Ratio Analysis Essay

The aims and objectives of this report are to compare the two companies, Kingfisher Plc. and Home Retail Group Plc., using their annual report published for the year 2011. With the help of the financial statements, it will be possible to calculate different ratios that are relevant to the comparison between the two businesses. Through this comments can then be made on the performance of both companies for the year, stating some of the possible factors that could have made affected this. Comparison will be on a year-to-year basis and then between the two companies as a whole. When comparing two companies like Kingfisher and the Home Retail Group, there are a few limitations needed to be considered before this is possible. The first would be the different accounting policies that each corporation have chosen to adapt to their financial statements; this could be in regards of the depreciation or inventory valuation method used for the preparation of relevant statements. Another important point to note is that financial statements are based on historical information and therefore this would not be as objective to when we come to use them for the comparison. Expanding on this, the closing balances on the statement may make the ratios appear misleading when comparing the two companies for the period, i.e. seasonal sale boost; Christmas and New Year promotion. The main issue that should be considered is the date that they have published their account Kingfisher being 31st January 2011 and Home Retail Group at 28th February 2011. So it would not be possible to make a more accurate comparison, as the economic conditions may have changed for that one month Kingfisher did not trade. Although it would suggest comparing the two businesses is not ideal, the two companies are somewhat similar. Therefore this should make the approximation more accurate and thus the comparison more meaningful. Kingfisher PLC Kingfisher is a company that focuses on mainly offering its customers home improvements products for DIY and such likes. Its main retail brand in the UK is B&Q with a market share of 14% and they are currently top of the market. They are also making a respectable breakthrough in France with their brands, Castorama and Brico Depot taking 21% of the market share with the top place. Moreover they have expanded to Germany, Turkey, Spain, China, Poland and Russia

Online Shopping: Risks and Benefits

There has long been a need for the consumer to purchase goods without ever having to leave their home. The industry started with mail order catalogs such as Sears Roebuck that offered consumers the convenience to order goods without having to travel a long distance to see what was available. The catalog offered everything from clothing to toys, and even farming equipment that made it easier for early American families to purchase goods without having to travel to a city possibly hundreds of miles away. The industry has come a long way since the golden years of the Sears catalog. When the personal computer was invented in 1976 people were astonished at its power. After later development and the PC went on the market for all Americans to purchase, it couldn’t do much more than word processing and simplified record keeping, but when the PC was connected to the World Wide Web in 1989, the personal computer began to become a household item. The World Wide Web or better known simply as the internet, allowed users to access files, information, pictures, video, shop online, and much more. The internet connects a personal computer to servers which connect computers from all around the world. Despite danger, the benefits of online shopping can outweigh the risks. Ever since the invention of the personal computer and the World Wide Web, consumers have become more and more eager to shop online. Shopping online can give a great advantage to many people. Shopping online also has many risks and disadvantages that could arguably equal or outweigh the benefits. When parents spoke of going shopping 20 years ago, it meant get ready and get in the car. Today, it can mean either to get ready to go somewhere or go to the computer and get your credit card ready. Most people shop online for the convenience. Customers never have to leave their home and can do all of their shopping from the living room couch, which eliminates crowds, stress and the forsaken checkout line. Another convenience is that a website cannot turn out its lights and lock the door. Online stores in the US and Canada are also always open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The customer never has to worry about getting to a store before it closes, or waiting for it to open. This makes online shopping, to most people, the most convenient form of shopping (Hobbs). Another advantage of shopping online is that it allows customers to shop or browse through many different categories of items. The internet also allows people to shop from places located hundreds of miles away and even around the world. If someone needs something from across the country that is not available in their area, it is more efficient to order online rather than traveling a great distance to purchase the item (Hobbs). Shopping online is also faster and simpler than using a mail order catalog. It is easy to find just about anything you want to buy online versus getting in a car and driving to numerous stores while having to worry about things like finding a parking spot, burning fuel, and navigating through traffic only to look at items you may or may not be interested in at a brick and mortar store (Fabiola). Online shoppers are also less susceptible to impulse items. Every item found in a retail store is strategically placed to maximize sales in that particular store (Romeo). For example, at home watching television and all of the sudden the screen goes black because the dog just chewed the cable to the TV. A trip to the nearest retail store is required just to purchase a replacement cable. Retailers often strategically place items with enticing prices which could easily lead to the customer coming home with a new TV and not a replacement cable that would have fixed your old one. This is a good example of impulse shopping. This is what retail stores want customers to do. They fill end caps and stack-bases with products they know customers will buy if they are visible but are not a planned purchase. Shopping online takes most of that away. There aren’t shelves to place impulse items on for customers to see on their way in or way out of the door. The customer can click on what they need, purchase it, and be finished. When customers shop online, it is far easier to compare prices at different online stores than it is to compare prices of retail stores. When shopping online one can browse seamlessly site after site and even tab between different online stores with just the press of a button. When comparing prices from retail and outlet stores, it means looking at sales papers and going from store to store to hunt down that great deal which can consume a great deal of time (Hobbs). Many people have been skeptical about shopping online. With its benefits, also come great risks and disadvantages. One of the most common problems with shopping online is security. When purchasing an item off the internet, it is important to know that the site is secure (Snowdon). Personal information such as credit card numbers, addresses, and even personal computers need to be protected from any type of threat. There are sites that are built specifically just to phish information like email addresses, usernames, and passwords; therefore, when consumers want to make a purchase online, they really have to trust the site and know it is secure and that their information is not at risk. Another disadvantage of shopping online is that it is not a hands-on purchase. Customers like to see and hold what they are buying in person. When shopping online, there is an image of the product, but the box cannot be opened to be sure it isn’t damaged. When there is a picture of the item, it’s more than likely not the exact one you will receive (Jessica). For example, when purchasing a scented candle or even a bottle of perfume online, it is impossible to test the scent. Some sites offer sample scent cards that can be sent through the mail to be sure you like what you are ordering, but they don’t usually offer that unless you are making a large purchase. Frequent online shoppers know all about expedited shipping. This is one of the most dreaded downfalls of online shopping. When purchasing an item at a retail store, it goes with the customer when the transaction is complete. The clerk puts the purchase in a bag and the customer walks out the door and goes home. When shopping online, there is almost never an instance where one can get the purchase the same day unless there is in-store pickup from a major retail store that’s nearby with the item already in stock. Prices are usually cheaper online, but shipping cost always has to be factored in to the total. Sometimes online merchants offer free shipping on items over a certain amount, but most likely the customer will have to pay some sort of shipping cost. Then, there is always the wait. Depending on shipping specifications, delivery could be the next day if you pay extra, but usually shipping takes one to four weeks depending on the size of the item and the company who delivers it (Chits). I believe that online shopping will grow for years to come. It is getting safer and harder for hackers to break into online sites. Shopping online is more convenient for some items like electronics, car parts, office supplies, and other items that may just inconvenience someone to go out for or for and item that may not be available in your area, but I also believe that shopping online will never replace the old fashioned retail store. Customers will always want to try on their jeans to make sure they fit before they purchase them, and see what is new on the market every time they go out. People love to go out and shop. They love the experience, even though some people would disagree. But, how would you feel if you did all of your shopping online? Never going to a store and never and seeing the actual item they are buying. You would get tired of sending things back and not getting what you thought you were buying. Online shopping is definitely a great shopping tool but all that glitters is not gold.

