Research Real Estate Data Set

Abstract In this paper the team analyzed three scholarly articles relating to our study. Furthermore, the team also analyzed additional data sets to include more variables like bedrooms and bathrooms in our investigation to test our hypothesis which shows that the results are consistent with the hypothesis. The population size, primary and secondary data, using unbiased information and applying ethics are also discussed in detail. Real Estate Data Set II As we begin the final stages of our project it is important to understand the process of applied research and how one or more variable have an impact on the dependable variable.It is important to understand why research is necessary and how we apply research to get answers to issues. The team analyzed thirty date sets to research homes with or without a pool, with or without a garage, and on the proximity of the house to the city, and how those factors affected the selling prices of homes. Furthermore, the team also analyzed more dat a sets to include more variables like bedrooms and bathrooms. Six bedrooms, three bath houses will sell for more than a one bedroom, one bath houses, regardless of whether it has a pool or garage.As we go forward with this assignment and analyze more data collection sets, it seems that the hypothesis that we proposed is the right one. Our hypothesis is based around the concept of human prioritization and its role in home selection. Additionally, the team researched three scholarly articles that are pertinent to our study to help us understand why the research is important and necessary. The first article uses analysis to discuss the connection between the selling price of a home and â€Å"Time on the Market† (TOM) (Sirmans, et al, 2010).It states that the longer the house is on the market the lower the selling price of the house. The study uses data sets to examine single family homes and whether the TOM co-efficient is susceptible to location, income of families, wealth and time. The results proved that the TOM co-efficient is sensitive to the variables and there is a significant relationship between TOM and the selling prices (Sirmans et al, 2010). It also states that selling prices and TOM is a very complicated because ellers / buyers want to maximize the price, while sellers want to sell at the top price buyers want to purchase at the lowest price. The second article discusses the study of how technology of real estate is changing and how important technology is key to gather important data from private and public sources for the real estate industry. Many studies have been published about the impact of the information on the real estate industry, on market size and efficiency, and market innovation. These studies have proven that email and the use of internet are used as a positive marketing tool.Survey questions were developed to gather information about real estate agents and their attitude about using information technology as marketing their se rvices. The results were positive and all that were surveyed viewed that information technology was key in some areas. Internet usage got a high score along with online research but personal webpage’s indicated a lower score (Acharya et al, 2010). The third article examined that in real estate development there is a need for risk assessment techniques to assess the impact of the project.The article is based on an exploratory survey which data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire. The study was conducted in the Thailand area using Thai real estate development companies. The study revealed that there are no systematic techniques to deal with the concerns of economic and political risks (Khumpaisal et al, 2010). All three articles focus on real estate research and how information is collected and used in different studies. All three article discuss how data, the collection of the data and the usage of the data play an important part while conducting research.When conducting research it is often difficult, or impractical to test the entire population. Many issues can arise, such as time consumption, cost, and redundant information. Often it is possible for researchers to draw conclusions based on population samples. This is when we test a small portion of the population and draw conclusions on the entire population based on the sample results. For our research the sample of thirty homes came from a larger sample of one hundred six homes. These homes were a sample of homes in one state, across five townships.For our research we decided to limit the sample to around thirty homes of similar qualities (outside of the variables we are testing). The reason we do this is to be sure there isn’t an outside, unknown variable affecting the experiment. Therefore we chose homes that are between two and three bedrooms, with two bathrooms. This gave us a sample of thirty-one homes. For this particular research, it is possible to see the affects of d ifferent variables on home prices. Also, with more than thirty samples it is also possible to eliminate outliers that may skew averages.For example, if we only tested three homes and two of them were priced outrageously, we wouldn’t be able to draw valid conclusions. However, by testing thirty-one homes, we can eliminate outliers. There are many possible sources of bias and error when testing a hypothesis with only sample of the population. In our case, we could simply omit homes that disprove our hypothesis. One reason for this is if we were working for a real estate company and they want to see which homes can make them the most money, and we know there are a lot of homes near the city center for sale.If we omit homes far away from the city that are selling for more, our bias has caused us to give false findings. Not all omissions are intentional. Sometimes errors are simply made in the research process. For example, with our research we could have included homes with any n umber of bedrooms. This would have resulted in data that may not have been practical for our research. For example, the complete data set included homes with up to eight bedrooms. If we were to compare that to a home with only two bedrooms the fact that either had a pool, or garage, or was close to the city would have been negligible.Again, we chose to only test similar homes in respect to number of bedrooms and bathrooms in order to prevent this error. It is necessary to collect primary data when a researcher cannot find the data needed in secondary sources. Some methods of primary research would include observation, postal surveys, telephone interviews, online surveys, face to face surveys, focus groups, and test marketing. Observation works well in retail markets. Observing consumer behavior provides many insights, although can sometimes leave unanswered questions.Postal surveys are great because they are relatively cheap with the ability to cover a wide geographical area. Howeve r, response rates are minimal and can take quite some time before any of the surveys are returned. Telephone interviews allow quicker feedback than a postal survey but any potential customers are usually hesitant on giving anything but short answers. Increasingly popular and at relatively low cost, surveys online are widely used by growing businesses as a way of gathering the views of potential and existing customers.Face to face surveys are sometimes costly, but a great way to get individual detailed insight, while focus groups are a good way of getting detailed information about customer preferences and tastes. Test marketing involves picking a small section of the market and selling a new product in order to assess customer reaction. This primary research can be a great predictor of how a new product or service will be received by the larger market. Primary research is the preferred research and conducted all of the time.National polls and surveys collect the population’s thoughts about proposals or particular political figures, journalists use it as their primary means of reporting events as well as news, and organizations collect data on their market trends and consumer base. When conducting research in professional or academic settings, the researcher needs to be aware of the ethics behind the research activity Ethical issues arise throughout any piece of all research. These issues often turn into political ones, and there are also close connections between issues around participation and ethical concerns.Ethical issues also have a tendency to turn into questions of trust. The researcher is the research instrument therefore the reader and/or user of qualitative research must be able to trust the researcher to have followed the proper procedures. There are quite a few key phrases which describe the system of ethical protections that medical research and the contemporary social establishments have created such as, voluntary participation, informed c onsent, confidentiality, anonymity, and rights to service, to better protect the research participant’s rights.When conducting research it is important to understand all stages of the research and apply good practices such as using unbiased sources and clear and ethical standards. Even when clear ethical standards and principles are in place, there will be times when the rights of potential participants runs up against the need to do accurate research. No set of standards can possibly anticipate every ethical circumstance. Furthermore, there needs to be a procedure that assures that researchers will consider all relevant ethical issues in formulating research plans (Trochim, 2006).References Acharya N, R. et al (2010). Influence of Email marketing on Real Estate Agent Performance: Journal of Real Estate Literature, 2010, v. 18, issue. 2. Retrieved from https://ehis. ebscohost. com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=4&hid=124&sid=20ac27d 8-422b-4f27-a523-f24b0ea694e2%40sessionmgr110 . Khumpaisal,S et al (2010). An Examination of Thai practitioners’ perceptions of risk assessment techniques in real estate development projects: Journal of Retail & Leisure Property.Retrieved from https://ehis. ebscohost. com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=5&hid=124&sid=20ac27d8-422b. Sirmans,G. S. et al (2010). A Meta Analysis of Selling Price and Time –on –the Market: Journal of Housing Research, 2010, Vol. 19 Issue 2. Retrieved from https://ehis. ebscohost. com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=4&hid=124&sid=20ac27d8-422b-4f27-a523-f24b0ea694e2%40sessionmgr110. Trochim, W. (2006). Research methods knowledge base. Retrieved from http://www. socialresearchmethods. net/kb/ethics. php

