Will We Still Love IKEA

Introduction IKEA is a Swedish company that was started by a seventeen-year-old boy in 1943. This company specializes in the manufacture of home and office furniture. The company has experienced consistent growth, and is currently considered the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of furniture.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Will We Still Love IKEA? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A number of challenges in the local market have faced this company, but it has managed to counter these challenges successfully. IKEA has expanded beyond its local market in Sweden. This firm has established a very strong market in the United States and the entire Europe. The firm is the largest retailer of furniture in the United States. Although some firms have offered it stiff competition in the American market, it remains the leading manufacturer and retailer of home and office furniture. This firm is also one of the major employers in the United States and in the world. The firm has a large plant in Virginia. The locals were happy with the fact that the firm opened a branch in this city. This was a sign that there would be an increased source of employment to the locals. The entry of this firm into this city also meant that the locals would be able to purchase the products at reduced prices. This was a reason good enough to warrant a celebration. The firm met the expectations of the locals. It offered job opportunities to the locals and the prices of the furniture in this region generally dropped. The society benefited because of the incentives that this firm offered the society as part of its corporate social responsibility. The firm was fast becoming a darling to the Americans. However, not all was well after all. The Case The employees protested against the strategy adopted by the management. This resentment spiraled in March 2011 when employees went public about the discriminatory policies that the leadership of the firm employed in Virginia.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The labor laws in the United States clearly states that employees should be given opportunity to choose whether they would like to work overtime. In this firm, the choice is not in the hands the employees, but instead it is the responsibility of the management. The management dictates whether an employee would work overtime or not. It becomes worse when employees are just informed of the overtime when they have just prepared to leave their offices. This has demoralized employees of this firm because they feel that they do not have the freedom to choose when to work overtime. The management has also been accused of careless because it does not respect the wishes of employees. Moreover, the management is accused of frustrating employees in various ways. The management of the firm has been kee n on crashing unions of the employees in its facility in Virginia. Employees do not have a voice in the firm. They are expected to act as per the wish of the management. Any disagreement with company rules leads to serious consequences on the part of employees. The treatment given to employees sharply contradicts that given to employees in Sweden, which is the home to this firm. There is clear evidence that this firm has double standards when it comes to treatment of its employees. Although it took some time to realize this, it is now clear that this firm has a high regard towards some employees and not others. For instance, Anderson (2011, p. 88) observes that IKEA is one of the best employers in Sweden. Employees of this firm are allowed to have up to three fully paid leaves per year. This is not the case in the United States. In Sweden, and a few other European nations, employees have the capacity to choose when to have overtime. This is not the case in the United States. It is a lso intriguing that this firm has been racially discriminative in some of its operative activities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Will We Still Love IKEA? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This has raised many controversies given the fact that the founder of this firm was associated with the Nazi movement in his youth. It is a reminder that this firm is as discriminatory as the action of the founder during the Nazi terror. The firm has also been accused of discriminating women. In various firms in Virginia, women are always treated with concern, especially those who have young children. This may include releasing them early enough to be with their young children. This is not the case at IKEA. The remuneration given by this firm to its American employees is below per when compared to other regions, especially the home market in Sweden. This firm faces other controversies in its operations in this country, as wel l as other countries around the world. This is what raises the main question whether the firm will still be loved as before when these evils had not been revealed. Will the society still cherish the firm after all the revelations about its discriminatory policies? Strategic Analysis of the Case The case given above shows that IKEA has a huge responsibility of changing the perception of the society. The perception of the society is very important for a strong brand such as IKEA. In order to develop an understanding between the internal and external environment, the following SWOT analysis would be very important. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is one of the important tools that are very popular in analyzing a company. It helps in analyzing firms based on the existing internal and external factors. SWOT analysis would be very valuable in analyzing IKEA. In order to bring more understanding of the firm in this competitive market, a SWOT analysis would be appropriate. It would help bring m ore insight to the opportunities and threats that this firm would face in the external environment. It would also help in understanding the strengths and weaknesses that the firm has.