Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Lodge’s narrative technique Essay
Abstraction: David Lodge ( 1936- ) is extremely respected and regarded as a critic and author who is profilic in both Fieldss in modern British. As a author. David Lodge is chiefly celebrated for his academic novels particularly his Campus Trilogy: Changing Topographic points. Small World and Nice Work in 70-80 in the 20 century. Campus Trilogy is regarded as the research object in the paper. This thesis attempts to do a comprehensive survey of Campus Trilogy from Narratology Angle. It wonders to detect the undetected deduction in the narrative plants to make full the space in this country of research by the macroscopic analysis and microscopic examination. The thesis consists of four chapters. Introduction includes a brief debut to David Lodge. his literary accomplishments. his representative plants Campus Trilogy. its literary reappraisal and the significance of the thesis. In add-on. the constructs and methods are merely presented. Chapter I outlines Narrative Structure of Campus Trilogy. By set uping the binary opposite smudge construction in the clip and infinite which lays out intricately. it makes the fresh fascinating but needs readers to read the novels caregully. Chapter II demonstrates Campus Trilogy from Narrative Perspective. The writer organizes the different focal point manners to run into the author’s need by agencies of different characteristics of the focal point manners. This refelcts Lodge’s academic point of views from one side: oppose the Jacobinic sentiment of The Death of Author. Lodge uses the altering focal point to do you cognize what he wants you to cognize and and hide what he doesen’t want you to cognize. It gives the readers to conceive of and think. Meanwhile the narrative voices in Lodge’s novels are. fro one clip. individual. for other clip. multi-voices with those of the existent writer. implied writer. storyteller. and characters. He manages the diffi cult and soft voices as per the demands of his plants. Chapter III trades with the Meta-fiction narrative techinque utilizing in Campus Trilogy. The writer masters the accomplishment of Parody and Collage to interrupt the true consequence of the narrative. It exposes the fiction of the novels by itself and subverts the readers’expectation. Otherwise it makes the reader maintain the critical attitude to believe the relationship between the world and novelistic. Chapter IV explores the narrative technique of Irony in Campus Trilogy. Lodge hides his point of view by puting the dry characters. sarcasm of state of affairs and dry allusions. Readers are in aesthetic. emotional and ethical multiple state of affairss and dry allusions. The kernel of the manner to success of the bookmans is making the primitve and coarse natural degree of being. They achieve slef-destruction successfully. They lost the humanity spirit non merely owing to the infinite enlargement of the economic system. but besides the divergence and treachery of the humani stic disciplines bookmans. In a word. though Lodge’s novels contain the deep implied significances. they have the strong readability. On the one manus. David Lodge indulges himself to the assorted experimental accomplishments of Meta-fiction. so some of the critics classify him to be a post-modernism novelist. On the other manus. as a traditional author. he has a pots of historical and societal mission. He doesn’t give up the basic traditional realist. The scholar life in Campus Trilogy is based on his ain personal experience or the familliar personal businesss around. It makes the readers know the life of the schilars in the Ivory Tower. In the average clip. his novels reveal the degeneracy of the humanity in the modern society. Consequently his Campus Trilogy hovers among pragmatism. modernism. and post-modernism but non simple post-modernism narratology.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Mobile phone: a blessing or a curse
Men check your pocket, Ladies check your purse, something is ringing and vibrating. Yes, the mobile phone, it is a portable gadget, which is made by the people and for the people. A tiny thing which was a status symbol but today, it is the necessity of everyone. Our unique ten-digit numbers allows us to receive or dial calls. It is the identity of the person nowadays and without this people stare at you as if you are not from the 21st centaury. Because for being social you do not have to meet your friend or relatives every weekend, you can call, SMS, email, write on the Facebook wall or merely tweet them. All this is possible with this protean mobile. People are really blessed as this mobile technology has changed our life completely because we have the whole universe in our pocket. A friend in need is a friend indeed, but without a mobile phone you cannot contact your friend and he will not be able to help in emergency. Mobile phone is a true friend and also a live saver, for example, your car broke down in a lonely road where there is no one to help, you can call for help with the help of a mobile phone. On the other hand you can also send SMS or email to contact someone. With the help of the thumb exercise you can send text in the wink of an eye. The other two giant social networking websites, Facebook and Twitter, are also accessible with the phone. So being in contact with friends and relatives is really easy. Other than this there are some basic handy features like Alarm, Stopwatch, Calculator, World Clock, Calendar and Tasks. Don’t you need this features everyday? But if you do not have a mobile phone you will need an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a world clock, a calendar and notebook to write the tasks. Mobile phone is an artist and can do everything you need in your daily life. Along with this if you like to be a spy these features will be very much in need like the camera, video camera and voice recording are some ingredients which will spice up your life. Not only this, a mobile also has a huge capacity to store data. So you can feed the memory with music, videos, photos, games and many more things that you like. So when you are in the airport waiting for hours, surely this will be an entertaining friend and you will never be bored. You can also watch live television so that you never miss your show or match on the go. Nevertheless you can access the whole Internet. That means you can do your work without sitting on the computer because almost everything can be done on the mobile phone. It is like a hand-computer and will never disappoint you because it works for days. To add to the total we have the GPS (Global Positioning System), NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, inbuilt compass and last but not the least the mobile application store like the android market place and the iOS app store where you will find millions of reasonable application which suits your need and style. On top of it, mobile phone makers are making slimmer mobiles with good battery backup also with a faster and better processing gadget so that it makes are life much more faster and simpler. In some countries like Australia, if you have done online booking for your flight you just have to scan a unique code, which is in the form of a barcode. While boarding the barcode displayed on the phone is scanned. This eliminates the need of a paper-boarding pass. In the future with the help of Near Field Communication we can do transactions and pay money with our mobile phone. This way we can see that the mobile phone is the greatest invention of modern time
Monday, July 29, 2019
Childhood and Adolescent Depression and the Risks of Suicide Essay
Introduction Problem and its Background            One of the most common reasons for referral of children and adolescents to mental health professionals is suspected depression. There are continues debate as to whether childhood and adolescent depression are a reflection of normal variation in mood. It is reasonable for the primary care physician to view childhood depression as a constellation of factors that forms a syndrome. This constellation consists of a persistent mood disorder and dysfunctional behavior that intrudes and distorts the child’s day-to-day activities (Gottlieb & Williams, 1991 p.1). A firm denial gave way into a general and strong conviction about significance of depressive syndromes in childhood and adolescents, and of the implications throughout the life course. The realization of the problem occurrence made it possible for the therapeutic interventions and prevention programs to be developed and set up for depressive children, and to have these programs sponsored and evaluated on a scientific perspective. Various factors have facilitated the progression of this study concerning the recognition of childhood depression. Society is approached with enormous cost of untreated childhood depression later on in life (Corveleyn etal, 2005 p.165).            The concept of a depressive syndrome that is distinct from the broad class of childhood onset emotional disorders has been linked to incidence of suicidal rates worldwide. The condition of such incidence is becoming evidently alarming as the number of suicidal rate continue.            The treatment of such depressive states range from pharmacologic drugs up to psychological modifications and therapies, such as behavioral, peer and group focused groups, etc. With the serious nature of childhood / adolescent depression, it is crucial that treatments with known efficacy and more than transitory effects be provided promptly and skillfully (Maj & Sartorius, 2002 p.292). Scope and Limitations            The treatment procedures and the condition of health care management for the case of childhood and adolescent depression are the primary subjects of the study. The concept on treatment procedure involves the pharmacologic, medical and psychological interventions that are absolutely necessary in the health care management of such condition. The study shall cover the discussion of depressive condition of the childhood and adolescent age group. Diagnostic procedures and issues shall be tackled in this research in order to portray possible conflicts and difficulties that occur in diagnosing the condition. The neurobiology of the depressive state shall be elaborated utilizing psychophysiology of the disorder, and linked to probable external physiological occurrences. Lastly, since the study focuses on therapy and medication as treatment modalities, the following methods and means of treatment shall be involved in the study. The following shall be the objectives of the over-all study. To be able to define, discuss and elaborate the conditions involved in the occurrence of depression in adolescent and childhood stages To be able to provide and tackle the treatment procedure as the center scope of study, accompanied by the issues, physiology and specific drugs involved in depression health care management. Discussion            Cases of despondency and depression in children and adolescents were reported as early as the seventeenth century. Prior to the 1970s, however, little attention was paid to depression in youth (Hersen & Hasselt, 2001 p.243). The study on depression had been more inclined to adulthood depression and not on childhood and adolescence.            Depression among children and adolescents is relatively common, enduring, and recurrent disorder that has an adverse impact on a youngster’s psychosocial development and in some cases is associated with self-destructive and life-threatening behaviors. Depressive disorders during childhood and adolescence may be more virulent and of longer duration than depressive disorders in adults. Depressive disorders during childhood are a risk factor for the development of additional psychological disturbances and for the development of depressive disorders later in life. The number of youths who are experiencing depressive disorders is increasing at the same time that the age of onset is decreasing (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.336).            Depression can be conceptualized both as a dimension and as a category. Epidemiological studies suggest that juvenile depression is a continuum that is associated with problems at most levels of severity. According to Oregon Adolescent Depression Project, the level of psychosocial impairment increased as a direct function of the number of depressive symptoms. Moreover, in line with studies of adults, much of the morbidity associated with depression occurred in the â€Å"milder†but more numerous cases of minor depression. Such results suggest that even mild forms of adolescent depression are a risk factor for depression in early adulthood (Rutter & Taylor, 2002 p.463).            