determined by performance appraisal. Purposes of Performance Appraisal: Organisations View Identify the successful less successful aspects of the employee needs organisational goals. Assist decision makers in allocating resources in planning for future. Assist managers in just frying expenditure accounting for those expenditures. Monitor employee activities to detect any change in activities or the quality of services. Serve as a benchmark, i.e. identifying best practice performance, using that performance as a goal, investigating the factors that led up to that performance, then trying to replicate that level of performance. Functions / Uses of Performance Appraisal Multiple uses of Performance Appraisal are: Development uses. Administrative uses/decision makings. Organizational maintenance/objectives. Documentation. Types of Performance Appraisal There are various types of performance appraisal which includes Alternation Ranking Method, Graphic Rating Scale, Management By Objectives (MBO) etc. (Dessler, 2005:315) These are explained below. Alternation Ranking Method It is the oldest simplest of formal systematic rating is to compare one person with all others for the purpose of placing them in a simple rank order of worth. In doing this, the appraiser considers person and performance as an entity; no attempt is made to systematically fractionize what being appraised into component elements. Graphic Rating Scale This method is widely used in merit rating is similar to the techniques in point-evaluation plan. This involves the supervisor to rate employee performance in terms of prescribed traits i.e. quality of work, quantity of work, initiative, dependability, knowledge of work etc. Each trait is defined various degrees of each are prescribed in some way. From traits degrees over-all rating can be obtained. Forced Distribution Choice Another attempt to counteract the tendency of raters to give average ratings or even sometimes to â€Å"twist† a report to bring about a desired result is the forced-choice technique. Here the rater is faced with groups of three of four statements, he must tick the one, which applies most nearly to the employee under assessment. These statements are so devised that it is impossible for the rater to know which will give the most favourable rating. Grading It is a further development to the guideline approach which attempts to provide a frame work of reference by defining a number of levels at which the characteristics is displayed asking Managers to select the definition which most closely describes the individual they are assessing. For example, in rating effective output the Manager in a typical grading scheme is asked to choose between: Outstanding Outstanding output of high quality work Satisfactory Satisfactory level of output effort Fair Completes less than the average amount of effective work Poor Low output poor worker. Critical Incident Method The critical incident method requires every Supervisor to adopt a practice of recording in a note-book of those significant incidents in each employees behaviour that indicate effective or poor behaviour. These are recorded in a specifically-designed notebook that contains characteristics under which the various behaviours can be recorded. Management by Objectives (MBO) Management by Objectives (MBO) is a critical process that often consists of four steps as a way to attain desired performance: Objective setting-joint determination by manager employee of appropriate levels of future performance for the employee, within the context of over-all unit goals resources. These objectives are often set for the next calendar year. Action planning-participative or even independent planning by the employee as to how to reach those objectives. Providing some autonomy to employees is invaluable; they are more likely to use their ingenuity, as well as feel more committed to the plans success. Periodic reviews-joint assessment of progress toward objectives by manager employee performed informally sometimes spontaneously. Annual evaluation-more formal assessment of success in achieving the employees annual objectives coupled with a renewal of the planning cycle. Some MBO systems also use performance appraisal to tie rewards for employees to the level of results attained. MBO had been taken likened to a modem form of scientific management. It is also subject to the same possible criticisms of too great an emphasis on individual job definition together with a management authority structure, the assumption of no conflict between individual organisation goals. MBO should not be applied simply as a pressure device by which management apply increasingly demanding targets which Staffs are expected to achieve. MBO draws attention to the objectives for individual members of the organisation as a whole. MBO is a potentially attractive system. It provides an opportunity for staff of accept greater responsibility to make a higher level or personal contribution. There is much to recommend it to both the organisation individual managers. 