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Strength of this firm that would translate to increased profitability is a positive image in the market due to its environmental friendly projects. The world is increasingly becoming sensitive of the impact of various business units on the environment. The concern is emanating from the fact that it has been confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that various multinational companies are polluting the environment at a very dangerous rate (Coveney Highfiel 1995, p. 67). Various environmental conservation projects are expected to give this company a different image in the market. This company will be seen as a firm that is smarter in its environmental strategy. The market will be convinced that this company is not just interested in making profits, but also turning the society into a better place. The firm will easily attract additional customers who are determined to make a positive difference in their society. This is because they will view the firm as one that helps in conserving the environment. They will consider the purchase of the firm’s product as part of environmental conservation. Because of this, the firm will develop a strong base of loyal customers. This firm may also take this advantage to reach out to the international markets. The project would give this company a moral right to claim that it is a champion of a clean environment in the entire world. The firm has a team of dedicated and qualified staff who are able to front all the interest of the firm both in the local and regional markets (DeAnne, Gary, Hyde, Tipping 2004, p. 43). This team also supervises capital that is assigned to it in order to realize the best outcome for the organization. Despite the above strengths, this firm has some weakness. The first weakness that this firm has is the discontent customers in some region such as the United States. The fact that some of the employees are not satisfied with the way they are managed makes it very difficult for this firm to increase i ts profitability in these markets. The initiative of managing the environment is very challenging financially. It would cost this firm, large sum of money if it would sustain such projects over the years it expects to operate in this market (Daft 2009, p. 21). The members of this firm expect to work in collaboration with other firms in order to clean the environment. The team may not have the capacity to rid the environment of all the electronic wastes, unless it is supported by other agencies within the local society. The local government must be convinced to participate in such projects actively. Other environmental agencies would also be invited to take part in the elimination of such wastes as plastic materials. The fact such the projects would involve partnership with other firms; success of the entire process may be jeopardized. Success would be pegged on how determined the other partners are in fulfilling their duties. The firm has a number of opportunities in the external en vironment. In the local market in Sweden and other European countries, this firm has managed to build a large base of loyal customers. The governments of Sweden and other European countries have strongly appreciated the move of this firm to help improve the environment of these countries, a fact that has earned it a large base of customers. The Swedish government, and other governments where this firm operates, has maintained a very stable political environment. This means that the business environment is free from any political unrest that may disrupt normal business operations within the market. This has created a business environment that is very peaceful to various firms in the country. The firm also enjoys an economic growth in this region that has increased the purchasing power of the consumers. This increased purchasing power has helped the firm to increase its operations to regions beyond its borders. The emerging technologies have also helped IKEA in its operational strateg ies. The firm has adopted the emerging technologies in its operations, a fact that has helped it increase its efficiency (Kratschmer 2011, p. 101). This firm faces a number of threats in its operations. Threats may not be predictable in this industry, though the firm may try to reduce the possibility of occurrence. The first threat that this firm faces is price wars in the market. The local firms may notice the strategy of the firm to charge lesser prices for its products, especially to those consumers who have shown resolve to combat environmental degradation. There is a possibility that the competitors may consider this move as a strategy that this firm uses to charge cheap prices for their products. The impact of this is that the competitors may respond by equally lowering their prices in the market. Such price wars are always dangerous to the prosperity of a business. The initiative may fail to make any serious sense. However, this threat has been minimized by introducing other responsibilities for the project, and the invitation of the whole society to participate. IKEA stores also face the threat from the emerging technologies. The emerging technologies are beneficial to the firm. However, they can pose serious challenge to the firm if it fails to select the appropriate technology to apply. Applying a wrong technology may cause serious negative consequences to the firm. Late application of the emerging technologies may also render such a firm less competitive in the market. Revisiting the Case IKEA is still considered the market leader in this industry. It is the largest manufacturer and retailer of home and office furniture. The case presented above shows that this firm has been successful in the world market. However, it is yet to address some pertinent issues affecting it. The firm is accused of high handedness when dealing with the employees. The complaint from employees shows that there is some form of dissatisfaction on the side of employees. The f irm has failed to incorporate employees into partners other than employees of this firm (Fayol 1949, p. 127). This discontent among the employees means that the employees will not be willing to give their best to the firm. They feel that they are not part of the organization. The second accusation leveled against this firm is that the management is discriminative in its operations. Women have complained that the management does not take care of their interests. This accusation may have negative effect on this firm. It should manage this discontent in order to be successful in this industry. It should find a way of making all its employees feel part of the organization. Conclusion and Recommendations IKEA has managed to withstand the market competition that has forced various other firms out of the market. The firm has been operating in a very competitive market within Sweden, the United States and other countries where other firms have similar products. The management of this firm h as come to realize that the best way to beat the market competition is come up with strategies that can help it become unique in the market. The management has embraced the spirit of competition in the market. It has also come to realize that employees are very important in the determination of success for the firm. They are the wheel through which a firm can be