Management of Moortown Sports and Leisure Centre - Free Samples

Question: Examine about the Management of Moortown Sports and Leisure Center. Answer: Presentation Moortown Sports and Leisure Center is one of the main games and social focuses that offer world class offices and administrations. The inside prides it self to being a Center that cooks for all the requirements of a client as for sports and social administrations. Moortown Sports and Leisure Center intends to win the certainty of the clients and make an impressive notoriety of the business. Its different objectives that manages its tasks is keeping up a good brand name and brand quality that will give it an upper hand in the data innovation industry. Also, it intends to stay creative and shape future innovation in the games business. A portion of the administrations offered incorporate International Folk moving, table tennis match-ups, gleam wellness and offices for recruit, for example, lobby and bar. Advertising and Promotion It bears taking note of that Moortown Sports and Leisure Center tries to apply division in showcasing its items to meet the various inclinations showed by shopper propensities. Market situating is accomplishing a market blend procedure that is good for all the purchasers and which gives the organization an upper hand over other contending firms. As such it is required of Moortown Sports and Leisure Center to have factors, for example, cost and item composed in an alternate route from different contenders. The business has guaranteed that the situating of the brand is key and great with the goal that it pulls in new clients and holds the current ones. The business applies the Customer Satisfaction and Retention which is a presentation indictor that enables the business to realize in the case of giving limits was viable target that whenever was met it helped in fulfilling the requests of the client and holding the new clients. The organization has applied innovation in its special exer cises, for example, computerized publicizing rehearses. The advancement exercises have been appealing and effectively identify with the requirements of the intended interest group. Be that as it may, it is crucial that its showcasing systems should ceaselessly change to satisfy the needs of developing business sector and innovative headway. Correspondence Legitimate decision of a correspondence media in advancement guarantee that the data about the item contacts more individuals. Moortown Sports and Leisure Center has a reasonable and intelligible correspondence methodology that is likewise the foundation of its special exercises. The business has likewise spent significant time in applying the most recent correspondence innovation that arranges its inward exercises and guarantees quality conveyance of administration. Correspondence of the exercises in the game Center is directed through notices in the print, sound and visual media. Note that the correspondence in the middle is likewise accomplished through the web based life innovation that arrives at a scope of individuals. In the middle there is an arrange correspondence framework that guarantees data travels through the correct channel and the board structures, There is a client care office where customers can convey their proposals and protests to the administration. The staff in side the middle imparts through their separate departmental heads. Operational Structure Moortown Sports and Leisure Center activity are overseen by the middle overseen and the monetary records are kept up by a treasurer of the inside. The tasks structure of the inside is isolated into two offices; the social division that manages social exercises, for example, gatherings and occasions and the games offices that to a great extent offers a wide scope of game exercises, for example, open air crown green dishes, snooker and extension. The tasks incorporate corridors and a bar that are normally employed by individuals who go to gatherings and hold occasions. Proposal It is suggested that the cost ought to be pocket amicable and prudent to the client. It ought to incorporate a few cost motivators, for example, markdown which expands the certainty the client has in the brand. While setting the value, the organization ought to have in consideration the nearness of different rivals in a similar line of business. A positive cost of the items pulls in a few clients and holds them. Furthermore if limits are given this gives the business an upper hand over different business. It is likewise suggested that the item ought to have the option to fulfill the requirements of the clients, for example, having the most recent progressed innovative highlights. The nature of the item should advance the notoriety of the organization through outstanding reliably high. The item should have an alluring plan. Furthermore the naming of the brands items should likewise be alluring, clear and particular. Items that are of low quality won't draw in clients and where predict able in quality isn't met the business is probably going to free the greater part of its clients. Items that have obsolete innovation are not prone to pull in clients. A portion of the prescribed promoting goals incorporate to Increasing the intended interest group by 60 % through arriving at progressively possible buyers, to bring down the cost of the items by permitting a rebate in every item purchased, to expand the deals of the organization through expanding the quantity of administrations offered in Moortown Sports and Leisure Center. End In spite of the fact that there is firm rivalry from other rising brands and sports focuses, it very well may be inferred that Moortown Sports and Leisure Center is still has a few qualities and openings that makes it a main brand in the market. Be that as it may, the use of the above talked about systems and promoting suggestions will assist it with keeping up a quality brand in the market. References Barry, T., and Mike, N.(2007). The Worlds Business Cultures and How to Unlock Them London Thorogood ,P 3 Claudio,V. (2001). McDonald's: ''think worldwide, act neighborhood'' the advertising blend, British Food Journal, No. 2. Fisher, D. (2007).Think neighborhood, act worldwide!. https://www.origin.to/global.html. (gotten to March 6, 2017)

Factors which affect international trade operation in Africa

Variables which influence global exchange activity Africa The International Day of harmony which was set up by a U.N goals in 1982, and is denoted each year on September 21, is a worldwide even whose exercises are huge in featuring the overall endeavors towards compromise and harmony building.[Diaspora 2008] This day is more worry with African mainland which the majority of spot strife have occurred. That there are inconveniences in Africa for very decades much after a few nations in the landmass experienced change from expansionism to self-government, is certifiably not a deniable reality. 2.0 Political Stability in Africa As depicted in the primary exposition, nation with political solidness, benefactors will believe that nation and they will contribute a ton. The bigger organization can move they speculation to that nation, likewise speculator can restore their benefit back to the networks, and will support the areas which it nearly passed on of is not so great. Nation with political steadiness economy will develop; this is because of financial specialist will contribute more as long as they have a sense of safety on their venture. Individuals of the regard nation will be profited by get information which moved from the financial specialists. Nations that can deliver an item at the least conceivable coast will have the option to increase a bigger offer in the market. Consequently an impetus to deliver effectively emerges. This will help norms of the item to increment and purchasers will have a decent quality item to expend. Greater work could be produced as the market for the nations products extends through exchange. Global exchange produces greater work through the foundation of more current enterprises to take into account the requests of different nations. This will assist nations with cutting down their joblessness rates. Anyway it could prompt a progressively fast consumption of expendable normal assets. As countries up their creation levels, common assets will in general get less. 2.1 Assessment of political dependability on global exchange Africa 2.1.1 Peace and Stability Tanzania is one case of the nation among sub Saharan Africa which financial and political security is steady. Multi party majority rule government received in 1992 has not upset the quiet political atmosphere of the nation. This is the reason FDI are intrigued with nation circumstance and contribute a ton on various segments, for example, Mining Industries, drink ventures, media communications organizations, NGOs, etc. 2.1.2 Labor abilities and accessibility Universal Trade is progressing nicely; this is a result of access to gifted work which is a key need for organizations contending in African economies. Tanzania has a drawn out responsibility to ensure improvement on preparing and taught experts is working out in a good way. The administration put more financial plan of training division so as to improve instruction and improve human abilities and empower innovation move as a precondition for upgrading efficiency of venture and accomplishing the ideal degree of seriousness. [http://www.tic.co.tz/] 2.1.3 Private part advancement Tanzania has eminent itself among of scarcely any African nations that have altogether changed their economies. Accomplishment of these changes is imitated in the countrys solid macroeconomic essentials each time expanding development rates, steady falling swelling and expanding inflow of FDI. One of the variables that added to this accomplishment is the countrys steady duty to manufacture a solid private part. [http://www.tic.co.tz/] 2.1.4 Infrastructure Facilities Tanzania put foundation as one of the key speculation drivers of nation is making a decent attempt to improve. 2.1.5 Stable Macroeconomic execution Tanzania had been minding out fruitful monetary and basic changes, which have improved financial execution and supported development. These accomplishments depend on strong establishments of political and monetary change embraced by the legislature since 1986, putting Tanzania in a position where a drawn out time of high GDP development rates is normal. In extra, Tanzania has a stable monetary system with manageable degree of swelling. [http://www.tic.co.tz/] 3.0 Political Instability in Africa review With respect to shakiness in African Country, it is likewise certain that African mainland has gone through some predicament during fifty years past. Be that as it may, the truth of the matter is practically African cases with respect to political insecurity the significant reason for issue is authority. What's more, due to this African opportunity legends come to despots, while African common assets, legislative issues of end and shortage to incline the equalization of power keeps on controlling the open globe. Besides, these challenges have been called attention to because of conventional Africans pioneers who previously edged and they dont need to resign. Political shakiness in Africa might be obliged quite a bit of its motivation to inner variables, however the interpenetration of inward and outer viewpoint particularly geo-political and financial solace of the worldwide network consistently assume a significant job in subverting the vey method and society that are required to think about majority rule government and to move a feeling of steadiness for network advancement in Africa. In blend to such issues as inconsistent turn of events, destitution, ailment, viciousness and the plotting inclinations of the nearby best, political and financial strength in Africa is persistently under danger is however not exuding from inside the mainland yet as of outer interests whose dryness for African assets, keep on calculating the elements in zones associated with administration. Assets in Africa if fine oversaw are capable of accommodating its entered populace, consequently the possibilities for an additional steady condition, in any case, it is all around perceived that taken wealth from African much of the time end up in banks abroad. [African Focus Bulletin, 2006], exist it cash taken by the political chose (instance of Mobutu of Zaire, Abacha of Nigeria, and Moi of Kenya, just to express a couple or the current Kibaki system Anglo-renting outrages in Kenya), they despite everything end up in banks in the western capitals. 3.1 Africans initiative issue and political shakiness The African political precariousness and previous related issues is essentially a result of its administration inconvenience. African governments are run in manners that have been gazing as a long way from the cutting edge western state structure [Osei Tutu, 2004] Local issues assume a significant job in the changeover. These local issues as often as possible assortment as of degenerate rulers, constraints, a magnificent inheritance, widened states, and insufficient political structures and a pulverization of popular government [diamond, Linz, and Lipset 1989; Diamond and Plattner 1999]. Notwithstanding, the universal structure frequently assumes an indispensable job in both the changeover all in all and the participation of savagery in demanding [Lupo, 2004] 3.2 Africans economy and political precariousness Notwithstanding the hopeless forecasts, most African economies are misusing admirably despite the fact that a couple of nation cases are as yet encountering difficult situations as far as political soundness, monetary development and difficulties presented by neediness and maladies, exchange amount and remote ventures have expanded after some time. Anyway the political flimsiness in Africa, which too supports the financial improvement oftentimes, has solid partners to interior and outside unmistakable interests over and over. Africas asset for this situation has never been its endorsement, yet an annoyance. These is no support for the being worked on of the mainland even as it sits on tremendous common assets. [Rodney, W. (1981)] 3.3 Africa Political brutality and political insecurity As an impact, the genuine systems and state foundations have been intrude with, so as to create a lopsided play field nearby the restriction. A portion of these methods have seen unpredictable savagery during electioneering time, prompting political shakiness. Anyway the degree of savagery and the mode where they are executed contrast from nation as the ongoing races in Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe can show. [Mahamoud, 2006:15] With a great deal of nations holding their third or fourth multi-party races, interior force battles have drawn in a barbarous measurement, consequently threatening the very presence a ton of nations. Since the start of multi-party vote based system in essentially African nations discretionary techniques have been go along with political viciousness, as a major aspect of the democratization procedure [Lupo, 2004; Huntington,1991]. Most viciousness is such cases are regularly state upheld, to the benefit of the occupant, while an assortment of gatherings that climb for state power additionally seriously recruited savagery, as casual gatherings, civilian armies and posses. In the condition of all the brutality, it is the typical individuals who free out regarding lives and property. The catastrophe is that the political clash isn't about substitute political projects that could address the principle issues, for example, neediness, illness and lack of education, yet just a battle about who has option to utilize the state resources.[http://www.country-details.com/africa/zimbabwe-economy.php] 4.0 Analysis 4.1 International Trade inside Political Instability in Africa Nation with political shakiness will be difficult for speculator to contribute. This is because of circumstance isn't beneficial for them. Anyway different financial specialists are pulled in with circumstance and exploit for the circumstance by beginning to make business. The International organizations who are providers of firearms and weapon will their opportunity to sell and go to God circumstance continue as before for sack of the business. Individuals murdered one another yet speculators they dont care as longer they working together. In other part they may bolster that contention by give some cash to other part to cause them to have the option to battle opposite side and war proceed. So as should be obvious one side they will be in a tough situation because of the speculations been crushed