Brenton Butler Essay Sample

On the forenoon of May 7th. 2000 the slaying of Mary Ann Stephens occurred. She was a tourer to Jacksonville. Florida along with her hubby. The two were remaining at the Ramada Inn Hotel and had merely came from breakfast when they were approached by a immature black adult male who held them at gunpoint. took Mrs. Stephens’ bag so proceeded to hit her between the eyes. When the constabulary foremost arrived. the aged woman’s organic structure was several inches off from the way on which her and her hubby were walking along to acquire back to their room. Her organic structure was strewn across the grass. covered in blood with the slug and it’s lesion being clearly seeable to the bare oculus. This instance became controversial and it is believed that there was racial favoritism and profiling involved because Brenton Butler. and immature black male. was arrested several hours subsequently by constabularies. Police InvestigationIn the procedure of the apprehension of Brenton Butler. there was no extended probe done by the constabulary. During the test. this fact was admitted by the officers when Pat McGuiness. who was stand foring Brenton. raised the point of them non oppugning neighbors. non look intoing for Deoxyribonucleic acid on the stolen bag etc. When they arrived at the scene. they asked Mr. Stephens to give them a description of the taw. Mr. Stephens described the taw to be tall. scraggy physique. dark shirt and trunkss. a fishing chapeau and black in skin colour. Polices that were appraising the country saw Brenton Butler. who was at the clip walking from his place to Blockbuster to manus out a sketch. a thinly framed. tall. male have oning a dark shirt and dark shorts†¦coincidentally. Brenton Butler was a black male. Officer Williams and Officer Darnell told Brenton there had been a slaying nearby and asked him to come with them to inquire him some inquiries about anythin g he may hold seen. which Brenton agreed to. When they brought 15-year-old Brenton Butler to the offense scene. Mr. Stephens instantly identified Brenton as being the liquidator and asked the officers to convey him nearer. at this clip he positively identified him as being his wife’s liquidator. When brought into the constabulary station. Military officers William and Darnell passed Butler onto Detective Glover. Detective Glover got Brenton to squeal to the slaying. He did this by physically endangering the life of Brenton and stating that for every ten seconds that passed in which Butler didn’t mark the confession. he would ache him. He represented that by demoing Brenton his gun. Detective Glover so brought Brenton out into the forests where the gun had allegedly been hidden and wanted Brenton to demo him where it was. which Brenton did non cognize. Because of this. although there was no sufficient grounds to turn out such actions. Detective Glover punched Butler in the tummy twice and one time in his left oculus. If more investigation would hold been done. they would hold accounted the fact that Brenton was 5 inches shorter and many old ages younger than the adult male that Mr. Stephens reported. Brenton besides had a really noticeable logo on the forepart of the shirt he was have oning. when Mr. Stephens spoke of what the liquidator was have oning he said the shirt had been obviou sly. Besides. when Mr. McGuiness spoke with Brenton’s female parent in their place. he got a expression at Brenton’s hat aggregation. which consisted of 3 chapeaus. none of which were anything remotely near to the â€Å"fishing hat† which Mr. Stephens identified on the liquidator. Mr. Stephens besides neer mentioned the liquidator have oning spectacless. which Brenton wears mundane and would hold been visibly noticeable to Mr. Stephens sing the place of the liquidator at the clip in relation to himself. Neither officers nor investigators felt the demand to oppugn neighbours inquiring if they had seen Brenton at the times specified in their study. they didn’t experience the demand to garner background information on Brenton or see the fact that Brenton Butler had neer been in gaol before that day of the month. therefore he had neer committed a offense in Jacksonville. Florida. Brenton Butler was charged with armed robbery and the first grade slaying or Mary Ann Stephens on May 7th. 2000. Brenton Butler Page 1What about the Forensic Investigation†¦ ?Like the constabulary probe. there was a deficiency of forensic engagement in this instance every bit good. Brenton Butler was entirely charged based on the fact that. an oculus informant. Mr. Stephens identified Brenton as the liquidator. Many will declare this instance to be racial favoritism and racial profiling. due to the fact that Brenton was a black male like the liquidator. Brenton merely happened to be in the incorrect topographic point at the incorrect clip. In the forensic probe. after happening Mrs. Stephens’ stolen bag in a refuse container a stat mi off from the slaying. they should hold tested the bag for DNA and finger prints. If they had done this. they would hold seen that Brenton Butler’s finger prints were in fact non to be found on the bag. alternatively they would hold those of another adult male and Butler would hold been immediately proved inexperienced person. Cardinal people involved in the instance Brenton Butler – the accusedOfficer Darnell – constabularies officer. one of the officer’s that arrested and questioned Butler Officer Williams – constabularies officer. the 2nd officer that arrested and questioned Brenton Detective Glover – investigator and boy of the sheriff. Butler was passed on to Glover to give him a confession. Glover allegedly beat Brenton in the forests and threatened him and forced him into subscribing a written confession Pat McGuiness – attorney. he was the taking attorney stand foring Brenton. after the test he did more investigating Anne Finnell – attorney. she was besides supporting Brenton in his instance Harry Shorstein – State Attorney. decided to prosecute the instance after Brenton confessed Mr. Stephens – retired. he was a tourer sing Jacksonville with his married woman who was shot by a immature black male. he was an oculus informant to the instance. he identified Brenton Butler as be ing the liquidator of his married woman Mary Anne Stephens – retired. held at gunpoint. robbed and murdered Trial ProcedureIn this instance. following Brenton Butler’s apprehension. he taken in for a 12 hr inquiring and so signed and verbally confessed to the slaying after being threatened by Detective Glover. State Attorney Harry Shorstein decided to prosecute the instance. During the test. the chief focal point of the defending attorneies was deficiency of process. deficiency of probe and constabulary ferociousness. All that the prosecution attorney could concentrate on was the fact that Mr. Stephens had reported a tall. skinny. black male have oning dark vesture. which would depict Brenton. and the fact that Brenton confessed to the robbery and slaying. The constabulary and investigators involved in the instance. other than the oculus informant who identified Brenton and the false confession. did nil to garner grounds to turn out Brenton guilty. During the whole procedure. they didn’t state his parents where he was or that he was arrested. which by jurisprudence you have to if the accused is under age. they mislead Brenton’s parents when they showed up to their household place inquiring if Brenton was at that place and stating they merely wanted to speak to him about housebreakings that had been happening in the country. Besides. Officer Darnell had told Brenton he had the right to an lawyer and that if he didn’t have one that he would reach one for him. which he neer followed through with. In respects to the confession given and signed by Brenton. by jurisprudence. a confession must be made on your ain free will. you can’t be pressured into a confession. swayed or otherwise or else it can be deemed unequal to the instance. Brenton ButlerPage 2ResultAfter the shutting statements made by both opposing sides in the tribunal room. the justice told the jury how to do their determination. so they left the courtroom to make their finding of fact. It took the jury less than 1 hr to come to their decision. In respects to the charges against Brenton Butler by the State of Florida for the first degree slaying of Mary Ann Stephens. the jury found him non guilty. In respects to the charges against Brenton Butler by the province of Florida for armed robbery. the jury found him non guilty of that every bit good. So in other words. the jury found him inexperienced person of all charges. After the acquittal. Pat McGuinness. who represented Butler. set out to happen the existent liquidator so he could truly settle the instance. Person had notified him of two possible suspects. He so tested the bag for DNA and found that the prints on the bag matched to one of the names given to him. Jermel Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree slaying and was sentenced to ten old ages in prison. He besides testified against Juan Curtis. who’s fingerprints matched those found on Mrs. Stephens bag. Curtis was found guilty of first-degree slaying and sentenced to life in prison. Although later it was found that because there was no confession. they had denied Curtis’ right to a just test. so they granted him a retrial in which he was found guilty and sentenced to two back-to-back life footings. In February 2001. Brenton’s attorneies announced that they were prosecuting a civil case in which they wanted $ 2. 5 million in amendss against the metropolis. Sheriff’s section and the single officers. Eight months subsequently they refiled the case and wanted $ 8. 5 million alternatively. The Butler household accepted 775. 000 from the metropolis as a colony in 2002. They accepted this sum because of assorted grounds including how long the instance would be d ragged on and how hard it was to turn out the instance under the federal civil rights jurisprudence. Brenton Butler Now Brenton Butler is now 28 old ages old and has written a book about his experience called â€Å"They Said It Was Murder† . The book includes new inside informations about the whippings. his clip in gaol and other unfairnesss in the probe. Besides it discusses the impact the instance had on his household and the near-death of his female parent due to the emphasis of his apprehension. Miscarriages of Justice Brenton Butler spent 6 guiltless months in gaol. His civil rights were violated. They took him to the offense scene under false pretences. didn’t inform his parents of his whereabouts or that he had been arrested ( in the beginning ) and take his parents to believe that they had merely come to their place because they were inquiring the adolescents in the vicinity about reoccurring interruption Immigration and Naturalization Services. Besides. during Brenton’s oppugning. he was threatened and forced into subscribing a confession by Detective Glover and the other two officers and Brenton was taken into a wood and beaten by said investigator. These were all evidently unfairnesss in the instance. Why? Because officers and investigators are supposed to stay by certain Torahs and the rights of the accused and in this instance they did non and they were negligent. Another unfairness was the fact that anyone accused of perpetrating a offense is guiltless until proved guilty. I n Brenton’s instance. every bit shortly as he was spotted walking on the pavement. he was immediately guilty. Brenton ButlerPage 3Personal Chemical reaction Like the Steven Truscott instance. this merely shows us. even though this took topographic point in another state. how flawed our system is. It shows us that even constabularies officers can be racially know aparting and don’t abide by the Torahs. This instance taught us that one second we can be making something wholly normal and accustomed and if you end up in the incorrect topographic point at the incorrect clip. you neer know what could go on. It besides teaches us that we need to be more cognizant of our rights and be more educated on what to make in that sort of state of affairs. In my sentiment. I still trust the jurisprudence and I still trust the constabulary officers will protect me. After hearing about Brenton Butler and what he had to travel through and how ill he was treated it makes me fear the idea of something like this of all time someway go oning to myself. It makes me doubt the judgement of our authorities and our jurisprudence hatchet mans. It besides makes me recognize that society to is really judgmental and racially know aparting. In my sentiment. every bit good as in the sentiment of many others. Mr. Stephens merely identified Brenton Butler as the liquidator because of his race. The deficiency of grounds dorsums this theory up. It’s non merely Mr. Stephens that react in that manner of leap to that decision though. Although the whole segregation coevals has passed us. we still know apart against others. chiefly because they are different from ourselves and we don’t know about their civilization etc. Hearing about Brenton Butler’s instance made me inquire what his household must hold gone through. The emphasis they must hold been under. the anxiousness. the defeat and anger†¦it made me inquire how I would hold handled the state of affairs if I were in it. I besides can’t aid but believe what if Brenton had been a white male†¦he wouldn’t have been stopped by the constabulary that twenty-four hours and wouldn’t have been identified as the liquidator. What if the constabulary and investigators had done more to happen grounds. what if they had tested the bag for fingerprints one time they found it. why didn’t they check the bag for fingerprints†¦cases like this are really thought provoking and do you inquire so many inquiries that can’t be answered. I’m sword lily that he was proven guiltless after everything he went through and I’m sword lily he has been able to travel on with his life and portion with others his experience through his novel.