able to move from one level to the next. However, the firm can improve its efficiency if it considers the following recommendations. The management should embrace the emerging trends in the market. It should use the emerging technologies such as social media marketing to reach out for the customers. The management should increase the number of young innovative employees who can help the firm manage the emerging technologies. The management should increase its corporate social responsibility, especially on environment, to improve its public image. The firm should consider increasing its partnership with suppliers to ensure t hat they constantly have the stock. The management should ensure that employees are constantly motivated in their various duties in the firm. The management should address all the needs of the employees to the best of its capacity. It should address all the complaints that are put forth by the employees of this firm. List of References Anderson, M 2011, Bottom-Line Organization Development: Implementing and Evaluating Strategic Change for Lasting Value, Elsevier, Burlington. Coveney, P Highfield, 1995, Frontiers of Complexity: The Search for Order in a Chaotic World, Fawcett Columbine, New York. Daft, R 2009, Organization Theory and Design, Cengage Learning, New York. DeAnne, A, Gary, N, Hyde, P, Tipping, A 2004, Ten Guiding Principles of Change Management, Booz Company, New York. Fayol, H. (1949). General and Industrial Management. London: Pitman. Kratschmer, P 2011, Organizational Culture is Highly Resistant to Change: Discuss, GRIN Verlag, New York. Norton, M, Mochon, D Ariel y, D 2011, â€Å"The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love†, Harvard Business School, Vol. 1, no. 4, pp 11-91. Palich, LE, Cardinal, LB, Miller, CC 2000, â€Å"Curve-linearity in the diversification-performance linkage: An examination of over three decades of research.† Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21, no. 2, pp 155-174. Snider, J, Hill, RP, Martin, D 2003, â€Å"Corporate social responsibility in the 21st century: A view from the world’s most successful firms.† Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 175–187. This essay on Will We Still Love IKEA? was written and submitted by user Hayley T. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. 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ENL 1103 FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH Essays - Nonverbal Communication

ENL 1103 FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH Essays - Nonverbal Communication ENL 1103 FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH Name: ID: Course: Title: GROUP PRESENTATION RUBRIC Exemplary (4)Good (3)Satisfactory (2)Need Improvement (1) Content / KnowledgePresenters possess excellent understanding on the topic.Presenters possess adequate understanding on the topic.Presenters possess general understanding on the topic.Presenters do not understand the topic at all. Non verbal elements (Intonations, eye contact, gestures, etc.) Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest on the topic presented. Demonstrate a good effort in attracting audience.Facial expressions and body language generate some interest on the topic presented. Demonstrate an acceptable effort in attracting audienceFacial expressions and body language are rarely presented. Demonstrate a fair effort in attracting audienceFacial expressions and body language were not used. Do not demonstrate any effort in attracting audience. Language Excellent command in language used. No grammar error produced.Good command in language used. Minor grammar error produced. Fair command in language used. Poor command in language used. Too many grammar error produced. Voice Projection Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members throughout the presentation. Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 90% of the time. Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 80% of the time. Volume often too soft to be heard by all audience members. Audio Visual Aids (AVA) Use good AVA. The AVA used helps in presentation.Use acceptable AVA. The AVA used helps in some parts of presentation Use AVA. The AVA used does not really help the presentation. No audio visual aids used. TOTAL MARKS: Comments: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: 1)3)5) 2)4)6)

CERA - Performance Measurement Case Study Free Sample

This assignment is intended to demonstrate the individual performance measurement scheme of the CERA, which is one of the consulting companies that provide their consultation regarding the civil construction. As stated by Sanchez et al. (2015), performance management mainly includes different types of activities that ensure that the organizational goals can be consistently addressed in most efficient and appropriate manner. It is seen that CERA has achieved the competitive advantage for their qualified as well as skilled consultants who are useful in their field. Some of the senior level managers of the company are well convinced regarding their effective HR practices, but some of the managers still think that their organization do not have the effective HR practices to measure the individual performances of their employee. Therefore along with showing the limitation in the individual performance at the CERA, this assignment also provides a recommendation regarding the performance me asurement approaches by applying which the company can get an extensive and more efficient human resource. To manage performance most effectively in CERA, it is imperative to measure the employee performance with more effectiveness by facilitating the close monitoring. As per the viewpoint of Ferreira & Otley (2013), performance measurement can be defined as the process of the collection, analysis and report the evidence related to the fulfilment of the group, individual, system or the organization. Mainly an effective performance management system has five different parts such as defining the expectation regarding the performances, facilitating the performances, encouraging the employees to achieve the optimum level of performances, performance measurements and proving feedback to the employees regarding their performance. However, it is that CERA set some objective for their employees and asks them to achieve this. Therefore, they measure the employee performance by reviewing how many objectives they are achieving with quality. For example, to assess the performance level of the junior consultants they facilitate the performance appraisal by following the management by objective strategy. As per the viewpoint of Tseng (2014), management by objective is one of the model regarding