360 Degree Appraisal or Evaluation The latest approach to performance appraisal is the use of 360 Degree evaluations. It provides for performance feedback from the full circle of daily contacts that an employee might have, ranging from mailroom personnel to customers to bosses to peers. The number of appraisals can be as few as three or four evaluations or as many as 25; with most organisations collecting five to ten per employees. The appeal of 360-degree appraisals is to fit well into organisations that have introduced teams, employee involvement, and TQM programs. By relaying on feedback from co-workers, customers and subordinates, these organisations are hoping to give every one more accurate reading on employee performance. Appraising Performance: Problems and Solutions Few of the things a manager does which are more risky than appraising subordinates performance. Employees in general tend to be overly optimistic about what their ratings will be, and also know that their raises, career progress, and peace of mind may well hinge of how they are rated. This alone should make it somewhat difficult to rate performance; even more problematic. There are more numerous structural problems that can cause serious doubt on just how fare the whole process is. Some of the main appraisal problems and their solution are explained below. Dealing with the Five Main Rating Scale Appraisal Problems Five main problems can undermine appraisal tools such as graphic rating scales: unclear standards, halo effect, central tendency, leniency or strictness, and bias. Unclear Standards: The problem of unclear standards is illustrated. Although the graphic rating scale seems objective, it would probably result in unfair appraisals because the traits and degrees of merit are open to interpretation. For example, different supervisors would probably define ‘good performance, ‘fair performance, and so on differently. The same is true of traits such as ‘quality of work or ‘creativity. Halo Effect: The halo effect means that the rating of subordinate on one trait (such as ‘gets along with others) biases the way that person is rated on other traits (such as ‘quality of work). This problem often occurs with employees who are especially friendly (or unfriendly) towards the supervisor. For example, an unfriendly employee will often be rated unsatisfactory for all traits rather than just for the trait ‘gets along well with others. Being aware of this problem is a major step toward avoiding it. Supervisory training can also solve the problem. Central Tendency: Many supervisors have a central tendency when filling in rating scales. For example, if the rating scale ranges from 1 to 7, they tend to avoid the highs (6 to 7) and lows (1to 2) and rate most of their people between 3 and 5. In a graphic rating scale, this central tendency could mean that all employees are simply rated ‘average. Such a restriction can distort the evaluations, making them less useful for promotion, salary, or counselling purposes. Ranking the employees instead of using a graphic rating scale can avoid this central tendency problem because all employees must be ranked and thus cannot all be rated average. Leniency or Strictness: Some supervisors tend to rate all their subordinates consistently high (or low), just all some instructors are notoriously high graders and others are not. This strictness/leniency problem is especially serious with graphic rating scales since supervisors arent necessarily required to avoid giving all their employees high (or low) ratings. On the other hand, when the raters rank subordinates, they are forced to distinguish between high and low performances. Thus, strictness/leniency is not a problem with the ranking or forced distribution approach. In fact, if a graphic rating scale must be used, it may be a good idea to assume a distribution of performances-that, say, only about 10% of the people should be rated ‘excellent, 20% ‘good, and so forth. In other words, try to get a spread (unless, of course, the raters are sure all their people really do fall into just one or two categories). Bias: Individual differences among raters in terms of characteristics like age, race, and sex can affect their ratings, often quite apart from each rates actual performance. In one study, for instance, researchers found a systematic tendency to evaluate older rates (over 60 years of age) lower on ‘performance capacity and ‘potential for development then younger employees. The rates race and sex can also affect the persons rating. However, bias is not necessarily consistently against minorities or women, as it seems to be in the case of older workers. In one study, high performing females were often rated significantly higher than were high performing males. An interesting picture of how age can distort evaluations emerges from a study of registered nurses. When the nurses were 30-39 years old, they and their supervisors each rated the nurses performance virtually the same. In the 21-29 category, supervisors actually rated nurses higher than they rated themselves. However, for the 40-61 nurse age categories, the supervisors rated nurses performance lower than the nurses rated their own performance. The conclusion here may be that supervisors are tougher in appraising older subordinates. Specifically, they dont give them as much credit for their success, while attributing any low performance to their lack of ability. A related problem is described in the Diversity Counts feature. An employees previous performance can also affect the evaluation of h

Maslows Theory Of The Hierarchy Of Needs Tourism Essay

