Employee Retention in Workplace

Table of Contents Introduction Factors contributing to high turnover rates How to retain employees What rewards do employees want What makes a good workplace Conclusion References Introduction According to Prakashan (2008, p.1-51), â€Å"employee Retention involves taking measures to encourage the most productive employees to remain in the organization for the maximum period of time† or up to completion of their projects. Additionally, Carsen CCH Incorporated (2005, p.2) note that ‘retention of employees also involves weeding out underperformers in order to free up resources and space for high achievers.’Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Employee Retention in Workplace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More High turnover in a firm can adversely affect the firm’s productivity and profitability; however, low turnover is not necessarily beneficial as it can also harm performance of firms. The causes of voluntary turnover are classified into two groups; low job satisfaction and labor market conditions (Jackson, Schuler Werner, p.217). Employees’ retention is very essential to business because the cost of turnover can be exorbitantly high as it includes costs of advertising, paying recruiters. According to Smith (2007), it costs approximately $7-17 to replace an hourly employee and more than $40000 to replace a manager. Moreover, globalization has led to stiffer competition for quality employees. Besides, the United Nations predicts that labor shortages in the coming years will be a real problem (Jackson, Schuler Werner, p.217). Some industries have general high turnover rates compared to others; thus, it is necessary for businesses to identify the specific trends in their industries in order to set up appropriate measures. Low turnover among high performers contributes to improved firm’s performance (Jackson, Schuler Werner, p.217). Therefore, productivity of an organization is directly linked to retention of its most productive employees. Employees are compelled to leave a certain organization because of some specific reasons. Factors contributing to high turnover rates include job and employee mismatch, and failure of meeting the employees’ expectations. Thus, it is important for management teams to realize that turnover is not caused by a single event, but rather, a string of processes in the organizations. Retention of employees involves four major factors namely compensation, growth and career, relationship in employee retention programs and support (Prakashan, 2008, p.1-53). These strategies are all geared at increasing employees’ satisfaction, and boosting employees’ morale. Moreover, employee retention practices exist in three levels; low, medium and high levels. Further, selecting and hiring the right employees who fit in the organization culture in itself facilitate retention. According to A rmstrong (2002), rewarding of employees should be based on the value they add to an organization; these rewards are usually in the form of financial and non-financial. Rewarding employees is one method of motivating and hence retaining employees. Besides, through rewarding employees, a business is able to grow its revenue and profits, retain its most productive employees, and inspire peak performance among its staff (Deeprose, 2007, p.1).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, Reward system used as a motivating technique should be aligned to the unique needs of employees. Additionally, in order for employers to have maximum benefits from rewards, employers need to link rewards to organizational goals. The employers need to identify values or behaviors that they desire to reinforce and they attach rewards to them. This paper outlines specific issues contributing t o high turnover rates in organizations, and identifies the specific ways of rewarding employees. Moreover, the paper will outline what an organization should do in order to retain its productive workforce. Factors contributing to high turnover rates Employee turnover â€Å"occurs when employees voluntarily leave their jobs and must be replaced† (Smith, 2007). Business owners and management teams need to recognize factors that lead to high turnover rates in their specific businesses and industry. Moreover, factors that contribute to turnover rates among a specific group i.e. gender, race or certain ethnic groups should be explored. Factors contributing to high turnover rates can be classified in two categories; those beyond or within the control of the employer (Smith, 2007). Thus, employers need to identify factors related to high turnover rates which are within their control and put in place strategies to mitigate their occurrence. One factor contributing to high turnover ra tes is economic factor; employees leave a business in order to obtain better paying jobs. Indeed, some employees have been reported to leave an organization for another that provides an increment to their previous salaries or wages. Additionally, employees are constantly looking for job opportunities that give better compensation packages such as bonuses, health insurance. Further, organization experiencing performance difficulties have higher turnover rates; this is due to speculation of future layoffs. Employees in organization which are in the process of restructuring for example merging or being acquired tend to leave the firm due to uncertainty of job security. The organizational culture in a firm influences satisfaction, hence the rate of turnover. Organizational culture includes these aspects of reward system, strength of the leadership and development of shared goals. Generally, organizations with good support work environment have lower turnover rates (Prakashan, 2008, p.1- 53). Subsequently, organizations with limited career growth opportunities are exposed to high turnover, as employees seek for new challenges and career growth. Indeed, findings suggests that employees who had progressed through different jobs were more likely to remain in an organization compared to those who had remained in one job since being hired (Branham, 2005, p.204). Besides, high-performers stuck in one position for too long have a high tendency of leaving.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Employee Retention in Workplace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The characteristic of a job also determine its turnover rate. For example, employees who are compelled to perform duties that take up personal time are likely to leave employment (Smith, 2007, p.24). In addition, job’s status determines its attractiveness or the lack of attractiveness. Usually, â€Å"job’s attractiveness will be aff ected by many characteristics, including its repetitiveness, challenge, danger, perceived importance, and capacity to elicit a sense of accomplishment† (Smith, 2007). Jobs which are monotonous and have limited opportunities for career growth experience high turnover rates. According to Jackson (2002), dissatisfaction with growth and career development prospects in a firm also cause employees to leave. Impractical expectations and general ignorance from employees at the time they accept a job offer fundamentally affects turnover rates. Subsequently, if employees are constantly assigned duties that do not match their qualification or personalities, they are compelled to leave (Prakashan, 2008, p.1-53). In addition, demographics of employees also contribute to their decisions of leaving an employment. Indeed, â€Å"empirical studies have demonstrated that turnover is associated in particular situations with demographic and biographical characteristics of workers† (Branham, 2005, p.204). For example, employees who have attained additional qualification (degrees) are more likely to leave a firm if they feel their achievements are not recognized or there is no room for utilizing their qualifications (Branham, 2005, p.204). Substandard working conditions in an organization also contribute to high turnover rate. Employees require adequate materials and equipment necessarily for accomplishing their responsibilities. Subsequently, the workplace environment should be hygienic and safe, for instance, proper lighting and well ventilated. Moreover, it is noted that there is high turnover in departments where the managers leave. Changes in management can destabilize an organization. How to retain employees Management of businesses can reduce employees’ turnover by using some basic HR practices. Turnover is not caused by a single event; rather, it is mostly caused by a series of processes in the workplace. Therefore, management teams need to diagnose reaso ns that cause employees to disengage so that management can interrupt the process hence save a lot of resources (Jackson, Schuler Werner, p.217). Employers need to make special consideration during mergers or acquisition or low performance because organizations are more vulnerable to higher turnover rates.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Smith (2007) outlines pay, promotion opportunities, and work/life balance as the most essential needs from their companies. Firstly, organization should appoint a retention committee that is tasked with dealing with all issues regarding retention of the workforce; this is essential especially in large organizations. Organization with retention initiatives reported up to 40% turnover decline among salaried employees and 25% decrease in hourly employees (Branham, 2005, p.205). Moreover, it may be necessary to re-interview the organizations staff yearly to review employees in terms of growth and areas where there is need for training. Additionally, large organizations should create an employee alumni organization where former employees can be contacted and possibly rehired. Organizations should offer competitive compensation packages to its employees depending on the industry. The compensation package includes wages, salaries, bonuses, stock options and vacations. Jackson et al (2002) recognizes compensation given to employees plays a crucial role in retaining them. The compensation given should reflect the amount of skills and experience of the employee and the amount of time spent working. Employers also need to train sectional or departmental managers on the importance of employees’ retention and factors that lead to high turn over rates. Besides the department managers should be given retention goals. In order to establish why employees are leaving their employment managers should conduct exit surveys where the managers conduct an interview to establish the reasons for dissatisfaction (Jackson, Schuler Werner, p.218). Importantly, departmental managers should be encouraged to remain in their position since their departure can cause turnover from their junior staff. In the event that a department manager has to leave, the position should be filled by an internal candidate trusted by the current employees (Branham, 2005, p.204). The organization should facilitate their employees to assess the organization hence pinpoint possible retention problems. Smith (2007) recommends two approaches through which organization a can be assessed; through a regular, informal assessment of employees by their supervisors and a formal assessment where employees can express their views regarding their company. Further, during frequent staff meeting, managers should identify productive staff whose departure would hurt the organization. Moreover, the management should establish and implement ways of to better the needs of these key employees (Branham, 2005, p.204). According to Prakashan (2008), growth and development are fundamental issues to every employee. Therefore, organizations should focus on the career development needs of their employees and broaden the employees’ marketability. Besides, findings suggest that nonexempt employees who advanced to exempt stay longer in businesses. Consequently, the organizations should provide coaching to encourage their nonexempt employees to grow their knowledge and capabilities hence attain career growth opportunities (Branham, 