management that mainly improves the performance of any organization by defining several objectives, which are agreed by both the employees as well as management. Moreover, to achieve those objectives they treat their employees like a school student because here the involvement of the senior level management is very high. They provide a brief and sufficient knowledge to their employee regarding how they can achieve those objectives, but by following this strategy, they do not get any sufficient knowledge regarding individual employee performance (Mayer& Davis, 2012). However, this strategy of them makes their organization to achieve more and effective output, but this strategy is not sufficient to produce highly effective and experienced employee. Along with that, this strategy suppressed the innovation capability and individual performances of the employee. CERA facilitates the performance management in their company to encourage the employees. The senior level managers have observed that the CERA is effective to achieve a good level of productivity, but they do not have any effective motivation technique by which they can retain their experi enced employees. Therefore, there are high levels of possibility that after sometimes depression can be generated among employees. To reduce the chances of that, they need to involve an effective level of performance management system. Moreover, after measuring the performance, they apply a wrong strategy to provide employees with a reward (Boland& Fowler, 2011). They provide more facilities or more financial reward to their senior level employees rather than their junior level employees. Therefore, this creates tremendous dissatisfaction among the employees. Therefore, it can be said that there is a misalignment among their organizational objective and their actual performances. CERA advertise their organization as one of the specialist's companies who has excellence compensation strategy for their employees. However, it has been observed in the present situation; CERA do not have any excellence in the compensation strategy, and they do not provide compensation based on the perform ances of the employees. This is because; they think that they can get more effective output from their senior level employees. Their ineffectiveness to provide preferences to their lower level employee may create a sense of de-motivation among the employee so that there is a high level of possibility that affords of the employee can be decreased gradually (Brignall & Modell, 2010). Additionally, it is also observed that CERA does not have any active feedback strategy that any company provides to their employee so that their employees can correct their performance and assists their company to achieve their pre-determined level of returns. In the case of CERA, it has been observed that they do not have any active feedback strategy. As stated by Kaplan& Norton (2013), feedback can be provided in oral or written mode and offers different advantages to both the employees as well as the company. The main benefits of effective feedback are it helps both the company and employee to improve the performances. Along with that it boosts the employee retentions and decreases employee turnover. Therefore, employee loyalty can be increased by following a feedback strategy (Folger, Konovsky & Cropanzano, 2011). Moreover, effective feedback reduces the cost due to fewer requirements of the training and development and increases the sales of a company. From the case of CERA, it is seen that they have very few employees; therefore, if they do not follow an effective strategy to handle their performances then they may face huge problems regarding employee turnover in their near future. One of the effective rationales regarding the re-bo oting of the performance management scheme of the CERA is identification and elimination of weaknesses in the traditional approaches that they mainly follow. Their performance management system must be effective to provide a timely as well as meaningful feedback to their staffs (Yahya & Goh, 2012). Another limitation in the CERA is the higher level management does not take feedback from the lower level employees because they do not have any believe that the lower level employee can provide an effective feedback that can support their company to achieve a better level of output. However, taking feedback from different sources such as customers, subordinates, and peers can develop the innovativeness of any company. It is seen that CERA only follow the management by the objective approach. Therefore, it is highly imperative for them to follow more efficient performance appraisal process by which they can judge the employee performance with more effectiveness and can provide them with the effective feedback by which they can lower their weaknesses. As the senior level management are very much effective to monitor their employees closely so that they can implement the 360-degree performance appraisal process. As stated by Levy & Williams (2014), 360-degree performance appraisal feedback is one of the processes that is utilized by any company to collect information regarding their employees from different sources to assess the work related behaviour of the employee. I order to facilitate the 360-degree feedback in the business; CERA can take the feedback from the immediate boss, supervisor and the peers. CERA can also solicit the feedback from different external sources that regularly interact with their employees. After the implementation of the 360-degree feedback in the company, CERA can assess the actual behaviour of their employees. After that, it is highly important to provide feedback to the employee regarding their performance so that their strength can boost and weaknesses can decrease. As opined by Alimo?Metcalfe (2012), the 360-degree appraisal can help the CERA to measure several things such as it helps to measure the competencies as well as the behaviour of employees. Moreover, it focuses on several areas such as character, leadership and teamwork. Along with that, it helps the upper-level management to conduct the planning and set their business related goals. As per the viewpoint of Bohl (2013), 360-degree performance appraisal also helps the employees as well as management to identify the business related objectives by improving the communication among the employee and employer. Additionally, 360-degree performance appraisal helps the organisation to focuses o n their core competencies. However, there are several issues involved in 360-degree feedback that is this tool is not customised according to the requirement of the company. It is imperative to take information from