Maslows Theory Of The Hierarchy Of Needs Tourism Essay Introduction As we know that motivation is a process where our need activates a selected behavior thanks to we can try to achieve our goal, It drives us to act in a way to achieve our desire goal and it s the general term for all processes involved in starting, directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities. Maslow hierarchy of needs theory is one of the most popular motivation theories and its also considered one of the most important theories in psychology. According to Maslow people has a specific needs and they are motivated by their desire to satisfy these needs. In addition to this he arranged these needs in hierarchical order, he put physiological needs at the bottom of hierarchy ,followed by safety needs ,the belongingness and love needs after that esteem needs and at the top of hierarchy self -actualization need. He proposed that the lower -level needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs become important. Travel motivation reflects ones needs and wants and can b e viewed as a critical variable in relation to their purchase decisions. Maslow hierarchy theory help us to understand the different needs that motivate travelers and in other hand it will be enhancing service providers knowledge about what kinds of experiences travelers seek, especially for certain groups of people. Maslows hierarchy is considered a useful tool for understanding consumer motivations, developing marketing strategy, appropriate advertising appeals and as the basis for market segmentation and product positioning because consumer goods often serve to satisfy each of the need levels The determinants of travel decision-making and the influential factors would also be examined since they are related to the travel motivations. Understanding of travelers motivations is critical to predict future travel patterns. Maslows five-level hierarchy need theory has been broadly accepted and used to explain travel behavior. This paper will try to discuss the Maslow hierarchy theory in tourism and the importance of this theory in tourism field .this paper also involves some studies in tourism which based on Maslow hierarchy theory and how the authors applied this theory in tourism field. Maslow hierarchy of needs theory Hierarchy of needs theory was proposed in the 1943 by Abraham Maslow who was born in April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA in 1930, his MA in 1931, and his PhD in 1934, all in psychology, all from the University of Wisconsin. Maslow presented hierarchy of needs. On the bottom of the pyramid are all physiological and safety needs such us food, water, air, rest etc. Higher levels represent higher needs, which are more complex. An affiliation on the third level of the pyramid says about belonging to a groups such as family, school or work colleagues groups; a need of love and friendship. On the forth level are self-esteem needs such as respect, achievement, confidence, need of being recognized. Self-actualization needs are on the last level of the Maslows pyramid are creativity, morality, spontaneity, problem solving etc. He also proposed that the lower -level needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs become important in addition to this Maslow in 1970 also discus two important needs related directly with tourism ;the aesthetic need and the need to know and understand .(maslow,1987) The basic need hierarchy 1-Physiological needs: in this level of hierarchy people must be satisfied their physiological need which involves basic survival needs such as the needs of air, water, food and shelter. People cant become concerned with other higher-order needs before they satisfy these needs 2-Safety needs: this level is the second level of maslow;s hierarchy of needs which concerns peoples need to be secure and safe in their environment. It includes the need for protection psychological and physical harm. 3-Belongingness and love need: these needs include dealing with and acceptance by other people, giving and receiving affection and friendship. Based on Maslows theory people cant reach to this level until satisfied their physiological and safety needs 4-Esteem needs: according to Maslow theses needs may be classified in to two subsidiary sets. First, the desire for achievement, adequacy, strength, competence and freedom.seconde we have what we may call the desire for reputation or prestige, status, recognition importance and dignity. 5-Self actualization needs: people need for self- actualization represents their desire to fulfill their potential, maximizing the use of their skills and abilities .malsow proposed that even if all the previous need are satisfied we may still often expect that anew discontent and restlessness will soon develop, unless the individual is doing what he or she, individually is fitted for.(Hitt ,Miller andColella,2006) There is no doubt that , all these needs affect the choice of destination selected by tourists by tourists, an extreme -adventure tourists might forgo all lower needs to satisfy self actualization. The basic idea of Maslows theory is that individuals are waiting beings they always desire more and that they want relays on what they already have. Its necessary to know that Maslows theory relates to individual development and motivation in life and not just to the behavior of people at work. Thats mean the hierarchy of needs can be applied to the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of tourists as well as to members of workers who work in tourist establishment. (Mulins, 1998) Maslow theory in tourism This theory is very important in tourism sector because the determinants of travel decision-making and the influential factors would also be examined since they are related to the travel motivations. Understanding of travelers motivations is critical to predict future travel patterns. Maslows five-level hierarchy need theory has been broadly accepted and used to explain travel behavior. In addition to this, the satisfaction of people (tourists, employees) needs plays a vital role to