2005, p.204). Moreover, the managers should ensure that the employee’s personal goals and objectives are met as they participate in organization responsibilities. Further, the employees need training on various aspects of the organization in order to facilitate easier working. Subsequently, employers need to appraise its workforce and provide feedback and recommendation of improving their performance. First-year turnover rates are usually very high due to poor selection and hiring processes. To prevent this first-year turnover, an organization should select employees who can easily fit in the existing organizational culture, thus avoid employee-job mismatch, which causes dissatisfaction. Normally, new employees need to be properly oriented in a bid to make them fit into the system smoothly without having to kill their morale to work so early in their career. New employees who fit in the organization’s culture tend to have maximum length of time in a firm. Additionally, the management may need to review new-hire orientation process and training of new employees during the first year of employment (Branham, 2005, p.204). Additionally, employers need to explain explicitly, job responsibilities when hiring new employees, since unexpected responsibilities can cause dissatisfaction. In this case, employees should be made aware of what roles they are likely to play in the organization from the beginning of their engagement. Employees can also to be retained through creation of a supportive work culture, which enable employees to develop and boost employee satisfaction (Prakashan, 2008, p.1-53). A supportive work culture should encompass the following; respecting all employees, assigning appropriate job profiles and promoting or disciplining all employees according to the corporate culture. Additionally, the organization should support its employees to be successful. In addition, it is necessary for an organization to â€Å"support its employees during personal crisis through providing personal loans during emergencies or counseling services† (Prakashan, 2008). What rewards do employees want As stated earlier, rewarding employees is important to a business as; it grows revenue and profits, helps to retain productive employees and inspiring peak performance among the workforce. Effective reward programs in businesses have a great bottom-line impact. Rewarding employees also helps to great a positive work environment, motivates high performance, and reinforcing desired behavior. Moreover, organizations which recognize the efforts of their employees register better performance than organizations which do not recognize and reward its employees. Moreover, ‘organizations need to formulate employees reward systems that consist of integrated policies, processes and practices of rewarding employees dep ending on their contribution’ (Armstrong, 2002, p.4). Contrary to believe of many employers that rewarding employees is an expensive strategy, rewarding can actual have no or minimal cost. Importantly all rewards used by employers should be frequent and personalized since employees have unique needs. Therefore, employers require understanding of the unique needs of their employees in order to have an appropriate reward scheme for each. Most employers tend assume that their employees require rewards and incentives in form of monetary form. Conversely, as much as monetary rewards is an important way of recognizing employees achievements, there are many other forms of rewards which employees require as discussed below. In deed most studies conducted on employees suggest than money is not ranked highly among motivating factors. Ideally, rewarding of achievements and progress should be done on daily basis. Employees require recognition, praise and appreciation from their employers ; this can be in form of a personalized written praise (Stredwick, 2005, p.338). The employees need their employers to publicly recognize their efforts or achievements so the whole company can share in their accomplishments. In deed when employees perform a good job, employers should show appreciation. Employees require flexible working hours in order to maintain work/life balance; besides, new technology can facilitate working from home (Armstrong, 2007, p.38). The employers should reward top performers with flexible working hours or facilitate them to work from home. Where possible give opportunity to deserving employees to determine their working schedule; this strategy facilitates in building trust and good relationship between employers and key employees. Additionally it is essential to compensate for any extra time worked by employees. Further, the employees’ life schedule should fit with their work; example female workers may require more flexible working hours due to their maternal duties. Subsequently employees need learning and development opportunities where they can improve their marketability and career growth chances. Employers need to offer training and guidance to their employees in order to equip them with necessary skills (Armstrong, 2007, p.36). This is in realization that employees are always see\king an opportunity to advance their career and personal development, thus can be part of motivation. Additionally, employees require employers to consider employees voices and decisions, and in this case, ensure that all employees are allowed to participate whenever key decisions that touch their roles are being made. Employees want to be rewarded with greater responsibilities and leadership position. High achiever employees should be rewarded will new challenges; therefore, they should be rewarded with opportunity â€Å"to choose their assignments and rise to new challenges offered by new responsibilities† (Armstrong, 2007). Moreove r, employees need higher degree of autonomy and independence when performing their duties. By giving room for employees to work independently they are able to be innovative. What makes a good workplace The quality of a workplace influences motivation, satisfaction of employees and hence productivity of the firm. Generally, the structure and corporate culture of an organization determines the quality of a workplace. The quality of working relationship between co-workers and employees and management determines the quality of a workplace. In organization where workplace relationships are solid and supportive they form a good environment for working. Moreover, the work place relationship is influences the work environment, work teams cohesion and job satisfaction (Ganster Perrewe, 2010, p.118). Additionally workplace friendships affects work place experience positively; they contribute to job satisfaction and job involvement. Employees are willing to stay in organizations where they ha ve clear understanding of what is expected from them. Good workplaces offer guidance of meeting goals but they do not control the employees. Thus, management needs to effectively communicate their expectation from each employee and then give autonomy and independence for employees to attain the goals through their preferred routes. Subsequently, good workplaces have adequate materials and equipment necessary to maximum their potential. Moreover, employers should facilitate training employees on how to use provided equipment. Employees are motivated to stay in workplaces where duties that match with the right individuals. Additionally, workplaces with culture of appreciation are more attractive to employees. Further good workplaces provide opportunities for growth and development to its employees. Besides, employees are compelled to stay in organizations, which have high productivity culture. Conclusion Employee retention is a major concern for many employers; management teams of suc cessful organization have to realize the importance of retention its most productive workforce. High turnover leads to loss of valuable workers whose replacement is costly. It is important to note that a high employee turnover is normally unhealthy to an organization’s performance as well as the productivity of other presumably loyal employees. Moreover, turnover affects productivity of remaining employees since they may be compelled to perform duties of more than one person or allocated duties that do not match with their training. Employee exit from an organization may be a subject of variant factors; however, although some are avoidable, other factors may be too strong for the employer to control. It is fundamental for employers to identify these factors and establish strategies of preventing their occurrence. Primarily, turnover is attributed to lack of job satisfaction or economic conditions. Lack of job satisfaction is mainly caused by unmet expectations, the nature of job, corporate culture in the organization and personal demographics. On the other hand market conditions influence turnover through availability of better job opportunities with improved compensation. In order to limit harm of high turnover, employers need to utilize some strategies so as to improve job satisfaction and hence retention. Primarily, an employer should review his compensation packages, the workplace relationships, career and development prospects, and support in the workplace to facilitate retention of high-performers. The employers should offer competitive compensation packages depending on skills and experience of their employees and duration worked. Moreover, the employers can allow high-performers to formulate their work schedule or flexible working hours. Besides, the employers should compensate the employees for any extra hours. Further, employees want more independence and autonomy whenever handling their duties. Moreover, employers can retain employees through providing career development opportunities and training. The workplace culture influences the productivity of employees and also the rate of turnover. Management need to instill a supportive culture in the workplace as it leads to higher job satisfaction, therefore lower turnover. Additionally, the workplace relationships affect quality of the workplace. Thus, employers are required to establish strategies which promote internal cohesion. Besides, a good workplace has necessarily materials and equipment while the staff has been trained on how to effectively use the provided materials. References Armstrong, M. (2002). Employee reward. London: CIPD Publishing. Armstrong, M. (2007). A handbook of employee reward management and practice. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Branham, L. (2005). Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Carsen, J. CCH Incorporated. (2005). HR How to: Employees Retention. IL: CCH Incorporated. Deeprose, D. (2007). How to recogniz e reward employees: 150 ways to inspire peak performance. NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Ganster, D. C. Perrewe, P. L. (2010). New Developments in Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to Job Stress. London: Emerald Group Publishing. Jackson, S., Schuler, R. Werner, S. (2008). Managing Human Resources. OH: Cengage Learning. Prakashan, N. (2008) Human Resoure Management: Managing People at Work. Bangalore: Nirali Prakashan. Smith, G. (2007). 