different stakeholders of the enterprise because it enriches any business with the different innovative idea that helps them to facilitate more growth. However, there is one of the disadvantages of the multisource information because it may generate the conflict in the company (Carless, Mann& Wearing, 2015). Therefore, before taking the multi-source feedback, CERA must be careful regarding that. Therefore, to make this tool more useful, it is important for CERA to customize the tool according to the need of the company. Moreover, manipulation of the employee to provide a rating to the employee may lead some biases because this process can be partial in some cases. There are enormous possibilities here that higher level manager can provide more efficient feedback regardin g those employees with whom they have the practical relationship (Brutus, Fleenor & London, 2016). Along with the 360-degree performance appraisal method, it is also important for CERA to follow the behaviourally anchored rating scale. As per the viewpoint of Murphy & Constans (2014), behaviourally anchored rating scales rate the performance of any employees based on some specific criteria. This performance appraisal process is mainly presented in the vertical mode by involving the point in the scales up to 9 from 5.As opined by Saal, Downey & Lahey (2012), this performance appraisal procedure merges the benefits of critical incidents, narratives as well as the quantified rating in the company to assess the employee performance against different criteria such as poor, good and moderate. Rather than graphically anchored rating scales, behaviourally anchored rating scales are more efficient because it helps the organization to eliminate some of the rater error. There are several advantages for which CERA must follow the behaviourally anchored rating scales which is it reduces the po tential for the biased responses in the company. Along with that, this performance appraisal process only measures the observable as well as specific behaviours. Moreover, it is effective to provide the standard as well as specific comments regarding the fulfilment of the job. As a contrast to different traditionally rating scales, this rating scale provides more accurate evaluation regarding the performances as well as the behaviour of the target persons. This effective tool also has some disadvantages that may create some problem for the managers of the CERA.As mentioned by Bernardin & Smith (2011), the main drawback is this performance appraisal process requires only effective and skilled staff. Moreover, the performance measurements tool require huge time alongside it is very complicated too. BARS are mainly dependent upon the aptness and the precision of different anchored statements. Moreover, the frequent update is mandatory along with the change of the job requirements. During designing the performance appraisal process, the HR manager of CERA must consider different types of error that are mainly occurred in any company. Rater errors are the error that took place during the performance measurement procedures. As stated by Bernardin & Walter (2013), rater error can be described as the credibility as well as the accuracy regarding the measurements of the performances. Rater errors are the human error which is very much common in any performance appraisal process because anyone cannot tell that any performance appraisal will be effective shortly. Different types of rater errors are a halo effect, leniency error, recency error, similar to me error, central tendency error etcetera. After implementing the proposed performance appraisal process, CERA may face problems due to below mentioned the reason. Halo effect error may occur in the CERA if the HR managers rate the dimensions of the performances either based on the positive or the negative rating. Thi s is one of the errors because in this method there are not any rating criteria to judge the performance of employees who have scored the middle-level performances. Due to leniency error, the manager of the CERA may give the low end of the scale if they have achieved the middle position on the range, which called the negative leniency. The manager may also provide high end of the scale to the employees whose performances is in the middle position of the scale that is called the positive leniency. Along with that, recency error in the performance appraisal process of the CERA may occur if the HR manager rates any employee based on the recent incidents regarding any employees. As opined by Borman, Hough & Dunnette (2012), central tendency error may be happened in the CERA, if the HR manager may rate the employee with higher performance by the average performance. HR manager may do an entirely wrong judgment to the subordinate employees if they can judge the lower level of employees ba sed on perspectives of other employees, which is called similar to me an error. The above facts can conclude that for achieving adequate performance, an effective performance management system is necessary. This is because effective performance management system always generates a productive organisation with efficient, skilled and motivated employees. The above fact also concludes that remuneration must be provided based on the performance so that the involvement of effective performance appraisal process in necessary. Performance appraisal process not only helps the organization to understand the capability of their employee but it also helps the employees to eliminate their present weaknesses and develops their strength. It has also becomes clear that as an innovative company, they are suppressing the innovative capability of the lower level staff. Moreover, they do not take feedback from the customers to provide consultation to them, which creates problem to understand the actual needs of the customer. In this context, performance measurement approaches beco mes evitable. The analysis in the report clears the fact that before implementing 360 degree appraisal system in their company, CERA must arrange a meeting with their employee where they should instruct their employees how they should provide feedback to a particular employee. On the other hand, it becomes clear that at present, there is not any rater error that is happening in the CERA because of the absent of their effective performance appraisal method, but it can be generated in the later time if the HR manager takes the performance appraisal process too casually. Further, it is found out that It is seen all of the modern organization provides feedback on the performances by facilitating an efficient performance appraisal method so that their employees can get a chance to understand and correct their weaknesses. Therefore, using error detection strategies might be effective in improving the overall performance of the organisation. Alimo?Metcalfe, B. (2012). 