Know Money, Win Money! Medical Costs

Know Money, Win Money! Medical Costs Know Money, Win Money! Medical Costs Know Money, Win Money! Medical CostsYour gracious host had a broken foot when we recorded our latest episode of Know Money, Win Money!, but that didn’t stop us from taking to the streets to give people money in exchange for answering questions correctly!Given the state of his leg and  the fact that the deadline to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is this Friday (December 14th), we decided to do an episode about medical costs.As you might be able to guess, this topic was kind of a bummer! Check it out anyway!????Our first question asked contestants which country spends the most, per person, on healthcare. Give up? Its the United States of America. Unfortunately, that spending under our odd hodge-podge system doesn’t really translate to better health results over other developed countries.Our next question asked folks about the consequences of the first question: Did you know that 41 percent of working-age Americans struggle with medical bills? If you did, and you were around when we were filming this episode, then you might have gotten another $10 to go towards your billsâ€"medical or otherwise.It seems like healthcare in America may have some cost issues. And while there’s a long way to go, there have also been attempts to address these high medical costs and lower the uninsured population.One of those attempts was the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which established marketplaces and subsidies to make shopping for health insurance easier and to provide lower premiums or taxes to those who could not otherwise afford it.If you don’t have health insurance for 2019, you should really check out HealthCare.gov and sign up for a plan!  While the penalty you would have faced from not having health insurance under the ACA has been repealed, it’s still important for you to have a health insurance plan you can afford.Even if you’re healthy now, you never know what can happen, and you’re much better off being prepared for the worst than being surprised with an incident that leaves you with massive amounts of medical debt. So check out HealthCare.gov and see if you can find a plan that works for you today!Once youre finished signing up for health  insurance,  you can also check out some of our other recent episodes of Know Money, Win Money!:Episode 23: Farmers MarketEpisode 22: Chicago Chocolate and Wine Expo (Part II)Episode 21: Scavenger Hunt at C2E2Where would you like to see us go in future episodes? We want to hear from you! You can  email us  or you can find us on  Facebook  and  Twitter.Visit OppLoans on  YouTube  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  LinkedIN

Income inequality in America Free Essay Example, 1500 words

The government of the United States has ever since worked hard to solve the problem of income inequality especially the imbalance between wealth and poverty. According to Noah, inequality is increasing almost everywhere in the industrialized and post-industrial world. Many can argue that income inequality is not a governmental obligation, but contrary, the individuals in power and leadership are better positioned to address this disparity. Because the government is in control of various systems in the country and determine how to run them. Inequality has caused a, widened gap between the top and the middle class (Noah). Therefore, the government should be run in a democratic way, considering the poor. The government is obligated to oversee fair distribution and exploitation of natural resources to different communities (Reich 32). The passing of laws and policies by the government that allow progressive rights to minority groups like women has to lead to an affirmative action t hat has tried to solve the imbalance in employment opportunities. In the past, gender and sex discrimination were on the rise making most women less privileged in job provisions. We will write a custom essay sample on Income inequality in America or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

Jane Eyre - Critical Evaluation - 1819 Words

The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronteuml; consists of the continuous journey through Janes life towards her final happiness and freedom. This is effectively supported by five significant ‘physical journeys she makes, which mirror the four emotional journeys she makes. 10-year-old Jane lives under the custody of her Aunt Reed, who hates her. Jane resents her harsh treatment by her aunt and cousins so much that she has a severe temper outburst, which results in her aunt sending her to Lowood boarding school. At the end of the eight years, she has become a teacher at Lowood. At the age of eighteen she seeks independence and becomes governess at Thornfield Hall. Over time, Jane falls in love with its master, Edward Rochester, who†¦show more content†¦The third important journey which Jane makes is from Gateshead back to Thornfield having visited her Aunt Reed on her deathbed. By then Jane realises that she loves Rochester, but has no idea that her feelings are reciprocated. A key theme is raised: Jane has a fierce desire to love and be loved. She feels alone and isolated when she has no friends around her. This is a stark contrast to the search for money, social position, God etc. - which drive the other characters. These contrasting themes r einforce Janes affectionate nature, intelligence, and sense of justice, all of which are strengthened with every journey she makes. During this journey, Jane is afraid of what the future holds for her. She believes at this point that Mr Rochester is going to marry Blanche Ingram, and that she will have to leave Thornfield and never see Mr Rochester again. For a week before Janes departure, she dreams of a baby each night: ... a dream of an infant...it failed not for seven successive nights to meet meÂ….. This recurrent image is possibly personification of the innocence and vulnerability of Jane herself: she has to support herself and still feels alone because she does not believe that Rochester loves her. Jane is not enthusiastic about returning to a place so filled with bad memories, but doing so allows her to finally put her experiences at Gateshead behind her.Show MoreRelated The Power of Great Expectations and Jane Eyre Essay example2110 Words   |  9 PagesThe Power of Great Expectations and Jane Eyre      Ã‚  Ã‚   Many novels have been written in many different eras. Each era has its `reform novel or piece of literature, or pieces of work that broke the mold. For the Greeks, it was Homers Odyssey; for the Renaissance, it was The Essays: Of Cannibals by Michel de Montaigne; for the Medieval era, it was Dante Alighieris Inferno. It was the same in the Victorian era, which ran from 1850 to about 1900. 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The society of her time was male dominated, women were marginally cast aside and treated as trophies for their male counterparts. Their main role in life was to be a mother and a wife, â€Å" Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the moreRead More Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre: Jane Eyres Artwork Essay1824 Words   |  8 PagesJane Eyres Artwork      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting. --Jane Eyre (9)    There is something extraordinary and spiritual about Jane Eyres artwork. In her story, Janes solitary pastime sometimes operates as an outlet of past or present pain, and often offers her a chance to deal with unpleasant memories and emotions. Janes art transcends her isolation by bringing her into contactRead MoreAt The Heart Of Kellman’S Argument, He Attributes Three1582 Words   |  7 Pagesapplied to the opening of The Great Gatsby, this makes sense. 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From the very early time, women began to strive fro their self-evaluation. Th e Enlightenment Movement and the American and French revolutions contributed a lot to the new rise of feminism. Such literary women as Austin, Bront#235;s, Eliot and Dickenson appeared that time. In the early 20th century, women finally gainedRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 Pagesstability and rising standards of living. Artists of ‘Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood’ claimed to write only true about nature, concentrate only on the true ideas. These three years saw the rise of such works: of Bronte sisters’ Poems, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. The Following twenty years could be seen as the high period of ‘Victorian novel’. Despite being a mixture of boom and slump, the years of 1850-1870 were recognized by the economicRead MoreLeadership Development42674 Words   |  171 Pagesin what situations. To do this future research in this area needs to be more coordinated, more about effect and impact as well as describing the status quo, more longitudinal (to allow for the identification of effects over time) and involve more evaluation to improve, and learn the lessons from, ongoing practice. 1 In slightly more detail, the main conclusions from this review are: This report by the Management and Leadership Development Research Network (MLDRN) for the Leadership and Management

Globalization And Its Impact On Society - 2506 Words

Globalisation is the worldwide relationship between countries, and it’s what connects us all in order for countries to exchange in goods, services, labour skills, economic development and political development. Globalisation is a modern term used, but the concept may have been around for years. Philosopher Hegel (1770 – 1831) was one of the first theorists of globalisation as his philosophical theories seem to suggest that he was conscious of interconnected nations. But now it seems that modern society cannot escape from globalisation as it is probably one of the most important features of the economy and politics, as it allows companies to outsource, which opens up a bigger market and choice of where to manufacture and gives maximum freedom for businesses to be able to do what they want and go where they want in order to grow. The ideology of globalisation has three different perspectives, Transformalists, Hyperglobalists and Sceptics. All of these have divided opinions on globalisation. Hyperglobalists believe that nations, are being denationalized through globalisation and are beginning to lack power due to super-nations such as the European Union, which they consider to be a bad thing as they believe nations should control their own fate with their own decisions. This also aligns with a nationalist view of the nation is theirs and whatever their nation may be, it should be the centre of control and government. Sceptics view on globalisation is that the best years of itShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Globalization On The Society1114 Words   |  5 Pages The Impact of Globalization 3 Introduction The effects of globalization are visible everywhere. The mixing of cultures and races throughout our society is everywhere. It’s on television, in our homes and woven into our workplace. This is not necessarily a new construct; it’s just more noticeable today than in the past. The Roman Empire opened all trade in Europe, Africa andRead MoreGlobalization And Its Impact On Society Essay925 Words   |  4 PagesGlobalization is the process by which different societies, culture, and how regional economies integrate through a worldwide network of political beliefs through communication, marketing, and transportation. Predominately, globalization has made a worldwide impact on many nations in numerous ways such as; politically, economically, as well as socially. Globalization has shaped the independence of various nations, thus leading to worldly affairs based on a global level. Leading to trends in cultureRead MoreGlobalization And Its Impact On Society1369 Words   |  6 Pages Globalization is a broad term used in multiple social studies classes. There are three types of globalization: cultural, economical and political. As both positive and negative views exist on globalization; using just the word globalization isn’t specific enough to understand these viewpoints. 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Populations, often driven by their youths, now have instant access to information on everything that happened around the world. Meanwhile, and because of this globalization, states have been forced to open up to the world and to free their borders to facilitate exchanges. Therefore, people began to feel less constrained by their nationality and became what is often referred to as citizensRead MoreGlobalization And Its Impact On Society1274 Words   |  6 Pagespeople alike, yet globalization is a vastly broad and unfamiliar concept to a major ity of people. Personally, before enrolling in this class, I thought I knew what the general idea of globalization was, as rudimentary and elementary as my knowledge of the topic had been. However, after only exposing myself to a minuscule amount of cultural literature throughout the course of this class thus far, I have greatly expanded my understanding of what the true meaning of globalization is: a process thatRead MoreGlobalization And Its Impact On Society Essay1550 Words   |  7 PagesGlobalization defines practically all facets of modern life. The jobs available to the public, the cultures people embody/emulate, the relationships individuals engage in, are all continuously altered by the profound forces of the globalizing process. Capital, people, images, commodities and ideology transcend national borders, and information races around the globe at accelerating speeds (Inda 4). The theme of globalization has emerged generating considerable amounts of controversy in its wake ,

