The Future of Investing Beyond the Savings Account - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3692 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? There are so many ways to invest- through your bank, the stock market, even online- that it would be foolish to limit yourself to just having a savings account. To diversify your portfolio and put more money in your pocket, use any or all of these investment trends. *Invest in companies with a strong Asian presence, and a global reach. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Future of Investing Beyond the Savings Account" essay for you Create order Economic activity centers are already shifting, both globally and regionally. The GDP of Asia, not counting Japan, makes up 13% of the worlds GDP, and it will pull even with that of Western Europe within the next two decades, resulting in greater demand for consumer items as the population earns more. *Put some of your money in companies that can provide goods and service cost-effectively, such as those who use technology and outsourcing. The public sector is growing rapidly, making increased production absolutely vital. Populations in the developed world are aging, and with that will come the need for greater creativity and efficiency. An aging population will overrun nations abilities to finance health care and retirement pensions through normal means (taxes), so the public sector will need to step up and cover the shortfall. *Invest in luxury and consumer goods companies with a presence in Asia as well as in other developing countries. More than a billion more consumers will enter the market as economic growth in that part of the world allows them to make more than $5,000 per year- the point where the average person starts buying extra items. *Invest in software companies. Technology is already transforming the way we live and work with one another- location is no longer a preventive factor. As there are new developments, people around the world will find ways to use them. Work will become not only global, but instant. *Another good investment idea is the outsourcing of professionals to places like China and India, which are shifting to knowledge-intensive industry. Since the labor market is becoming so global, the 33 million educated professionals in these countries is an untapped source of cost-effective labor. *Invest in companies that are both socially responsible and profitable. Businesses are facing ever-greater scrutiny, and the demand on the environment is only growing higher. Business philosophies such as free trade, profit repatriati on and property rights arent lived by in many areas. Every environmental incident is instantly broadcast on television and the Internet, turning local crises into global stories and fostering greater resentment of big business. *Pollution control, water filtration, and energy companies. Demand on natural resources is growing as economies worldwide are expanding. In the next two decades, oil demand will grow by 50%, and will soon outpace supply. The main constraint on growth in many areas will be a lack of water, and there will need to be fundamental changes in our behavior to keep our atmosphere and our water from being further depleted. There are many more investment ideas out there, and most can be found with a simple online search. Let your portfolio grow, by putting a little money into one or more of these rapidly growing investment opportunities. The future of investing is much more than just savings accounts, and theres no better time than now to get started. Over the Counter Investing Dabbling in the stock market is a great deal of fun, but it also takes a certain amount of skill. However, over the counter investing is another thing entirely. An over the counter stock is generally offered by a company thats a lot smaller than most traded on the NYSE or NASDAQ. These companies are traded thinly, meaning that you might not have access to unlimited buying and selling. Because of limited access, large price fluctuations are perfectly normal. If you cannot handle the psychological effect of an up-and-down market, you should consider investing somewhere else. However, if you can roll with the punches, so to speak, you can use the tips provided in this article to help in your evaluation of over the counter stock. The most important factor is your chosen companys potential for growth. Your companys earnings should increase by at least ten percent per year for the next five or six years, or you should take your business elsewhere. Now, look at the companys investments, cash flow, and inventory. These items should be, at a minimum, twice the size of any liabilities that are coming due- because the company is smaller, it needs a larger economic cushion. Next, you should take a look at the amount of working capital per share of stock. For an over the counter company that number should be greater than the stocks market value- for example, a $14 stock should be backed by at least $16-$18 in working capital. The company should have at least ten investors as reported by SPs stock guide. This can be a high benchmark for an over the counter stock, but it is still vital. You should also take a look at the companys balance sheet- there should be no operating expenses deferred whatsoever. You would be remiss if you didnt find out more about the shareholders. Look for companies that have 500,000 to 1 million publicly owned shares. The ideal company will have no more than one-tenth of its stock owned by a single institut ion or individual. Also, look at recent stock splits and dividends. What happened afterward- did the stock price increase or did it decline? If it increased, thats a sign that the company is solvent and its investors are confident. A declining price makes the suggestion that company investors are cutting and running. Finding a reliable and profitable over the counter investment can be very difficult, but it can also be very rewarding. All you need to do is to find a handful of these little-known companies, and you could be making a lot of money in a short amount of time. Spot Market Investing Spot market investing involves an instant or nearly instant exchange of the trades components. This type of investing is usually seen on the foreign exchange market, the commodities market, and less often among other markets. This article will go into further detail as we try to explain spot market investing. Where the commodities market is concerned, spot market investing means that instead of post-dated contracts changing hands (the commodity is supplied at a date in the future for the price specified), the item is delivered very shortly after trade completion, or even immediately. Spot market trading has changed the way normal market fluctuations affect commodity pricing. Commodities trading is usually not affected as severely by supply and demand, because the purchase agreement is made well in advance. However, as its name implies, spot market investing is completed immediately, and therefore the market is more volatile. The price of commodities trad ed in this manner can change throughout the day, and can be greatly influenced by shortages or surpluses. Spot market trading is more attractive to investors seeking a high risk/high return investment. The most well-known spot market worldwide is the foreign exchange market. In this type of spot market investing, transactions are dealt with immediately, through the instant transfer of funds from one international currency account to another. This market is very attractive, for a few reasons. For the average investor, the forex market is the most liquid- it can be gotten into or out of in mere seconds, at the investors option. The market is very volatile, and returns can be made and lost very quickly. Spot market investors on the forex market buy on margin, meaning that their broker puts up additional money so that they can make a higher purchase. The foreign exchange market is very risky, but for the lucky and the courageous, its a risk worth taking. A factor that affects pric es on the spot market is whether or not the commodity is perishable. A commodity that isnt perishable, such as silver or gold, will sell at prices that reflect future movements. A commodity that is perishable, such as fruit or grain, will be more subject to the laws of supply and demand. For instance, a crop of tomatoes bought in July will reflect a surplus, and will be cheaper than those bought in January, when demand is higher. The investor cant buy January tomatoes at July prices, making this an ideal example of a spot market item There are other, lesser known spot market out there. Spot marketings main principle is the efficiency and speed with which trades are done, and the proportional speed with which profits are made. Spot market investing can of course be very profitable, but as with any other investment, it should be subject to careful research before funds are spent. Private Equity Investing Private equity investing is just what its name implies- its an investment in a privately held company as opposed to an investment in stock that is publicly traded. The term private equity investing can refer to any of several strategies or types of investing in privately-held companies, or to the act of taking a public company private. There is a whole industry built around private equity investing, which is very profitable, but able to escape the extreme scrutiny that comes with the trading of public securities. Private equity investing is normally done to get a company off the stock exchange in order to begin implementing new management methods. Then, after time has passed, the investors can hold an IPO (initial public offering) and go public again- often making more in profits than they originally invested. Most who get involved in private equity investing are investment bankers or wealthy individuals that can afford to have money tied up as they a wait a profit. One of the most well-known forms of private equity investing is called a leveraged buyout. In a leveraged buyout, the private equity firm assumes debt in order to make the money needed to buy out a publicly traded company, or to purchase most of its stock (which will be taken off the market). The debt that the private equity firm incurs is repaid, with interest, by the earnings from the newly private company. In other cases, multiple private equity firms will put their resources together to pay for the deal, so the debt load is split evenly. The majority of private equity investments dont involve buying the majority of the target companys stock. For example, venture capital is a type of private equity investing where the investor puts up money to pay for a companys start-up. Venture capital is usually used to start new biotechnology and other tech firms. Initially investing in one of these companies is extremely costly, and venture capital is used when no cheape r financing is available. Even if a company isnt new, it may still need money to finance growth or major changes. Private equity investing in these situations is called growth capital, and it can come from many sources. Growth capital is best for companies that have proven themselves profitable, but lacks the working capital to grow the way its owners planned. Most of what happens in private equity investing is indeed private. Securities law and government rules typically dont apply to private equity investing, so the normal operations of firms are hidden from the public eye intentionally. Private equity investing provides advantages that publicly owned companies cannot realize, such as low accountability and giant profit margins. Stock Market Investing Investing in the stock market is a great way to earn returns, if the investor knows how the market works, and how to predict movements within it. If you are thinking about trading stocks as a way to maximize your earnings, there are a few things you need to keep in mind, and well go over them here. *Stock market investing is inherently risky. Therefore, its important for you to know exactly what you can afford to risk. While the returns on a low-risk stock arent as good as those on a more volatile stock, you also stand a lower chance of losing your money. If youre a beginning investor, sticking with low-risk trades allows you to learn the market while making a bit of money. *You need to know how to read the market and you also need to know how to interpret signs of how a stock may perform. If you learn how to read these indicators and understand what they mean, you will have an easier time knowing which stocks to buy and which to stay away from. Youl l also know when to hold your stocks and when to sell them. Stock market investing is all about knowing what to do- and when to do it. *Carrying a diverse portfolio is a great way to keep from losing too much money. For instance, you can buy stocks from retail stores, service companies, and stocks from utilities. By not sticking with stock from just one industry, you can continue to make money even if one of your chosen sectors takes a turn for the worse. Diversifying buys you the time it takes to make a decision on whether to buy or sell. *You should work with a reliable broker, even if you are confident in your stock market investing abilities. Using a broker gets you access to information more quickly, and that could help you avoid an ill-timed stock deal or find an opportunity that you were unaware of. Working with a stockbroker can help you increase your stock knowledge- and knowledge goes a long way in making a good investor a great one. As a final word of caution, no vice stock investors should not buy on margin. Buying on margin means that your stockbroker puts up money along with yours, allowing you to make a much larger initial investment. While great profits can be realized, its just as easy to lose it all. Margin buying is best left to the veterans- newer traders should keep their investments on a strictly cash basis. Stock market trading has its ups and downs, but all in all, its an exciting way to make money. Financial Derivatives Investing A derivative is defined as a financial instrument that springs from another asset, and its main function is to assume the risk of a market position. Instead of trading the asset itself, the investor enters an agreement with another party for the exchange of money at some point in the future. An example of a financial derivative investment is in futures, which are just agreements to sell or trade the asset or its cash flow at a later date. There are a few methods of financial derivatives investing, but the most common are forwards, futures, swaps and options. An option is a contract where one party agrees to pay another a sum of money for the right to buy or sell them something for a predetermined amount of time. The right of trade with another party doesnt come with an obligation to do so. To safeguard against stock price declines, the first party pays a fee to be able to sell to someone else who will buy the stock at todays prices. This is kno wn as a put option. As the stock market evolved, swaps began to be used. When a swap takes place, one investor is exchanging cash flows with another. For example- a company repays a variable-rate loan, while another is repaying a fixed-rate loan. Each decides that they would be better off with the other kind of loan, and rather than paying to refinance, the two companies swap loans. By doing this, the two companies in effect took the loans they werent happy with and converted them. Financial derivative investing can be based on almost any type of asset- bonds, commodities, exchange and interest rates, indices and stocks. The wide range of underlying assets has led to numerous derivatives that can be traded. As the growth of the derivatives market goes on, they are being used more frequently to protect an investors assets from price drops. Derivatives first gained attention in 1995 when Nick Leeson brought down the Barings Bank of England. Neeson traded derivatives, but the trades did not pan out, and due to the trades leverage, the bank lost so much money that it went bankrupt. Warren Buffett, arguably one of this centurys greatest financial minds, has said that he is against using derivatives and that they will most likely fail for almost everyone. In spite of all the criticism, financial derivatives investing has long been a part of doing business, and will continue to be so for years to come. Real Estate Investing If you pick up any two instructionals on real estate investing, you will probably get similar but still slightly different versions of the steps investors should take for success. However, there is no list of steps to take, or a set standard for what makes a successful real estate investor. There are some characteristics that apply to almost all good real estate investors, and well discuss them here. *Someone whos reaching for the top in business or investing should obviously take the time to understand how their chosen field works. For a real estate investor, that can mean joining a local association or group, or reading books and magazines. As is the case with so many other things in life, with real estate investing, knowledge is power. *Successful real estate investors never let their emotions get the best of them. If you are flipping houses, you shouldnt let your heart decide whether or not to buy a specific property, or one in a particular neighb orhood or at a certain price. Have a certain financial goal in mind, and stick to it without letting your emotions get in the way. *Surround yourself with people who think like you- this is another reason why its such a good idea to join an investment group. Talk to people whove been successful in your chosen market, and follow their advice. Research the market youre in, look at your chosen neighborhoods, and above all, ask questions of those who are successful. All the great investment strategy in the world wont be effective if its wrong for the market. *Develop a strategy early on. Are you going to fix and flip a property, or are you going to buy one and rent it long-term? You can always change your strategy, but the basic actions you take should remain the same. Most successful real estate investors will say that their success came by doing the same thing repeatedly and by developing good habits early on in their real estate career. Consistency is the biggest obstacle you w ill face- get past it and your chances of success are much greater. *Dont try to take the easy way or buy into the latest real estate investing shortcut, but dont take the harder road just to gain experience, either. Just stick with your principles- and just like with your other relationships, treat the other person the way you would like to be treated. Remember, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and you should walk away. Dont sacrifice your character or your principles for a deal! Just like with any other career field, real estate investing success comes to those who work hard and do not give up. The list above is by no means complete, but most successful investors exhibit all the characteristics detailed here. By doing your research, letting your head rule your decisions, finding people who think like you do, developing a strategy, and staying true to your principles, you will have a greater chance at success. Commodity Market Investing With a long history and a bright future, commodity market investing will continue to be a popular way to make money. For those already involved, it can be exciting, but for those who are thinking about getting started, theres no better time than now to learn about investing. To make your investment experience easier, here are some tips on the commodities markets around the world. Commodities markets in the US have their origin in early 1800s Chicago, where futures were traded. Chicago was a natural choice because of its nearness to the farmland of the Midwest, and its location at the Great Lakes base. As we all know, shortages and surpluses can cause extreme price swings. To control those, it was necessary to create an exchange that would bring buyers and sellers together. The CBOT was formed in 1848, and the first futures contract was created on March 13 of 1851. Fast forward to today, and commodities market investing isnt actually done at the mark et, but usually through a broker who does the legwork for you. There are futures exchanges around the world, but the best known are in Kansas City, New York and Minneapolis, as well as Chicago. Regardless of where the investing takes place, the essential idea is the same. Investors submit their market order and a sale or purchase is made on their behalf by a broker. The Internet has taken away some of the mystique of commodities markets, but the trading floor is still a neat place to be. Most markets are separated into pits, where brokers stand facing center. Each pit trades a specific commodity, such as soybeans, corn futures and T-bonds. The COMEX exchange in New York is home to pits for gold, cotton, orange juice, coffee, and heating oil. Like trading in the stock market, commodities market traders must be members of the exchange theyre trading in. By paying membership dues, the members support their exchange. The commodities market provides the place to trade, and it also pro vides price reporting and dissemination support. While the market doesnt set prices or buy and sell, it does have ways of ensuring that exchange members follow trading and governmental rules. From its very humble beginnings in the 1800s in Chicago, to the high-tech marvels they are today, commodities markets have become great places for traders to invest in both options and futures. Commodity market investing, along with online trading of futures, are taking investors far into the future. Bond Market Investing

