Challenges Faced By Government Digital Service - 1395 Words

Products and services invented are faced by the challenges they must overcome, these invention also provide opportunities. Innovation is having a need, which requires a solution. â€Å" Innovation is a process of turning new ideas and putting these into widely used practices.† (Joe TIdd) Government digital service is a collection of government’s cabinet office with the responsibility of transforming the government digital service. This essay aims to examine the innovation challenges faced by Government digital service along with the opportunities, which arise with the invention of government digital service. The Essay focuses on what is innovate about the government digital service, how sustainable is the operating model, if GSD was disruptive, strategies GSD can use to establish platform thinking and how GSD can influence the public’s use of government’s digital platform. Inventions such as Government digital services are faced with challenges that incur as a result of the invention. Due to the nature of government Digital service being a unit of government cabinet one major challenge it faces is the culture of department silos and their relationships with the IT ‘oligarchs’. â€Å" Success in innovation appears to depend upon two key ingredients- technical resources (people, equipment, knowledge, money and etc.) and the capabilities in the organization to manage them.† (Joe Tidd j. B.) By not having a good relationship with IT department government digital department it faces aShow MoreRelatedChallenges And Opportunities For The Government Digital Service1340 Words   |  6 Pagesinvention is faced by challenges and opportunities, which need to be taken into consideration. Innovation doesn’t only look at having an idea but solving a solution to a problem and adapting ideas, which have already existed. â€Å"Innovation is the specific tool for entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or service†. (Joe Tidd, 1997) This essay will deliver an outline on the challenges and opportunities for the government digital service, in orderRead MoreThe Population Profile Of Australia1396 Words   |  6 Pagesstyle choices such as smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, add to an existing crisis that imposes more pressure on an overworked healthcare system (Willcox, 2014). Future challenges for health industry leaders are to develop strategies, for delivery of inclusive and accessible health care (Council Of Australian Governments, 2016). Currently under review are the impacts of the changing population profile in Australia such as, an aging population, chronic diseases, remote communities, an aging workforceRead MoreA Descriptive Study Of Indian Scenario1483 Words   |  6 PagesDigital Banking: A Descriptive study in Indian Scenario *NishantDabhade Research Scholar (Management) Jiwaji University, Gwalior (M.P.) nishant.dabhade.mgmt@gmail.com ABSTRACT Today banks operate in an extremely globalized, liberalized, privatized and a competitive environment. Indian banking industry has witnessed an incredible growths due to extensive changes that are taking place in the information technology. The development and the increasing progress that is being experienced in the InformationRead MoreReliance Jio Case Study Solution1738 Words   |  7 Pagescaptured a large market chunk and achieved numbers that took the competition over a decade to achieve. It is India’s only network which is solely 4G and its USP is the free services that it offers. The company adopted a predatory pricing strategy to enter the Indian telecom market and offered free voice, data, and message services in the name of its â€Å"Welcome Offer† from September 5, 2016, to up to December 31, 2016. Later, the offer was extended up to March 31, 2017, as the Happy New Year Offer. Reliance’sRead MoreThe Accessibility Of Remote Communities1530 Words   |   7 PagesAccessibility Remote communities are referring to those who are differing in terms of their history, level of isolation, access to service, strength of the population and exposure to environmental risk. Many indigenous people are living in this remote area (Department of Aboriginal Affairs(DAA)).Indigenous people in Australia formally Known as Aboriginal people . According to Australian bureau of statistics (2015), 3% of Australia s populace recognize as Aboriginal and the population is projectedRead MoreThe Total Contribution Of Travel And Tourism Essay1677 Words   |  7 Pagesenergy sources (Motilal, Pun, Sankat, 2006). Challenges Some of the technology challenges faced by Caribbean countries include monopolies, human resources and skills, and lack of a unified approach to address these challenges. The infrastructure and technology are readily available, however, challenges are still faced with distribution and price. Though competition became regulated in the early 2000s because of monopoly control of mobile telephone services, broadband internet, and cable television,Read MoreCase Study Jessop1104 Words   |  5 PagesPEST analysis help to provide a picture of the challenges facing Jessops? The company uses a PEST analysis to see which Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors are changing in the market. There are the four key components of a PEST analysis. Political factors Economic factors Social factors Technological factors PEST analysis helps to analyses Challenges to Jessops. These are; 1. Political factors: These include; Government environmental initiatives, e.g. Reducing wasteRead MoreThe European Parliament s Quest For Limit Its Market Control1365 Words   |  6 Pagesmany European countries, has faced a number of legal challenges from the European Parliament in recent years. The European Union is known for its criticism of antitrust probes – it challenged Microsoft’s position as a market leader a few years ago. It has since turned its attention towards Google and criticised the search giant for abusing its market position. EU has accused the company for its anticompetitive practises, claiming the company promotes its own services over those of its rivals. TheRead MoreProject Success and Failures1682 Words   |  7 PagesPropulsion Module Project Failure. 3 Nature of the Project 3 Budget and Time Frame for the Project 3 Challenges Faced in the Project 4 Project Failure Results 4 Project Success Example- Fort Bliss Site Development Services- Nation’s Largest Military Communication Installation using Green Technology. 5 Nature of the Project 5 Budget and Time Frame for the Project 6 Challenges Faced in the Project 7 Project Success Results 8 References 9 â€Æ' Project Failure Example- Space Station:Read MoreTechnology Solutions for Human Services1283 Words   |  6 PagesTechnology Solutions for Human Services Jane Doe BSHS/352 November 28, 2011 Instructor Technology Solutions for Human Services Technology has advanced considerably in recent years. As with other areas, technological advancements are crucial to human service organizations. Technology makes it possible for human service workers to provide better service. Human services utilize numerous tools, practices, and procedures in the advancement of individuals. Technological solutions have become

The Era Of The Common Man - 844 Words

The era of the common man was a period between, 1824 through 1848, described to be the era of wealth, hope and power. During this period Andrew Jackson s presidency helped United States grow as a nation and live up to the era’s name; through the economic developments, changing politics that benefited the common man, and different reform movements. The Tariff of 1828 commonly known as the â€Å"tariff of abominations† decreased the Southerners economy drastically. The Southerners had to pay for raw materials allowing the Northeast to prosper, by eliminating them from foreign competition. Jackson and his Democratic - Republican Party were able to use this to their advantage by luring colonist against the economic aristocracy that was growing in the Northeastern states. As â€Å"president of the common man†, Andrew Jackson believed economic aristocracy was blocking opportunities to the common man. Jackson also believed that his biggest enemy was the National Bank, managed by Nicholas Biddle. The National Bank had a wide range of power and Biddle planned to use this power on less well managed banks. Jackson in order to stop this â€Å"monster† pulled out all of the government s deposits going into the bank, he also refused to renew the bank s charter before 1836, causing a short depression. At the beginning of 1835 a nationwide economic boom was taking place. Canal, railroad building, and an abundance of land contributed to this economic increase, as a result of this the government wasShow MoreRelatedThe Era Of The Common Man897 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"era of the common man† did not fully live up to its characterization on the means of economic development and by some democratic reforms such as office appointments. However, the politics aspect of the â€Å"era of the common man† did live up to its expectation by giving the common man a larger voice in politics and also with some other democratic reforms such as popular vote for presidential elections. The economic development in this time period was severely harmed by Jackson when he went afterRead MoreThe Era Of The Common Man1011 Words   |  5 PagesThe Jacksonian period has been regarded as the era of the â€Å"common man†, this characterization only holds true in regard to politics. Jackson’s action in economic development was little different from when this era began. His view towards reforms were threatening and unwanting. Jackson was relentless in his strive for presidency. Jackson lost his first presidential run to John Quincy Adams in 1824 despite having the popular and electoral votes. The Jacksonians (supporters of Jackson) called thisRead MoreThe Jacksonian Era Of The Common Man1561 Words   |  7 PagesThe Jacksonian period (1824-1841) is widely recognized as the era of the â€Å"common man†. To an extent, this statement is true due to the numerous political advancements that increased the rights of the â€Å"common man†. However, the political developments alone do not form a full picture of this period. In contrast with the progress in the political sphere, the economic developments during this era oppressed the people as America plunged into the worst financial depression it had seen to that pointRead MoreAndrew Jackson’s ‘Era of the Common Man’ or the ‘Jacksonian Period’ (1824-1845)1100 Words   |  5 PagesAndrew Jackson’s ‘Era of the Common Man’ or the ‘Jacksonian Period’ (1824-1845) starts at his inauguration, and ends as the Civil War begins. Jackson was the first president that was not born into wealth or education, but instead made his own wealth, and taught himself up to a prime education, a ‘self-made man’, as some may say, this and his military history made him the defining figure of his age. Although, he downplayed his past successes to make him more like the ‘common man’, and appeal to theRead MoreEssa y on 1920s Dbq823 Words   |  4 Pagesof revolutionary movements that would shift the everyday lives of American citizens and pave the way to the modern era. A struggle between old ideas of conservatism and new liberal movements surfaced during the â€Å"roaring twenties†. The new movements that began rearing their heads during this time period consisted of liberal political ideas, the advancements of rights for the common man and woman, and reforms to our social culture. One reason that tension was created during this time period was becauseRead MoreJeffersonian Republicanism vs. Jacksonian Democracy1441 Words   |  6 Pagesvery different eras, ranging from 1800-1808 and 1808-1840 respectively, that established two very different political philosophies. Each formed their own system that helped shape the way people think about American government. Liberalism is a political philosophy that goes against the established status quo at the time in order for change, where as a conservative is one which adheres to principles established by that same status quo. The Jeffersonian Republicans image of the common man was one vestedRead MoreInequality : Andrew Jackson Won The Presidential Election950 Words   |  4 Pagesfearless Jackson boasted; ‘a calm dose not suit me† (George Brown Tindall 442). His two terms in office was called the age of the common man. However, the Jacksonian democracy was actually the era of growing economic and social in equality. The growing gap between the wealthy and the poor and open racial behavior are two points that demonstrate how the age of the common man became instead the age of inequality. â€Å"While men of moderate means could sometimes turn an inheritance into a fortune by good managementRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Elizabethan Era1548 Words   |  7 PagesAlthough the importance and presence of love in a person’s life over the ages has not changed, the role of love in one’s life has changed drastically in an individual’s personal life, specifically in marriage. During the Elizabethan era, it was â€Å"considered foolish to marry for love† (Ros). Fifteenth century marriage was seen as a means of gaining property, friends, and allies; therefore, marriages among wealthy landowners were more commonly arranged than those among people from lower classes. ManyRead MoreRealism And The Victorian Era859 Words   |  4 Pagesindividuals that are of different blood and social statuses fall in love? The Victorian Era was a time where your social status could be construed as directly correlating to whom said individual could socialize with, marry, or have any ties too. Perhaps maybe there weren’t three individuals that knew this more than the three of Wuthering Heights Edgar Linton, Catherine Earnshaw, and Heathcliff. The Victorian Era had many elements that could be tied to it but the one that will be the center focus forRead MoreThe Reconstruction Era And The Jim Crow Era1525 Words   |  7 PagesThe Reconstruction Era and The Jim Crow Era were both times of Rapid growth in the United States that were characterized by changes not only on the intrapersonal level, but also on the cultural and legislative level. The Reconstruction Era occurred directly after the civil war and spanned twelve years from 1865 to 1877 , while the Jim Crow Era occurred from 1877 to 1954. Some of the common themes of these eras were race relations and t ension between northern states and southern states. The first

