Conflict Is an Ever-Present and Ongoing Aspect of People’s Lives Essay

â€Å"Conflict is an ever-present and ongoing aspect of people’s lives† Conflict is a omnipresent part of life regardless of time and place. It has been in our lives ever since the start of our ancestry, where they fight for survival against the wild. Conflict can be as simple as the internal conflict of choosing what we want to have for lunch, It can also be at a large scale like a global war. Without the hardship we and experience we gain from it as an individual, life would be undoubtedly boring and plain. Individuals wouldn’t be able to learn right from wrong, neither would they experience different situations and learn how to overcome it. Conflict is a fundamental factor of life, it is in books, at work, at school, online and even on the news. Every day we are faced with at least one type of conflict, or at least witness one. Therefore conflict is unavoidable and always present in our paths as we grow from a fetus to the day we pass away. Protagonists from our favourite novels encounter different hardships as their journey is spilled out onto the pages for us to read and picture their life. In the famous novel entitled â€Å"The Rugmaker Of Mazar-E-Sharif† written by Najaf Mazari and Robert Hillman, illustrates the life of Najaf and how he encounters vary different types of conflict. The moving event of the loss of his father to war, forever traumatises Najaf. We as children are first introduced to our mothers and fathers, causing them to be the closest people we would have in our lives when we are first sent to kindergarten we cry and cry due to the missing warmth and loving grasp of our mothers and fathers. Now this is only for a day, imagine not seeing one of the people you love most for the rest of your life. That is the pain and horror Najaf goes through as he loses his father. That doesn’t stop Najaf from staying on his feet to look after his family. until he faces the internal battle to decide if he should flee to Australia or stay back. Demonstrating that we face hardship one after another. Creating an endless cycle. All the pre-mentioned events was caused by one of the world’s greatest battle of different beliefs, war. The ongoing war has caused all the devastation for Najaf, forcing him to flee his homeland. This enhances the factor of conflict being omnipresent and the ongoing fundamental part of any individuals life. Devastating events can occur at any time of our lives. An example of this is the Victorian bushfires. Where you could be out with your family enjoying the hot weather, and all of a sudden a giant blaze of fire is picked up by the wind and surrounds you in matters of seconds. You are trapped and while blinded by the smoke you hear your family screaming and whelping under the loud crackling of bark and the defining blaze. Soon you too are consumed by the giant blaze of fire. It was unavoidable, you were unaware of the event. Creating grief and pain within others. Proving that one hardship leads to another. Making conflict a endless cycle within our lives. The families who have lost members to the terrifying Victorian bushfires has suffered an unbearable and unimaginable loss. The loss of a loved one, Like Najaf and many other individuals in our society. The one event will continue to haunt the grieving individuals and families. They will remember the ones they lost, they will keep replaying the memories with them and cherish what they have left behind. This is what conflict sometimes does to us. And it will continue to prance around our lives just like the famous line Justin Timberlake uses in one of his famous songs. â€Å"what comes around, goes around† which brings me to the next point. In continuum, Internal conflict is one of the main aspects of hardship we face as humans. Our different believes smothered with the other beliefs from the people we sometimes call bullies. From a young age we can be exposed to bullying. May it be outside on the oval, the playground or even indoors. it is still something we face. t can range from name calling to physically hurting someone. As humans we like to have power but some of them take it to a whole new level. where they will insult and hurt the people smaller or weaker just for their satisfaction of power. This then causes depressing thoughts within individuals, or even the attempt of suicide. Depressing thoughts are caused by bullying or an devastating event which ultimately lead to the judgement of one self. When someone thinks ‘I am not good enough’ or ‘everyone hates me’ yes it was probably caused by bullying but it had continued to haunt them to create internal conflict. This is an extreme extent of internal conflict. Another pre-mentioned example of internal conflict is as simple as choosing what we want for lunch. Yes it may sound stupid but we do have a ‘mini brain war’ about what we want for lunch. ultimately showing that hardships are forever in our lives and will continue to stay in our lives. As individuals we face conflict where ever we go. It is in books, at work, at school, online and even on the news. Ultimately meaning it is a omnipresent and a fundamental part of any individuals life. In other words, ‘ conflict is an ever-present and ongoing aspect of people’s lives’ Najaf experiences the same horrifying pain of losing a loved one as the families from the Victorian bush fires. At the same time they all face internal conflict just like a individual that has experienced bullying, or a teenager thinking of what to buy for lunch from the school canteen but to a greater level. Conflict is unavoidable. It is forever in our lives and will continue to shape us as individuals until we pass away.