In recent years, increased attention has been given to evidence-based psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for depressed youth. The need to highlight what we know about treatment is underscored by the fact that most depressed youth do not receive treatment. However, as knowledge about treatments for youth depression has increased, the rate of treatment appears to have developed. Although depression among youth is treated more often, it is not clear that standard practice is effective at alleviating depressive symptoms or preventing recurrence. Moreover, there is a bias toward the utilization of pharmacologic drugs and extremely brief psychosocial interventions (Gotlib & Hammen, 2002 p.441). Diagnostic Issues involved in Depression            The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision groups mood disorders into two categories: depressive disorders and bipolar disorders. Both types of disorders are characterized by depressive episodes. For a diagnosis of depressive disorder, the child must be experiencing a mood disturbance for a period of at least 2 weeks, and the symptoms must be present more often than not. At least four of the following symptoms must be present during the same period (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.337): Significant, unintentional weight gain or loss Insomnia or hypersomnia Psychomotor retardation or agitation fatigue or loss or energy feelings of worthlessness or extreme guilt Diminished concentration pr ability to make decisions Recurring thoughts of death, suicidality, or suicide attempts In depressed preadolescents and adolescents, a lack of perceived personal competence was associated with depression; however, in adolescents, the more abstract concept of contingencies is also related to depression (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.338). Confusion sometimes arises in the childhood depression field, as it does with adult depression, because of different usages of the term â€Å"depression†and associated differences in methods of assessment. Moreover, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the primary reference of psychiatric diagnosis, frequently changes. One example is in studies of childhood and adolescent depression, the term is variously used to identify depressed mood, a constellation of mood and other symptoms forming a syndrome, or a set of symptoms meeting official diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder. The usage of such term connotes various meaning, such as depression as a symptoms (lonely, fear impulses, guilt, etc.) and depression as a syndrome (comprises clusters of various signs and symptoms) (Mash & Barkley, 2003 p.336). Neurobiology of Childhood & Adolescent Depression            Biologic studies in children are difficult to implement since they often require several blood draws, subjects remaining still more long periods of time, and the overall cooperation of the children and adolescents. Three types of investigation have provided information on possible developmental differences in the neurobiology of depression. The first is the study of Cortisol secretion, measured by investigations such as the dexamethasone suppression test (Rapoport, 2000 p.230).            Studies of neurotransmitters in depressed adults have focused on norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. Serotonin regulation studied in adults with depression reported that in response to L-5hyroxytrytophan in 37 pre-pubertal depressed children secreted less Cortisol and more prolactin than age-matched and gender-matched normal controls, suggesting a deregulation of central serotonergic systems in childhood depression.            Abnormalities of the hypothalamic pituitary-thyroid axis and the hypothalamic pituitary-growth hormone axis have been reported in depression in adults. However, Cortisol hypersecretion, as measured by repeated samples over a 24-hour period or by nocturnal sampling, has not been identified in depressed children and adolescents although adolescent showed a Cortisol elevation at the approximate time of sleep onset (Coffey, 2006 p.266).            The second type of developmentally informative investigation is the study of sleep. Polysomnographic studies of depressed children and adolescent have tended to demonstrate abnormalities of sleep, including shortened rapid eye movement (REM) latency and reduced slow wave sleep. These generally positive results of polysomnographic studies with children have shown few differences (Rapoport, 2000 p.231).            The third type of developmentally informative investigation is the study of growth hormone. A variety of pharmacological challenge agents that stimulate release of growth hormone have been studied in depressed adolescents and children. Interestingly, the results with adolescents have been negative in terms of slow blunted growth hormone response to provocative stimuli. However, some studies have reported high levels of growth hormone in adolescents with major depression. Moreover, pubertal children both during depressive episode and after recovery have demonstrated blunted growth hormone response to provocative stimuli (Rapoport, 2000 p.231). Psychopharmacology: Antidepressants (SSRIs)            Special considerations arise in treating children and adolescents with antidepressants. Empirical data on antidepressants in young patients are quite limited. Psychiatrists, faced with depriving children of potentially effective medication or prescribing medication or prescribing medications â€Å"Off Label,†need information on which to base treatment decisions, and efforts are underway to promote research in this area. Clinically significant differences in pharmacokinetics and possibly pharmacodynamics between adults and younger patients can also complicate treatment. Moreover, younger patients may also be more sensitive to adverse effects of medications (Preskorn, 2004 p.356).            The antidepressant drugs are a heterogeneous group of compounds that, in adults, have bee found to be effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder. This particular pharmacologic intervention is also utilized in adolescent and children with major depression; although, there have been no studies that validate the appropriateness of such medications. The following are considered as the major treatment of adolescent depression, specifically Tricyclic Antidepressants and (SSRI) Selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Rossenberg & Ryan, 1998 p.28).            Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) have long been the first-line antidepressants used by most clinicians for adults because of their established efficacy, safety, and ease of administration, but they have been less successful in the treatment of child and adolescent conditions. The mechanism by which TCAs are effective in the treatment of adult depression and other disorders has not been clearly established. There is, however, evidence that these agents affect monoamine neurotransmitter systems in the central; nervous system, such as serotonin and norepinephrine (Rossenberg & Ryan, 1998 p.28-29). The TCAs inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin, potentiating their action. It has been suggested that antidepressants work by increasing noradrenergic and/or serotonergic transmission, compensating for a presumed deficiency. Controlled studies failed to demonstrate that TCAs are superior to placebo in the treatment of childhood and adolescent depression (Rossenberg & Ryan, 1998 p.28-29).            Since serotonin is also implicated in the etiology and maintenance of affective disorders, particularly depression; hence, the use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) is possible. SSRIs prevent the re-uptake of serotonin, which poses significant therapeutic value although has been shown to be less effective in therapeutic trials in children (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.384). The SSRIs are now first-line agents for treating child and adolescent depression. The newer antidepressants, such as bupropion and mirtazapine, do not have an adequate empirical base with children; however, they are sometimes used as second-line treatments for those youths who do not respond to SSRIs. Thus far, none of the SSRIs has produced irreversible damage in children and adolescents. However, as the SSRIs gained wide use with depressed adolescents, concerns emerged about the safety of this class of medications. Reports suggested that they were responsible for increased suicidal ideation and behavior among youths (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.384). In 2003, the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) concluded that most of the SSRIs do not show benefits exceeding their risks of suicidal ideation, and thus should not be prescribed in the child and adolescent population (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.384).            If the adolescent fails to respond to any SSRI, then switching to a different class of antidepressant is recommended. At present, no data support the use of one agent over another. Therefore, whether the clinician chooses a TCA, nefazodone, or venlafaxine should be based on clinical experience. Other factors to consider for a given adolescent are medication side effects, medical conditions, previous medication trials, comorbid psychiatric conditions, and familial history of a positive response to particular antidepressants (Esman, 1999 p.222). Other classes of antidepressants are fluoxetine, setraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, venlafaxine, bupropion, trazodone, and nefazadone. As major depression has a high recurrence rate, it is recommended that pharmacologic treatment continue for a minimum of six months achieving resolution of symptoms. Medication discontinuation should be accomplished gradually, with a slow, stepwise reduction in dosage over a two- or three-month period. The health care providers should carefully monitor the adolescent for withdrawal syndromes and reemergence of depressive symptoms (Esman, 1999 p.222). Relationship to Suicide Rates            Suicidal thoughts and attempts are among the diagnostic criteria for major depression. Suicidal ideation is quite common, and has been reported in more than 60% of depressed preschoolers, preadolescents, and adolescents. Actual suicidal attempts also may occur, at rates that appear to be higher among depressed adolescents than among depressed adults (Mash & Barkley, 2003 p.336).            Studies have shown consistently high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders in depressed children and adolescents. The comorbidity rate in children and adolescents with depression has been reported to be 80% to 95%. The most common comorbid disorders in adolescents with depression are anxiety disorders, with rates ranging from 40% to 50%. Moreover, substance abuse frequently co-occurs with depression. Adolescents with major depression are at risk for impairment in school performance and interpersonal relationships, which may interfere with achievement of appropriate developmental tasks. Suicidal behavior is a common sequela. A 10-yar follow-up of depressed child and adolescent outpatients found that 4.4% committed suicide. Mood disorder, prior to suicide attempt, and substance abuse are major risk factors for adolescent suicide (Esman, 1999 p.216).            Depressed and suicidal children and adolescents are often not identified. Identification of children and adolescents who express suicidal ideation or suicidal acts is crucial since such symptoms are recurrent and strong predictors of youth suicide. Other risk factors for youth suicide behavior have been described including family, other environmental and biological factors. Notably, family history of suicidal behavior increases risk for youth suicide (Rapoport, 2000 p.231). Reference Coffey, E. C. (2006). Pediatric Neuropsychiatry. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Corveleyn etal, J. (2005). The Theory and Treatment of Depression: Towards a Dynamic Interactionism Model. Routledge. Esman, A. H. (1999). Adolescent Psychiatry: Developmental and Clinical Studies. Routledge. Gotlib, I., & Hammen, C. L. (2002). Handbook of Depression. Guilford Press. Gottlieb, M. I., & Williams, J. (1991). Developmental-behavioral Disorders: Selected Topics. Springer. Hersen, M., & Hasselt, V. B. (2001). Advanced Abnormal Psychology. Springer. Maj, M., & Sartorius, N. (2002). Depressive Disorders. John Wiley and Sons. Mash, E. J., & Barkley, R. A. (2006). Child Psychopathology. Guilford Press. Mash, E. J., & Barkley, R. A. (2006). Treatment of Childhood Disorders. Guilford Press. Preskorn, S. (2004). Antidepressants: Past, Present, and Future. Springer. Rapoport, J. L. (2000). Childhood Onset of â€Å"Adult†Psychopathology: Clinical and Research Advances. American Psychiatric Pub., Inc. Rossenber, D., & Ryan, N. (1998). Pocket Guide for the Textbook of Pharmacotherapy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders. Psychology Press. Rutter, M., & Taylor, E. A. (2002). Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Blackwell Publishing.