Organizations and behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organizations and behavior - Essay Example For this purpose they focused on the hierarchical structure of the organization. The hierarchical structure followed by the company exhibits a Tall structure. The number of personnel reporting to each manager tends to be lesser in case of Tall structures. This results in better opportunities for the superiors to monitor and supervise the activities of the subordinates (courses.jonesinternational.edu, n.d., p.185). The employees of the organization played no role in designing and running the production lines. Also the organization followed the Taylorist style of production which refers to the mass production system. The Taylorist production approach was established by F.W.Taylor, who gave birth to Scientific Management. His school of thoughts is termed as Taylorism. Taylorism believed that any job can be learnt and taught. This theory treats the humans like machines and proposed that for the achieving higher production the management must eliminate inefficiency from its functioning. H owever, this theory completely neglects the usual complications that happen within a normal human being (Boyd, n.d). Taylorist production style supports the assembly line system where each worker performs the same task repetitively. Here the concept of division of labor was given significance and people started getting experienced in a certain domain while the rest of the production system remained unknown to them. A strict supervision policy was maintained within the organization which created distance between the management and the employees. The repetition of same task created frustration among the workers. The quality of work started to decline which affected the management adversely. In turn the employees were threatened and scolded which ultimately resulted in more and more employee turnover. The theories which were employed to channelize the changes within the organization made the Hawk Car Company to eliminate the tall hierarchical structure and instead of that, they introdu ced Adhocracy. The adhocracy structure is characterized by dynamic and organic units which have limited standardization and formalization, and is inclined toward decentralized decision making. These units are associated with least routine task and lower vertical differentiation which encourage greater responsiveness and flexibility among the employees (Robbins and Mathew, 2009, pp 199- 200). The management also took vital steps towards training the employees in such a manner so that they can gain knowledge about the entire production system. The workers were provided with the opportunity to grow in their position by better performance. The new management style took great care of the employee’s personal lives too and helped them in solving those to the possible extent. The aim of this remodeling decision was making the workforce competent and motivated about studying the process of manufacturing of the whole car and not just learning some specialized functions. These changes m ade the jobs entirely interesting and the employees felt free to approach their seniors in any case of complexity. The managers also took care of the issues arising regarding the work and paid full attention toward its solution. Team work and motivation played an important role in rectifying the conventional organizational structure that the company had been following for the past years. Question 2 McGregor suggested two management styles according to which managers regarded the work potential of their employees.

Advantages and disadvantages of franchising. Give examples and Essay

Advantages and disadvantages of franchising. Give examples and evidence to support your answer - Essay Example Hence, attracting many players who see this method being secure compared to starting a corporation from scratch. However, despite the method cited to be more secure by franchisees, they face varied disadvantages. Therefore, this study seeks to highlight diverse advantages and disadvantages, which franchisees encounter while riding on reputation they have not built. Franchising unlike other methods of establishing a guaranteed business venture, it avails numerous growth opportunities (Verma, 2012, p. 122). This is in terms of higher revenues and profits, which is not possible when an entrepreneur decides to start from the scratch. Since, in franchising an entrepreneur usually rides on an already established reputation whereby the franchisees’ role is to ensure good quality of merchandise aligning with the original maker’s products (Verma, 2012). On the part of franchisors, they enjoy significant inflow of revenues and profits besides their brand continuing to grow, hence manage to retain large pool of clientele within a given region. Therefore, they benefit from their good reputation, which they have already established with time (Verma, 2012, p. 122). This is evident with UK’s â€Å"Time For You† franchise currently boasting of high quality cleaning services thus drawing numerous and potential entrepreneurs making i nquiries to ride on its reputation. This is because of guaranteed chance of making high profits compared to other poorly managed franchises in the country. In addition, the possibility of franchise’s image loss or diffusion is not that high compared to when the main stream operates singlehandedly all branches in a given region (Verma, 2012). This is because franchisees are responsible for the thriving of their ventures while riding on the mainstream’s reputation. Therefore, any franchise its role in this case is to compel all respective branches to keep up

Packaging, Handling, Storage, and Transportation (PHS&T) as Element of Essay

Packaging, Handling, Storage, and Transportation (PHS&T) as Element of International Logistics - Essay Example However, in the recent times the term is used quite often. International logistics involves not only transportation, although transportation is considered to be a significant component of international logistics. There are other elements of the international logistic systems as well such as packaging, storage and handling. Since in the context of international logistics, people generally refer to the goods that move across national borders, this segment of logistics can be identified to be in a category all by itself. (Long, D. C., â€Å"International Logistics: Global Supply Chain Management†). Elements of International Logistics Packaging, Handling, Storage, And Transportation (PHS&T) consists of the resources, design concerns, actions and processes for ensuring that the equipments, systems and the related support items are properly packaged, stored, handled, preserved as well as transported from one place to another (Gabel, â€Å"Logistics Element Manager’s Desk Gui de†). ... Main focus is upon the safe delivery of the goods and services without any potential damage and deterioration of the systems and spares (Gabel, â€Å"Logistics Element Manager’s Desk Guide†). The numerous elements of international logistics such as packaging, storage, handling and transportation include the requirements, the resources, the methods and the considerations for the purpose of ensuring that the equipments and materials as well as related support systems are stored, preserved, handled, packaged, and transported appropriately (Lancioni & Chandran, â€Å"The Role of Packaging in International Logistics†). It is to be remembered that the firms need to have proper planning for the logistics systems to operate smoothly in the international market. The firms are supposed to examine each and every aspect in a proper way. As soon as the shipment leaves the docks of the shippers it takes greater effort for them to control till it reaches the consignee’s location. It has been noticed that the international logistics systems tend to work well in circumstances when all the possible phases have been planned in a systematic manner. One of the significant areas in context of international logistics is packaging. It is to be mentioned that packaging determines the condition at which the product will reach the location of the customers (Lancioni & Chandran, â€Å"The Role of Packaging in International Logistics†). Material handling encompasses various aspects of work in progress, movements of raw materials or finished goods within the plant or in warehouse. Packaging, handling, storage and transportation (PHS&T) plan is generally prepared in order to identify the distribution and the transportation procedures

FEA program Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

FEA program - Assignment Example In the past, primitive models were used to come up with models with some having to exemplify on and model using hands. In as much as this is relatively good, the time spent and the accuracy of these models varied tremendously leading to errors. However, with an increase in technological aspects of the engineering environment, it is imperative to connote the ease in simulation that is made possible by improved technology. Many simulation programs exist depending on the field of application. For example, when dealing with simulation of circuits a program like Circuit Maker or in animation, Autodesk are just a few examples. In this assignment, the learner utilizes Ansys Workbench as the Computer Aided Engineering simulation program. The main reason for utilization of this software program is such that it will be possible to show divergent aspects of a simulation including loading, constraints, and cosmos to analysis and component performance. The beauty of this exemplification is in the fact that all the simulation is done in the context of engineering thus it becomes possible to understand various aspects of a component. All these elements and considerations tend to rely on finite element methods. It is good to note that when dealing with finite elements, a complex problem is subdivided into smaller actual problems such that the complexity of the problem is consistently eliminated by dealing with the problem in piecemeal form. History suggests that the source of finite simulation approach is in the fact that ancient scientists found it hard to deal with complex elasticity as well as structural analysis challenges that are inherent in the world of civil engineering as well as aeronautic engineering (Mori, Osakada & Takaoka 1996). To be able to solve these challenges, engineers came up with a five-step process that allows them to break the challenge into manageable pieces that are easier to deal with at every stage. The first aspect that has to

ENTREPRENURSHIP CAPITAL & THE FIRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ENTREPRENURSHIP CAPITAL & THE FIRM - Essay Example The major activities of an entrepreneur generally depends upon three components which include bearing risks, introducing innovative technologies and creating new products or services The main function of an entrepreneur is to form new solutions by recognising opportunities for attaining considerable profits. The common features of an entrepreneur are identifying business opportunities, adopting as well as implementing effective business strategies, creating interrelation with the employees and utilising valuable resources (Havinal 95-101). An entrepreneur is typically viewed to be the owner of the business whose prime intention is to accomplish desired business objectives. An entrepreneur is required to acquire adequate knowledge as well as skills relating to the analysis of business markets for the success of the business. A particular entrepreneur is entrusted with the responsibility of performing effective business functions for enhanced business performance and achieving signific ant competitive position over the chief business market competitors. Additionally, an entrepreneur must possess specific business traits as well as characteristics to conduct business in an effective manner (Havinal 95-101). Thesis Statement In this discussion, the background of the entrepreneur from childhood to commencement of business will be taken into concern. Moreover, the influencing factors which are responsible for encouraging the entrepreneurs to start up new business and detailed analysis of the subsequent management and development of a new venture will also be portrayed in the discussion. Background of the Entrepreneur The background of an entrepreneur is recognised to be an essential factor for influencing an individual to start up a new business. The varied experiences which are acquired by an individual from childhood are responsible for the development of entrepreneurial qualities. There are certain factors which require paying much attention for commencing a new bu siness by taking into concern the traits that experiences by an entrepreneur from childhood as well as family background. In this similar context, an entrepreneur as a child should obtain the knowledge as well as the experiences from his/her parents who conduct business for survival. It has been apparently observed that the self-employed parents perform significant role in developing entrepreneurial behaviour as well as attitudes towards a child (Lancaster University, â€Å"Family Business Background, Perceptions of Barriers and Entrepreneurial Intentions in Cyprus†). According to Krueger (1993), the conduct of family business can be regarded as an important as well as influencing factor for acquiring perceived qualities as well as beliefs to commence a new business. The availability of capital required for starting up a business is an important determinant which influences an individual to become a successful entrepreneur.