develop this sector. According to Horner and Swarbrooke, (2001) satisfying the tourists in tourism is very important for three reasons:- It leads to positive word -of -mouth recommendation of the service to friends and families, which in turn brings in new tourists. Creating a repeat customer by satisfying them with their first use of product brings a steady source of income with no need for extra marketing expenditure Dealing with complaints is expensive, time-consuming and bad for the organizations reputation .further more; it can bring direct cost through compensation payment. In tourism we have two customers one who pay and the other who is working in tourists establishments .when we satisfy the workers need in workplace that will be reflected in their works and quality of service which provide to tourists. Maslow as we know that also discuss two important needs related directly with tourism ;the aesthetic need and the need to know and understand. these needs are less known to people because they were not included in the hierarchical needs model .however, from tourism standpoint , these needs carry more weight than others beyond the hierarchical needs model .people travel to learn about something new and to be exposed to objects of beauty. Unfortunately, a few tourism studies have applied Maslows model in relation to these two sets of human needs. (Hsu and Huang, 2008) Examples of tourists studies TOURISM MARKETING FOR CITIES AND TOWNS Using Branding and events to attract tourists By Bonita M. Kolb The author in his book used this theory when he discuss the factors which affect on a person behavior to chose tourist destination, we can observe that the Hierarchy of needs theory has direct application for marketing because many of these needs are satisfied through the purchase of services and products . Of course, person must continue to satisfy his basic need for food, clothing shelter and security even while they are satisfying his belonging and self-esteem needs. A well-designed tourism package will give Chance to tourists to satisfy many of their needs at the same time. After all, on matter how exciting is the places attraction, the tourist will still needing good food, a comfortable be, and personal security. Therefore, tourism marketers must provide information in their promotional on how tourists can satisfy their basic needs while stimunesaly promoting how a visit to the place will satisfy tourists need for belonging, self- esteem, and even self-actualization needs. Satisfying physiological and safety needs Tourists want assurance that the place can provide a suitable hotel rooms and high quality restaurants. Inn addition to this the tourists information about the places safety can encourage them to visit this place. Promotional materials must provide information on the places restaurants, hotels and safety[mark. in other hand money is one hotels award that is potentially related to these needs to the extent that it provides for food and shelter. , in addition to this workers must consider their jobs are security factors and as means for keeping what they have acquired ( mulins,1998) Satisfying belonging needs The social belonging and self -esteem needs play a key role to motivate people to visit any place by using a good promotion such as a small places or tourists destination can satisfy tourists belonging need by communicating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. A large destination also can satisfy these needs through the number of tourists from every where can be helped to make tourists feel like they are apart of new social group. In addition to this when the tourists build a strong relationship with a local community that may help to motivate a repeat visit. In addition to this, Workers satisfaction in hotels may come from family relationships, a job usually provides an additional source of relationships, The manager can use this theory when he wants to motivate workers through give them money in order to satisfy them basic needs after that by communication can make a good work environment .also when the worker feels there are affair system in hotel thats mean career development he will be more satisfy To satisfy tourists belonging need, all tourists destination have to provide a social events and activities that allow tourists to deal with indigenous people and with other tourists .in other hand the workers in tourists establishment must satisfy their belonging needs Satisfying self esteem These needs also can be used to motivate people to visit by sharing the information about the trip with others after returning home. Tourists can satisfy their self -esteem by traveling to learn or improve skill or pursue anew or existing interest .in other hand these needs can be also be enhanced by participation in events that are unique or of limited availability .workers also can satisfy their esteem needs by money and financial rewards because they provide signals of peoples worth to the hotels. Satisfying self actualization Tourism may provide the chance for tourists to improve their own special skills or interests to a professional level; tourism marketers could improve a tourist package that involves advanced lectures by experts or training by celebrities. Self actualization also involves the need to do good for others; tourism marketers also must consider hosting special activities for tourists that also have an altruistic purpose. Maslows hierarchy and food tourism in Finland: five cases By Irma Tikkanen The author in this paper attempted to explore the field of food tourism in Finland by using