Water Imbalance Free Essays

Phu Pham 002815421 Water Imbalance When we talk about water imbalance, it is necessary to first know of water’s tendency to move from high concentration to low concentration. This property of water is influenced by three conditions: isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic. Isotonic condition exists when the concentration of the solute is the same as the concentration inside the cell. We will write a custom essay sample on Water Imbalance or any similar topic only for you Order Now Because the concentrations are the same on both sides, there is no movement of water. In hypertonic, however, the concentration of solute is greater on the outside than on the inside, water moves outside of the cell until concentration on both sides reach equilibrium. Because water moves outside, this causes the cell to shrink. In hypotonic solution, the concentration of solute is greater on the inside than on the outside, water is drawn inside the cell to reach equilibrium while busting the cell opened. Inside the human body, there are many solutes that together make up blood and other solution necessary for life such as sodium, calcium, potassium, water†¦ These ions are called electrolytes, a vital key in maintaining the homeostasis. Serious electrolytes usually associated with sodium, potassium, and calcium. Other electrolytes disturbances are less common. A sodium imbalance occurs when there is too little or too much sodium in the bloodstream. Hyponatremia happens when there is too little sodium, and hypernatremia occurs when there is too much sodium. In normal activity, sodium is absorbed by the kidney to regulate water levels in the body. But when there is a water imbalance, such that of too much or too little of water, the body either gets rid of or absorbs too much sodium. Regular symptoms includes: muscle cramps, confusion, restlessness, agitation, tissue swelling, depression, lack of coordination, seizures, and more seriously coma. Hypernatremia, a condition when there is more sodium ions on the outside than the inside of the cells, causes fluid to be pulled from the cells of the brain resulting in cell shrinkage. This is the primary cause of neurological symptoms. Hyponatremia is a condition when there is more sodium ion on the inside than the outside of the cells. Osmotic movement of water into the brain cell may increase the brain size above normal. This can lead to seizures and other severe neurological effects. Therefore, the maintaining of electrolytes is very important in order for the cells to last. Any imbalance in the concentration of water inside the body will directly affect the concentration of solutes (electrolytes) in the blood and cause severe damage. http://rnbob. tripod. com/sodiumimbalance. htm http://www. medscape. com/medline/abstract/15982544? src=emed_ckb_ref_0 How to cite Water Imbalance, Papers

Shakespeare reveals Essay Example For Students

Shakespeare reveals Essay Consider the means by which Shakespeare reveals character in the episode.  In the second act of The Tempest Shakespeare takes the opportunity to develop the characters of Prospero and Miranda to the audience.  Prospero is set out to the audience as some kind of supreme power, after the audience learn just before this extract that it was his magic, and not simply a hostile nature tat raised the storm in scene 1. The Tempest is a play about power as we observed in the previous scene, when the power of the storm disrupted the power relations between nobles and servants and Prospero is set out as the central force controlling and manipulating events throughout the play. During this extract Shakespeare informs the audience or Prosperos power but also of his wisdom and love for his daughter, he states I have doe nothing but in care of thee to Miranda alerting the audience to the fact that in spite of the fact that prospero has just caused a shipwreck he is a moral man presumably acting for his own reasons. This may be done to prevent the audience immediately labelling Prospero as a villain, Prosperos compassion is further enforced which he informs Miranda of the fact that he has insured that he has prevented any of the people aboard the wreck to come to any kind of harm. This also creates prolepsis as it indicated that Prospero has something planned. Prosperos wisdom and power are conveyed to the audience when he describes himself as A prince of power and also master of a full poor cell.  In contrast to Prosperos emitted aura of power and wisdom Miranda is meant to be seen as the epitome of compassion and innocence. These characteristics are indicated to the audience both by Miranda ignorance of her situation Art ignorant of whet thou art and by hr apparent lack of thirst for further information More to know did never medal with my thoughts. In modern times this would probably be seen as naivety however during the late Tudor period when this play was written the view of the ideal woman was still very focused around the image Miranda adheres to, one of purity, empathy and respect towards both farther (As is indicated in this scene) and husband. During this section of the play Miranda is also set out to appear very young, and willing to leave her destiny in control of her father, later on seems to take more control of the events around her (such as when she proposes marriage to Ferdinand) however at this point she is still very emotional in a more child like manner O! Woe the day! This also helps to show her compassion since she is clearly so concerned for the safety of the people on the ship in spite of the fact that she is unaware of who they are.  In conclusion Shakespeare utilises this scene to set out the key elements of both Mirandas personalities, however it is not until later in the play that there characters are properly developed.

Movie Summary Drumline Essay Example

Movie Summary Drumline Paper The movie, Drumline, which stars Nick Cannon, is a young high school graduate who tries to find his mark in the world of music and marching band (Stone). When watching this movie, one may ponder whether Atlanta AT University was a real college. There is not an Atlanta AT. The film was filmed at Clark Atlanta University. The movie is based upon North Carolina AT State Universitys Blue and Gold Marching Machine band and their drum line, which is nicknamed Cold Steel. (Wells) While the movie was in production, other extras were recruited from local high school bands within the Metro-Atlanta area. A couple of Morris Browns band members were featured in the movie. A high school band director trained anybody who did not have any type of band experience (Wells). I believe that Drumline represents what HBCUs bands do on a season-to-season basis. First, Drumline predicts what most bands go through with waking up at the crack of dawn, making sure your roommate is up, wearing white t-shirts and black bottoms, playing your director’s remix of Earth, Wind, Fire or The O’Jays, and exercising (mostly running). The scene, where Cannons character and the rest of the percussion section were outside in the rain, is considered hazing (Stone)Hazing is part of initiations to get into a group (). Hazing is prohibited in all bands. Florida AM Universitys drum major died after a band hazing ritual that required pledges to be punched, kicked, and assaulted as they ran down the center of the bus (Ellis). We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Summary Drumline specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Summary Drumline specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Summary Drumline specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Another thing is that this movie makes band participants look like athletes. Most people do not believe that the participants are athletes, but bands go through much more than the average athlete (Thompson). Also, there is a scene where it is As homecoming when the main character leads the section into using their sticks to play on the visiting drum lines drums, which is a major insult to drum lines (Stone). There also are students who do not

Advantages of Using Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean Trade essays

Advantages of Using Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean Trade essays Traveling merchants were a major vehicle for creating vast interregional networks and trade routes in the great overland oceanic networks increased in importance (Interregional Pp). Transportation was an important factor, whether meaning better ships and navigation, or the increasingly widespread use of the camel as a ship of the desert (Tropical Pp). Before the 1st millennium CE, the Sahara was an almost impassable barrier separating the North African coast from sub-Saharan Africa (Tropical Pp). And the Atlantic Ocean not a highway for travel, but a barrier (Tropical Pp). The only route connecting the two areas was the Nile, however, in its southern reaches travel was made difficult by both rapids and surrounding jungle (Tropical Pp). The monsoon winds were the propulsion for ships, the driving force for navigation in the Indian Ocean, blowing ships northeast in summer, and then back southwest in winter (Tropical Pp). Indian Ocean trade first increased under local groups from southern Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia, then outside groups, such as the Chinese became involved and a network establishing a link between East African commercial city-states and the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia (Interregional Pp). By the 16th century, the Portuguese dominated this system and linked it directly, rather than through Mediterranean intermediaries, with Europe (Interregional Pp). Although products, such as spices from Southeast Asia and other expensive goods, continued to be exchanged, bulk good such as sugar and textiles were increasingly involved (Interregional Pp). With the introduction of the camel, the Sahara was no longer a barrier and people and trade good as well as warriors, could travel quickly across the desert (Tropical Pp). This transformed life in the West African grasslands because camel caravans that crossed the Sahara came primarily to ...

What is Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is Leadership - Essay Example Through this definition it is evident that leadership involves inspiring a shared vision while involving everybody in the organization in the process. Through effective leadership, employee motivation and dedication is achieved. Leadership need not be seen as a title or a position. "Leadership is everybodys business† means that everybody is empowered to think lengthily, fashion a vision, and move towards the vision for the overall success of the set objectives. â€Å"Everyone’s business’ characterizes the relationship between the two parties; the leader and the employee. This means it is everybody’s responsibility to achieve success (Northouse, 2010). Previously, leadership measures were stringent, in that the leader was responsible for every direction. Presently, employees yearn for responsibility and each of them may be considered a leader in their own manner (Kouzes and Posner, 2012). There are several desirable results that are realized if a leader lets employees be engaged in leadership. For instance, there is employee motivation and trust among colleagues. In addition, the leader can concentrate on other important projects and assign minor leadership duties to the employees . â€Å"Leadership is not an affair of the head, but rather an affair of the heart† means that leadership encompasses being in love. Leaders must treat their workforces as humans and equals. The challenges that exist in an organization should not result in unnecessary distress for the workforce. â€Å"†¦an affair of the heart† is best explained in terms of behaviour. The leader should be mindful of the emotions of the workers in an openhearted manner. Practically speaking, it is about treatment of employees as equals. When a leader takes a course of action, he/she must postulate the impact it may have on the workforce and take remedial measures (Fairholm, 2009). Through this, there is bound to be less tension in the organization and enthusiasm to work. In most cases, the workforce

Jazz Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jazz - Article Example The fundamental nature of jazz lies in improvisation, defined as the art of making music through the spur-of-the-moment invention of ideas. Jazz relies upon the artist/performer to create music that is neither written nor practiced, but shaped from the heart and soul for that at that particular moment in time. Through this method, Jazz has proven to be the type of music that evokes thought and emotions through a shared experience between the artist/performer and listener/audience. As a function of this, the following analysis will seek to discuss, analyze, and draw inference from a particular jazz concert that was visited by this particular student. I was privileged to have an old friend of mine invite me to a Jazz concert on March 26th at ‘Lucy’s 51’ in Toluca Lake. Toluca Lake is a district that lies 12 miles to the northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The first thing I noticed as I walked in was the electronic and acoustic instruments, as well as the formal attir e that the performers adorned. The group consisted of a total of three players and the instruments ranged from an electric guitar, drum and the bass. This was of course somewhat different than I was used to do to the fact that many of the concerts that I’ve been to previously were performed by either a string quartet or a full symphony orchestra. This of course helps to integrate the understanding that the form of music that I was about to experience was necessarily modern and did not rely upon the acoustic power that the instrument in an of itself could generate. These aspects were creatively woven to produce a magnificent concert that incorporated a series of four different songs that were performed beautifully.   John Pisano was on the guitar, Jamie Findlay was acting as the guest guitarist, while John Belzaguy was on the bass, and lastly but not least was Tim Pleasant on the drums. Each of the selection of songs that were played could be classified as jazz even though e ach piece employed its own specific and unique sound. This further helps to demonstrate the broad range of musical style as well as musicianship that is exhibited within the jazz genre of music. This was somewhat surprising to me due to the fact that jazz has only been able to develop and evolve over a relatively short period of time. As compared to classical music, that is had many centuries to develop different styles and forms a musicianship, Jazz ultimately reached its peak levels of popularity and development within what can be considered a short period of time. The crowd was generally dressed casually and had a wide variety of listeners, ranging from young people to much older ones. What I quickly noticed was that the environment was not as quiet as I had expected it would be. I had done a bit of research into Jazz music prior to the concert and I expected the audience to be dead quiet and listening attentively to the music. This was not the case as part of the crowd was unbea rably noisy as compared to other concerts I have been to. This select part of the crowd did not seem to appreciate the truly beautiful music that was being performed. In past concerts I have been in, loud conversations and disruptive noises were not allowed as this was seen to be distracting the performers as well as the audience who were listening attenti