Women s Roles During The American Armed Forces - 1409 Words

Combat roles are grueling and nerve breaking, with a lot of commitment and endurance required. Masculinity is the most suited trait for anyone to fit adequately and perform effectively. Mostly, men fit well in these roles due to their masculinity. However, women too, can perform as equally as effective as men. The effectiveness and suitability of inclusion of women in major combat roles in the American Armed forces has faced heated debates, between people who believe that the combat roles are most suited for men, and those that term these people as sexists and argue that women aren’t as qualified and capable of fighting in war. In essence, women can be as effective as their male colleagues in these combat roles. Combat roles in the military and armed forces entail soldiers fighting at the battleground, under the most adverse conditions, with heavy artillery and other supplies. Combat roles involve endurance and physical strength, which most women might lack, whereas the opportunity to represent the county at war needs to be open to all who are willing to sign up as a show of fairness in creation of opportunity. Feminist proponents want more women included in combat positions and serving at the war front, whereas opponents of the move, in public discourses, view this as unnecessary since women are weaker. Personally, I think women should sign up and be allowed to fight just like their male counterparts. The United States Armed Forces comprises of the Army, the Marine Corps,Show MoreRelatedGender Roles Of Women s Roles971 Words   |  4 PagesTransforming Gender. Women’s Roles in Society. Why are men always in power? Or is that we just assume that they have power? In recent years, the roles of women have changed greatly in American society.   For example, women have earned more power in education, the workplace and especially the military (Cordes). Yet, when it comes to women being fully integrated in the military, many males still question female competency. This situation needs to be addressed because women are physically, emotionallyRead MoreEqual Opportunity in United States Armed Forces: Minorities and Women785 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Military is widely viewed as a pioneer in bestowing equal opportunity for all of its uniformed members. I am going to study the Equal Opportunity in United States Armed Forces with a particular emphasis on Minorities and Women in the Military. The United States Armed Forces has the most diverse labor force in the World. There are five branches of the United States Armed Forces: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. The demographic profile of the all volunteer UnitedRead MoreAfrican Americans Played a Key Role in Vietnam War Essay1602 Words   |  7 PagesAfrican Americans played a key role in Vietnam War and, in the process, changed the complexion of the U.S. Armed Forces I. African Americans involves in the army a. Irregular percentage of African Americans drafted in the military b. The role of blacks in the Army c. The Vietnam War as a genocide II. Discrimination Issues a. Armed Forces dominated by whites b. Personal racism c. Racist practices against blacks d. African Americans in combat III. Black Women in the Armed ForcesRead MoreWomen s Armed Services Integration Act1159 Words   |  5 PagesWomen now make up 14 percent of the active-duty military in the United States, which is up from 1.6 percent, 25 years prior. (Christian Science Monitor, 1). In 1948, President Truman signed the Women s Armed Services Integration Act which created the role of women in the military. This law meant that each branch of the service was allowed to have one female Colonel (Byfield, 12). As of 2015, there are many women who serve as Generals and Admirals. All of these roles are non-combative. 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The first enlisted women served in World War I as telephone and radioRead More World War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society1494 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society World War II is an event that has marked history like no other. Originating from a European struggle, war broke out in 1939 and continued for six years. From the years 1939 through 1945 more than half the earths surface was battling in war. American society was greatly affected. People of every age, race and class were deeply affected. Womens place in society took a leap forward like it never had before. As an effectRead MoreThe War Of The United States1554 Words   |  7 PagesSince the dawn of human existence many have understood the importance of service to one s society. It existed during the early stages of civilization when hunter-gatherers came of age to hunt with the older men of their clan. 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Hum week vocabulary quiz Free Essays