360 degree feedback and leadership development.  International Journal of Selection and Assessment,  6(1), 35-44. Bernardin, H. J., & Smith, P. C. (2011). A clarification of some issues regarding the development and use of behaviorally anchored ratings scales (BARS).  Journal of Applied Psychology,  66(4), 458. Bernardin, H. J., & Walter, C. (2013).Effects of rater training and diary-keeping on psychometric error in ratings.  Journal of Applied Psychology,  62(1), 64. Bohl, D. L. (2013).Minisurvey: 360-Degree Appraisals Yield Superior Results, Survey Stows.  Compensation & Benefits Review,  28(5), 16-19. Boland, T., & Fowler, A. (2011).A systems perspective of performance management in public sector organisations.  International Journal of Public Sector Management,  13(5), 417-446. Borman, W. C., Hough, L. M., &Dunnette, M. D. (2012).  Performance ratings: An investigation of reliability, accuracy, and relationships between individual differences and rater error. PERSONNEL DECISIONS RESEARCH INST MINNEAPOLIS MN. Brignall, S., & Modell, S. (2010).An institutional perspective on performance measurement and management in the ‘new public sector’.  Management accounting research,  11(3), 281-306. Brutus, S., Fleenor, J. W., & London, M. (2016). Does 360-degree feedback work in different industries? A between-industry comparison of the reliability and validity of multi-source performance ratings.  Journal of Management Development,  17(3), 177-190. Carless, S. A., Mann, L., & Wearing, A. J. (2015).Leadership, Managerial Performance and 360?Degree Feedback.  Applied Psychology,  47(4), 481-496. Ferreira, A., &Otley, D. (2013). The design and use of performance management systems: An extended framework for analysis.  Management accounting research,  20(4), 263-282. Folger, R., Konovsky, M. A., &Cropanzano, R. (2011).A due process metaphor for performance appraisal.  Research in organizational behavior,  14, 129-129. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2013).Transforming the balanced scorecard from performance measurement to strategic management: Part II.  Accounting Horizons,  15(2), 147-160. Keaveny, T. J., &McGann, A. F. (2013).A comparison of behavioral expectation scales and graphic rating scales.  Journal of Applied Psychology,  60(6), 695. Levy, P. E., & Williams, J. R. (2014). The social context of performance appraisal: A review and framework for the future.  Journal of management,  30(6), 881-905. Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (2012). The effect of the performance appraisal system on trust for management: A field quasi-experiment.  Journal of applied psychology,  84(1), 123. Murphy, K. R., &Constans, J. I. (2014).Behavioral anchors as a source of bias in rating.  Journal of Applied Psychology,  72(4), 573. Saal, F. E., Downey, R. G., &Lahey, M. A. (2012).Rating the ratings: Assessing the psychometric quality of rating data.  Psychological Bulletin,  88(2), 413. Sanchez, H., Kuttanna, B., Olson, T., Alexander, M., Gerosa, G., Philip, R., & Alvarez, J. (2015, February).Thermal management system for high performance PowerPC/sup TM/microprocessors.In  Compcon'97. Proceedings, IEEE  (pp. 325-330). IEEE. Tseng, S. M. (2014). Knowledge management system performance measure index.  Expert Systems with Applications,  34(1), 734-745. Yahya, S., &Goh, W. K. (2012).Managing human resources toward achieving knowledge management.  Journal of knowledge management,  6(5), 457-468.

Communication, Conflict and Decision-Making Essay - 1

Communication, Conflict and Decision-Making - Essay Example This essay discusses that in every society, communication is the backbone of professional and social relationships. Communication facilitates the flow of ideas and/or concepts from one given source to the other. The best process of communication needs the existence of a message sender, as well as the receiver. Individuals share the views and ideas through the thriving process of communication. For any communication process to be regarded as thriving, the receiver must comprehend the message content in accordance with the sender’s aim. This means that certain processes of communication lead to unsuccessful ends. Thus, it is worth noting that communication process encounters some hindrances that deter efficient information delivery to the anticipated parties. No matter the effort put in to evade a conflict, it appears to always arise at the worst moments. Thus, ineffective communication leads to a conflict of views or ideas among the parties involved. During communication, confl ict begins from a merely simple flicker of emotions or varies all the way to supportive proof that one presents. While conflict may lead to both positive and negative impacts, this social disagreement may boost maturity of social abilities among the individuals involved. Conflict management involves the application of measures that promote the advancement of positive effects forms a social discord. Efficient conflict management process promotes learning among parties involved and the entire society on how to address incompatible vies in the future.

Evaluation of a Foodservice System Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluation of a Foodservice System - Case Study Example Casa Brusco opened only a few months ago. The pricing of the menu is medium to high. Portions are plentiful and the General Manager feels that the menu should change with the seasons. Likewise for the dcor although to a lesser extent. The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere with dim lights which enhance the brick pizza oven. The bathrooms are well appointed. I interviewed Diana Bonsignore, the general manager who explained that because the restaurant just opened, there is a tight budget and therefore much of the work falls upon her shoulders. She is clearly exhausted and spends eighteen hours per day in the restaurant. Her salary is $100,000 per year. She is in charge of hiring however feels that the owners are employing their friends as wait staff and these employees are inexperienced. Indeed, during our interview, she continuously had to break our dialogue to answer calls. The restaurant's vendors include soft drink companies and a specific company which deals with alcoholic beverages. Although the price for these items is industry standard, the owners never pay the bills and she finds herself consistently cut off from ordering supplies due to nonpayment. Her chef has no formal training and is obstinate when a customer complains about an order.