Starbucks Strategic

Starbucks – Strategic Management Prowess Efficacy Today we stand witness to a new coffee era, one made up of Caffe Lattes, Espresso Macchiatos, Cappuccinos and Frappuccinos. Specialty Coffee is here to stay and no one will be more eager to tell you that than Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, the world’s largest specialty coffee bar. In 1993, Starbucks continued its aggressive expansion and moved into the East Coast market by establishing a presence in Washington, D. C.This expansion has continued and today Starbucks operates more then 15,800 stores internationally and employs roughly 140,000 employees. It grosses 11. 7 billion in annual revenue and is opening 5 new stores every day. (Starbucks Corporation, 2011) Starbucks competes with players both within the specialty market and against those outside the specialty coffee market. Some examples of competitors within the specialty coffee market are Tully’s coffee, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Peet’s Coffee, Caribou Coffee and other smaller chains.Those outside the specialty market include, Folgers, Proctor & Gamble, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds and numerous other coffee serving establishments. Starbucks leverages its customer loyalty, premium quality coffee and the homey atmosphere of its stores to fend off competition. Specialty Coffee Industry Attractiveness The most attractive industry for any profit maximizing firm within a capitalistic society would be one in which they can have a pure monopoly. In economics this refers to situations in which one established firm can be the sole provider of a product or service in a particular market segment.This theory of monopoly would be one end of the industry attractiveness scale, while the other endpoint would be defined by the theory of perfect competition. This scale will help us to define the attractiveness of the specialty coffee industry in relation to these two extremes. The five forces analysis of the specialty coffee industry has allowe d us to identify some of the key structural characteristics of the main players in the industry, such as the buyers, suppliers, potential new entrants, potential substitutes and rivals within the industry.These key structural characteristics suggest that the forces exerted by these five players on the specialty coffee industry initially made it ideal for a situation to develop in which the industry structure was closer to the monopoly end point on the scale of attractiveness rather than the pure competition end point. The primary competition among rivals within the industry was not price oriented; the buyers of specialty coffee and the sellers of Arabica beans had little bargaining power at their disposal; and there existed no true substitutes for specialty coffee.The strongest force acting on the industry was that of the potential new entrants, which could be mitigated by a first mover firm if it was able to establish dominant brand recognition, successfully expand aggressively and create a defendable differentiated product. Therefore, placing the specialty coffee industry at its inception in the late 1980s on the scale defined above is now possible and it appears to reside closer to the monopoly end of the scale than perfect competition, making it a very desirable industry from the standpoint of a profit maximizing firm such as Starbucks.The second important factor influencing the attractiveness of an industry is the demographic makeup of the consumer base. The higher average American consumption of coffee per day, added to the attractiveness of the industry by providing an enormous pool of potential customers. These two factors also play a significant role in determining the attractiveness of the industry because they show that the average customer of the specialty coffee industry has more financial resources, education and consumes more coffee than the typical American.This implies a consumer base that is more flexible to price fluctuations and is less lik ely to fuel discounting among rival competitors, or a price war. Both Michael Porter's five forces analysis of the specialty coffee industry and the demographic makeup of the consumer base, then, suggest an extremely attractive industry with large growth potential in the late 1980s. The objective of any firm trying to dominate or monopolize the specialty coffee industry would be to create defendable sources of competitive advantage through the use of barriers to entry and a horizontal or organic hierarchy that could outpace competition in innovation.Results of the five forces analysis would suggest, given the unlikely prospect of a price war and the negative repercussions of one, that price superiority alone would be an ill-advised approach. Starbucks’ Success Factors First-mover advantage When Howard Shultz purchased the assets of Starbucks on August 18, 1987, he immediately set in motion an aggressive growth strategy targeted at the unique consumer base the specialty coffee industry attracted. Strategic expansion to eastChicago was chosen as the first major eastern expansion target because it presented enormous opportunities being located in the heartland of the two largest basic coffee companies in the United States. The first of these two companies was Folgers, part of the food and beverages division of Procter ; Gamble, and the second company was Maxwell House. California Expansion California simply represented a vast market with an ideal demographic makeup and open attitude toward high quality and innovative foods.Los Angeles was chosen to be the hub city in California given its status as a trendsetter and Hollywood's cultural ties to the rest of the country. The Catalog Another means Starbucks utilized to determine the most advantageous locations to open new stores was through their mail order catalog. This catalog gave customers the opportunity to order wholesale packaged Starbucks’ coffee beans from anywhere in the country. Employee Sati sfaction As Howard Schultz said in reference to his employees, â€Å"these people are not only the heart and soul but also the public face of the company.Every dollar earned passes through their hands. † Maintaining quality of Arabica beans In order to ensure that the quality of Arabica beans stayed at a consistently high level, Starbucks pursued strategies to secure their supply-chain. Environmental / Social Goodwill By collaborating publicly with Conservation International, Starbucks stands to increase their legitimacy with other NGOs; thus, reducing the risk of protests and the negative implications those protests would have on their brand image.This alliance also allowed Starbucks to attain economies of scale in regards to their ability to contribute positively to the community and the environment by tapping in to some of the expertise offered through Conservation international. The most important aspect of the strategic alliance with conservation international was the co llaborative development of C. A. F. E. practices (Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices). The primary goal of the C. A. F. E. practices was to enhance the coffee farmer’s quality of life and to ensure a long-term stream of high quality coffee.Capturing the concept of â€Å"The Third Place† Starbucks tries to offer a â€Å"third place†, where people can get away from the daily routines of their lives and enjoy a cup of coffee from Sumatra, Kenya or Costa Rica. Most importantly, it is a place that offers casual social interactions. Michael Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis The five variables responsible for the forces analyzed using this model are the industry suppliers, buyers, potential new entrants, substitute products and the competition among existing firms.The analysis will apply Porter's five forces model to the environment surrounding Starbucks today in order to develop an accurate understanding of the current specialty coffee industry. Industry Rivalry Starb ucks competes with a variety of smaller scale specialty coffee shops, mostly concentrated in different regions. All of these specialty coffee chains are differentiated from Starbucks in one way or another. Caribou Coffee is a specialty coffee chain that competes with Starbucks. Where Starbucks strives to create an upscale European atmosphere, Caribou coffee tries to implement a more American feel to their coffee houses.A Canadian-based company, A. L. Van Houtte, operates roughly 100 corporate outlets and franchises, serving nearly 3 million cups of coffee per day. As the original inspiration for Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee and Tea Company which originated in Berkeley, California still poses a serious competitive threat. In addition to these smaller scale specialty coffee companies, Starbucks must now compete against two of the largest companies in the fast food industry namely Dunkin Donuts, and McDonald's restaurant fast food chain. PASTE REST OF COMPETITOR LOGOSPotential for N ew Entrants The primary deterrents to entry in the specialty coffee industry are the various barriers to entry. The economies of scale within the specialty coffee industry have increased as the size of the top players has increased. There is numerous cost disadvantages imposed on new entrants that are independent of the economies of scale considerations. Product differentiation within the specialty coffee industry has moved towards more subjective traits such as the ambience of the store, the social responsibility of the company and brand identification.All of this makes it more difficult for new entrants to gain a solid customer base. Substitute Products The force created by substitute products in the specialty coffee industry has decreased. Supplier Bargaining Power This initiative was designed to. The fair trade coffee certification ensures that the coffee farmers would be compensated fairly for their crops. Their increased unity under this initiative worked as a positive externa lity by increasing their ability to exert bargaining power over their buyers, and this initiative is looked at by consumers in their decision of where to purchase their premium coffee.Bargaining Power of Buyers The primary buyers in the specialty coffee industry remain individual consumers, who neither engage in concerted behaviour nor individually purchase in large volumes relative to the total sales of a corporation such as Starbucks. The Specialty Coffee Industry Life Cycle: An Evolutionary Process Through the application of Michael Porter’s five forces model to the specialty coffee industry in which Starbucks currently competes, an understanding of the relative magnitude of each of the five competitive forces has been developed. Specialty Coffee Growth RateWhen analyzing the specialty coffee industry’s sales growth from 1990 to 2011, as illustrated in exhibit 1, we can see that the industry experienced enormous growth in total sales between 1998 and 2002. Using exh ibit 2, which depicts the generic stages of the industry lifecycle in a graphical format, we can compare the two and pose a hypothesis as to where the specialty coffee industry is in this life cycle. Namely, this comparison suggests that the specialty coffee industry is near the inflection point between the growth stage and the maturity stage in the industry lifecycle. Target Consumer SegmentWhen specialty coffee was first being produced, its target consumer segment was the upper income class. This can be seen in Exhibit 3, which shows a survey Starbucks conducted during the 1990s and highlights the high education and income of its average consumer. This specific customer segment has been nearly fully penetrated. Any additional growth will most likely come from those consumers with middle or lower incomes. Strategic Adaptation Strategies The first thing an organization must do to adapt to a changing lifecycle is to determine where the industry is in that lifecycle.From the assumptio ns made in this analysis, I have postulated that Starbucks and the specialty coffee industry in the United States is at the end of its growth stage and in the beginning of its mature stage. The buyer market will slowly become fully saturated and repeat buyers will become the primary constituents of the consumer base, with a stronger emphasis on discounting and less differentiation between brands. The next step is formulating a proper strategy to overcome the barriers, in the form of organizational inertia. This would involve developing a fundamental understanding of what the primary contributors to that inertia are.This in turn involves identifying the existing routines and capabilities, the hierarchy structure, along with the power structure and identifying the ingrained perceptions of the business from an outsider’s perspective. Competitive Advantage in a Mature Industry It is first important to determine how Starbucks should reorient their strategic focus, given the charac teristics of a mature industry. In the case of Starbucks, they should improve their capabilities in their distribution network and maintain their industry lead in low transportation costs. Starbucks, however, should not attempt to pursue cost advantage in low-cost inputs.In the specialty coffee industry, quality is determined in large part by the quality of the raw inputs, Arabica coffee beans, which are used during the brewing process. Starbucks also should not attempt to seek a cost advantage through their labor force. Undercutting these two inputs would place their brand reputation at risk, which would have a very detrimental effect on their profits. TO ADD: SWOT ANALYSIS + PORTER MODEL IN PICTORIAL FORM+ PESTEL ANALYSIS SOME MOER DIAGRAMS AND PICs Appendix: Starbuck global footprint Growth of Starbuck Stores over last 40 years

Why were the police unable to catch Jack the Ripper?

There are several factors that can be used for why the murderer was never caught, firstly: There were no witnesses, whether this was part of the murderers plan, to find someone without people, or to kill them somewhere isolated then dump their body elsewhere is unknown. It could be accounted to luck that there were no witnesses, and the people who did come forward to give evidence gave several different descriptions, which contradicted each other. If there was someone who witnessed the murder, maybe he would have been caught. The victims were prostitutes; people who usually avoided the police anyway. They were easy victims for several reasons. Firstly, they had a dangerous profession anyway, they risked being beaten up and murdered every night, so maybe with a serial killer out their, they didn't see their chances as any lower or any higher of being murdered. They also really needed the money, to risk going out every night, they were very poor, so they still went out. They would take clients to a place that was isolated from other people, it made it easier for the murder, as noone would hear them, and there would be no witnesses. Also prostitutes were often drunk and vulnerable anyway, making them easier to silence. Because the killer did not know his victims, it made it harder to solve. It is the same case today with the Washington Sniper. If you target people you have no connection with, then there is no way to relate you to them. You cannot ask other friends or family about other people they knew in their life who might kill them, or who is suspicious. It gives the police no link, so they don't have much to follow up on. Other than he was killing prostitutes, and there were hundreds in London. Also, this was one of the first big cases detectives of a poorer area (Whitechapel) had to deal with, their usual methods included rounding up suspicious looking suspects, and patrolling the poorer areas. This was obviously not going to work in this case. Because the Ripper had to blend in, if he wanted prostitutes to go with him. Also, the Ripper's gruesome mutilation was not what the police were used to dealing with, it was not a domestic murder case, therefore they had no leads, but the Ripper was striking at random prostitutes, therefore they had no idea where he could be. There was also a lot of misleading evidence. There were hundreds of letters sent in claiming to be from Jack the Ripper. Only 3 of which are considered to be anywhere near liable. Two of which are from the same person, staring with â€Å"Dear Boss† for these two letters, it could have been sent in straight after reading the newspaper, or made up from a journalist trying to promote the story. The other one however, came with half a kidney, that looked likely to be taken from one of the victims. Other false leads like Leather Apron were also off-putting. The anti-semantic writing on the wall, found near Catherine Eddowes's body, could have also have been a great help, or a disaster. If it was a clue, it was wiped off the wall, and therefore they could not use it to compare handwriting. Or it could be false, leading to riots. The Jews in the past had been blamed for a lot of murders, as they were widely disliked, but still held a lot of money and power in general. Any mention of the killer being Jewish would have lead to riots, which the police did not want on top of trying to catch the killer. It can be said they did their best using what evidence they had. There was no forensic evidence, finer prints were not used until 1901, there was no DNA evidence, and photography in this case had only just started, it made the police's job finding evidence difficult with so little of anything to go on. If they had had DNA evidence, more accurate records of criminals and better security (cameras in the streets) then maybe he would have been caught. But because of limited evidence, of the killer leaving no weapons behind, and clothing and possession were later accounted for, the police had little to go on. The police were also under a lot of pressure from the press and politicians. With the press thinking up of one story after another, it maybe gave the police too many useless leads that wasted their time. The media was constantly bombarding the police force: their usual methods were slow, and not very effective. However now, they were under pressure to catch someone, they had to speed things up, which would have resulted in several wrong suspects, and evidence. They were expected by the public to catch the ripper, after 5 murders that were not prevented after heightened security from the police, it made the public and media put more pressure on. The killings stopped, there are several suspected reasons for this. However, if the murders had continued, it is entirely feasible that someone would have eventually caught him, with so few prostitutes on the street, and so many metropolitan police. Some suspected reasons are: The police were getting to near to catching him, to risky to carry on. He died, or was imprisoned for another crime. Many deaths went unreported to the police. Moved to another part of the UK, with not as good as the metropolitan police force, or just simply moved away. Or moved to another country. After the ripper murders, there were several murders in America, with the same pattern. Because of no international links, noone ever linked the two together. After committing so many crimes and knowing the end was near, killed himself, this too would have carried no concern with the press. He had killed enough people. This one is most unlikely. It has been observed with other psychopaths and serial killers, they only stop when they have been caught, or die. It was probably not as much of a lust as a fixation. They caught the Ripper, but it infact was connected to the royal family or government, and it would have been a huge public scandal, and uproar would ensure, so they never told the press, or anyone else in the police force he was caught.