401 proven Ways to Retain Yours Best Employees. Georgia: CYC Publications. Stredwick, J. (2005). Introduction to Human Resource Management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. This research paper on Employee Retention in Workplace was written and submitted by user Jeremiah W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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Personal And Professional Development For this essay I have audited my leadership skills using theoretical models and referred to specific situations and experiences. This encompasses personal, academic and professional reflections and explores opportunities for my career paths and personal development with an Action Plan for the future. This has required critical evaluation of my own development needs in light of my own aspirations, establishing an understanding of my transferrable skills and how these can be enhanced. For this I have considered situations in which my leadership traits, styles and skills have been utilised to help create successful outcomes. Background My career path has involved working closely with and taking an interest in people, both clients and colleagues alike. In developing my management skills, I am continually pursuing further ways of improving the effectiveness of these interactions which is immensely rewarding for me. On leaving school, my first employment was within the travel industry. From the outset, I sought to improve skills and enjoyed the challenge of meeting the needs of customers, budgetary targets, training of staff, problem solving, through to the opening and management of a travel agency branch several years later. Apart from the GCSE qualifications gained at school, any further academic or professional learning has been gained whilst in employment. The skills and achievements in my personal life are equally transferrable to my work life. For example, as Chairman of a genealogical society for several years and public speaking engagements both serve as reminders that I have organisational, research and presentation abilities which I can and should be utilising and developing along my career path. I am a prison officer and, three years ago, I learnt that my establishment was funding a Foundation Degree in Offender Management. My initial reaction was one of excitement as I had, for several years, considered some form of Higher Education by way of personal and professional development, but had never explored the options. It was a source of immense satisfaction to pass the course and achieve Distinction grade. My learning journey, experiences and personal developments, undertaken in the last three years, would take more than the word count of this essay allows, yet there are key points to reflect on in order to analyse my own leadership skills and continue their development. Theoretical Models and Personal Experience of Reflection in my Professional Development: From my earliest days in retail employment, then Care Work and on to prison officer, I have been fascinated by people and behaviour. Working alongside others, as well as empowering and training gives me great personal and professional satisfaction. Using reflective models such as Gibbs (1998), shown in Appendix III, I came to realise that how I interpret situations influences my interactions with others. As I will illustrate, this relates directly to my personality style and how I manage people and situations. Linked to this is the importance I place on how I am viewed by others and naturally seek collaborative and open relationships. Many of these values are found in Carnegie (1938), listed in Appendix I. The Study Skills Self-Assessment which I completed on 23 October 2007 (Appendix II) highlighted three main employability skills I need to develop as: Improving own learning and performance Application of number (data collection and interpretation) Information and technology proficiency Alongside these, to develop, are my personal attributes of Self confidence Flexibility and adaptability Judgement In this assessment I also reflected on my own specific weaknesses which include being too self-critical and not praising my own achievements enough which can affect my ability to be objective about my performance. I have a strong underpinning need to defend others and leap to their rescue which I have come to see as a hindrance to my own development and of those I seek to help. This is a particularly important area for me to address as future management roles will require me to allow others to take their own personal responsibility and only offer guidance as appropriate. This rescuer style is schema-related and I have considered schema theory and how this applies to me. Beck, (1967:233), described a schema as ..a cognitive structure for screening, coding, and evaluating the stimuli that impinge on the organism. In short, schemas are the filters or core beliefs we have about ourselves or the world around us which influence how we interpret different situations in our lives. The nature of the work I do in offender rehabilitation requires me to undertake regular de-briefing, supervision, yearly health reviews and bi-monthly counselling. This, together with schema theory and other therapy models I use with prisoners, which I have also applied to myself, means I spend a lot of time being introspective and sharing reflections with colleagues. This helps define practical steps for a successful future but also enables me to gain wider perspectives in understanding, leading and managing others with a range of resources and situational analysis capabilities. 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In developing my management skills throughout my degree studies, I have discovered further ways of improving the effectiveness of these interactions which is immensely rewarding for me. Through networking with management and departments for resources on researching prison policy, security and management skills, I am now feeling positive and motivated to succeed in career development. Not only is this important from a practical, self-development perspective, but also the fulfilling sense of achievement this will bring. Until recently, I was Supervisor of the Core Sex Offender Treatment Programme which was an important role in developing my leadership skills, promoting staff well-being as well as guiding staffs professional development. Another important aspect of this was to remain flexible yet consistent in balancing these needs whilst focussing on the goals of the establishment Business Plan and Key Performance Target (KPT) priorities. This mirrors Handy (1987) who argues for such flexibility in his Trust Control Theory. I find myself taking the opportunity to develop the skills of others very seriously and is personally rewarding and empowering. The values I attribute to this mirror those of Kandola and Fullerton (1994) in their Mosaic Vision which I have included in Appendix V. In Transactional Analysis Theory (Bern, 1961), every individuals personality is made up of three parts Parent, Adult and Child. An assessment of my own revealed a predominantly Nurturing Parent relationship style which is immensely rewarding personally, but can prove emotionally draining and is not without its practical problems. However, developing assertiveness skills in establishing my own identity and skills base has the benefit of overcoming any negative rumination and keeps lines of communication open. An example of achieving this was in challenging my line manager over my yearly performance review where I was rated Achieved and not Exceeded which I felt was deserved. I could have overlooked this and ruminated unhelpfully, believing him to be responsible for not recognising my achievements, but chose instead to manage my manager and argued my case. I found the www.h2training.com website interesting which had useful strategies for reminding me how to maintain my own degree of self-determination. Quoting from this site: Its unreasonable to expect your manager to be entirely responsible for accelerating your career: ultimately, its your own responsibility. Remember that an expectation is also resentment waiting to happen, and it is very difficult to hide resentment. http://h2training.com/managing_manager_tips.html [accessed November 2010] Suffice to say, my performance record was amended accordingly. I recently had to step down from Sex Offender Treatment work which I found difficult to accept. I, therefore, reappraised my personal development and used reflective skills (Kolb, 1984 and Beck 1967) to help evaluate the experiences and to understand how I was interpreting them. By doing this, I was able to negotiate a role within the drugs support team after originally being offered an office based assessment position which I would have found unfulfilling. Indeed, on reflection, assertiveness and negotiation are two core management attributes which are now part of my skills set. Drawing together the range of experience and interests I have enjoyed over successive years keeps me, first and foremost, actively engaged in working for and alongside others. My role as a drugs support worker requires the key skills I possess with the realisation and expectation that they can be further developed with a particular emphasis on evaluating the management requirements of this work. This is encouraging and, in this period of change, I have come to realise the importance of job satisfaction as a key motivator for me. An important element of my professional life is to uphold personal and corporate values of decency and ethical practice including cultural diversity. I was pleased to be able to highlight these values in my Diversity Foundation Degree project from January 2009 where I made recommendations for valuing the diversity of staff and prisoners and improving ethical practice in Programmes Awareness training at Full Sutton. This was well received by the treatment management team resulting in the training being strengthened in this area. On sharing the findings of my Transactional Analysis with a work colleague, my nurturing parent style was acknowledged and confirmed through my perceived empathic nature. In looking at my management style, it is important that I maintain a balance between this and being careful not to go into White Knight schema-driven mode, where I need to defend others at all costs. Developing a style which cares for others yet enables them to function on their own merits allows me to function better as a genuinely caring person in my work and as a leader. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs theory (1943), reminds me that my own needs count as well as those of other people. In other words, putting other people first all the time is detrimental to my own well-being and valuing myself is, in itself, a key assertiveness skill. I continually remind myself of the announcements on aircraft during safety briefings where, in the event of oxygen masks being deployed, you are instructed to put your own on first before aiding anyone else. If you dont, you might pass out beforehand and then no one is saved. Critically evaluating My Leadership and Management Style Some years ago, a colleague of mine who has since retired, told me his thoughts on a particular Senior Manager. He used a phrase which, though meant in a derogatory sense, I have never forgotten. He said ..as a leader of men, I would only follow him out of curiosity. This colleague had spent many distinguished years in the Armed Services as a Regimental Sergeant Major and had been in the Prison Service for around 15 years. He had, therefore, some considerable experience of different management and leadership styles. Using established theory I continually analyse my own strengths and weaknesses in areas of leadership and management. Fayol (1916) highlighted five commons elements of management which are essential to the role. These include the ability to look to the future, to be organised and co-ordinate the organisational objectives, leading (though he defined it as commanding which is unhelpfully autocratic) and, finally, to control the above elements using all means at his or her disposal. Whilst this was written at the beginning of the last century, the basic tenets of management Fayol lists are still valid though ones own personality also engenders an effective workforce which can achieve results. The latter is personally important as I seek to have followers rather than delegates and makes me, as a manager, more of a leader. I recently completed the Myers Briggs Personality Type Questionnaire. Having done this a couple of years ago, I decided to redo this using an internet-based assessment resource (www.teamtechnology.co.uk) [accessed 15 September 2010], which produced a comprehensive 200 page report. Summary in Appendix VI The results proved very interesting and formed a cohesive assessment which affirmed the beliefs about my personality and leadership attributes gained over the