What is Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
What is Death - Essay Example The very same also stands to be true for the phenomena of death. It is the very nature of human mind and propensities to theorize and analyze the unknown aspects of existence, by bringing in the beliefs, values and aspirations affiliated to the known into one’s conceptualization of the unknown issues or riddles like death. It is a fact that, barring a few exceptions and rare occasions, nobody wants to die, or in other words nobody wants the life to cease or end. Hence, most of the philosophical and scientific beliefs and theories of death are in a way the manifestation of the human yearning to respect life and the human desire for a continuation of life in an albeit different format, when the human body proceeds to disintegrate in response to natural or accidental factors that go contrary to the sustenance of life. To put it in simple words, in a general context, the human attempts to understand and grasp the truth and nature of death have largely been manifestations of the hu man need to live and the human fear of death, which in no way factually and scientifically explain the unexplainable and unknown reality of death. For instance, take the most ancient of the philosophies pertaining to death, the Hindu belief system, which holds that organic existence happens to be an unceasing cycle of â€Å"birth, death, rebirth, and, then again death (Kastenbaum 38)†. ... For example, the Dayak of Borneo hold that the human soul returns back to earth after death and gets reborn by invading the body of a woman (Kastenbaum 38). Philosophers like Samuel Alexander and Llyod Morgan have even tried to package the human need to go on living into a somewhat scientifically valid theory, at least seemingly, by basing it on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (Kastenbaum 49). Besides the urge to go on living, the other fact that attends the reality of death is the fear of death. At a very basic level, people fear death owing to many reasons, like fearing the eventual separation from one’s loved ones, the pain of an ending of one’s social existence, or the anxiety regarding passing into a form after death, which may be somewhat subhuman or completely elemental (Kastenbaum 61, 55, 49). Varied beliefs and tendencies accompanying the nature of death could to a large extent be explained and interpreted in the light of the quintessential human fear of de ath. Take the shapes and figures that have been considered to represent or resemble death since times immemorial like the sirens of the Greeks or the skeletons in many ancient cultures like Pompeii (Kastenbaum 52). Objectifying death into objects and entities that happened to be intimidating is nothing but a manifestation of the human fear of death. The other concept that extends insight into the human fear of death is the personification of death, which certainly is a bit more sophisticated development. Individuals and cultures personified death into the mould of anxieties and levels of pessimism or optimism that accompanied and attended their understanding or say a lack of understanding of death (Kastenbaum 54). One thing that largely contributes to the pervasive fear of
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Public Transportation in the UK Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words
Public Transportation in the UK - Article Example The fact that the value chain reflects upon the overall process of the business in a given industry as argued by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes (2003) justifies the arguments in the previous sections that the information management system focusing on the ticketing and dynamic pricing will help accomplish efficient primary activity processing in the target market. From the arguments presented in this essay, it is clear that the efficiency in the railway industry is a critical element that is being affected by various macroeconomic factors. The PEST analysis also revealed that the railway industry possesses certain strengths like mass transportation, the geographical area covered, etc that can be used for the benefit of the business process itself. The SWOT analysis revealed that the efficiency in the target market can be increased through the efficient use of live finance information dynamically in order to fix the price for a certain journey between two given stations as argued by D ominic Fenn (2005). The review on the financial information system and the value chain also confirmed that the deployment of the system would not alter the system drastically but actually increase the operational efficiency of the system thus increasing the effectiveness of the system. Thus to conclude this report it is clear that the implementation of the Financial information system will help accomplish operational efficiency and increase the performance of the railway network as a whole.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Risk Management in Logistics Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words
Risk Management in Logistics - Research Proposal Example Kathleen DesMarteau (2005) recognizes the following key points as being a component of the risks and logistics management, which function as internal and external risks: This project is to examine risk management in logistics technology as it relates to the business process of the automotive industry with the goal to produce a model for risk management. The project is descriptive in nature. It seeks to quantify the types of risks manufacturing management has experiences and models used to develop resolutions. This will be accomplished using experimental simulation models. The topic of this research proposal is to explore risk management strategies and options for logistics support technology within the automotive industry. Risk management strategy is an important concept that allows a business operating within an industry to explore its research, development, and product release stages to reduce loss in operational and financial capacities. Logistics support technology is important for the automotive industry to maintain supply and meet demand. The automotive industry was chosen for this research proposal because it has multiple journals, magazines, corporate financial and stock information as well as strategy easily available to the public. Therefore, this research proposal has three main aims. ... What are the impacts of risk management on the logistics supply technologies within the automotive industry Topic Aims and Objectives The topic of this research proposal is to explore risk management strategies and options for logistics support technology within the automotive industry. Risk management strategy is an important concept that allows a business operating within an industry to explore its research, development, and product release stages to reduce loss in operational and financial capacities. Logistics support technology is important for the automotive industry to maintain supply and meet demand. The automotive industry was chosen for this research proposal because it has multiple journals, magazines, corporate financial and stock information as well as strategy easily available to the public. Therefore, this research proposal has three main aims. The literature review will explore risk management, logistics support technology and the implications of these within the automotive industry. This will allow for a comprehensive look at the overall risk and product strategies employed by the automotive industry in general. The research methodology will have the objective of narrowing risk management strategy based on major manufacturing facilities. This will include international, national, and corporate stakeholder risk management. The second objective of the research is to describe logistics support technology including financial and technological information (as cost and return on investment) based on the major manufacturer's publicized information available from journals and corporate websites. The final objective of the research is to create a standardized model of risk management in logistics support technology using this information.
Friday, July 26, 2019
Diversity Boing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Diversity Boing - Essay Example Moreover, systemic changes to the way in which the Boeing culture existed and the way in which it currently exists were also required. As a means of tracking these changes and making key observations concerning them, the following analysis will engage the reader with a level of understanding concerning the way in which diversity was motivated and the ways in which it was implemented within Boeing. Further, a brief summary and reflective statement will be provided at the end of this assignment as a means of classifying and categorizing the utility that working as a part of the group dynamic was able to have with regards to better understanding the case study and the many factors associated with it. As Boeing’s upper management and senior stakeholders began to realize that their firm’s hope of long-term success hinged upon the ability to integrate with the outside world, a brief internal audit revealed the fact that diversity within the firm’s design and production elements was ultimately extraordinarily low (Mecham, 2002). As such, in order to appeal to a more broad demographic and come more in line with the globalized nature of an increasingly diverse society and world, Boeing saw the immediate need to seek to diversify its staff. Whereas many firms realize this particular need and slowly make moves to see this happen over time, Boeing initiated an aggressive diversity strategy that hinged upon seeking out the most qualified applicants while keeping in mind the unique levels of diversity that the firm required. This two-pronged approach was effective in the fact that it did not place either ability or diversity as the prime goal for the firm. In such a way, the expertise and focus of the firm was able to be maintained while a subtle yet decisive change to company culture was initiated. Moreover, even a cursory level of analysis with regards to the way in which diversity takes place indicates the fact that sudden rapid changes with regards t o diversity and/or diversity implementation within a culture can oftentimes be negatively received by the stakeholders. Realizing this, Boeing set out to engage a slower and more gradual approach that would seek to replace outgoing talent with a more diverse workforce; while at the same time reinforcing the mores and norms of diversity appreciation within the culture of the firm. This nuanced approach proved to be highly effective as the company was not only able to continue to operate in a profitable manner domestically; it was also able to continue the march towards global success by providing its international clients with the products and services they required. This is a testament to the success of Boeing’s diversity is the fact that the firm championed this goal alongside the vision and mission statements that had already proven to be so effective in helping to garner profitability to the Boeing firm (Holmes, 2003). Without inherently changing the scope of activities an d/or the expertise that it had already accrued over the years of successful business implementation, Boeing was able to chart a somewhat distinct approach to the future. Looking all the way into the present era, it can be noted that Boeing exhibits a very high degree of diversity within an aerospace company that
Thursday, July 25, 2019
PERSONAL EMERGENCY AND DISASTER PLAN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