Dogma A system of doctrines offered by some religions. It is proclaimed and accepted as true specific answers to the religion it is being offered for. 9. We will write a custom essay sample on Hum week vocabulary quiz or any similar topic only for you Order Now Monotheistic Is not a believer in unseen reality but can be spiritual without labeling themselves a certain religion. 10. Transcendent The belief that a greater power exists outside the material universe. 11. Incarnations The living embodying the divine or spirit. 12. Soul The spiritual part of the body that exist separately form the physical body. 13. Atheism The belief that there Is no god because no proof exist. 14. Agnosticism The belief that humans cannot be able to know the existence of a higher power. 15. Rituals The repeated actions by people or groups. Some religion rituals are dancing, singing, reciting prayers and sharing food to symbolize spirituality. 16. Symbols A borrowed image that represents some form of a spiritual experience. 17. Myths Symbolic stories that used for explanations for with in the universe. 18. Orthodox Abiding to a particular form of religion by practicing established traditions. 19. Rotationally of charisma The Institutionalizing of religion that can damage the Inspiration of religion. 20. Absolutists Believe In traditional forms of religions as being true and unchangeable. 21 . Charisma 22. Fundamentalism Emphasizes on what form one perceives as historical in religion. 23. Phenomenology Analyzing religion practices to better understand their purpose. 24. Liberal Take a flexible and unpredicted approach to interpreting religion traditions. 25. Mysticism To believe the truth despite human belief because it was perceived directly by experience. 26. Sacred The realm of extraordinary which lies the source of the universe and its value. How to cite Hum week vocabulary quiz, Papers

Performance and Reward Management Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Performance and Reward Management. Answer: As stated by Shields et al., (2015), performance management is one of the crucial factors for gaining competitive advantage in the modern business environment.Performance management is the process of continuously measuring, identifying and developing performance in firms. This is done by aligning the personal gaols and objectives of the employees with that of the organization. Mone and London, (2018) stated, performance rating can be effectively used by the organization to increase the productivity of the employees. On the contrary, Pulakos et al., (2015) opined that there are other effective ways of evaluating the performance of the employees and help them in improving their quality of the performance. This literature will critically evaluate the importance of performance rating in elevating the performance of employees and whether companies can improve the employee performance without using performance ratings. As put forward by Judge and Zapata, (2015), performance rating is a part ofperformance management which is continuous process and aim at improving the overall growth of the organization. Performance rating is essential as it enables the managers to identify the strength and weaknesses of each of the employees. Moreover, the rating system will also reflect upon the growth of the employees in a particular time span. Therefore, the contribution of the employees towards the organization, their development in their respective career, promotional opportunities and pay increases and training needs are discussed within the organization. The rating system is the accurate reflection of employee performances which can be effectively used for their professional growth. On the other hand, Barrick et al., (2015) states, employee performance can be effectively evaluated without using the performance rating systems. The employees can be evaluated based on their accomplishments and the goals that they can achieve within a certain period of time. The employees can also be evaluated based on their future actions instead of their past performances. The performance rating system can also be avoided by discussing about their accomplishments and their future goals. As stated by Li, Bagger and Cropanzano, (2017), performance rating system contributes negatively more often than positively. Moreover, there are occasions where the rating systems are biased and inaccurate. It has been seen quite often that the performance measurement system is not an accurate measure of the organization and leads to an environment that is stressful. According to Borman, (2017), traditional approach of performancemanagement are still used many organization and all companies rate their employee performance. This enables them to identify the contribution of the employees to the organization. Maslows hierarchy of needs states that employee motivations to work are driven by their needs and wants. Moreover, there are certain needs that have higher priority than the others. Performance rating system is used to provide the employees with better monetary rewards and compensation packages so the employees driven by monetary urge will be able to perform in a better way. On the other hand, DeNisi and Murphy, (2017) states, recent research suggested that most of the employees are driven by growth than rewards, benefits and incentives. As stated by Bernardin, Orban and Carlyle, (2017), performance rating system should be developed according to the requirement of the organization. This will facilitate in development of an effective working environment and work culture. The work culture should always be congenial and conductive and this would facilitate the employees in sharing information and knowledge among each other so that the organizational goals can be achieved. However, in most occasions the inappropriate use of performance rating system makes the employees more oriented towards their personal goals. Performance rating system cannot be considered as the most effective system for promoting employee performance. Performance ratings system has been used by all companies in one way or the other and most of the cases the companies are unable to develop an effective performance rating system. The majority of the global organizations are more oriented towards employee growth than performance rating. The basic problems in performance rating system are lack of differentiation, recency effect, horn effect and personal bias. The managers are either reluctant to judge the employees or lack self confidence to justify the rating they have provided to the employees. Schuh et al., (2018) states, in most scenarios it has been seen that employees are given average ratings or similar ratings. This leads to either lower ratings for everyone or higher rating for everyone which means that this is amanagement failure. This will definitely have an adverse effect on the employees and their performance. Recency effect is another major issue where the managers become more diligent than before (Rock Jones, 2015). Therefore, continuous evaluations of the employees are not done which will highly affect the employees performance. Horn effect is very much frequent where the employees are judged on areas where they are highly competent or incompetent. This evaluation is not exactly true to the organizat ion. Personal biases are a common bias where the employees are rated based on their personal feelings and impressions about them. These drawbacks majorly hamper the employee performances and most of the employees will be highly demotivated due to these practices. According to Smith et al., (2016), managers should be able to inspire the employees in order to improve their performance. Employee engagement is more important in this context and can be used effectively to increase the efficiency of the employees. This is the reason that most of the companies are not using the simple rating system for improving the employee performance. There are other complex systems of continuous evaluation of the process such as performance curve and forced ranking which has been effective for motivating the employees. The employee performance ratings are hurting the productivity of the organization as they do not assist in improving the performance of the employees. This is because of the fact that the employees provided with top ratings become complacent while the ones provided with lower ratings are disappointed and angry. The rating system is the area where the employees are focused on and they do not even listen to the valuable feedback that is being provid ed to them. The employees are more focused on the numbers on the assessment sheet that they have received (Latham, 2016). The rating system is practically meaningless as there are managers that are too strict about the ratings and others are too lenient. There are instances when employees have tried their level best to contribute to the organization and they have made an effort to improve the performance. Moreover, their improvements have been well received by the management but at the end of the day they received the same ratings as their last year. This will result in development of all negative emotions within the employees which will highly affect their performance of the employees. Therefore, these instances shows that the performance rating systems have not been used the way they should in an organizational setting. As stated by Rosen et al., (2017), the purpose of the reviewing the performance of the employees is to develop their hidden talents and motivate them to perform in a better way. The ineffectiveness in the employee rating system increases the attrition rate of the organization which increases the organizational cost. The most relevant example is Microsoft where the removal of the rating system increased the collaboration within the employees and they have been able to increase the performance of the employees significantly. The removal of the rating system exhibited collaboration, agile and customer orientation which is essential for companies to gain competitive advantage in the market (Latham, 2016). The employees in the modern generation are looking for growth in their respective careers and talent management is more effective in which the manage rs had a frequent conversation with their employees so that employee engagement can be increased. These have increased the growth rate of the employees significantly and the employees are developing at faster rate. The tradition process showed that employees and managers spent a lot of time in discussing about their past performances. These have been a complete waste of time as the organizations should be more focused on the future development of the employees (Rock Jones, 2015). Therefore, instead of assessing the ability and talents of the employees it is essential for the organizations to provide suitable job roles according to their talents which will benefit the organization. The importance of employee management and growth is high so majority of the companies are getting rid of the performance rating system in order to increase their organizational efficiency. Therefore, the argumentative literature has been able to throw a light on the advantages and disadvantages of using performance rating system. Performance rating system is not the most effective way of increasing the performance of the employees which is the very reason that most of the global organization shave changed their human resource policies. Thus, it can be concluded that performance rating system is not effective in respect to the changing modern environment and has more adverse affects that positive effects on the employees. References Barrick, M. R., Thurgood, G. R., Smith, T. A., Courtright, S. H. (2015). Collective organizational engagement: Linking motivational antecedents, strategic implementation, and firm performance.Academy of Management journal,58(1), 111-135. Bernardin, H. J., Orban, J. A., Carlyle, J. J. (2017, November). Performance Rating as a Function of Trust in Appraisal and Rater Individual Differences. InAcademy of Management Proceedings. Academy of Management Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. Borman, W. C. (2017). Implications of personality theory and research for the rating of work performance in organizations. InPerformance measurement and theory(pp. 127-172). Routledge. DeNisi, A. S., Murphy, K. R. (2017). Performance appraisal and performance management: 100 years of progress?.Journal of Applied Psychology,102(3), 421. Judge, T. A., Zapata, C. P. (2015). The personsituation debate revisited: Effect of situation strength and trait activation on the validity of the Big Five personality traits in predicting job performance.Academy of Management Journal,58(4), 1149-1179. Latham, A. (2016).Forbes Welcome.Forbes.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/annlatham/2016/02/07/why-your-employee-performance-ratings-are-hurting-your-organization/#7c50c365410f Li, A., Bagger, J., Cropanzano, R. (2017). The impact of stereotypes and supervisor perceptions of employee workfamily conflict on job performance ratings.human relations,70(1), 119-145. Mone, E. M., London, M. (2018).Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge. Pulakos, E. D., Hanson, R. M., Arad, S., Moye, N. (2015). Performance management can be fixed: An on-the-job experiential learning approach for complex behavior change.Industrial and Organizational Psychology,8(1), 51-76. Rock, D., Jones, B. (2015).Why More and More Companies Are Ditching Performance Ratings.Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 7 April 2018, from https://hbr.org/2015/09/why-more-and-more-companies-are-ditching-performance-ratings Rosen, C. C., Kacmar, K. M., Harris, K. J., Gavin, M. B., Hochwarter, W. A. (2017). Workplace politics and performance appraisal: A two-study, multilevel field investigation.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies,24(1), 20-38. Schuh, S. C., Zhang, X. A., Morgeson, F. P., Tian, P., van Dick, R. (2018). Are you really doing good things in your boss's eyes? Interactive effects of employee innovative work behavior and leadermember exchange on supervisory performance ratings.Human Resource Management,57(1), 397-409. Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., ... Plimmer, G. (2015).Managing Employee Performance Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press. Smith, M. B., Craig Wallace, J., Jordan, P. (2016). When the dark ones become darker: How promotion focus moderates the effects of the dark triad on supervisor performance ratings.Journal of Organizational Behavior,37(2), 236-254.