Management and globel economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management and globel economy - Essay Example ive application of cross cultural teams can offer a source of experience and inventive thinking that enhances the competitive position of the organization. Nonetheless, cultural disparities are can impede with the successful completion of projects in present multicultural, global business society. To attain project objectives and avoid cultural misapprehensions, project managers should be culturally sensitive and support creativity and motivation through flexible headship. They should also apply the famous and accepted cross cultural management theories for the benefit of the company and society. Theories tackle connections between populace, motivational direction, orientation toward threat, definition of oneself and others, outlooks to time, and attitudes to the atmosphere. Motivation and training of multicultural projects groups and appropriate inferences for project management is an integral in business success. Cultural differences in business management affect people as it affec ts the relationships between people. Two main, distinct cultural dissimilarities can be identified concerned this relationship. It leads to egoism and collectivism approaches, which further develops universalism versus particularism as well as individualism and communitarians. Managers also apply motivational orientation whereby society’s means to deal with intrinsic vagueness of living. In this aspect, masculinity and femininity, uncertainty averting, and control distance are issues to consider. Another aspect to consider is outlooks toward time between long-term and short-term courses, which are either inner or outer time. For instance, Unilever applies cultural differences approaches at it operates in over hundred countries with different cultures. The case study of Unilever is an inspiration to corporations that fancy thriving in the fast-moving economy. Unilever has long considered adaptation a chief factor of success in the consumer goods sector globally, mostly in the