Unilevers Attempts to Improve the Sustainability Essay

Unilevers Attempts to Improve the Sustainability - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Unilever is a company leader in the fast moving consumer goods (FMGG) industry. The company sells food, personal care, refreshment, and home products throughout the whole world, including Europe, the Northern and Southern Americas, Asia and Africa. The total number of Unilever’s brands has grown up to 400 by 2012. The four major business categories and key brands are listed in the paper. Unilever being a globally operating company has felt the pressure of growing sustainability and environmental concerns and responded to the modern trend by adopting a special plan to become environmentally responsible and sustainably sourced business. In 2010, Unilever presented its Sustainable Living Plan which covered a number of initiatives that the company was planning to undertake with a purpose to improve its operations in a sustainable and environmental framework. This plan was comprised of three major goals that should be achieved by 2020: improving health and well-being of more than 1 billion of people; halving of the environmental footprint of producing and use of Unilever’s products; enhancing of the livelihoods of millions of people. Sustainability monitoring bodies and industry associations have recognized the Unilever’s efforts in relation to sustainable and environmental responsibility, and have given some awards to the company. Thus, for example, Unilever has been ranked in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for being a super sector leading company in food& beverage industry. In addition to this recognition, Unilever has received some other awards from external organizations since 2009.

Globalization and the New World Order Assignment

Globalization and the New World Order - Assignment Example This has encouraged entrepreneurs to venture into business opportunities. Compared to the 50s, many economies have grown exponentially. For example, China has been a notable economy rising fast (OECD International Trade Statistics, 2010). The reason behind China’s rocketing economy is its investments in foreign direct investments (FDI). China has continued to make investments in other countries and is currently the leading country in terms of revenue from the foreign direct investments. So has globalization created a new world order? An individual needs to have the meaning of ‘new world order’ to answer the question. New world order generally refers to change in the global trend. New world order summarizes the numerous explanations of common human behavior across the entire world. Globalization has made it possible for people all across the world to communicate and share with each other (James, 2009). The fact that, majority of the people worldwide are affected by globalization, directly or indirectly, make globalization a trend setter or a common factor in the world. Hence to state that globalization has created a new world order makes complete sense. Globalization affects every economy in the world regardless of the economics’ strength and stability. Big economies have invested in other smaller economy. Developing nations have strengthened their economies due to the revenue gotten from international trade. The new world order has also improved on the living standards and lifestyles in the developing countries (James, 2009). One of the fundamental economic factor that globalization, or the new world order, has had a major influence is the creation or jobs. Ranging from countries based investments to multinational corporations; the job opportunities have life easy for ‘the worker’. Question 2; Globalization is Dead? Globalization can be the cultural, economic or social interaction between two or more people from different origins. To date, people travel globally as tourists to other counties. The major attraction in tourism is culture. People love to explore cultures in form of art like; music, paintings, dancing and publications (Norris, 2009). The mode of dressing has made the fashion industry boom to become a multi-billion industry. Artistic ideas continue to be exchanged all over the world. Due to the high levels of technology, one does not need to leave his motherland to experience this cultural interaction. One can simply access the internet and other sources of information media that are available to them. Economically, businesses still strive to find new markets. Both large scaled, and small scaled, businesses have and continue to be created due to the endless interaction of people. Investors from foreign countries invest in a country; hence, improving the individual’s lives. Ideas also borrowed from other countries also become successful ventures. Globalization continues to create bu siness and trade opportunities that help in develop any economy or the livelihood of any person (Keith, 2006). Socially globalization has made changes in the way of life. Some social occasions like sporting events promote the interaction of people from different origin. Olympics have over the years been a prominent sporting event that attracts athletes from all over the world. In some European and Latin countries, street festivals attract millions of tourists. Among the many globalization elements, socially, religion is the most spread among the world population. People have and continue to change their religious belief (Elliott, 2009). This is as a result of the infinite interaction of pe

Separation of Commercial Banks and Investment Banks Essay Example for Free

Separation of Commercial Banks and Investment Banks Essay One of the key concerns growing out of the debate on whether to separate or merge retail banking and wholesale/investment banking activities has been the stability of a nation’s banking system. The experience of the US banking system has suggested that merge of commercial and investment banks is a better approach to achieving stability. After the global financial crisis, the American economy went into recession. The policy priority of American government was then to intervene into its banking system so as to mitigate the impact of the crisis. One advantage of the merger of banks is that it can improve the overall condition of the economy (Khan, 2012). The merger of banks unites small and weak unit banks which will then be able to provide diverse services and with time, to reduce costs and gain competitiveness and efficiency. As will be argued below, contrary to the view that the merge of banks was responsible for the financial crisis in 2008 and Great Depression in 1930s, universal banks constitute one of the key solutions to the underlying cause of the financial turmoil in history. First of all, in 1930s, the Great Depression in America triggered considerable debates on the primary cause of the stock market crash. Analysts in favour of separation of banks have observed that the fundamental reason was the â€Å"overproduction of securities† resulted from the combination of commercial and investment banks (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). Until 1902s, national banks had no authority to issue securities. However, â€Å"the Civil War had been an explosion of new securities issued to finance railroads leading to the western Unit States and the expansion in public fields† (Hendrickson, 2012). Many state-chartered banks captured this chance and were involved in securities underwriting. Historical data has shown that compared to a number of merely 205 banks engaging in securities underwriting in 1922, there were approximately 5 times more national banks that were involved in securities underwriting in 1926 (Hendrickson, 2012). This sharp increase in securities underwriting resulted in deterioration of the quality of new securities and the â€Å"overproduction of securities†. To the contrary, others have opposed the separation of banks, arguing that the Great Depression actually had much to do with small local â€Å"unit† banks which constituted the fatal weakness in the banking system (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). This argument, therefore, suggests that the cause of the Great Depression was not the merger of commercial and investment banks but the separation of banks. Accordingly, they have pointed out that the increasing number of small banks as a result of the separation of banks could exacerbate the vulnerability of the financial system (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). The enactment of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1930s seems to provide an indication that the views in support of the separation of banks had prevailed over those in favour of the merger of banks. However, it is submitted that the Glass-Steagall Act had failed to solve the underlying problem of the US financial system. For instance, in 1980s, despite the operation of the Act, a third of small specialist financial institutions failed during the saving and loan (SL) crisis (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). This indicates that the statutory requirement of bank separation is not the right solution to the underlying problems in the US financial system. Secondly, the merger of banks has the advantage of helping small banks to become more competitive in the market because merged banks are able to provide broader and cheaper services than small specialist financial institutions, and consequently, to achieve reduction of operating costs and increase in revenue (Krainer, 2000). However, proponents of the Glass-Steagall Act have maintained that the merger of banks could generate two critical problems – â€Å"conflict of interests† and â€Å"too big to fail† – which, in their view, were responsible for the Great Depression in 1930s and the financial crisis in 2007 (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). In our opinion, the fact that the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed in 1980 indicates that the need for statutory permission of the merger of banks in the US had prevailed over concerns about the problems associated with the merger of banks. This further suggests that since the Glass-Steagall Act had failed to address the underlying cause of the Great Depression which was the fragility of small financial institutions, the repeal of the Act and permission of bank merger seemed to have been considered to be the way toward the establishment of a healthy and strong financial system in the US. Therefore, despite these problems that might arise from the merger of banks, the permission of bank merger has been regarded as a better approach to achieving financial system stability than the statutory requirement of eparation of banks. Thirdly, another argument for separation concerns the moral hazard issue that may arise from universal banks. According to this argument, the merger of banks may be likely to create incentives for banks to make irresponsible investment decisions at the risk of depositors and investors due to the expectation of universal banks that governments will protect them from failure (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). However, it can be argued that this issue is not attributable to government policies on bank merger or bank separation but to those which bail out banks at the verge of bankruptcy. In other words, such a moral hazard issue may arise not only in the case of bank merger but also in the case of bank separation as long as governments choose to compensate banks for their damages resulted from irresponsible investment decisions. Therefore, the key to solving this moral hazard issue is not to turn a policy in favor of bank merger into a policy in favor of bank separation; rather, it is for the governments to cease to provide bail-out for irresponsible banks so as to prevent them from making investment decisions that are harmful to the entire financial system. Indeed, the merger of banks may give rise to problems. However, it is suggested that these problems can be tackled by stricter government policies. For instance, the excessive involvement of banks in the production of securities may give rise to conflict of interests, an issue concerning the possibility of banks selling securities to customers without disclosing their own interest in such transactions (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). This potential problem can be avoided by government regulations such as the Securities Act 1933 which provided for rules of disclosure on securities offerings and established the Securities Exchange Commission to enforce them (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). Moreover, the moral hazard issue may also be addressed by government regulations of the financial market such as by requirements that banks must retain sufficient capital on account to compensate for losses and liabilities. The examples above demonstrate that government interventions in the banking system may effectively solve these anticipated problems of bank merger. In short, compared to bank separation, bank merger provides a better approach to fostering a stable and healthy financial system which is essential for the economic recovery of the US (Casserley, Harle, and Macdonald, 2011). Although the merger of banks has its own disadvantages, these disadvantages are not the root causes of the 1930 financial crisis and can be remedied by stricter government regulations. Therefore, it is suggested that while universal banks should be duly regulated, they are more capable to withstand financial turmoil than small banks, thereby making the merge of banks a better government policy than the separation of banks.