Analyzing Ekphrastic Poetry Flashcard

Analyzing Ekphrastic Poetry

The Role of Project Manager

The Role of Project Manager Free Online Research Papers The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role of an efficient project manager. This can be achieved by discussing what project management is and why it is important in modern business. The role of project manager involves considering various aspect of planning, coordinating and controlling of project. This section of the essay will demonstrate the role of project management. This can be discussed in the two stages, one is the core role of project manager (i.e. activity planning, creating charts scheduling, risk analysis and control) and the innate role played by him dealing with the project teams and other subsidiary tasks which are essentially performed by all managers. Further the essay will evaluate the role of project manager from my personal stint with project management at my earlier job. Project Management institute has defined project as â€Å"A temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service† (Project Management Institute, 2004). Project management has been practiced since the dawn of times. From the time the civilizations became stable and started building roads, bridges, rotating crops etc they routed their projects unintentionally via project management techniques. But the increase in modern complexities like budgeting, cost, quality and time led to evolution of effective management technique which came to known as ‘Project Management’. Project management has earned world wide popularity and importance owing to its effectiveness while managing complexities in projects and rapid growth in project oriented organizations which has also contributed to professionalization of project management (Meredith and Mantel, 2006). Every project revolves around three main objectives first is to deliver required performance to meet clien ts expectation, second is the cost of the project, adding pressure on the manager to finish the project in prescribed budget and to complete the project in given time frame but with new developments and customer focused economy, customers views as well plays vital role. Though project management being highly goal oriented and vital, it has been observed that project management has some limitations. The three main limitations according to William Killian are as under 1) Project priorities and competition amongst the talent may hinder the stability and long term interest of the organization. 2) The life of project being short and the organization indulging in scheduling for such temporary project may have to suffer in long term planning. 3) Further Killian adds that shuffling project teams often, my disturb the balance of the organization consequently hinder the growth in the specialized field. Along with these there is also conflict in delegating authority. The senior manager tend to relinquish the authority and hence the middle and lower level manager are left in dilemma which further affects the performance, quality of work and time. However this constrains varies from project to project and it is also depends on the capability of the project manager. An efficient manager will be able to tackle this with his experience and skill whilst the inefficient manager will be fumbling with problems and try to settle it out. These limitations rather challenges will be a crucial test for a project manager in achieving the project goals successfully (Killian, n.d.). The project manager’s task begins as soon as he is appointed the manager for a project. It is apparent that managers need to make choice amongst the possible projects and it is obvious that manager will select the project the maximize returns and the value of project portfolio for the company. Also it is important to note that project manager must keep in mind the long term strategy of the company while accepting and rejecting the projects (Milosevic, 2003). Like for a firm which is new into the project management business, it may have to accept certain projects at minimum possible return so as to get foot hold in the industry. The accepting and rejecting a project is very important task at the same time it is conflicting task (meaning the project may be profitable to some and may not be to some managers). However, there are several tools that can aid the project manager in deciding the viability of the project for example scoring model, analytical hierarchy process, economic method (Net present value, pay back and internal rate of return), portfolio selection approach and real options approach (Milosevic, 2003). Nevertheless, these methods assume that project manager has more projects than the resources available to successfully complete the project. These methods hence only help in selecting a project that maximizes portfolio value, rather than helping the manager to decide whether to accept the project or not (in case of single project). Thus in the end the manager is in vulnerable position to decide about the project, consequently the manager may take an immature decision leading to failure of the project. Along the similar lines another important aspect for the manager is the closure of the project. Managers often hesitate to close the project even when the condition becomes reasonably adverse. He presumes that positive returns will flow once the period is over, but in most of the cases the condition worsens and the manager is held responsible for the failure of the whole project. Hence as Kerzner (2003) says project appraisal is the most important phase in the life of the project. Once the first step is taken by accepting the project the project manager’s core project works commences. The manager has to undergo research process and chart out budget and schedule. It is evident that most of the managers use programme evaluation and review technique (PERT) or critical path method (CPM) for project scheduling. But recently the use of PERT has reduced owing to the increased use of computerized technique. The use of these methods will help the manager to arrange the activities in logical sequence and allocate time required for each activity. The manager has to decide which path to be undertaken for connected activities. He has to choose appropriate person for the tasks and develop the project teams as well. Further he has to ensure that adequate facilities and supplies are available when needed especially in the early stage of the project. Simultaneously he has to start building relationship with the client and start knowing their requirements and expectations. As the work on project begins and more people are added the plans and schedule have to be updated accordingly and also the detail plan for the entire life cycle of the project are to be ch arted from the point of beginning of the project management till the work is finally completed (Meredith Mantel, 2006). Further it is important to discuss the responsibilities of the project manager whilst discussing the role of project management as an efficient tool to tackle complexities and uncertainties in projects. As per Meredith and Mantel (2006) project manager is responsible to mainly three group of people one is the senior management of the organization, second is the client and he is finally responsible to the project teams. Performing responsibilities towards each of this group is essentially the core and vital role of project manager. His role towards the organization entails conservation of resources, timely and accurate project communication. The project manager is expected to keep the senior management of the organization informed about the project status at all stages, including the problems anticipated, chances of running over budget or being late in completion of the project. Thus his basic responsibility is to give the management the true and fair view about the proceeding and tak e measures towards successful completion of the projects Likewise the project manager is responsible towards to client by ensuring the integrity of the project is maintained even in the case of conflicting demands made by the other parties with legitimate interest. At the same time the manager is expected to ensure the quality, dimensions and other specifications of the client. On the other hand the project manager’s role in the project team varies with the nature of the team. His contribution in the project specialized team will be different from his contribution in other functional teams. Mantel and Meredith remark that it is crucial for the project manager to help the project workers with the transition of work or new projects. The project worker tends to pay more attention towards their own career as the project nears completion, leading to non completion of project on time. Hence forth the manager should be aware of this and help in the transition process. With the advent of agile projects combined with increased modern complexities and uncertainties the role of project manager has become more intense and challenging (PMBOK Guide, 2006). The project manager has to perform the role of risk manager as well along with the normal role he performs. Project managers are often expected to anticipate the future and prepare their organization and project against risks and problems. The challenge is not to identify risk for a single project, but to predict it consistently and ensure that every project has the same level and depth of risk analysis (pmi.org, 2007). PMBOK guide (2006) refers to risk management as a process where the project manager along with the project team is required to conduct risk management planning, analyze, respond and monitor the project. Avoiding the risk management in any of the project may even result in total failure of the project. Therefore, managing risk is important element of project planning. Along with the core role as a project manager he also has to act as a leader, a motivator, a guide and also as relationship manager. The scope of project management is widening, thus adding more pressure on the project manager. With globalization the word of mouth these days, the project managers are managing offshore projects. For example the IT industry based in India whose most of the clients are in Europe and North America, the project manager has understand the requirement of the client and has to even send the teams to do the same and even work on the project in some other country. The manager’s task becomes more tedious managing teams in home country and in the foreign country. In such cast the manager has to develop a communication system and monitor the project proceeding regularly. But the main issue in such project is the cultural difference. The manager must adapt to multi cultures as well as different working and social environment especially in offshore projects . Mental and Meredith (2006) emphasize that actual role of project management deals with reducing the conflict between stakeholders in the project (the project team, client, senior management and public). As mentioned earlier in the essay as like other manager the project manager to be effective communicator (Mintzberg, 1973). Project manager plays a role of facilitator for the organization and the client while managing a project. Henceforth communication is vital aspect of project manager’s role. In order for a project to be successful there are two main essential ingredients that is people and effective exchange of ideas within them. If there are no people nothing can be done and without communication no body will know what to do. So communication is like engine oil if the engine is not provided with oil it will not run similarly one need to understand that communication should be treated as engine oil for any project. It is the role of the PM to ensure that there is effective communication within the team (Wideman, 2006). From my own experience as a project manager handling a business development project in South Africa, I personally feel that communication and coordinating the activities is the main task of project manager. I had to manage two project teams one the investment planning team the based in South Africa and the other back office team in India. The investment planning team had to be briefed about all the latest proceedings in the financial markets and communicated effective targeting strategy to approach clients for investing in India. The investment planning team use to approach the clients and in case of any discrepancy on the clients end had to be cleared out by me. Any investment deals that were closed had to be communicated to the back office team in India to carry out further proceedings at the earliest. Here my role essentially was monitoring the activity. On the other hand my responsibility towards the senior management was to keep them updated about the progress, inform them abou t any anticipated problem. We were facing budget constrain to reach our targeted objective. Hence I had to communicate the same to the senior management and got increased the budget. The most important lesson for me being a project manager is keep the stake holders of the project informed and also keep the teams happy for smooth running of the project. The senior management does not like surprises. The PM should spend considerable amount of time communicating with individual members of the team in order to understand their needs and concerns. The PM should also encourage communication within the contributors of the project. He/she should also try to establish regular communication with the clients and also the senior management about the progress of the project. Another important feature for effective communication is that the PM should emphasize more on written communication (Kerzner, 2003). It is important to note that project manager’s work does not end on successful delivery of the task expected of him but he also plays a vital role in closure of the project. The closure of any project should be a controlled end. The PM is responsible to prepare the end project report with details of the main findings of the project. The Pm should also represent a formal view of the projects degree of success. The PM should also organize a project closure meeting with the concerned people. The meetings main aims should be to reviews the overall project and ensure the completeness of the major project deliverables. The project closure meeting should also be attended by the Project owner along with the Pm as it is the final control point. The PM should also provide the project owner with the end project report (get ahead, 2005). In this final phase the project manager will be juggling the monitoring of fine detail with a review of the strategic objectives to ensure the project does actually achieve the desired outcomes (JISC info net) It is evident from the above facts that role of project manager is comprehensive, dynamic at the same time challenging and rewarding as well. As Mantel and Meredith comment PM’s job is not free from problems and frustrations being responsible for the outcomes of the project. The problems involve dealing with parties, senior management, client, project team and public. With professionalization at the heart of business today, the manager task is expected to become more gruelling delivering quality for clients at the same time he has to be within the budget limits stated by the organization. He has to maintain appropriate trade off between client’s expectation and the stipulated budget. As more and more IT firms adopting project management model for their operations the scope of project managers seems bright. It can be concluded that there is no specific role of project manager; he has to work as the situation demands from him. It has been found that the real issue of th e project manager is not technical but human (Mental and Meredith, 2006). And lastly as Mental and Meredith argue that challenge for the project manager these days is moving from technical to managerial position to identify the need and develop interpersonal skills. Bibliography Anonymous, â€Å"Project Closure† Available from: jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/project-management/pm-project-closure Accessed on: 20/03/07 Anonymous, â€Å"project initiation and project closure† Available from: getahead-direct.com/gwpm07-project-initiation-and-project-closure.htm Accessed on: 20/03/07 Kerzner, H (2003) â€Å"Project management- a systems approach to planning scheduling and controlling† Wiley publication Meredith, J and Mantel S (2006) â€Å"Project Management- A managerial approach† 6th Edition John Wiley and sons publication Milosevic, D (2003) â€Å"Project management toolbox tools and techniques for practicing project manager† Wiley publication Project management institute, USA â€Å"A guide to the project management body of knowledge â€Å"(2004) Wideman, M (2000) â€Å"Communication: The project life blood† accessed on 20/03/2007 Available from: maxwideman.com/musings/lifeblood.htm Accessed on 20/03/2007 Research Papers on The Role of Project ManagerThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyOpen Architechture a white paperLifes What Ifs