Characteristics Of Porters Five Forces Model

Characteristics Of Porters Five Forces Model This report aims to discuss the characteristic of Porters Five Forces model which had greatly contributes to strategic management. Porter (1980) sees competition in an industry being governed by five different sets of forces and an industrys attractiveness is contingent on the strength of these five forces. Nevertheless, this model is being debated since it is purely derived from industrial perspective. To be the market leader, resource- base theorists suggested organizations must aware of its intrinsic strength and weakness therefore enable them to formulate strategy efficiently. Apart from perspective imperfect, Porters five forces also limited by some factors when applying in certain industry. To present the contributions as well as limitations of Porters five forces framework, this report will examine the five forces of soft drink and airline industry. All the information is collected from text books, journals, articles, annual report and websites. 1.0 Introduction All purpose of strategy is to help an organization survives and be profitability in the industry. An industry is a group of firms that produce a similar product or service, for instance cosmetics or financial services. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006). The understanding of the industry structure and its competition environment is a critical ingredient of a successful strategy. Firms need to examine the level of profitability of the industry they are entered, whether it is potentially high profitable in the future. Michael Porter (1980), a Harvard strategy professor contended that the industry profitability is determined by five forces of competition, they are the competition from new entrants, competition from substitutes, and competition from established rivals as well as the power of suppliers and power of buyers. (M. Grant R., 2008). By examine the strength of five forces reveal why an industry is attractive and only then can organization formulates strategy to gain competitive advantage in the market place. Unfortunately, Porters five forces framework has been involved into several criticisms. Some of theorists argued that Porters Five Forces framework is lack of rigorous since it is based on Industrial Organisation (IO) economic perspective and in reality, the strength of the forces may differ from business to business. (Campbell D., Stonehouse G., Houston B., 2002). The prediction of industry attractiveness based on the five forces is unclear and lack of trustworthy. To judge whether Porters five forces framework is useful to predict the industry potential profitability, this report will applying this model into soft drink and airline industry. 2.0 The Values of Porters Five Force Framework Porter Five Forces framework was derived from Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) paradigm of IO which concerned on the industry structure was influence by conduct and performance of organizations. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007). Insight into organization heterogeneity in terms of market attractiveness evaluations and understanding of market entry enable them to make better decisions and prevent from potential loss or go into liquidation. (Dixit A, K. Chintagunta P., 2007). Michael Porter indicated that the industry structure grows out of a set of economic and industrial characteristics that bring out the strength of each competitive force and the forces are threat of new entrants, threat of substitute, the rivalry among existing competitors, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers. (M. Grant R., 2008). The strength of the five competitive forces can determines the long-run profit potential of an industry by how much of economic value retained by companies in the i ndustry versus bargained away by customers and suppliers, threaten by substitutes or forced by new entrants. (E. Porter M., 2008). The stronger of these forces, the more limited the organizations ability to set higher price and earn greater profits. The low forces, in contrast, become an opportunity for organizations to generate strategies. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006). In order words, this framework suggested the source of organizational profits is market positions, and the positions protected by barriers to entry into the market. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007). Many strategic analysis tools formed based on the industrial perspective as Porters five forces did, for instance the PESTEL analysis is the useful environment scanning tool that examine the external factors influence an organization. Game theory, which founded by Von Neumann and Morgenstern (1944) contends that the rivalry among competitors is interdependent, but the issue is generally concerned with a firms external environment. (M. Grant R., 1998) 3.0 Five Forces of Soft drink industry 3.1 Rivalry amongst competitors Porter described the rivalry amongst existing competitors is jockeying for position, where they compete in the form of products price, products innovation and differentiation, advertising and promotion as well as after-sales services slugfests for purpose of scramble for market share and earn superior profits. The degree of rivalry in an industry is determined by several variables; they are the degree of competitors concentration, the level of rivalry, products differentiation, the industry growth rate and exit barrier. (G. H. Richard., 1983) Soft drink industry considered a consolidated industry, where the industry is leading by few large companies, such as Coca-cola, Pepsi-cola and Cadbury Schweppes. These companies who seize large proportion of market share had earned superior profit. In order to gain competitive advantage from competitors, Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola have spent large investment in advertising and promotion to build strong brand identify among consumers and become a barrier for new entrants. Coca-cola build customer loyalty by it unique coke recipe while Pepsi-cola serving different soft drink to capture market share of Coca-cola. The unique recipe of soft drinks had gained many loyal customers which uneasily duplicate by competitors. In the position of market leader, they can determine the price of soft drink and thus avoid price war. (M. Grant R., 2008) According to Agarwal and Gort (1996), the late entrants have relatively lower survival rates because the exit barrier is formed in competitive intensify. (Dixit A, K. Chintagunta P., 2007) The exit barrier in soft drink industry is significant because firms require large capital investment to achieve economic of scale in order to compete with strong competitors. Yet, according to the average return on invested capital (ROIC) of US industries, the profitability of soft drink industry increase consistently indicates that the market value of soft drink tends to grow in future. (Kindly refer to Appendix V). 3.2 Threat of Entry A high barrier to entry benefits the existing players in an industry because the competition is stable and established companies can take advantage of this opportunity to raise prices and generates favorable returns. The established companies who run a larger production may benefit from economic of scales and create barrier to the new comer. Others, the government regulation can also be a barrier to entry. (Johnson G., Scholes K., Whittington R., 2008) The barrier to entry can be created by existing companies by build strong brand loyalty. Although there is no significant restriction from government towards soft drink business, the efforts of Coca-cola and Pepsi-Cola to built brand loyalty have significantly threatened new companies to enter the business. (Kolter p., Armstrong G., 2008). Further, when the new companies intend to enter the market, both companies have take retaliate action by cut down the prices and forcing the new entrant to curtail expansion plans. (M. Grant R., 2008). Since the barrier to entry is high based on strong market leaders, the industry is considered attractive. 3.3 Threat of Substitute When the use of product can be wholly substitute by products out of the industry, customers will switch to substitute if the price of the product goes up. To the extent that switching costs are low, substitutes may have significant impact on the profitability of an industry. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006) Through industry innovation, incumbents are struggling to produce diversity beverages to satisfy different consumers taste. The soft drink seems gradually substituted by carbonated beverage. In responding to the competition of substitute, Coca-cola expanded its business through alliance and acquisitions like Coke-Nestea and Coke -Minute Maid. Meanwhile, Pepsi-cola diversify their products flavor such as Pepsi with orange juice. (Meghan E., Deichert M, Ellenbecker M, Klehr E., Pesarchick L., Ziegler K., 2006). Yet, Coca-cola had builds extremely strong customers loyalty in the flavor of Coke since the early 1960s, there are no visible beverages can substitute Coke and it has been the top-selling soft drink over centuries. (Coca-cola, 2010). Briefly, substitutes become less of a threat because of the concentrated manufacturers effort in diversification. 3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers Buyer power is determined by switching costs, the relative volume of purchases, the standardization of the product, brand identity, and quality of service. (Thompson J., Martin F., 2005) Companies are not merely selling their products to consumers, but large proportions of products are distributed to retailers such as supermarkets. Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola mainly distributed their soft drink products to supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury. Although these retailers purchase soft drinks in large quantity, they do not have much bargaining power because they need different kind of soft drink products to generate consumer traffic, especially the popular brand name like Coke and Pepsi. Vending, basically deals with fixed price, was the most profitable channel for the soft drink industry. With no buyers to bargain, Coke and Pepsi bottlers could sell directly to consumers through machines owned by bottlers. (Meghan E., Deichert M, Ellenbecker M, Klehr E., Pesarchick L., Ziegler K., 2006). Therefore, the position of buyers in soft drink industry is weak because companies are not heavily relied on single distribution channel, but other route like vending machine or fast f ood chain. (Soft drink Industry, 2010) 3.5 Bargaining Power of Supplier The suppliers are powerful if they are in the position of well brand name, less competitors and high product differentiated. (Mike W. Peng, 2006). The main inputs of soft drink making are sugar and packaging. Sugar can be obtain from many sources and if the price of sugar increase, soft drink manufacturers can alternatively switch to corn syrup, as happened in the early 1980s. Thus, suppliers of nutritive sweeteners do not have much bargaining power to soft drink manufacturers. In contrary, they need to built long term relationship with soft drink manufacturers to make long-run profit in the business, for example, Monsanto signed long term Nutrasweet sweetener supply contracts with Coca-cola. (M. Grant R., 2008) Soft drink packaged by aluminum can and bottle. The manufacturers of aluminum can and bottle are almost similar and therefore they engaged in price competition to survive in the industry. With more competitors vying for supply contract with large soft drink manufacturers, soft drink manufacturers are able to negotiate extremely favorable price and thus suppliers bargaining power is relatively weak. (Meghan E., Deichert M, Ellenbecker M, Klehr E., Pesarchick L., Ziegler K., 2006) 3.6 Summary on Five Forces of Soft Drink Industry Overall, in soft drink industry, the rivalry is moderate since the concentrated producers had avoided significant price competition. The industry is considered attractive because high entry barrier prevent new entrant from fragment profits, there is no visible substitute and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers are relatively weak. Cott Corporation is a good example who earned favorable profits in this industry. Cott recognized the unique Coke taste to the mind of consumers thus established its private-label cola called RC Cola and successfully taking 5.5 percent shares of U.S. soft drink market in year 2005. (M. Grant R., 2008). Cott Corporation has proved that Porters five force framework is useful to predict industry profitability, which in accordance with the SCP concept of Porter. 4.0 Debates and critiques on Porters Five Forces Framework As outlined that Porters Five Forces Model was derived from industry perspective and it is therefore expected that the model is limited when applied at the firm level. In the early eighties, strategic management was much dominated by IO perspective, where the organizations performance is contingent on its external environment and thus loses the sight of organizational perspective. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007) The resource-based view, in contrast, examines the link between the internal characteristics of an organization and organizations performance. (Campbell D., Stonehouse G., Houston B., 2002) It highlights the core competency of an organization are the main sources of sustainable competitive advantage. (Kotenlnikov V.). Hamel and Prahalad (1994) explained that core competence does not appear on balance sheet, distribution channel or even brand and patent, but an aptitude to manage them may be one. Correspondingly, Penrose (1959) argued that a firm is a collection of resources and that a firms performance depends on its ability to use them. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007). In addition to the industry competition structure, resource-based approach examine deeply into the skills and competences of each competitor, the design of value-adding activities, the technologies employed and strategic groupings. The strategic analysis model like value-chain and SWOT analysis are contri butions of resource-based view which provide a greater understanding of organizations core competences and enable organization well manage their resources and capacities to formulate appropriate strategies. (E. Spanos Y., Lioukas S., 2001). Baden-Fuller C. and Stopford J. (1992) said that it is not industry matter, but the firm itself, as happened in airline industry. (De Wit B., Meyer R., 2005) 5.0 The Five Forces of Airline Industry 5.1 Rivalry amongst competitors The intense rivalry in airline industry caused by undifferentiating products and services, for instance, most of them were using similar aircraft like Airbus A320 family. (Shawn S., 2004)To be the ideal choice of customers, airlines had competing in fare price and their on-board products and service. They struggle to enhance their frequencies and timing of flight to avoid their competitors a frequency advantage. The barrier to exit is one of the significant factors that result fierce rivalry. The capital investments are a large sum and it is difficult to dispose the assets suppose the carriers are suffering in loss. Trans World Airline is the example of company who can remain competitors for three more years before gone into liquidation. (Ridderbusch K., 2006) The reason of high fixed costs significant influence the profitability of industry, like revealed in Appendix V, the ROIC of airline industry is slightly five percent and therefore the industrys growth rate is slow. 5.2 Threat of Entry The main entry barriers of airline industry are capital requirement and retaliation from established airlines. To establish an air transport business is a huge investment, including the expensive assets of airplane and safety facilities. This barrier had been reduce by bank institutions who encourage airline carriers by extend credit. (Vecchio J.D., 2000) There is not significant entry control in international airline industry such as US and Europe, but airport slot can be a barrier to entry. The condition of congested slot in hub airport has makes it difficult for new entrant to gain access to attractively-time slot. However, the congested slot issue has benefits the existing airlines. (Shawn S., 2004). Incumbents enlarge their business by hub system and thus they could serve more cities from their hubs and offer greater frequency flight to satisfy different customers need. (Vecchio J.D., 2000) 5.3 Threat of Substitute Apart from oversea reason, people tend to choose rail transport although they can reach destination in shortest time by air transport. Railway became a good substitute of airway as it provide city centre to city centre travel which makes convenience to consumers and its fare price is always cheaper that airlines. The market of airlines became worse when the development of rail transit. Through constantly innovation and development in railway industry, people today can choose long haul rail transit to reach destination in short time, as air transport did. (Shawn S., 2004) 5.4 Bargaining Power of Buyer Airline offers transportation service to two groups which are travel agents and consumers. Traditionally, travel agency system is overwhelming because it is the main distribution channel for airline. The airlines who much depends on travel agents forced to reduce fare price to keep long-term relationship that able to sustain competitive advantage in the market. The available of internet benefits consumers as they can access to the fare price and compare with each other. Many customers choosing airline travel because they can reach destination in short time, thus they always find for price discrepancy of the same exact flight. Considered airline travel is relatively luxurious trip, the fall in fare price would significantly increase the demand, especially those plans for a family vacation. Since the trend of demand is elastic, customers switching from each other is visible suppose the market fall into price war. (Vecchio J.D., 2000) 5.5 Bargaining Power of Suppliers The suppliers in airline industry are concentrated producers such as Boeing and Airbus. These suppliers became a threat to airlines because they provide high quality airplanes and pilot training services. (Johnson G., Scholes K., Whittington R., 2008) The power of supplier can determine by labor union. Industries which depend massive on employees are low profitability because the more skill people the more they need to pay. Aviation industry required high talent people such as pilots and have a high percentage of employees unionized and it is therefore less profitability. (M. Grant R., 2008) 5.6 Summary on Five Forces Analysis of Airline industry Through exploring five forces, airline industry is easy to entry but hard to exit, threaten by powerful supplier and buyer as well as substitute, and the rivalry is intensified. Therefore airline industry is extremely unattractiveness and all organizations stuck in the industry and are likely to suffer. In reality, however, Ryanair has survived and successfully seize significant market share in Europe. (Mike W. Peng, 2006) The key success of Ryanair is its concept of no-frills, low fares and hassle-free which effectively take cost advantage and perform better punctuality than competitors. However these strategies are zero without the effective management team and good employees performance. Ryanair implemented a third year of pay freeze to achieve cost saving however satisfy its cabin crew by maximize their time off. Despite lowest fares price, Ryanair continues maintain a safe and reliable air travel to meet customers need. (Ryanair, 2010) The successful of Ryanair in such an unattr activeness industry are its peoples competencies that make sustainable competitive advantage, as suggested by Hamel and Prahalad. 7.0 Other Limitations 7.1 Hyper competition Another critique is that competition is a dynamic process of rivalry that constantly reformulates industry structure. Joseph Schumpeter viewed competition is the dynamic forces of innovations which continuously restructure industry and tends to unstable. (M. Grant R., 1998, 2008). Since it is based on the industrial perspective in the eighties, the five forces model is ineffective to predict competition and profitability if the industry structural transformation is rapid like High-tech industries. (Recklies D., 2001). Todays IT and software industry are continuous being revolutionized by innovation. Organizations struggle to gain competitive advantage comes from an up -to-date knowledge of environmental trends and competitive activity tied with a willingness to risk a current advantage for a possible new advantage. This fast growing market structure indicates that is difficult to master the market trends and it is therefore limited for Porters five forces to predict the attractivenes s of the industry. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006) 7.2 The Complement as an important force Traditionally, Porter contends that the industrys attractiveness is driving by the potential suppliers of substitute good and service. This force is doubtful that as the presence of substitute reduce the value of the products, complements value will increase. Andrew Grove, the former CEO of Intel suggests complements should be added into Porters forces framework because it contributes visible impact, like the available of software add value to hardware. Yet, apart from IT industry, complements influence the competitiveness in other industries, for example the value of water heater increase if consumers access to gas supplier and service. Given the characteristic of complements is crucial to most products, the analysis of competition environment should take them into account. Organizations should reduce the bargaining power of complement suppliers in order to stimulate the demand of the products, like the strategy took by Nintendo. Nintendo controls the operation of games software pro ducers by provides developer licenses and through development of games software successful augments the demand for Nintendo video game console. (M. Grant R., 2008) 8.0 Conclusion and Recommendation Generally, Porters five forces are lack of rigorous and limited by its industrial perspective. In the case of Cotts triumphant in soft drink industry is not merely the commercial market, but much depend on its intrinsic management who wisely distribute its product in grocery channel which saving cost in term of no advertising and promotion. Cott popular with affordable soft drinks and their revenues increase dramatically through the growing of grocery retailers like Wal-Mart. (Cott, 2010). Therefore, Porters five forces seem lack of reliability relative to resource based analysis model. However, as Barney and Zajac (1994) said, the examination of strategy implementation skills (i.e., resources and capabilities) cannot be understood independently of strategy content and the competitive environment within which the firm operates. (E. Spanos Y., Lioukas S., 2001). In conclusion, managers should conduct the strategic analysis not simply based on Porters five forces, but examining in combination with other intrinsic perspective strategic analysis tool like SWOT analysis. SWOT model emphasized the elements of Strength-Weakness of an organization in addition to the Opportunities-Threats from external source. Furthermore, managers may apply PESTEL framework to supply the lack of Porters five forces model. (Trundy G., 2006). PESTEL framework emphasize the important elements of Politic, Economic, Social, Technology, Environmental and Legal to carry out a deeper external environment scanning that may influence organizations performance in the market.

Chinese-Middle East foreign policy :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Schroeder   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Policy Update:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China-Persian Gulf   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China’s biggest issue in the Middle East is securing the oil and gas that they will need with their continued economic growth. China has attempted to cultivate domestic oil production, but their demand for oil has continued to increase exponentially and it is clear that China will continue to need more and more Middle Eastern oil. China has made a number of big moves to help secure oil in the future. In September of 2004 China signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to establish an oil pipeline worth 3.5 billion dollars. Then in November of 2004 China signed a mega-gas deal with Iran that is worth 100 billion dollars, which could increase by up to another 100 billion. This deal entails the annual export of 10 million tons of Iranian liquefied natural gas for a 25 year period. The deal also gives China’s state oil company participation in projects such as exploration, drilling and pipeline services. The export of liquefied natural gas requires special car go ships and Iran is currently adding to its small fleet with continued expansion in the future. Many thought that China’s pipeline deal with Kazakhstan would user in a new era of Chinese foreign policy and help give China a big economic push, it is clear that this agreement was only the beginning for China’s economic expansion in the world. It is difficult to comprehend or predict the economic, political and strategic importance of this deal. It is clear that this deal was a major blow to Bush’s economic sanctions on Iran. China’s cooperation with Iran has extended to political issues as well. After the natural gas deal China said that they would be unwilling to refer the issue of Iran’s nuclear program to the Security Council. This cooperation has been beneficial for both states, China was able to secure oil and gas for the future, Iran gets political support of a major power. China also began cooperating with Saudi Arabia in the 1990s; in 1999 t hey signed a strategic oil cooperation agreement opening both states to future economic cooperation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oil is China’s greatest interest in the Middle East, the Middle East benefits from economically by providing China with oil, but many of the Middle Eastern states also want to purchase arms from China. China has moved more and more into arms sales as they have attempted to modernize their military and utilize their military build up.