Organizational Interventions Influencing Employee

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Oxford, UK and Malden, USAIJTDInternational Journal of Training and Development1360-3736Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005March 2005 14761ArticlesOrganizational Interventions 9 International Journal of Training and Development 9:1 ISSN 1360-3736 Organizational interventions in? uencing employee career development preferred by different career success orientations Namhee Kim This study explores what Korean employees prefer as organizational interventions that in? ence their career development, according to their personal interpretation of career success. A quantitative sample survey was designed from a Korean wireless communications company using a survey instrument. The ? ndings of this study contributed to the validation of theoretical discussions on the association of individuals and organizational career development interventions, implying that organizations need to design their career mobility systems or performance incentive systems in accordance with emplo yees’ career orientations.Introduction Market changes often necessitate substantial transformation in organizations via reorganizing, restructuring or downsizing (Gutteridge et al. , 1993). The characteristics of employees have changed as well. One of the biggest issues facing organizations is the increasing diversity of the modern workforce. Determining how to manage and develop today’s workforce effectively from the perspective of career development has become a critical issue at the organizational level. Companies must ? d ways to match organizational goals and needs with those of individuals, but employees’ internal orientations are often left largely uninvestigated r Research Fellow, Korean Women’s Development Institute, 1-363 Bulkwang-dong, Eunpyong-gu, Seoul 122-707, Korea. Email: [email  protected] re. kr  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St. , Malden, MA 02148, USA. Organizational Interve ntions 47 in the design and implementation of organizational interventions.This study explores Korean employees’ perspectives on organizational interventions that in? uence their career development, according to personal de? nitions of career success. Answers to this research question will help organizations design and implement more effective employee career development policies and activities. Theories of career orientation Traditional career theories de? ned success in terms of extrinsic or objective factors with visible metrics, such as salary, promotions or status (e. g. Gattiker & Larwood, 1989; Jaskolka et al. , 1985).Therefore, hierarchical advancement, larger income and increasing recognition and respect from others typically indicated success at work. On the other hand, some researchers have investigated careers from an internal, subjective perspective. Schein examined individuals’ subjective ideas about work life and their roles within it (van Maanen & Schei n, 1977). He identi? ed the concept of a ‘career anchor’, which is an occupational self-concept or self-knowledge that ‘serves to guide, constrain, stabilize and integrate the person’s career’ (Schein, 1978: 127). Schein (1978) identi? d ? ve types of career anchors: managerial competence, autonomy, security, technical/functional competence, and entrepreneurial creativity. Later, three more types were added: service/dedication to a cause, pure challenge, and life style. Delong (1982) proposed replacing the term ‘career anchor’ with ‘career orientation’, meaning the capacity to select certain features of an occupation for investment according to one’s motives, interests and competencies. He identi? ed three new types of career orientation (identity, service, and variety), in addition to Schein’s (1978) ? e original career anchors. Driver (1979, 1980, 1982) studied business executives and staff specialists in a v ariety of companies, identifying four ‘career concepts’ (transitory, steady-state, linear, and spiral) from self-perceptions based on habits of thought, motives and decision-making styles. These career concepts become the guiding foundation for a person’s long-term career choices (Driver, 1980). Derr (1986) used the term ‘career success orientation’ to refer to how people de? ne their success at work, and argued that an individual’s meaning of career success re? cts their personal values, attitudes and motivation with regard to work and life. Career success orientation can vary considerably given the diversity of the modern workforce and its work values. To describe patterns of career success orientation, Derr (1986) developed a minimum set of useful dimensions based on his research with the US Navy, MBA students and multinational executives. Derr’s ? ve dimensions of career success orientations are: 1. Getting ahead: Traditionally, thi s type was assumed to be typical career orientation for most people who want to succeed in their career.Individuals who exhibit these characteristics pursue upward mobility in organizations. Advancement in status and increased responsibility, authority and opportunities are also attractive to this type. People in this type enjoy wealth and prestige. Getting free: Individuals in this type avoid any restrictions and pursue personal freedom at work. They often like to create their own service or product, enjoying a variety of different experiences. The desire to maintain autonomy at work is the strongest work value. Independence and being free from external interruption make the ideal work situation.Getting secure: Individuals in this type value stability, predictability or security at work. Guaranteed long-term job security is desirable. They are loyal to their organizations and commit themselves seriously to the company. Gaining secure jobs and feeling recognized by their organizatio ns are closely related to their personal meaning of career success. To this type of people, stability is more important than getting ahead. Getting high: Individuals with these characteristics pursue technical or functional expertise in one area and want to test their talents and skills. Excitement is very important to them.They long for continued growth and dedicate themselves to  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. 2. 3. 4. 48 International Journal of Training and Development 5. self-renewing experiences, and consider success as doing what they like. Being an expert in their interest areas is an uppermost goal of their career. Getting balanced: Individuals who exhibit these characteristics pursue a balanced professional and personal life. They enjoy working in an environment that respects personal and family life. People view their career success in relation to other aspects of life, including family and personal development.To them, the meaning of career success cannot be separat ed from the value of family and personal relationships. The emergence of this career type re? ects the diversity of the workforce and work values in recent decades (Derr, 1986). Hall (1976) introduced the concept of the ‘protean career’, characterized by individuals taking the lead in career management, driven by the change of personal rather than organizational needs. He even argued that the ‘career’ no longer exists within organizations (1996). Similarly, Arthur and Rousseau (1996) described modern careers as ‘boundaryless’, defying traditional assumptions about organizational careers.Recent literature, including Hall’s work in 2002, indicates the importance of the individual career, particularly its internal aspects. Baruch (2004) summarized current measures of individual career success as ‘a multi-level set of self-development targets; gaining employability; making lateral transitions for enrichment . . . ; undertaking selfmana gement and entrepreneurship . . . ; and achieving a better and richer quality of life’ (2004: 76). A comparison of the concepts of career anchor, career orientation, career concept, and career success orientation (as well as other recent trends) allows ? e types of commonly identi? ed career orientation to be determined, as presented in Table 1. This table shows that although scholars researched career orientations at different times and used different criteria and terms, the common categories of career orientation can be identi? ed. The categories of personal de? nition of career success also tend to follow a similar framework. Since career orientation is likely to determine (or at least in? uence) an individual’s occupational decisions, it has been hypothesized that this orientation can in? uence their willingness to participate in speci? career development activities (Watts, 1989). However, little literature has empirically explored the relationship between career s uccess orientation and career development intervention. In this study, the career orientations of Korean employees are ? rst explored in terms of Derr’s (1986) framework of career success orientation. Organizational interventions in? uencing employee career development (ECD) The term ‘organizational interventions in? uencing ECD’ is de? ned as organizationinitiated policies or activities that could affect ECD, directly or indirectly. According to Wils et al. 1993), there are three types of career development activities currently conducted in organizations. Speci? cally, 14 activities are identi? ed with three different foci: 1. 2. 3. Impersonal career, focusing on three internal staf? ng activities: job posting, promotion-from-within and lateral mobility. Organizational career, consisting of ? ve organization-oriented activities: succession planning, high potential management, data collection on employees, job matching and data collection on future jobs. Individu al career, subsuming two individual-oriented activities: career planning and career counselling.In addition to these direct interventions, some organizational policies or activities may in? uence ECD indirectly (Watts, 1989). For instance, employee compensation and bene? ts can enhance or impede ECD, affecting critical career decisions. Employee assessment is often understood as a management function, but it can and should be approached from a career development perspective as well (Baruch, 2004; Iles, 1999).  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Organizational Interventions 49 Table 1: Comparison of theories of career orientation 50 International Journal of Training and Development  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005.Types Description of common characteristics †¢ Advancing up the organizational hierarchy †¢ Increased responsibility, authority †¢ High status, prestige, income †¢ Recognized expertise in one area †¢ Excitement to test one’s talents and s kills †¢ Continued growth and experience †¢ Stability, predictability, security †¢ Long-term commitment, loyalty †¢ Maintenance of freedom, avoidance of restrictions †¢ Creation of own service or product †¢ A variety of different experiences †¢ A balanced life †¢ Respect for personal and family life †¢ Flexible time and job sharing †¢ Dedication to a cause, making a contribution to improve the worldSchein’s (1978) career anchor General management competence Technical/ functional competence or pure challenge Security/ stability Autonomy/ independence or entrepreneurial creativity Life style Delong’s (1982) career orientation Managerial competence/ identity Technical/ functional competence Driver’s (1980) career concept Linear Derr’s (1986) career success orientation Getting ahead Baruch’s (2004) measures of career success Self-development competencies Type 1 Type 2 Spiral Getting high Lateral transit ions; spiral movements Type 3 Type 4Security Autonomy, creativity, or variety Steady-state Transitory Getting secure Getting free Employability Self-management; entrepreneurship Type 5 Getting balanced Service Self-perceived attitudes, values and needs Frequency, time, Subjective direction of career de? nition of change success Quality of life; work-family balance Other types Criteria of typology Service/ dedication to a cause Self-perceived talents, values and motives Source: N. Kim (2004). Career success orientation of Korean women bank employees, Career Development International, 9(6), p. 98. Many organizations do not consider such activities a part of ECD (Watts, 1989). In this regard, career systems in organizations are closely linked to human resource management systems, or employee relations, and are integrated into those systems (Gutteridge et al. , 1993; Wils et al. , 1993). Recently, Baruch (2004) elaborated his six-dimension model of organizational career systems, which i ncludes involvement, sophistication & complexity, strategic orientation, developmental focus, organizational decision-making focus, and innovation.Among these, involvement, strategic orientation, developmental focus and organizational decision-making focus relate to the idea of organizational versus individualfocused dimensions (as found in Wils et al. , 1993), as well as the direct versus indirect intervention dimensions addressed by Watts (1989). Innovation and sophistication & complexity seem to be more methodological concerns; this is understandable since the model was designed to facilitate guidelines for evaluating organizational career systems.Given the de? nition and scope of organizational interventions in? uencing ECD, broad types of organization-initiated policies or activities can be categorized (Figure 1). Individual-focused activities partially or entirely allow individuals to make decisions about their participation. Accordingly, participants can take primary advantag e of the resulting bene? ts. Organizational-focused activities are operated primarily for organizational purposes, rather than individual bene? t.Further, indirect interventions can in? uence ECD, although they may not appear to be a part of ECD. This two-dimensional taxonomy of organizational interventions in? uencing ECD in Figure 1 provides a useful framework for understanding the various kinds of organizational interventions in? uencing ECD that have been identi? ed from the career literature, including personnel allocation systems, employee appraisal systems, training/development systems, career development (CD) support systems, and compensation/bene? s systems (Baruch, 2004; Derr, 1986; Noe et al. , 1996; Watts, 1989; Wils et al. , 1993). Under this taxonomy, 13 types of interventions can be summarized, as presented in Table 2. According to Table 2, succession planning, career paths, job posting/job matching, promotion/upward mobility, downward mobility, and job rotation/later al Direct ECD interventions Training/development systems Personnel allocation systems CD support systems Individualfocused Organization focused Compensation/benefits systemsEmployee appraisal systems Indirect interventions influencing ECD Figure 1: Two-dimensional taxonomy of organizational interventions in? uencing ECD.  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Organizational Interventions 51 Table 2: Organizational interventions in? uencing ECD Types of interventions Description Personnel allocation systems Succession planning Identifying and systematically developing high potential employees for certain key positions Career paths Structuring sequences of jobs or positions related to speci? career goals, such as managerial or technical career tracks Job posting/job Internal announcing of vacant job positions and matching matching internal individuals’ preferences with the job prior to external recruiting Promotion/upward Advancement in position with greater pay, challenges, mobi lity responsibility, and authority Downward mobility Moving to positions with a reduced level of responsibility and authority with an opportunity to develop skills and meet personal needs or interests Job rotation/lateral Systematically transferring employees laterally to another movement function or area over the course of time, not necessarily involving increased responsibilities or compensation Employee appraisal systems Assessment system Evaluating and collecting data on employees to discover their performance and potential, feedback can be given to employees Training/development systems Mentoring/coaching Assigning mentors or coaches (often supervisors or superiors) to employees to help them develop their careers Training/development Providing opportunities for career information workshops opportunities or training events that deal with career planning or transitions, self-assessment, or other career issues, or supporting individual efforts to learn and develop Career developme nt support systems Career counselling/ Providing counselling services and guides by professionals discussions (external or internal agency) or supervisors/managers to meet individual needs in employees’ careers Career information Building a system for sharing information about career system opportunities, such as various career paths or job vacancies, programmes and bene? ts offered through a variety of media Employee compensation/bene? ts systems Individual Adopting recognition systems for individual contributions compensation system to the organization (e. g. merit pay, individual incentives, stock options) Flexible bene? t plans Allowing diverse, ? exible options of bene? ts/rewards plans (e. g. , insurance or pension provisions, retirement plans, ? exible work schedule, part-time employment, child-care bene? ts, maternity and paternity leave) Note: Summarized from the literature (Baruch, 2004; Derr, 1986; Noe et al. , 1996; Watts, 1989; Wils et al. , 1993). 52 Internation al Journal of Training and Development  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. movement fall into personnel allocation systems. Assessment systems belong to employee appraisal systems. Mentoring/coaching and training/development opportunities are examples of broad training/development systems.Counselling/ discussions and career information systems are included in career development support systems. Individual compensation systems and ? exible bene? t plans can be categorized under employee compensation/bene? t systems. It is important to note that not all organizational career-related activities have the same appeal or provide the same bene? ts to all employees (Derr, 1986; Schein, 1978). Additionally, variation must be expected in terms of employees’ acceptance of their employers’ involvement in their career development (Portwood & Granrose, 1986; Rhebergen & Wognum, 1997). Only a few studies have examined what types of interventions are most appropriate for speci? c typ es of employees.Derr (1986) examined contemporary CD programmes, matching each programme with certain types of career success orientations, as presented in Table 3. This table shows that there are different types of career development programmes appropriate for speci? c career success orientations. For example, some programmes are appropriate only for Getting ahead people. However, empirical support for this matching was not provided. Building on this work, Watts (1989) conducted empirical research to see if non-managerial female workers preferred different organizational CD activities according to their types of career success orientation; no signi? cant differences were reported. Solid empiricalTable 3: Career development programmes and appropriate career types CD Programme Getting free Assessment centres Career counselling and coaching by managers Career counselling by others Career information centres Career information systems Career pathing Computer-aided instruction and infor mation systems Educational and professional development bene? ts Fallback-position transfers Flexible scheduling and bene? ts Family-related bene? ts High-potential identi? cation programmes Individual development plans Integrated career planning Job matching Job posting Lifelong employment Mentor programmes Succession planning Workshops and training events Orientation Getting balanced Getting high Getting ahead O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Getting secure O O O Note: Adapted from Derr’s career development programmes (1986: 255–258).  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Organizational Interventions 53 nowledge is not yet available for matching individual preferences with organizational interventions; further investigation is warranted. Nevertheless, different observations in relevant studies imply the following hypotheses: H1: People who have different career success orientations will show different preferen ces for career development interventions. H2: People who have the same career success orientation will show different preferences for career development interventions. Career development in Korean organizations Shifts in organizational behaviours are not culturally neutral. Although career dynamics are known to re? ect particular aspects of a culture (Derr & Laurent, 1989; Greenhaus et al. 2000), career literature has failed to account for career dynamics in diverse cultures. Very few studies have explored what the term ‘career’ means in an international context (e. g. Derr & Laurent, 1989; Hofstede, 1980; Triandis, 1989), and careerrelated perceptions and strategies have almost never been researched in third world countries (Counsell & Popova, 2000). In terms of ECD, most Korean organizations are at a very early stage (H. Kim, 2000). Employers have not yet felt the necessity to adopt ECD systems, and employees are not familiar with the meaning or implications of CD. On ly a very few large corporations have begun to introduce relevant interventions into their practice (H. Kim, 2000).Consequently, examples of ECD in Korean organizations are limited (e. g. Choi, 1994; Jung, 1991; J. S. M. Kim, 1992; K. H. Lee, 1996). Comprehensive information regarding the status of Korean organizational career development is not yet available. Korean literature based on several case studies (Choi, 1994; D. K. Lee, 1993; K. H. Lee, 1996) shows that a wide range of activities, such as promotion and advancement, job rotation and transfer, and job evaluation and performance appraisal, has been addressed. The literature reviewed indicates that organizational ECD is still viewed as a part of the human resource management function in Korea (H. Kim, 2000).Therefore, it is important that this study covers the full range of interventions, from direct ECD activities to indirect organizational interventions. Methodology A quantitative sample survey was designed to test research hypotheses on career success orientations. Data were collected from a sample of 1000 employees in a Korean wireless communications company. The sample was randomly selected from the company directory of 3003 employees, and the survey instrument was distributed and collected through the company’s intranet system. A 33. 