Theory and Personal Development - Person centered and Psychodynamic Essay

Theory and Personal Development - Person centered and Psychodynamic Counseling - Essay Example Freud was a student of von Brucke's and took on many of his ideas regarding psychology. The psychodynamic approach is epitomized by classic psychoanalysis, in which the patient seeks to experience the "truth" about themselves through breaking down the defenses that have built up to prevent them from reliving the events and processes in their past that have created the problems they are experiencing in the present day. This approach states that present conditions have identifiable causes in the past. Cause and effect is at work. Within my own life psychodynamic counseling might be suitable for uncovering my feelings and experienced in growing up with a brother who had learning disabilities and who received attention and financial support from my parents that at the time I felt was being withheld from me. Psychodynamic counseling might enable me to answer the question of whether this now distant feeling of being rejected influences me today. Are there stresses within my present personal relationships that reflect this past feeling of abandonment Sibling rivalry is of course a generally accepted fact of most psychological models, but in my case is it exasperated and thus lengthened because of the unique circumstances of my relationship with my brother The psychodynamic approach might also be used to explore the fact that I had a "caretaker" role within my family at a comparatively young age, due to my mother's multiple pregnancies and what I now identify as post-partum depression. Did I become self-reliant to an unhealthy extent, thus distancing myself from people Again, this type of approach would seek to uncover the true nature (and thus influence) of these past experiences and seek to apply them to my present psychological state. In the psychodynamic state, the past is indeed prologue to present. Further, it is almost determinative in nature (Parkes, 1971). In contrast, the person-centered, or humanistic counseling, would concentrate upon the manner in which I perceive myself consciously in the present and would only consider my childhood as it directly affects my present situation. Thus the fact that I desire to have children, but have so far been unable to get pregnant might be explored vis--vis my mother's bad pregnancy experiences. This past would be a direct effect upon my conscious mind however, rather than the sub/unconscious influence that might prevail within the psychodynamic model and which would thus need to be revealed to me through my psychotherapist. As Jacobs (1986) suggests, the psychotherapist needs to be sure that he/she does not dominate the process to the degree that the actual subject is lost within a morass of interpretation. I am also presently considering whether if my husband and I do have children they will experience the same poor childhood that I did. Essentially, will I be as bad a mother as my mother was The person-centered approach would take this question at face value - and essentially assume that my mother was indeed a bad mother - and explore how this belief influences me in the present day. Psychodynamic counseling would explore how I had come to the conclusion that my parents were bad parents, and what effect it had

Short answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Short answers - Essay Example ng Congressional action with his authorship of the Federalist Papers and his stern belief in a more balanced and financially fair system of government expenditures. An early and notable military leader during the war for American independence, Washington eventually rose to become the first president of the United States. A devout American patriot, Washington was respected by many citizens in that time as both a strong military might and a fair potential president. Despite Washingtons retirement to Mount Vernon prior to being elected the first American president, he remained influential in many governmental matters until his death in 1797, supporting the idea that Congress should fund the debt of the nation. An early puritanical leader, Hutchinson maintained somewhat radical religious beliefs for that time, eventually establishing a bible study lesson for citizens who had migrated to the New World in the 1600s. Her viewpoints on religion eventually caused her to be banished from the early colonial society, however her progressive thinking in relation to religion serves, today, as a map for the evolution of religious beliefs in early colonial America. Angry over Britains imposition of excessive taxation, colonial Americans opened up crates of tea, which was set for exportation to other nations, and dumped it into the harbor to prevent England from receiving profit and taxes on the tea. The colonists were also angry that imported tea distributors/manufacturers were not paying import taxes, which could have assisted the economy of early America. This act enraged England and is noted as the starting point for the Revolutionary War. Angry over Britains constant imposition of taxes on the colonists without their approval, the term no taxation without representation involved the early colonial American belief that taxes cannot and should not be expected to be paid (or acknowledged) without some form of governmental representation that speaks on behalf of citizens.