PERSONAL EMERGENCY AND DISASTER PLAN - Essay Example dence of tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and other forms of natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more deadly each year that it now poses as a potent threat both to the personnels and students of Indiana University Bloomington because it does not only disrupt the regularity of activity in the campus but can also be destructive to life and property. Earthquakes should also not be discounted even if Indiana University Bloomington is not on a fault line. The most comon threat posed by nature to the students and personnels of Indiana University Bllomington are hurricane, tornadoes and blizzards because of their increased frequency and intensity in the Midwest which IUB is located each year that is caused by the climate change. There are also disasters which are not caused by nature and neither intentional. This are disasters caused by accidents which can also be lethal if the campus personnel and students are unprepared. Given the structure of the campus of IUB, it can be vulnerable to gas leaks and fires. There are also disasters which are becoming common these days which are neither caused by nature nor accidental but is rather intended to inflict harm to other people. These intentional threats can either be carried out by terrorists or by armed individual/s and/or active shooters. The incidence of active shooters in public places has been becoming more frequent that IUB has to prepare for such threat. For IUB community to become prepared for any disastrous eventuality, a vulnerability analysis has to be made to determine where the IUB community is vulnerable to emergencies. This analysis could be used as an input in developing a a mitigation strategies that will alleviate the effect of such disasters. Inclement weather – storms, hurricane and tornado are highly probable given their increased frequency and intensity every year. They do not only disrupt regularity in the school activity but could damage both life and properties. Fires - IUB
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Article critiquing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Article critiquing - Essay Example Hence, the variables considered by Vries & et. al. (2014) can be critiqued as identifiably measurable holding considerable significance in the nursing approaches to the domain. To be noted in this regard, with proper recognition of the relationship amid the two measurable variables, practitioners would be able to enhance effectiveness of the cure facilities by upholding positive beliefs amid type 2 diabetic patients concerning medication, which in turn would be useful in reducing treatment complexities. This in turn suffices a key requirement of quantitative researches, as was highlighted in Parahoo (2006: pp. 50) that â€Å"quantitative research is primarily concerned with measurement†. Another criterion highlighted in the Holland and Rees model is the broadness and significance of the research issue concerned, based on the perceptions of the researcher. Vries & et. al. (2014) argue that because of treatment complexities, fallacies and risks of ineffectiveness increase in the cure mechanism for type 2 diabetic patients, stressing upon the worthwhile characteristics of the study. As negative medication beliefs amid patients provoke them towards non-adherence to the routine care mechanism, the problem does signify a major issue in the domain. The issue has been a point of discussion in previous studies as well, which indicates its widespread nature and considerable significance as well. However, Vries & et. al. (2014) can be criticised for providing insignificant attention towards an elaborated literature review that hinders its reliability to a certain extent. Contradictorily, the significance of the article increases as the researchers have provided considerable at tention towards defining the variables with clarity and detail. The aim considered for the study in Vries & et. al. (2014) concentrated on the identification of relationship between medical beliefs among type 2 diabetic patients and treatment complexities because of their non-adherence
Contingency Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Contingency Theory - Research Paper Example Science is a process of inquiry and is an organized body of knowledge, and so contingency theory is a science because it involves the two. Accordingly, contingency theory can as well be categorized technology, and technology refers to activities developed by individuals to satisfy their needs. Contingency theory is a body of knowledge and knowledge acquired can be applied in various organizations to change to a more efficient processes. Literally, humans develop organizations and so the application of contingency theory helps to satisfy their needs (Betts, 2011). This article clearly explains how the operation and performance of an organization and the environment in which it operates relates. More so, it provides a clear elaboration of contingency theory as a science and technology. However, some of the weaknesses that have been identified in this article is that the causation that is assumed has not been explained in a more convincing manner. According to contingency theorists, the re is an association between the environmental conditions and organizational design and this was assumed the best fit. However, this assumption has not been well elaborated and it does not put into consideration other factors that related to organization’s performance (Betts, 2011). ... nce of that particular organization, for instance, organization’s performance is associated with the internal operational effectiveness and support from external forces. More so, the strategy of Information Technology (IT) in an organization is supposed to be aligned with its business strategy since the performance of a business is promoted by effective alignment between the organization’s competitive strategy and technologies that it uses (Croteau and Raymond, 2004). Arguably, the study of competencies alignment and organization’s performance is conducted based on the contingency theory. This article thoughtfully describes IT competencies alignment and organizational performance. It proposes that contingency theory covers other issues such as the organization’s competencies and strategic orientation and explains how they affect the performance of business (Croteau and Raymond, 2004). On the other hand, this article does not provide useful and convincing e xplanation of the underlying assumptions, for instance, one of the major assumption of contingency theory is that the better the fit among various contingency variables the better performance of the organization. Furthermore, this theory claims that there is a fit between strategic variables and use of IT and this positively affects the performance of information system (Croteau and Raymond, 2004). Tackling Design Anew: Getting Back to the Heart of Organizational Theory This article mainly focuses on the importance of organization design, and according to contingency theory, every relevant axis of an organization needs to be present in the organization design (Greenwood and Miller, 2010). Moreover, contingency theory suggests that the size of an organization and its geographical cover leads to the
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Implementation and communication of a strategic plan Essay
Implementation and communication of a strategic plan - Essay Example ication could improve the effectiveness in the organization through enabling various stakeholders to be apprised of any significant changes in the strategic plan; especially those who would be most affected by the changes. When any transformations in strategies are made and not communicated, those who are expected to carry out the changes would not be able to effectively implement these. As such, the intended goals, which these plans are supposed to achieve, would not be effectively attained. Employees are considered one of the crucial stakeholders of the company. They ensure that the goals of the organization are achieved. Strategies are designed to provide the direction towards accomplishing these goals. As such, it is important for employees to know the strategic plan of a company to enable them to follow the guidelines and directions that would facilitate the achievement of goals (Green, 2011). Otherwise, much resources (time, money and effort) would be wasted if the strategic plan is not appropriately communicated to those who are expected to fulfill the goals of the organization. Green, H. (2011, March 16). Why Engaging Your Employees Is The Answer To Strategic Planning. Retrieved from Forbes:
Monday, July 22, 2019
The Meaning of Suffering Essay Example for Free
The Meaning of Suffering Essay We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into triumph, to turn ones predicament into a human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situationjust think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancerwe are challenged to change ourselves. Let me cite a clear cut example: Once, an elderly general practitioner consulted me because of severe depression. He could not overcome the loss of his wife who had died two years before and whom he had loved above all else. Now, how could I help him? What should I tell him? Well, I refrained from telling him anything but instead confronted him with the question, â€Å"What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive you? â€Å"Oh,†he said, â€Å"for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered! †Whereupon I replied, â€Å"You see, Doctor, such a suffering has been spared her, and it was you who have spared her this suffering – to be sure, at the price that now you have to mourn her. †He said no word but shook my hand and calmly left my office. In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice. Of course this was no therapy in the proper sense since, first, his despair was no disease; and second, I could not change his fate; I could not revive his wife. But in that moment I did succeed in changing his attitude toward his unalterable fate inasmuch as from that time on he could at least see a meaning in his suffering. It is one of the basic tenets of logotherepy that man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has a meaning†¦ There are situations in which one is cut off from the opportunity to do ones work or enjoy ones life; but what can never be ruled out is the unavoidability of suffering. In accepting this challenge to suffer bravely, life has a meaning up to the last moment, and it retains this meaning literally to the end. In other words, lifes meaning is an unconditional one, for it even includes the potential meaning of unavoidable suffering Victor Frankl in Mans Search for Meaning (pg 112-115)
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Luxury Goods: Definition and literature
Luxury Goods: Definition and literature Chapter 2: Literature Reviews 2.0 Definition of Luxury Goods The word ‘luxury can be defined as state of life in which has uses things that please the senses or pleasing to have but not essential. â€Å"A good attains the label as a â€Å"luxury†when it has a particular design, quality, performance or durability that is remarkably superior to the comparable substitutes†(Snapshot of U.S Luxury Good Market, 2007). Dubois, Laurent and Czellar (2001) and Survanasuddhi (2007) stated a definition of the nature and characteristics of the concept of luxury. The six facets are excellent quality, very high price, scarcity and uniqueness, aesthetics and polysensuality, ancestral heritage and personal history and superfluousness. Luxury goods are rising in popularity especially as consumers buying behavior is becoming more symbolized. Consumers feel that by owning luxury products can express their personality and set them apart. Thus, â€Å"luxury goods have been defined as goods for which the mere use or display of a particular branded product brings prestige on the owner, apart from any functional utility†(Nia and Zaikowsky,2000) The term ‘prestige was defined as it consists of consumers motivations for chasing technical superiority, uniqueness, signaling wealth and status well as aesthetics appeal (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). ‘Prestige and ‘luxury are used synonymously in the VIgneron and Johnsons research. Vigneron and Johnson (1999) categorized three types of prestige brand as upmarket brands, premium brands and luxury brands, respectively in an increasing order of prestige. Hence, it was expected that people would have different perceptions of the level of prestige for the same brands, and that the overall prestige level of a brand would consider the prestige perceptions from different people. Source: Vigneron and Johnson (1999) â€Å"Luxury brands can be described as premium priced brands that consumers purchase for their psychological values (symbolic and hedonic), and not predominately for their economical and functional value†(Nueno and Quelch 1998; Stegeman, 2006). However, the definition of luxury goods or brands cannot be fully recognized. The definition of luxury will be different and may not be the same for another researcher. Chadha Husband (2006) definition limits itself in that it only pertains to luxury fashion goods instead there are other luxury goods that are also both universally available and accepted as luxury. The definition of luxury brands have been defined as fashionable and high quality consumers goods made by reputed luxury brands which contained wearable fashion goods such as handbag, wallet, shoes and belt (Chadha and Husband, 2006; Heinemann, 2008). Fashion can be reflection of the social, economic, political and artistic forces of the time. Accoding to Gao, Norton, Zhang, To (2009), â€Å"luxury fashion goods are apparel, accessories, handbags, shoes, watches, jewellery, and perfume for which use or display of particular branded products brings prestige to owners, apart from any functional utility†. Snapshot of U.S Luxury Good Market (2007) stated fashion group represent the major product sector in the luxury goods market. It is important to know that the survey showed that â€Å"one sixth (16%) of the worlds consumers claim to buy designer brands†(ACNielsen, 2008). For this research, the term luxury goods can be defined as the brands that are defined as luxurious in the annual â€Å"Consumer and Designer Brand Report 2008†by the global Nielson firm which the survey is the largest and it identified the following goods as the luxury fashion goods. Calvin Klien Giorgio Armani Celine Ralph Lauren Louis Vuitton Ferragamo Diesel Burberry Chloe Chanel Versace Marc Jacobs Christian Dior Prada Gucci Givenchy DKNY Emporio Armani Valentino Hermes Fendi Yves Saint Lauren Max Mara The fashion goods that show above are not the only goods that are stated as luxury in this research. Consumers allow to evaluate and include other brands which they think is luxury fashion goods for them. Furthermore, there are many opinions and views of luxury from different leaders viewpoint stated in KPMG research (Managing Luxury Brand Growth, 2006). Luxury is explained in the table below as following: Leaders Name and Company Definition 1. Guy Salter * Private Investor, Deputy Chairman of Walpole, the British Luxury goods organization Because luxury matters in a way that didnt matter before. Increasingly, luxury is big business: the luxury segment is growing and according to most projections it will continue to grow for the next ten to fifteen years. 