7% response rate resulted, with 337 useable surveys returned. Table 4 shows the sample composition by demographic characteristics. The respondents’ ages were categorized into three groups: 20–29, 30–39, and 40 and above. The average age was just over 33.The range was between 22 and 56. Most respondents’ ages were between 30 and 39 (69. 4%). The respondents’ average years of work experience was 5. 42, ranging between less than 1 and 13. The largest respondent group was those who have worked for 4–6. 99 years (49%). Almost half of the respondents (48. 1%) were assistant managers, while 22. 8% were managers, 21. 7% were em ployees, and 7. 4% were senior managers. Respondents were predominantly male (89. 6%), and 78% of the respondents were married. The two major types of job were 29. 1% in marketing and 38. 6% in engineering. A majority of the respondents (63. 8%) had completed 4-year college courses, and 19. % had completed graduate school. The instrument consisted of two parts. The ? rst part identi? ed individuals’ career success orientations. A modi? ed Derr’s (1986) ‘Career success map questionnaire’ (CSMQ) was used, since this instrument was originally developed to identify ? ve types of career success orientation. The questionnaire was changed from a forced54 International Journal of Training and Development  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Table 4: Sample composition by demographic characteristics (n = 337) Demographic Age (M = 33. 29, sd = 5. 09) Category 20–29 years old 30–39 years old 40 years old and above Less than 4 years 4–6. 99 years* 7–9. 9 years* 10 years or more Employee Assistant manager Manager Senior manager Male Female Married Unmarried Marketing R&D IT Engineering Ad/Mgmt Internal ventures High school 2-year college 4-year college Graduate school Frequency 60 234 43 76 165 63 33 73 162 77 25 302 35 263 74 98 34 14 130 47 14 25 32 215 65 % 17. 8 69. 4 12. 8 22. 6 49. 0 18. 7 9. 8 21. 7 48. 1 22. 8 7. 4 89. 6 10. 4 78. 0 22. 0 29. 1 10. 1 4. 2 38. 6 13. 9 4. 2 7. 4 9. 5 63. 8 19. 3 Years of work experience (M = 5. 42, sd = 2. 77) Employment level Gender Marital status Type of job Education level * Months were converted to fractions of a year. choice instrument of thirty paired statements to a Likert-type instrument, in order to make it statistically possible to test its factor structures and reliability (given the lack of empirical information with regard to this instrument).The second part was developed to explore respondents’ preferred organizational interventions in? uencing employee caree r development. Thirteen types of organizational interventions (as summarized in Table 2) were used for this purpose. The instrument was translated into Korean, and a three-round cross-translation performed. The face validity and construct validity of the instrument were examined in a series of three-round pilot tests and instrument revisions. Through factor analysis, with the elimination of some items, the ? ve dimensions originally included emerged. Reliability, measured by Cronbach’s coef? cient alpha, was between 0. 56 and 0. 79: Getting high (0. 78), Getting secure (0. 72), Getting balanced (0. 9), Getting ahead (0. 59), and Getting free (0. 56). These results indicate some limitations in interpreting the data for Getting ahead and Getting free. To analyse collected data, descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics, such as ANOVA or repeated measures analysis, were conducted. Results Two approaches were used to test the research hypotheses. First, differences in preferences between groups were examined. Second, differences in preferences within  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Organizational Interventions 55 each group were explored. The highest mean score among the ? ve types was deemed the dominant orientation for each individual.According to descriptive information regarding dominant career success orientations, each individual’s career success orientation was identi? ed. The sample consisted of 40% Getting free, 38% Getting balanced, 17% Getting high, 3% Getting ahead, and 2% Getting secure. Since Getting ahead and Getting secure obtained very small percentages, those two types were excluded from the analysis. Hypothesis 1: Differences in preferences between groups The Levene test of homogeneity of variances showed that several items, including succession planning, job posting/job matching, promotion and compensation systems, violated the assumption to conduct the ANOVAs. Those items were excluded from further analysis.As a result, the ANOVAs were conducted with the remaining nine items. The ANOVAs showed that the preferences for six organizational interventions differed signi? cantly according to respondents’ dominant career success orientation types, as presented in Table 5. According to post hoc comparisons using the Tukey test, most interventions were preferred more by Getting free than Getting balanced or Getting high. There were no signi? cant differences in downward mobility, assessment system, or career information system. Hypothesis 1 was partly supported. Hypothesis 2: Differences in preferences within groups Repeated measures analysis showed statistically signi? ant differences in Getting free preferences (Wilks’ Lambda = 0. 396, F = 13. 86) at the 0. 001 level across the 13 organizational interventions. According to post hoc pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni test, succession planning, career paths, job posting/job matching, promotion, and training/development opport unities were signi? cantly more preferred than other interventions, while downward mobility and career information system were signi? cantly less preferred. Repeated measures analysis showed statistically signi? cant differences in Getting balanced preferences (Wilks’ Lambda = 0. 471, F = 9. 63) at the 0. 001 level across the 13 organizational interventions.According to post hoc pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni test, job posting/job matching and training/development opportunities were signi? cantly more preferred than other interventions, while downward mobility and career information system were signi? cantly less preferred. Repeated measures analysis showed statistically signi? cant differences in Getting high preferences (Wilks’ Lambda = 0. 423, F = 4. 42) at the 0. 001 level across the 13 organizational interventions. According to post hoc pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni test, succession planning, career paths, and promotion were signi? cantly mo re preferred than other interventions, while downward mobility was signi? cantly less preferred.Overall, hypothesis 2 was supported. Discussion of ? ndings Different types of work, pay/bene? ts, promotion systems, and types of recognition motivate individuals who have different needs (Derr, 1986; Schein, 1990). The ? ndings of this study mostly support this assertion. That is, Korean employees’ career success orientations seem to impact their preferences for organizational interventions in? uencing employee career development. Even within each speci? c career orientation group, some interventions were preferred over others. The ? ndings regarding preferences for the 13 organizational interventions in? uencing employee career development are discussed in detail below.Though the differences in preferences for succession planning among three groups (Getting free, Getting balanced, and Getting high) could not be compared due to violations of homogeneity of variance assumptions fo r ANOVA, within-group 56 International Journal of Training and Development  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005.  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Table 5: Preferences for organizational interventions in? uencing ECD by career success orientation Organizational interventions in? uencing ECD Getting free (n = 121) Mean 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Succession planning Career paths Job posting/job matching Promotion Downward mobility Job rotation Assessment system Mentoring/coaching Training/development Career counselling Career information system Compensation system Flexible bene? t plans 5. 65 5. 58 5. 43 5. 62 3. 98 5. 7 5. 25 5. 27 5. 55 5. 38 5. 05 5. 40 5. 50 sd 1. 06 0. 96 1. 03 0. 90 1. 49 1. 09 0. 97 1. 03 0. 95 0. 96 1. 06 1. 05 1. 04 Getting balanced (n = 115) Mean 5. 21 5. 25 5. 31 5. 29 4. 24 4. 93 4. 98 4. 95 5. 31 5. 00 4. 89 5. 09 5. 31 sd 1. 07 1. 02 0. 93 1. 01 1. 35 1. 18 0. 95 1. 06 1. 05 1. 07 1. 08 1. 05 1. 05 Getting high (n = 51) Mean 5. 24 5. 29 5. 10 5. 22 4. 04 4. 43 4. 90 4. 73 5. 06 4. 76 4. 73 5. 00 5. 06 sd 0. 79 0. 81 0. 83 0. 73 1. 30 1. 17 0. 90 1. 02 0. 90 0. 89 0. 85 0. 75 0. 93 – F = 3. 76* – – F = 1. 07 F = 5. 66** F = 3. 38* F = 5. 80** F = 4. 84** F = 8. 27** F = 1. 89 – F = 3. 51* *p < 0. 05 **p < 0. 01 ***p < 0. 01 Between group comparison Organizational Interventions 57 Within group comparison Wilk’s Lambda = 0. 396 F = 13. 86*** Wilk’s Lambda = 0. 471 F = 9. 63*** Wilk’s Lambda = 0. 423 F = 4. 42*** comparison indicated that both Getting free and Getting high groups signi? cantly preferred this intervention over other options, such as job rotation, assessment system, mentoring/coaching or career information system. Derr’s (1986) assertion that succession planning would be appropriate only for the Getting ahead orientation was not con? rmed; this intervention seems to be favourably accepted by both Getting free and Getting high orientations. It was r anked ? st by Getting free, and second by Getting high in rank orders. Career paths were preferred signi? cantly more by the Getting free than the Getting balanced group. Since career paths provide individuals with the opportunity to follow their own career goals, it is understandable that people who want freedom would be in favour of this intervention, while the Getting balanced orientation maintains a need for ? exibility (Derr, 1986; Schein, 1978). Interestingly, there was no signi? cant difference in preferences for career paths between Getting high and Getting balanced. However, Getting high preferred career paths over the other intervention options.Derr (1986) suggested that career paths would be appropriate for Getting free and Getting high; this was partially con? rmed by the study. Group differences in job posting/job matching and promotions could not be explored due to violations of the assumptions for ANOVA. However, Getting free and Getting balanced, respectively, signi? cantly preferred job posting/job matching over job rotation. It is assumed that the Getting free orientation seeks a position with more autonomy, while Getting balanced seeks a position that accommodates personal values in family and relationships through announced open job opportunities (Derr, 1986). Getting free and Getting high signi? antly preferred promotion over job rotation, assessment system, mentoring/coaching, career counselling, and career information system. It seems that the Getting free and Getting high orientations desire some level of status that allows them to make decisions based on personal interests. There was no signi? cant difference in preferences for downward mobility, assessment system, and career information system among the groups. However, downward mobility was consistently the least preferred intervention among the 13 options. Although people tend to pursue what they want, they naturally do not want to give up their current levels of income and responsi bility. Derr (1986) claimed that career information system may be appropriate for Getting free and Getting high, but o difference was found between the groups studied. Moreover, this intervention was not particularly preferred within any of the groups. Getting free ranked it 12th, Getting balanced ranked it 10th, and Getting free ranked it 9th in rank order. Considering that the concept and necessity of career development are still relatively new in Korea (H. Kim, 2000), respondents may not be familiar with such ideas or aware of some systems’ potential bene? ts for individual career goals, which may be manifested in low preference results. Job rotation was signi? cantly less preferred by the Getting high orientation than by Getting free or Getting balanced.Since it is very important for Getting high individuals to keep jobs which they can truly enjoy (Derr, 1986), these people are likely to be reluctant to move to a new function or area. Mentoring/coaching and career counsel ling were preferred signi? cantly more by Getting free than by Getting high or Getting balanced. Although Derr (1986) assumed that career counselling and mentoring programmes would be appropriate for Getting balanced, this was not con? rmed in this study. These interventions did not seem to be attractive to the Getting balanced group; they are in the middle rank. It seems that Getting free individuals may maintain positive attitudes toward sharing career issues, and want to be guided by someone who can help them. Getting balanced individuals may not have speci? career aspirations that can be shared with others at work, since they view careers in relation to other dimensions of their lives. Training/development opportunities and ? exible bene? t plans were preferred signi? cantly more by Getting free than by Getting high. Although Derr (1986) and Watts (1989) viewed training/development as appropriate for all three (Getting free, Getting high, and Getting balanced) groups, our study showed that Getting free particularly 58 International Journal of Training and Development  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. preferred this intervention. Getting balanced, as a group, preferred training/ development opportunities over assessment system, mentoring/coaching, and career counselling.This result supports the characteristics of the Getting balanced orientation, which pursues self-development in order to remain competent at work (Derr, 1986). According to descriptive statistics, ? exible bene? t plans were also one of the most preferred interventions by Getting balanced, consistent with the arguments of S. Y. Kim (1995), Igbaria et al. (1991), and McGovern & Hart (1992). Individual compensation system could not be compared between the groups. A comparison of preferences for this option within groups showed that respondents signi? cantly preferred compensation system only over downward mobility and career information system.The lower popularity of this option in all grou ps may be due to characteristics of Korean society and organizations (Bae & Chung, 1997). Although Korean society has been changing, teamwork and family spirit are still deeply rooted in its culture (Koch et al. , 1995), which may have led respondents to be reluctant to place value on this option. Limitations of the study This study was limited to one large Korean company; it may be dif? cult to generalize the ? ndings of this study to other organizations in different cultures. Second, there may be limitations to the instrument, since it was originally developed in the context of western cultures.The instrument may contain culturally sensitive items that were not detected in the researcher’s efforts to validate the instrument, conduct pilot tests, and obtain feedback. Finally, at least two of the scales had lower-thandesired reliability. Implications of the study There were some theoretical efforts to link individual career orientations with preferences for career development interventions, though empirical evidence is lacking. The ? ndings of this study can contribute to the validation of theoretical discussions on the association of individuals and organizational career development interventions. From a practical perspective, at the organizational level, the ? dings of this study imply that organizations may want to design their career mobility systems or performance incentive systems in accordance with employees’ career orientations. At the individual level, the study points out workers’ responsibility to know their personal needs, biases and motives. Knowledge of one’s own values and beliefs can serve as a basis for future career decisions, and for the development of appropriate career strategies (Aryee et al. , 1994). Recommendations for further research Organizational perspectives on the career orientations of employees deserve examination. Determining which types of career orientation are preferred by organizations may lead t o a new research question.This would necessitate the expansion of the data source to a broad set of organizations with different social backgrounds. Patterns of orientation in relation to preferred career development interventions may also be affected by organizational characteristics and cultures. References Arthur, M. B. and Rousseau, D. M. (eds) (1996), The boundaryless career: A new employment principle for a new organizational era. NY: Oxford University Press. Aryee, S. , Chay, Y. W. and Tan, H. H. (1994), An examination of the antecedents of subjective career success among a managerial sample in Singapore. Human Relations, 47, 5, 487– 509.  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Organizational Interventions 59 Bae, K. and Chung, C. 1997), Cultural values and work attitudes of Korean industrial workers in comparison with those of the United States and Japan. Work and Occupations, 24, 1, 80–96. Baruch, Y. (2004), Managing careers: Theory and practice. Harlow, UK: Pren tice-Hall. Choi, Y. S. (1994), A study on the career development program. Unpublished master’s thesis, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Counsell, D. and Popova, J. (2000), Career perceptions and strategies in the new market-oriented Bulgaria: an exploratory study. Career Development International, 5, 7, 360–8. Delong, T. J. (1982), Reexamining the career anchor model. Personnel, 59, 3, 50–61. Derr, C. B. (1986), Managing the new careerists. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Derr, C. B. and Laurent, A. 1989), The internal and external career: a theoretical and crosscultural perspective. In M. B. Arthur, D. T. Hall and B. S. Lawrence (eds), Handbook of career theory (pp. 454–71). NY: Cambridge University Press. Driver, M. J. (1979), Career concepts and career management in organizations. In C. L. Cooper (ed. ), Behavioral problems in organizations (pp. 79–139). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Driver, M. J. (1980), Career concepts and organizationa l change. In C. B. Derr (ed. ), Work, family and the career: new frontiers in theory and research (pp. 5–17). NY: Praeger. Driver, M. J. (1982), Career concepts: A new approach to research. In R. Katz (ed. ), Career issues in human resource management (pp. 23–32).Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Gattiker, U. E. and Larwood, L. (1989), Career success, mobility and extrinsic satisfaction of corporate managers. The Social Science Journal, 26, 1, 75–92. Greenhaus, J. H. , Callanan, G. A. and Godshalh, V. M. (2000), Career management (3rd edn). Orlando, FL: Dryden Press. Gutteridge, T. G. , Leibowitz, Z. B. and Shore, J. E. (1993), Organizational career development: Benchmarks for building a world-class workforce. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hall, D. T. (1976), Careers in organizations. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. Hall, D. T. (2002), Careers in and out of organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hall, D. T. nd Associates (eds) (1996), The career is dead â⠂¬â€œ long live the career: a relational approach to careers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture’s consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Igbaria, M. , Greenhaus, J. H. and Parasuraman, S. (1991), Career orientations of MIS employees: an empirical analysis. MIS Quarterly, June, 151–69. Iles, P. (1999), Managing staff selection and assessment. Buckingham: Open University. Jaskolka, G. , Beyer, J. and Trice, H. (1985), Measuring and predicting managerial success. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 26, 189–205. Jung, I. L. (1991), The study on the career development program. Unpublished master’s thesis, Hoseo University, Kwangjoo, Korea. Kim, H. 2000), Kyunreok kebalui ilonkwa silje [Theory and practice for career development in Korea]. Seoul, Korea: Tasan. Kim, J. S. M. (1992), A study of career development and success factors of expatriates in Korea. Unpublished master’s thesis, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Kim, S. Y. (1995), Career anchor and organizational effectiveness. Unpublished master’s thesis, Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea. Koch, M. , Nam, S. H. and Steers, R. M. (1995), Human resource management in South Korea. In L. F. Moore and P. D. Jennings (eds), Human resource management on the Paci? c Rim: Institutions, practices, and attitudes (pp. 217–42). NY: de Gruyter. Lee, D. K. 1993), A study on the organizational effectiveness by career development program for employees. Unpublished master’s thesis, Sogang University, Seoul, Korea. Lee, K. H. (1996), A study on the career development program. Unpublished master’s thesis, ChungAng University, Seoul, Korea. McGovern, K. R. and Hart, L. E. (1992), Exploring the contribution of gender identity to differences in career experiences. Psychological Reports, 70, 723–37. Noe, R. A. , Hollenbeck, J. R. , Gerhard, B. and Wright, P. M. (1996), Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage (2nd edn). Boston, MA : Irwin McGraw-Hill. Portwood, J. D. and Granrose, C. S. (1986), Organizational career management programs: What’s available? What’s effective?Human Resource Planning, 9, 3, 107–19. Rhebergen, B. and Wognum, I. (1997), Supporting the career development of older employees: an HRD study in a Dutch company. International Journal of Training and Development, 1, 3, 191–8. Schein, E. H. (1978), Career dynamics: matching individual needs and organizational needs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Schein, E. H. (1990), Career anchors: Discovery your real values. San Diego. CA: University Associates. 60 International Journal of Training and Development  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Triandis, H. C. (1989), The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 96, 506–20.Van Maanen, J. and Schein, E. (1977), Career development. In J. R. Jackman and J. L. Schuttle (eds), Improving life at work (pp. 30–95). Santa Monica, CA : Goodyear. Watts, G. A. (1989), Identifying career orientations of female, non-managerial employees at Virginia Tech. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989). Dissertation Abstracts International, A50, 05, 1223. Wils, T. , Guerin, G. and Bernard, R. (1993), Career system as a con? guration of career management activities. The International Journal of Career Management, 5, 2, 11–15.  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Organizational Interventions 61