Journal Entry- Russian Immigration Essay Example for Free

Journal Entry- Russian Immigration Essay I was a young man when my familys journey began in the search for freedom. We resided in a decent little neighborhood just in the outskirts of southern Russia. All the families around knew each other very well therefore I could never understand why my family always seemed so miserable. I mean I heard stories and watched the news about bad accidents from muggers to murderers but I never seen anything like that around where we lived. Until one night my father did not come home, my mother told me he was just working late, but I knew something else was wrong, it was way after any working hours. I became so frustrated of waiting for my father I guess I ended up falling asleep because next thing I remember was being woken up at 3:30 am by my mother hysterically crying. I knew it was my father so all I could do was sit there and hug her. The officer told me he had been found in an alley after being brutally beaten, and he was already dead upon their arrival. Witnesses claim they saw him get jumped outside of the synagogue which he had been seen leaving earlier that afternoon. My father always carried his valuables on him, all his money, personal information cards, and bank account numbers. None of this was on him when he had been found, which only meant one thing, they could be coming for us next. My mother spent days searching for friends or family we could stay with for awhile until we could get ourselves together. But with our luck we were helpless. Weve heard many stories about America, that is was the land of opportunity. But we could only dream about living there. A scary thought which never left my mind was that my 18th birthday was approaching, which meant I had to enlist in the Russian army, which for jews was like asking for an early death, because not many Russian jews came out of the army well if even alive. Ive seen it myself that out in the streets Russians would get discriminated against, the hardest thing to believe was that it was in our own country, by our own people. Discrimination occurred mostly because we had different beliefs or a different culture, which was not good to display in public. Judaism was a major religion which had it really hard in Russia. We as  Russian Jews had no way of escaping this society which had been making our lives unbearable. Jews could not speak their minds or walk down the street showing any support in the Jewish belief or they would be punished for it. I told my mother I would rather die than enlist in the Russian army and she broke down in tears. Both she and I knew immediately we needed to get away from this life and we had to do it fast. The next morning we packed our most valuable belongings (which wasnt much) and began out journey to the free world. We had no money, no place to go, and nothing to live for except an ambition for freedom. We took the bus to the nearest train station where we wanted to see the soonest routes away from home. We planned to head all the way out west where we wouldnt know anyone and we could start a new life. But at the ticket counter the lady said there was only tickets left for Ellis Island, neither me, mama or Babushka knew where that was but we were told it was all the way out west so we took the risk and got on the ship. After all we had nothing to lose. We didnt know what to expect and were a bit scared or what might come. Spreading down the ship we heard rumors that we were headed to America but it was hard to believe so I just closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep, but the thoughts of America couldnt leave my mind. Entry 2: February 12,1887 Wow! What a boat ride it has been. I dont even know how many days I was on that boat, long enough but it was well worth the ride. The rumors were true, weve actually made it to America!! The land we only hoped and wished for. On the ride we met many lovely people all with the same hope, a better life. We heard many reasons of why people were leaving Russia, mostly in search for a better life, religious freedom, and to escape persecution. Ellis Island was a major immigration station for the US at which we had arrived at. Upon arrival we were greeted by fairly nice authority officials who told us where to go and what to do. Everyone had to be examined for diseases and checked for being physically and/or mentally fit. Many people were admitted but still some were deported, like my grandmother Maria, she was very old and couldnt walk well on her own so she got deported. I miss her dearly,  but I know she is doing fine. Luckily my mother and I had all our documents confirming who we were with us because all of them were checked. After 5 hours of going through the Ellis island station we had finally entered America! The streets were beautiful, nothing like I had ever seen before, lined with tall trees people cars, and smiles! We stuck with a family which we had met on the boat, they told us they knew people who could help us get situated and help us get an apartment until we can get our own jobs. And they did as they said, we got a little one bedroom apartment right near the port of entry which was very convenient because most of the people we came over with had also lived there, where we formed our own Russian community. As time went by which we had spent in America we came to realize we had no Americans to look up to for help so slowly but gradually the Russian society formed its own community. We didnt receive much respect but no one really gave us any problems. After all we were blessed to be where we were. I remember in Russia not being able to go outside after 9:00 pm at night because of the dangers that walked the streets. But here, any time of night you could receive a smile from at least one person. The lower eastside of New York was were we had been living for almost two months. Recently I began working in a grocery store where I started off making $2.00 an hour, which wasnt bad at all, I made just enough to support mama and myself and to buy food once a week. The working conditions werent bad. I worked just as much and just as well as everyone else. Although the people there werent to nice I learned to deal with it, I was only there to make money, not friends. So in the end this boat ride to nowhere turned out to be a dream come true!!