2. Belinda Earl, * Jaeger Groups chief executive * Jaeger is a luxury British brand renowned for designing stylish, innovative and superb quality womenswear, menswear and accessories. None of us are in the business selling necessities; luxury is the business of creating and satisfying desires. 3. Richard Purdey of gun makers James Purdey and Sons * Famous British gun maker of London, and the name is synonymous with the very finest sporting shotguns and rifles. Purdeys hold or have held numerous warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families. A real luxury brands has got to have total integrity. It has to be the buyer that says ‘this is luxury. 4. Theo Fennell * Theo Fennell is the jewellery maker by using his name for his company ‘Theo Fennel in London Luxury is something that everyone wants and nobody needs. 5. Joseph Wan of Harvey Nichols * CEO of retailer Harvey Nichols * Harvey Nichols is an international luxury lifestyle store, renowned both in the UK and internationally for the breadth and depth of its exclusive fashion merchandise. It offers many of the worlds most prestigious brands in womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, food and home. Luxury is about history. A luxury brand is a lifestyle concept and to be sustainable it has to have history, including a history of quality merchandise and of real luxury customers.. 6. Raphael le Masne de Chermont, of Shanghai Tang * Executive Chair of Shanghai Tang * Shanghai Tang is the first luxury brand emerging design from Chiana It is not in the price, it is in the pleasure you give to the customer. It is to do with creativity, a harmonious aesthetic with attention to details. 7.Christian Hafner * Head of Branding at Swarovski Luxury is about history, authenticity, depth and being a partner. Buying a luxury product is like a love affair. 2.1 Generation Y Generation Y are also referred as the Millennial Generation or Generation Next or Net Generation describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. Its members are often referred to as Millennials or Echo Boomers. According to Shareef Mahdavi (2008), Generation Y is the term used to describe children of the Baby Boomer generation, typically born between 1977 and 1995. McCrindle (2008) described the generation Y born in between 1980 and 1994. They are also referred to as ‘Millenials and ‘Echo Boomers in the western society, especially American Society. Generation Y are individuals who born between 1977 to 1994 that have a free spending spirit and consist of 71 million 8 to 25 year olds (Horovitz, 2002; Sriviroj 2007). The wealthiest groups of people are between the ages of 19 to 25 year olds who are either employed in full time jobs or part time work even though there are group amount of generation Y consumers. The greatest purchasing power in the Generation Y college student takes place within the part-time student, who spends over $400 monthly on discretionary purchases while often maintaining full-time employment (Gardyn, 2002). Those who are either part time or at full time work are college students (Martin Turley, 2004). Students always work as part time work to find extra funding for their excessive spending during the university holidays or breaks. There are average 80% of students attending college or university are employed (Martin Turley, 2004). The financial knowledge of the average Generation Y consumer also earns them the awareness and respect of marketers even though their spending power alone is enough reason to pay significant attention to this group of consumers. The financial knowledge of the average Generation Y consumer also earns them the respect of marketers today. Generation Y consumers have a remarkable amount of disposable income due to the increasing of greater level in the economy over the past decade (Martin Turley, 2004). Besides that, the research suggested that â€Å"Generation Y has more discretionary income than the previous generations and prefer to spend it on themselves rather than others. A reason for this may be because they are starting families later in life and therefore are able to spend their income on themselves without having to worry about others†(Angela Hughes, 2008) The important of this group of consumers has taken on the greater level of meaning for marketer. â€Å"While the Baby Boomers grew up with television advertising influencing how they were marketed to and how they bought products, Generation Y has many different mediums that they grew up with, which is what makes marketing to them so much more difficult†(Angela Hughes, 2008). Marketers are playing the large part influence consumers behaviour through the knowledge of fashion. The reason is that teenagers are concerned about fashion value more than any other age groups (Koester and May,1985; Sriviroj 2007). One of the most influencers is the media because of media consist of a wide range of technology such as television, internet, mobile phone and DVD. (Angela Hughes, 2008, Sriviroj 2007). The internet has permanently changed the way that this generation shops by giving the information about products than the companies give the consumer. According to Angela Hughes (2008), he in ternet is also a powerful tool for this generation in spreading opinions about products to their peers. The largest differences between Generation Y and those that preceded them are Generation Ys tremendous awareness and confidence. Generation Y is more likely than any previous generation to look up information before purchasing a product. Generation Y is more desirable to own the products that they know their peers will accept just to show they are part of the group. On the other hand, in the research of Sriviroj (2007) stated that television is strongly influence these generation which affect them as they will reflect their perceptions in â€Å"reality†as they have seen in television world. â€Å"Of the paid advertising channels of online, outdoor, newspaper, magazine, radio, TV and Theatrical, TV and newspaper are the most trusted media†(Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, 2009). â€Å"Generation Y is poised to take over as the largest and most lucrative consumer group for marketers, a position that has long been held by the Baby Boomer generation†(Angela Hughes, 2008). In order to understand the generation Y consumers, it is important to think about factors that motivate these individuals towards the purchasing of luxury goods. 2.2 Social Influence Previous research shows that group influences play an important role in influencing the purchase decisions (Brinberg and Plimpton, 1986; Martin and Bush 2000; Mascareches and Higby, 1993). The group members have been recognized as determinant of behavior. The fact that the people act in accordance with a frame of reference produced by the group to which they belong is a long accepted and sound premise (Merton and Rossi, 1949). However, many individuals did not behave like the majority of people in their recognized group (e.g., social class or educational level).The casual observation showed perplexing contradictions between group membership and behaviors. According to Merton and Rossi (1994), â€Å"a partial solution was found in the concept of â€Å"reference group†, which recognizes that people frequently orient themselves to other than membership group in shaping their behaviors and evaluations and that reference groups can perform a diversity of functions.†Reference groups are generally defined as â€Å"actual or imaginary institutions, individuals, or groups conceived of having significant relevance upon an individual‟s evaluations, aspirations, or behavior†(Lessig and Park, 1975; Pertina, Prybutok, Zhang, 2008). Besides that, reference group also can be defined as â€Å"a group of people that significantly influence an individuals behavior†(Bearden and Etzel, 1982). Reference group are important because they make the individual aware to a specific goods or brands and influence individuals to adopt attitude and behaviour that are consistent with the norm of the group. The normative and informative social influences are the most widely accepted influence. Normative social influence is based on the tendency to conform to the expectation of others while informational influence is based on the desire to make informed decisions and optimize the choice (Stephen Yang and He, 2009; Khan and Khan, 2005). Berden and Etzel (1982) examined that the reference group influence by product and the brand purchase decision. Previous research studied group influences in marketing strategy and consumers purchasing behaviour. Specifically, three types of group influences are studied which is information, utilitarian and value expressive influences (Stephen Yang and He; Bearden and Etzel, 1982; Makgosa and Mohube, 2007; Pertina, Prybutok, Zhang, 2008). Informational influence is reflected when an individual perceives enhancement of knowledge and ability to cope with environment when using information from opinion leaders, experts, or product users. Utilitarian influence manifests through the process of compliance with those who can exercise reward or punishment power. Value-expressive reference group function is based on the identification process whereas an individual who associates oneself with a group to enhance self-concept adopts this groups consumption patterns. Reference groups have been found to specify what the desirable and undesirable goods are (Bristol and Malengburg, 2005; Khan and Khan, 2005). Many researchers have argued that individuals are more susceptible to reference groups influence when the goods is conspicuous and publicly consumed (Bearden and Etzel, 1982; Makgosa and Mohube, 2007; Batra, Homer, Kahle, 2009; Morris and White, 2009). The influence of a reference group on consumer behavior can be done in one of two ways, either directly or indirectly. In the research Stephen Yang and He (2009), reference groups refer the group that individual has frequent contact with (such as family members, work associates, classmates, friends, etc.). These group is refers to the groups used by an individual to direct one purchasing behaviour in particular situation. These are generally referred as direct reference group (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1994). On the other hand, it included â€Å"the groups that does not have the membership in or direct contact with, such as certain expected groups or people in a certain social level (Stephen Yang and He, 2009). Based on the work of Khan and Khan (2005), the direct reference group influence was illustrated as â€Å"families, friends, co-worker, formal social groups and other leisure groups†. This differs from the indirect reference groups comprise of â€Å"individuals and groups t hat influence consumers purchase intentions without having and direct contact such as celebrities and sport personalities†(Khan and Khan, 2005). 