Definition and Meaning of Environment Assignment

Definition and Meaning of Environment - Assignment Example So the environment is the foundation for the human sustenance and growth and we need to protect it at all costs. According to ( Beggs,2012) â€Å"The regulation of practices that affect the environment has been a relatively recent development in the United States, but it is a good example of government intervention in the economy for a social purpose†. 2. Risk controls can be categorized into three types mainly; prevention, detection, and correction. In this type of risk control, there are controls to prevent the harm and loss from occurring. Like authorizing people in an organization with different tasks and having specific experts for hazard management can avoid problems. In detection, activities are monitored to identify risky behaviors and actions. In corrective type, the controls are made to restore the system or process to a normal position like as in state prior to the harmful event. Factors leading to hazard can be an unrefined authority, inappropriate hiring system, unhygienic atmosphere and unplanned management. For example, if the employee having less professional knowledge of hazard management, handling hazardous materials can bring forth a lot of mishaps, accidents, conflicts, and chaos. 3. The nine classes of hazardous material by D.O.T are 1) Explosives 2) Gases 3) Flammable and combustible liquid 4) Flammable solid, spontaneously combustible and dangerous when wet 5)Oxidizer and Organic Peroxide 6) Poison and Poison Inhalation Hazard 7)Radioactive 8)Corrosive 9) Miscellaneous. One of the news articles which research on acid has been detailed to understand its nature and hazardous effect. This article titled â€Å"Rise of Acid Ocean eats away the base of the food chain† explains the effect of acidic content in the ocean on its marine life. As per (Connor,2014 ) â€Å"Rising amounts of carbon dioxide dissolving in the ocean is causing the acid corrosion of tiny sea creatures that form the base of the marine food chain, scientists have discovered†.  Ã‚  

PHILOSOPHY AND TRADITIONS IN MANAGAMENT RESEARCH Assignment - 1

PHILOSOPHY AND TRADITIONS IN MANAGAMENT RESEARCH - Assignment Example In this current essay, the researcher has tried to critically appraise the theories with the view of â€Å"Free Will†. It is a philosophical concept that refers to the capability of the economic agent to select a particular option among various alternatives (Free Will, 2014). Most of the philosopher has supported that, the notion of â€Å"free will† is strongly related with the ethical sense of the economic agents and the firm. The term free will refers to the power of the rational agent to select best alternative one from the sort of several options. Various constraints that included in the subject matter of free will concept, includes physical constraints, metaphysical constraint, social constraint and mental constraint. The principle of free will provides implication in various segments, such as ethical, religious, legal and scientific (Williamson, 1998). For example, in science, free will suggests different ways to predict human behaviour. Further, in religious realm; it implies choice of individual action that can increase moral obligation or certain injection to a man and so on. Most of the philosopher suggested that â€Å"free will is strongly linked with ethical obligation and responsibilities of the agents† (Plato.stanford.edu, 2014). In respect to the values of love and friendship, freewill also plays a significant role in building the root of relationships. In economic terms, a firm basically exists and state its decisions in order to make the utmost use of its resources. Firms interact with the market to determine demand and price and then allocate its resources to maximize its profits (Moyle, 1998). Consumers always try to maximize their overall utility whereas business organizer tries to maximize net profit. Thus, theories of firm always adopted and analysed in respect to the changing market and economics. The firm’s theory comprise of several economic theories

Comparing and Contrasting Literary Forms Assignment

Comparing and Contrasting Literary Forms - Assignment Example Such an effect is achieved by play inference. The writer can adequately describe the scene and deftly introduce a mood. Poetry, drama, and short story are literature constituents, but they bear some identical differences. Dialogue accommodates extensive dialogue, which can be either non-fiction or fiction, a short story narrates brief experiences that are non-fiction while poetry can be either nonfiction or fiction and may rhyme (Cuddon & Habib, 2013). Poetry, drama, and short stories have a setting. The setting is a fictional work of establishing a geographic, physical, and historical context (Cuddon & Habib, 2013). Setting adds attitude to poetry, drama, or short story, and a good example of attitude is the change attitudes towards women. Myth, symbol, and allegory are other features shared by drama, short stories, and poetry. Allegory is use of two meanings that are parallel in the story where one is literal while the other one is figurative (Meyer, 2004). Allegory serves the purpose of deepening the meaning in writing and to teach a lesson. A myth reflects social or religious values often involving heroes or a god. A symbol acts as a representative of an association or a relationship. The tool of foreshadow is used in poetry, short stories and drama. Foreshadow gives the audience a hint of future happenings. In poetry, foreshadow can be captured as early as the poem title to shed some light to the reader of what the poem entails. Mood is also extensively utilized in all these three literature works to aid in conveying the theme (Meyer, 2004). Conflict is also common in short stories, drama, and poems. It denotes a struggle between forces that oppose each other. A conflict can be expressed as an internal conflict within an individual or between characters (Cuddon & Habib, 2013). It helps build the element of suspense as scenes unfurl in the

Viral Video Campaign for Morson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Viral Video Campaign for Morson - Essay Example Being a video that can easily be shared over the internet, a viral video has a capability of reaching many people. This hence positions it on a better place to advertise and market a company. Any organization can benefit from viral video technology especially if it gets the right team to do the work. E-commerce is thus in a new league of operation. In a group of four, our assignment on the creation and publicity of a viral video which would see the marketing of Morson international successful began by planning on how we were going to do the assignment. This is because we believed in the ideologies of good plan for a successful work piece. Upon coming up with a work plan, we began by brainstorming on the best methods which would be used in the practical process of coming up with the viral video. A number of methods were proposed but we settled on imaging and animation. This is mainly because these two methods adapt excellently on the internet and has a special feature of diversificati on. In particular for the purpose of E-commerce, the two methods are very crucial in both advertising and marketing. One of the goals of making up the viral clip was to market the recruiting services of Morson International which is both a recruiting company and an engineering consulting firm. Publicizing it on its recruitment services was the main agenda of our assignment. After identifying the two methods, the ideals of what to next much depended on Morson. The story line to be put on the board was supposed to be verified by Morson. Morson added that Arabic language be incorporated in the storyline as they intended to change their website some day in Arabic. Working on the video began by using a flash mx platform. A flash is simple and very flexible hence it was of great importance here. The parts were animated and imagined in a sequential manner beginning with graduate man, end contract, fired man, magic lamp and then genie scenes. The second phase of this video making included introducing the images that described the company. The animation and imaging were successful and now uploading the content was the remaining thing. The content was uploaded and of which it was translated in Arabic and English. The finished video clip was given to Morson who upon keenly looking at it, a feedback was given. The feedback required some changes which among others included having a proper timing. The proper timing would accommodate both slow and fast readers. This aspect was to enhance message delivery to everybody in the fairest way. The last slide was also changed to put more emphasize on the morson.com instead of morson.com/recruitment which would only sell the recruiting department. Grammar was perfected especially in those areas where it seemed wanting and some parts which portrayed a wrong message like the â€Å"fired man† were removed. An Arabic voiceover was also considered and how to mix the corporate overview and aspects of a viral clip were analyzed and fixed. Upon fixing all the recommendation by Morson, the Arabic voice was recorded and a background sound which accentuated understanding was played. The flash was completed and handed to Morson for publicizing it. Considering that the creation of the video was a major part of the assignment, optimizing its search over the internet was equally important. This was to be both b y us and Morson who uploaded it on YouTube. At the end of the

Shear box Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shear box - Lab Report Example Introduction In soil mechanics, the term shear strength describes the magnitude of a shear stress that the soil can sustain (Roscoe 34). On the other hand, shear resistance of a soil occurs as a result of interlocking of particles and particle friction and possibly the bonding or cementation at particle contacts (Roscoe 45). Particle interlocking may cause a material to contact or expand in volume because of being subjected to shear strain (Poulos 560). As soil expands in volume, the density of its particles decreases causing its strength to decrease. This way, the peak strength is followed by the reduction in shear stress. It is always important to understand different values of Shear Strength of a soil sample (Schofield 20). This is because materials differ in their characteristics and tend respond differently when subjected to similar or different load conditions. This means that for one to design a project, he/she must understand the type of soil considering their variations in S hear Strength.In soil mechanics, Shear Strength is given by the formula ?f = c + ?n tan?----------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) c stands for cohesion, ? as an effective normal stress, ? as the angle of friction, ?f as the shear strength, and the shear box test, is defined by BS 1337: This experiment deals with shear resistance of a soil sample. ... The shearing resistance offered by the soil as one portion was made to slide on the other and measured at regular intervals of displacement. It was noted that failure occurred whenever the shearing resistance reached the maximum value that the soil could sustain. After obtaining the Shear strength it was plotted against horizontal displacement and on a separate graph, it was plotted against normal effective stress. The vertical displacement was also plotted against the horizontal displacement. Relevant calculation and interpretation were made and compared for purposes of making inference. Procedure In this experimental set up the first step entailed assembling the empty shear box without an upper and loading platens. In doing this, the two halves had to be screwed together. Screws marked â€Å"L† were in position as this was done. While ensuring that the apparatus move freely on the runners of the shear box, the box was filled with sand, which was then leveled off approximatel y 1 mm below the top of this box. The top platen was then placed on the sand. The platen was loaded on the top platen. The ball bearing was put in place. The hanger was then placed on the ball bearing and the weight was added on this hanger. The apparatus were adjusted to take up slack followed by reducing the proving ring dial gauge to zero. The two screws that held the lower and upper halves of the bow together were removed and screwed in those screws, which were marked â€Å"L†. After resistance was felt, each was adjusted further in ensuring the two halves get slightly separated. The motor was switched on and the maximum reading recorded on a proving ring dial gauge. The hallmark of the experiment when the circuit was switched off followed by slackening off the apparatus.