Developing a Strategic Business Plan-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Write a Reflective Journal Strategic Business Planning. Answer: Introduction I am an MBA student pursuing Time management. This is a reflective journal that I prepared after working with a group of students in preparing a strategic business plan. In this work, I reflect upon the strategic business plan that we developed as a group. The purpose of this reflective report is to help me reflect on my records and present my understanding and experiences that I gained during the whole period in which we undertook the project. As part of the project, we were supposed to make two presentations before the class and before the lecture. Reflecting upon this practice, it helped me gain confidence in addressing people. The report reflects what I achieved as an individual and as a member of the group. Reflecting on the experience while working on the project it helped gain important knowledge about my career and the responsibilities that I am likely to handle in the future. To be more specific the project helped me gain a better understanding of the strategic business plan . Discussion Working as part of a group I gained important knowledge and skills needed in developing a strategic business plan. A business plan can be described as a formal document that outlines the goals of the business, explains why they are attainable and the strategies that will be adopted to achieve the goals (Finch, 2016). The business plan may also include background information about the organization. In our group, we wrote a business plan for Impresso Espresso Caf which aims at becoming an essential daily necessity for local coffee lovers. The business will be strategically located in Canberra Centre which will provide it with exposure to the passing shoppers. The objective of the business is to provide a place that will enable the customers to escape daily stress of life and enjoy comfort with their families, friends, and colleagues. Reflecting on this strategic business plan, I learned the importance of a strategic plan to a business which includes, clarification of direction of the b usiness and the vision of the business.Business plans can also be used in sourcing funding for the business, attracting potential investors, partners, employees, and suppliers among others, it also outlines the organizational structure of the business which is essential in managing the business (Ellis et al., 2016). The following are the advantages of developing a strategic business plan that I was able to identify. A business plan enables the organization to stick to its strategies which would be impossible without the plan due to daily interruptions (Ward, 2016) A business plan enables a business to make informed predictions on factors like the potential market, costs, sales, and new products among others (Ward, 2016). A business plan is also essential in choosing business priorities which will lead to business growth, management, and financial growth. It is important to monitor the progress of a business a business plan help in keeping track on the milestones achieved by the business (Harvard Business School, 2007). I also identified the following disadvantages of a business plan. Too much time may be spent on activities that may not benefit the organization. For an instant a lot of time than required can be used in gathering information thus delaying others activities. Lack of accountability and poor implementation- most of the strategic business plans fail due to lack of proper execution. Some of the organizations after developing business plans, they store them, and they fail to implement them. Reflecting on this I was able to understand that despite the many benefits of a strategic business plan it can have some disadvantages that managers and business owners should be aware of (Sakamiksha, 2016). Developing a strategic business plan is faced with several limitations which are different depending on various contexts and application some of the limitation of strategic business planning for instance planning creates rigidity in some cases change to occur in the in an organization. However, having a set plan may limit the organization from making many changes since they may not be willing to alter their plans, planning may also hinder innovation since it provides specific procedures that should be followed in the activities of the organization, strategic planning may time-consuming and costly (Sakamiksha, 2016). In the process of developing a strategic business plan, I also learned that stakeholders in business might have different views a perception about the long-term as well as the long-term goals of the business. In our group, every person had his or her view concerning the plan. Despite agreeing on the priorities given to certain ideas and activities we still had several ideas which were conflicting in terms of priority. According to Grant Thornton Ltd (2015), prioritization misalignment among the stakeholders affects every organization. However, are agreement has to be made by considering the best alternative among the proposed ones. While working as a group, we faced some challenges which included difficulty in coordinating our activities; this is because the group members had different schedules to attend to. However, we were able to solve this counter this challenge by agreeing on specific times when every member of the group would be available. Another challenge that we encountered was the long distance that some of us had to travel to attend group discussion. To solve address this issue we could communicate early enough to ensure that everyone had enough time to travel to our meeting point. Reflecting on this experience, I was able to identify some of the challenges that I may face while working with a team and how to solve them. Conclusion From this activity, I managed to put theoretical knowledge learned in class into practice. I was able to develop better techniques of writing business plans which are essential in my career as a time manager. Reflecting on this experiences, I can conclude that I was able to gain awareness, appreciation, and empathy with the strategic business planning and plan development which was the main objective of the project. References Ellis, J., Nagel, R., Wijsman, P. (2016). Envisioning The Way to Continued Success by The Bay: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commissions Organizational Strategic Business Planning Process. Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation. Vol.2016, 340-352. Finch, B. 2016. How to write a business plan. Kogan Page Publishers Grant Thornton Ltd. 2015. Competing priorities: Are CAE and audit committee priorities in sync? Governance, Risk and Compliance survey. Harvard Business School. 2007. Creating a business plan: Expert solution to everyday challenges. The United States. Richard, L. 2017. The disadvantages of business planning. Chron Article. Available at: tp://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-business-planning-2541.html Sakamiksha, S. 2016. Main limitations of planning in any organizations. Article Library. Available at: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/organization/6-main-limitations-of-planning-in-any-organizations/905/ Ward, J. 2016. Keeping the family business healthy: How to plan for continuing growth, profitability, and family leadership. Springer.

A Marxist Approach to Global Crime

A Marxist Approach to Global Crime Introduction Global crime is one of the most important problems facing the world and most governments have taken steps to deal with it. These form of crime results in enormous costs to the society and the economy. An understanding of the causes of global crime can be helpful in mitigating this detrimental practice.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Marxist Approach to Global Crime specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Criminologists have made use of many theories and approaches to explain crime and propose ways of reducing crime. One such approach, which can be used to provide a better understanding of global crime, is the Marxist approach. This approach emphasizes socio-political as well as economic factors in explaining crime. This paper will apply the Marxist view on crime to global crime and proceed to discuss what this reveals about power, deviance, and social control. Overview of Global Crime Global crimes occur acr oss multiple national borders and organized criminal groups are the main participants in this transnational crime. Crimes that fall under the global crime category include drug trafficking, people smuggling, arms dealing, prostitution rings, and money laundering to name but a few. Global crime is economically driven and most participants seek to make the greatest amount of profit from their criminal activities. Marxists Approach to Global Crime The Marxist approach is derived from the theories of Karl Marx who is best known for his critique of the capitalist system. Marx asserted that the social institutions such as law, politics, and education, in a capitalist society â€Å"legitimize existing class inequalities and maintain the superior position held by the upper classes† (Kendall 2012, p. 175). Capitalism produces haves and have-nots and encourages people to engage in crime and different forms of deviance. While crime was not a central feature of Marxs theory of society, m any academics and researchers have been able to use Marxist theories in the analyses of crime.Advertising Looking for essay on criminology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition to this, Marx did investigate the issues of crime, which makes his approach applicable to issues of crime. The Marxist approach to global crime is based on conflict with class power being of core importance. The relationship between the classes is one of conflict since it is based on the political domination of the labour providing class by the capital owning class. Global crime is encouraged by the capitalistic system that promotes individual achievements at the expense of other members of the society. The capitalistic economic system fosters most of the global crimes by encouraging the exploitation of one group by another and promoting the self-interest of the individuals who engage in these forms of crime. This thought is corroborate d by McGuire and McQuarie (1994) who argue, The competitive nature of capitalist society promotes social conditions that generate individualism and self-interest (p. 261). For example, Corruption of public officials is a necessary component of many global crimes. The Marxist approach suggests that these public officials are corruptible due to the capitalistic mindset that puts individual prosperity ahead of the society good (Zastrow 2009). The Marxist approach focuses on crime as the product of law-enforcement policies (McGuire McQuarie 1994). Law-enforcement policies are responsible for labelling certain global activities as crimes. While society has grown to think of crime as a well-defined phenomenon and have a stereotyped view about who the criminals are, the fact is that criminal offences and crime is not well defined and criminals are diverse. In most cases, global crime seeks to provide people with desired goods and services that cannot be obtained through legal means. Such products include; drugs, fake visas, and weapons to name but a few. In some cases, the ruling class encourages global crime since it provides goods and services which ease the hardships and deflect the energies of the underclass (Spitzer 1975, p. 508). The Marxist approach further notes that there is selective enforcement of laws with regard to global crime.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Marxist Approach to Global Crime specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While the law deals with people smuggling and drug smuggling by small criminal groups harshly, the same activity by powerful crime groups goes on unabated. International arms smuggling done by powerful actors is largely ignored by the police and the courts. The Marxist approach proposes that crime is inevitable since capitalism, which is based on exploitation, causes crime. The approach suggests that crime is the only way through which the poor working class can m ake a living and therefore ensure their survival. This assertion holds true for global crimes that are mostly motivated by economic considerations. People smuggling can trace its origin to the desperation of individuals in developing nations. From this desperation, they are forced to engage the services of people smugglers who take them to countries where they can have better economic prospects. Most participants of global crime come from poor backgrounds and they are incentivised to participate in these crimes in order to afford the luxuries that the capitalistic society promises. Implications of the Marxist Approach to: Power The Marxist approach argues that criminal law protects the interests of the rich and powerful often at the expense of the poor. Those with power are able to use their resources to avoid criminal prosecution and even having their activities labelled as crimes (McGuire McQuarie 1994). In addition to this, the ruling class is in a position to prevent the impl ementation of laws that threaten their self-interest. Kendall (2012) observes how the capitalistic state avoids introducing laws that regulate business activity or impose huge penalties on large corporations. Corporate crimes are the most serious anti-social acts and they affect millions of people worldwide.Advertising Looking for essay on criminology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, little attention is given to this predatory act and the government is more interested in curbing crimes such as drug trafficking and smuggling; crimes which cost significantly less in terms of money and lives than corporate crime. The Marxist approach points out that the affluent and powerful are able to protect their own interests and shield them from prosecution even when they commit crimes. Jewkes (2004) observes that those in power manipulate the media agenda to harness support for policies that criminalize those with less power in society. The media is able to manipulate reporting to create an impression that the interests of the ruling class are the same as those of the whole nation and violating the ruling class interests poses a threat to the whole nations well being. With regard to global crime, the media mostly ignores crimes done by the rich and powerful with corporate wrongs seldom being reported. The media either ignores the crimes of the powerful or misreprese nts them and consequently, news reporting remains attached to state definitions of crime and criminal law (Jewkes 2004). On the other hand, crimes perpetrated by less powerful actors are given a lot of media attention. This reflects a pervasive bias in the labelling of criminals. The ruling class decides on which activities should be criminalized and the sanctions that to be imposed on the offenders. This criminalization is not uniform and it is done for the convenience of the ruling class. The selective criminalization is best elaborated by the 18th century trade between China and European states. The main product offered by the West to China was opium and when China banned the sale of opium in her territory, Britain retaliated by attacking China and forcing her to open up her ports for trade (Bickers 2011). The European ruling class was able to impose its will due to its economic and political might. Today, the international trade in opium is criminalized by all Western powers sin ce such trade is not in their best interest. The political and economical powers of the country set the agenda for public debate on crime and the implementation of criminal justice. These agendas shape public perceptions of crime and justice. Kendall (2012) suggests that the picture of crime painted by the ruling class is manipulated so that the crimes of the working class and unemployed are over-concentrated on. On the other hand, crimes of the well-educated upper and middle classes are all but ignored. Deviance The Marxist approach views deviance as a function of the capitalist economic system. Deviance according to the Marxist approach is created by social control agencies such as the police and the criminal justice system, which label people as outside the typical law-abiding community. Becker (1963) illustrates that specific behaviour is not in itself deviant or normal and it only becomes so when people start applying labels to it. The individuals who label behaviour as norma l or criminal are therefore responsible for creating the deviance class. Hester (1992) elaborates that the ruling class has economic dominion and from this base, the class erects the legal and political superstructure. Through these institutions, the ruling class imposes its values, ideas, and beliefs that comprise the social consciousness. Deviants are therefore created by the upper class since its economic and political power enables it to make its views heard and enforced. Attributing the label of deviant to an individual or a group makes them outsiders. This increases the level of crime since the label of criminal might last for a lifetime. Once a person is identified as a member of an international smuggling group, his/her chances of engaging in this activity are increased (Zastrow 2009). This phenomenon is explained by the labelling theory, which illustrates that the deviance label makes it likely that a person will join the deviant group or subculture that society assumes he belongs to and consequently engage in further deviant acts. Social Control The ruling class is able to promote a stable society by encouraging conformity and adherence to societal values (Merton 1938). The Marxist approach emphasizes that the alleged societal values are not a reflection of a shared value system but rather the imposition of the ruling class on the rest of the society. While laws purport to be a reflection of value consensus, they are in actual sense an expression of ruling-class ideology imposed on the working class. These laws primarily protect the interests of the ruling class therefore enabling it to keep its power and influence over the lower classes. The Marxist approach declares that criminal sanctions are put in place to protect the property owners and ensure that their ability to generate wealth in future is guaranteed. McGuire and McQuarie (1994) note that the law and the administration of justice views global crime as a serious offence since it threatens those that possess the property. International drug trafficking increases the levels of crime in the cities as drug addicts engage in robbery to finance their addiction or fail to engage in meaningful economic activity since due to the effects of the drugs. Smuggling of counterfeit goods across borders denies rich corporate of their market dominance and therefore decreases their profits. The media is the most potent tool used by the upper class and the socially privileged to exert social control. The media constructs global crime and violence in such a way that it encourages populations to accept increasingly repressive forms of social control all in the name of dealing with global crime (Jewkes 2004). While all classes of the society engage in crime, the types of crime differ and the media predisposes society to focus on the crimes of the lower classes since the higher classes are the ones who control the media apparatus. Conclusion This paper set out to apply the Marxist approach to global crime. It began by documenting that the Marxist approach blames economic factors and social structures for criminal activity. The paper has discussed systematic class bias in the criminal justice system and how power and inequality affect criminal labelling processes. This approach has explained the relationship between crime and the socioeconomic realities of individuals and given insights into labelling. By using the approach, it is clear that capitalism is the root of crime. As such, global crime can only be eradicated by replacing capitalism with an egalitarian society, which does not divide people into classes. Until this is done, the world will continue to be plagued by global crime and the harmful effects it causes in society. References Becker, H 1963, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, Free Press, New York. Bickers, R 2011, ‘Chinas Age of Fragility’, History Today, vol. 61 no. 3, pp. 29-36. Hester, S 1992, A Sociology of Crime, Routledge , Sydney. Jewkes, Y 2004, Media and Crime, Sage, New Jersey. Kendall, D 2012, Sociology in Our Times, Cengage Learning, NY. McGuire, P McQuarie, D 1994, From the Left Bank to the Mainstream: Historical Debates and Contemporary Research in Marxist Sociology, Rowman Littlefield, London. Merton, RK 1938, ‘Social Structure and Anomie’, American Sociological Review, vol. 3 no. 1, pp. 672-682. Spitzer, S 1975, ‘Towards a Marxian Theory of Deviance’, Social Problems, vol. 22 no. 5, pp. 495-512. Zastrow, C 2009, Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People, Cengage Learning, NY.

The Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty, also known as the Manchu, ruled the Imperial China between 1611 and 1911. Not only did the dynasty perfect imperialism in China, but also went on to extend the borders of China during the 267 years (Historical Legacies). After witnessing numerous successes in the 18th century, the Qing dynasty began to experience both internal and external problems that led to its disintegration in the 19th century.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Qing Dynasty specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Western pressure, economic debacles, overpopulation, revolts, a complicated governance system, the rise of Sun Yat-Sen, and peasant upheavals are some of the changes that made it difficult for the Qing dynasty to respond to confrontations of the 19th century and effectively reform China. The court’s decision to cut-off China from the rest of the world led to a decline in radicalism in technological developments and e nhancements, thus preventing it from becoming a world superpower. The cut-off made it easier for Europeans to conquer China and other less fortunate nations, making China fall under European colonization. The extraordinary invasion of their nation infuriated the Chinese, who demanded immediate evacuation of their land. The Europeans took advantage of the situation to demand compensation for their efforts, and they ended-up reaping Chinese land and tones of silver. When they went to war in the 1800s, Europeans effortlessly overcame the resistance by the Qing navy and army. Foreign advancements and attacks continued from countries like France, Britain, Germany, and Japan. The isolation policy by the colonial court proved to be a great undoing for the Qing dynasty. Attempts by some organizations like Boxers to apply guerilla tactics in repelling the Europeans were futile given the superior nature of weapons that the Europeans possessed. Of great surprise was the Boxers’ rebellio n to the ruling Qing dynasty. The opposition by the Chinese peasants weakened the dynasty, such that it was unable to address the challenges of the 19th century and reform China as well. Historical Legacies held that â€Å"†¦massive peasant uprisings†¦Ã¢â‚¬  distorted the plans of the Qing dynasty to effectively reform China. These numerous internal and external wars provided a weak platform for the Qing dynasty to counter the 19th century’s challenges and reform China. Clearly, the focus to guard their borders against invasion by foreigners coupled with the inferior weapons made it difficult for the Qing dynasty to address numerous challenges that it faced in the 19th century. Moreover, the exclusion of China from the rest of the world brought backwardness in improvements, which resulted in inability to face the challenges, such as control by foreign nations.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15 % OFF Learn More The perception by the imperial court that European technologies were ‘evil’ also made the Qing dynasty to lag behind in technological advancements. According to the radicals, the challenges of the 19th century, such as invasion by the Europeans required modern technologies. China failed to industrialize at a time other nations were engaging in mass production of products using machines during the Industrial Revolution. Corruption and mismanagement of funds by officials within the imperial court system brought difficulties in the way the Qing dynasty responded to challenges of the 19th century. The imperial treasury became bankrupt, and was unable to counter any challenge due to inadequate financial power. The radicals believed that the root cause of the weakness of the Qing dynasty emanated from the inefficient systems of the imperial government. In addition, the doubling of the financial expenditures of the Qing dynasty resulted in weak financial conditions, as income remained constant. From the economic perspective, practices by the Ching ruler and the doubled expenditures resulted in a weak economic foundation. An example of a failure that emanated from this situation is the inability to expand the system of law courts to the district level. Apart from corruption and embezzlement of funds, dissatisfaction by the Han people on the ruling system of the Manchu brought disunity within the greater Qing dynasty. Historical Legacies attests that â€Å"Unity was inherently fragile, hence the perpetual fear of break-up in Chinese history.† Disunity was a great impediment to resolving challenges that the empire faced in the 19th century. Apparently, there was an amendment of the extravagant law of the Qing dynasty and establishments of the most comprehensive cultural ruling. These cultural rulings were Confucianism, which was a set of ethical beliefs acquired from the teachings one of the Chinese scholars called Co nfucius. Actually, the most important belief was in learning and practicing the ways of Dao who they believed to be their God. The Han Empire had several dictators who made people to experience extreme hardship in their lives during the periods that these tyrants ruled the Empire. Evidently, Liu Bang known as Lee Guang founded the Han dynasty, and went on to exasperate his subjects in various ways. Since he was the military leader and even defeated his rivals, he employed force on the subjects. When the Opium war began, the ordinary Han Chinese had little interest in defending the dynasty; this disloyalty exposed the loss of the Mandate of Heaven by the ruling dynasty.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Qing Dynasty specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The decentralization of the political system, at the same time, devolved corrupt and selfish individuals who worked for their own benefits against the interests of the d ynasty. Evidently, decentralization produced disloyal Chinese subjects at the grass-root levels. With autonomous administrations, the provinces went on to declare independence from the imperial Machu court simultaneously. The disloyalty infiltrated the military through numerous reforms. This made it difficult for the Qing dynasty to get full protection assurance from the military. Regional military forces did not support the Manzhus, as they were sensibly autonomous of the Pecking’s control. From this aspect, Qing’s dynasty attempts to reform China met rebellion from the disloyal subjects. Qing dynasty also lacked competent leaders or officials to carry out the reforms needed to counter the 19th century’s challenges. Insincerity of leaders in promoting reforms made the dynasty to lag behind in the reform process that was taking place in key nations across Europe and Asia. Empress Dowager messed with the ruling of the empire when she channeled military funds to b uilding of a grand Summer Palace. With no funds to develop the Chinese military, the dynasty was unable to marshal enough and competent troops to face foreign armies who were invading the territory. Her leadership style influenced key government administrators to a mass wealth at the expense of the cries of starving commoners who could be significant in the fight against external control from the Europeans. Dishonesty among the government officials and the Empress shifted the attention of the Qing dynasty to personal gains, with little or no attention to the commoners. The Qing leadership maintained high levels of unethical practices, such that focusing on challenges that faced the country became a tertiary affair. Maintaining the huge Chinese population also proved to be a great problem for the Qing dynasty. With little resources to sustain the population, the Qing dynasty could not pay attention in reforming the country. This internal problem shifted the focus of the Qing dynasty from addressing challenges like pressure from foreigners and issues of foreign immigrants. China remained weak for the last 100 years, and with the huge population, the dynasty could not offer quality health care and education. High illiteracy levels contributed to the inability of the Qing dynasty to address challenges of the 19th century that required expansive knowledge. In line with this, the negative perception of the western culture made the dynasty to go slow on adopting modern education systems (Historical Legacies 321). The education system concentrated on training for the Imperial Examinations, and not to learning aspects that enhanced rational thinking and autonomy, as propelled by the western education. Reforms of the 19th century had immense connections with modern education, which the Qing rulers opposed its implementation. Empress Cixi is one ruler who did not understand why one should go through the education system. During such periods, concubines were easily endors ed to succeed their predecessors. Qing dynasty’s inability to embrace modern education worked against its reform programs in China.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From internal problems to external dynamics, the Qing dynasty was not able to address the issues that it faced in the 19th century resulting in its fall. Corruption, disloyalty, radicalism, insincerity, lack of modern education system, and overpopulation are the factors that made it difficult for the dynasty to focus on solving the problems of the 19th century and reform China. Even though the Qing dynasty succeeded in other areas, it failed to handle key issues that could have reformed China. â€Å"Historical Legacies.† Some Historical Pointers. 321 – 2014 – Module 2