2.2.1 Direct Reference Groups Direct reference groups can be defined as direct contact from the individual or groups with the consumers. With the reference from †¦.., it showed that families, friends, co-worker, formal social groups and other leisure groups are under this categories. A person has several reference groups for various subjects or different decisions normally. For example, â€Å"a woman may consult one reference group when she is purchasing a car and a different reference group for lingerie†(Consumer Behaviour, no date).These direct reference groups are the one who frequently contact with the consumers, It can be seen that the groups views from direct reference groups whether purchase the goods in order to be like group members, believing in group members decisions or a sign of wanting to fit in the group. The previous researchers have carried out the investigations on how the role models (parents, relatives, peers) influence teenagers purchase intentions and behavior (Martin and Bush; Subramanian and Subramanian, 1995)) and how parents and peers influence various products and brands purchase decisions (Bearden and Etzel, 1982). Researcher has shown that overt family communication can and often does influence younger consumers attitudes toward purchases and their consumption patterns (Martin and Bush). Consumers always do not feel confident enough to evaluate alone. They will consult a friend or partner by inviting them along to a potential purchase can enhance the process. â€Å"Having a peer present meant that shop assistants become largely irrelevant and that evaluation of a brand centered largely on initial peer reaction to fit, style and price-based decisions†(Guy W.Mullarkey, 2001). â€Å"It is also interesting to note that of all the three direct reference groups, friends tend to exert the greatest influence where individuals purchase brands because they identify themselves with their peers†(Khan and Khan, 2005). From the numerous researches that have been done, direct reference groups influence make an immediate impact to the consumers. Therefore, it can be concluded that direct reference groups play a significant role in providing relevant information, deemed necessary to make a purchase and conform the group norm. 2.2.2 Indirect Reference Groups Indirect reference groups is the group that influence consumers purchase decisions without having any direct contact with the consumers such as celebrities and sport personalities. Khan and Khan (2005) defined celebrities as â€Å"individuals who are well known to the public for their advertisements in areas other than product class endorsed†and that they represent â€Å"an idealisation of life†. In luxury goods industry, it will be much easier by connecting the brand to a celebrity and is even viewed, in some instances, as a necessity. This is because a luxury goods company is in the business of building and selling dreams, and nothing is more helpful in making such dreams concrete and thus more believable in the eyes of the consumer, than communicating it through a famous personality. Celebrities are being increasingly used in marketing communication by marketers to lend personality to their products in India (Matrade Chennai, 2005). Young consumers especially the generation-Y like advertisement more if they are attracted or admire the celebrities. Positive feelings toward the celebrities and the brand itself will develop more from the young consumers. â€Å"Research indicates that celebrity endorsements can result in more favorable advertisement ratings and product evaluations and can have a substantial positive impact on financial returns for the companies that use them†(Silvera and Austad, 2004). Besides that, previous research indicates that celebrities exert influence on consumers purchase intentions and decisions (Martin and Bush, 2000). â€Å"Celebrities have also been found to enhance persuasiveness of messages and lead to actual purchases†(Khan and Khan, 2005). For example, Madonna and Demi Moore for Versaceâ€â€beautiful, successful, mature women in their 40s, transgressive, independent, non-conformist, sexy, etc. (Roncaglia and Brevetti, 2006). In conclusion, even there is no direct contact with consumers; indirect reference groups have the strong influence to the generation-Y which affects their brand choices toward the luxury goods. 2.3 Perceived Conspicuous Value Vigneron and Johnson (1999) defined five values of prestige behaviour combined with five relevant motivations, and from these identified five different categories of prestige consumers. According to his study, particularly emphasized the role of interpersonal effects on the consumption of prestige brands, and derived three main effects: Veblen, Snob, and Bandwagon. â€Å"The Veblen, snob and bandwagon effects are evident with consumers who perceive price as the most important factor, with a higher price indicating greater prestige. They usually buy rare products and in this way emphasise their status†((Husic and Cicic, 2008). In addition, the study also conducted by Vigneron Johnson (1999) included the conceptualized framework on two main personal effects: Hedonist and Perfectionist. â€Å"Hedonists and perfectionists are more interested in pleasure derived from the use of luxury products, and less interested in the price than quality, product characteristics and performance. These consumers know what they want and use their own judgment while price exists only as proof of quality†(Husic and Cicic, 2008). Perceived conspicuous value which known as Veblen effect is the consumption of the luxury product is viewed as a signal of status and wealth, whose price, expensive by normal standards, enhances the value of such a signal. (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Several researchers demonstrated that price of product have a significant aspect in consumers opinion of quality (Vigneron Johnson, 1999). The price of the product is use to judge quality of the luxury products between different brands. Luxury is an expensive investment. Therefore, a high price has to be justified by an outstanding quality and aesthetics that mass produced goods cant guarantee (Barnier, Rodina, Florence, 2005). For some consumers, high price equals high quality; therefore, they are willing to pay more for high quality. â€Å"Brand exclusivity is the positioning of a brand such that it can command a high price relative to similar products†(Groth and McDaniel, 1993). In addition, it is suggested that â€Å"consumers who perceived price as a proxy for quality, also perceived high prices as an indicator suggesting a certain degree of prestige†(Lichtenstein, Ridgway, and Netemeyer 1993). This statement is further supported in recommend the use of prestige-pricing strategy by the marketing literature when appealing to status-conscious consumers (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999; Luong Thi Bich Thuy, 2008). Numerous researchers have conducted the original work from Bourne (1957), which focused on the influence of reference groups on the consumption of prestige brands (Mason 1981 and 1992; Bearden and Etzel 1982, Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). They found that there was a positive relationship between conspicuous consumption and reference groups. Studies on reference group influence have shown that the â€Å"conspicuousness of a product was positively related to its susceptibility to reference group influence†(Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Additionally, Bearden and Etzel (1982) stated that luxury products that were publicly purchased are more conspicuous products in comparison to products that were privately consumed. The studies also suggested that the luxury products may used to communicate information about their identity. Veblen (1899) suggested that conspicuous consumption was used by people to signal wealth and by inference power and status. The utility of the luxury products may be to display wealth and one could consider that luxury brands would dominate the conspicuous segment of the consumers. In conclusion, it can be concluded that conspicuous consumption of luxury goods is used to display wealth, power and status. It is playing significant role that how individual motivated into purchasing luxury goods. 2.4 Perceived Quality Value Within the field of marketing, the construct of perceived quality has been widely acknowledged as the primary driver of purchase intention (Jacoby and Olson, 1985). According to Vigneron and Johnson (1999), perceived quality value is defined as â€Å"luxury is partly derived from technical superiority and the extreme care that takes place during the production process†. Thus, Husic and Cicic (2008) stated perfectionism effect or perceived quality as â€Å"perfectionist consumers depend on their own perception of the products quality, and may use price as further evidence of quality†. â€Å"Excellent quality is a sine qua non and it is important that the premium marketer maintains and develops leadership in quality†(Quelch, 1987; Vigneron and Johnson, 1999; Dubois, Laurent, Czellar, 2009; Barnier, Rodina, Florence, 2005; Srichan Sriviroj, 2007 ). In a survey conducted by ACNielsen (2008), it was found that on a global average, â€Å"28% believe that are of significantly higher quality than standard brands†. Source: ACNielsen Report (Consumer and Deisgner Brands), April 2008 Consumer might own prestige goods because they are likely to be of higher quality (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). A consumer who own a luxury fashion goods is likely to expect that the goods longevity and durability (Dubois, Laurent, Czellar, 2009; Barnier, Rodina, Florence, 2005; Srichan Sriviroj, 2007; Sarisa Suvarnasuddhi, 2007) compare with mass products. It should become better with time and should not lose its appeal (Barnier, Rodina, Florence, 2005). According to the Nielsen survey (2009), designer brands stand for fashion and superior quality however in the developing markets of Latin America, Asia, South Africa and the UAE. A half of respondents in these countries think these brands are for fashion followers, and up to 40 percent believe they offer superior quality. Thus, it is interesting that the greatest percentage of people who believe designer brands offer significantly higher quality over non designer alternatives hail from Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Turkey. Source: ACNielsen Report (Consumer and Deisgner Brands), May 2006 Luxury and premium brands are expected to show quality and even greater quality as well (Garfein, 1989; Roux, 1995; Vigneron and Johnson, 1999; Srichan Sriviroj, 2007; Luong Thi Bich Thuy, 2008). Groth and McDaniel (1993) stated that â€Å"high prices may even make certain products or service more desirable†, because people take that products with high prices with great quality (Rao and Monroe, 1989). In fact, luxury products will lose their scarcity and uniqueness characteristics if luxury products are not priced high (Dubois and Duquesne, 1993). The studies and literature on luxury products suggested that the â€Å"quality cue might also be used by consumers to evaluate the level of prestige of brands†(Rao and Monroe, 1989; Vigneron and Johnson, 1999; Luong Thi Bich Thuy, 2008). A low level of quality would play a negative role over the perception of the brand. In contrast, the persons quality perception would play a positive role over his or her perception of presti ge on the same brand if the buyer or the consumer perceives the brand as having an excellent level of quality. (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999; Luong Thi Bich Thuy, 2008) According to Vigneron and Johnson (1999), it stated that the perfectionist effect exists when consumers purchase luxury items and expects superior products and performance as well as quality. People who represent the perfectionist effect are those â€Å"who are assessed to personal values and judge a product according to their value of a luxury brand product†(Srichan Sriviroj, 2007; Luong Thi Bich Thuy, 2008) such as comfort and speed for luxury car or accuracy of the luxury watch. Even previous researches showed that conspicuous vale is more important effect and evident with consumers who perceive price is the most important factor. However, there were researchers stated that quality value is also important such as Jacoby and Olson (1983). In conclusion, perceived quality value were found important to study and can be use to identify the luxury consumption. 