Macro and Micro Environmental Forces Essay

External factors are usually divided into micro and macro environment. Macro environment is about external higher order forces which do not affect an organization dealing as yet or directly but may do so in the future. External factors may include; economic, technological, competition, political/legal, and social-cultural factors. Political factors; these are factors that relates to political system and political instability of countries where Nokia Company wish to market its products i. e. Nokia 5800XpressMusic and its music features. This will involve scrutinizing the system of government that such target countries have adopted. Nokia will therefore need to decide whether to invest in communist or capitalist countries after careful consideration of each political system in terms of carrying out business in the chosen country of interest. It is recommended that Nokia Company should invest in those countries with flexible capitalist political systems because it allows labour, capital and resources to flow freely in and out of their countries thus making those destinations the best target markets for Nokia to market its models as well as the advance features of music that it offers. External factors analysis can be best explained as follows: (Nokia for Business, 2008). Economic Factors; this will involve Nokia Company analyzing the economic factors that may hinder or augment its operations in the target countries. Such trade barriers like restriction of imports and exports as well as foreign exchange rate systems should be carefully evaluated by the management of Nokia in order to carry out its operations without economic constraints. Other economic factors of importance to be analyzed by the company will include, inflation particularly anticipated inflation, balance of payments, counter trade, fiscal and monetary policies among other significant factors. Although Nokia may not be subjected to many of the above factors it will be prudent to critically analyze deeply the factors particularly inflation and foreign exchange systems by utilizing forecasting techniques that can give the company a clear picture of the future (Lionel Laurent, 2008). Social Factors; this will involve the management of Nokia Company analyzing income level, social structures, educational backgrounds, and religion and family units before selling its new Nokia phones such as Nokia 5800XpressMusic models that comes with advance features to the community. History reveals that social factors play a major in role in utilization of services in the society for example some religious beliefs may not allow different kinds of music to be played. Therefore, it will be prudent for Nokia to clearly identify the right kind of music for the right consumers as well as for the right markets. Social factors may influence beliefs, interests and attitudes of the consumers and therefore the management of Nokia Company has to consider in details such factors in order to avoid losses associated with these social factors. Technological Factors; technology and innovations have taken centre stage in trying to achieve a considerable market share by firms in many industries. Technology provides an opportunity to the firm of expanding through utilization of advanced technologies but at the same time it may contribute negatively to market participation for example where businesses use technologies to compete unfairly. Nokia will have to utilize advance technologies for example the use of internet marketing while trying to explore new markets in the target market. Such technologies will be useful in that it will save time and financial resources that could have been spent and therefore the management can therefore use the surplus resources in further expansion or pay back its shareholders returns thus getting shareholder confidence in the process (Nokia for Business, 2008). Legal Factors; All businesses including Nokia must operate in a business environment deemed to be legal by the target market. The company will therefore have to ensure that the sale of Nokia 5800XpressMusic series with its all contents that include advance music features are allowed by the host country in order to avoid unnecessary legal battles. Nokia also should observe the existing laws regarding to business transactions in the target market particularly avoiding unfair competition. Also it should observe other legal aspects such as the areas of corporate social responsibility whereby Nokia will be expected to manufacture and sell its products at the same time protecting the environment and benefiting the surrounding community by employing them and also participating in community projects (Lionel Laurent, 2008). On the other hand micro environment is about actual and political transactions used in a firm and its environment in day to day activities of a company that include; customers, suppliers, intermediaries among others. One of such micro factors is the intensity of rivalry among Established Companies; it is true that Nokia faces a very competitive environment that has a big concentration of rival competitors making it a very competitive venture in its business operations. Take for instance; they compete with its rivals across al levels i. e. production of high quality mobile phones with quality features like that of music and hence there is need for Nokia to try all strategies to ensure that it beats its rivals as well attracting more customers every day. Nokia is more organized and have better strategies than the new ones that come up and therefore have a competitive edge over the others. An established company will mean having a well developed network that has a good client base and that is supported by customer loyalty and therefore locking out the new firms that try to make an impact by trying the existing markets. The well established pharmaceutical firms give a big challenge to the new companies in the market that try to make their products known. Even though substitute products like iphones are received in telecommunication industry, it becomes easy for the Nokia to push customers to start using its new mobile series in the market since it has a name in the market and customers are loyal to them (Nokia Inc. 2007). The other factor is that of the bargaining power of suppliers. Suppliers take advantage of their unique supplies to ask and bargain for what they want and enjoy the monopoly and charge expensively for the products or services that they offer. Customers are very sensitive to any changes that may affect them that are caused by the bargaining power of the suppliers. Suppliers are a competitive threat in telecommunication industry because they can raise the prices of new and the old supplies and therefore making the customers to try substitute products such as phones and iphones that can satisfy the same needs. Suppliers may cost Nokia a lot of financial constrain if they switch and fail to supply parts that are used for manufacturing such phones like Nokia 5800XoressMusic series (Botan, 1993). Individuals may prefer to try the substitutes e. g. iphones according to their financial therefore Nokia must try as much as possible to bargain well with its suppliers so that it may get quality products at the right price so that it may also sell and price its products like Nokia 5800XoressMusic series at a an affordable price when compared to its competitors. Recommendations for Strategic Marketing Planning Nokia can enter into joint venture with any firm in the telecommunication industry in order to reach to more customers. The joint ventures are forms of market entry that allows for technology sharing and joint product development which fits the promotion of Nokia 5800XoressMusic series as well as its salient features f music that it offers. The main advantage of joint ventures is to get proper political connections that will allow for favours to be achieved. It is usually suitable when; the market power, resources and size of the partner is small compared to the industry leaders. If Nokia enters a joint venture with any company for instance with Apple Company which is still then it will boosts its market power, and thus it will be able to meet the demands in that particular region. The main issues that are usually sorted out during the discussions for joint venture are; agreement periods, pricing methods, ownership and control, local firm capabilities and technology transfer. Nokia should also employ porter generic strategies in order to enhance its market share; such strategies rely on the dimensions of the strategic scope meaning the market penetration and strategic strength referring to the firms or sustainable competitive advantage such as cost leadership, product differentiation and market segmentation which are required to meet the challenges of the competition. Therefore Nokia can utilize; growth strategies, innovative strategies, among others. However, it should be noted that although they are believed to be the best in the market so far, they are yet to be applied by most companies. Nokia should also apply functional strategies in its marketing operations; these strategies are developed within every department of the company to increase its international sales margins and production. The marketing department can for example prepare an individual strategy that will meet the overall Nokia’s objectives. Other strategies under this include; new product development strategies, legal strategies, financial strategies etc which can also be set up as autonomous strategic business units that are responsible for all of its operations but answerable to the Nokia top management (Murray, 1989). Encirclement Strategies should also be adopted by Nokia while marketing its Nokia 5800XpressMusic touch screens phones. This strategy is also called the envelopment strategy and is a more subtle, gentle, broader and a bit non-offensive but harmful way of attacking the competitor. Normally, this kind of attack is undertaken in two ways. One, introduction of a broader range of products that are similar to the competitor’s products and each of these products will get a share of the same market the competitor is; in this case Nokia will introduce the 5800X series phones which will overtake other competitor’s gadgets such as iphones. In the long run, the competitor will be demoralized, weakened and discouraged leading to a state of siege of the competitor. This first method will ensure that full scale confrontation is avoided between the attacker and the target competitor. Secondly, the encirclement can also be based on market niches rather than the products themselves. In this case, the market share is liberated from the target competitor via the expansion of market niches that surround it; thus Nokia will have to diversify in order to reach to large market share (Lionel Laurent, 2008). Nokia should also draft out clear marketing mix strategies that will enhance a larger market share. A marketing mix is usually used especially on branding and advertising as argued by Jerome McCarthy. The populous four Ps of marketing mix strategies are utilized, these are; Product: Product marketing and management aspects deal with the specifications of the actual good or services and how it relates to customer needs; in this case the new Nokia 5800xpressMusic touch screen phone marketed by Nokia. Such phones should be diverse in its features for instance music enabled and thus meets the expectations of the customers. The characteristics of such 5800Xpress touch screens phones should further be well defined to meet the needs of the consumers (Kottler, 1996). Pricing; pricing is the process of setting a price for a product to be sold in the market and in this case touch screen Nokia 5800XpressMusic to launch by Nokia. It will not be necessarily fixing a monetary value but simply what to be exchanged for the touch screen phone at stake e. g. attention, time etc. Nokia can therefore adopt any of the following pricing strategies to enable Nokia 5800XpressMusic reach its marketing standards. Premium pricing is where the uniqueness of the touch screen phone is defined such as a fixed online fee; Penetration pricing whereby, once Nokia achieves the market share, it increases the price of its product i. e. Nokia 5800XpressMusic phone. Other strategies may include regional pricing strategy which defines the price according to the regions where the phones will be sold. Promotion; promotion strategy comes in various forms; personal selling, publicity, sales promotion or advertising and it refer to the various marketing strategies of convincing the customers to buy the brand, product and in this case Nokia 5800XpressMusic touch screen phone. Nokia should come up with various and best suitable channels of distribution to enable such phones to reach the targeted market. Place; place is also the distribution modes which refer to how the touch screen phones gets to the intended customer. Nokia should ensure that the 5800Xpress series touch screen phones are available to customers in time and in convenient places in order to satisfy their needs. The utilization of computer technology for instance can aid a firm to get access to a wider market thus boosting its business performance (Winer, 2007). Conclusion Research reveals that trade has become progressively more global in some scope these days and there are several grounds for this. One of such reasons is the ever advancement in modern technology that is now increasing communication efficiency and modernization; therefore firms like Nokia are now facing stiff competition from its rivals in the fight for achievement of larger market share. Increasingly, rapid technology lifecycles has increased competition among multinational firms such as Nokia as to who can produce the best services in the mobile telephony market hence the need to employ competitive marketing and business strategies Reference Botan, C. (1993): A Human Approach to Image and Ethics in International Public Relations Journal of Public Relations Research vol 5 No. 2 Carter, S. and Lee, K. (2005): Global Marketing- Changes, New Challenges and Strategies. 1st Edition, Oxford Press, London Kottler, P. (1996): Principles of Marketing: – Stages of customer relationships. 4th European Edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow Lionel Laurent, (2008): Nokia’s Trickle-Up Success: Retrieved from; http://www. forbes. com/2008/06/18/european-innovation-wireless-tech-innovationeu08-cx_ll_0618wireless. html, accessed on March 23rd 2009 Murray, A. (1989): Top management group heterogeneity and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal: Vol. 10 Nokia Inc. (2007): The Route to True Competitive Advantage: Today’s Evolution of Workforce Mobility, Retrieved http://www. nokia. com/NOKIA_COM_1/About_Nokia/Press/White_Papers/pdf_files/nokia_es_phasesofmobility. pdf, accessed on March 23rd 2009 Nokia for Business, (2008): Mobile Technology: A unique Competitive Advantage. Retrieved from,http://www. nokiaforbusiness.com/nfb/DetailPage. html? guid=cb29500194aeb110VgnVCM100000708ef393RCRD, accessed on March 23rd 2009 Press releases, (2004): Nokia defines goals and actions for leadership in dynamic mobile communications market. Retrieved from, http://press. nokia. com/PR/200411/967543_5. html, accessed on 23rd March, 2009 Schon, B. and Allan, B. (1995): Links between Business Strategy and Human Resource Management Strategy in U. S. -Based Japanese Subsidiaries; an Empirical Investigation-Journal of International Business Studies, Vol 26