Maslows theory in classification and how can the food tourism promoters emphasize on the need of people to motivate them According to Tikkanen food and beverage expenditure amount to one-third of overall tourist expenditure of the global tourism because eating is one of our physiological needs ,in addition to this in his paper he attempted to find the link between needs and motivations in hierarchy of needs and also how are they linked with tourism . As we know that Food need is one of the most important basic needs which person cant survive without it but also catering services and food images are very important ingredient of cultural tourism. In this paper the author mentioned that If the physiological needs are relatively well gratified, consequently, a new set of needs emerge, which may be categorized roughly as the safety needs, The safety needs represent the desire to be free of danger ,it is also a multidisciplinary problem. That includes food processing and legislation; management systems and organizational culture; microbiological, chemical and physical hazards; and human behavior. After the physiological and safety needs satisfied, needs of the need for love, affection and belongingness arise. The esteem needs show an individual desire for a feeling of self-confidence and adequacy. This may reflect internal feelings of strength, achievement, independence, or external desires of reputation, prestige, recognition, attention, etc Even if all these needs are satisfied, we may still often expect that a new discontent and restlessness will soon develop, unless the individual has an inward vocation. In other words, what a man can be, he must be. These needs called self-actualization. Food tourism defined asa visitation to primary and secondary food producers, food festivals, restaurants and specific locations for which food tasting and/or experiencing the attributes of specialist food production region are the primary motivating factor for travel. The authors believe that this definition is insufficient in explaining all food tourism and he agrees with the opinion which said that food and tourism have a strong related and Food has recognized as: a part of the local culture, which tourists consume; a part of tourist promotion; a potential component of local agricultural and economic development; and a regional factor that is affected by the consumption patterns and perceived preferences of the tourists. The authors in his study used multiple-case design because the evidence obtained this way is often regarded as more impressive and assuring. In addition to this five cases representing each type of need in Maslows theory of needs were selected. The goal of the identified five sectors with cases is to explain the case study findings with related to Maslows hierarchy of needs and its applicability into food tourism. According to authors the five sector of food tourism in Finland are; food tourism based on physiological needs, food tourism based on safety needs, food tourism based on esteem needs, and food tourism based on self-actualizing needs. In this paper author discussed food tourism respect to hierarchy of needs. Food tourism based on psychological needs:- When the main motivation of food tourism is physiological needs, food is then seen as a tourist attraction such as, on cruise ships the quality and the variety of the meals is attracting tourists, Thats mean the tourists want to satisfy their psychological needs through food tourism. The authors discussed the situation of food tourism in Finland and he mentioned that the international cruising food tourism dates back to the 1960s when cruising tourism started between Finland and Sweden. At that time the assortment of foodstuffs in shops was narrow, and the display was imperfect compared to that of today, and also he focused on the alcohol which was one of the main motivations for the international cruising tourism between Finland and Sweden as well as Finland and Estonia. In addition to this In the Suonenjoki region, strawberry picking attracts tourists from Russian Carelia every summer offering seasonal income. Self-service strawberry picking attracts tourists locally and regionally on a smaller scale. Food tourism based on safety needs:- In this sector of food tourism , it respected to safety needs which consists mainly of local and international food, as well as health and safety conferences, where participants are mostly university researchers, health officers and retailers .the authors emphases on the international conferences of safety food which organized February 1-3, 2003 in Paris, France and one of the One of the companies sending delegates to this event on an annual basis is Kesko, the second biggest retailer in Finland. Food tourism based on social needs:- In this sector of food tourism the author mentioned that Food is becoming the main point of festivals and special activities that attracts tourists as well as indigenous residents in addition to this Food and food activities can be viewed as complementing the trip and helping to the trips success, the tourists consumption experience, but they can also form a top activity during the trip. Therefore, food and the activities linked to it may become the regions core attraction such as; the International Wine Festival in Kuopio collected about 50,000 visitors in 2003. Food tourism based on esteem needs:- As we said that before esteem needs show an individual desire for a feeling of self-confidence and adequacy, the authors focused on Provincial à   la carte projects which established to promote culinary