2.5 Brand Image Brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one sellers good or service as distinct from those of other sellers (www.marketingpower.com; Iyiade Adedamola Taofik, 2009; Suvarnasuddhi, 2007). In the research of Korchia (1999), â€Å"image creates value in a variety of ways, helping consumers to process information, differentiating the brand, generating reasons to buy, giving positive feelings, and providing a basis for extensions†. Cheng (2006) stated that brand is important because the consumers perception of a product can be affected by the added value of a brand. â€Å"Brands signal to consumers the quality of a product, the image that it is meant to convey, as well as representing particular current garment styles and trends in a fashion context†(Keller, 1993; Guy W.Mullarkey, 2001). Brand image can be defines as â€Å"perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory†(Keller, 1993; Cheng, 2006; Rio, Varques, Iglesias, 2001). Many researchers have been agreed the important of brand image. Brand image is pivotal because it influences purchase intention and consumers preference as well as they are willing to recommend to others and willing to pay higher price (Forsythe, Kwon, P.Leone, Shannon, 2008; Aiello, Donvito, Godey, Pederzoli, Wiedmann, Hennigs, Siebels) â€Å"To succeed in the changing marketplace, a designer brand needs to sell its core brand values; the â€Å"image†reflected in the design and the lifestyle it represents is what consumers pay a premium to buy into†remarked byKaren Watson, Chief Communications Officer, The Nielsen Company. Consumers able to difference the product differentiation, decrease the purchase risks, obtain several experience and recognize the product and its quality through brand image (Lin and Lin, 2007). â€Å"The personal identification function is related to the fact that consumers can identify themselves with some brands and develop feelings of affinity towards them†(Rio, Varques, Iglesias, 2001). It refers to correspondence between consumers behaviour, self image and image of the product. Through the image of the products the consumers buy and use, his or her self image can be improve based on the theory. It also can be inferred that â€Å"individuals prefer brands that have images compatible with their perceptions of self†(Chiu, Lin, Chiu, Chang). In addition, a positive brand image able to lower the products purchase risks and increase the positive feedback from consumers. â€Å"Consumers are more likely to purchase well known brand products with positive brand image a s a way to lower purchase risks†(Akaah and Korgaonkar, 1988; Aiello, Donvito, Godey, Pederzoli, Wiedmann, Hennigs, Siebels). Hence, consumers feel it is less risky by purchasing branded products. â€Å"The country of origin of a brand is also an influential factor for consumers choosing a product in both Asia and in Western countries†(Pervin). There are many researches suggested the country of origin influence on consumer perception and behaviour through the image of the products country of origin (Phau and Leng, 2008; Forsythe, Kwon, P.Leone, Shannon, 2008; Aiello, Donvito, Godey, Pederzoli, Wiedmann, Hennigs, Siebels). It creates positive brand image to increase the possibility for the products to be chosen and also raise the inferior image of the country of origin (Thakor and Katsanis; 1997 Lin and Lin, 2007). According to Grewal, Krishnan, Baker, and Borin (1998), the better a brand image is, the more recognition consumers give to its product quality.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Starbucks HR Policies and Practices
Starbucks HR Policies and Practices Contents (Jump to) IntroductionBackground of the Study DefinitionsRationaleHRMOrganizational PerformanceHuman Capital Advantage Company Information [Starbucks] Literature ReviewHRM and Organizational PerformanceHRM Policies PracticesRecruitment Selection PolicyReward PolicyEmployees Development PolicyHuman Capital and Competitive Advantage Critical AnalysisCurrent and past HRM policies in StarbucksPast and current HRM challenges in Starbucks HRM Policies and StarbucksRecruitment selection Policy and StarbucksReward Policy and StarbucksEmployees Development Policy and Starbucks Personal Reflection LearningIssues Identified in Starbucks Policies Recommendations and ConclusionsRecommendationsConclusion References In this essay the impacts of Human Resource Management (HRM) policies are evaluated on organizational performance with a thorough study of Starbucks. It provides complete insides into the Human Resource (HR) three dimensional model and its implementation in Starbucks is evaluated. Introduction Background of the Study The workforce of an organization is considered as a source of competitive edge over the competitors for that organization (Barney, 1991) (Barney, 1991) (Pfeffer, 1998). So due to this the significance of the employees has risen greatly and the need of the organization to develop a better human resource system has become one of the major organizational concerns to ensure the optimum use of human capital to get their maximum productivity. This increasing importance of human capital has raised the interest of the researchers to understand the relationship between high performance and effective human resource management policies and so far many researchers have also confirmed that effective human resource policies have positive effects over the performance of the organization (Huselid, 1995). But still we can see a huge gap in studies that have been conducted to understand the impacts of that positive relationship between organizational performance and effective human resource management system for multinational companies. Most of the previous researches have been conducted to understand the implications of that relationship on Domestic industries of Europe (e.g., Guest and Hoque, 2008); USA and very few studies have been made in Asia. Rationale This essay is focused to understand the HRM policies adopted by big multinational retail service provider Starbucks and critically discusses what type of value they have created by successful implementation of these HRM policies in the form of more committed and motivated workforce. Definitions HRM HRM is an important function of organizations performed internally in order to hire the required workforce, manage them effectively and ensure that they are working in right direction in order to achieve overall organizational goals (Robert L. Mathis, John H. Jackson, 2008). Organizational Performance When we compare the planned or expected output of the organization with the actual performance we can get the organizational performance level (Daniel M Wentland, 2009). Human Capital Advantage According to Boxal, 1996 the human capital advantage is collection of all specific HR activities that are considered as special features of that firm, although these practices are performed by using formal as well as informal both types of processes. Company Information [Starbucks] This essay discusses the effectiveness of HRM policies on the organizational performance of Starbucks. It is one of the some major organizations, dealing in retail sector that offers magnificent benefits to its both full time and part time employees. Starbucks is coffee Stores Company originated in 1917 in Seattle, USA and now it has become a large organization working at world level in 44 countries with 15000 stores. It is one of the leading organizations in retail business and is known for its special coffee brand and as roaster. The company has implemented five corporate strategies that are; offer best quality products, ensure maximum penetration in market, offering a highly social atmosphere, provide relaxing, develop the best working conditions and increase the profitability of the company by offering high margin products and reducing the costs (Jacqueline L, John L. Colley, Doyle, Robert D. Hardie, 2004). It has adopted the Laissez Faire management style and above the management at store level it has hour different levels of management in its organizational structure. The skills that give it advantage of its competitors are the ability to make drinks and the skills of employees. At Starbucks employees are considered as partners of the organization and provided with special trainings to develop better understanding of the product and teach them new methods of brewing and techniques of sales. Partners have powers to take decisions when needed and shift supervisors assign them duties. Evalua tions and Promotions are used to motivate them. The performance of the company is well observed through the balance sheet of last five years as the assets of the company have been doubled as they were in 2005. Owners equity is also raised (SBUX, Balance sheet) Literature Review HRM and Organizational Performance According to most of the HRM specialists the effective human resource management system is very much important to achieve high levels of organizational performance (Delery, 2009; MacDuffie, 1999). According to them the effective Human resource management system is mostly designed to ensure high organizational performance by getting optimum overall output of the company rather than having more focus on individual performance. As Reeves and Dare (2007) describes that we can get high performance from an employee by increasing his motivation and abilities by using any method. In the field of HRM and organizational performance a significant contribution is from Huczynski and Buchanan, 2009. According to them when HRM activities are designed in an organization according to its strategy it increases the productivity level of the organization, reduces its turnover and also enables it to perform well in financial sector (Huczynski Buchanan, 2009). Their findings proved that when organization succeeded to satisfy its workforce and make them committed it can make its performance in corporate sector much better. The productivity is also very much dependant on the job design (Huczynski Buchanan, 2009). HRM Policies Practices According to Huselid and Becker (1995) have critically examined the human resource management system and find out the three major dimensions of it. Recruitment Selection Policy Many studies have proved that an effective recruitment and selection process in organization is very much crucial for its success and to achieve high performance goal of the company. The system should be rigorous and should be designed to meet the overall organizational goals according to Reeves ad Dare (2007). The researchers have found that there is a positive relationship between effective recruitment and selection process of the company and overall organizational performance. When organization selects employees who best match its requirements and have enough abilities to contribute to the overall success of the company they can reduce their cost of employee development, they dont need to invest in employee training programs that costs a lot to the organizations. Reward Policy According to many researchers the compensation based on performance is a very successful tool to get high performance level (e.g. Arthur, 1998; Delery and Doty, 2009; Huselid, 1995; MacDuffie, 1999). Doty and Delery (2009) even declare the reward system based on performance as only method of achieving high performance level. Along these many other studies have discussed the positive relationship of performance based reward system with the overall performance of the organization Like in control theory by Snell, 1999, cost theory by Wright and Jones, 1992, and agency theory by Eisenhardt, 1988 and all these studies have found a positive relationship between the overall performance of the organization and the reward system based on performance. According to expectancy theory by Vroom 1964 the high performance level of an individual can be expected if organization meet his expected needs. But most important thing is that the reward system based on performance is dependent on other functi ons of human resource management. The individual output should not be the only basis of rewards provided by the company; organization should also consider the contributions of that person in the overall organizational performance. Employees Development Policy The performance of an organization is very much dependant on the employees development policy of the organization. Organizations use a number of practices in order to develop their human capital. First of all the investments made by the organization, to provide non-technical and technical trainings to its workforce, determines the success of organization to increase the knowledge level of its employees. According to many researchers like Huselid and Delaney (1995), McGrath and Koch (1996), Huselid (1995) the organizational performance can be increased