Change Management towards a Successful Merger Essay

Change Management towards a Successful Merger - Essay Example This will be achieved by undertaking a questionnaire based survey in organisations that have undergone mergers and by undertaking in-depth analyses of case studies selected using non-probability sampling methods. There are limitations to using both questionnaires and the non-probability sampling methods, however by contacting the human resources departments, the study is increasing the probability of gaining a valid response; and whilst the non-probability sampling method may not produce statistically significant results, the case studies are part of a qualitative study, and it would be beyond the scope and resources of this study to undertake a study that would produce statistical significance. Organisational values are more important in the personal and societal context within which business operates. It is becoming more important to identify the organisation and what it stands for the customer, and these values are important to the majority of stakeholders (Barrett). Organisational culture is also important for determining an organisation's capacity, effectiveness and longevity (Woodbury 2006), and it also contributes significantly to the organisation's brand image. When this culture does not align with mission, core values, and operational strategy it can turn into a significant liability for the organisation, and this is more pronounced when the organisation undergoes change (Woodbury 2006). Therefore culture change is a result of the organisation moving away from its original mission, goals, and strategies, a process which is more associated with mergers. When the culture change occurs the organisation has to focus on building the values of the new organisation and th is involves; making the organisation's values meet the society's expectations, making values meet the needs of new shareholders, attracting the best people/employees for the organisation and retaining the best people (Barrett). Value building is even more important when an organisation is undergoing a culture change as it can affect how existing employees feel about the organisation and it will also affect the ability of the organisation to attract the best employees. Research has shown that corporate performance is strongly correlated with employee fulfilment, with 39% of corporate performance variability being attributed to the personal fulfilment of employees (Barrett). Employee fulfilment is also strongly correlated with the leadership skills and emotional intelligence of managers, with 69% of employee fulfilment variability being attributed to qualities of leadership of the manager or supervisor (Barrett). With these figures, organisations need be aware of the mechanisms for value building and culture change which include ensuring employee fulfilment by providing: physical fulfilment (remuneration, canteen, gym), emotional fulfilment (professional growth, work appreciation), mental fulfilment (accountability, creativity and personal growth), spiritual fulfilment (opportunity to be service) (Barrett). During a change management process, the organisation undertakes a variety of processes to make this process effect. The engineering process of value building

Discuss problems arising from IAS 17 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discuss problems arising from IAS 17 - Essay Example Firstly, restructuring of the asset at the inception of lease treaty creates more amounts recorded in the fixed assets and decreases the asset earnings. If the current value of total future lease obligations upsurges, it affects debt equity ratios and liquidity solvency ratios. Secondly, identification of entire forthcoming lease payments as obligations may cause breaching of debt agreements causing debts to become due immediately. Similarly, reporting profits may decrease when depreciation and interest expense is more than rental expenses. This makes it difficult for the IAS 17 to be fully implemented in international accounting. What’s more, it is impossible to deduct interest expense for tax purposes. The principle is inapposite in service contracts like copyrights and patents. It is normally applicable to tangible assets. ISA 17 is irrelevant and inapplicable to the service part of the contract as the guideline does not transfer the right to use the property. Additionally, classification of a sublease into an operating lease may lead to income incongruity. Categorization of a sublease into operating lease will lead to a leaser recognizing amortization of interest expenses and their right to use the property leased (Monson, 2001). Hence, the leaser may recognize rent proceeds in a manner that is considered as evenly spread during the entire lease period (Young, 2011). The transitional leaser will, thus, incur a forfeiture due to the earlier murky arrangements previously made. Also, this mushroom from interest and depreciation that increases proceeds of operating lease in earlier periods causing a swap in later years from interest rates decreases. A situation arises under current standards where the head lease is a finance lease and sublease is operating lease, but the IAS 17 proposals will lead to arrangements to classify head lease currently as an operating lease. The staff may also not propose to adjust and amend

PERSONAL ESSAY PREWRITING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PERSONAL ESSAY PREWRITING - Assignment Example Therefore, through securing the immediate needs and acceptance the community will be protected from the high rate of recidivism especially for drug offenses meaning a safer community. The most influential person in my life is the United States of America president Barrack Obama. Barrack Obama is passionate, enthusiastic and focuses on giving humanity the foremost priority in service to the American people and beyond. Obama is influential because through the belief of service to the community being a personal responsibility and supporting community programs effort for a better America and the world at large. Through attending community service programs that are available in our neighborhood mainly addressing drug users who want to undergo rehabilitation change my life. The programs were important because opened up the real experiences of the people and families that are affected by drug or drug related problems causing a tremendous impact in my life. After undergoing these programs, I got the actual first hand effect of drug from the people we interacted with alongside the victims families. Hercules in the Greek mythology is comparable to me in terms of the source of our drive to serving our community. The character of willingness and dedication to serve without expecting reward for our action is common when it comes to my community endeavors. Hercules stand amidst resistance by the people he was serving assists a lot in giving me the focus and enthusiasm to continue pursuing my goals in the community service such as outright ridicule and

John Locke the State of Nature Essay Example for Free

John Locke the State of Nature Essay In the chapter five of The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration, John Locke expresses his opinion about property. According to the Bible, all human being is the descendants of Adam and Eve, which mean that this world is common to all humankind. However, in order to that the property is significant to people, the property must be your own private property. The individuals are different from the land and other properties. Everyone is entitled to the private rights; the personal private property may be obtained by the working, and the personal private property is out of the scope of the public property. Therefore, through manual labour, the public properties become privatization. Nevertheless, the privatization of public property is limited; the way to obtain the private property is only in the situation that does not damage others will be accepted by others. Only under such situation that people have provided appropriate resources to others, can they gain own properties to achieve their satisfactory goals through contribution and work. God gives treasure to humans, but does not look forward to seeing humans using it improperly. God expects humans to share and use the treasure in proper way and by their own work. How much treasure people should earn should be decided according to how much they contribute and need. However, it is not ethical to get properties by violating others. When people cannot implement or distribute natural resources in proper ways, others turn such resources into their own properties via ethically appropriate implementation. The right of gaining property from work is prior than lands public-owned status, since most of what people gain is via their hard work instead of natural resources. Above all, if people are willing to work on and properly implement public-owned resource properly, such work will give property as a return. In addition, John Locke indicates that the reason why currency came out was people was making efforts on storing some resource which tended easily to go bad, and making them better use and higher profits. Currency does not have actual value, but its value is from the exchange of other resources. It is pointless to occupy extra property which exceeds the actual need and ability of using it, and is not honest either.