International Change and the Social World Essay Example for Free

International Change and the Social World Essay In meeting the demands of a global economy, technological advancements especially in the field of telecommunications and information technology are key factors in making possible various transactions faster, cheaper, more reliable and convenient. Needless to say, these technological advances are important tools if companies and other business ventures are to survive in the digital economy. These technological advancements however, are evolving far too fast which consequently generate pressing problems that ought to be considered. On a preliminary note, the aforementioned rapid technological evolutions pose serious questions if our societal structures can rapidly adapt to these changes and more importantly, if we, ourselves can rapidly adapt and be able to integrate for ourselves these changes. In line with this, what follows is a discussion of how such changes affect the global economy. Within this context, the task of this paper is to discuss the effects of work transformation in society with a particular emphasis on how it affects the people management systems around the world. Weick and Quinn (1999) contend that changes in the organization of work within societies may either be characterized as â€Å"discontinuous and episodic† or â€Å"continuous and emergent† (p.361). The difference between the two lies in the emphasis on intentionality, planning, management control, and specific outcomes in the former and the emphasis on improvisation, spontaneity, and ongoing action in the latter. The two perspectives stated above have a direct effect in the formation of an organizational framework. This is another way of saying that the manner in which organizational change is perceived supports an appreciation of the multidimensional nature of organizational phenomena. The organization of phenomena stems from the human need to conceptually order reality. Such a process is ensured through the creation or adoption of a language that may account for the reality perceived by the individual or by the social group. The importance of such a process stems from its issuance of a fixed and thereby more manageable reality. Such a reality, however, is continuously distorted due to the steady input of new forms of conceptualizations that also opt to enable the manageability of reality. Such a process is apparent within the business sector in the gradual shift from an information-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. The later form of economy recognizes that knowledge occupies a focal point in relation to the function of society. As a result of this, organizations became increasingly aware of the need for a ‘knowledge focus’ in their organizational strategies as they respond to changes in their environment. ‘Knowledge focus’ refers to the deobjectifcation of knowledge in favour of the codification of knowledge into systems (Bell, 1999, p.x). Within such an economy, organizational actors and the complex social interactions that take place amongst them recreate organizations through the continuous process of change. According to Tsoukas and Vladimirou (2001), what makes knowledge organizational is it codification in the form of propositional statements set within a group’s collective understanding (p.974). It is important to note that such a process of knowledge codification requires the existence of local knowledge. Within an organization, such forms of local knowledge are evident in the company’s culture; the development of such is dependent upon the existing organizational framework. Such a point brings to focus one of the main elements of the labour market that determines the existing workforce’s productivity and performance within a particular society. The reason for such a focus is evident if one considers that the current shift in economy [from an information based economy to a knowledge-based economy] gives precedence on the role of the members of the workforce in the maintenance of an organizations overall knowledge based culture. In line with this, Davinport (1999) contends that such a culture necessitates a new mode of framing the human capital. According to Davinport, it is time to conceive of workers â€Å"not as human capital but as human capital owners and investors† (1999, p.7). Davinport argues that such a conception is not entirely new since it echoes the conception of the employee as an asset. The difference of such a view stems from the conception of the worker as the owner of the capital since workers are the ones who decide in which field they will contribute the specific talents and expertise they possess within the current market. The organization’s role thereby is fixed to the extent that its main role lies in utilizing and developing the skills offered by the member’s of their workforce. Organizations must thereby adopt new working practices or upgrade workplace skills. An example of this is evident in the content of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) of the United Kingdom which states that â€Å"in a mass customisation environment, where systems of production and distribution are readily imitated and leapfrogged, organisations must therefore continually invest in physical and human capital to keep ‘ahead of the game’†(2001, p.10). As a result of the above stated paradigmatic shift from an information-based economy to a knowledge based economy certain developments occurred within the economic, political, and technological fields. Such developments are evident in the increase in business competition and the advent of information technologies (Weatherly, 2003, p.2). Political and economic developments are evident in the increase in business competition which is a result of the globalization of trade and key economic sectors [e.g. telecommunication, electricity, transportation, financial services]. Technological developments, on the other hand, are evident in the advent of information technology which can best be seen through the continuous popularity and easy accessibility of the internet. According to Lev (2001), such developments within the above stated fields have dramatically changed the structure of organizations to the extent that intangibles [human capital] became the major value drivers of business within developed economies (p.8-14). The reason for this is evident if one