last few years. This was confirmed through the initial questionnaire together with a separate subtest which had similar outcomes and, interestingly, the results were very similar to my previous assessment two years previously. Essentially, I have a strong focus on values, feelings, compassion and important beliefs where current experiences hold great learning importance. Team values are high and my role in ensuring the well-being of those with whom I work is important to me. There are, however, elements of this personality type which I am aware can be problematic if not managed appropriately. I do have a tendency to avoid conflict yet can be stubborn where my own values come into conflict with corporate ideals in which I run the risk of failing in objectivity. These are negative traits which I have been consciously working on over the last few years and serve to remind me that, whilst having a default style, this does not preclude effective working on these to the benefit of all concerned. Interestingly, the top two best matches of jobs for me based on enjoyment are actor and musician; for match came out as counsellor and customer care and a combination of match and enjoyment came out as counsellor and actor. All of these I have both experience and interest in and the traits from these have indeed shaped my leadership style. The Humanist approach described by McGregor (1964) looked at how individual attitudes can affect behaviour. He purported that there are 2 types of leader (using an X and Y continuum ranging from a negative to positive view of subordinates respectively). The latter, he showed, have a greater chance of effective performance from the workforce through a nurturing approach which I can identify with. A reflective log from December 2009 is included in Appendix VII. Again, as with most models, there is a typical style for each individual manager but even the most open and supportive one can revert on occasions to X-typical strategies and responses. This can be somewhat confusing and lacking in continuity for the workforce and, potentially unsettling as I will illustrate later in this essay. The model is similar to Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) who use the continuum from Authoritarian Task Orientation to Democratic Relationship Orientation where I operate towards the latter and Goleman (2000) on which I identify with the Affiliative (people come first) stage. Operational leaders, as covered by Maxwell (2002) have great value to an organisation in providing stability, devising systems and solving problems with positive engagement. However, because of their focus on detail they can overlook the bigger picture, sometimes lack motivation and are not effective in dealing with conflict. Very often, paraphrasing Maxwell here, operational leaders are not very good at getting their hands dirty but readily raise the flag at the moment of achievement. Thankfully, whilst viewing myself as an operational leader, I do like to share in tasks as well as delegate. John Adair (2002) in his range of leadership treatises, (which, incidently, build on the previous models of Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1964) and Fayol (1916) highlights three key management responsibilities under his banner of Action Centred leadership. Achieving the task Managing the team or group Managing individuals Whilst advocating a shared responsibility between the individual and external factors, it does not, however, take stock of the individual in the leadership role which I view as crucial. A similar but more complex model I have become interested in, is known as Crew Resource Management (CRM) which was originally devised by NASA to explore the human factors in civil aviation accidents in the 1970s. Several industries have adopted and adapted their own models accordingly and my interest will culminate in a dissertation for my Degree on the benefits of adopting a CRM approach to Prison Service critical incidents. Tasks or people? Workforce or Team ? It is clear that leadership is different to management though a good leader will have good management skills. In considering whether I impose myself as leader to focus on task or allow the team to flourish utilising their own skills, I completed the T-P leadership questionnaire (Appendix VIII). This scored exactly midway between the two, highlighting my awareness and flexibility to respond to both important aspects. How we respond to a leader gives some indication of our own skills and that of the one in the supervisory role. As one who aims to lead by inspiration, I am more inclined to follow Kolbs (1984) model of learning and encourage people to adapt concrete way of doing things to update their skills base and find more effective ways of working (feeling, watching, thinking, doing). An autocratic leader would be less inclined to allow such flexibility and attempt to ensure compliance from those who might be more inclined to kick and scream in and against the process. An effective leader should also take individual learning styles into account as no one method fits all. Honey and Mumfords Learning Style Inventory (1982), highlights the differences that exist, as I have found even within small teams, yet we all work together and effectively, notwithstanding that everyones experience of being under the same leadership will be different. One of the most important sources of reflection in considering my own style of leadership, plus a reinforcement of my own beliefs and values, is represented in the Style Theory of Leadership developed by Blake and Mouton (1964). This, essentially, follows on from McGregors X-Y theory and is more relevant to those predominantly on the Y axis and where a level of trust in management structure exists in the workplace. However, Blake and Mouton explored the benefits of those that put tasks before people and vice versa. Ultimately they considered whether concern for people or concern for production was more important for leaders. As with other models, the day to day style of individuals in leadership roles can vary but everyone has their own default mode. Where productivity appears more important than the maintenance and well-being of the staff, I can find myself at odds with the management and perceived ethos of the establishment at which I work. With the Blake Mouton model, I was relieved to have my default leadership style confirmed as Team Leader. This is indicative of high concern for both people and production where emphasis is placed on a spirit of teamwork and mutual co-operation. This also engenders a safe environment in which commitment from all sides is more readily forthcoming. However, in completing a recent practical assessment for a promotion board I failed to attain the required grade. I knew this as soon as the assessment was over, though I had to wait two months for the official result. In fact, I knew during the assessment, I was reacting totally contrary to my normal sense of priorities when faced with a constant stream of problems to solve. I found myself focussing primarily on the tasks and not enough on the personnel. For example, when faced with a member of staff who was emotionally upset at a domestic issue, I asked if he was okay to continue to get his landing unlocked and would look to help him with his problem later. Afterwards I learnt that the assessors were looking for Utopian responses in all scenarios assuming all needs could be immediately provided so I could have put staff welfare first, getting his role covered immediately so he could then get home to sort his issues. However, I reverted to my current work role where the pressure to meet deadlines sometimes overrides well-being. As this was completely at odds with how I believed I would normally have reacted, I was left feeling ill at ease and questioned why I persisted in this way when I am naturally Y (using McGregors model, 1960) and more team focused than task orientated (Blake Mouton, 1964). Whilst I may not fully understand why, at least it is a recognised trait à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..theory X managers (or indeed theory Y managers displaying theory X are primarily results oriented Internet source http://www.businessballs.com/mcgregor.htm [October 2010] On reflection, I am convinced that the culture and environment of the higher management structure (which demands and focuses on results and targets) filters down and, no matter how much one tries to resist or even kick against it, it permeates ones own work practice after a while. The climate in which I work consistently places emphasis on the meeting of Key Performance Targets (KPTs) and now, the Service Level Agreement (SLA). In meeting these as well as ever increasing budgetary constraints, every facet of work culture is placed under the microscope and, wherever possible, cut, yet the targets must be met regardless. However, no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves or expectations laid at our office door, it is how we respond that is important and the acceptance of our personal responsibility to be channelled into effective working. An important element of relationships, at all levels including personal and business, is trust. Where one perceives this to be eroded or not present due to conflict in aims or values, it can have a destructive affect on effective co-working. As can be seen above, this is something I am struggling with in the corporate ethos where I am constantly second-guessing the motives behind management decision-making. However, to be an effective manager, I am mindful of maintaining a healthy approach to embracing the mission of the workplace even though I may not fully understand or have access to the full rationale behind the decision making processes from Higher Management. As a leader, I have to convey to those I wish to work effectively under me, that this mission is achievable and in the common interest despite my own such uncertainties. Maintaining personal integrity and establishing trust are essential in my personal, professional and leadership identity. Straker (2008:208) talks of transaction cost and trust boundaries. Essentially he argues that trust, if allowed to erode or not fostered within an organisation can impact on delivery and there has to be a cost on both sides to re-establish this. As he says .. the overall cost can be minimised with up-front investment in, and subsequent maintenance of, trust. If one does not have that sense of belonging within the trust group then there is something wrong with the work relationship and part of effective management and leadership performance is to be pro-active in fostering trust and encouraging people to enter the trust boundary. It begs the question, therefore, who and under what conditions will we follow? Should we be expected to lead and expect blind faith? What criteria and principles should be presented in order for others to set out on the journey with us ? Handy (1987) suggests that in order for an outcome to remain constant, the Trust-Control balance might need to shift between leader and subordinates and I can see merits in this as relationships, as well as work pressures, are fluid in nature. There are three established styles of leadership: autocratic, paternalistic and democratic. History records successful leaders who have exhibited all of the above. Each style can work and produce results but demands a flexibility on the part of the workforce to fit in with the style and it is that response which can be acknowledged and worked with or not as the case may be, As for my own style, confirmed as a nurturing parental approach, this has immense benefits for myself and for those who work under me as they feel supported and, more importantly in my opinion, affirmed in their roles with their own skills base recognised and developed. As with any style there are costs and, as I am finding, where my own sense of values conflicts with the demands laid upon me, this can have a detrimental effect to my own sense of purpose within the organisation. It is important, therefore, that