Organizational Behavior the Family, College Class, and Organization

Organizational Behavior the Family, College Class, and Organization The organizational Behavior The family is the society’s key organization. It is extremely imperative that the family engages in family meetings. Similar to any organization, there is a need for anticipations, vivid missions, team building, setting goals, and planning, which ensures a smooth running.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior: the Family, College Class, and Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hence, every family member should possess a particular role. In a class college, organization, and family, the job description is imperative in defining the members’ obligations and roles. Moreover, a clear job description promotes more input from individuals, which gives the members a sense of ownership. The family, college class, and organization are characterized by universality. The three are present in all human society levels, everywhere, and always. In the three, the me mbers are united by a common goal. Hence, there is some form of emotional basis. In the family, people are united by affection and mutual love, which enhances sympathy and empathy towards each other. It is evident that in the class and organization, members have to collaborate to fulfill the set goals, which unites them. Another similarity between the three is the limited size. Management Roles The family council comprises of the family members. In a college class, the council constitutes of the entire class and class teacher. Finally, the employees and management comprise the organization council. In a family, the male parent has the responsibility of governing the family. The female parent assists the male parent in running the family. In a college, the class teacher oversees the overall running of the class. The class prefect, who has a closer relationship with the students, ensures maintenance of order. In an organization, the manager is the overall overseer. The success of an o rganization, class, and family depends on regular meetings. In a meeting, members get the opportunity to be heard, distribute responsibilities, receive encouragement, congratulate exemplary roles, set goals, share, plan for events, solve conflicts and recurring issues, set objectives, and express complaints and concerns.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Leaders in the three organizations have to ensure that the appropriate leadership style is used. Depending on different circumstances, it might be necessary to change the leadership style. Moreover, leaders have to engage in critical controlling, organizing, and planning. The available resources should be dedicated towards goal achievement. How Diversity Contributes to Efficiency and Effectiveness Diversity in the family, organization, and college class ensures that effectiveness and efficiency are achieved. To ensur e that diversity is achieved, there is a need for constant role rotations. For instance, the secretary and manager roles should be rotated after a certain period. It is worth noting that every member in an organization is gifted differently. Therefore, there is a need to give everyone the opportunity to contribute towards diversity. Furthermore, every member should be given an opportunity to voice their ideas. Scheduling weekly meetings ensures every member presents updates from their departments, and that all pressing issues are discussed. The meetings should be evaluated regularly, and openness and mutual respect should be upheld. When families visit their family friends, they get an opportunity to learn new things and skills. Sometimes class competitions assist classes to learn new ways of doing things. It is worth emphasizing that diversity comprises of one’s background, cognitive style, gender, and race. The way members in an organization perceive others is extremely imp ortant. Therefore, the human resource management should deal with transformations, adaptability, and communication.

Mideast essays

Mideast essays Why Did the U.S. Involve Itself with the Middle East in the Early to Mid 1990s? When the United States of America was founded in 1776 it seemed to our forefathers there was little if any need for a real foreign policy. The general belief was that the United States was small and, to say the least, on shaky ground. So when the drafters of the constitution put their plan of government into writing little, if any, reference to the role of the United States in world politics, much less in the politics of a region so different and unknown as the Middle East. Such thoughts are a far cry from what we know today as the role of the U.S. in world politics and Middle Eastern politics. The United States ranks fourth among the worlds countries in area and third in population. It has the worlds most productive economy and is the worlds largest producer of food. It is a military superpower. Indeed, there is little that happens in the United States that does not affect other parts of the world (The Politics Of American Government). With this in mind one might think the United States could exist independent of any other country in the world, but the facts remain that even though the U.S. is the worlds most productive economy it is also the country with the largest budget at $1.519 trillion dollars in 1995, the country is the greatest donor of foreign aid with $4.57 billion in 1994 to Israel alone, and also the country with the with the greatest foreign debt and the greatest national debt totaling in at $5.153 trillion dollars as of March 31, 1996, (The Guinness Book of Records). Knowing these things it is easy to see that the U.S. is far from self-reliant. How did a nation that is considered by many to be the greatest nation in the world come to such a point of economic hardship? A large part of this is due to the fact the U.S. is heavily involved in commerce with Middle Eastern countries, ...

Restaurant Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Restaurant - Case Study Example They are very much open to questions and amidst their Japanese origin, they can remarkably communicate to diners with ease. Aside from being friendly and courteous, staffs should also be complimented because of their efficiency. They cycle tables and deliver orders relatively fast with minimal pitfalls. Staffs never feel to make any customer at home by extending excellent customer service. Japanese are always known to be very concerned about profit maximization without sacrificing quality or detail. Fukuda Restaurant mirrors this commitment through its use of minimalist architecture and interior design which enhances the spirit of simplicity, authenticity, and order. True to the Japanese tradition, the restaurant features long wooden tables and benches with individual tables on the side. The use of earth hues in Fukuda restaurant is very much relaxing compared to the vibrant and screaming colors utilized by most eateries. The combination of brown and the touch of greens enhance the well being of every customer. The cleanliness of the place is treated as a primary concern evident by its being well-maintained and spotless amidst the high number of people who visit the place every day. Lastly, the main attraction of the Fukuda Restaurant is its organic dishes which are surprisingly delicio

Functional Department Participation Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Functional Department Participation Plan - Essay Example Within the Information Technology industry, the business governance plan is of utmost significance. This is because the business governance plan sets the foundation stone for a number of developments within the realms of the business and indeed the organization in the long run. There is a great amount of learning that can gained from the business governance plan for the sake of the organization which at times is difficult to measure. However, for the sake of simplicity it is always desirable to support how this business governance plan will be implemented across the board and what its ramifications are with regards to the department incorporations (Kay, 1995). The different functional departments that might play an important role within the drafting of the business governance plan shall include the human resources management department, the legal department, the finance department, the marketing and advertising department and the supervisory role of the Board of Directors within an o rganization. This paper shall pinpoint the exact basis of the business governance plan and how it is implemented across the board under the functional departments, the roles of the relevant departments and the embedded link with the Information Technology concerns. It is needed that the Information Technology domains play an important role within the chalking up of the business governance plan so that the success points could easily be understood and the weaknesses within the relevant realms are also highlighted upon at length. These grey areas would be taken care of for future implications that might arise at a later stage. The business governance plan is an elaborate plan that takes into consideration some of the most significant pointers related with running a business in entirety. However what is important to note is the fact that this business governance plan would not be able to meet success if the people in the varied departments of the organization are unwilling to do their jobs properly (Blair, 1996). The different departments within any organization are dependent on the business governance plan in essence to bring out the value and quality for the sake of the organization in the long run. However these are important understandings that need to be reached upon because these manifest the basis to remain one step ahead with regards to the competitive businesses and in the end, achieve success for the organizations that are being discussed about. The business governance plan entails of a list of important undertakings that the business regime has in place. The governance mechanisms are highlighted, which signifies the extent to which a business can proceed to, and thus find its truest basis in the long run. What is required now is a vision to go above the top and attain the end objectives of the business governance plan so that success for the sake of the organization is attained without any hindrances. The business governance plan is always a comprehens ive plan which lists down the pointers that shall bring about the strengths which are enclosed within a business realm. It takes care of the patterns which would essentially help the business grow as a whole and that too in the long run. Within the human resources management department of an Information Technology industry, the significance of the business governance plan is such that the department has a close liaison with the top management domains. This helps shape up the tasks and activities of the department more than anything else. It also makes the tasks easier for the people who mean business within the organization. The human resources management department is indeed the window for the employees to get in touch with the organization and thus the department should make it a point to talk to them as and when required. Instead a proactive approach towards one another is significant because they will embody the basis of eventual success that the organization has.

Economic Indicator Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic Indicator Paper - Essay Example For instance, the prevailing value of the American Real GDP, when calculated in relation to the year 2000 is approximately 12,000 billion dollars. GDP is a leading economic indicator and it usually rises before an upturn in real GDP and falls before a downturn in real GDP. Real GDP is also quite handy when it comes to predicting changes in the housing industry in the immediate future. Alongside such indicators as stock prices, average weekly hours worked in industries and housing starts, the trends set by real GDP can have a bearing on the overall health of the housing industry. Housing starts are defined as the number of residential units on which construction is started every month. Housing starts are a key economic indicator that determines the health and future direction of the Housing industry. Usually though, an increase in housing starts indicates an increase in economic growth. The following chart published by the U.S.Bureau of the Census gives a historical perspective of housing starts. According to a credible industry expert, â€Å"housing starts fell to six percent in August of 2007 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.665 million, while permits fell 2.3 percent from July and for the seventh consecutive month to a 1.722 million level. The August 2006 permit level was the lowest in 4 years. The month-over-month August starts decline occurred in both the single-family (-5.9%) and multifamily (-6.7%) sectors and in three out of the 4 Census regions, the exception being the Northeast†. These statistics mean that the housing industry is slated for a slowdown in the near future. Furthermore, with fears of an impending recession of the general economy, housing industry is also set to suffer to the extent. Mortgage is a loan given to an individual or a corporation on the basis of the value of a house, building or any other