High Performance Work System

High Performance Work System Exploring the Performance Impact of High Performance Work Systems in Professional Service Firms: A practices-Resources-Uses Approach ABSTRACT. In the present study, we develop a practices-resources-uses approach to systematically explain the indirect effect of high performance work systems (HPWS) on firm performance in professional service context. We argue that HPWS result in the creation of human capital, social capital and organizational capital resources. These resources in turn create value for firms when they are effectively explored and exploited. Our analysis of the indirect impact of HPWS on firm performance contributes to the understanding of how and why HPWS affect firm performance by identifying valuable resources and finding out the way to effectively use them in professional service firms (PSFs). We also provide theoretical support for the arguments of the resource-based view of firm (Barney, 1991), the knowledge-based theory of firm (Grant, 1996a, 1996b) and the dynamic capabilities (Teece, Pisano Shuen, 1997) perspectives. Key words: High Performance Work System; Professional Service Firms; Resource-Based View of Firm INTRODUCTION Researchers on strategic human resource management (SHRM) argue for a focus on the bundle of HR practices rather than individual practices, as a primary unit of analysis when examining the impact of HR systems on individual and organizational performance (Huselid, 1995; MacDuffie, 1995). For example, high performance work systems (HPWS) (Datta, Guthrie, Wright, 2005) have been found to positively relate to firms outcomes especially in manufacturing firms, such as financial performance (Guthrie, 2001; Huselid, 1995), employee turnover (Richard Johnson, 2001), firm productivity (Guthrie, 2001), efficiency and flexibility (Evans Davis, 2005), and organizational commitment (Youndt, Snell, Dean Jr, Lepak, 1996). However, the relationship between HPWS and firm performance is indirect and many scholars call for deeper and more theoretical approaches to understand how and why high performance work systems (HPWS) affect firm performance (Bowen Ostroff, 2004; Combs, Liu, Hall, Ketchen, 2006; Delery Shaw, 2001), especially in service organizations (Combs et al., 2006). Based on the existing research, we argue that HPWS results in the creation of human capital (Wright, Dunford, Snell, 2001), social capital (Leana Van Buren III, 1999) and organizational capital resources (Koch McGrath, 1996). Only when these resources are effectively managed and utilized, firms can generate superior profit above that which returns to competitors in perfectly competitive environment (Schultz, 1961), achieve sustainable competitive advantage and create value (Barney Arikan, 2001; Sirmon, Hitt, Ireland, 2007). The causal chain between resource endowment and firm performance is unclear and is in need of theoreti cal explication and empirical investigation (Leana Van Buren III, 1999). Thus, we pursue two research questions: (1) How do HPWS affect firm performance in the professional services context? (2) What are valuable resources and how are they utilized by firms? Guided by the contingency theory, the resource-based view of the firm (RBV) (Barney, 1991), the knowledge-based theory (Anand, Gardner, Morris, 2007; Grant, 1996a, 1996b; Teece, 2003; Winch Schneider, 1993) and dynamic capabilities theory (Teece et al., 1997; Eisenhardt Martin, 2000), we propose a ‘practices-resources-uses performance approach to add insight to our understanding of the value creation-exploitation process in the professional service firm (PSF). The paper is structured as follows. First, we briefly introduce the literature on PSFs and explain why we chose these organisations to conduct our research. We then propose a model that highlights how HPWS affect firm performance. We argue that HPWS affect firm performance through two steps. First, HPWS create firm resources, i.e., human capital, social capital, and organizational capital. And then these resources are exploited to improve firm performance in the short run or are explored to improve firm performance in the longer run. Within the HPWS and firm performance relationship research, our model draws on the â€Å"practices-resources-uses† perspective, and provides important theoretical foundations for understanding how and why HR practices affect firm performance. We then discuss the further implications of the study for practitioners and explore the potential areas for future research. CONTEXT Professional Service Firms (PSFs) are those whose primary assets are a highly educated (professional) workforce and whose outputs are intangible services encoded with complex knowledge (Greenwood, Li, Prakash, Deephouse, 2005). Examples of professional services include accounting, engineering consulting, management consulting and legal services (De Brentani Ragot, 1996). PSFs are knowledge-intensive (Morris, 2001; von Nordenflycht, 2007, 2010) with knowledge encoded in services as outputs (Empson, 2007; Morris Empson, 1998; von Nordenflycht, 2007, 2010). PSFs are different from traditional firms. They primarily exploit intangible assets to produce customized solution for clients (Greenwood et al., 2005; Hitt, Shimizu, Uhlenbruck, Bierman, 2006; Là ¸wendahl, 2005; von Nordenflycht, 2007, 2010). Their human resources constitute the critical asset of the PSFs because they embody expertise and create firm-specific knowledge which can be translated into client solutions. Indeed clien ts may often follow professionals if they change firms (Groysberg Lee, 2009). Because PSFs differ from other firms, to apply theories from other forms of organizations is â€Å"not only inapplicable †¦ but may be dangerously wrong† (Maister, 1993: xvi). Our analysis will represent a good site to examine SHRM because human resources constitute the critical asset and therefore a strong test of the practices-uses-resources model which is what we need to justify. THERETICAL BACKGROUND AND PROPOSITONS Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is defined as â€Å"the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals† (Wright, McMahan, McWilliams, 1994: 298). Because firm performance stands out as a major organizational goal, many studies have been conducted that examine the linkage between human resources management practices and firm performance (Arthur, 1994; Becker Gerhart, 1996; Datta et al., 2005; Delery Doty, 1996; Guthrie, Flood, Liu, MacCurtain, 2009; Huselid, 1995; MacDuffie, 1995; Richard Johnson, 2001; Terpstra Rozell, 1993; Youndt et al., 1996). The researchers in this field argue that the bundle of HR practices rather than individual practices should be focused as a primary unit of analysis when examining the impact of HR systems on individual and organizational performance (Huselid, 1995; MacDuffie, 1995). Following the above argument, researchers have been encouraged to take a system perspective in examining the performance impact of HRM on relevant organizational outcomes (Wright Boswell, 2002). For example, the study by Youndt et al. (1996) demonstrated that human capital-enhancing HR system was directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance, i.e., employee productivity, machine efficiency, and customer alignment; the results of Collins and Clark (2003) indicates that the network-building HR practices positively related to the organizational performance, i.e., growth in sales and stock return; the research by Huselid (1995) illustrates a positive relationship between high performance work practices and organizational turnover, productivity and financial performance; the research on high performance work systems (HPWS) conducted by Datta et al. (2005), Guthrie et al. (2009) and Combs et al. (2006) finds that HPWS positively affected firms labour productivity, employee absenteeism and turnover. HPWS include HR practices that are designed to enhance employees skills, commitment, and productivity (Datta et al., 2005). Most previous literature on the relationship between HRM practices and firm performance has looked at the direct relationship. However, many scholars agree that there are probably mediating variables through which HRM practices affect firm performance. As Wright and Gardner (2000:4) write, â€Å"One of the first issues that must be settled in the effort to understand how HR practices impact performance is to theorize the means through which this relationship occurs, in essence specifying the intervening variables between the measure of HR practices and the measure of firm performance.† In the existing research, some scholars found human capital as one of mediators between SHRM and firm performance. Human capital refers to the stock of skills and knowledge embodied in individuals (Becker, 1964; OSullivan Sheffrin, 1998). Guest (1997) argues that SHRM improve employees quality, i.e., skills and abilities. Snell and Dean (1992) also argue that HRM should ideally work to enhance the firms competitive position by creating superior human capital skills, experience and knowledge that contribute to firm economic value. Wright et al. (2001) assert that HPWS might have resulted in the creation of a high quality human capital pool that cannot be easily imitated because of time compression diseconomies (e.g., Mercks RD capability). Becker and Huselid (1996) state that human resource activities are thought to lead to the development of a skilled workforce and one that engages in functional behavior for the firm, thus forming a source of competitive advantage. This results in h igher operating performance, which translates into increased profitability, and consequently results in higher stock prices (or market values). There are also some scholars found that many human resource management practices have a significant role to play in creating social capital. Social capital is a resource which is embedded in the relationship among individuals (Loury, 1977; Coleman, 1988, 1990; Bourdieu; 1985; Burt, 1992; Putnam, 1993; Nahapiet Ghoshal, 1998; Lin, 2001). For example, Wright et al. (2001) argue that HPWS may promote and maintain socially complex relationships characterized by trust, knowledge sharing, and teamwork (e.g., Southwest Airlines unique culture). Youndt, Subramaniam and Snell (2004) state that thoughtful selection of people who ‘fit with the organizations culture, or intensive training programmes that not only socialize incoming employees but also indoctrinate common values among existing employees, may have a strong impact on the social capital of organizations. Leana and van Buren III (1999) introduce the construct of organizational social capital and develop a model that describes i ts components and consequences. They suggest that employment practices strongly affect the level of organizational social capital within a firm. They also describe the potential benefits and costs of organizational social capital for the firm and noted the contingent nature of organizational social capitals relationship with performance. In other words, organizational social capital mediates the HR practices and organizational performance relationship. Evans and Davis (2005) provide a theoretical framework illustrating how the internal social structure of the organization can mediate the relationship between HPWS and organizational performance. The third mediator between SHRM and firm performance is found as organizational capital. Subramaniam and Youndt (2005) and Youndt et al. (2004) define organizational capital as the institutionalized knowledge and codified experience residing within and utilized through databases, patents, manuals, structures, systems, and processes. Wright et al. (2001) argue that HPWS might play a role in creating cultures or mindsets that enable the maintenance of unique competencies. They mention that HR is not limited to its direct effects on employee skills and behavior. HRs effects are more encompassing in that they help weave those skills and behaviors within the broader fabric of organizational processes, systems and, ultimately, competencies. Other strategists who embrace the RBV point out that competitive advantage (vis core competence) comes from aligning skills, motives, and so forth with organizational systems, structures, and processes that achieve capabilities at the organizational lev el (Hamel Prahalad, 1994; Peteraf, 1993; Teece et al., 1997). Koch and McGrath (1996) take a similar logic in their study of the relationship between HR planning, recruitment, and staffing practices and labor productivity. They argue that â€Å"†¦ a highly productive workforce is likely to have attributes that make it a particularly valuable strategic asset,† (p. 335). They suggest firms that develop effective routines for acquiring human assets develop a stock of talent that cannot be easily imitated. The human capital, social capital and organizational capital are defined as three components of intellectual capital. One systematic research conducted by Youndt et al. (2004) find that a relatively small group of superior performing organizations exhibit high levels of human, social, and organizational capital. Most firms, however, tend to focus primarily on only one form of intellectual capital, and a small group of underperforming organizations have very low levels of all three types of intellectual capital. Another research by Subramaniam and Youndt (2005) suggest that an organizations efforts at hiring, training, work design, and other human resource management activities may need to focus not only on shoring up their employees functional or specific technological skills/expertise, but also on developing their abilities to network, collaborate, and share information and knowledge. To summarize, although the relationship between SHRM and firm performance has been found positive, it is indirect. Efficient SHRM could improve employees knowledge, skills, strength the relationships between employees, and also create superior databases, processes and then help firms achieve higher performance. In the following section, we analyse how HPWS create firm resources in PSFs. HPWS and Firm Resources There is a positive relationship between HPWS and firm performance. But how HPWS affect firm performance remains to be understood. The resource-based view of firm (RBV) argues that a firms competitive advantages lie primarily on the application of valuable resources, skills and capabilities that the firm already control (Barney, 1991; Penrose, 1959; Wernerfelt, 1984). The knowledge based theory of firm (Grant, 1996a, 1996b) considers knowledge as the most strategically significant resource of the firm. This knowledge is embedded and carried through multiple entities including individuals, relationships and organizational culture, identity, routines, documents, systems. Guided by the resource-based view of firm (Barney, 1991) and the knowledge-based theory of firm (Grant, 1996a, 1996b), we argue that HPWS affect firm performance by creating valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and non-substitutable resources (Barney, 1991), i.e., human capital, social capital, and organizational capital. And these resources can also be understood as the places where knowledge is embedded. Human capital. In PSFs, the human capital is defined as the knowledge and skills of their professionals that can be used to produce high quality professional services (Hitt, Bierman, Shimizu, Kochhar, 2001; Hitt et al., 2006; Pennings, Lee, Van Witteloostuijn, 1998). Human capital plays a strong role as the PSFs key resource in solving client problems (Morris Snell, 2008). Professionals possessing large amounts of experience, education, and training should be able to