structures and lines of communication are open which allow for that expression of view. However, this, in itself, is not without the potential cost. As I found when raising my head above the parapet on several occasions, to express concern and personal frustration with the direction expected by senior managers, it can blot ones copybook. Again, it is important for me to consider how much of this is down to my own personal perception and how able I am to see my subordinates perspective and, crucially, the aims and focus of the establishment delivery objectives. Conclusion In terms of future roles, I am best placed to consider managerial positions. The Foundation Degree and BA(Hons) are regarded as valuable qualifications both for their content relevant to the Criminal Justice System and Leadership and Management but also symbolising the desire and commitment I have and have shown for continued self development (Appendix IX). In the final analysis, the human dynamic is the most beneficial resource in the workplace but it is also the most fickle and, at times, fragile. To lead is a privilege and to follow is an opportunity. I can only strive to make myself worthy of the trust placed in me to, not only get the job done, but to enable others to be the very best they can be and, in the process, ensure I am followed out of respect and not coercion or, indeed, curiosity. Appendices: I. Excerpt from Carnegie (1938) II. Study Skills Self Assessment III. Gibbs (1998) Reflective Cycle IV. Curriculum Vitae V. Kandola and Fullerton (1994) Mosaic Vision VI. Myers Briggs Personality Type Questionnaire VII. Reflective Log on McGregor X,Y Theory VIII. T-P Leadership Questionnaire IX. Professional Development Plan Appendix I Excerpts from How To Win Friends and Influence People Carnegie (1938) Fundamental Techniques in Handling People Dont criticize, condemn, or complain. Give honest and sincere appreciation. Arouse in the other person an eager want. Six Ways to Make People Like You Become genuinely interested in other people. Smile. Remember that a mans Name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Talk in the terms of the other mans interest. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking Avoid arguments. Show respect for the other persons opinions. Never tell someone they are wrong. If youre wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. Begin in a friendly way. Start with questions the other person will answer yes to. Let the other person do the talking. Let the other person feel the idea is his/hers. Try honestly to see things from the other persons point of view. Sympathize with the other person. Appeal to noble motives. Dramatize your ideas. Throw down a challenge. Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment Begin with praise and honest appreciation. Call attention to other peoples mistakes indirectly. Talk about your own mistakes first. Ask questions instead of directly giving orders. Let the other person save face. Praise every improvement. Give them a fine reputation to live up to. Encourage them by making their faults seem easy to correct. Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest. Appendix II. Study Skills Self Assessment Appendix III. Gibbs (1998) Reflective Cycle Appendix IV. Curriculum Vitae Appendix V My Personal and Pr

The Maltese Falcon :: essays research papers fc

Dashiell Hammett’s San Francisco: A Unique Setting in the Changing World of Early 20th Century Detective Fiction The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dashiell Hammett called the San Francisco area home from 1920 until 1936. For a portion of those fourteen years, he shared an apartment on Eddy Street with his first wife Josephine Dolan. This apartment was located very near the San Francisco Public Library on Larkin Street where in 1921 Hammett first conceived the idea of his writing detective fiction. San Francisco historian and author Don Freeman explains: In the library he would read the magazines and the books and one day after reading several detective yarns he said, ‘I can do that.’ The truth is, he could. And he did. He wrote for Black Mask, a pulp detective magazine, and then as his skills increased he began to write novels. It was in this library that Dashiell Hammett saw his future. (79) Hammett contributed stories to Black Mask for ten years until The Maltese Falcon gained public and literary acclaim. Many of the stories that Hammett penned for Black Mask were set in San Francisco, as the city provided him with a unique atmosphere in which to observe and record different cultures, norms, and fads. In the 1920’s, San Francisco was thought of as an exotic melting pot of culture that was rivaled only by its eastern cultural counterpart of New York City. Therefore, it is no surprise that Hammett used San Francisco as the setting of The Maltese Falcon to further illustrate the exotic and striking nature of the plot and characters within the text (Dumenil 211).

Mind Is Not a Vessel to Be Filled, but a Fire to Be Kindled Essay

â€Å"Education† may be an ordinary word to most people, but very few actually understand the deep meaning beneath it. In this dynamic world, we need to be equipped with the necessary skills and hard work to survive. Understanding the education system is integral to allow students to understand the purpose of studying, the purpose of going to school everyday. Is education in Singapore really â€Å"holistic†? Are there flaws? What is education? By definition, it would be something along the line of â€Å" transferring knowledge†. I beg to differ. In my opinion, education consists of more than just knowledge. From Kindergarden to University, students are put through the daily routine of waking up early in the morning, going to a place where teachers teach â€Å"the same old stuff†. By that, I am referring to knowledge. Knowledge is power, you might say. Indeed, being knowledgeable helps you stand out among the rest during the tests and examinations. But is that all about education ? Acing the tests and getting a degree? I’m afraid no. Years after years, Singapore universities and institutions are well-known on the global front for being able to produce students with top grades. These results just keep getting better and better. Foreigners come to Singapore for education. Most people might therefore think education in Singapore is perfect. I also acknowledge that these are true, but only to a certain extent. On the other spectrum ( which is usually not shown), there are students who are not performing as well as their peers, students who are doing well but facing a lot of unnecessary stress. This is prevalent as well. The obsessive reliance of tuition to produce grades, online forums to discuss ways to â€Å"headstart my child in education†. I find no meaning in these. This is passive learning. Similarly, there are exceptional cases which bring out the ugly truth about education in Singapore. Students faking degrees to earn scholarships, jobs , graduates saying vulgarities during graduation ceremony to ‘rejoice’ over the achievements, even local scholar prosecuted overseas for doing unethical things such as watching child pornography. If education in Singapore is so perfect, why would such disgraceful incidents occur? Let us look at some possible reasons. Memorizing dictionaries, memorizing textbooks, doing thousands of assessment books, attending endless tuitions and supplementary classes†¦ These are some things most pupils in Singapore are going through. They have my sympathy. Everything I have described until now is about passive learning, which revolves around results and lacking in true meaning of education. Now, let us zoom into another aspect. Imagine this : a child who does his work consistently, revises on daily basis, reads newspapers everyday. Everything without being told. Seems like a utopian child? No. It is possible. The only thing he has compared to other students is the passion. The burning passion inside him to learn, to absorb knowledge. This drive pushes him to do everything on his own. There is no tuition, no supplementary classes, reasonable number of assessment books. Yet, this child is scoring ‘A’s for his subjects. In Singapore schools, Ministry of Education is encouraging a whole new approach towards â€Å"holistic† education. Co-curricular activities, Community Involvement Program, Civics & Morals Education†¦ these are programmes put in place after much effortful planning of the education ministries. There are even more recent policies such as not revealing top students for national examinations such as Primary School Leaving Examinations. I respect them for that. However, there are rooms for improvement. CCA, short for co-curricular activities, is a word that is often hung in the pupils’ mouth. Whether they say it out of pride in a good way or bad way, I do not know. This brings me to the point of CCA mismatch. Students who feel they are â€Å"not good enough† for a CCA only after a few years in that CCA, students who feel indignant as they feel they could have gotten into â€Å"better CCA†. What are the consequences of this? Students not attending CCAs regularly, students complaining about how ‘ sien ‘ ( boring and uninteresting) their CCA is. This leads to stereotyping about CCAs and split between different CCAs, especially Sports vs Non-Sports. While you might say it is good that CCAs are bonded together as a team, the purpose of bonding is wrong. They are making fun of other people and things they do. In the long run, this will not work. Another thing is when pupils do not attend CCAs, the school has no choice but to use deterrence methods such as demerit points. To tackle this whole situation, there is Direct- School- Admission put in place to reduce scenarios like this however the success is limited. After talking about limitations of the current education system put in place, I have some suggestions. What I will say is also something simple : passion. Again, a simple word yet deep meaning behind it. If a student is an active learner, problems such as late/no submission of work, lack of focus during lessons, loss of notes, game/social networking addiction etc will all be eliminated at once. Students will not complain ‘ Life is Tough’ or ‘ There is too much work yet too little time’ etc. Teachers no longer have to chase after the students for work, give students boring supplementary classes. Teachers no longer have to scold students, which deviates their focus on teaching that will result in drop in productivity. This will lead to more supplementary/remedial classes which make students get tired of learning. Ultimately, they lose passion in learning. This evil cycle of mad chase, forced homework, drilled practice will keep on going until the students change their attitude. If the students take charge of their own learning, they will automatically focus during lessons and give constructive feedback that can engage the whole class in a positive manner. This will accelerate learning so much that the teachers will be more willing to teach and even plan fun activities for pupils to play and learn at the same time. At the same time, the students will strive to do their best in everything including daily worksheet, assignments. Ultimately, success ( which is good grades people chase after) will follow them. Therefore, I strongly feel that passion is much more important than knowledge. To put this passion in them, I think teachers, parents and students themselves all play a crucial role to ‘kindle the fire’ within them. They can help create encouraging environment to allow pupils to share their opinions on certain topics and letting them think ‘out of the box’. They can reduce things such elitism stereotyping to encourage the pupils to exchange feedback healthily and letting them learn from one another. Occasionally, having useful motivation courses in schools by professionals also might help. Once this fire is lit, the action will follow. Students will start finding joy in learning and unknowingly, they will get good grades without even getting stressed or tired.