Assess the advantages of job specialisation Essay Example for Free

Assess the advantages of job specialisation Essay 1. Terminology Job Definition Job definitions in practice are usually only applied to low level manual and clerical jobs, at more senior levels there are usually greater degrees of own job making. There is a school of thought that suggests newly appointed staff ought to know exactly what their duties are in detail. The suggestion is that this higher degree of definition (or specification) helps to motivate employees by letting them know exactly what is expected of them. Others schools of thought are that, far from being motivating a high level of job definition acts to control peoples behaviour and sets minimum performance standards. Job Specialisation Job specialisation is typically a feature of bureaucratic organisations where there is an implied clear-cut division of labour and a high level of specialisation; this is especially relevant to both knowledge jobs and jobs of a manual or clerical nature. After general training some workers e.g. doctors may become gynaecologists, assembly line workers may specialise in fitting car tyres whilst others fit doors, therefore they become a specialist. The design of the organisation relates to what types of jobs should be created and how narrow and specialised they should be. Advantages of job specialisation would be: * Job holders can develop enormous skill in performing a narrowly defined and specified task * Job specialisation typically means that less work time is lost in switching from one job to another * Specialised equipment to increase productivity can be more easily developed in highly specified jobs * Training people for specialised jobs is relatively easy Disadvantages of job specialisation would be: * Boredom is a problem. Workers often get little satisfaction from the job and feel no pride in carrying out trivial tasks * Workers with highly specialised jobs often have high levels of absenteeism and job dissatisfaction and may quit more readily or develop antagonistic relationships with their superiors Once jobs have been designed, organisations must then group the jobs into logical units. At upper levels of an organisation, the groups may be called divisions, product groups or units. At middle and lower levels, they are usually called departments. Departmentalisation is the basis on which jobs are grouped together within an organisation. Another form of grouping is by product. This is a popular structural form in large organisations having a wide range of products or services. In the National Health Service, for example, the key groups of employees medical, nursing, paramedical and hotel services are dispersed according to the service they provide, e.g. maternity, orthopaedic, surgical, psychiatric etc. The advantage of a product organisation is that it facilitates co-ordination and integration, speeds up decision making and eases assessment of units performance. Disadvantages of this type of organisation are that there is some duplication of effort in the various functional areas and managers tend to focus narrowly on their product responsibilities rather than the overall organisation. Hierarchical Structure Hierarchy refers to the number of levels to be found in an organisation. In a company that has a flat organisation structure there are relatively few levels between the lowest and highest levels of authority. A hierarchy is the pattern of reporting relationships between individuals in positions throughout an organisation. The hierarchy has two purposes; to specify which positions are responsible for which areas of operation and to specify the authority of different positions relative to one another. Authority is the power created and granted by the organisation. Organisations must decide how authority is to be distributed among various positions, levels and departments. The process of distributing authority between managers and subordinates is known as delegation. Delegation is a three step process between a manager and one or more subordinates. 1) Assigning responsibility 2) Granting authority 3) Creating accountability Many managers are reluctant to delegate because they dont know how to do so or they feel threatened by a subordinate who performs well. Organisations need to help managers decide how much responsibility to delegate and to overcome the threat of being overshadowed. Decisions about how to distribute authority throughout an organisation result in decentralisation or centralisation. Decentralisation is the systematic delegation and responsibility to middle and lower levels of an organisation. Centralisation is the systematic retention of power and responsibility at higher levels of an organisation. Decentralisation and centralisation are the opposite ends of a continuum. Most firms are relatively more decentralised or relatively more centralised. Centralisation generally allows top managers to exercise control over the organisation, however, it also slows decision making and constrains innovation. Decentralisation distributes control more evenly throughout the organisation. It also tends to speed decision making and make the organisation more flexible and responsive. However, decentralisation allows more opportunities for errors in decision making. The decision to decentralise or centralise is influenced by the organisations environment, size and economic performance. Span of Control Delegation is essentially a power-sharing process in which individual managers transfer part of their legitimate authority to subordinates / team leaders, but without passing on their own ultimate responsibility for the completion of the overall task which has been entrusted to them by their own superiors. The reasons for delegation are mainly practical, but some are idealistic. Practical reasons include: * Senior managers can be relieved of less important, or less immediate, responsibilities in order to concentrate on more important duties * Delegation enables decisions to be taken nearer to the point of impact, and without the delays caused by frequent reference upwards * Delegation gives managers the opportunity to experience decision making and the consequences of their decisions * Delegation encourages managers to learn how to cope with responsibility * Delegation enables organisations to meet changing conditions more flexibly, especially at the boundaries of their system Idealistic reasons for delegation include: * Delegation is a good thing for individual growth, and contributes to staff morale * Delegation is the sine qua non of empowerment (Peter, 1988) * Delegation helps to enrich individuals jobs and humanises work. Most organisations find the need to delegate forced on them by circumstances, especially the pressures on managers to concentrate on environmental issues rather than on internal problems. However, the best practice is to be found in organisations that use delegation positively as an important employee motivator as well as a means of facilitating effective decision-making throughout the organisation. One of the major questions which has to be faced when considering the practical aspects of delegation is how many subordinates, or team members, can be managed effectively by any one manager or supervisor. This is the classical management issue of the so-called span of control, i.e. the number of employees reporting directly to one person. The term span of control refers to the number of subordinates that an individual manages or controls and for whose work that person is responsible. In tall hierarchical organisations an individual employee may have a wide span of control. In contrast in a teamwork structure the span of control may be narrow or may not exist at all. Within an organisation, the span of control bears an inverse relationship to the number of layers of hierarchy, i.e. if the span of control is narrow a large number of levels of hierarchy are needed. In practice spans can vary between one and forty or more subordinates directly supervised, although the most likely range is between three and twenty. Smaller spans tend to be found among managerial, professional and technical groups. Here factors such as cost, the complexity of the work and the need to deal adequately with the problems of people, who may themselves be managers of others, require a closer involvement by superiors in the total operation of their units. Towards the bottom end of the organisational hierarchy, where employees who have no subordinates themselves are carrying out routine tasks, it is practicable to have much larger spans. The whole question of spans of control is linked to top managements views about the number of levels they should have in their organisation. If a flat organisation is preferred, then larger spans are an inevitable consequence, especially for middle managers. If a tall structure is preferred, then spans can be smaller. Any final decision has to be a compromise between these opposing consequences. Other important influences on the size of the spans in an organisation or unit include: * The levels of ability of management i.e. are they capable of producing results with spans of a certain number. * The level of knowledge and experience of the subordinates concerned, e.g. well-trained and experienced staff require less supervision than those without training and experience * The complexity of the work of the unit and the degree of change to which it is subject, i.e. the more complex and more fast changing the work, the more necessary it is to install narrow spans of control * The costliness of possible mistakes by individuals in the unit * The degree of hazard or danger associated with the work, e.g. work on oil rigs or in biochemical laboratories requires special attention to safety procedures In a tall organisational structure many levels separate the lowest positions from the highest one. Hierarchical structures are taken to the extreme in organisations like the army. There are lots of different ranks or grades of workers, with different responsibilities, pay and status. Such organisations are meant to be more inflexible and bureaucratic. 2. Informal and Formal Organisational Structures Organisational structure can be viewed from many perspectives, but I find viewing it from a decision making perspective most useful. Structure exists to perform two essential functions within an organisation: a) Control Ensuring that decision makers at all levels use the managerial or hierarchical constraint as one of the criteria in making their decisions, and b) Coordination Ensuring that decision makers at all levels use lateral or peer constraints as criteria in their decision making The informal organisation structure usually consists of staff and workers who report directly to a small number of managers. This permits a strong influence on morale, motivation and how satisfied staff are with their jobs. This can assist in giving a fast response to customers and following up market opportunities quickly but can lead to confusion of responsibilities and confuse decision making. Organisational growth could lead to increased tension due to overlapping of job roles which would lead to the organisation adopting a formal organisational structure. The informal organisation is: * Flexible and loosely structured * Relationships may be left undefined * Membership is spontaneous and with varying degrees of involvement. The informal organisation can serve a number of important functions: * It provides satisfaction of members social needs, and a sense of personal identity and belonging * It provides for additional channels of communication; for example, through the grapevine information of importance to particular members is communicated quickly * It provides a means of motivation, for example, through status, social interaction, variety in routine or tedious jobs, and informal methods of work. * It provides a feeling of stability and security, and through informal norms of behaviour can exercise a form of control over members * It provides a means of highlighting deficiencies or weaknesses in the formal organisation, for example, areas of duties or responsibilities not covered in job descriptions or outdated systems and procedures. The informal organisation may also be used when formal methods would take too long, or not be appropriate, to deal with an unusual or unforeseen situation The informal organisation, therefore, has an important influence on the morale, motivation, job satisfaction and performance of staff. It can provide members with greater opportunity to use their initiative and creativity in both personal and organisational development. The informal organisation is the networks of relationships that employees form across functions and divisions to accomplish tasks fast. Control is also an integral part of the process of management and a key element for any organisation, playing an important role in the relationship between managers and their subordinates. Control is not only a function of the formal organisation and hierarchical structure of authority, it is also a feature of organisational behaviour and a function of interpersonal influence. The whole purpose of managerial control is the improvement in performance at both the individual and organisational level. Control involves the planning and organisation of work functions, and guiding and regulating the activities of staff. A social organisation is an ordered arrangement of individual human interactions. Control processes help circumscribe typical behaviours and keep them conformant to the rational plan of the organisation. Organisations require a certain amount of conformity as well as the integration of diverse activities. It is the function of control to bring about conformance to organisational requirement and achievement of the ultimate purposes of the organisation. At the organisational level, management need to exercise control over the behaviour and actions of staff in order to ensure a satisfactory level of performance. Managerial control systems are a means of checking progress to determine whether the objectives of the organisation are being achieved. Control provides a check on the execution of work and on the success or failure of the operations of organisations. There are two main types of control which can be used within the organisation and whichever one of these two styles is chosen plays an important factor in the relationship between the manager and his/her subordinates. Firstly, there is Behavioural Control which is based upon the direct personal supervision of the employees. This form of control appears more useful to the needs of individual managers in their attempts to control subordinates in one department or section. There is also Output Control which is based on the measurement of outputs and the results achieved. This form of control serves the needs of the organisation as a whole and is used largely because of the demand for simple measurement of organisational performance. There are five essential elements for a management control system to be truly successful. These factors include the planning of what is desired, establishing standards of performance, monitoring actual performance, comparing actual achievement against the planned target and also rectifying the taking of corrective action. Control is viewed as an essential feature of formal organisation and a hierarchical structure of authority. An alternative view of control is more in keeping with the human relations approach, control is seen as a feature of interpersonal influence and takes place within a network of interaction and communication. While the need for some form of control is constant, the extent and manner of control is variable. In the formal organisational structure there will be patterns of communication and procedures for decision making. Some organisations will have tall structures with lots of layers of command. Other organisations can be relatively flat. The formal structure is usually the first structure adopted after the simple informal organisational structure. It represents a significant shift from centralisation (one person in charge) to decentralisation. Management is divided into tasks of getting the work (sales marketing), carrying out the work (operations), getting the staff (personnel) and recording transactions and arranging finance (finance). This can lead to tension and inter-rivalry between functions, overlap, duplication of effort and difficulties in co-ordination can also occur. Formal structures are often based on specific tasks and it is how these tasks are allocated and the authority which they carry are explained by the organisational structure. The formal organisation is based on official links and connections whereas the informal organisation is based on loose ad hoc connections. It is much easier