effectively create ideas on their own in response to the complexities of unique client needs. Their localized experience helps them to understand the needs of local clients and markets, which allows them to develop solutions that are unique to each contextual environment and hence heterogeneous across the firm. Professionals who draw the most upon human capital tend to rely on the experimentation, inspiration, and experience of individuals to solve a problem (Morris Snell, 2008). To build high human capital, PSFs nee d to identify, attract and retain superior professionals, which can be achieved through HR practices such as selection, recruitment and training. HRM should ideally work to enhance the firms competitive position by creating superior human capital skills, experience and knowledge that contribute to firm economic value (Guest, 1997). Thus we propose that HPWS result in the creation of a high quality human capital pool that cannot be easily imitated because of time compression diseconomies, e.g., Mercks RD capability (Wright et al., 2001). For example, the professionals in PSFs gain explicit knowledge through their formal education and tacit knowledge through learning on the job. HR practices are thought to lead to the development of a skilled workforce and one that results in functional behavior for the firm, thus potentially forming a source of competitive advantage (Becker Huselid, 1998). These arguments lead to the following proposition. Proposition 1a: The PSFs human capital mediates the relationship between HPWS and firm performance. Although human capital has many positive benefits, it represents costs to firms as well. For example, PSFs usually try to recruit the best graduates from top institutions. To attract them, firms need to provide compensation which is more than their marginal productivity early in their careers (Hitt et al., 2001). Furthermore, professionals new skills must be developed since they gain tacit knowledge through learning on the job (Bierman Gely, 1994). Although they are learning new skills, they may be less effective at the beginning. The cost for them may exceed their capital (Hitt et al., 2001). These arguments lead to the following proposition. Proposition 1b: There is a curvilinear relationship between the PSFs human capital and firm performance. The relationship is negative early in the professionals tenure but becomes positive. Social capital. Social capital is a resource which is embedded in the relationships among individuals (Loury, 1977; Coleman, 1988; Bourdieu; 1985; Burt, 1992; Putnam, 1993; Nahapiet Ghoshal, 1998; Lin, 2001). It is different from human capital. Social capital is embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit (Nahapiet Ghoshal, 1998) while human capital is embedded in individuals head (Becker, 1964; OSullivan Sheffrin, 2003). Social capital plays an important role in PSFs. The firms ability to attract and retain clients depends not only on its competence to provide high quality services produced by the professionals human capital but also on their connections to potential clients (Maister, 1993; Smigel, 1969). Pennings et al. (1998) analysed firm-level and individual-level social capital in PSFs. The firm-level social capital can help PSFs attract potential clients because the potential clients will choose a firm as a service provider on the basis of previous interpersonal relationship with the firms professionals when other things are equal. Within PSFs, the fact is that a set of clients are handled or looked after by an individual professional who is the key person. Their results show that social capital of owners (partners) contributed more to firm survival than those of employees (associates). Pennings et al. (1998)s study produced major evidence for the contention that a firms human and social capital have important implications for performance. The service delivered by PSFs suffers from an â€Å"opaque quality† because of PSFs knowledge intensity (von Nordenflycht, 2010). This refers to situations where the quality of an experts output is hard for non-experts (i.e., customers) to evaluate, even after the output is produced and delivered (Broschak, 2004; Empson, 2001; Levin Tadelis, 2005; Là ¸wendahl, 2000; cited in von Nordenflycht, 2010). In this situation, personal relationships and ambiguity reduction through personal contact take on extra significance. As clients and customers often have problems estimating the value of the product/service offered, establishing close social links between the PSFs and the customer/ client becomes vital (Alvesson, 2001). Other things equal, the potential clients will choose a firm as a service provider on the basis of previous interpersonal relationship with the firms professionals (Pennings et al., 1998). In addition, PSFs typically make investments in relationships with clients and make efforts to generate social attachment (Fichman Levinthal, 1991). Some research also demonstrates that social capital mediates the HR practices and firm performance relationship. For example, Youndt et al. (2004) state that thoughtful selection of people who ‘fit with the organizations culture, or intensive training programmes that not only socialize incoming employees but also indoctrinate common values among existing employees, may have a strong impact on the social capital of organizations. Collins and Smith (2006)s found that commitment-based HR practices were indirectly related to firm financial performance through their effects on organizational social climate and knowledge exchange and combination; Thus, HPWS improve the internal social structure within organizations, that facilitates communication and cooperation among employees (Evans Davis, 2005) which in turn has been found to be linked to organizational performance. These arguments lead to the following proposition. Proposition 1c: The PSFs social capital mediates the relationship between HPWS and firm performance. Organizational capital. Organizational capital is defined as the institutionalized knowledge and codified experience residing within an organization and utilized through databases, patents, manuals, structures, systems, and processes (Youndt et al., 2004; Subramaniam Youndt 2005). The organizational routines and processes which embody organizational knowledge are a source of organizational competitive advantage (Teece, 2000) In PSFs, organizational process of the typical professional service firm (PSF) is highly institutionalized because of the knowledge-based nature of the work and ultimately, in the historical evolution of relatively autonomous professions (Freidson, 1986; Greenwood, Hinings, Brown, 1990; cited in Morris, Gardner, Anand, 2007). The organizational routine of PSF is informal work understandings and practices built up by colleagues as they collaborate over time, like an accumulated short hand of work (Morris, 2000: 822). Morris and Snell (2008) emphasize the importance of organizational capital for PSFs. They state that organizations tend to draw on organizational capital for many aspects of learning, including knowledge creation, sharing, and integration, but this resource may provide more value for specific types of learning. Based on the basis of previous literature and their own experience with PSFs, organizational capital is most likely to create more value when individuals in the organization are trying to integrate knowledge. In terms of integration, then, organizational capital helps to create value through the implementation and reuse of knowledge across affiliates, which allows professionals to deliver solutions more efficiently to clients. Besides facilitating knowledge integration, organizational capital also shapes professionals image and identity (Empson, 2001) which plays an important role in attracting new clients. Many scholars have found that SHRM improve organizational capital. For example, Wright et al. (2001) argued that HPWS might play a role in creating cultures or mindsets that enable the maintenance of unique competencies (e.g., the safety record of DuPont). The HR is not limited to its direct effects on employee skills and behavior. HRs effects are more encompassing in that they help weave those skills and behaviors within the broader fabric of organizational processes, systems and, ultimately, competencies. Other strategists who embrace the RBV point out that competitive advantage (vis core competence) comes from aligning skills, motives, and so forth with organizational systems, structures, and processes that achieve capabilities at the organizational level (Hamel Prahalad, 1994; Peteraf, 1993; Teece et al., 1997). Koch and McGrath (1996) took a similar logic in their study of the relationship between HR planning, recruitment, and staffing practices and labor productivity. They arg ued that â€Å"†¦ a highly productive workforce is likely to have attributes that make it a particularly valuable strategic asset,† (p. 335). They suggested that firms which developed effective routines for acquiring human assets develop a stock of talent that cannot be easily imitated. They also found that these HR practices were related to labor productivity in a sample of business units, and that this relationship was stronger in capital intensive organizations. These arguments lead to the following proposition. Proposition 1d: The PSFs organizational capital mediates the relationship between HPWS and firm performance. The Uses of Firm Resources The resource-based view of firm (RBV) and knowledge-based theory of firm contribute to identifying the existing resources that have the potential to constitute a source of sustainable competitive advantage (Hitt et al., 2006). However, merely possessing such resources does not guarantee the development of competitive advantages or the creation of value (Barney Arikan, 2001; Priem Butler, 2001; cited in Sirmon et al., 2007). These valuable resources must be effectively managed and utilized to achieve superior profit (Schultz, 1961) and a competitive advantage (Barney Arikan, 2001; Sirmon et al., 2007). The emphasis on the use of resources is consistent with the dynamic capabilities perspective (Teece et al., 1997) which includes considerations such as how resources are developed, how they are integrated within the firm and how they are released. Using these resources is the same as using the knowledge which is embedded in the individuals, the relationships and the organizational processes, routines, databases, and systems. There are two streams or approaches of research on using these knowledge or resources (Hargadon Fanelli, 2002). One focuses on how to reuse or replicate existing knowledge, i.e., exploitation (Levitt March, 1988). The other one focuses on how to generate new knowledge, i.e., exploration (March, 1991; Kogut Zander, 1992). The effective use of resources may help a PSF balance the effective exploitation of existing resources with exploration of knowledge to create new capabilities. The following matrix shows how PSFs create value by exploiting and exploring existing resources. The matrix shows that the exploration of resources in PSFs is to deliver new products or service to new clients and to deliver new products or service to old clients. It also shows that the exploitation of resources in PSFs is to deliver existing services or products to the existing clients or new clients as there is no new knowledge/capability required. The exploration process needs to explore the human capital to invent new products or services and the social capital to attract new clients and new business and the organic organizational capital (Kang Snell, 2009) that facilitate this delivery. The exploitation process needs to reuse or refine the existing products or services and existing clients, which requires the standardized organizational capital (Kang Snell, 2009) to facilitate this delivery. To illustrate exploration and exploitation more detail, four capabilities of PSFs are identified to effectively exploit existing resources with exploration of knowledge to create new capabilities. They are managing teams, leveraging knowledge, combining and exchanging knowledge, and sensing the changes in the external environment capabilities. Managing teams. In professional service firms, most of work is project or program-oriented, serving the needs of the external customers. It requires several professionals work together, and frequently involves client contact, often through co-location at a clients place of business. Then team forms the basic unit of work in the professional service firm. Generally, a team consists of partners and associates. The dynamic global economic environment accelerates PSFs work speed. Usually the customers assignments are much more compressed in term of time (Morris, Gardner, Anand, 2007). Therefore, to successful serving clients, the team management is vital. Teece (2003) provides a lot emphasis on the coordinating tasks, managing conflict, communicating and cooperating within the team in team management. As with the traditional firm, coordination must be achieved, and conflict must be managed. In the professional services context, raw conflict can lead to mass defections and the destruction of enterprise value, even more assuredly than in an industrial company setting. So conflict management is likely to be especially significant with an expert services context because experts are likely to not only have strong preferences, but are also likely to be self-confident, possibly egotistical, and possibly lacking in good business sense while already having some degree of established financial success (Teece, 2003: 897). The most critical communication in a professional service context is frequently peer-to-peer. Partners (senior talent) frequently need to access other senior talent in order to meet client needs (Teece, 2003: 903). Leveraging knowledge. Leveraging knowledge, that is the transfer of know-how from seniors to juniors in client assignments, sustains the basic division of labor in the professional firm and also underpins its profitability (Hitt et al., 2001; Malos Campion, 2000). All professional firms compete by leveraging knowledge and partners reputation (Greenwood et al., 2005). In PSFs, partners own the most human capital and social capital in a firm. To meet clients demands, partners need to select other professionals to form a team to possess the appropriate skills, experience and training. In this way, the partners knowledge and capabilities are leveraged. Meanwhile, the junior professionals, or associates also acquire intangible knowledge during the long apprenticeship they serve with their senior colleagues before being assessed for a partnership position. Leverage ratios are measured by total number of associates divided by the total number of partners (Hitt, et al., 2001; Phillips, 2001). High leverage ratios are commensurate with highly codified knowledge packages and standardized tools and methodologies which can routinely be applied by junior associates. Lower leverage is associated with experience or expertise models in which knowledge is less routinized and the firm seeks more complex projects in which there is a premium on the experience or special expertise of more senior staff (Maister 1993; Hansen, Nohria, Tierney, 1999). Effective leveraging creates dynamic capabilities whereby the firm is able to renew, augment, and adapt its current capabilities to serve continuously changing and new client needs (Teece et al.. 1997; Tripsas, 1997; cited in Hitt et al., 2001). Hitt et al. (2001) also find the empirical support for the positive relationship between leveraging and firm performance in professional service context. Combining and exchanging knowledge capability