greatly by providing proper training to the workforce. They all have developed a positive relationship between overall organizational performance and the employee development policies of the organization. Organizational are now more concerned to develop their employees in order to achieve high performance they invest in their trainings and also try to make it possible to have long-term mutually beneficial relationship with them (Doty an d Delery 2009). In order to enable their employees to plan their careers properly they design proper career development programs for them. The companies that have promotion system from within the organization they have usually more committed and motivated employees as they want to work hard in order to get promotion (Snell and Lepak, 1999) and when company adopts internal promotion system it shows the commitment of the organization towards its workforce. Human Capital and Competitive Advantage With the increasing globalization trends the importance of skilled human resource have raised greatly, now human resource is considered that if an organization invests its efforts to Develop its human resource as an advantage in result that human capital will contribute to establish overall competitive advantage of the organization (Boxal, 1999). Critical Analysis Current and past HRM policies in Starbucks The committed and motivated employees have great significance in the overall organizational success and Starbucks realize that very early. So Starbucks gave great importance to recruitment process in order to select right people for jobs and develop them and retain them in order to get sustainable high performance of the organization. And effective HRM policies adopted by the company also shows its commitment towards its human resource. From its start Starbucks has given great importance to its frontline staff and baristas because they give it competitive advantage by providing the customers the experience of the Starbucks. They always remained the center of the companys attentions. From first day while hiring someone for company, the qualities that are given great importance are dependability, adaptability and ability of the candidate to work as an effective member of a team. Still, as current HR policy to develop the right people the Starbucks is making huge investments in the development and training processes of the workforce. They are taught the techniques and skills that they will be required to perform their tasks while working at Starbucks and increase their efficiency as well. With these huge investments in human resource the Starbucks can expect to have strong employee satisfaction level (HRM, Starbucks). Past and current HRM challenges in Starbucks The biggest challenge that Starbucks cope with in first decade of 21st century is to maintain the goodwill of the organization while having a high expansion rate and to develop the qualified workforce to support its expansion policy. The analysts were in doubt that with this fast expansion policy whether it would be able to meet the goals to be a positive employer. In early years of 21st century the company claimed that its huge costs on human development have been showing great in the financial position of the organization. In fiscal year 2004 the spending on human resource development was more than its spending on advertising expenses that were $68.3 million. In mid of 2004 in order to meet these heavy costs the company needed to increase the price of its beverages with 11cents these were already premium prices for the Starbucks products. But other hand company was not in position to cut down the incentives that it provides to workforce because that action can lead a major decrease in their morale. Starbucks still keeps its high expansion policy as every day it is adding 5 new stores in its portfolio with 200 new employees. So the challenges for Starbucks are not changed as they were at the start of 21st century (SBUX, Daily Finance). HRM Policies and Starbucks Recruitment selection Policy and Starbucks Starbucks is one of the world biggest organizations and having each day addition of five new stores in its large profile and in order to maintain this magnificent growth Starbucks has to hire 200 new employees every day. The process of recruitment in Starbucks includes many tools like interview of the candidates in which they also attend the sessions of coffee tasting and the terms and conditions are being developed and they are emphasized to provide with notes that are handwritten rather than response letters also the use to phone calls if appreciated. By using all these tools Starbucks get to know the response time of candidates. Starbucks also asks its recruiters to regularly send gift cards of Starbucks to its job applicants whether they are selected or not for job they must be treated as customers for the company. The process of recruitment in Starbucks is specifically designed for the job that is needed to be filled. The mission of the Starbucks is to expect the diversity and p rovide the employees the opportunity to develop themselves. After passing the interview Starbucks first train its employees before final selection (Starbucks, ICMR India). Reward Policy and Starbucks Starbucks always give more importance to its people than products, in a store staff it has 16 partners and one manager and one assistant manager on them. The incentives that Starbucks provide to its workforce are free health care that also includes vision and dental care facilities. It offers Stock options as well in the form of extra benefits and along this the employees who work average 20 hours a week for the company and continue it for three months company provides them shift drinks free and free pound of tea or coffee in every week. The rise in salaries of employees is based on performance evaluations that are conducted semi annually and these raises can be from 0% to 5%. Company does not offer any monetary bonuses but provide many non monetary awards like it offers about 30% discounts to the employees on all goods that they buy (Starbucks, ICMR India). The contribution of partners in overall organizational performance is recognized by several different kinds of programs. Just l ike company has implemented a program of Green Apron, that is an evidence of Starbucks commitment towards environmental issues and its brand behavior. Green Apron book is provided to every partner that contains the values of the company and desired behaviors and peer recognition cards. Team contributions are also recognized to evaluate their performance. Employees Development Policy and Starbucks In employee development policy Starbucks has designed training programs and learning sessions for new as well as existing employees. The employees are provided refresher courses in order to align their skills with industry customer demands. In training programs that Starbucks offers to its employees include; customer dealing techniques, coffee making workshops, customer care programs. Personal Reflection: I will make the comparison of Starbucks with an IRAN based coffee provider named Tunnel Restaurant Coffee Shop. This is a big chain of Coffee shops and restaurants with 15000 employees in IRAN. The chain network of the company is spread in whole IRAN with 724 stores. If we compare the three HR dimensional model of this restaurant with Starbucks; The reward system in Tunnel restaurant is not based on performance of the workers they have fixed reward system and annual bonuses that are aligned with religious festivals. While Starbucks ha performance based reward system discussed above. They lack the business knowledge due to the nonexistence of capital based business. Employee development also not that much efficient as they still based on traditional views and take human resource as business costs. Employee selection process is much better and we can say too much extant same like Starbucks they have policy to hire the people from the area where they operate their store (ChefMoz Dining Guide, Tunnel Restaurant Coffee Shop, 2009). Learning: The application of three HR dimensional model for performance of Starbucks has helped me a lot to develop understanding about how to identify the organizational needs and designing systems according to those specific areas where need occurs and to cover the deficiencies. These three dimensions are very much crucial for the organizations as they help to develop the business to create most precious asset that is human capital. Issues Identified in Starbucks policies: Most of the workforce of Starbucks is below the 20 years of age and the incentives that Starbucks is providing are more focused on health facilities that include medical, vision and dental care facilities and also Stock options for employees. The numbers of monetary awards that are being offered to employees are very few include semi-annual raises and wage rates based on per hour working. Although the focus of the Starbucks is more on providing the third place atmosphere but still the turnover rate of employees is very high and one of the big reasons behind it is the exchange of managers in store whenever upper management wants so it has very bad impacts on the partners. One more issue that company is facing in this area is that although the focus of the company is equal on direct labors and high margin products but the performance of some stores is not satisfactory in this segment. Recommendations and Conclusions Recommendations Although Starbucks is one of those few multinationals that have strong commitment towards their people but after this study we can make many recommendations to the company to do in near future in order to increase their performance; While designing the incentive package for the employees company should also consider the age factor of them and offer benefits according to their needs. The number of monetary awards should also be increased with non monetary benefits as it is argued that monetary benefits motivate faster and have long term effects on employees. The exchange of managing level staff should not be frequent. The audit should be done carefully and the stores that are not performing well they should be closed as they cause extra costs to the company. Conclusion Starbucks is one of the big organizations of the globe it has a large employee base and the way through which it is managing its employees is very appreciable although the need for more work in some areas is always remain even in perfect systems. References Barney, Jay B, 2004, sustained competitive advantage and resources of Firm. Management journal, pp 99-120. Boxall, P. (1998), Achieving competitive advantage through human resource strategy: towards a theory of industry dynamics, Human Resource Management Review, pp. 265-288. ChefMoz Dining Guide, 2009, Tunnel Restaurant Coffee Shop Delaney and Huselid, 1995, HRM impact on organizational performance perceptions. Journal of Management, PP 949-969. Delery, Harold Doty, 2009, Models of theorizing in strategic human resource management, Academy of Management Journal, pp 802-835. Dyer, Lee Todd Reeves. 2007. Human resource strategies and firm performance, The International Journal of HRM, pp 656-670. Daniel M Wentland, 2009, Organizational Performance in a Nutshell, pp 3-7. Eisenhardt, Kathleen 1988, Agency and institutional-theory explanations: The case of retail sales compensation. Academy of Management Journal, pp 488-511. Guest and Kim Hoque, 2008, in new non-union workplaces the Employment relations. HRM Journal, pp 1-14. Huczynski, A.A., Buchanan, D.A. (2009), Organizational Behavior. 6th edn. Pearson Education. Jones, G. Patrick. Wright, 1992, an economic approach to conceptualizing the utility of human resource management practices, pp 271-300. Jacqueline L. Doyle, John L. Colley, Robert D. Hardie, 2004, Corporate Strategy, Corporate Strategy, pp 1-25. MacDuffie, John P, 1999, manufacturing performance and Human resource bundles: Industrial Relations Labor Review, pp 197-221. Robert L. Mathis, John H. Jackson, 2008, Human resource management, strategic HR management and planning, pp 33-64. Pfeffer, Jeffrey. 2007. The human equation: Building profits by putting people first. Boston: Harvard Business Press. Snell, Lepak and D.P, 1999, the human resource architecture, academy of management, pp 31-48. Vroom, Victor. 1964. Work and motivation. New York: Wiley. Starbucks Growth Challenge and HRM Policies available at: http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/Starbucks%20Human%20Resource%20Management-Growth%20Challenge-Case%20Studies.htm#The_Human_Resources_Challenge Starbucks, Wikipedia.org http://www.starbucks.com/
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