considers that from a strategic perspective it has been noted that â€Å"fully one-third of the information used to justify the investment decision is non-financial† (Ernst Young, 1997, p.10). Examples of such factors are â€Å"quality of management, effectiveness of new product development, strength of market position, strength of corporation culture, and effectiveness of compensations policies† (Weatherly, 2003, p.4). Such factors have an overall link to business systems since they are partially if not fully determined by the company’s culture maintained by its overall organizational framework. Furthermore, since the above stated factors are considered in the determination of investment decisions, it also follows that they have a direct effect in terms of the economic conditions of a business organizations and hence the economic side of society as a whole. As was stated above, one of the defining factors of the current paradigm shift within the market can be traced from the shift of importance from the tangible assets to the intangible assets. Tangible assets consists of financial assets [financial capital] and physical assets [e.g. property, equipment, and other furnishing] whereas intangible assets consists of intellectual capital [e.g. patent formulas and product designs] and human capital. The focus of this paper from the onset has been to lay down the current transformations of work in the period of globalization. What follows is the specification of how these changes have affected society at large. In Work, Self, and Society, Catherine Casey specifies the manner in which changes in work have affected society. Casey (1995) argues that the current conception of work which is defined by the effects of industrialization has turned the worker into a product or a commodity of the market. She states, The convergence of work and virtue (through methodical adherence to one’s ‘calling’)†¦set in place a type of citizen-worker that would subsequently come to typify modern forms of social organization. In modern society people have defined themselves and in turn have been socially defined, by the type of work that they do in the public sphere. (1995, p.28) In other words, the results of industrialization have led to the commodification of the individual as the individual derives his value from his work. The manner in which this is enabled is further evident in the current shift from an information based economy to a knowledge based economy as the value of the worker is considered to be dependent upon his knowledge. This shows how the nature of work within a post-industrial society has changed to the extent that the market has become dependent upon the mental labour and the mental knowledge of the worker [mental labour is considered to be the core of industrial activity] (Lawson, Jones, Moores, 2000, p.99).   To a certain extent, one might note that this may prove to be beneficial for individual societies since the aforementioned paradigm shift has enabled the development of regional specialties and economies. Sabel (1999) states that the changes in the work paradigm within the post-industrial society has led to the development and growth of â€Å"twentieth century variants of industrial districts in Italy, West Germany, Japan, Denmark, Austria, France, and the United States† (p. 243). Such an assumption however may be considered as the result of a form of hasty generalization since although such developments have enabled organizations around to world to place greater focus upon the members of the workforce as well as upon the development of industrial districts around the world [the development of such is expected to pave the way for the industrialization of all countries and hence the development of these countries] such developments still place the worker in a disadvantaged position as he remains to be a commodity within the market whose value is dependent upon what the work system prescribes. References Bell, D. (1999).   The Axial Age of Technology, Foreword. The Coming of the Postindustrial Society.   New York: Basil Book. Casey, C. (1995). Work, Self, and Society: After Industrialism. London: Routledge. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2001.   Raising U.K. Productivity: Why People Management Matters. Davenport, T. (1999).   Human Capital: What It Is and Why People Invest.   San Francisco: Doubleday. Ernst Young LLP. (1997). Measures that matter. Retrieved March 22, 2009 from www.cbi.cgey.com. Lawson, T., M. Jones, R. Moores. (2000). Advanced Sociology Through Diagrams. Oxford: Oxford U.P. Lev, B. (2001). Intangibles: Management, measurement and reporting. Washington, DC: Brookings Inst. P. Sabel, C. (1999). Flexible Specialisation and the Re-emergence of Regional Economies. Modernity: Critical Concepts Ed. M. Waters. London: Taylor Francis. Tsoukas, H. Vladimirou, E. (2001). What is organizational knowledge? Journal of Management Studies, vol. 38, no.7. 973-93 Weatherly, L. (2003). Human capital-the elusive asset: Measuring and managing human capital: A strategic imperative for HR. Research Quarterly, Society for Human Resource Management. Weick, C. Quinn, R. (1999). Organizational change and development.   Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 50: 361-386.

Transitioning a Child To Daycare Essay -- Child Development

When a parent leaves their child off at a daycare, they often wonder why their child who was happy and content before they arrived cries and screams when their parent leaves to go to work. This is a very hard transition for infants, which is why it's our job as infant toddler teachers to make the transition as comfortable and relaxing as possible. The reason children feel this way when their parents leave is because they are in what Piaget calls the sensorimotor stage, and are in the beginning of object permanence meaning that an infant realizes something is their even though they cannot see it. This is very important because, before an infant can experience object permanence often refereed to as separation anxiety, they only think about what is in their view at the time, therefore they think about the present rather than the future. The infant feels like the parent left them with a stranger, and they are not coming back. As a teacher you can help decrease this by communicating with the parents, and allowing the infant to get used to the environment, and asking parents not to s...