Motivation Theories: Maslows Hierarchy

Motivation Theories: Maslows Hierarchy It is interesting to learn more about motivation because it has a long way to grow a business. First of all, motivation can be explained in simple terms as desire or willingness to do something; enthusiasm: keep staff up to date and maintain interest and motivation (Oxford dictionaries online, 2012). Motivation can be defined as Motivation is a reflection of the reasons why people do things. All behavior is therefore based on choice-people choose to do things that they do (Richard, 2007, p553). Moreover, Cole states that Motivation is the term used to describe those processes, both instinctive and rational, by which people seek to satisfy the basic drives, perceived needs and personal goals, which trigger human behavior. (Cole, 1995, p119).The motivation is one of the employer needs which encourage him to be more loyal and work with more enthusiasm. Motivation theories Maslows Hierarchy Maslows theory relates motivation to a hierarchy of needs with basic needs at the bottom and higher needs at the top as in Figure 1. The first level is the physiological needs such as food, housing and clothingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is it enough to allow you to enjoy life. The second level is safety needs it is needs for stable environment relatively free from threats and it is security that your job is safe and secure that your working condition are safe. The fourth level is love and belonging it is being recognized for doing your job well, for example a feeling of belonging with your colleagues they support you and communicate with you. The fifth level is self-actualisation it is being promoted and more responsibility also given the chance and the scope to develop new ideas. ( Richard,2007,p557, from class) Maslow argued that there was a relationship between the different classes, the needs at the bottom of the hierarchy are basic and they need to be satisfied before a person can move on to the next level. For example an individual has not eaten; he or she feels hungry and as a response he or she eats and diminishes feelings of hunger so he or she cannot work well before this need is satisfied. Maslows theory became an early useful framework for discussions about what people needs may experience ate work also the ways in which their motivation can help them to meet managers. One criticism of this theory is that systematic movement up the hierarchy does not seem to be a consistent form of behaviour for many people. Figure 1: Hierarchy of needs (GOOGLE) Taylors Scientific Taylors motivation theory is created in 1911 and this theory is called a scientific management theory, thats mean a relation between science and management at the organization of work. According to Taylors research motivation thinks that money is the first thing which motivates people to work. But give to the employers some promotion and time to think about them self can help them to improve and work more seriously. Taylor believed that monetary reward was an important motivating factor. This is known as piece work. He lined how much money a person earned to how much the produced in a day. Their output was linked to a piece rate if people worked hard and produced a lot that day they would earn a lot of money, if they didnt work hard and didnt produce much they would not earn a lot of money that day. (From class) There are some problems with Taylors approach. He treats people as machine rather than as humans. He assumes that people are only interested in getting money from work in fact people want other things from work, a service of achievement, friendships with colleagues and work fulfills more than just monetary needs. Elton Mayo Elton Mayo (1880-1949) participated in Human relations Movement. He contributed with the social research performed at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago, USA, between 1927 and 1932, and named the Hawthorne Studies. Elton Mayo is considered as the founder of the human relations movement. He was working on some studies concerning fatigue; accidents and labor turnover at work when he was approached by executives of the Western Electric Company for advice. The studies were conducted over several years in a number of different stages, as follows: first stage (1924-1927). This was carried out by the companys own staff under the direction of Messrs Pennock and Dickson. This stage was performed with respect to the effects of lighting on output. One group, had a consistent level of lighting, the other group had its lighting varied. The experimental group productivity increase even when the lighting was reduced to a low level. Stage two (1927-1929) is to make more d etailed study of the effects of differing physical conditions on productivity. In this research the separated six women working in the relay assembly section from the rest and they give them rest pauses and lunch times different in timing and in length. The result was that their productivity increased in better and worse conditions. The women productivity increased because they were the center of attention.(Cole,2004,p33) Mayo suggested that motivation at work was promoted by such factors as: -a good communication with the employer -a good teamwork which the employer feel relaxed -showing interest in others -ask the other before to make a decision -ensuring the wellbeing of other -ensuring work is interesting and non-repetitive Mayo believe that motivation encourage employer to work more and to choose their position in the work. 1-4 Herzberg Herzberg concentrated on satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. His theory is sometimes called the two-factor theory which divided into: -Motivators factors or satisfiers for example: work itself, responsibility, achievement. -Hygiene factors or dissatisfies for example salary, company policy, working conditions.(Cole,2004,p37) The factors of motivators are all related to the actual content of the work place and job responsibilities. The hygiene factors are good or adequate will not in themselves make the person satisfied, by ensuring that they are indeed adequate. In other part, where these aspects are bad, extreme dissatisfaction was reported by all respondents. The work of Herzberg has tended to encourage attention to such as factors as: Suitable supervision which encourages the labor force rather than restricts it. Job enlargement programs, job enrichment and job satisfaction which can often be increased through work restructuring. The setting and achieving of targets and objectives. In order to manage the two-factor approach to motivation effectively, attention in the following areas: -A management style, attitude and approach to staff, trust and honesty, limitations or technology concerned in the work itself. -General factors of status, believed in, given opportunities for change and development of the organization. -staff has a good relationship between each other that is facilities the successful of the activities within organization.(Pettinger,2007,p560) David McClelland McClelland (1961) and his colleagues have examined how people think and their work led them to identify three categories of human need which are: Need for affiliation: to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships. Need for achievement : to show successful task results and take personal responsibility Need for power: to be able to influence and control others and to shape events. (Boddy,2002,p399) McClelland secluded need for achievement as a main human motive, and one that is influenced strongly by personality and by environment. Humans with a high need of achievement seem to have characteristics such as: their need for achievement is consistent, they seek tasks in which they can exercise personal responsibility, they prefer tasks which present a challenge without being too difficult and which they see as within their mastery and they want feedback on their results. Also they are less concerned about their social or affiliation needs. McClelland realized that the need for achievement is affected by education, childhood experiences and culture background. Therefore designing helping programmes can help increase the achievement motive in employees at work place. Using motivation theories in business It is important when doing investigative work, especially about motivation, that we remember that the existing theories on human behavior are just that theories. Theories are there to be challenged. Over a period of time, theories come and go. Just because you read one theory does not mean to say it is exactly what happens or that is how humans behave. As time passes and we gain new knowledge, theories may become totally discredited. The identification of the fact that business organisations employ people because of the contribution they make to production. In return for that contribution, people receive money in the form of a wage or salary.The successful of business start from the motivation theory for example if a firm can motive its employees after that it can improve employee morale and increase productivity then the business will be enhance. (bized, 2012). Motivation within the institution is when leaders encourage their subordinates to accomplish their tasks and provide a sui table environment in which they feel able to work. Employees give of themselves to change the work environment, considering each as an employee in order to ensure the proper functioning of the company so that its resources are fully optimized. Ensure that the tasks well paid because employees are a Family Company that is why they are the first team success, in order to generate intense harmony between all members of the institution to create its own culture the company. This allows the institution to stand very well on the socio-economic and financial institution made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹him guaranteed future periods, since everyone is projected to a plane that is the health of the firm as the short, medium and long term. (Memoire online, 2012) The successful of business start from the motivation theory for example if a firm can motive its employees after that it can improve employee morale and increase productivity then the business will be enhance as in figure2: Figure2 (Madura,2007) A firm may not be able to motivate some employees, regardless of its efforts or the methods used to motivate them. If not form of motivation is effective, the threat of being fired may serve as a last resort to motivate these employees. Firms can enhance job satisfaction and therefore motivate employees by providing: an adequate compensation program, which aligns compensation with performance; job security; employee involvement programs and a flexible work schedule. A firms decisions regarding the motivation concepts summarized here affect its performance, if a firm can motivate its employees, it can improve employee morale and increase productivity. While there are many motivation theories, the proper form of motivation varies with the firms characteristics and may even vary among employees.(Madura,2007) Example of company using a motivation theories Case study: Kelloggs Kelloggs created in 1898 from W.K. Kellogg, and his brother, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and this company produced the delicious recipe for Kelloggs Corn Flakes. In 2006, The Kellogg Company celebrated its 100-year commitment to nutrition, health and quality. In this time e Kellogg Company is the worlds leading producer of breakfast cereals. Its products are manufactured in 18 countries and sold in more than 180 countries also it has been a leader in health and nutrition. The most important of success the company it return from adapt the motivation theory. Kelloggs culture supports its role as a good employer. Employees are encouraged to speak positively about each other when focusing on their strength. The creating of a great place to work for Kelloggs is supported by the motivation theory. First of all Kelloggs adapt the motivation theory of Maslow by every employee is motivated to work through each of 5 levels and its positive effects for each employee and the company for instance: In physiological needs: Kelloggs offers competitive salaries this helps people to acquire the basic needs for living. Also Kelloggs gives people a childcare vouchers, cash alternatives to company cars and discounted life assurance schemes. These things help workers to be motivated and to be loyal to the company. In safety needs: Kelloggs securities the safety of all employees. The company is responsible to give a safe and healthy work environment to prevent accidents. Kelloggs also offers employees a range of working patterns. For example some may want to work part-time others may want career breaks or undertake homeworking. This will be a variety of options for the employees in a healthy work-life balance. In social needs: Kelloggs operates weekly group huddles. These provide opportunities for employees to receive information on any part of the business, including sales data and company products. Kelloggs positively recognizes and rewards staff achievements. In self-actualization: Kelloggs supplies employees with the possibility to take stimulating responsibilities and on challenging. This is helpful to the employees to develop and improve. For example: Laura Bryant joined Kelloggs in 2002 after fished her university. She joined the Field Sales team initially that help her to visit five to ten supermarkets a day to develop relationships at a local level. After two years she was promoted to Customer Marketing Manager at Head Office. This helped to increase her profile as she wanted to move into marketing. By encouraging from her manager, Laura made the transition from Sales to Marketing as Assistant Brand Manager on Rice Krispies and Frosties. In 2009 she was promoted again to manage the marketing plan for Special K and she is now Brand Manager for Kelloggs Cornflakes. The company has helped motivate her to raise the hierarchy of needs and achieve her career ambitions. In the second part Kelloggs adapt the motivation of Taylor for example many employees are motivated by cash alternatives which include the opportunity to buy and sell their holiday days. Also Taylors theory breaks down jobs into specialist tasks through the division of labor and this is corresponds to large companies like Kelloggs. Also the staffs of the company are encouraged to be creative and use their imagination to contribute towards change. In the third part, Kelloggs apply the motivation theory of Mayo in keeps a two-way dialogue with employees through its communication programs. This is helpful to allow the workforce. Kelloggs has kind of dialogue recording for communication like this one: Here at Kelloggs listening is a central premise of the way we work. We believe that our employees have some of the best ideas and that a successful company is one that listens to the grass roots feedback and acts on it. Any employee can raise an issue or a suggestion via their rep who will raise it at one of their monthly meetings. (Sue Platt, HR Director) The Kelloggs suggestion box scheme helps to improve productivity and making business a great place to work. Also Kelloggs helps to generate ideas and has an initiative called Snap, Crackle and Save an employee suggestion scheme to save costs within the supply chain. For example a lot of ideas have been put forward over the last couple of years. One idea suggested that one thickness of cardboard could be used for packaging in all manufacturing plants in Europe. This saved around  £250,000 per year. Kelloggs helps personal development planning for employees which includes provisions such as study leave as part of staff development. This reinforces staff commitment and their sense of being treated