to set out an organisation chart for formal structure than for informal ones, which may not be obvious and may change although some informal structures are deeply embedded in working practice. The formal organisation is: * Deliberately planned and created * Concerned with the co-ordination of activities * Hierarchically structured with stated objectives, the specification of tasks, and defined relationships of authority and responsibility. Within the formal organisation an informal organisation will always be present. I would define an organisations structure as the architecture both visible and invisible which connects and weaves together all aspects of the organisations activities so that it functions in a dynamic way. One simple approach is to consider how an organisations structure is described when represented in the form of a diagram which is most often shown as an organisation chart. Below is an example of formal organisation chart for 3. Organisational Structure of Scottish Enterprise Borders a) Scottish Enterprise operates a formal organisational structure subdivided into regional structures for each Local Enterprise company. This structure is due to the organisation being relatively large, geographically dispersed, and delivering a wide range of goods/services. This is in common with all 12 local enterprise companies and allows us to work in close proximity to our customers and partners, by locating staff throughout lowland Scotland. The regional structuring was adopted following a process the Scottish Enterprise Network went through 2 years ago called Business Transformation. This entailed a radical overhaul of the way Scottish Enterprise conducted its business. As part of Business Transformation the organisational structure of the entire Scottish Enterprise Network was reviewed and as a result a flatter less bureaucratic structure developed. The original structure hindered the decision making process and there was a lack of co-ordination. The network needed to modernise its working practices to ensure that it was giving tax payers value for money. b) It was considered that adopting this type of structure would improve decision making, fix accountability for performance and increase the coordination of functions. This structure allows the network to evaluate and monitor its activities, it also allows a degree of flexibility. The main downside of this strategy is that it does foster rivalry among the divisions. This is why our organisational values became an integral part of how we do business. Rivalry between local enterprise companies and departments is a cultural and historical issue that will probably always exist. In Network terms, our business units are the 12 LECs and the directorates in Atlantic Quay. Every business unit owns a balanced scorecard to help them manage the performance of their own business unit. The reference point for this is the Network balanced scorecard agreed with the Corporate Management Team. Strategy maps articulate the key objectives that describe both what the organisation wants to achieve and how it is going to achieve it, and demonstrates the critical cause and effect relationships between these objectives (i.e. linkages between desired outcomes and what we must have in place internally to deliver them). Strategy maps are now considered to be the single most important and useful element of designing a balanced scorecard. 4. Organisational Chart a) The organisational structure of a business is most easily summarised in an organisational chart. The chart shows at any given moment in time how work is divided and the grouping together of activities, the levels of authority and formal organisational relationships. Organisation charts describe in diagrammatic form the structure of an organisation. It is the skeleton upon which every other activity depends, more importantly, it is the framework which explains the communication pattern, process and the linking mechanisms between the roles. It illustrates to everyone who communicates with whom, how the control system works, who is in control, who has authority and above all, who is responsible. It explains how the organisation is co-ordinated and how individual departments relate. The division of labour and the relationship of one position to another is reflected in an organisational chart which can act as a guide to explain how the work of different people in the organisation is co-ordinated and integrated. Once specified and defined, the jobs and the authority and responsibility relations between them are represented on an organisational chart. Some charts are very sketchy and give only a minimal amount of information whilst others give varying amounts of additional details, such as an indication of the broad nature of duties and responsibilities of the various units. Others include names of post holders and even photographs, and some give the salary grading for individual positions. Using such a chart would allow employees to become familiar with the organisation, making them feel a part of the company, allowing them to know whos who and whats going on. Organisational charts are useful in explaining the outline structure of the company. They may be used as a basis for the analysis and review of structure, for training and management succession, and for formulating changes. The chart indicates several important details about the organisation: * Lines of communication * Delegation of authority * Accountability * Span of Control * The way in which the work of the organisation is grouped Organisational charts have several weaknesses as a means of explaining organisational structure. Most importantly, they may not be consistent with reality. They may not be current. They may imply a formality that does not exist in practice. Often, they are drawn from a top down perspective. The organisation may look quite different from the bottom than from the top. They often imply that a pyramid structure is the best or only way to organise a business. A circular organisational approach or team approach may in fact be better in some cases. The organisation chart may fail to come to come to grips with the power and authority of a popular and charismatic person relatively low in the organisation or a person who has a substantial financial investment in the business without being a formal part of the management team. Hierarchy refers to the number of levels found in an organisation. In a company that has a flat organisation structure there are relatively few levels between the lowest and highest levels of authority. The basic distinction made between tall hierarchical organisations, and flatter teamwork structured organisations is that a tall organisation will have several layers of command. In contrast team structures will be based on cells of team members working together, often belonging to several project teams which form and reform as projects start and finish. The line relationship authority flows vertically down through the structure, for example, from the chief executive to director, director to team. There is a direct relationship between superior and subordinate, with each subordinate responsible to only one person. Line relationships are associated with functional or departmental divisions of work and organisational control. Directors have authority and responsibility for all matters and activities within their own directorate. Lateral Relationships exist between team members. The organisation is not concerned with responsibilities or authority but rather with providing an avenue for communication and co-ordination between widely different aspects of work. The lateral relationships that exist may be categorised into: Colleague Relations: These are the relationship that exists between people working in the same directorate and who are members of the same team. Collateral Relations: These are the relationships that are necessary for the interchange of ideas and opinions between people at the same level but in different teams within the organisation. 5. Organisational Structure Matrix Structure Matrix structures are organisational forms which have evolved as a result of co-ordination problems in highly complex industries such as software development, where functional and product types of structure have not been able to meet organisational demands for a variety of key activities and relationships arising from the required work processes. A matrix structure usually combines a functional form of structure with a project-based structure. For example, in a two year project to produce a modified version of a standard software programme, one project manager will co-ordinate, and be held accountable for, the work to be undertaken by the project team, and he will be the person who deals on a regular basis with the client. However, in addition to reporting to his own senior line manager on progress with the project as a whole, he will also report on specialist matters, such as design issues, to one or more functional managers, depending on the complexity of the project. The functional managers provide technical expertise and organisational stability. The project manager provides the driving force and the day-to-day control required to steer the project through during its relatively temporary lifetime. The main feature of a matrix structure is that it combines lateral with vertical lines of communication and authority. This has the important advantage of combining the relative stability and efficiency of a hierarchical structure with the flexibility and informality of an organic form of structure. A matrix form focuses on the requirements of the project group, which is in direct contact with the client. It helps to clarify who is responsible for the success of the project. It encourages functional managers to understand their contributory role of the purely functional form, i.e. individual empire building by the functional heads. Three conditions are necessary for the matrix: * Economy of scale in the use of internal resources * Environmental pressure for two or more critical factors such as product (need to complete a specific projectfor example development of the Lower Churchill Falls for electricity) and function (specialized work activity skills needed from within the functional structure necessary for completing this project) * Environment is both complex and uncertain Key Matrix Roles The matrix relies on three key roles: Top leader This individual must keep a balance between the two authority structures. The leader attempts to achieve a balanced matrix structure. Oftentimes either a functional matrix (primary boss functional leader) or product matrix (primary boss functional leader). Matrix bosses Individuals who have management responsibility within the functional and divisional structure need to work collaboratively and establish a priori arrangements for decision making and dispute resolution. Two-boss employee These individuals are the employees who perform the essential work and they report to two bosses requiring them to be able to deal with conflicting demands. Strengths and Weaknesses * Achieves coordination necessary to meet dual demands from divisional-product and functional requirements, but dual authority can be frustrating and confusing to employees. * Provides flexible use of human resources across divisions-products, but participants need excellent interpersonal skills for work to proceed smoothly and successfully * Suited to environment in which frequent changes occur, but consensus seeking and meetings are time-consuming * Provides an opportunity for employees to acquire in-depth skill development for both functional and division-product skill development. * Suited best in medium-sized organizations with several products or projects However, like all organisational form, matrix structures do have their disadvantages. The most important are: * The potential conflicts that can arise concerning the allocation of resources and the division of authority as between project groups and functional specialists * The relative dilution of functional management responsibilities throughout the organisation * The possibility of divided loyalties on the part of members of project teams in relation to their own manager and their functional superiors Despite these disadvantages, the matrix form probably offers the best answer to date to the issue of handling the tension between the need to differentiate and the need to integrate the complex activities of modern organisations. Hybrid Structure Hybrid structures occur when an organisation adopts a structure, which combines two structures from either functional, product or customer principles as a basis for its design. Most organisations eventually use multiple forms of structure within a single overall structure. Once work groups have been departmentalised, the organisation needs to develop a network of reporting relationships. A hierarchy is the pattern of reporting relationships between individuals in positions throughout an organisation. The hierarchy has two purposes; to specify which positions are responsible for which areas of operation and to specify the authority of different positions relative to one another. Authority is the power created and granted by the organisation. Organisations must decide how authority is to be distributed among various positions, levels and departments. The process of distributing authority between managers and subordinates is known as delegation. Delegation is a three step process between a manager and one or more subordinates. 1) Assigning responsibility 2) Granting authority 3) Creating accountability Many managers are reluctant to delegate because they dont know how to do so or they feel threatened by a subordinate who performs well. Organisations need to help managers decide how much responsibility to delegate and to overcome the threat of being overshadowed. Decisions about how to distribute authority throughout an organisation result in decentralisation or centralisation. Delegation is essentially a power-sharing process in which individual managers transfer part of their legitimate authority to subordinates/team leaders, but without passing on their own ultimate responsibility for the completion of the overall task which has been entrusted to them by their own superiors. Strengths and Weaknesses * The hybrid is a balance between a pure divisional or product structure and a pure functional structure and combines the advantages of each. * Weaknesses include high administrative costs and potential conflict over goal focus and resource allocations for functional and divisional departments. The reasons for delegation are mainly practical, but some are idealistic. Practical reasons include: * Senior managers can be relieved of less important, or less immediate, responsibilities in order to concentrate on more important duties * Delegation enables decisions to be taken nearer to the point of impact, and without the delays caused by frequent reference upwards * Delegation gives managers the opportunity to experience decision making and the consequences of their decisions * Delegation encourages managers to learn how to cope with responsibility * Delegation enables organisations to meet changing conditions more flexibly, especially at the boundaries of their system Idealistic reasons for delegation include: * Delegation is a good thing for individual growth, and contributes to staff morale * Delegation is the sine qua non of empowerment (Peter, 1988) * Delegation helps to enrich individuals jobs and humanises work. Most organisations find the need to delegate forced on them by circumstances, especially the pressures on managers to concentrate on environmental issues rather than on internal problems. Overall, organisations have to adapt and grow whilst responding to environment and technology changes by developing more complex structures that are composites of the basic types. Both Hybrid and Matrix structures are composites of the basic type of organisation structure. The reasons why organisations divide into different structures is varied. Typically, structures develop out of functional lines (production, sales etc); geography (like Coca Cola); or by business. The reason will be about capitalising on some structural efficiencies or economies of scale to produce competitive advantage. The benefits are that the smaller (hopefully more logical) units will be more manageable, efficient and profitable. Perhaps being closer to their market and more adaptable. Possibly maximising on internal communications and transfer of knowledge. The consequences are (hopefully) that the benefits are realised. However, the best practice is to be found in organisations that use delegation positively as an important employee motivator as well as a means of facilitating effective decision-making throughout the organisation.