food tourism and organized in the following regions: Kainuu, Lake Finland, Lapland, Middle Finland, Northern Savo, Northern Carelia, and Ostrobotnia. One of the most important aim of this project is to increase information of the regional food tradition and main materials and to use them in the modern catering services Food tourism based on self-actualizing needs:- In this type of food tourism the authors emphasized on categorized business to be the purpose of a visit in meetings and conferences. According to thee authors Food trade fair tourism involves of international and domestic food trade fairs. There are many international food trade fairs, such as BioFach World Organic Trade Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. International food conferences attract food scientists to increase their knowledge. One annually organized domestic food conference is the Finnish Food Congress which has been organized annually since 1970. It is the largest professional educational event for the food sector in Finland. Through these conferences we can satisfy self actualization of food experts who seek new kinds of culinary ideas and new food products. Such as cooks, restaurant managers, food wholesale buyers etc. The authors in his paper used the empirical findings which indicate that when classifying food tourism by sectors, Maslows hierarchy of needs and motivations can be used as the basis in the classification. Travel motivation: a critical review of the concepts development. By Cathy H.C Hsu and Songshan Huang. The intent of this study represents the development of travel motivation concept over the year; the authors apply Maslows hierarchy theory to travel motivation theory. in addition to this they highlights the two conceptual framework ; travel career leader and travel career pattern . The study also discussed other concepts which influence in travel motivation such as push and pull, Mannel and Iso-Ahlo model of escaping and seeking dimensions, merits of Plogs allocentrism / phsycontrism. In addition the study explained methodological issues in tourist motivation research. We will focus only on the uses of Maslows hierarchy in this study. According to Hsu and Huang (2008) travel motivation related to why people travel motivation related to why people travel so this area is relatively difficult research area of tourism enquiry . Based on this problem this paper reviews some of the most important research pieces relating to the subject, and which document the conceptual development of the motivation construct. Authors mentioned that sociology and social psychology is root of theoretical framework of travel motivation studies. In addition Maslows hierarchy of needs can be used to analyze the theoretical of many tourism researches because is one of the most influential motivation theories in the academic and in the public domain, one reason of this popularity of theory is its simplicity. Maslows theory was developed by clinical psychology, the premise is applicable to others sectors such as counseling, marketing, tourism and organizational psychology. The study also explained how Pears in (1982) used Maslows hierarchy theory in his study the social psychology of tourism behavior . Pears in his study analyzed 400 cases of travel experiences provided by some 200 tourists in Australia, Europe, U.S.A and Canada .he wrote down each respondent one positive experience and one negative experience. Pears analyzed and coded the tourists experience data in to five categories in accordance to Maslows hierarchy. Based on the information s which collected through analyzed, he suggested that travel motivation has the properties of an approach-avoidance paradigm and travelers attracted to holiday destination because of the possibility satisfying self-actualization, love and belongingness and physiological needs in that order of importance. (Hsu and Huang ,2008) This paper also mentioned hat Maslow in his theory discussed two others important human needs: aesthetic needs and the need to know and understand something new. These needs are very important in tourism field because person travels in order to see and learn about something new. But these needs were not included in the hierarchy of needs so the needs are less know to people. Maslows of needs theory as applied to tourism field has been one of the significant main point in travel motivation research, as we said that before this study also highlights the two conceptual framework in understanding travel motivation; travel career leader (TCL) and travel career pattern (TCP). Travel career leader can be traced to Pearces earlier work in tourist behavior and it is based upon Maslows hierarchy of needs. Based on the TCL tourists needs or motivations are organized in a hierarchy with relaxation needs at the lowest level followed by safety needs, relationship needs, self-esteem and development needs and finally fulfillment need. The main idea underlying this conceptual framework is that a persons travel motivation changes with his /her travel experience. (Hsu and Huang,2008) The second conceptual framework which presented recently by Pearce and his friend Lee in (2003) is Travel Career Pattern (TCP), it is also known as adjusted version of TCL. In fact its quite different of travel career leader. This concept tested by Pearce and lee in two studies and generate very similar motivation factors ,these factors can be classified in two groups ; the first one involves the most significant and common motivation factors to tourists such as novelty ,relax and relationship while the other group