Media ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media ethics - Research Paper Example The media is important in information dissemination in the society. However, this would never be realized if some ethics are not observed. There are several areas where ethics is observed in the media sector. I am a journalist by profession hence I have a vast knowledge with regards to the ethical and legal implications in this career. As journalists, we act as the eye and the mind of the public. It is through our work that the public get to know the happenings in the nation and the world as a whole. We are the role models of several people, more so the teenagers, who tend to dress, act and behave the way we do. I must admit that journalism is one of the complex careers because everyone is watching, any slightest mistake or misconduct will go into record. This may make one lose his/her job or even arrested depending on the seriousness and nature of the misconduct. There are set of ethics and law that is meant to guide us while we interact with the public. The difference between law a nd ethics is that ethics is the good characters accepted by both man and God, but their violation has no legal consequences, while law is a set of regulations whose violation has some legal implications like an arrest or charges. ... This is mainly common in the political arena where a certain political leader may use his/her power to influence the news read to the public. Certain journalists may also decide to manipulate news content on the basis of personal interest. There is no specific law describing specific legal consequences to such act, but one may lose the public favor and lose his/her job. External stakeholders like advertising companies may cut their links with such media company. Social researchers indicate that major civil and international wars have been sparked by the manipulation of the actual facts. The public will have no time to evaluate the news but take it the way it is being read. Manipulating the news is like lying to the public which not only unethical but demoralizing. For instance, think of a situation a certain media house have used to announce hunger in a certain part of the country so that other citizens to rescue the situation, only to later realize that the hunger was faked so that some regional leaders could make personal gains. This would kill the trust between the public and the media company. The truth is another ethical issue in the journalism. The main aim of the media sector is keeping the public on the truthful side. A certain government may hide some issues from the public out of personal greed, but is the role of the media to reveal truth to the nation and the world as a whole. Media without truth is considered dead because it serves its purpose. The current constitutions of several democratic nations regard media as an independent entity and freedom of expression. This enables the media to report any situation the way it is. Language is another important ethical matter in the media sector. Ant media