Week 1 - Discussion 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 1 - Discussion 2 - Coursework Example The motivation factors may include a rewarding system that recognizes groups or individual performance. According to Lockwood (2006, 4), â€Å"rewards and recognition also help both to retain talent and to improve performance.† Also, they should recognize and appraise the employees who are performing well and particularly those achieving progressive improvements records. Other forms of employees’ motivation may include promotion, financial and non-financial rewards, etc. Managers should be good leaders in their organizations to motivate and improve performance of their staff. They should inculcate best leadership skills such as ensuring effective communication of the organizational objectives to the employees and coordinating the workforce to relinquish the potential towards the right goals (Gregory, 2011). Also, they should build teamwork and delegate responsibilities to the employees as well as hold the groups or individuals accountable for what they achieve. This will also improve the decision-making process by reducing bureaucracy in the organization. Finally, employers can hire competent workers and initiate training programs to provide training to the employees so that they can advance their skills and acquire latest skills (Dreher & Dougherty,

Plans For Introducing The Laptop Bags In UK Marketing Essay

Plans For Introducing The Laptop Bags In UK Marketing Essay Introduction Marketing is defined as, A co-ordinated process which makes the best use of available resources to present a product proposition to a target market in order to achieve objectives, and then evaluating how successfully this has been done. Peter Verwey, TMA marketing manual Philip Kotler defines Marketing as the art of identifying and understanding customer needs and creating solutions that deliver satisfaction to the customers, profits to the producers and benefits for the stakeholders. Marketing is the performance of those activities which seek to accomplish an organizations objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client, says E. Jerome McCarthy of Michigan State University. http://www.audiencesni.com/library/lb-downloads/reports/Strategic%20Marketing%20Planning.pdf As the mission statement of Royale Company is To excel in customers world Vision: Making a difference with great quality and value for the products Values: Quality, value, innovative, service and integrity. Royal company does ensure and strive to get their vision of excelling customers world are measured in depth to the way they run their business and the way they serve their customer be it home or abroad. Royal company mission and values are also met by ensuring that they meet customers expectation with appealing, superior quality products at value for money. Marketing Environments of the UK Royal company has decided to launch a fashionable and convenient bag designed for laptop known as L bag As per the marketing study it is said that people want their laptops and phones to be functional and fashionable and there is a real crossover in product at the current market. UK market wants product to associate them with a brand image. People make choices in what technology they buy based on the feel good factor and what it says about image or personality over what it can actually do. Which is why Royal company has decided to design in different colours, for the sophisticated, the understated and the loud. As tech gets smaller, portable, part of fashionable image and essential and hence fashion industry in generally is waking up to technology. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3224441.stm There was a real niche in the market for a lightweight stylish bag that had the technology in it to hold a laptop, but also the technology in it so that if you dropped the bag, the laptop wouldnt break. As young generation in UK are finding it essential and easier to carry the laptop with them around as it is getting slimmer and lighter. With wi-fi hotspots, allowing high speed net access without wires, popping up around the country in bars and cafes staying connected on the move is becoming an important part of it. Laptops are becoming a fashion accessory in UK where people do not carry an ugly bag with a well fashioned dress. All the design that went into laptops bags was focused on the travelling businessman but no thought that now a day laptop is used by younger generation as well which would be a easy target for new product L bag. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3224441.stm Marketing Strategy: Whereas marketing strategy is a systematic approach to a major and increasingly important responsibility of management: to position and relate the firm to its environment in a way which assures its success and makes it secure from surprises Ansoff and McDonnell (1990). Every organization needs to know the market very well in order to do succeed in the business and Royal Company is no exception to this. The main features of market orientation are as follows: Customer Focus: Royal Company strives towards delivering the best products as per the needs and requirement of the customers. Competitors Orientation: In retail business Royal Company has survived and served customers for many years. Inter Functional Coordination: It needs to have excellent inter functional coordination to provide smooth service to customers. It means working together as a team. Marketing Plan for introducing the Laptop bags in UK market: In order to formulate the marketing plans as the UK market is very competitive, Royal Company must use their financial resources to create and sustain a high profile with multi level marketing campaign to raise their profile in UK and establish the idea of quality bags for laptop. Need to be innovative in the market are as follows: Business survival For better returns To take advantage of opportunity For profitability Competitive Advantage Macroeconomic Analysis is divided into internal environment and external environment. Internal environment consist of Firms own management structure, the strategies and objectives, the different departmentation within organization. The ability to serve the customer is mainly affected by the internal factors. The external factors mainly consisted of suppliers, distributors, customer, competitors and publics and also the group of shareholder. On the other tool that will be used in these areas is Porters five forces. Just as SWOT and Porter five forces is used to identify new product, services and how a business can be profitable in the market. A PEST Analysis of the industry examines the, social, economic, local, technological, national, political, and global influences to understand opportunities and threats well. Retail industry had an assumption that to some extent these factors (political, economic, social, legal and environmental) will be applicable. Political: It influences organizations in many ways. This factors can create advantage and opportunity for any new organization. They can pose restriction on duties and obligation on organizations. Royal Company has to know the political environment in UK very well such as market regulations, legislation such as the minimum wage and anti discrimination laws, trade agreements and restrictions. Economic: Retail industry is very sensitive to interest rate and also fairly recession proof. Because of September 11 events, stocks were plummeting and prices are low all time due to this the world economy have suffered heavily. However after the September 11th attack the world economy is up and the retail industry are boosting again and consumers are becoming more optimistic. An economy undergoing recession will have high unemployment, low spending power and low stakeholder confidence against a booming economy. Social: There are changes in consumer taste and lifestyle present both opportunities and threats for the retail industry. People are know more thinking about the fashion and brands image which they can easily afford and have them as well. Population changes also have a direct impact on organizations. Changes in the structure of a population will affect the supply and demand of goods and service within the economy. Technical: the way a business would operate has changed greatly due to Technology. Royal Company needs to use this available technology such as the internet and other information exchange system, incorporating a multitude of software which helps to manage the business. In retail industry the introduction of online shopping via internet is now a common place for shopping. IT system undertakes the companys administration, management, and paperless operations which are monitored by the secured sever, it provides a flexible base for running the business. UK is at the forefront of technologically developed. Hence Royal Company gets an advantage of developed logistics and distribution channels already in place. One other tool that will be used in these areas is Porter Five Forces. This model can be used to good analytic effect alongside other models such as the SWOT and PEST analysis tools. Five Forces analyses five important in the determination of competitive power and these are: Buyers power: Suppliers power: Rivalry among competitors: Threat of new entrants: Threat of substitute products: Below is the diagram which describes the Porter Five Force Model: Diagram1: http://colette3010.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/5forces.jpg The Problems which Royal Company will be facing and threats of substitute supermarkets, supplier power, buyer power and the power of customer can be explained by Porters five forces. Buyer power also decides the prices in the market. If products are expensive than other products will be purchased. This mean market is disciplined which make the pricing disciplined as well and stops them to destroy the market in a profit war. Supplier power is an essential part of this model. Suppliers demand that retailers should pay them certain price for their service and goods supplied. Threat of substitution is always been affecting any organizations, however they try to ensure brand image and quality by having the best value for the products. Competitors and new entrants is also another threat for Royal Company as they acknowledge these seriously, and therefore the company always plan to improve upon developing its stores. Royal Company can determine its strength, weakness, opportunity and threats to its business by using SWOT analysis: STRENGTHS various range of products Available 24 hours a day Cash Flow Position is strong Increase turnover and trading profits Balance Sheet is strong Leading Supermarket Chain Awareness of Brand Human resources Online Shopping capability to turn assets into advantages OPPORTUNITIES Globally Developing brand alertness Forming New Markets Globalizing the Market Alliances Innovation Growth in Low cost brand Diversification Offering available new markets with advanced margins WEAKNESSES requires local awareness of customers and culture overseas brand THREATS existing New competition Raw materials prices are instable downturn in Economic Globalising the shifting market Takeover bids Low cost brands from Far-East Extremely high competition for resources and customers Product Sales Cycle: Diagram2: http://dpl.kaist.ac.kr/DM_wiki/images/d/d5/Product_Lifecycle.gif Introduction Stage: In the introduction stage, Royal Company seeks to build product awareness and develop a market for the product which is described as As Royal Company wants to enter the UK market, it has to make sure that the product it wants to launch should be according the needs and style of the UK people. Royal Company has made a market research and aspires to launch Laptop Bag in the market. http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ The impact of Marketing Mix is as follows: According to kotler, el al (1996), marketing mix is a social and managerial process by which individual and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with other. It is an important tool in marketing that helps a company to identify a number of variables that stimulate purchasing decisions for any product. There are 4 Ps in marketing mix notably Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Royal company has used this tool to enter UK market with launch of new product line to target people from all walks of life to puruse them to purchase the product known as L bag. Development of Product with description: L Bag: http://www.purseblog.com/images/Burberry_Denim_Messenger_Diaper_Bag.jpg Traditionally it is believed that a good product will sell itself. It become easy to lauch a product which is wanted by customer to make go along with the market and fashion trend. Basic features of L bag is that: It has a main compartment with a padded sleeve which can carry 17 inches laptop so others like 14, 15, 12.1 inche and smaller could fit in it easy. A second compartment which carries neccessary power adapters and other accessories of the laptop. It also has to be strong that it could hold the weight of laptop plus some other neccessary things. Side compressions strap A third small compartment