Zara and Its International Expansion Essays

Zara and Its International Expansion Essays Zara and Its International Expansion Paper Zara and Its International Expansion Paper Zara is one of the largest and the most internationalized retailers that Inditex Group owns. Inditex Group is based in Spain, which is a global specialty retailer that designs, manufactures, and sells apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men and children around the world. Zara’s history The founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega, opened the first Zara store in 1975 in a central street in La Caruna, Spain. It was first featured as low-priced look-alike products of popular, higher-end clothing fashions. The first store proved to be a success, hence Inditex Group started to open more Zara stores in Spain.In order to reduce the lead time and also react to new trends in a faster way, Ortega decided to change the design, manufacturing and distribution process during the 1980’s. This is what Ortega called â€Å"instant fashion†. The company made their improvements by the use of information technologies and using a group of designers instead of individuals. The core concept of Zara is they sell â€Å"medium quality fashion clothing at affordable prices†, and the vertical integration and quick-response are also keys to Zara’s business model.Zara started to expand internationally in late 1980’s. The first Zara store outside Spain was opened in Portugal in 1988. Then they entered New York in 1989 and in Paris in 1990. The expansion of Zara stores keeps growing, and until now, it presents in seventy three countries, with 1,341 stores in prime locations of major cities. Business environment The apparel market is a consumer-driven industry, and globalization and new technologies have allowed consumers to have more access to fashion.Due to these reasons, consumer tastes are changing rapidly, competition is fierce, and companies are evolving to meet these demand. There are two types of considerations for Zara to successfully enter into the international market- internal factors and external factors, as will be explained in detail later in this paper in the section of international strategy. Market Structure for Clothing Industry ZARA is in a monopolistic competitive market. There are many competitors in this industry such as GAP and HM. The clothing industry is facing high ressure of reducing costs as they try to have a lower price than their competitors, and aggressive price wars, initiated by competitors working to improve their supply chain management, have slowly removed less efficient makers out of the business. Due to the global financial crisis, the clothing industry slowed down in profit growth from the beginning of 2008, and because of this huge negative impact to the global economy, there are downward pressures on price for clothing makers. The worldwide sluggish economy has decreased the demand since previous affordable prices may not be affordable now.Company such as Old Navy has been able to take over some of Zara’s market shares by offering lower prices. Competitors Gap, HM, and Benetton are considered three closest comparable international competitors. Zara is relatively more fashionable than all three competitors, and prices are less than Gap and Benetton but higher than HM. Among these three competitors, HM is considered the most closest competitor to Zara with some similarities and some differences. HM differs from Zara in the way they outsource all of their productions and spend more money on advertising, while Zara does little outsourcing and virtually does no advertising.Also, Zara sells only trendy products and not trying to produce â€Å"classic† clothes which would always be in style while HM does produce some â€Å"classic† clothes in addition to trendy products. The similarities are they both are European based companies, are fashion forward at low price retailers, and both have a strong international expansion strategy. Strategy and Core Competency Zara uses a combination of cost leadership strategy and product differ entiation strategy to support its business model’s core concept of selling the latest style, medium quality fashion clothing at affordable prices.This is achieved through its core competencies of a vertical integration, a vast range of products, and a unique instant fashion system, creating speed and flexibility to the market that provides the chain with a competitive advantage over traditional retailers in the industry. Vertical Integration Since the global apparel industry is high-labor intensive, most retailers and manufacturers seek to lower costs by outsourcing productions to developing countries with cheap labor.However, instead of relying on outsourcing and offshoring, Zara owns great control of its factories, stores, and distribution network because it believes it can minimize the time to market by carefully coordinate the entire production process. The company’s employees make about 50% of its finished garments, with a majority of them being the most time and fashion sensitive products, in any of its 20 fully owned factories, 18 of them clustered around its headquarters. Zara has a centralized distribution facility in Spain, it is cost-effective and time efficient as the distribution center is close to the factory.Also, for Zara the distribution center is a place where products are moved rather than stored, and products shipped to farther destinations or of larger quantities are shipped by air. As a result, not only inventory cost is decreased but the delivery speed is increased. In contrast, most large fashion manufacturers rely on low cost manufacturing in Asia or South America but have to pay higher inventory costs and it takes longer time for the products to move to market. Product Variation By owning its in-house production, Zara is also very flexible in the variety, amount, and frequency of the new styles they produce.Instead of creating a few styles with mass quantity, Zara uses the style greater than quantity concept, launching n ew collections in increasingly shorter cycles, as it produces approximately 1000 new styles per month while producing in small batches. This creates a rapid product turnover and an environment of scarcity and exclusivity, prompting the customers to buy the product now in case it is gone tomorrow and visit the stores frequently, as said by the Toronto store manager of Zara â€Å"We receive shipments on Tuesday and Saturday, which means that we have different items in the store at least twice a week.While each shipment replenishes items that sell well, each also includes new items. That’s why our customers come in often. † On average, Zara’s customers return to the store 17 times a year, compared to 3 times a year of most of the competitors. The vast range of styles also enables Zara to cope with the changing customers’ demand and to sell more items at its full price. Instant Fashion The instant fashion system, another core competency of Zara, permits Zara to respond to the demand of its consumer better than its competitors.Compared to the conventional idea of spring and autumn clothing collections, Zara is in favor of â€Å"live collectionsâ€Å" that can be designed, manufactured, distributed, and sold almost as quickly as its customers’ fleeting tastes. Instead of predicting the trend for the next season, Zara’s designers react to what they see in the current fashion, identifying and catching a winning fashion trend while the competitors are struggling to catch up. Zara is able to do this because it has a vertical integrated supply chain that reduces lead time as explained above.While it takes 60 to 90 days in order to design and deliver a new fashion style in a traditional value chain, it only takes 12 to 15 days for Zara. The fast fashion system also depends on the constant exchange of information throughout every part of Zaras supply chain. To speed the information flow of consumer desires to their designers, Zar a has teams in the manufacturing environment responsible for attending high-fashion fairs and exhibitions to provide the designers with the latest trends. Research on market and travels to the universities and clubs around the world are also conducted throughout the season.On the other hand, in the retail environment Zara’s managers and sales associates are responsible for providing sales analysis, product life cycles, and store trends to aid the designers. This communication system is further accelerated by the IT software for stores to report directly to the production centers and designers in Spain. For example store managers use PDA to check on the latest clothes designs and place their orders in accordance with the demand they observe in stores, while all salespeople are equipped with wireless handheld organizers that let them punch in trends, customer comments and orders.Value Chain Zara has a vertical integrated supply chain owning control of all of its retailing, desi gning, and manufacturing operations. As mentioned above, unlike most of its competitors that outsource their production to factories around the world, Zara has approximately 80% of its production carried out in Europe, with its various business elements such as the design and production centers in close proximity to each other, around its headquarter in La Coruna, Spain. Purchases: Zara purchases materials from external suppliers.It has purchasing offices in Barcelona and Hong Kong which gives Zara the competitive advantage towards the cost of goods sold as it can purchase from the region with lower prices. About half of the fabrics are purchased in grey to allow for flexibility in manufacturing a variety of colors and patterns, and by owning Comditel, a subsidiary to Inditex responsible for dyeing, patterning, and finishing the fabrics, Zara can always provide the necessary fabrics to the new styles of its products.As explained by Jose Maria Castella, Inditex’s executive, â €Å"We have the ability to scrap an entire production line if it is not selling. We can dye collection in new colors and we can create a new fashion line in days. † Design and manufacture: There is one design center for each of the women’s, men’s, and children’s lines with separate design, sales, and procurement and production-planning staffs. Though it is more expensive to operate three channels, the information flow for each channel is fast and direct, making the overall supply chain more effective.The designers work their designs on a computer system called CAD while communicating with the store managers to receive feedback. Once the patterns are finalized, they are made available to the computers that would guide the high tech cutting tools in the factory. Zara’s factories are heavily automated, specialized by garment type, and focused on the capital-intensive parts of the production process. Inditex owns 20 factories for internal manufacture t hat apply the just-in-time production system, making the production process fully under its control.Assembly: The assembly of the cut pieces is done by a network of small workshops that are not owned by Zara. They are provided a set of easy instructions to follow for the purpose of quickly sewing up the pieces and provide a constant stream to Zara’s garment finishing and packing facilities. Distribution: All garments, both internally and externally made, go into Zaras distribution centers in La Coruna or smaller satellite centers in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to be distributed. Since Zara stores around the world receive new products regularly, Zara’s distribution center s a place for moving the products rather than for storage, therefore no style sits around very long at head office as products are shipped to stores within 48 hours. As mentioned before, this significantly reduces inventory cost and risk. Marketing: Zaea relies heavily on word-of-mouth to market its p roducts to deliver its brand image of high fashion, reasonable quality goods, and rapidly changing product lines instead of using the ordinary retail