George Westinghouse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

George Westinghouse - Essay Example Although his influence on the modern civilization may be unnoticed by many the achievements and inventions associated with Westinghouse's name in some or other way surround us every day. The influence of George Westinghouse was decisive in improving the safety of the US railroad system, stimulation of the transportation industry growth, development of the modern electric distribution system and many other landmark inventions (Jonnes, 2003). The son of a machine shop owner, Westinghouse was the eighth of ten children. His father's machine shop manufactured a variety of industrial and agricultural machinery while Westinghouse Sr. himself was a talented inventor who registered at least seven patents. In 1860, at the age of fourteen Westinghouse Jr. started to work for his father at 50 cents an hour and got the first insights into machinery and metalworking. The Civil War interrupted the early start of his career as an inventor: George Westinghouse joined the Union army at the 15 and although his father forced him back in 1863 George finally received the consent of Westinghouse Sr. to be enlisted in the infantry. After several months Westinghouse Jr. became an engineer in the Union Navy (Dietrich, 2006). The Civil War was over when Westinghouse was only 19 and already at that age he created and patented his first invention, the rotary steam engine (Jones 2003a). After spending three months at tiny Union College, Westinghouse finished his formal education, returned to the machinery of his father's shop, and immediately produced a series of important inventions and engineering innovations. Thus, at age of twenty one Westinghouse invented the famous 'car replacer', a mechanical device to rerail derailed cars back onto the tracks and a mechanical 'frog' to switch trains onto of two tracks (ASME 1937). Although practical success of both these inventions Westinghouse did not gain much in terms of commercial success: his patent protection was not strong enough to prevent the railroads that adopted the replacer and frog from sidestepping his rights. However, Westinghouse considered the bitter experience and did not make the same mistake in the future. Prior to turning his attention to the new and exceptionally promising fields of activity Westinghouse had already become widely known as a successful mechanical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. The number of patents issued to him during only five years between 1869 and 1873 exceeded 20, and one of them was for one of the most essential inventions of that epoch, namely the air brake (Jonnes 2003). During the next decade, the air brake gained overwhelming acceptance among the railroads but Westinghouse became interested in finding and exploiting natural gas. Although that part of Westinghouse's life is scarcely known and relatively insignificant considering his achievement in mechanical engineering and electricity, during only two years from 1884 to 1885 he applied for 28 patents. His gas inventions included the

Issues in Accounting Theory and Practice (Case Study National Case - 2

Issues in Accounting Theory and Practice ( National Greenhouse Accounts Factor) - Case Study Example The greenhouse gases include methane, carbon dioxide, specified hydrofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride and specified perfluorocarbons. There are four methods used to conclude scope 1 emissions. The first one is fuel combustion that focuses on fuel combustion and the emissions it releases. There is ‘emissions of industrial processes’ that deals with greenhouse gases resulted from carbonates consumption and using fuels as carbon reductants or feedstock. It also focuses on the release of synthetic gases in certain cases. Another method used in scope 1 is fuels’ fugitive emissions, which focus on emissions from the removal, manufacturing and supply of fossil fuels. The fourth method is ‘waste emissions’ that deals with release of GHG from the decay of organic material in facilities handling wastewater. The first method is fuel combustion, and it is appropriate for Contex because the company deals with motor vehicles that release GHG throu gh use of fleet fuel. This is also because the most vital source is GHG emissions from the combustion of fuel that account for more than 60 per cent reported emissions. Scope 2 emissions are in most cases a type of indirect emission. The scope deals with activities that produce electricity, cooling, heating or steam that a facility consumes, but are not part of the facility. They take place mainly at electricity generators because of the consumption of electricity at a different facility. The emissions of scope 2 also come from electricity obtained from outside sources. The scope provides the factors of emissions through the electricity’s supplier or by using the NT’s emission factor. The generation of NT electricity largely represents a combination of the generation of diesel and natural gas, which is a logical equivalent for the fuel mix employed in outside electricity generation. The factors of emission for scope 2 show data depending on on-grid activity

Pepe jeans Essay Example for Free

Pepe jeans Essay The company maintains contact with its independent retailers via group of 10 agents and each agent is responsible for retailers in a particular area of the country. Pepe is convinced that a good relationship with the independent retailers is vital to its success. Pepe’s requirement to place firm orders six months in advance with no possibility amendments, cancellation, or repeat ordering. Some claimed that the inflexible order system forced them to order less, resulting in stock outs. Pepe felt that a change was going to be needed soon. The easiest solution would be work with the Hong Kong sourcing agent to reduce the lead time associated with orders but this was going to increase the cost significantly. Even with the significant increase in cost, consistent delivery schedules would be difficult to keep. Another suggestion was to build a finishing operation in United Kingdom. Pepe was interested to see how system worked at U. S. operations. They found that they would have to keep about six weeks’ supply of basic jeans on hand in the United Kingdom and they have to invest ? 1,000,000 worth of equipment. They also estimated that it would cost about ? 500,000 to operate the facility each year. They could locate the facility in the basement of current office building, and the renovations would cost ? 300,000.

Human Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Biology Essays

Human Gene Therapy Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was discovered in 1944 by Avery and colleagues. Avery identified DNA as the primary genetic material. Watson and Crick later discovered the double helix structure of DNA. Leder and co-workers deciphered the triple nucleotide code that designated the amino acids from which proteins were built. The science of molecular biology was born (Sokol, Gewirtz, 1996). In 1990 a four year old girl who was suffering from severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) was the first to undergo gene therapy. White blood cells were removed from the girl and the cells were inserted with normal copies of the defective gene and returned into the girls circulation. Her condition improved with four treatments and follow-up treatments (Anderson, 1995). Cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common fatal genetic disease among Caucasians in the United States, afflicts about 30,000 people worldwide. The faulty gene, CFTR, transfers salts across cell membranes, which causes mucus buildup in many t issues, particularly in the lungs. Infections lead to early death, usually by age 30. Cystic fibrosis currently has no effective treatment. Since the cystic fibrosis gene was cloned in 1989 this has led researchers to look for treatments through gene therapy ( Stanford, 1996). CF appears to be suitable for treatment by gene therapy: It is a monogenic, recessive disorder; The function of the CFTR gene product is known, facilitating measurement of gene transfer; The principal target cells, the airway epithelia, are accessible by minimally invasive procedures; Several transgenic mouse models for developing and testing procedures prior to clinical evaluation are available; here is a relatively large cohort of patients wil... ...l. Nichols, E. K. Human Gene Therapy. 162-164. (Harvard University Press, 1988). Schmeck, H. 1991. The future of genetic research. Howard Hughes Medical Institute. http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena/course/other/esgbio/www/mg/future.html. Sokol, D. L., A. M. Gewirtz. 1996. Gen therapy: basic concepts and recent advances. Critical Reviews in Eukaryotic Gene Expression, 6(1):29-57. Walters, L. 1996. The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy. Nature 225-227. Gene Therapy for Human patients Information for the General Public. 1990 Department of Health and Human Services. Public health Service National Institutes of Health. Genzyme, http://www.genzyme.com/company/lines/rdgt/welcome.htm. Spector, R.; M. A. Malone. 1996. Stanford University Medical Center Office of communications. http://www.med.stanford.edu/center/Communications/Pressrel/October96/cfgene.html.