involves motivation factors that were less significant to respondents e.g. stimulation ,isolation and social status. In addition Pearce and lee proposed three levels of TCP they put significant common motives e.g. relax, relationship and novelty in the main layer, the next layer which surrounding the main layer involves the moderately important travel motives e.g. self -actualization. The outer layer includes of common and less important travel motives e.g. social status, isolation and nostalgia. In addition Pearce and Lee explained that pleasure tourists at all levels of TCP are affected by the most important and central travel motives as well as by less important motives. Travel Career Patter ns as a tourist motivation model is still underdevelopment and its validity requires further rigorous tests. (Hsu and Huang,2008) We can observe the relationship between Maslows hierarchy of needs and TCP and how can Pearce and his colleagues Lee in 666 used maslows theory to introduce this new model. 4-Travel motivations of package tour travellers By Jui Chi Chang In this study the authors examined travel motives as well as travel decision-making of Taiwanese travellers with a group package tour abroad. Tourism is an industry for people who are looking for something different and they want to be treated as valuable customers travel motivation as we know reflects ones needs and wants and can be viewed as a critical variable in relation to their purchase decisions and outcome of satisfaction. Motivation emerges when an individual wants to satisfy a need. According to Maslow theory a person has different needs which he wants to satisfy it and these needs motivate person to act anything in order to satisfy his needs , the author mentioned that , Studying travel motivation helps one to understand customers needs, thus enhancing service providers knowledge about what kinds of experiences travellers seek, especially for certain groups of people in addition to this Understanding of travellers motivations is critical to predict future travel patterns. thats mean its necessary to study motivation theory especially the Maslow theory of need which determine the person need According to the author Maslows five-level hierarchy need theory has been broadly accepted and used to explain travel behaviour. Self actualization, the highest need in Maslows hierarchy, generates internal satisfaction and explains the necessity of acquiring knowledge and learning about different cultures. Fulfilling higher-order needs might also be associated with lower-order needs to which multiple motives contribute. Still, it is arguable that not all travellers are able to fulfil the highest need of self-actualization since some people may not consider it to be so significant. The author mentioned that It is difficult to determine which stimulation triggers ones needs in the first place. Besides, one persons needs may not be the same as anothers, even though they are in the same life cycle. Nevertheless, theories of motivation have played an important role in the development of tourism psychology This study suggests that socio-psychological needs are an important motivation for travel, and socio-economic considerations are regarded as a crucial motivation for travel decision-making. Furthermore, travellers decision-making may be strongly influenced by their social relationships friends/relatives recommendations. Finally we can say that Maslow hierarchy theory can used to explain travel behaviour and can help to determine which factor play a vital role to effect on person decision to visit destination and practice some activities. Conclusion There is a wide variety of theoretical frameworks that have been developed and used in attempts to explain the issues of motivation and satisfaction. As we know that, Human needs can be divided into different categories and the successful in tourism field based on how can tourism satisfy stakeholders needs in tourism sector,. Maslows hierarchical needs theory, although developed in the field of clinical psychology has become widely influential as the best-known general theory of motivation and has been applied to explain motivation in many social disciplines, and areas such as business, marketing and tourism. it has been called an emotional trigger that enables marketers to communicate with their target audiences on a personal, meaningful level that goes beyond product benefits. This theory has been broadly accepted and used to explain travel behaviour. Self actualization, the highest need in Maslows hierarchy, generates internal satisfaction and explains the necessity of acquiring knowledge and learning about different cultures. Fulfilling higher-order needs might also be associated with lower-order needs to which multiple motives contribute. Still, it is arguable that not all travellers are able to fulfil the highest need of self-actualization since some people may not consider it to be so significant. One of the main reasons for the popularity of Maslows hierarchy of needs is probably its simplicity. This hierarchy could be related to the travel industry in the sense that unless individuals have their physiological and safety needs met, they are less likely to be interested in travelling the world to make a difference. Self actualization can, in fact, be considered the end or goal of leisure. Finally we can say that, Maslows five-level hierarchy need theory plays a vital role to determine these needs and helps all the parties to understand the different needs of people in order to satisfy it and achieve success in tourism field.