marketing practices. Zara spends 0-. % on advertisement investment as compared to traditional retailers of 3-4% , because instead of spending on collaborating with big-name designers and advertising campaigns, the money saved is spent on purchasing prime real estate locations around the world, for example Fifth Avenue, Tokyo’s Ginza, and Rome’s Via Condotti. Great emphasis is also placed on the store’s interior design and image by having frequent refurbishing of store layouts and common window display for all of its global stores, as shown as exhibit 1, that position Zara with a prestigious and elegant image.Service: Zara has been growing by looking to its customers for innovations. Instead of viewing the employees as costs, Zara’s in-store staff is young and very sensitive to fashion who serves as trend spo tters. Through providing services to the customers, Zara’s employees can understand the constantly changing demand of the customers and transfer this information to the designers to find better way to meet the needs of the customers. IT: The most important support activity in Zara’s value chain is the information and communication technology, which provides speed to the market and exists in every stage of the chain, as shown in exhibit 2.In the upstream supply chain, IT is needed for managing the inventory of supplies, design specifications, and trim specifications. In the downstream supply chain, it is used for managing distribution and collecting information on consumer needs. International Business For international companies, globalization radically influences their production and business model. More importantly, it provides growth opportunities for them to enter foreign markets and thus gain larger market share and increase revenue.Also, it has forced global comp anies to improve and upgrade themselves through increasingly fierce market competition. Zara has been taking advantage of the globalization to expand its global footprints all around the world. As of August 2009, there are totally 1,560 Zara stores around the world. About 80% of its stores are located in Europe. In North America, there are only 60 stores. In Asia, there are about 91 stores . Currently Zara is still planning to aggressively plot its global expansion though at a slower pace than before mainly due to the global economic slowdown.More new stores are set to open mostly between Europe and Asia . International Strategy To establish such globally diversified presence, the highly successful international strategy Zara has been implementing a strategy with a mixture of standardization and customization. There are three steps associated with Zara’s international strategy: market selection, marketing entry, and marketing approach. Market selection: there are many key con siderations involved like labor cost and productivity, distribution cost, shipment cost of raw materials.Characteristics or behavior of consumers, for example the people in France are more fashionable and quality oriented while the people in Germany are more price sensitive, and income per capita are also important considerations. By carefully considering these elements and following a systematic procedure to insure extensive market testing before expanding its operations, Zara so far hasnt retreated from any selected markets. Market entry: the related considerations include economics factors, government regulations, and entry barriers.More specifically, the economic factors include macroeconomic factors such as tax, political condition, and export tariff, and the microeconomic factors which include local competitors, demand, and location of stores. Zara adopted three modes of market entry- joint venture, franchise, and company-owned stores that depended on local factors. However, Z ara would always make sure it has the most control to its stores no matter what forms they take. Marketing approach: Zara customizes its marketing approach according to the unique conditions of each country.For products, the local stores would place order on products that reflect the local preferences and trends. For price, different pricing strategies are used for each country, for example prices in Italy and France are higher because the people there are less price sensitive but are fashion oriented while prices in Germany is lower as it is more price sensitive. For placement, Zara stresses on efficient distribution and ensures all the stores are located in the best locations. Offshoring and Outsourcing By definition, offshoring means outsource their works to another foreign country.In global apparel industry, the general trend for global fashion retailers is to totally offshore their manufacturing to tens of thousands of small apparel makers in developing countries and mainly foc us on design and marketing. However, counter-intuitively Zara is taking a different path. It still produces some of its products by itself. 50% of the Zara’s products are manufactured by factories fully owned by it in Spain, 26% in the rest of Europe, and 24% in Asian and African countries and the rest of the world.Only long shelf life clothes like T-shirts are mostly offshored to Asia and Turkey. Due to international expansion, Zara may consider more production out of Spain or Europe in the future, as the high transportation cost from Spain to other far foreign markets like Asia and North America is still a big concern especially when oil prices continue to remain high. Zara has purchasing offices in Beijing, Barcelona, and Hong Kong. Zara also purchases clothing materials from numerous suppliers in Spain, India, Morocco, and the Far East.Under Zara’s inter-connected network, suppliers are coordinated with Zara’s sales projection. Therefore, Zara’s produ ction demand can be quickly met on time. Problems Encountered in International Expansion As Zara continues its ambitious global expansion, there are still some problems that exist. One major problem is the increase of transportation cost and time for Zara as the company is expanding globally while trying to retain a centralized distribution system. In order to meet the global demand, Zara has been increasing its production through outsourcing and offshoring at a higher level.However, this raises the transportation cost and time since all of the products have to go through the distribution center in La Coruna or smaller satellite centers in Brazil and Mexico before being sent to different stores around the world. As a result, international customers have to pay higher prices to bear the transportation cost, as this goes against Zara’s principle of providing quality and fashion at a low price. Also, increasing outsourcing and offshoring means less control, which s one of the fu ndamental factors in achieving a successful vertical integrated value chain. Another problem regarding Zara’s global expansion is related to the North American market. North America is a highly competitive and vast market, with people living in different parts having different profiles and thus different fashion needs. Moreover, consumers in North America are price sensitive and less trendy. Many fashion retailers there are simply competing on price and discount which is not Zara’s favorite marketing strategy.Also, it is quite difficult to grow business in the North America without advertising. As earlier mentioned, Zara rarely advertises. These problems cause Zara to still not have a major presence in North American. Conclusion Trading higher production cost for competitive competency, Zara has been a successful retailer in the apparel industry; it also has been doing fairly well in expanding globally. It has been able to penetrate foreign markets by producing trendy clothes that satisfy most of the customers around the world with low prices.Zara however can still raise its global market shares by expanding more in North America. To do this, Zara has to conduct more research on North American markets. Another way to increase global market shares is to develop a second central distribution center or production center, perferably in the Americas, which will not only allow Zara to deliver goods in a faster manner, but the close proximity to the American market will also allow them to effectively interpret the particular American fashion.Zara has been increasing its production through outsourcing and offshoring to meet the global demand; they have to also be careful on these outsourcing and offshoring activities since they may have less control. Zara has to make sure that they keep their core competencies in order to maintain its competitiveness in the highly competitive clothing industry.BIBLIORGAPHY CUC, Tripa, Strategy and Systainable Competitive Advantage- The Case of Zara Fashion Chain, Oradea University, Volume VI, 2007, p. 2522 Craig A. , Jones C. , Nieto M. ZARA: Fashion Follower, Industry Leader(4/2/2004) Craig, Jones, Nieto, Zara: Fashion Follower, Industry Leader, Philadelphia University, 2004 Mukherjee, Sujit, Janmeja, Mohata, Rani, Shinde, Supply Chain Practices of Zara, Institute of Management Technology, 2009, p. 12 mbanerds. com/images/3/3b/ZARA. doc enotes. com/company-histories/industria-de-diseno-textil-s mbanerds. com/images/3/3b/ZARA. doc inditex. com/en/who_we_are/concepts/zara, INDITEX Group website banerds. com/images/3/3b/ZARA. doc, csus. edu/indiv/w/wilsonm/MBA%20209_sp%2007/scm/Zara_CASE. doc http://drillingfordiamonds. com/blog/2008/05/30/react-rather-than-predict/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Zara_(clothing) chinapost. com. tw/business/company-focus/2009/03/26/201780/Zara-owner. htm http://freepresentationslides. blogspot. com/2008/09/zara-case-study. html tx. ncsu. edu/jtatm/volume5issue 1/Zara_fashion. htm businessweek. com/magazine/content/06_36/b3999063. htm

Marine Corps Logistics

Marine Corps Logistics Introduction Technology is advancing and many organizations have realized that it is important to adopt emerging technologies as a way of remaining relevant in various fields. The Marine Corps has been faced with a lot of challenges, especially in managing logistics when the officers are in operation. According to Dombrowski and Gholz (2006), the warfare in the modern world has been rapidly changing. The approach that was used during the nineteenth century cannot be relevant today.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Marine Corps Logistics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Firms must find new ways of managing their logistics in a manner that would not only be efficient, but also effective and consistent. Marine Corps is operating in an environment where efficiency in logistics is vital in its successful operations. GCSS-MC offers organization opportunity to have an integrated approach when managing information during t he logistical process. This approach allows this organization to have a system that would provide it with real-time information about all logistical activities. This allows the firm to plan its activities effectively. Project Vision The Marine Corp Logistics plays an important role in ensuring that the military has all the equipment it needs to carry out various activities. In order to achieve its objectives, this department should have an effective communication system that would enable it to monitor and coordinate all logistical activities, especially when delivering war equipment to military officers who are in the field. The vision of this project is to provide an integrated information system that would ensure that activities of this department are closely coordinated. The Marine Corps Logistics Modernization strategy will help ensure that all logistics information required by the Marine Air Ground Task Force is readily available as a way of enhancing the speed with which these products are transported from one location to the other. Objectives When defining the objectives of this new project, it would be important to understand the current status of this organization. Currently, the Marine Corps is using a logistics system that is not supported by an integrated communication system. It means that one department may not be aware of the activities taking place in the other department. This is very dangerous in the current society where information itself is considered to be a powerful tool, especially when it involves military operations. The following are some of the objectives that this project seeks to achieve.