Introduction To Workforce Diversity Commerce Essay

Introduction To Workforce Diversity Commerce Essay Workplace diversity refers to the extent to which an organization is culturally diverse. Cultural diversity includes the range of ways in which people experience a unique group identity, which includes gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnic and age. An organizations culture tends to determine the extent to which it is culturally diverse. In a journal entitled  The multicultural organization, by Taylor Cox, Jr., Cox talks about three organization types which focus on the development on cultural diversity. The three organization types are: the monolithic organization, the plural organization, and the multicultural organization. In the monolithic organization, the amount of structural integration (the presence of persons from different cultural groups in a single organization) is very minimal. In the United States, this organization usually represents white male majorities in the overall employee population with few women and minority men in management jobs. The plural organization has a more heterogeneous membership than the monolithic organization and takes steps to be more inclusive of persons from cultural backgrounds that differ from the dominant group. The multicultural organization not only contains many different cultural groups, but it values this diversity. Benefits 1. It helps motivating employees. 2. It enhances the innovation and creativity of employees. 3. It helps in reducing cost. 4. It creates flexibility in the organization. 5. Immediate access to problem solving. 6. Easy transfer of knowledge. 7. Better marketing structure. 8. Innovative work environment. 9. Immediate outcomes. 10. Fulfillment of social responsibility. 11. It helps attract and retain employees. Challenges Miscommunication and lack of understanding is bound to happen in diverse workplaces. Having a policy of diversity and utilizing team-building exercises can help employees learn to communicate and respect each other. Diversity training should be implemented from the top through the bottom of the company hierarchy. Employees are more likely to consider policies fair if those policies can be seen firmly in place at the manager level. Having zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination can help companies avoid costly lawsuits. Action Steps First, assess your companys diversity across all departments. It may help objectivity to hire an outside consultant to perform a diversity assessment. Document what things you want to change, and then make a plan to start diversifying your business. Set up reasonable goals for your company; you may want to revisit your companys policy of diversity every quarter or annually. Be aware of the difference between pursuing workplace diversity and affirmative action. Affirmative action, which is the process of considering a persons racial background during the hiring process, has been challenged in the courts. The Supreme Court has generally frowned on workplace quotas. Employers should be careful to avoid reverse discrimination during the staffing process. For example, pursuing workplace diversity is not the same as having positions that are only open to women or people of color; this is illegal. [Cultural bias  is an additional factor which challenges culturally diverse work environments. Cultural bias includes both  prejudice  and  discrimination. Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward an organization member based on his/her culture group identity, and discrimination refers to observable adverse behavior for the same reason Another challenge faced by culturally diverse organizational environments is  assimilation. Assimilation into the dominant organizational culture is a strategy that has had serious negative consequences for individuals in organizations and the organizations themselves. Those who assimilate are denied the ability to express their genuine selves in the workplace; they are forced to repress significant parts of their lives within a social context that frames a large part of their daily encounters with other people. She goes on to mention that People who spend significant amounts of energy coping with an alien environment have less energy left to do their jobs. Assimilation does not just create a situation in which people who are different are likely to fail, it also decreases the productivity of organizations. (WIKIPEDIA) EVOLUTION OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY http://www.ehow.com/about_5066229_characteristics-workplace-diversity.html Workplace diversity was first encouraged in the U.S. by the passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1963. This law required equal pay for men and women performing the same job. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This included making hiring or firing decisions based on these backgrounds. So far, sexual orientation is not one of the federally protected categories under equal rights laws. However,  businesses may incorporate sexual orientation consideration when embracing workplace diversity.]] IBM first company to start work force diversity http://www.citehr.com/46309-ppt-managing-diversity.html IBM figured in the Fortune magazines list of Americas Most Admired Companies in the year 2004. It was appreciated for recruiting and retaining the best talent across the world. IBM actively encouraged recruiting people from various social and cultural backgrounds irrespective of their age, sex or physical status. In the same year, IBM had developed a talent marketplace to effectively manage its workforce. The marketplace supported employees to find the most suitable job across different organizational units within the company. The ranking was based on eight variables like employee talent, innovation, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment value, and quality of products/services5. Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, as IBM started operating in other countries outside the US, it actively promoted diversity. The company developed a well-structured diversity policy and implemented it within the organization. During the 1990s, diversity council and network groups were formed to promote diversity In the early 2000s, a skilled workforce was one of the key differentiators for a successful IT company. IBM gave importance to not only recruiting and retaining the best talent but also to managing them in such a way that wastage of skills was reduced. In 2004, IBM developed Human Capital Management Services software to implement a talent management model within the organization. According to analysts, IBMs focus on talent management enabled the company to utilize its workforce properly and also to assess its future talent needs. They felt that the best practices in talent management could be further used to formulate and implement succession planning and leadership development strategies. Work Force Diversity at IBM Diversity at the work place in the US originated from the concept of EEO in the 1940s. At IBM, Watson Jr. issued the first equal opportunity policy letter in 1953. Later, it came under government compliance under the Civil Rights Act of the US in 1964. With the onset of globalization in the 1980s, organizations initiated efforts to broaden their marketplace. In an attempt to sustain themselves amidst the continuously increasing competition, they started doing business across the world. This trend made it important for them to focus on diverse cultures across borders in order to offer products and services that suited the specific needs of different markets. LITERATURE REVIEW In todays society, cultural diversity is at the highest point it has ever been. As companies are becoming more diverse, it is becoming more important for them to understand and manage that diversity. People of different backgrounds, races, ages, sex, and/or religions create a diverse workforce. There is an importance of having a diverse workforce in order to provide better performance overall. With a diverse workforce, there arises a need for new management strategies, which require organization leaders and managers to know the differences among their employees and to know how to handle situations involving these differences. As Dr. Sondra Thiederman, a leading expert in workplace diversity, stated, whether you are a business owner, executive, salesperson or customer- service professional, your success will increasingly depend on your ability to function in a culturally diverse marketplace (Thiederman, 2000).   The growth in diversity is continually on the rise. Today, one in four people in this country belong to a minority or are foreign-born (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). These minorities are considered include any person who is not a white-male. Women today, who currently make up less than half the work force, are expected to fill 65 percent of the jobs created during this decade (Jackson et al., 1998).   Cornell Cooperative Extension, February 1998 http://www.joe.org/joe/1998february/a1.php Strategies for recruiting a diverse workforce are illustrated by case examples from the three stages in Cornell Cooperative Extensions staffing process. Organizational change to address diversity and pluralism requires a change in organizational culture. In the process of recruiting staff from diverse backgrounds, Cornell Cooperative Extension is creating new rules to become more inclusive. Implications indicate that retaining staff from diverse backgrounds needs to be as high a priority as recruiting them. Preparing the workplace to support staff from diverse backgrounds requires greater attention. Changing organizational behavior is the first step in creating a workplace that supports diversity and pluralism. Strategies for helping organizations become more inclusive are reviewed.  Workplace diversity means new opportunities for both employees and employers. As organizations such as Cooperative Extension move into the 21st century, it is imperative to capitalize on the talents of employees from diverse backgrounds because it is their differences that enrich us, expand us, [and] provide us the competitive edge ALLIED SOFT( www.microsoft.com/casestudies) need to develop and manage your globally dispersed and diverse workforce more effectively without sending your costs sky-high. To do that, you need scalable, advanced people management technology that drives your HR strategy across culture, nation and language so you can efficiently manage your workforce, no matter where in the world they may be. By Juliet Midgley and Rae Lewis http://www.onlineethics.org/cms/10977.aspx Adjusting to diversity involves developing a new corporate culture that will work naturally for all. This culture has not yet been fully developed, although companies such as Honeywell, Aldrich Associates, and Pacific Bell are making the effort. According to Robert Roosevelt Thomas, pioneers will be needed to forge and solidify this new area of management and business. He envisions that diversity will be fully achieved and effectively managed only in such a way as to get from a heterogeneous work force the same productivity, commitment, quality, and profit that we got from the old homogeneous work force. Creating diverse workforce greatest challenge for global firms By  Ã‚  Ã‚  IANS Tuesday,17 June 2008 http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/42798 Creation of diverse workforce would be the greatest challenge for corporations in a globalised world, Infosys Technologies chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy said here Saturday.As corporations grow and globalise, I am convinced that the greatest challenge they will face will be the creation of a diverse workforce, Murthy told shareholders at the companys 27th annual general meeting (AGM) for fiscal 2008.   In a bid to address the daunting challenge, Infosys has built a global base to grow in the future, with over 91,000 employees from 70 nationalities working across 90 countries. During 2007-08, the company recruited a record 33,177 people against its projected hiring plans for 25,000.As a global firm with a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic workforce and delivery centres, Murthy said the IT bellwether had taken several measures to create a high-level of diversity in its workforce by enhancing its recruiting efforts in different countries.Though Infosys receives a whopping one million job applications every year, just 2.3 percent of them are offered employment. We continue to hire from the best universities the world over and train them in our global education centre at Mysore in Karnataka. The first batch of graduates from Britain were hired in the last fiscal, Murthy pointed out.Riding on the success of its hiring and training programmes in Britain and the US, Infosys plans to extend the same to many other counties to build a world-class global workforce. Murthy also informed the shareholders that the education centre at Mysore, about 140 km from Indias IT hub, would be one of the worlds largest such facility where 13,000 graduates can be trained at a time, with about 500 faculty rooms and 10,300 residential rooms. Infosyss Globalization Strategy Posted in:  Ã‚  Business  Monday 23rd, June 2008 http://blogs.siliconindia.com/RajSheelvant/P0wU18365916020 Creation of diverse workforce would be the greatest challenge for corporations in a globalized world, says Infosys Technologies chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy according to Silicon India article Creating diverse workforce greatest challenge for global firms. The only way to overcome ethno-centric corporate culture is to have multi-ethnic and multi-national top executives.  Infosys needs to create diversity at the top executive level first.  That will have a long term affect of neutralizing ethno-centric corporate culture and building a truly global organization.  That is the  onlyway for Infosys or any other company to achieve globalization strategy. Globalisation and workforce diversity: HRM implications for multinational corporations in Singapore. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Globalisation+and+workforce+diversity:+HRM+implications+for-a0166537374 This paper presents findings based on a study involving local and foreign medium to large-sized multinational corporations (MNCs) in Singapore. The findings highlight the connection between the stages of organisational development, headquarters-subsidiary orientation, and increasing workforce diversity in MNCs. The following section discusses the political, economic and social imperatives in the Asia-Pacific region as regional political and business leaders emphasise on strengthening institutional capacities to develop and implement effective strategies and practices that will provide a foundation for human resources development in response to globalisation (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, 1999, 2000a/b, 2001a/b). Subsequently, this will bring about significant organisational changes in firm structures. This study examines the impact of globalisation in Singapore as a result of such regional developments. The justification for the study in Singapore stems from the fact that it is strategically positioned in this particular region, whereby the nations leadership have placed much emphasis on strengthening institutional capacities to develop and implement effective national policies and strategies that will provide a foundation for continuous economic growth in the 21st century.   Attahir Yusuf International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development 2005 Vol. 2, No.2   pp.  240 256 (http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordHYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orHYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orrec_id=6313HYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orHYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orprevQuery=HYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orHYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orps=10HYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orHYPERLINK http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=6313prevQuery=ps=10m=orm=or) The study explored workforce diversity in the under-studied Arabian Gulf. Specifically, it investigated what small enterprises are doing right with respect to workforce diversity and what they are not doing right. It also studied the relationship between motivation to diversify, level of education, gender and level of workforce diversification in small enterprises. The result indicated that the organisations are doing much more towards diversification and there is also a positive and significant relationship between education and the level of workforce diversification in the SME sector. Diversified firms are also reported as recording higher performance levels compared to non-diversified firms. Human resource practices and workforce diversity:an empirical assessment . Author(s):  Brian DNetto, Amrik S. Sohal,1999 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6296A766136AA92DD3DBF557AE9AFEC8?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6296A766136AA92DD3DBF557AE9AFEC8?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=848256HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6296A766136AA92DD3DBF557AE9AFEC8?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=848256hdAction=lnkhtmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6296A766136AA92DD3DBF557AE9AFEC8?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=848256HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6296A766136AA92DD3DBF557AE9AFEC8?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=848256contentId=848256 Workforce diversity has become an important issue in Australia. This study examined the extent to which human resource management practices were being used by organisations in Australia to manage workforce diversity. The study also assessed the perceived challenges and benefits of diversity in the workforce. The findings of this study indicated that overall, management of workforce diversity is only mediocre. In particular, inadequate diversity management practices were found in the areas of recruitment and selection and training and development. As migrant employees do not create any problems and are very compliant, the challenges that workforce diversity presents does not receive adequate attention by organisations in Australia. However, these organisations seek several benefits from their multicultural workforce. by Carol T. Schreiber , Karl F. Price , Ann Morrison In the early 1970s, labor demographers were observing changes in the composition of the U.S. workforce that were expected to modify domestic employment patterns in the coming decades. In 1976 a Conference Board report forecast that the 1980s decade would see higher percentage increases in labor force participation rates for white women and minorities than for white men given continuation of current trends (Lecht, 1976, p.8). When the mid-1980s arrived, demographers, noting that anticipated workforce changes had occurred, predicted further acceleration of the trend by the milestone year 2000. Workforce 2000 projections forecast continuing increases in labor force participation for previously under-represented demographic groups, especially women and people of color. These projections indicated that by the year 2000, working womens representation in the labor force would increase to 47% (of the labor force); African-Americans to 12%; Hispanics to 10% and Asians to 4%; building on tren ds already apparent in labor force participation rates (Fullerton, 1989). R. M. Wentling, N. Palma-Rivas There are numerous ways in which diversity has been defined, there is no definition that fully includes all the characteristics that a diverse population may bring to the workplace. It also showed that there are many forces that are driving diversity issues in organizations. For example, there is a significant increase in women and minority populations in the workplace; Americans continue to mature; an increasing number of minority youths are becoming part of the workforce; gay men, lesbians, and bisexual individuals are becoming an important part of the workforce and marketplace; people with disabilities are also increasingly entering the labor force; and more business is becoming global. This literature review indicates that the demographic composition is affecting not only the makeup of the labor workforce but also the makeup of the marketplace. Therefore, having a diverse workforce and managing it properly is perceived as a competitive strategy that can not only help attract diverse customers but also employees who have different perspectives that can contribute to the creativity of the organization. This review also indicated that researchers have found that an important reason for implementing diversity initiatives in organizations is to improve corporate productivity and profitability. Ongori Henry and Agolla J. Evans University of Botswana, Botswana.Accepted 27, June 2007 The extent to which managers recognize diversity and its potential advantages and disadvantages defines an organizations approach to managing the diversity (Adler, 1997). No organisation in this world of globalisation would survive without workforce diversity. It is the duty of the management to critically evaluate the benefits of workforce diversity in their organisation. On the other hand the management should put in place conditions which would enhance the workforce diversity in their organizations, more especially in their strategies formulation on the diversity of the workforce. Hence, with the diversity of the workforce, the organisation would be internally and externally competitive. Although, the process of diversification of organizations has six stages: denial; recognition; acceptance; appreciation; valuing; and utilization (Porras, 1991). It is believed that organizations should put in place strategies to enhance workforce diversity. In terms of organizational learning, organizations are still stuck on the problem of getting people to value diversity and have not yet determined ways to utilize and exploit it COMPANIES HANDLING WORKFORCE DIVERISTY ATT Commitment to Employees ATT realizes that diverse, talented and dedicated people are key to a companys success. The companys philosophy is to provide employees with continued opportunities to grow and develop their careers. Management is charged with successful implementation of various diversity initiatives as part of this philosophy. ATT leaders are expected to understand the importance of cultural competency. Training and Career Development We want to help our people grow and develop in their careers. In 2008, we invested $244 million in employee training and development programs and an additional $25 million on tuition reimbursement for employees. And 100 percent of our employees receive regular performance and career development reviews. Employee Resource Groups At ATT, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are affinity groups open to all employees. The ERGs support our commitment to diversity and inclusion through efforts in the workplace, the marketplace and the community. Were proud to work with these groups to further the goals, values and interests of both our employees and our company.   GENERAL MILLS http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/commitment/workforce.aspx We believe that diverse teams create more and better solutions. A diverse work force helps us stay ahead of our competitors through growth and innovation. Employee Networks General Mills Employee Networks provide a supportive, positive forum for developing, sharing, and exchanging information and ideas. They support our strategic work force objectives by: Attracting and retaining a highly talented diverse work force. Creating and maintaining an inclusive work force environment. Providing a voice to our leadership regarding barriers and opportunities. Providing a support system and forum for exchanging information and ideas. American Express American Express was well known in American corporate circles for its commitment to diversity. The company not only made a conscious effort to recruit a diverse workforce, but it also created a work culture where diversity was valued and promoted. This case discusses the diversity initiatives of AmEx. It talks about how the company partnered with several profit and non profit organizations to ensure that it had access to a diverse pool of candidates in its recruitment efforts. It also talks about the culture and policies at AmEx that ensured that diversity was promoted in all parts of the organization. The case concludes with a commentary on the extent to which the diversity initiatives were successful at the company, in the light of a law suit filed by some women employees against the discrimination they faced. Diversity at Amex Diversity was an integral part of the culture at AmEx. AmEx believed that focusing on diversity was one of the ways to gain competitive advantage in the rapidly expanding global markets.   Having a diverse workforce allowed AmEx to obtain a better understanding of the varied markets it operated in. Diversity has been defined in various ways by experts. The narrow definition, the one pertaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the US, defined diversity in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion, and disability. However, over the years the concept of diversity widened to include parameters like marital status, language, sexual orientation and tenure with the organization. AmEx embraced and promoted diversity in the broad sense, and its diversity initiatives covered a large number of groups including women, minorities, senior employees, people with disabilities, and homosexuals. ACCENTURE DIVERSITY Accenture is passionately committed to cultivating a diverse workforce both because its the right thing to do, and its a key element of achieving high performance, said Armelle Carminati-Rabasse, Accentures managing director of Human Capital and Diversity globally. Our company comprises people from a wide range of cultural, educational and geographic backgrounds-people who are able to challenge conventional thought, offer unique perspectives and generate innovative ideas. Our rich diversity is part of what makes our company strong. GOOGLE DIVERSITY Diversity plays a large role in the way were developing our engineering organization around the world. Were building a large worldwide office presence to establish ample global representation among our engineers, and were applying that same focus to establish a balanced representation of employees at Google. In the end, these efforts help us more accurately and relevantly represent our users, and our continued success depends on the best minds working from different perspectives and insights. Alan Eustace Google SVP, Engineering Research INFOSYS DIVERSITY Globalization has changed the character of the modern workplace global companys employee base should reflect the diversity of the world it serves. Infosys strives to employ people representing the widest possible variety of nationalities, cultures, genders and gender identities, sexual orientations, employment histories, and levels of physical ability. In doing so, the company is able to recruit new employees from all available global talent pools and provide paths to employment to all members of world societies, including talented individuals from groups who may have in the past been underrepresented within the IT industry. Within such a diverse company, people bring to the workplace contrasting opinions and worldviews. As these people interact, they develop new ideas, methods, and perspectives. Infosys recognizes and promotes this power of diversity to drive innovation. Infosys actively fosters inclusivity across all of its business units and in every one of its company offices. It encourages all employees to focus on the commonalities they share and leverage their differences towards productive teamwork. Inclusivity ultimately makes for a more informed and sensitive employee base that is better able to serve clients. Infosys was the first Indian IT company to establish a company office to manage and drive all company initiatives dealing with diversity and inclusion. Today they have employees from over 70 countries. Women constitute more than 32% of their workforce. TCS DIVERSITY Diversity in companies is no longer about being melting pots, but being salad bowls, according to Grady Searcy. We want people to retain their identity yet be integrated into the company Currently, 7.5 per cent of our workforce consists of non-Indians, said Mr. S PADMANABHAN,EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT and head Global human resource, TCS said while speaking at the NASSCOM HR Summit on `The War for Talent held recently in Chennai. In a session on managing cross-cultural teams, speakers emphasized that managing a diverse workforce is no longer a choice, but an imperative. The Indian workplace is no different from global MNCs.TCS has announced plans to hire about 4,000 people from across the world. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AT HYATT HOTELS Formation of diversity councils at thecorporate and hotel levels Provide scholarships for minority students pursuing degrees in hospitality management Partnerships with national minority organizations. Create action plans to increase women and minority representationat all management levels. Creating a diverse workforce is visible in the faces of the total workforce. Hyatt Mumbai has 46% females. At managerial position 37% are females. Training allows the employees to work more efficiently by developing effective management practices to include treating others with dignity and respect Training allows the employees to work more efficiently by developing effective management practices to include treating others with dignity and respect Reliance Energy Management Institute (REMI) looks after the training of the managerial staff Versova Technical Training Centre (VTTC) looks after the training of the technical staff Managers can also have special training programs arranged if required by the employees. It forms a connecting link between the regular workers and the upper management. The contract labours have unorganized labour unions to solve their problems. Diversity- The India Inc. Way Bharti Enterprises and American Express have mandated their recruitment agencies to have 25 % and 33% women candidates at the interview stage. Infosys BPO employs 112 people