The Empire Of Good Intentions Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Empire Of Good Intentions - Movie Review Example Schama succeeds in showing that the anti-colonial insurgency was rampant in India, and the Indians resisted the British reforms, which portrayed a lack of religious sensitivity. Through the illustrative presentation of the readings by the actors, the viewers of the documentary realize that Britain was about to lose control of India as indicated in the mutiny unless it devised a new method of governance. Hence, the British quest to realign its structures of governing the colonies portrays that the colonizer’s self-interest to control every aspect of the colony’s life. Although famine is a natural calamity, the documentary helps the viewers and historians to recognize that the 1845 potato drought, which led to migration from Ireland to the United States, reflected the inability of the natives to survive the calamity due to the weakened economy attributed to the British domination and incompatible policies. The central subject of the British imperialism through the promise of civilization in Ireland and India is well covered and presented in the documentary. Notably, the British used the principles of liberalism and economic to impose the imperial policies that were not compatible with those of the colonies. The efforts to restore the preserve the Britain imperial system in India after the 1857-8 Mutiny is enough evidence that the British had a selfish interest as opposed to economic liberalism in the host nations. Fundamentally, the British imperialism disrupted the lifestyles of the colonies.

Critical Analysis of Giac Duyen in The Tale of Kieu Essay

Critical Analysis of Giac Duyen in The Tale of Kieu - Essay Example I say this because Giac Duen is the only character whose religiosity represents the Buddhist institutional belief through her actions. Being the embodiment of Buddhist virtues, a Buddhist nun Giac Duen appears to be friendly, kind-hearted and compassionate to distressed Kieu. Indeed her friendly guardianship seems to fill up the vacuum of a religious authority that the medieval Vietnamese literary tradition often required. Du does not tell us much about the prioress’s past. Yet she appears to be self-evident because of her admirable religiosity and her actions accordingly. Indeed at times, her humanity surpasses her religiosity also. Ultimately her religiosity as well as her universal humanity makes her an outstanding figure, in the poem, which serves as an instrument that assists Kieu to get relief of the karmic retribution. In the story ‘The Tale of Kieu† Nguyen Du shows that a true friend’s assistance and love can make one successful in the end and the pr ioress Giac Duyen is the perfect example of such friendship. Giac’s relationship with Kieu grows on the basis of fellow-feeling, compassion and humanity. Though in the story Giac appears as a representative of the Buddhist religious institution, she is essentially a universal humanitarian who could surpass the boundary of her religious restriction. When Kieu flees from Hoan, the tyrant wife of Thuc, and reaches the prioress’s home, she compassionately provides her with shelter and food. This humanitarian face of Giac could have been overshadowed by her religiosity, when Kieu discloses her miserable past. But it did not happen in reality. Learning about Kieu’s past suffering, sorrow and life of prostitution, she was swinging between her compassion for the distressed girl and her religious fear about Kieu’s sin in her early life. Indeed her compassion wins over her religious fear. Even though she believes that Kieu’s suffering is the result of her Ka rma in early life, she has tried to minimize her agony. She advises Kieu to walk the noble path of a prioress. She says, â€Å"The Buddha's gate is open wide to all. But things I can't foresee are what I dread. I'd sorely grieve if something struck you here. Plan far ahead and flee - you'd be unwise to sit and wait till waters reach your feet† (line 2076). Kieu the protagonist is only able to change her destiny through the kind-hearted Buddhist nun by the name of Giac Duen. And consequently, Kieu is highly induced by the way of life of Giac and meanwhile Giac’s dominance starts playing with more priority over Kieu even her lover and husband too. Kieu took very little time to win the support from Giac. Knowing Kieu’s destiny, Giac responds to Kieu for helping her by prediction and to save Kieu from her sorrow and distressed condition which she experienced a lot in her early life. Giac also helped Kieu from jealous of Miss Hoan. So, Giac is somehow appeared as a s avor for Kieu. Giac, a strong character of integrity and loyalty tries to recover Kieu from the experience of her harsh destiny with every time assistance even with the absence of Kieu, made her great one and high character and the centered women in the story. We see that Giac didn’t leave Kieu even after her successive events of her life including death of

Can teachers support creativity and imagination in children Essay

Can teachers support creativity and imagination in children - Essay Example Therefore, teachers play a huge role in moulding the personality and character of the child and hence make substantial contributions in encouraging imagination and creativity in a child. Though, the substance of this prose will examine as to how teachers can spur creativity and imagination young children. Creativity is a highly important aspect of a child’s educational endeavours because through creativity the child helps to identify himself as a unique person and is conducive to a healthy personality development of the child. Creativity is the process of innovating and focuses on how people use new methods and ideas in order to find alternative and fresh solutions to a particular problem. The United Kingdom National Advisory Committee’s report in 1999 focuses a great deal on the importance of creativity. (Morris, 2006) The report describes and defines creativity as, â€Å"First, they (the characteristics of creativity) always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively . Second, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieving an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective.† Their definition of creativity clearly demonstrates the strong association with the imaginative and creative process within a child. (Morris, 2006) In simplistic terms, creativity embodies imagination, purposefulness, originality and the outcome must be of immense value and opens up the world to new opportunities and experiences. It is important to know the role of creativity in the society that focuses so much on creativity therefore, the process of learning greatly involves the child thinking in a lateral manner. Creativity is good for the child’s self-image and his identity so that he knows how to set himself apart from the crowd and make his own mark in this dynamic world. Creativity and imagination has become a highly important aspect in the educational sector and there are number of programs that are designed to help teachers out in order to encourage their students to become more creative and imaginative. The United States creative classroom is another example of how people from all around the world understand the need for the child to be creative and imaginative. The project was developed by Project Zero in collaboration with Disney Worldwide Outreach and together they worked to develop materials and a variety of methods to help the child become more creative. Their main objective was not only to help the teachers understand the importance of spurring creativity and imagination in the child. (Mayer, 2005) The American project further added to the definition of creativity given by UK National Advisory Committee report, they stated, â€Å"Although most people might look for signs of creativity in the appearance of the bulletin boards, student made projects, centres and displays in the classroom, I feel the tru ly creative classroom goes way beyond what can be seen with the eyes. It is a place where bodies and minds actively pursue new knowledge. Having a creative classroom means that the teacher takes risks on a daily basis and encourages his/her students to do the same.†

Oil and gas correlation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Oil and gas correlation - Essay Example However, the US domestic production of gas had just picked up and was at the boom phase rendering gas prices low. This means that the global prices of gas were significantly affected downwards as the oil demand plummeted hence the increased price disparity between the two commodities. It is also evident that from 1991, the import of oil by US had reduced but this still represented approximately 40% of the consumption by US against a paltry 5% of gas consumption by the US (YeÃŒ pez-Garcia, Rigoberto , and Julie 86). This is an evident case to support the observed negative correlation. It is also worth to note that the global oil prices are volatile in regard to world market trends, Middle East socio-economic issues and OPEC whims. The increasing technological advancement and campaign for more efficient machines is slowly increasing the use of gas. This means that gas fuel consumption trend will begin to gain influence in the value of dollar hence closing the demand gap it has with the oil. It is also possible that increased exhaustion of gas wells by the US will significantly push the gas prices up as there will be a plan to import more and reserve the domestic stock. YeÃŒ pez-Garcia, Rigoberto A, and Julie Dana. Mitigating Vulnerability to High and Volatile Oil Prices: Power Sector Experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, D.C: World Bank, 2012.