Roles of Human Resource in Managing Employee Expectation

ROLES OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN MANAGING EMPLOYEE EXPECTATION INFLUENCE THE SUCCESS OF MERGER & ACQUISITION By KASMARIZA KASSIM A project paper submitted to Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business Universiti Utara Malaysia in fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Human Resource Management 1 TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ix xiii xiv CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 1. 6 Background Study Problem Statement Research Questions Research Objectives Significant of Study Definition of Terms 1. . 1 1. 6. 2 1. 6. 3 Employee’s Expectation Leadership Communication 1 2 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 2 1. 6. 4 1. 7 1. 8 1. 9 Commitment 8 9 9 9 Scope of Study Assumptions Structure of the Study CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 2. 2 Introduction Evaluation of Merger & Acquisition 2. 2. 1 2. 2. 2 2. 2. 3 2. 2. 4 2. 3 2. 4 2. 5 Pre-Deal Due Diligence Integration Planning Implementation 11 11 12 13 13 14 17 18 19 Evaluation of Employee Expectations The Importance of Managing Employee Expectation Evaluation of Strategic Human Resource Management in M&A 2. 5. 1 2. 5. 2 2. 5. 3 2. 6 2. 7 2. 8 Leadership by Human Resource Communication by Human Resource Commitment by Human Resource 21 22 24 25 26 26 Research Model/Framework Research Hypothesis Development Conclusion CHAPTER 3 : METHODOLOGY 3. 1 3. 2 Introduction Research Design 3. 2. 1 3. 2. 2 3. 3 3. 4 3. 5 Type of Study Unit of Analysis 27 27 28 28 29 30 31 Population and Sampling Procedure Data Collection Procedure The Measurement 4 3. 6 3. 7 3. 8 Questionnaire Design Data Analysis Techniques Conclusion 2 33 35 CHAPTER 4 : FINDINGS 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 4. 5 Introduction Overview of Collected Data Respondents’ Profile Reliability Analysis Major Findings 4. 5. 1 4. 5. 2 4. 6 4. 7 Pearson Correlation Coefficient Multiple Regression 36 36 36 39 40 40 42 45 45 Summary Findings Conclusion 5 CHAPTER 5 : DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 5. 4 5. 5 5. 6 Introduc tion Discussion Limitation of Study Recommendations for Future Research Theoretical and Practical Implication Conclusion 46 46 50 51 51 52REFERENCES APPENDIX A : Questionnaire APPENDIX B : Frequency Analysis APPENDIX C : Descriptive Statistics APPENDIX D : Reliability Analysis APPENDIX E : Correlations Analysis APPENDIX F : Regression Analysis 53 58 63 66 76 77 78 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 3. 1 : Table 3. 2: Table 3. 3 : Table 3. 4 : Table 4. 1 : Table 4. 2 : Table 4. 3 : Table 4. 4 : Table 4. 5 : Table 4. 6 : Sample Breakdown Likert-Scale Measurement Items Questionnaire Layout Response Rate Respondents’ Profile Reliability Analysis Inter-Correlations of the Major Variables Results of Regression Analysis Summary Findings 30 31 31 32 37 37 38 41 43 44 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2. 1 : Figure 2. 2 : Merger & Acquisition Life Cycle Comparison of Where HR Playing A Lead Role in very Successful Deals vs. Less Successful Deals 15 21 Figure 2. 3 : Research Framework 25 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUC TION 1. 1 Background of Study. Merger and acquisition (M&A) has certainly become the mechanism for companies to respond to the demands of the business world. It has been since several years, a main topic for strategic literature, since its advantages in its right use can be estimated in high levels of competitive advantages for companies.Companies that are facing changes in their organizational structures through a M&A, present important modifications in the processes, politics, values and frame of references. Each participant of this processes either the acquiring or the acquired, have to face different process and challenges. Clearly, both companies are affected part of their identity and way of doing things. The challenges of this adaptation are more evident when the difference of core business between the both companies is more obvious. Therefore, the kind of industry is a fundamental element to understand the transition.First of all, some fields are more appropriate to realize an M&A, for instance, industries, where the economy of scale is very relevant, and much easier to be understood in term of economy. Moreover, if the companies are complementary in their own business, synergies are most likely to be reached in terms of marketing, finances and organizational goals which make it a â€Å"natural† growing process. 9 Through the last century, companies paid more attention to the three following mindsets: strategy, economics and finance.Nevertheless, these last years, it has seen the emergence of a fourth mindset, as human factors to achieve a perfect integration of both companies. Though M&A process is regarded to be an integral organizational change, but the human component often appears to be the determinant element to succeed or fail (Parra, 2006). This is because people are susceptible to fear modification in their environment; therefore the implementation has to be executed with clear and structured plan in order to diminish possible resistanc e. To manage M&A process efficiently in the best conditions is very far to be easy.If some barriers are perfectly identifiable such as human costs of scale, weak innovation and so forth, there are others more niggling to identify and measure like the invisible structure of mindsets. For all of these reasons, an important and deep study has to make before the bargaining of M&A (Parra, 2006). 1. 2 Problem Statement The M&A is an ongoing process. This means that the operation runs from the moment the company is interested by another one until and after the achievement of the M&A. For instance, a number of M&A succeed in the long run, often after a long period of time.This illustrates that M&A process is always running, even 10 before the bargaining of transactions independently of the need or circumstances that surround the process. The M&A process has to launch and develop through companies integration. This is highly oriented toward the management of people and the strategies develop ed to incorporate them into the new vision and philosophy that the company will create with the merger. This stage of the process represents the problem that will be analysed, described, and explained in this study.Though integration and its success depends on many factors like corporate culture compatibility, corporate size and dimensions, management style and, ability to communicate effectively, another vital issue to acknowledge is the appropriate environment throughout the whole process of M&A where human talent is involved. This cannot be realised without the assistance and involvement of human resource. Having said, the M&A strategy should be driven by human resource. It is inevitable that human resource play vital role in the human side of the M&A process especially managing employee expectation.There are literally hundreds of reasons why the M&A failure rates are so high and many have been traced was due to the exclusion of human resource professionals in the pre-deal planni ng phase. Human resource only function to the last minute inclusion after the transaction has closed. This is a classic case of â€Å"too little, too late† (Clemente & Greenspan,1999). 11 In order to obtain a better insight of the situation above described, this thesis project addresses its focus on studying the transition process in a M&A developed by two giant oil and gas service providers in Malaysia; SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad and Kencana Petroleum Berhad.Some factors will structure the analysis of this investigation such as employee expectation, leadership, communication & commitment. Most importantly, this thesis will look into the factors that influence the M&A success through human resource initiatives by focusing on the employee expectation. The initial and basic assumptions of this investigation is being able to explain and analyze how human resources initiatives and leading roles, being the most important dimension in M&A process could be considered to have the m ost impact to the success or failure of the integration .This is critical since the merger between SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad and Kencana Petroleum Berhad has triggered issues in oil & gas industry. The involvement of risk and massive investment made so far by both companies, are the key reasons why this M&A cannot afford to accept failure as the closure. 1. 3 Research Questions This research will initially be guided by these questions: 12 RQ1- Is there any significant relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of leadership and employee expectation towards the success of M&A?RQ2 – Will there be any relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of communication and employee expectation towards the success of M&A? RQ3 – Will human resource strategic roles in terms of commitment contribute in managing employee expectation towards the success of M&A? 1. 4 Research Objectives There aren? t many studies on the relationship between the empl oyee expectation and strategic human resources in the case of M&A. However, the main objective of this study is to determine which amongst the variables contributes most to the success of M&A.They are addressed by specific objectives such as: RO1 – To determine significant relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of leadership and employee expectation towards the success of M&A. RO2 – To examine the relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of communication and employee expectation towards the success of M&A. 13 RO3 – To determine the relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of communication and employee expectation towards the success of M&A. 1. Significant of Study In general this research aims to promote the understanding of employee expectation after the announcement of M&A to the management, as well to explore the impact of human resources roles on the success of the integration. Even though in toda y? s rapid growth of business and the acknowledgment of the benefits gained by proceeding with M&A, it is observed that the research done was insignificant. Most M&A research preaches on corporate culture compatibility, corporate size and corporate dimension as factors contribute to the integration success.This issue needs to overcome in ensuring that the management are aware that in every M&A, there is the human side to deal with. Apparently, the most common factors cited as „keys to M&A success? are communication, cultural integration and fit, integration project planning, due diligence, leadership and talent placement and management. All of these factors are intrinsically linked to human resource. Hence, the involvement of human resource in this big step taken is vital. Since employees are the one drives the success of a company, human resource being the backbone of a company, functions to manage the employee expectation in any M&A process. 4 This study is hoped to give an insight to the management of SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad on the awareness of the importance of human resource strategic roles in managing employee expectation towards the M&A success. Since the integration stage is still at the initial stage, it is worth getting the feedback on the employee expectation. The finding will at least assist in ensuring that the rest of the process is carried out in accordance such as cultural assimilation and placements. 1. 6 Definition of Terms For the purpose of this study the following terms are defined as follows: 1. . 1 Employee Expectation : Employees concern that transform into expectations concerning both themselves and their work group. These expectations are with respect to immediate job and employment worries to longer term status, and behavioural and cultural concerns in the „new? organization (Surkund, Purang & Gupta, 2006). In this case, the expectations reflected by the affected employees of SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad in the proce ss of M&A. 1. 6. 2 Leadership : A process whereby ones influences others to achieve a common goals (Northouse,2001).In this case, it is referred to the management of SapuraCrest 15 Petroleum Berhad through human resource strategic role and the affected employees. 1. 6. 3 Communication : Defines as the communication transaction between individuals and/or groups at various levels and in different areas of specialization that are intended to design and redesign organizations, to implement design and contribute from day-to-day activities (Frank & Brwnell, 1989). In this case the communication is meant between the management of SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad through human resource strategic role and the affected employees. . 6. 4 Commitment : The meaning behind commitment in the organizations appears to be shifting from a â€Å"desire to remain in, and identify with, the organization towards a highly proactive, innovative and challenging approach to work, as a mutually beneficial psycholo gical contract between organization and individual (Vinicombe, 1998). This summarise the intention definition of commitment in this study where human resource strategic role acts on behalf of the management of SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad in ensuring commitment is offered to employees throughout the process of M&A. 6 1. 7 Scope of the Study The research is carried out on SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad? s (SCPB) affected employees. The announcement to merge with another giant oil & gas service provider in Malaysia, Kencana Petroleum Berhad has triggered some concerns amongst the affected employees. This study is primarily designed to review the relationship between SapuraCrest Petroleum? s human resource strategic roles and employee expectation on the merger plan success. 1. Assumptions A researcher assumes that all respondent at SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad (SCPB) answer all questions sincerely and that respondents are fully understand and aware the purpose and objectives of this stud y. Researcher also assumes that the sample in this study represents the population of organization that is going through a merger exercise in Malaysia. 1. 9 Structure of the Study This study consists of five chapters. The first chapter outlines the introduction, purpose and objectives of this study.It also touches on the research problems, questions and the significant of the study. Chapter Two discuss on review of related literature based on the research done, research model framework, and research hypothesis development. 17 Elaboration on the research design, sampling and data collection procedures, measurement & instrumentation and, data analysis techniques are outlined in Chapter Three. Chapter Four discusses on the overview of the data collected, profile respondents, reliability test, major findings, correlation analysis of variables, multiple regression and summary findings.The final chapter presents the discussion of the research done, recommendations for future research as w ell as limitation. 18 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Introduction Chapter Two offers a literature review on issues related to M&A, employee expectation and human resource management. The development of research framework/model and hypotheses will be discussed in this chapter. Then, it is followed by theoretical framework. 2. 2 Evaluation of Merger & Acquisition Mergers and acquisitions represent the end of the continuum of options companies have in combining with each other.This combination has the greatest implications for size of investment, control, integration requirements, pains of separation, and people management issues (Doz & Hamel, 1998; Hamel, 1991; Harbison, 1996; Sparks, 1998, 1999). With the focus on mergers and acquisitions, it is important to distinguish them. In a merger, two companies come together and create a new entity. In an acquisition, one company buys another one and manages it consistent with the acquirer? s needs. However, both suffer the same predicament .The primary purpose of merging and acquiring new firms is usually to improve overall performance (Lubatkin, 1983) by achieving synergy, or the more commonly described as the â€Å"2 + 2 = 5† effect (Cartwright and Cooper, 1993) 19 between two business units that will increase competitive advantage (Porter & 1985). However, the mere existence of potential synergism is no guarantee that this possibility will be realized (Cartwright & Cooper, 1993). Recent research indicates that these M&A has a negative impact on the economic performance of the new entity (Cartwright & Cooper, 1993).With the estimated rates of their success from 20-60 percent, it sure will paralyse the competitiveness in the new entity (British Institute of Management, 1986). Therefore, although M&As are usually extremely well planned out in terms of financial and legal aspects, the conclusion that has to be drawn is that these poor results have come to be attributed to poor human resource planning. Consequent ly, for sustained competitive advantage to be achieved, it is imperative that the M&A be implemented from a financially and legally sound standpoint, as well as from a behavioural approach.Most mergers and acquisitions follow a four-stage process as per discussed by Schmidt & Griffin, 1993. There are the pre-deal stage, due diligence stage, integration planning stage and implementation stage. 