Internet - A Blessing or a Curse? :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Internet - A Blessing or a Curse? I saw something shocking painted on the roof of a barn as I was driving through the heart of Yolo County’s farmland. It was an advertisement for the upcoming Dixon May Fair. What caught my attention was the last line of copy, painted in thin red letters, down by the edge of the roof: http://www.dixonmayfair.com. It’s finally everywhere, I thought, as I continued down the deserted, dusty road. No place is safe. Not even the country. Over the last couple of years, those tiny, mysterious clusters of letters have snuck up on us, like a sneaky race of aliens preparing a world takeover. First they crawled from a computer and found their way onto the bottoms of billboards and magazine ads, cleverly hidden away from the casual glance, amidst the small print. Once you had to have sharp eyes to notice them. But the little things grew and multiplied and now you have to be blind to miss them. They’re on our books, our newspapers, our cereal boxes, our CDs, our clothing, our dairy products, our garden supplies, and our movies. It’s hard to go anywhere or do anything without bumping into our new friends â€Å"http† and â€Å"www.† But do they come in peace? Or do they have something else up their cyber-sleeves? Are they a blessing or a curse? For anyone with a strong computer phobia, like my father, or even with a mild techno-aversion, like the one I’ve inherited from him, it’s easy to read conspiracies and invasion plots into every new computer advancement. It’s also easy to feel that we’re caught in a dangerous tug-of-war, and that the machines are winning. My father, Vernon, is the head of the chemistry department at West Virginia State College, and he refuses to use computers any more than the bare minimum his job requires. While the rest of his department (and the rest of the world) fire off quick e-mail notes and memos to one another, he still writes with pencil and paper and licks just as many stamps and envelopes as he ever did. Except for the letters I send to my dad, most of my outgoing mail these days is electronic.