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To introduce an integrated information system that will merge Global Combat Support System (GSCC) and Defense Property Accountability System (DPAS). To ensure that the military units in variou s regions can track cargo while it is in transit from one location to the other. To improve decision making process of the military officers by offering them real-time information about various issues on the ground. This will help maintain a force that is lethal and agile while on the battlefield. To improve financial planning and management by making it easy for the accounts department to access all the relevant accounting records. Scope of the project According to Haugan (2002), project scope should be clearly defined before the project kicks off. This makes it easy to understand specific areas where the project intends to create transformation within the firm. In this project, the focus is on developing an integrated information system in the logistics department that would improve logistical operations within the organization. This new system will make it possible for the department to coordinate logistical information to the departments that need them. It will also improve the security of the equipment while they are in transit. Target Group Meredith and Mantel (2012) say that it is important to define the target group when coming up with a new project in an organization. In this organization, the targeted group that will benefit when the project is completed can be categorized into different groups. The policy makers will need this new system to guide their decisions when planning to go to war. The accounts department will benefit from this new system by enabling it access all the relevant information it needs when compiling accounting books. The logistics department will benefit from this new system because it will enable it trace the movement of equipment. This department will be able to estimate the time within which a given consignment will reach the intended destination. The military officers on the ground will also need this information when they are in the field to know when the war equipment will reach them. Key Stakeholders for this Project The re are key stakeholders who are directly responsible in undertaking this new project. The top leadership in the Department of Defense is the first stakeholder. The top commanders, through the Logistics Department, and the senior officers are the owners of this project. They are represented by senior officers in the Logistics department. The military officers in the field who expect to benefit from this project form another stakeholder group. This new service is meant to improve their service delivery. The last category of the stakeholders is the project management team, headed by the project manager, who will be directly involved in developing this project. Role and Responsibilities of Each Project Team Resource According to the research by Meredith and Mantel (2012), it is important to define roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders within the project in order to achieve success. The stakeholders who are directly involved in the project have been identified in the proje ct organization structure.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Marine Corps Logistics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The top military officers, through the Logistics Department, are the financiers of this project. Besides offering financial help, they are also expected to inspect the progress of the project and evaluate the value that the new system offers when it is finally completed. The contractor that will be awarded this task of installing the new system will act as a supervisor over the employees who will be responsible for various activities. The project members will undertake various roles in this project in its implementation stage. When this new system is fully installed, the logistics department will be responsible for its normal operations and maintenance services. Scheduling Duration In the process of implementing this project, it is important to have a clear schedule of the specific activities that wi ll be undertaken in order to ensure that the project is completed successfully. The following table shows a planned schedule of activities that will be carried out in this project and the time they are allocated. As shown in the above table, it is expected that the project will run from March to December 2014. Based on the advanced technology that the contractor is expected to use, it is estimated that ten months will be enough to carry out all the activities in the project. Project Organizational Structure The project organizational structure helps in defining various levels of management within a given project. It specifies position of various stakeholders in the process of undertaking various activities in the project. According to Haugan (2002), this is necessary to make every member understand specific function that must be undertaken to accomplish various tasks. Every member will be able to understand what is expected of them. Figure 1: Project Organizational StructureAdverti sing Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This structure helps in defining responsibilities of the stakeholders. Meredith and Mantel (2012) say that some projects fail to meet their objectives because some of the stakeholders avoid their roles. For instance, it is clear that the Board of Directors, through the Logistics Department, has the responsibility of financing all the activities of this firm. If this board fails to provide this needed finance, then it may not be possible to proceed with the activities that are specified in the section below. Work Breakdown Structure When the financiers have done their role of providing the necessary finances needed for this project, it will be the responsibility of the project team members to undertake their duties in ensuring that the new system is successfully installed and is operational. The structure below identifies some of the specific tasks that must be accomplished by various stakeholders. The above diagram shows a complete work breakdown structure from the proposal stag e to its completion. At the proposal stage, the contractor will have the responsibility of making all the stakeholders in the Logistics department to learn about the new changes that this new system will bring. It would state all the requirements that will be needed to make the project be successful. Some of the specific activities at this stage include product investigation, product survey, and assessing product suitability (Haugan, 2002). The second phase is the design. The project team members will need to define concept design and settle on one final design that would be used in this system. The third stage, which is the construction stage, is very important in defining the success of the project. At this stage, the project team members will need to purchase the needed materials from the agreed suppliers. The team will then undertake the construction of this new system. Building of the system may take long, and the team members must ensure that they follow the specifications sti pulated in the design. Finally, the system will be subjected to the stage of testing. The new system will be tested for functionality and efficiency. When the system passes this stage, it will be finally handed over to the Logistics Department to commission its usage in this system. Cost Estimates The proponent deserves to know the exact cost of the project in order to be able to determine the level of investment needed to accomplish the project. The table below is an estimate of the various costs that will be met when undertaking the project. Material Estimated Cost ($) Labor 19200 Transportation 9800 Materials 39800 Legal Fees 380 Total 69180 The above table has a cluster of activities that will be undertaken in the project. Although it may be important to define specific areas where finance will be needed, the table above has clustered these costs into four major categories. They include cost of labor, transportation costs, the cost of the materials, and the legal fees that would be needed by government agencies or other relevant bodies. The costs have been based on the market rates for each of the categories. The above stated amount would be able to implement the first phase of this project. Determine major project milestones and the required delivery dates The work breakdown structure given above has identified project milestones that should be accomplished within a specific period. The first milestone is the specification of the project requirements. This stage is important because it not only enables the project sponsor to know what is expected out of the project, but also enhances specific areas in the organization that this project seeks to improve. This should take one month. The second milestone would be to develop the design that would be appropriate for this firm. The project members, especially the designers, would need to come up with a design that would meet the needs of this firm in the most appropriate way possible. This shoul d also take one month. The third milestone is expected to take the longest period, and it is the most important stage in project development. It is at this stage that the project team members will be implementing what was designed at the initial stages. The process must be conscious of the specific needs of the firm. This is expected to take a period of five months. The last milestone will be testing of the system for its workability. This would take one month or less. Main Dependencies, Risks, Issues, and Assumptions of the Project According to Meredith and Mantel (2012), projects face a number of risks that must always be mitigated in order to achieve the set goals. In this project, inflation may have an adverse effect, especially if it increases costs of materials or labor. This risk should be mitigated at the requirements stage. The sponsor should be informed that inflation may affect the overall cost of the project so that they can be ready to increase funds when necessary. Ano ther risk would be a failed compatibility of the old systems and the new system. This risk should be arrested at the design stage where designers are expected to make an effective change from the old system to the new one. Finally, the employees may be subject to physical harm. This can be addressed at the requirement stage where the project manager is expected to take a comprehensive insurance cover for all the people working on this project. Summary of the project budget approved by the project sponsor This project is expected to change the current approach that is used by the logistics department to carry out various activities. The integrated communication system will help the Logistics Department to ensure that its activities are closely coordinated in order to achieve better results. This department will be able to track movements of military equipment in real-time. The military officers in the field will also be aware of the movement of weapons and other equipments that are b eing transported to them. This close coordination and improved communication system will improve the ability of this department to achieve good results on the battlefield. References Dombrowski, P. J., Gholz, E. (2006). Buying military transformation: Technological innovation and the defense industry. New York: Columbia University Press. Haugan, G. T. (2002). Effective work breakdown structures. Vienna: Management Concepts. Meredith, J. R., Mantel, S. J. (2012). Project management: A managerial approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.