well. In the fourth part, Kelloggs adapt the motivation theory of Herzberg by developed a number of motivating factors. For example this company has a Fit for Life program offering to the employees access to fitness centers, annual fitness assessments by healthcare specialists every spring and free health checks. It also provides a summer hours from May to September so if employees have worked a lot of hours they can adjust their working hours to balance their work against family or lifestyle commitments. This motivation is related to Herzberg because in the workplace he want to give individuals job satisfaction These include, for example, promotion or recognition for effort and performance also the level of responsibility of the job. . Herzberg believed that businesses needed to ensure hygiene factors were minimised in order to enable motivators to have their full effect, because hygiene factors make the employees in the work place feel unhappy. This motivation from Herzberg helps Kellogg s to build a business that delivers consistently strong results. For example: Home working, part-time working, flextime and job sharing. Subsidized access to local facilities or on-site gyms Parental leave, career breaks, time off for depends and paternity and maternity. This an example of employee works with Kelloggs: Claire Duckworth works in the Consumer Insight team at Kelloggs. She takes part in Latin American ballroom dancing competitively with her partner. They are ranked 7th in England in the over-35 category. Flexible working at Kelloggs enables her to travel to events and provides her with the opportunity to pursue her hobby at a serious level. This opportunity to adjust her working life to accommodate her personal ambitions makes Claire feel respected and supported. Also the Kelloggs sales team meets every Friday morning to share success stories of the week. Analyze This case study illustrates the range of different motivation measures in practice at Kelloggs. It demonstrates that highly motivated employees can improve efficiency, output and quality for a business. Kelloggs is able to make work a more profitable and competitive business also more exciting and interesting experience for employees whilst creating a more productive. Conclusion: The importance of Motivation Theory Motivation at work is the taste that the subject has to do, the extent to which it involves, perseverance, continuity of effort he agrees. Motivation resulting from the satisfaction, it is important to specify certain criteria which are:  · The work itself,  · The economic level it provides,  · Relations in which he bathes. Operation depends as much on human motivational balance and satisfaction of the tension on the search for new tensions, thus some form of imbalance, for example, when a project (cognitive or social) is the subject humans often developed another action project, he tries to carry and so on. Arguably enhancing cognitive and social activities is their own creation and not in an external object. Turning your dissertation into a 2:1 Turning your dissertation into a 2:1 Title: Dissertation Copy Writing. How to turn your dissertation from a 2:2 to a 2:1 When you are given your first piece of coursework as an undergraduate, you are also given (or should be) a copy of the marking criteria which will be applied when your work is assessed. Although by the time you reach the point of writing a dissertation you will be approaching the culmination of a course of study, the same basic judgements will be made. Of course, there is always a margin allowed for tutors and lecturers to apply their own judgement, it is never simply a ‘numbers game’, and the dissertation you present will always be marked by more than one person, but basically the same criteria will be applied at whatever level you are working. So, how do you raise your dissertation from the mediocrity which is represented by a 2:2, to the degree of excellence represented by a 2:1? Essentially, the difference in terms of actual marks is often minute: a 2:2 would normally be the result of a mark between 50% and 59%, whereas a 2:1 represents a mark between 60% and 69%. Look at the borders here, not the maximum of each: the difference between a 2:2 and a 2:1 could be as little as 2%. In reality, however, this is rarely the case. Your work will be marked interpretively and therefore in order to be sure of upping that grade, you need a comfortable difference not a borderline one. Approach this logically and you will see that you need to consider how your work can be improved in each of the applicable criteria in order to raise your grade and you should think about this from the outset. Before you begin your dissertation, look carefully at the marking criteria and note where the differences between a 2:2 and a 2:1 lie. You’ll notice that the criteria for either a 2:2 or 2:1, requires the following: Understanding of the question Identifying the major themes The ability to develop a well-structured argument The inclusion of supplementary evidence from primary texts, correctly referenced A strong conclusion A bibliography using the referencing style of your academic institution. Having probably been in academic life for some time before attempting a dissertation you should be thinking ‘this is all pretty standard’ and if you are not, then that 2:1 is just a dream because the way to turn a 2:2 into a 2:1 is down to your ability to recognise just where each of these basic requirements needs to be expanded. In general, the key differences between a 2:2 and a 2:1 exist in the depth of research and the quality of analysis. That being the case you should focus on your level of research and your analytical ability to improve your grade. Also, this ability to research and analyse must be linked seamlessly to your argument. To earn a 2:1 you must make your points cogently and show that you have expanded your reading beyond the merely required towards the comprehensive. A good way of doing this is to look at the bibliographies of a primary text because you will then be using a credible source to develop your research base. From here, you can begin to analyse, i.e. literally take apart and comment critically on the evidence so that it informs your dissertation argument and never at any point appears separate from the central themes. A 2:1 dissertation reflects a much deeper level of thought than a 2:2, which is why it is the minimum requirement of most respected universities in order to carry out post-graduate research. However, even within the 2:1 there are divisions of which you should be aware in order that you are sure of your 2:1, rather than hoping just to scrape through. In other words, you need to be aiming for a mark in the region of 65% to 69%. To achieve this, you need to demonstrate: that you can not only develop an argument but that you have anticipated some of the possible challenges to it that your reading goes beyond the basic in both collation and coherence that your analysis has added to your argument and developed your thinking that you have produced a conclusion that does more than just summarise your argument but also provides a genuine synthesis of wide-ranging yet focussed thought. Remember, that the award of a 2:1 grade reflects on the level of excellence of the academic institution to which you belong as much as you so it will not be given lightly but that, of course, is what makes it worth having, isn’t it? How to turn your dissertation from a 2:1 to a First Class In order to preserve their quality benchmark, most universities strictly limit the number of First Class degrees that they award and this is reflected in the assessment of a First Class dissertation. When you think about it, you wouldn’t really want it any other way because the expansion of the number would devalue the inherent status that achieving a First Class degree carries and the key to this is the ability to research and write a First Class dissertation. For this reason, if for no other, you need to work not only harder to achieve a First Class dissertation grade but also in a very specific way. Let’s examine precisely how by taking the structuring of a First Class dissertation step by step. You will have at your disposal a marking scheme with which by the stage in your academic career when you are required to write a dissertation, you should be very familiar. You need, now, to look at this more closely, even analytically, than you have ever done before, so that you isolate the features which separate the wider excellence of the 2:1 from the specific excellence of the First. Looking closely at the marking levels, you will instantly see that it would be theoretically possible to achieve a First Class dissertation grade by gaining a mark that is anything over 70%. In practice, however, you will more often than not be literally competing for a First against your fellow students because the university might often decide in abstract how many Firsts it ultimately intends to award and your dissertation is a crucial part of this. Therefore, you must ensure that your dissertation stands out from the rest and rather than just edging into the 70s reaches closer to 80%. The basics should not need to be stated if you are aiming at the highest level with your dissertation so let’s take it has read that you will write well, argue coherently, reference appropriately and correctly and provide a convincing conclusion; even to get a 2:2 you would need all of these to be present. Therefore, it is not on that you should focus for a First but on other factors, not called for in the lower levels, even the 2:1: this extra something is rooted in the demonstration of research abilities beyond the obvious and the ability to find the original in the familiar. In other words, a First Class dissertation will display not only wide reading but also an innovative approach to both the interpretation of the research and its application. Your thoughts need to be both critical and original and whilst the first of these may be familiar, the second will be less so because in all probability you will not have been required to display originality until now. Indeed, you m ay have been actively discouraged from allowing your own thoughts to enter into your work, as most academic work encourages you to take an objective view rather than a subjective one. You now need to forget that to some extent and begin to allow your personal perspective to enter your work. Of course, you still need to present a balanced argument, well supported by strong evidence in the form of wide and yet focussed reading, but you must now also add to this the evident ability to detect and develop a nuance so that it becomes a uniquely significant imperative in your work that separates it from the work of others. Above all, to obtain a First Class grade for your dissertation, you need to display a scholarly approach, together with an individualistic but grounded and viable methodology which includes evidence of innovation and independent thinking. This is of course a very difficult task, especially if you are working in a very familiar field. Most of the original lines of approach may appear to have been developed already but this will not be the case. There is not a single topic on which the last word has been said and if you can find and develop an original line of thought which you can support with a strong argument and comprehensive research, then that prized First Class dissertation is within your grasp, all you have to do is go for it! How to turn your dissertation from a First Class to an Upper First Class The one word with which you need to engage in order to achieve an Upper First Class dissertation is originality. Everything else that you need to accomplish should be second nature to you at this level and what you want now is to demonstrate how your thinking will add to the body of thought on the subject. Indeed, the development of a First Class dissertation to an Upper First Class dissertation may be said to rest if not exactly solely then certainly heavily upon this aspect of your work. One of the main reasons for this, is that the vast majority of Upper First Class dissertations are later developed into theses for post graduate research, may indeed already be part of it, and as the excellence of a university’s research, from its staff as well as students, is the way in which it is ultimately judged in the academic world, it is clear that this grade will not be freely awarded. Therefore, if you are hoping to achieve this level, you will need considerable intellectual insigh t combined with an innovative approach. Clearly, the fundamental basis of an Upper First Class dissertation is wide ranging research but you should approach this from the first with an eye to discovering a new approach, something that has not been explored before and that further research will help to develop into a significant contribution to the topic you are studying. This is both challenging and exciting as you have the chance to contribute to a topic for which your attraction has been demonstrated by your having chosen to study it in the first place and reached the level that you have. Also, as has already been mentioned, what you identify as areas of possible future research in this dissertation may well be the basis for further study and you should incorporate this into your dissertation as a fundamental part of its structure throughout, if you are going to achieve an Upper First Class grade, which in most cases will require you to gain over 80% as your final mark. As research is so vital at this level, it is worth taking a little time to explain how you should go about it when preparing your Upper First Class dissertation. As with the research for lower grades, you should, of course, first consult the primary sources. Every field has its experts and in your search for innovation, you should not overlook the established. However, whilst you are assembling evidence from what has been said, the Upper First Class dissertation student will be looking just as vitally for what has been omitted. Ask yourself the following as you read: What is this expert saying? Does this expert cover the topic comprehensively? Are there any areas of particular interest to me which are absent? Can my research develop this further? Has anyone else covered the thinking which I believe to be original? By breaking down your research into this critical approach, you are beginning to work in the way that is needed to obtain an Upper First Class grade for your dissertation. It should also be remarked that the level of fluid and cohesive argument that you will need to produce in order to achieve an Upper First Class grade for your dissertation must be beyond reproach. There must, of course, be no errors in either the presentation or the structure and careful proof-reading is essential. Also, you must in no way sacrifice the logical and reasoned coherence of your argument to the quest for originality. There is little point in exploring a nuance you have discovered if your basic argument is flawed. Therefore, before you expand your writing and research ensure that you have covered the basics of the topic. Remember that ultimately what is required to achieve an Upper First Class grade for your dissertation is innovative thought coupled with a well-argued central discussion. The conclusions you draw are also a fundamental part of an Upper First Class dissertation as is a comprehensive bibliography so don’t leave either your conclusion or your bibliogr aphy until the last minute. Give both the importance they deserve in your dissertation and you will leave your assessor with the desired impression: that they have read an Upper First Class piece of work which is, of course, precisely what you want and which, by following this brief guide, you will have every chance of achieving.