Music Education Advances Culture Essay examples -- School Art Essays

Music Education Advances Culture With many music programs now beginning to be cut from public schools, music educators now find themselves having to defend the value of their art in an educational setting. Most educators view music education to be an important aspect of overall education, but they view it as luxury rather than a necessity. Often times, music and art education unfortunately lead the way when tough budget cuts have to be made. Some people even believe that the arts should not be included in curriculum because it is difficult to evaluate art formally. Others believe that a culture as advanced as ours should have the arts as the keystone of our educational system. I believe that music education plays an important and valuable role in the further development of our culture and is essential to a good education. Music education is important in the development of a stronger culture and society because it encourages creativity and individuality. Students are provided with an opportunity to expand their minds and experience what their true potential is through the art of music. This encourages individual opinions and allows students to draw their own conclusions without a correct or incorrect answer. I believe that music education should be a keystone in the foundation of our educational system. As Williams states, "the arts are a basic and central medium of human communication and understanding."(Williams 190) Music communicates aurally what we can not put into words or visual images. Music and the other arts should be treated as essential to improving and strengthening our culture. Music always requires more than 100%. It is not enough just to play all the correct notes. Musicians strive for something greater than ... ...and increased math and reading scores. I think that we will find that music directly impacts math and reading skills. I believe that music requires a more diversified utilization of the brain, and that it inherently combines both math and communication skills. Yes, it is true that music may not fit into our modern mold of statistics, test scores, and financial value. Although music may not fit the mold, it is essential to all advanced cultures and its value is shown throughout the history of the world. Although technology in the modern world offers quick satisfaction, we must remember that without music and the arts culture becomes stagnant. Music is essential to our culture and should be essential to our educational system. Works Cited Dahl, Ronald. "Burned out and bored" Hughes, Robert. "Behold the Stone Age" Williams, Harold M. "Don’t Ignore the Arts"

Analysis of Macbeths Soliloquy :: Papers

Analysis of Macbeth's Soliloquy I have chosen one of Macbeths soliloquys from Act 1 Scene 7. This scene follows Lady Macbeth welcoming Duncan into the castle to have a banquet to celebrate the sucess of the battle earlier that day. Macbeth has left the banquet to ponder the idea of murdering King Duncan. Macbeths first lines suggest â€Å"If it ‘twere done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly† In these first lines there are many elisions making it very quickly spoken, Macbeth cannot bear to stay on the subject of murder for very long. Here Macbeth is saying, if only his troubles would end with Duncan’s murder, then he would go ahead and do the murder, quickly. He just wants to get it over and done with. The use of 'it' shows Macbeth using neutral, non-specific language to disasociate himself as far as possible from the murder. Macbeth fears the consequences of the murder and implies that he would go ahead with the plan for the murder, if he were sure that this would be the â€Å"be-all and the end-all, here† . Macbeth goes onto visualise himself as a fisherman we see this in the lines: 'But here upon this bank of and shoal time' He is 'netting' the consequences as he stands on the shoal of time, perhaps in an unspoken sea of eternity. This is a very powerful image. He then suggests that he would risk being damned to become king: 'We'd jump the life to come' There is a sort of recklessness and instability in the word 'jump', as if to jump off a cliff. 'Life' is a vague euphemism, for hell, Macbeth uses these a lot to avoid associating himself with the act of murder and its spiritual consequnces. The 'we' in this line could be seen the royal 'we' which would show he is already beginning to think of himself as king. Macbeth also fears the consequences of killing Duncan in this world: 'We still have judgement met here'

Lead and Manage a Team Within a Health and Social Care Setting

The features of effective team performance are set out in Brian Tuckman’s phases of team development theory, ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. ’ This outlines the phases that a team will go through in order to become effective and reach maturity. At the ‘Forming’ stage of team development individual roles and responsibilities are unclear and each member of the team is concerned to avoid conflict with each other. From this point the team will go through the ‘Storming’ phase which is when they start to conflict as individuals put forward ideas which will be challenged by others in a bid to gain power and position over others. After this the ‘Norming’ phase follows and it is at this point that individual roles are defined and accepted and ground rules and conduct are agreed. After each of these stages the team then reaches the ‘Performing’ stage which is where they are all working towards the same shared goal. This theory shows that for all teams to be effective each individual needs to be clear on their role, responsibilities and shared end goal. This is achieved through positive leadership, utilising the skills of the team and addressing weaknesses to make the team more effective. The challenges experienced by developing teams are often due to organisational change. Staff may be resistant to change such as moving to join a new team or working with people they do not know. A health and social care organisation needs to identify the skills and knowledge that are required for the service plan and recruit staff according to this to ensure that the diversity and skill mix needed is met to fulfil the service outcome. Newly appointed staff should complete an induction that ensures they understand and comply with the organisations values and objectives and their role and support systems should be clarified as quickly as possible to ensure they can contribute as quickly and effectively as possible to the team. An established team experiences different challenges to a developing team. They may have more difficulty maintaining staff enthusiasm and momentum. To overcome these challenges the organisation needs to be aware of changes to workload and conflict between individuals to resolve issues quickly before they impact on other staff and then service users. Also feedback should be given to staff in order for them to maintain or improve performance levels and recognition should be expressed for good work to maintain a high level of staff morale. Once momentum is built then it is easier to maintain and helps staff to remain enthusiastic and continue o communicate and trust their colleagues and manage their time efficiently and keeps them orientated to the important work tasks. Challenges to effective team performance can be overcome by the organisation being clear about the values and objectives in relation to staff and service users and communicating these and the time frame in which these are expected to be achieved. Support should be given to those who are capable of sharing the organisations objectives so they can become committed to ensuring that the service outcomes are met. If this is not done then it can be difficult to maintain effective team working. Dawes and Handscomb performed a review on team leadership in 2005 and suggested that these difficulties stemmed from competing professional interests. In different settings they reviewed the relationship between team working and care outcomes and it was found that within a long term care setting the care outcomes required effective team working to be met. It is considered that management styles can be divided into three categories. * Autocratic- characterised by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members. Paternalistic- a type of fatherly managerial style typically employed by dominant males where their organizational power is used to control and protect subordinate staff that are expected to be loyal and obedient. * Democratic- a style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision making process. A leader can be anyone who has the ability to influence other members of a team. It is considered that a manager and a leader are different but they are complementary to tasks being carried out. Management styles will change to reflect the stage of development the workforce’s stage of development. When starting a new team a manager will have to be clear about setting goals, establishing rules and assigning responsibility and then taking on the more troublesome tasks of organising resources, motivating and creating a cooperative team. As the team develops then roles can be delegated and appropriate support provided. Doing this enables the team to become more confident and the style of management and leadership changes so team members begin to take on more leadership functions. The primary focus of a leader is to develop and maintain trust between the service user and the staff. The service user will look at the staff to establish with them character and competence. If these two characteristics are met then this develops trust with the service user. Character relates to motive and intent, whether the staff are working towards the same objectives. Competence relates to skills and results, whether the staff are able to care for the service user and meet the objective set by the organisation. Staff that are registered with professional bodies have accountability and are answerable for their actions. They are accountable by law for meeting the standards and objectives that are set out for them. Even when staff are working towards a common goal, conflict can still arise. This can be due to different personalities, communication styles, sense of priorities and changes to workload. Trying to prevent conflict is best practice so a manager should try to build an environment that is supportive, positive and stable to try and reduce the likelihood of conflict developing. If conflict does develop then a manager should try to: * Address it at the earliest opportunity. * Keep the discussions positive. Look at what can be done to resolve the conflict. * Encourage the team to focus on the problem, not the person. Encourage honest dialogue between the team, welcoming different points of view that do not create blame. Each individual should be allowed to voice their point of view and also listen to and respect each other’s views. * Ask each individual to accept ownership of their part of the problem. * Discuss a variety of options before settling on an agreement that is based on o bjective criteria that will resolve the conflict. Conflict does not always necessarily have to be a bad thing, as if it is dealt with constructively, can lead to increased productivity, development of new ideas and personal development of team members.