with small sections to hold mobile, pens, credit cards, coins. Basically like an organiser. Benefits of L bag: It has special disk jackets inside where one can carry various discs. USB memory sticks holding has small pockets for it. Dimensions is 17 x 12 x 6 inches, 43 x 30 x 15 cm which can be used by commuters cause it will be smaller than the minimum dimensions allowed in flight cabin size which acoording to the new rule passed on 7th January 2008 is 56cm x 25cm x 45cm(www.bbcnews.co.uk) then even traveller could use them. Mp4 and Mp3 music Holder with adjustable strap to adjust with different sizes. Shoulder strap on the bottom has Mp4 and Mp3 controller. Contents of the bags is felt with riveted on sensitive parts of the bags. Carry a 17 inch laptop with its accessories. It is in fashion and matching the latest clothing trends It serve more than one purpose. Benefits of the L bag over traditional backpack are: Less straps hanging on the outside, which thus means less danger of getting stuck The plain shape make them smaller when empty It is quicker to get things in and out of the bag thanks to the big lid It doesnt have to be carried on the back making it easier to protect the contents from pickpockets It does not have to be taken off when reaching for its content, just swing it round. Pricing Strategies: Price is one factor in marketing mix which triggers the purchasing power for any customer. It has always been an attraction to consumers and a challenge to the product manufacturer. If prices are high then it wont sell which can be fixed by reducing the prices. http://freepresentationslides.blogspot.com/2008/09/introduction-phase-of-product-life.html Developing Marketing Strategies and Plans from Khawaja Naveed A rapid penetration strategy consists of launching the product at a low price and spending heavy level on promotion. Royal company has used strategy that promises to bring about the fastest market penetration and the largest market share. This strategy makes sense when the market is large, the market is unaware about of the product, and most buyers are price sensitive there is strong potential competition. The introduction phase starts when the new product is launched. In this introduction phase, profits are negative or low because of the low sales and heavy distribution and promotion expense. The promotion expenditures are at the highest ratio sales, which conducted to New and unknown product should be passed to customers. Induce trial of the product. Secure distribution in retail outlets. L bag is launched for younger generation in UK. As the price is very sensitive factor in marketing , it is hence important to price the product right. http://freepresentationslides.blogspot.com/2008/09/introduction-phase-of-product-life.html It is difficult to know the market value of new product hence a soft opening is recommended where u faces a small group of customers rather than the big crowd which one might not be able to handle on the first day of business. Promotional Strategies: For a marketing position to be sustained it should be linked with a promotional strategy and these are basically two promotional strategies that could be selected and these two are Push and Pull strategies. The Push promotional strategy relies on the companys sales force and its promotional activities to be able to create a consumer demand for a particular product and it aims to sell directly to the consumer without any distribution channels. The Push strategy tends to rely on high advertising and consumer promotion to be built a consumer demand for a product. Product requires innovative, creating marketing solutions in order to successfully differentiate them from competing product in the market place. One of the best ways to introduce the product in the new market with new product is through product publicity. One of the methods that Royal Company can use is through Editorial coverage which can be achieved to the maximum through newspaper and magazines. Place / Distribution Strategies: Putting the right product in the right location at the right time is a daunting challenge that involves a delicate balance of demand. Strategic distribution is a competitive advantage that accrues generally from the configuration of a distribution network ( who, what, where, when ) and more specifically, from the selection of partners ( middleman ) who intermediate between the company and the customer by performing necessary fulfillment and service activities. Royal companys distribution strategy is largely defined by its decisions on the number and type of customer interfaces. There are two fundamental fulfillment such as: Direct distribution Indirect distribution In general, both direct and indirect distributions are becoming integral to most companies retail distribution strategy. At this level, there are two types of distribution which Royal Company can select from: Exclusive distribution (retailer carries only one brand) Shared distribution (all major brands are carried) As L bag is entering UK market with new image, Royal Company has opted for Shared distribution along with other brands. Assuming denim so widely accepted and United Kingdom has 73% of the population n using denim as suggested my Global Lifestyle Monitor. http://faculty.msb.edu/homak/HomaHelpSite/webhelp/Distribution_Strategy.htm Branding: The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Royal Company sees branding not as a measure to target market over the competition, but as a solution to the customer problem. Royal Company has worked towards branding to ensure that a good brand has been achieved which delivers the message clearly Confirms credibility Connects with the target prospects Motivates the buyer Concretes user loyalty Product success comes only with deep understanding of market conditions, real customer requirements, and competition as well as translation of that business intelligence into high quality product within the window of opportunity. Successful products are ones that meet customer needs, are innovative and that offer value. The characteristics of a new product launch strategy were found to have a significant impact on the intensity of competitive reactions. Competitive reaction is diagnosed in terms of changes in the marketing instruments of the competitors. The data show that competitors react primarily by means of price changes, product changes and promotion changes. For a sales person it just is not that easy. A few ways one can begin is to command the respect of customers so that they will see salesperson as an authority on the products he/she sell. Gaining trust: Building relationship with customers is more important than the products sold. It is essential to know the customer, listen to them carefully and explain about the product. The messenger bag functions and advantages, and let them go at their own pace without pushing. Product knowledge: Knowing the product, study inside and out, makes a sales person prepared to answer to any questions asked regarding the products by customers. Be accessible: It is necessary for customer to know that the sales staffs are available to answer any questions they may have or to discuss any concerns they may have. Or simply making them aware of the product and promotion if any going on. Market Positioning: According to Mercer, D. (2000) is defined as the location of a product (or service) relative to others in the same marketplace and then promoting it in such a way as to reinforce or change its position. The factors that are considered for market positioning are: Product should be compared with other competing products Products position- the way the product is been defined by the consumers on their important attributes Applying a simple buying process which should help the consumers to categories the products according to their needs Segmentation: Blythe, J. (2005), states the segmentation is to identify a group of people who have a need or needs that can be met by a single product, in order to concentrate the marketing firms efforts most effectively and economically. Definition provided by business dictionary.com, market segmentation is defined as Process of defining and sub dividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. In segmentating the market Royal Company must have taken these four factors: Geographic Segmentation will take into consideration such dividing people or market into different geographical locations. The country, climate, size of a place segmented into size of its age wise population. Behavioural segementation is based on the customers need and subsequent reaction to those needs or toward the purchase of intended products. It is important for Royal Company to understand the behaviour of the buyer, as they are targeting younger generation it becomes important to have right pricing to attract customer in the market. Phychographic Segmentation: Royal Company will be segmentating people according to their lifestyles and values. Target customers interest, opinions, values, attitude and the activities they perform. Demographic Segmentation: It is refers to a wide study of the potential customers. While marketing a product many variables like age, gender, education, income, size of the family, occupation, culture and religion, language and nationality are taken into account. This segmentation can help and has worked profitably. It play an important and vital role in determining whether a product can be mass marketed or designed for specific group. In UK Number of Males under 16 in 2007 was 5,895,000 and between 16 24 in 2007 was 3, 788,000. In UK Number of Females under 16 in 2007 was 5,615,000 and between 16 24 in 2007 was 3,580,000. In 2007, the majority of people in many non white ethnic groups living in Great Britain described thier identity as British, English, Scottish or Welsh. This included almost nine in ten (87%) people from Mixed group, 85% of people from Black Caribbean group and eight in ten from Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups ( 80% and 78% respectively). Royal Company has decided to launch it new product in LONDON as the total population of London: Males 3,738,000 in 2007 Females 3,819,000 in 2007 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_social/Social_Trends39/Social_Trends_39.pdf http://www.buzzle.com/articles/market-segmentation-strategy.html Market Positioning: According to Mercer, D. (2000) is defined as the location of a product (or service) relative to others in the same marketplace and then promoting it in such a way as to reinforce or change its position. The factors that should be considered for market positioning are: Launch product should be compared with other competing products. Product position is the way the product is been defined by the consumers on their attributes. Applying a simple buying process which should help the consumers to categories the products according to their needs. Implementation of Marketing Strategy There are different marketing strategies that may differ depending on the different situation of the business. Benefits and costs of Marketing strategy: It depends on the kind of research conducted, targeted market, goals and aims of an organization methods and tools used for market research. A marketing startegy helps compile marketing goals and actions into a cohesive whole. In the same way different ways of strategy such as advertising, channel marketing, promotion can be elaborated. Marketing startegies are interative and dynamic in itself. Royal company would be focusing its energies and resources on course of action which can lead to increased sales and target market niche. Royal Companys marketing strategy has deeply constructed and combined product development, promotion, distribution, pricing and other elements, identified its marketing goals. It hasexplained how they will achieve and had determined the choice of target market between age group of 16-24 mainly which are younger generation. Basic implementation of marketing strategies includes: Target audience Key element Implementating ( Launching the product ) http://www.bnet.com/cp/implementing-a-marketing-strategy/66491 Recommendation for Royal Company for new product launch of L Bag for laptop: The ability to bring superior and unique product to market in a cost effective manner is the secret for good business performance and growth. Growth is pressurized by high levels of competition, shorter product lifecycles and ever changing market conditions. Company needs to have new ways to deliver value to their customers. It is important to be innovative to existing market once the company has managed to survive the market. Royal company should shorten time to market while reducing developing costs; it should adopt holistic view of the development process. One of the most critical strategic initiatives in new product introduction is: acquiring an explicit definition of customers requirement with customer and not RD vaccum. Conclusion: It is clear that perfect product launch can support business growth initiatives, superior product and effective cost management through integration of product lifecycle activities with customers. http://www-935.ibm.com/services/ch/bcs/pdf/scm-perfect-prod-launch.pdf