Easy Jet And The Recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Easy Jet And The Recession - Essay Example Data which are scattered are not information until and unless the observers have the accurate knowledge of the theories that needs to explain the relationships. Therefore according to Homans (1958) theory can be defined as â€Å"in its lowest form a classification, a set of pigeon holes, a filing cabinet in which fact can accumulate. Nothing is more lost than a loose fact† (Homans 1958, p. 5). The principles of management are the fundamental truth which explains the relationships between the different set of variables which usually constitute of dependent variable and independent variable. Mangers often apply the theories with the practical life and help to solve problems in the future and present which might occur in the organisation. Thus it can be said that there are mainly three major reasons as to why managers needs to know about the management theories are firstly the theories provides focus for understanding the experiences and relevance. Secondly, with the help of theo ries mangers are able to communicate and has the capacity to move into a more complex relationships. Thirdly, with the help of theories mangers can learn about the ongoing into the world (Olum, 2004, p. 1-11). Management theories accounts for and helps to interpret the rapidly changing environment in the organisations. This paper aims to deals with different types of management theories such as scientific theory, behavioural school, management science, system approach, contingent approach, and dynamic engagement approach (Thenmozhi, n.d). Another important aspect in an organisation is the culture and this can be well explained with the help of competing value approach. According to Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) it is the most conceptual model of culture. This model of competing value approach can be one of the four types that has been categorised, which constitute of clan, market, hierarchy and adhocracy. The clan culture based on the framework emphasise goal, participation and shared values and also a sense of family. Market culture tends to emphasis environmental interaction, competition, as well as customer orientation. Adhocracy usually emphasis creativity, entrepreneurships and also adaptability and hierarchy constitute of rules and regulations, lines of concerned authority and efficiency (Smart, 2010, p.389). Figure 1: Competing Value Framework (Source: Rainey, 2009, p.164) The competing value framework tends to work closely with the management theories. Most of the organisation tends to apply all the factors included in the competing framework. The four factors are equally important for the effective working of the organisation. The model helps a manger to understand the working conditions of the environment and finally match the culture with respect to the operational climate. 2.0 The Organisation Easy jet is one of the successful low cost airlines in Europe, established in the year 1995. It is based in London Luton airport and operates domestic and inter national services to about 400 routes in Europe and carries about 40 million passengers in a year. The airline industry and the travel agencies are competing with each other in order to build up a strong online

State of African Americans in the United States Early 1900's Essay

State of African Americans in the United States Early 1900's - Essay Example The Afro-Americans political experience can be explained by social injustices and liberals which forsake other elements of its past liberal which Dunn (1998) explains that it is what made America what it has become today. For example, labor movements, Roosevelt’s trust busting, and Johnson Great Society, as well as other civil studies that took place in America back in 1920. Looking back at Afro-American history, it becomes obvious that its social issues drove the electorate of the country through out the 20th century. However, the most important thing to understand is that the social issues shifted to various forms of parties and because of these, the country’s social electorate changed its economic platform. Some of them were slaves who served in rich white men land. However, historical figures like Washington educational legacy helped transform the condition of Afro-Americans in the twenty first century, and transformed them into liberal thinking and conservative bla ck towards their economic success. Mathew (2006) asserts that Washington was a supporter of Afro-Americans education, who helped broaden their minds to a culture that included classics and Latin exploration. He had planned for their education in order to ensure that they had economic success and status. The legal rights in the South have changed over the past 30 years, especially from the time of Civil war to today. For example, the social conservatism helped in shaping American politics. Washington and Fonvielle helped the Afro-Americans in changing their legal rights by advocating for equal rights to each American citizen (Rubel, 2005). This kind of proclamation emancipation helped the African Americans to unite with the army in order to make a rapid progress like the white soldiers. The army tried to change the mind of their citizens as well as influence the legislative in terms of their legal rights. Additionally, from the time of civil war to today, Democratic Party was seen as a party of South. The party having being termed as common-man’ party, it is said to have favored the working class in terms of economic matters (Rubel, 2005).The south was therefore, a democratic region, but when it shifted its gear to republican, the economic implications changed. This is because, when blacks got the right to vote, they voted for the Republican Party because of Lincoln who was reconstructing the South at the time. They also wanted both economic and social change, for example, capitalism. and liberalism. The significance of the recent movement of Afro-Americans from South to North showed that there is free movement of people from one place to another, Rubel (2005). After the civil war, the South were still farmers, where the Democratic Party represented them. The movement of the South to North was mostly to escape from the slavery bonds and therefore, decided to move to the Free states. This was as a result of the Abolitionists like Washington’s and F rontier advocacy who were working underground to guide the Afro-Americans into freedom. However, during the reconstruction, America struggled to free the slaves and assimilate them into local and national communities, at the same time minimize those citizens who were not willing to help the African- Americans. The Washington, Frontiers and other supporters of

A Reflection Paper on Animal Minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Reflection Paper on Animal Minds - Essay Example I find this article very interesting and intellectually stimulating. As a human being, I often take for granted that animals respond to different external stimuli without really thinking. I hold the preconception that as opposed to humans, animals solely rely on their instinct and reflexes in order to survive. However, this article opens my mind into the possibility that maybe, at some points, animals also think and are conscious about their actions and emotions. The body of literature explored by the author appears very convincing that animals do share a level of consciousness even if it is largely limited compared to human beings. I agree with the claims that "some kind of mental activity is being attributed to animals: that is, there is considered to be some internal sifting and selection of information rather than simply the release of certain responses by a certain set of environmental conditions" (Griffin 10). This claim can be supported by human experiences and their interaction with animals. For instance, the argument that animals can process and retain information is evidenced by the fact that they can learn certain skills-parrots can be trained to speak specific words and dogs can be taught to perform funny tricks.