2. 2. 1 Pre-Deal Based on its growth strategy, the acquirer searches for an appropriate target or partner, assesses potential targets and develops a plan for executing the deal. This first phase involves searching for suitable entities for M&A. During this phase it is usually done to develop a set of criteria for the selection of a suitable 20 entity.In this early phase the organization defines its objectives and desired outcomes of the merger or acquisition and searches for suitable entities. This often involves extensive research and gathering of market intelligence to access the potential of suitable candidates. 2. 2. 2 Due Diligence After making the offer, the acquirer ensures that the deal is strategically and economically sound and has a high likelihood of success. Thorough, detailed execution of this stage is critical. Once a suitable entity has been identified, usually the next step is to make an offer to acquire or merge with the new entity.This offer is usually made conditional on the completion of the due diligence. During this second phase, a review of the new entity is undertaken to ensure the soundness of the deal and to access any risks involved with the completion of the deal. During this phase the organization will typically review the financial statements, strategies, business plans, resources and operations of the entity to confirm their assessment of the commercial suitability of the deal. Often many transactions do not go beyond this phase because the due diligence highlights the inappropriate risks associated with the deal. 2. 2. Integration Planning The acquirer creates a comprehensive plan for integrating the two organizations. This stage takes place within the first 100 days of the decision to 21 merge and can begin during due diligence if both sides believe the deal will go forward. The detailed plans, milestones and activities are developed to ensure the successful implementation of the deal. This phase is often conducted under very tight time frames and requires extensive and detailed involvement from experienced personnel. Detailed project management plans are established to ensure the smooth implementation of the deal. 2. 2. Implementation The final stage builds on all the planning that has gone before. Implementation can take months or even years to complete, depending on the complexity of the deal and the size of the merging companies. This phase requires the execution of the detailed planning conducted in phase three. Again, this phase is usually conducted under tight time frames and requires the execution of many co mplex plans simultaneously. Strong project management skills are required during this stage. The implementation phase is very visible to, shareholders, staff, clients and competitors and is conducted under tremendous scrutiny of these parties.However, according to the study carried out by the Ministry of Manpower Singapore (2003) there should be another stage that sums up M&A process. This neglected final stage is known as evaluation. The final phase requires reviewing the performance of the new entity to ensure that a successful integration has been completed and that the objectives of the M&A have been achieved. Performance of 22 the new entity is assessed against the original objectives determined in the pre deal phase. Figure 2. 1 Merger & Acquisition Life Cycle Source : The Ministry of Manpower Singapore,2003 There are numerous reasons for companies to merge or acquire. Some of the most frequent include: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Horizontal mergers for market dominance; economies of sc ale Vertical mergers for channel control Hybrid mergers for risk spreading, cost cutting, synergies, defensive drivers Growth for world-class leadership and global reach Survival; critical mass Acquisition of cash, deferred taxes, and excess debt capacity Move quickly and inexpensively Flexibility; leverage Bigger asset base to leverage borrowing 23 ? ? ? ?Adopt potentially disruptive technologies Financial gain and personal power Gaining a core competence to do more combinations Talent, knowledge, and technology Hence, M&A are supposed to create new, stronger organizations, but history shows that such combinations often fall far short of expectations. Every M&A promises to create value from some kind of synergy, yet statistics show that the benefits that look so good on paper often do not materialize. The result, more often than not, is value destruction. The literature on M&A indicates that failure rates typically range from 50 to 70 percent or even higher.A Business Week (2004) s tudy of megamergers conducted between 1998 and 2000 found that in more than 60 percent of the cases, shareholder value was destroyed. Why do so many corporate combinations that looked like such great opportunities end up in disaster? Recent research suggests that contrary to common belief, it is not poor strategic fit that most often causes M&A to fail but poor execution. The errors can be seen, for example, in instances of insensitive management, lack of trust building and communication, slow execution, power struggles, or a leadership vacuum following the deal.Even with this kind of information, most corporate combinations still place special emphasis on the strategic and financial goals of the transaction, whereas the cultural and people implications rarely receive as much attention. 24 2. 3 Evaluation of Employees Expectations in M&A Mergers between different organizational entities have been a widespread phenomenon during the past decades. Our newspapers abound with stories abo ut organizations in the process of merging their activities. It is expected that approximately one in three employees will face a merger or acquisition in their working ife (Hubbard, 1999). In the past decades, many works, both academic and business, have been dedicated to this phenomenon, and the reasons for merging and the actual implementation have both been described extensively (Cartwright & Cooper, 1993). The issues under investigation have initially concerned the strategic, financial, or operational side of mergers. However, even thoroughly planned mergers often fail to materialize and much of the variance in the prediction of merger failure remains unexplained (Amiot, Terry, & Callan, 2007). Many companies believe that M&A are a key means for growth.By combining, companies may gain market share, new markets, a wider range of product offerings, control over the supply chain, and cost efficiencies. It isn? t just being bigger that matters. Employees may not always agree with t he merger rationale, but their understanding of it guides decisions and actions, motivates them to devote the energy and time to changes, sustains their performance and retention during the merger, and develops an enthusiasm for a better future (Walker & Price,2000). 25 Merger announcements should not simply be a cliche.Stating that the merger will enable us â€Å"to become more competitive globally† or to â€Å"become the technology leader in our industry† says very little to employees. Beyond increased shareholder value, an acquiring company should define specific benefits expected and how they will be realized (Walker & Price,2000). A focus on the â€Å"human side† of mergers could therefore be valuable. Human dynamics become even more relevant with the growing trend toward related combinations which involve a great extent of people integration (Cartwright & Cooper, 1996).The human side of mergers has been examined according to a variety of perspectives and t heories such as expectations in certainty on the future direction of the company, departure of key personnel, cultures clashed, job Security and morale (Cartwright & Cooper, 1996). 2. 4 Importance of Managing Employee Expectation An estimate by Davy et. al (1998), blames â€Å"employee problems† as being responsible for one-third to one-half of all M&A failures. Therefore, the underlying causes of employee resistance need to be studied carefully because their understanding has the potential of improving merger planning outcomes.Managing employee expectation is crucial as it leads directly to the success of merger. This is very much related to the importance of employees? engagement. According to Harter, Schmidt and Hayes (2002), a highly engaged employee will 26 consistently deliver beyond expectations. Employee engagement is critical to any organization that seeks to retain valued employees. The Watson Wyatt (2010), a consulting company has proved that there is an intrinsic link between employee engagement, customer loyalty and profitability.As organization going globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employee to provide them with an organizational â€Å"identity† (Vazirani, 2007) All those who are involved with the M&A process should take into consideration the human expectations. They should be able to understand human attitudes and behaviours in order to manage the expectations. Given the magnitude and importance of the employees? sychological reactions on the merger outcome, it is very important to understand the sources of this stress and the way it affects the organization in order to be able to reduce employee resistance as a way to maximize synergy realization (Moran, 2005). 2. 5 Evaluation of Strategic Human Resources Management in M&A Given the increased importance of people issues in an M&A transaction, it? s somewhat surprising that survey results conducted by Towers Watson (2008) shows that human resource function tends to be only peripherally involved in much of the M&A process. It? not until the planning and implementation phase of the acquisition that human resource plays a more predominant role, with 38% of 27 respondents saying that they? re brought to the leadership team at the integration planning stage and 35% of respondents saying they have a leadership role during the integration implementation phase. There is evidence to suggest that bringing human resource to the leadership team earlier in the acquisition makes sense it is interesting to note that very successful dealmakers appear to involve human resource in more aspects of the deal than others.The data shows that a small number of very successful dealmakers chose to involve human resources a lot earlier in the process. For example, 17% of very successful dealmakers involved human resource in the due diligence phase with some involving their human resou rce function in the target evaluation phase. It is believed this may be an appropriate response to the impact of people issues in affecting long-term deal success. Figure 2. 2 : Comparison of Where HR Playing A Lead Role in very Successful Deals vs. Less Successful DealsSource : Canadian Financial Executive Research Foundation, 2010 28 If one assumes that human resources is the unit best equipped to help the new company manage the people-related issues of a merger, the next step is to look at how human resource functions during a merger or an acquisition. According to Schmidt & Griffin (2002), below are strategies that should be taken or at least considered by human resources in dealing with M&A process : 2. 5. 1 Leadership by Human Resources The greater the frequency and magnitude of change, the more important leadership and culture become.Leadership holds it all together. It is a make or break function (Arian, 2007) He confirms that leadership is the most important driver of emplo yee engagement. During periods of transition and disruption, employees look first to leaders for guidance about how to react and behave, for motivation, and for focus. Experience shows that what leaders do during mergers and acquisitions has a significant impact on how employees of both organizations react and promote a sense of community and purpose. Positive employee perception of leaders is crucial to successful change.Employees want to believe that leadership cares about them. When employees are convinced that leaders genuinely do care about them, they become more open and willing to make necessary transitions (Arian, 2007). Companies that foster a high degree of leadership visibility and involvement during M&A instil a supportive organizational culture with a better than average chance of success (Olson, 2007). Leaders set the priorities and create the positive business 29 momentum and discipline required during M&As.They instil in employees the necessary level of commitment, e ngagement, confidence and comfort to work through difficult transitions. Leaders, who by their statements and actions inspire a shared sense of purpose, coherence, community and trust, enable employees to focus and remain highly engaged during M&As and post-merger integration. Establishing and sustaining cultural alignment during the first 100 days is particularly important in shaping the newly formed organizational culture and employee perceptions of it. Leadership intervention is a critical symbol of the new organizational culture (Olson, 2007).Strong leadership and maintaining energy for change among employees are the two principles of success that reinforce each other when executed well (McKinsey, 2008). Only human resource truly has its fingers on the pulse of the acquired employees. Only human resource can shape the organizational mindset that will move the merged firm forward in the marketplace. Therefore human resource must take a leadership role in these most important area s. 2. 5. 2 Communication by Human Resource It is well accepted that communication is the key tool within any changes (kanter, Stein & Jick, 1992).Any failure to communicate leaves employees uncertain about their future and will lead them to seek other means to reduce this uncertainty, such as reliance on rumours and other means of informal 30 communication which are not an effective means in reducing anxiety (Rosnow, 1988). This is because it tends to focus on negative and inaccurate information. Buono and Bowditch (1989) mention that, during mergers and acquisitions activity, â€Å"rumour mills and the grapevine work overtime, leading to more anxiety and, in many cases, counterproductive behaviours.Often based on fears rather than reality, these rumours can significantly exacerbate employee anxiety, tension and stress†. This anxiety and uncertainty are usually leading to dysfunctional outcomes. The extensive literature on managing communication in periods of organisational c hange and merger, shows that frequent and honest communication to staff about the merger has a stabilising effect (Ashkenas et al. , 1998). The literature suggests communication strategies serve to reduce uncertainty, but also acknowledges that staff are frequently sceptical about management messages.Furthermore, it is evident that such scepticism is not misplaced in times of change where futures are uncertain and directions are evolving. Procedural justice research emphasises the importance of two-way communication, in which both management and employees can voice their opinions, concerns, desires and provide information. Research shows that employee opportunity to voice an opinion results in the process being perceived as fairer, although this is negated if that opinion is perceived to be ignored by the decision maker (Citera and Rentsch, 1993).With all concerns mentioned earlier, clear communication is the tool to ensure their anxiety is entertained. The primary goals of post mer ger 31 communications should be to inform, and more importantly to inspire! The best median will be none other than human resource as the intermediary. 2. 5. 3 Commitment Another crucial human resource role is helping employees cope with change. It has far-reaching consequences, including maintaining productivity, stemming the loss of key talent and smoothing the integration of the two cultures. Change can be particularly difficult for employees involved in a M&A, especially those who work for the target.Unanswered questions about job security, relocation and new reporting relationships, spawn rumours, anxiety, resentment and the loss of top talent, who can most easily find jobs elsewhere. All this can lead to lower productivity and diminution of a company? s intangible assets. In the growing world of global financial services mergers, these issues take on heightened importance (Schmidt & griffin, 2002). Exhibiting commitments to the employees in the light of merger is essential. Th ings rarely remain the same in the wake of a major transaction.Roles and responsibilities change. Employees are normally re-assigned or worst case scenario, terminated. New policies and new procedures are adopted. Employees must be aided and psychologically prepared, to accept the changes that are inevitable. They must be made understand that additional changes may have to be enacted in the future as the integration process moves through its various stages. Helping employees to 32 accept and understand change is a commitment by human resource where it will accelerate the process and minimize the pain associates with the uncertainty. . 6 Research Model/Framework Based on the literature discussed earlier, the following research framework has been developed as a model for this study. This research model is designed to identify the relationship between dependent variable of employee expectation and three independent variables of human resources strategic roles. Based on the literature r eview presented, further investigations on the relationship among the variables are accomplished. The model framework is as per illustrated in Figure 2. 