Business Plan for a Nightclub Essay examples -- Business Management Fi

Business Plan for a Nightclub LEVEL 3 plans to be a chain of upscale nightclubs centering around the middle Georgia areas. It is demographically targeted to middle aged adult’s ages ranging from 25 and up. LEVEL 3 aims at providing quality entertainment, food and refreshments along with a welcoming environment that will give our customers a unique and entertaining experience. Company Overview This company evolved through a partnership on January 19th 2005. LEVEL 3 is located in Perry, Georgia and caters to the surrounding Middle Georgia areas. The company plans to attract upscale and mature customers whose ages range from 25 and older. LEVEL 3 will be the premier, high-energy themed dance and night club in Middle Georgia. We will provide our customers with live entertainment, quality food and service along with a great atmosphere. We want to create an intimate setting that will make our customers feel a sense of belonging. Easily manageable and profitable, this business appeals to customers who want to relax and meet different enjoyable and exciting people. It will capitalize on the ever growing demand for a safe and sophisticated nightclub. Our objectives are to profit on our excellent location in Perry, Georgia, with commitment to the community developments. We also want to maintain tight control of costs, operations, and cash flow through diligent management. In additi on, we will maintain a food cost below 33% of food revenue and beverage costs below 25% of beverage revenue. Finally, we plan to exceed $3 million in annual sales by the third year of plan implementation. LEVEL 3 plans to launch with a highly publicized grand opening event in the summer of 2005. It intends to expand to other cities within Georgia after revenues excel. Product Plan LEVEL 3 will be characterized by the elaborate dance club situated in a spectator setting which comfortably accommodates 350 guests. The area will offer two private sky boxes and one banquet room which can be combined for use in a conference or private party setting. Also these rooms are intended for special events and daily use. In order to reach and maintain a unique image of quality, LEVEL 3 will provide attentive and friendly service through a high ratio of service personnel to customers, and will also invest in the training and supervision of its employees. The initial hours of operation will be fro... ...footage than anyone else in the region. A simple, yet unique, themed menu and atmosphere will create a sense of 'belonging' for locals and tourists alike. Our operating credo is: "happy enthusiastic employees create happy enthusiastic guests." The main objectives of the development of this new venue are: †¢ Capitalize on excellent location opportunity with swift commitment to the new Town Square development. †¢ To launch the venue with a highly publicized grand opening event in the summer of 2001. †¢ To maintain tight control of costs, operations, and cash flow through diligent management and automated computer control. †¢ To maintain a food cost below 33% of food revenue. †¢ To maintain a total beverage cost below 25% of beverage revenue. †¢ To exceed $3 million in annual sales by the third year of plan implementation. The keys to success in achieving our goals are: †¢ Provide exceptional service that leaves an impression. †¢ Consistent entertainment atmosphere and product quality. †¢ Managing our internal finances and cash flow to enable upward capital growth. †¢ Strict control of all costs, at all times, without exception

Reflection Paper on Organization Behavior

kiwiberry2900 3/9/2013 MGMT 541 Self-reflection paper Motivation Motivation represents psychological processes that cause arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed. There are substantial positive relations between job characteristics, satisfaction, and motivation. Job characteristics of Variety and Task Significance were found to be particularly important to employee satisfaction and motivation.These are examples that almost everyone will encounter in real life: Job design and job enrichment My work experience when I was in Shanghai was with the Taxation Bureau. Initially I was assigned general work in the department such as doing tax registration for the new companies and I wasn’t motivated. The job was simple, just checking and cataloging all of the documents that the company representatives provided, and giving them the application forms. I also answered related questions and followed up after the companies with the tax license were san ctioned.At this job position, the skill varieties were very limited. The routine work was just following the rules and did not need any professional judgment. After a month or so, I felt bored. Besides the skill variety, the job also lacked autonomy. Sometimes I just went out for some reason, probably there were several company representatives were waiting for me, while other time there is nobody show up in a whole day. As a young woman, I can’t further myself in the job, anyone can do it. I had no progress, no satisfaction about the job and no intrinsic motivation.Although the tasks were significant to the whole bureau, it is hard to see our bigger function of the organization. In the end, after I pleased the human resources department several times, I was allowed to join another department. A lot of young people did not like to be fixed on a general position which would not allow them to accumulate the professional experience and explore the deep side of the field, and that often makes a problem in the hierarchical organization. Equity theory The Shanghai Taxation Bureau in which I had worked for more than 10 years is a hierarchical organization including a lot of levels.It is the administrative and management body that carries out the state’s taxation activities within the administrative jurisdiction of Shanghai Municipality. Its main functions and responsibilities include implementing state taxation laws, regulations and codes, researching and formulating tax development plans and annual work plans for local taxation. The administrative position involves supervising every month’s tax declaration and collection and making sure the money will be transferred into the state treasury according to the related laws, regulations and codes.There are 26 branches attached to the taxation bureau, and over 10000 employees working in the shanghai taxation bureau. Big organizations necessitate more comparison between people, or between branches. Peop le from every section seek to get equal benefits out of their input. There are a lot of couples in Shanghai taxation bureau. So if some branches gave the bonus to their employees, everyone in the whole system knew it. And afterwards other departments will mimic the policy to motivate theirs. That reflected the equity theory.From the equity theory, an individual’s motivation level is correlated to his perception of equity, fairness and justice practiced by the management. The higher an individual’s perception of fairness is, the greater their motivation level and vice versa. In the above context, I remembered that the branch leader who first gave the bonus will emphasize the special task they have completed, in order to stimulate his employees who have experienced high level hardship or difficulties. But other branches will spotlight their own achievements in the assignment, ultimately got the same bonus to protect or comfort their own morale in the workplace.In the yea r-end evaluation, every branch or individual will assess their own projects and achievements in the whole year and the human resource management would make overall balances and give different levels of reward. While some job positions comparatively have more opportunities to make achievements, others have less. Under that kind of situation, the management carried out the policy of job position rotation, therefore, almost every qualified employee with education history of financial and accounting would have the opportunities to rotate their positions. This policy is motivational, Extrinsic motivation and intrinsic otivation At my department people were driven by extrinsic motivation. We compared the bonus income, the benefit to others and calculated the upcoming income or vacation. We also expected to be promoted and got high level benefits. As if that is the core of our daily tasks. Sometimes we did some project according to superior’s will rather than the real information to avoid offending the leader. We even did not consider whether the result was meaningful or not. Although the department management wanted to motivate the employees and gave the gift cards to everyone before the festivals, we were not satisfied.We wanted to get more benefits comparing with employees at other branches. From the theoretic framework, these are hygiene factors which would not make people satisfied. Sometimes we got into research projects and worked with the other teammates. These were independent projects. The person in charge the project totally explained the purpose of the project and we felt we got involved and engaged. We were empowered to use our own way to collect data, analyze it, and draw the conclusion. We felt very satisfied in these projects.We cooperated with each other, attracted by the task, and we can focus solely on the project without complicated interpersonal relationships inside of this kind of temporary group. Further more, it was different from our r outine job, which gave us the opportunity to widen our view, enrich the job content, therefore satisfying all the teammates. This arrangement is like intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on external pressures or a desire for reward.Leadership From my experience, people want to motivate each other. He should build up himself first, has a long-term vision about the organizations, sets a goal for himself, matches the big environment and has the necessary ability or expertise in some area. Then he should also be authorized to be a leader. He may use his social skill and other ability and management resources to motivate people, and bring them together to a higher level. In my personal experience, I met good leaders as well as bad leaders.When I was a volunteer in a nonprofit organization at Chicago, I was elected as a member of the board of trust ees. In this setting, the president is our board leader and he displayed a typical bad leader profile. First of all, he is not a role model. He should have a positive attitude, and be supportive to every volunteer, but unfortunately he always escaped working hard and treated other volunteers like slaves. Secondly, he did not consider the opinions of other board members, he liked to be self-centered and lack of empathy. This character embodied in his schedule and his arrangement.He had no expert power, his personality is awful and he even played tricks in the nonprofit organization, which made everybody astonished. Now he had lost in the election for the board members. Admittedly, the situation above is very unique. Generally most authorized leaders have some attractive traits such as self-awareness, self-confidence, social skills and persuasive abilities. At the same time, they fully understand the organization goals. But different leaders have their own personal features. My friend Fan is a director of the audit department.I had been in his department for 3 years, and we became friends in the end. Fan is a veteran, he had little professional knowledge in auditing, but he knew management well. His job is to motivate all the auditing group leaders and auditors. He used his legitimate power at first to assign tasks to every group. After the tasks were finished, he gave all the evaluation report to every group with the help of his assistant. At the same time, he used his reward and referent power. He always kept the department on the way of organizational goal, showed his positive attitude, gave everybody most extent of autonomy.He also used his personal relationship to strive for the best interest of our department. That is why he got everyone’s respect. In his department, morale is very high. Nobody wanted to leave. Ahthough Fan is a good leader in most aspects except his professional knowledge, he can’t exert his expert power in his leadership. A great leader is a natural leader, who can exert his idealized influence power to his followers, and help to set common goals for the whole organization, incorporate, motivate followers, have them a clear picture of the future, make them active beyond the call of the duty.Bibliography Kreitner, Robert, and Angelo Kinicki. Organizational Behavior. Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw- Hill, 1998. Print. â€Å"Equity Theory of Motivation. † Equity Theory of Motivation. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Welcome to Shanghai Municipal Office of State Administration of Taxation. † Shanghai Municipal Office of State Administration of Taxation. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. W. Chan Kim. â€Å"Fair Process Managing in the Knowledge Economy. † (n. d. ): n. pag. Web.