3 below. Figure 2. 3 : Research FrameworkDEPENDENT VARIABLES Leadership Communication Commitment H1 H2 H3 DEPENDENT VARIABLES Employee expectation towards M&A success 33 2. 7 Research Hypotheses Development From the model in Figure 2. 3, three (3) hypotheses are developed as below: H1) There is a significant relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of leadership and employee expectation towards the success of M&A. H2) There is a relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of communication and employee expectation towards the success of M&A.H3) There is a relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of commitment and employee expectation towards the success of M&A. These hypotheses had been tested using appropriate data analysis technique. 2. 8 Conclusion This chapter has presented a review of literature that focused on the employee expectations and how human resource strategic roles could assist in managing them subsequently ensuring the success of merger & acquisition. Research framework has been developed to see the significant relationship between employees? expectation and human resource Strategic roles.The following chapter describes in details of the procedures and methodology used for data collection and analysis for this paper. 34 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Introduction This chapter provides the methodology use in this research to study the significant relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variables. This chapter begins with research design, population and sampling procedures, data collection procedures and data analysis techniques. 3. 2 Research Design A research design is a master plan explaining the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the information.The design is to ensure that all of the information gath ered are appropriate for solving the problem (Zikmund, 2003). Research design offers critical choice points to carry out the research. It outlines the details or the necessary procedures in carrying out the research. This research intends to investigate the relationship between independent and dependent variables, as well as it offers a platform for hypothesis testing. According to Sekaran (2006) studies that engage in hypothesis testing usually explains the nature of certain relationship. 35 3. 2. Type of Study The method used to analyse data was carried out using quantitative survey where the researcher measured the phenomena under investigation with the use of statistical analysis of raw data collected from a structured questionnaire. It used various statistical tests and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to interpret the results of data. The study will be carried out specifically among affected employees at SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad. 3. 2. 2 Unit of Analysis The u nit of analysis refers to the level of aggregation of the data collected during the data analysis (Sekaran, 2000).The problem statement of this study focused on how the success of merger is significantly influence by the relationship between strategic roles of human resources and employee expectation. Data was collated from individuals working at SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad. The approach to this study was a survey study where data was generated via distributing questionnaires. Affected employees had been asked to furnish and answer the questionnaire to the problem statement of this study; evaluate the existence of relationship between human resource strategic roles and employee expectation. 6 3. 3 Population and Sampling Procedure The samples at SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad are selected using the simple random sampling technique. The simple random sampling method is chosen because every element in the population has a known and equal chance being selected as the sample. According t o Sekaran (2006), simple random sampling has the lease bias and offered the most generalization. In order for this research to become more reliable, it is important to have the right sample size. The population of this study cover all affected employees in SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad.Affected employees are defined as the first cohort joining the new entity. Due to tight time frame of the thorough implementation process of M&A as well as the business and operations requirement, the management has decided to implement the merger in phases. It started off with all employees that are hired directly under SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad cost centre. There are 134 employees all together. The rest of the 1466 employees are hired under business unit cost centres. Due to the operations requirement these employees will not be affected immediately. The second phase will only commence 8 months later.The reason why only this population chosen is very much aligned to the significant of this study a s per mentioned in Chapter One. Out of 134 affected employees, the random sample of 100 employees is identified via Raosoft Sample Size Calculator with 5% margin error and 95% tolerance of confidence level. 37 Below is the breakdown of the 100 participated employees Table 3. 1: Sample Breakdown Category/ Job Grade Tea Lady & Driver (DO & OA) Non Executive (G1-G3) Admin & Secretary (S1-S4) Executive (E8-E6) Middle Management (E5-E3) Senior Management (NG-E2D) Management TechnicalNon-Technical 4 6 7 6 22 20 4 15 13 3 3. 4 Data Collection Procedure The major approach in generating data for this study is through questionnaires which intended to measure employee expectation towards merger & acquisition. The survey is conducted at SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 employees both via email as well as hard copy extended by hand. The respondents were given 1 week to respond to the survey. 38 3. 5 The measurement The major measures for this research are em ployee expectation, leadership, communication and commitment.Participants are required to respond to all questionnaire items for measures using a five-point likert scale. Two scales are used in this research. First is nominal scale, specifically for Section A. Likert Scale is used for Section B, C, D and E. The scale below show the measurement used in Likert-Scale scoring from 1 to 5 (Sekaran, 2003). Table 3. 2: Likert-Scale Strongly Disagree 1 Uncertain Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree 5 2 3 4 Source : Sekaran, 2003 Responses on items for each measure are averaged to form an overall score such that higher scores indicated a higher standing on the measures.The items for each of the measures are given in the Appendixes. Table 3. 2 outlines the measurement items. Table 3. 3: Measurement Items Variables Employees Expectations Items 5 Scales Five-point Likert Scale Sources Adopted from Clemente & Greenspan (1999) 39 Leadership 5 Five-point Likert Scale Adopted from Avolio, Gardner & Walum bwa (2004) Adopted from Cartwright & Cooper (1993) Adopted from Allen & Meyer (1990) Communication 5 Five-point Likert Scale Five-point Likert Scale Commitment 7 3. 6 Questionnaire Design The questionnaire consists of five (5) sections.The first part contains information regarding respondent? s demographics features which include age, gender, academic qualification, job grade, length of service and job classification. The second part of the questionnaire consists of questions on employee expectation, which subsequently followed by leadership, communication and commitment in that order. Table 3. 4 : Questionnaire Layout Sections A Variables Respondent Background: ? Age ? Gender ? Academic Qualification ? Job Grade ? Length of Service ? Job Classification Employee Expectation Leadership Items 6 B C 5 5 40 D ECommunication Commitment 5 7 3. 7 Data Analysis Techniques The first step in statistical analysis involved physically going through all the completed questionnaires page by page a nd browsing through them in order to understand the responses. Raw data, as per written in the questionnaire will be coded for analysis purposes by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Program. The analysis of data begins with reliability test for the scales through Cronbach? s Alpha. The Cronbach Alpha testing is used due to well accepted reliability test tools applied by social researcher (Sekaran, 2005).Cronbach? s Alpha reliability analyze that the closer Cronbach? s Alpha is to 1. 0, the higher the internal consistency reliability (Cronbach, 1946). Cronbach scale analyzes: I. II. III. reliability less than 0. 6 is considered poor reliability in the range 0. 7 is considered to be acceptable reliability more than 0. 8 is considered to be good Secondly, in order to determine whether there are significant relationships among the independent and dependent variables, Pearson Correlation 41 Coefficient analysis was carried out.The scale model suggested by Davies (1971) is used to describe the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable, as shown below: I. 0. 7 and above – very strong relationship, II. 0. 50 to 0. 69 – strong relationship, III. 0. 30 to 0. 49 – moderate relationship, IV. 0. 10 to 0. 29 – low relationships and V. 0. 01 to 0. 09 – very low relationship. Thirdly, Multiple Regression Analysis was conducted to exam which among the three independent variables is the most important variables in exhibiting employees? xpectation. According to Sekaran (2005), the correlation coefficient, R, will indicate the strength of relationship between two variables and it will also show how much of the variance in the dependent variable will explain when several independent variables are theorized to simultaneously influence it. Besides that the square of multiple, R2 is the amount of variance which will explain the dependent variable by the predictors. Beta value ( ) is used to identify the most important variables. This is known as Multiple Regression. 42Finally, frequency distribution is being carried out to obtain a count of number of responses associated with different values of one variable and to express these counts in to percentage terms 3. 8 Conclusion This chapter discussed the research method proposed for this study by presenting the theoretical framework and research hypothesis. Aside to that, it also includes the discussion of sampling design, data collection, questionnaire, measurement and data analysis. 43 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS 4. 1 Introduction This chapter outlines the results of data analysis obtained based on data collected from respondents.The main purpose of this research is to study the relationship between the independent variables of HR strategic roles namely leadership, communication and commitment with the dependent variable which is employee expectation. The findings intend to verify the hypotheses made in chapter two. The statistical method of Pearson Correlation is used to determine the existence of any relationships between the independent variables and dependent variable. In addition, regression analysis is conducted to examine independent variable and determine which serve the most important to explain employee expectation.This chapter also illustrates the reliability test made to the instruments used using Cronbach Alpha. All in all, this chapter is divided into eight segments which includes; overview of data collection, profile of respondents, goodness of measure, descriptive analysis, major findings, summary of findings, and conclusion. 44 4. 2 Overview of Collected Data A total of 100 sets of questionnaires were distributed to respondents. All 100 sets of questionnaires were returned on a timely manner; within 1 week. It has been found that all questions were answered by the respondents and considered valid and ready-fit to be analyzed.Table 4. 1: Response Rate Data Questionnaire distributed Collected question naire Usable questionnaire Discarded questionnaire Total 100 100 0 0 Percentage (%) 100 100 0 0 4. 3 Respondents’ Profile The survey demonstrated the details concerning demographic characteristics or respondents? profile as shown in Table 4. 2 below. Table 4. 2: Respondent Profile No 1 Demographic Age Categories ? Below 25 ? 25-34 years ? 35-44 years ? 45-54 years ? 55 and above ? Male ? Female Frequency 8 55 34 3 0 57 43 Percentage (%) 8 55 34 3 0 57 43 2 Gender 45 3 Academic Qualification Secondary ? Diploma ? Degree ? Master ? PhD ? Professional ? DO &OA ? G1-G3 ? S1-S4 ? E8-E6 ? E5-E3 ? NG-E2D ? Below 2 years ? 2-4 years ? 5-7 years ? 8-10 years ? More than 10 years ? Management ? Technical ? Non- Technical 6 11 67 9 1 6 4 13 6 42 32 3 18 56 24 1 1 7 43 50 6 11 67 9 1 6 4 13 6 42 32 3 18 56 24 1 1 7 43 50 4 Job Grade 5 Length of Service 6 Job Classification The study indicates more than half of the respondents are within the age of 25 – 34 years old, where approxim ately one third of the respondents are within the age of 35 – 44 years old.It is self explanatory, when majority of 57% of the respondents are male due to the nature of business which is oil & gas, which known for performing tasks under harsh environment. A highest rate of respondents 67% 46 did their degree and only small percentage of 9% holds master degree followed by 1% who pursued PhD. Lastly, this questionnaire managed to capture different job classification where 7% from the management, 43% from technical and 50% from non-technical. 4. 4 Reliability Analysis According to Sekaran (2003), the closer the reliability coefficient gets to 1. , the better it is, and those values over . 80 are considered as good. Those value in the . 70 is considered as acceptable and those reliability value less than . 60 is considered to be poor (Sekaran, 2003). According to George & Mallery (2003), reliability is the degree to which measure are free from error and therefore yield consistent results. Table 4. 3: Reliability Analysis Variables Employees Expectations Leadership Communication Commitment No. Of Items 5 Items Dropped 0 Cronbach? s Alpha 0. 6 5 5 7 0 0 0 0. 8 0. 6 0. 8 As shown in table 4. , alpha value for independent variables ranges from 0. 6-0. 8 which can be considered good. In addition, dependent variable has found to be at 0. 6 on acceptable value. 47 4. 5 Major Findings The results of Pearson Correlation Analysis and Linear Regression are presented in the following section. 4. 5. 1 Pearson Correlation Coefficient According to Sekaran (2003), in research project that includes several variables, beyond knowing the means and standard deviations of the dependent and independent variables, the researcher would often like to know how one variable is related to another.This means that the researcher should see the nature, direction and significance of the bivariate relationship of the variables used in the study which is the relationship between any two var iables among the variables tapped in the study. A Pearson correlation matrix will provide this information, which will indicate the direction, strength and significance of the bivariate relationships of all the variables in the study. Theoretically, there is a possibility of a perfect positive correlation between two variables, which is represented by 1. 0 (plus 1), or a perfect negative correlation which would -1. (minus1). While correlation could range between -1. 0 and +1. 0, and the researcher need to know if any correlation found between two variables is significant or otherwise (i. e. ; if it has occurred solely by chance or if there is a high probability of its actual existence) As for the information, a significance of p ? 0. 05 48 is the generally accepted conventional level in social sciences research. This indicates that 95 times out of 100, this can be sure that there is a true or significant correlation between the two variables, and there is only a 5% chance that the r elationship does not truly exist.The correlation matrix between dependent variable and independent variables are exhibited in Table 4. 5 below. The finding from this analysis is then compared against the hypotheses developed in this study. Table 4. 4 : Inter-Correlations of the Major Variable Variables Leadership Communication Employee Expectation Employees -. 544** . 502** Expectations Leadership . 782** Communication Commitment – Commitment . 460** . 857** . 680** – **Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed) *Correlation is significant at the 0. 05 level (2-tailed)Hypothesis 1: There is significance relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of leadership and employee expectation towards the success of M&A. The relationship between leadership is tested against employee engagement. The results between the two variables is found as r=. 544, n=100, p?. 05. The correlations coefficient indicates that there is a strong relationship betwee n the variables. Hypothesis 1 is accepted. 49 Hypothesis 2: There is significance relationship between human resource strategic roles in terms of communication and employee expectation towards the success of M&A.The relationship between communication against employee expectation is investigated. The results shows quite similar to leadership where the two variables are found as r=. 502, n=100, p ? .05. The relationship is significant with strong relationship. Hence, hypothesis 2 is accepted. Hypothesis 3: There is significance relationship between commitment and employees’ expectation in SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad. The relationship between commitment against employee expectation has found to have poor significant with r=. 406, n=100, p