Narcissism in the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Narcissism in the Workplace Essay I. Introduction and Purpose Having an encouraging self-attitude, being self-assured, and having high self-esteem are worthwhile attributes in both work and personal life; some take these positive attributes to the extreme and become self-regarding, self-adoring, egocentric, and show little empathy for the problems and concerns of others. These people can be considered narcissists, and they can be especially problematic in business settings. Narcissists in work organizations, I believe, are more problematic than beneficial. They tend to cause problems in the workplace due to their toxic personalities. The purpose of this research paper is to prove my point that narcissists are more harmful in a workplace environment than helpful. I will point out the failures of companies due to narcissistic leaders. Although there are companies that are successful who have had a narcissistic leader such as Jack Welch and his company General Electric, it will not be covered in this paper. Secondly, I will make the point that narcissists as leaders are toxic for companies due to their relationship patterns and how it can hurt the business. Freud’s three types of personalities relate to interactions between people that helps further prove the point that narcissists are not beneficial in workplace environments. Thirdly, I will discuss possible techniques to cope with narcissistic leaders and how employees can get their opinions across to their leaders. II. Failures due to Narcissistic Leaders As narcissists become progressively self-assured, they act more impulsively. They feel free of constrictions, and their ideas and beliefs flourish. They believe they’re invincible, which further inspires followers’ enthusiasm and feeds into feelings of grandiosity. One example of a company’s failure due to narcissism is Pehr Gyllenhammar and Volvo. He had a vision that attracted a broad international audience—a plan to transform the industrial workplace by substituting the dehumanizing assembly line mimicked in Chaplin’s Modern Times. His wildly popular vision called for team-based craftsmanship. Model factories were built and publicized to international praise. But his success in pushing through these dramatic changes also sowed the seeds for his downfall. Gyllenhammar started to feel he could ignore the concerns of his operational managers. He pursued chancy and expensive new business deals, which he publicized on television and in the press. On one level, you can credit Gyllenhammar’s falling out of touch with his workforce simply due to faulty strategy. But it is also possible to blame it to his narcissistic personality. His overestimation of himself led him to believe that others would want him to be the leader of a worldwide enterprise. In turn, these fantasies led him to pursue a partnership with Renault, which was extremely unpopular with Swedish employees. Because Gyllenhammar was deaf to complaints about Renault, Swedish managers were forced to take their case public. In the end, shareholders aggressively rejected Gyllenhammar’s plan, leaving him with no option but to resign. At the University of Amsterdam, a study was taken by Nevicka Babora to determine whether or not narcissists make for good leaders. The study recruited 150 participants that were divided into groups of three. One person was randomly assigned to be the group’s leader; all were told they could contribute advice, but that the leader was responsible for making the decision. Then they undertook a group task: choosing a job candidate. Of 45 items of information about the candidate, some were given to all three, and some to only one of the participants. The experiment was designed so that using only the information all three were privy to, the group would opt for a lesser candidate. Sharing all the information that was given would lead to the best choice. After the interviews, the participants completed questionnaires. The leaders’ questions measured narcissism; the others assessed the leaders’ authority and effectiveness. As expected, the group members rated the most narcissistic leaders as most effective. But they were wrong. In fact, groups led by the greatest egotists chose the worse candidate for the job. Barbora said â€Å"The narcissistic leaders had a very negative effect on their performance. They inhibited the communication because of self-centeredness and authoritarianism.† III. Narcissistic Relationships in the Workplace As narcissists move higher up in position in a company, they are more likely to maintain relationships with coworkers who are willing to conform to their ideas and motives. Some people believe narcissists benefit the workplace environment because they are good at making relationships quickly with groups of people by charming people with their charismatic personality at the first initial meeting. They also benefit the company by them willing, and able to make whatever personal sacrifices are necessary to gain reputation and position. Taken to a certain degree, these narcissistic traits are valuable to the person and the organization. They signal â€Å"leader.† Yet, as Manfred Kets de Vries has said, â€Å"narcissism is a strange thing, a double-edged sword. Having either too much or too little of it can throw a person off balance.† Narcissists will often become obsessed with gaining power and control. They tend to make decisions on impulse, with no second thoughts, leading to potential problems. Narcissists have trouble working with others and they often do not take blame for their mistakes and they do not like to share credit for successes. Leaders with a narcissistic personality often like to surround themselves with an unquestioning loyal and uncritical staff because they do not like to feel threatened by a colleague. Also, they exploit others; forming relationships only with those he or she feels will advance his or her goals and self-esteem. Jon Carlzon, former CEO of the Scandinavian airline SAS, is a textbook example of how a narcissist’s weakness can cut short a brilliant career. Carlzon compared the ideal organization to the Brazilian soccer team; there would be no fixed roles, only innovative plays. When another input of thought of a more military form of organization was added that disagreed with Carlzon’s belief, he stated, â€Å"Well, that may be true, if your goal is to shoot your customers.† He did not engage in serious dialogue with his subordinates, displaying his trait of self-interest. He also ignored the issue of high costs, even when others pointed out SAS could not compete without improving productivity. He spent tons of money investing in unnecessary items right before his company filed for bankruptcy. Carlzon’s self-image became so enormously inflated that his feet left the ground. Freud: The Three Types of Personalities Freud identified three main types of personalities: erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. Most of us have elements of all three; therefore, we are all somewhat narcissistic. One type of personality will dominate over the other, making us react differently to success and failure. i. Erotics tend to be the compassionate and caring. They care about being loved and believe that it is most important. Erotics are dependent on people they fear will stop loving them. Erotic’s are generally teachers, social workers, and nurses; positions which help others in need. Erotics do not make the best leaders because they try to avoid conflict as much as possible and they make people dependent on them. According to Freud, they are the outer-directed people. ii. Compared to erotics, obsessives are more inner-directed. These people tend to be more self-reliant and conscientious. They make the most effective managers in a workplace environment due to their ability to create and maintain order. They are constantly looking for ways to help people listen and understand better to resolve conflicts and find win-win opportunities. Obsessives want to constantly improve due to their conscience and their sense of moral improvement. The best obsessives communicate effectively and set very high standards. They make sure that all procedures are followed according to plan and within the budget. The most productive obsessives tend to be great mentors and team players. iii. The third type of personality is narcissistic. Narcissists are not easily impressed and independent. In business, they are driven by their innovation to gain power and glory. The best narcissists go above and beyond being experts in their industries and they crave the knowledge to know everything about the companies and products. Compared to erotics, they want to be admired not loved. They are not afraid to express their feelings and put others back in pursuit of their goals. At the moment of success, narcissists are at the greatest risk of isolating themselves out of all three personality types. Narcissists constantly look for enemies due to their independence and aggressiveness. The most toxic relationships to be made are with narcissists out of the three personality types because they are the most unstable. Generally, a relationship with a narcissist is short term because of their fear of having someone be more superior than them and due to their independence. IV. How to Cope Narcissists are not likely to realize they do not have narcissistic personality disorder nor do they know how to react when they sense they are being targeted. The best thing for a person to do in order to work well with a narcissist is to follow along with the narcissist’s ideas or plans. The best way to determine if a leader is a narcissist is finding certain qualities that narcissists display. If he or she talks frequently about him or herself, and constantly uses the word â€Å"I† and bullies and abuses those who work for him and intimidates others to get his way, these are signs of a narcissist. Also, another sign would be in public if he or she presents himself or herself as patient, congenial, and confident; however, in private is smug, arrogant, snobbish, and patronizing to subordinates and coworkers. The biggest situation you should try to avoid is not to confront the destructive narcissist directly. Confrontation with them can lead to rage and a feeling of being attacked, causing a highly malicious response. Whatever happens, stay as calm as possible and behave in an admiring manner to calm the narcissist down. Never show that you are afraid of a narcissist for they will try to use it to think that you are of lower authority than them. Get everything you can in writing and keep notes of things that narcissists may lie, bluff, threaten, and deceive about. Narcissists are likely to apologize when they have no one on their side if a mist of an argument or disagreement. They will confess their wrong doings and ask for forgiveness however, they will not mean or believe what he or she is saying. Narcissists rarely see their wrong-doings until they have no one that is admiring them, so they may fake their emotions in order for the person to feel guilty and put the blame for the situation on themselves. This also relates to narcissists taking back the things they say in order for themselves to get out of tight situations. Expect the destructive narcissist to break contracts and agreements. Protect yourself emotionally and financially from betrayal. Have a backup strategy should the destructive narcissist go back on his word, which he or she probably will. V. Conclusion Narcissistic leaders are bad for companies due to their constant admiration of themselves and inability to take criticism well. They listen to only the information they seek and they don’t learn easily from others. If a company is at its highest stress level, adding a narcissist to the stress load may cause the company failure. Works Cited Boyett, Joseph H., Ph.D. Surviving the Destructive Narcissistic Leader. Apr. 2006. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Bruner, Robert, and Robert Spekman. Alliances: Lessons from Volvo- Renault. 2 Apr. 1998. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. Grunes, Dennis. MODERN TIMES (Charles Chaplin, 1936). MODERN TIMES (Charles Chaplin, 1936). 06 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. http://grunes.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/modern-times-charles-chaplin-1936/. Konnikova, Maria. The Narcissistic Leader: Not as Good as He (Or You) May Think. 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. http://www.maccoby.com/Articles/NarLeaders.shtml. Maccoby, Michael. Harvard Business Review. Proc. of Weaknesses of the Narcissistic Leader. 02 Aug. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. http://www.maccoby.com/Articles/NarLeaders.shtml. Maccoby, Michael. Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredile Pros, the Inevitable Cons. Jan. 2004. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Nevicka, Barbora. Narcissists Look Like Good Leaders—But They Aren’t! Association for Psychological Science RSS. 09 Aug. 2011 . Web. 26 Nov. 2012. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/narcissists-look-like-good-leadersbut-they-arent.html. [ 1 ]. Grunes, Dennis. MODERN TIMES (Charles Chaplin, 1936). [ 2 ]. Bruner, Robert, and Robert Spekman. Alliances: Lessons [ 3 ]. Nevicka, Barbora. Narcissists Look Like Good Leaders—But They Aren’t! [ 4 ]. Quoted in Andrea Giampetro-Meyer, Timothy Brown, S. J M. Neil Browne, and Nancy Kubasek, â€Å"Do We Really Want More Leaders in Business?† Journal of Business Ethics, 17, no. 15, (November 1998): 1730. [ 5 ]. Maccoby, Michael. Harvard Business Review. The Rise and Fall of a Narcissist [ 6 ]. Maccoby, Michael. Harvard Business Review. Proc. of Weaknesses of the Narcissistic [ 7 ]. Boyett, Joseph H., Ph.D. Surviving The Destructive Narcissistic Leader.

The Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry And Pepsico Strategy Marketing Essay

The Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry And Pepsico Strategy Marketing Essay The chart below shows the dominant players in the carbonated soft drinks (CSD) industry according to Beverage Digest report issued on March 30, 2009. The results of this report are for the year 2008 (Sicher, 2009, p.2). Coca Cola has the largest market share accounting for 43%, followed by PepsiCo with 31% and Dr.Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (formerly Cadbury Schweppes) with 15% of the market. The remaining 11% is distributed amongst other CSD companies such as Cott Corp, National Beverage, Red Bull, Big Red, Rockstar, Private label and others. Moreover, the top 10 CSD brands in the U.S for the year 2008 were ranked by market share as follows (Sicher, 2009, p.2). Brands Company Market Share Coke Coca-Cola 17.3% Pepsi-Cola PepsiCo 10.3% Diet Coke Coca-Cola 10% Mountain Dew PepsiCo 6.8% Dr.Pepper Dr.Pepper Snapple Group(DPS) 6.1% Diet Pepsi PepsiCo 5.7% Sprite Coca-Cola 5.6% Fanta Coca-Cola 1.8% Diet Mountain Dew PepsiCo 1.8% Diet Dr.Pepper Dr.Pepper Snapple Group(DPS) 1.6% With regard to individual brands, Coke was ranked first with 17.3% market share and Pepsi-cola was in second place with a lower market share of 10.3%. Additionally, the total market share of all Coca-cola brands adds up to (34.7%) which still surpasses those of PepsiCo (24.6%). To be able to give an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the Soft Drink industry, the following factors should be considered: The relevant industry trends and the most noticeable changes in the industry. The strategic group map. The industry attractiveness using Michael Porter five forces model. A. Relevant industry trends Industry Growth The graph below shows the performance of the CSD market from 1990 up to 2008. It is observed that the industry faced a sharp decline in growth starting from 2005, where the percent volume change fell below zero. This was followed by a further decline in growth rates: -0.6% in 2006, then -2.3% in 2007 and -3% in 2008 (Sicher, 2009, p.1). Conversely, the energy drink companies were experiencing a positive growth. Hansen Natural, which has both soft drinks and energy drinks in its portfolio of products, witnessed a +3.3% CSD growth. Additionally, Red Bulls volume also increased +5.2%. Although Hansen Natural and Red Bull make up a small portion of the total market share pie, the increase in their growth rates indicates that PepsiCo has to pay attention to them. Political Factors: There are several political factors that influence the soft drinks industry: Obey food, Drug and cosmetic acts: the process of producing and distributing the soft drinks in the market is subjects to many federal laws such as the food, drug and cosmetics acts. It is also subject to American with disabilities acts. The presence of these laws helps create a healthy environment for the consumers. This will limit the potentials of new entrants in this industry. Environmental laws regulations: these laws enforce packaging, recycling, water and energy policies to make sure the CSD industry operates in a healthy environment. This leads to making the soft drink industry more attractive for consumers. Double Taxation: Another political factor is that companies operating in the industry are obligated to tax payments for the products they offer and distribute in each country they operate within. Hence, this leads to making the industry less attractive because operating firms are subject to double taxation policies. Economical Factors: Inflation in diesel prices: it is an important factor affecting the CSD industry. Since, the CSD relies on trucks to distribute its diverse end line products; trucks are subject to inflation in fuel prices. Since the consumption of fuel is the core activity, diesel prices are subject to inflation depending on the market conditions. Yet, the possibility of a market crisis rises. Foreign exchange rates fluctuations: Carbonated soft drinks firms revenues are affected by exchange rates fluctuations as well as profits and the cost of raw materials. Due to the weak economic growth the industry will suffer heavily by changes in exchange rates. Thus, profits and cost are going to be lower and higher respectively. Socio cultural Factors: Obesity: Dr. Gabe Mirkin says: A study from Harvard shows that of soft drinks may be responsible for the doubling of obesity in children over the last 15 years. (Gabe Mirkin, 2004) Recently, as the people are becoming more and more educated, the level of their health awareness is increasing. Obesity is becoming more and more apparent, leading to people taking good care of their health. Soft drinks are full with empty calories which cause obesity. The trend of obesity in children is rising since the soft drinks consumers are young and between the range of 14 and 30. In fact, studies done by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that Adults who do drink one or more sodas or other sugar-sweetened beverages each day are 27% more likely to be overweight or obese. (16 Facts About Soft Drinks and Obesity, 2009) Change in life style consumer tastes: Nowadays the consumer of the carbonated soft drink industry are shifting their tastes toward drinking more healthier drinks such as water and fresh juices instead of carbonated soft drink full with sugar that will have a negative effect on the consumer health in the long run. People have become more health conscious for instance they are moving toward the consumption of healthier beverages such as water and fresh juices. Its estimated that the consumption of juices will increase up to 20 % within the coming three years. (Health Conscious Chileans Switching to Non-carbonated Drinks, 2009) Technological Factors: Introducing new technologies in the soft drink industry has helped in developing the process of manufacturing. For example: PDX technology: It is a shockwave technology that helps in mixing the ingredients in an efficient way. Pursuit Dynamics, the supplier, said that this technology is most useful for the soft drinks industry. This technology is believed to help in cutting the cleaning time up to 80%. Also, it will also increase the processing speed and save power. (New technology targets diet soft drinks makers, 2009) Other Noticeable trends: Merger and acquisition: It is very common in the soft drinks industry, it causes many firm to exit and then re-enter the industry. Many leaders in the soft drinks industry use acquisition in order to grow and increase their market share. For example, what PepsiCo did to expand into the energy drink sector, it acquired Quaker Oat, who already bought Gatorade. Hence, the competition on the products diversifications for a firm will increase. Using glass bottles instead of plastic bottles: Many soft drinks companies are moving toward using glass bottles because these bottles are more environmental friendly. According to G Karthikeyan, the manger of sales in Jabal Ali Container Glass, the demand for glass bottles has increased recently because some of the chemicals in the soft drinks can react with the plastic and caused serious diseases. Using glass bottles help that the soft drink bottle taste better and last for long time. (Sathish, 2010) Banning soft drinks in schools: The American beverage association has announced the removal of soft drinks from schools. It asked for the removal of full calorie drinks and the replacement will be the healthy, low calorie beverages. That decision has been made because the child obesity is increasing rapidly. The announcement said that in elementary schools, children can only have 100% fresh juices, low fat milk and water, while in high schools the students can have all types of diet beverages and sport drinks as well as the drinks available for the elementary schools.(FBD,2010) B. Strategic Group Map The strategic group map above shows the competitive positions of different competitors in the CSD industry. It consists of the five largest competitors in the industry. The axes represent two competitive characteristics: the product categories offered by each competitor and geographic coverage in terms of the number of countries. The size of the circles is proportional to the relative market share of the company. PepsiCo has offers the largest variety of product categories amounting to 10 categories, followed by Coca-cola which offers 7 categories. Dr.Pepper Snapple Group, Cott Corp and National beverage all offer 5 product categories, however these categories are differ slightly. Also, their geographic locations vary which explains why they are located on different points on the strategic group map. The strategic group map was constructed using the information in the table below: Geographic coverage Product Categories offered Coca cola 200 + (The coca-cola system, n.d.) 1.Soft drinks 2.Energy drinks 3.Juices / Juice Drinks 4.Sports drinks 5.Tea and coffee 6.water 7.other  [1]   Pepsi 150 (Our history, n.d.) 1.Soft drinks 2.Energy drinks 3.Juices / Juice Drinks 4.Sports drinks 5.Ready to drink tea 6.Ready to drink coffee 7.water 8.Dairy based drinks 9.Fruit flavored beverages 10.Frozen beverages  [2]   Dr.Pepper Snapple Group 81 (The best history on earth, n.d) 1.CSD 2.Juices 3.Ready to drink tea 4.Mixers 5.Other Premium beverages  [3]   Cott Corp 60 (About us, n.d.) 1.CSD 2.Energy Drinks 3.Juice Drinks 4.Tea 5.Water  [4]   National Beverage 13 (Overview, n.d.) 1.CSD 2.Energy Drinks 3.Water 4.Fortified powders and supplements 5.Functionally enhanced juices and waters  [5]   C. Michael Porter five forces model Industry is classified as the Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry Rivalry HIGH Rivalry in this market is very intense due to a number of factors such as the number of competitors, growth of the industry, product differentiation, switching costs and change in consumer tastes. There are a few large competitors that are roughly equal in size. These competitors are Coca-cola with a market share of 43% and Pepsi with 31%. The market shares of Coca-cola and PepsiCo combined makes up more than 70% of the whole market. Thus, it allows these major competitors to watch each other closely. However, there are many other competitors that compete with these two giants and intensify rivalry. These include other soft drink companies (e.g. Dr.Pepper Snapple Group and National Beverage) and energy drink companies (e.g. Red bull and Rockstar). As mentioned earlier, the CSD industry faced a 3% decline in growth in 2008. A declining growth rate indicated that the many competitors in the market will have to share the shrinking pie. Also, in an industry such as CSD, there is little opportunity for differentiation relative to other products (e.g. cars) which lowers switching costs for consumers. The change in lifestyles which caused consumers to shift away from carbonated to non-carbonated soft drinks increased the level of competition. As a result, companies such as PepsiCo and Coco-cola had to adapt to these changes in demand by focusing on marketing and innovation (Human sustainability, n.d.). Bargaining power of Buyers MODERATE to HIGH The buyers in this industry can be classified into two categories: Those that buy in large quantities (Matthews Knaus, 2006, p.2): Supermarkets (31%) Fountain outlets: e.g. restaurants (23%) Vending machines (14%) Mass merchandisers (6%) Convenience stores/ Gas stations (5%) Small grocers (4%) Other: gas stations, drug chains, gas stations/minimarts, airlines and other channels of distribution (17%) Those that buy in small quantities: Final consumer The first category of buyers has high bargaining power. Generally, in industries characterized with many suppliers and a few large buyers, the buyers capture a greater share of the profits. This is because they buy in bulk and they can easily switch between suppliers since the product is standard, lacks differentiation and is easily available in the market. Additionally, these buyers have the power to demand higher quality or more service because they buy in large quantities. An example of a buyer that buys in bulk is the large retail store, Walmart. The second category of buyers is the end consumers. The fragmented nature of the buyer group and the low quantities purchased by them lowers their bargaining power. However, the bargaining power is increased due to the presence of substitutes, low switching costs. Thus, the bargaining power of end consumers is considered to be moderate overall. Bargaining power of Suppliers- MODEATE to LOW Before looking at the supplier group, it is important to first consider the types of input or raw materials that are used in this industry. These are: sugar, bottles, cans, water, ink and plastic. The inputs used are homogeneous and not differentiated which makes them readily available in the market. The supplier group in this industry is not powerful and does not possess a high bargaining power. There are many suppliers which make the supplier group more fragmented than the industry it sells to. Also, the product or input is neither unique nor differentiated and the suppliers do not represent a high percentage of total costs in the industry. One factor that may increase the bargaining power of suppliers is that consumers are more becoming more health conscious. This gives suppliers that offer healthier ingredients more bargaining power since they are smaller in number. Nevertheless, this bargaining power can be mitigated by having a long term agreement with the suppliers. Threat of Substitutes: HIGH Again, substitutes are classified into two categories: (1) Substitutes that come from distant industries, and (2) substitutes that come from within the industry- internal substitution. Since we classified the industry as that of carbonated soft drinks, then the substitutes from distant industries will be non-carbonated soft drinks. These include juice, water, milk, tea, coffee and the like. On the other hand, substitutes from within the industry include CSD such as sodas and energy drinks. Both types of substitutes pose a high threat because consumers switching costs between substitutes are low. Additionally, since people are more health conscious, they are more willing to substitute CSD with healthier alternatives. Threat of New Entrants: Moderate to LOW The entry barriers in the CSD industry are of different types, each having a significant effect on the threat of potential new entrants, these include: Technical barriers: For instance, PepsiCo has an absolute cost advantage enabling it to achieve lower average costs. That is, even if an individual or company was able to discover Pepsis recipe, they will not be able to achieve the low costs of PepsiCo. This is because PepsiCo is a large company that has economies of scale. Commercial Barriers: these barriers include brand name, reputation, access to distribution etc. In an industry like CSD, it is very difficult for a new entrant to compete effectively with the existing competitors that already have a large and loyal customer base. New entrants will have to put in a lot of marketing efforts and resources in order to convince customers to switch to their products. This will be time consuming and will also require a large amount of capital. Additionally, it is very difficult for new entrant to gain access to extensive distribution channels like those of Coca cola and PepsiCo. Financial Barriers: these barriers include capital requirement, access to financing etc. The bottling process requires a higher amount of capital than concentrate manufacturing since it is associated with higher fixed assets. For concentrate manufacturing, one plant which has the potential to serve a country as large as the United States costs $25 million. On the other hand, the bottling process needs 80 to 85 plants, each costing $30-50 million, to provide efficient distribution for a country the size of the US. Moreover, the bottling process is highly specific to both the type packaging and the bottling process. This, in return, makes it difficult to exit the market. (Cola wars, n.d., p.3) Retaliation: the more retaliation new entrants expect from existing competitors, the higher the entry barrier. In this industry, new entrants should expect sharp retaliation. The aforementioned barriers to entry lower the threat of new entrants. However, there is another factor that should be taken into consideration: private label brands. Cott Corp. holds the majority of private label brands in addition to few other smaller companies. Since private label brands are cheaper, retailers would find it more attractive to sell them, instead of Coca-cola or Pepsi, taking into consideration the higher profit associated with them. Thus, the threat of these private brands slightly increase the threat posed by new entrants. This makes the overall threat of new entrants moderate to low. (Pepsi, n.d., p.6) Conclusion The spider web below summarized the five forces (the 6th force is excluded). The more intense the forces are, the less attractive the market is. Most of the forces in the CSD industry are moderate to high which indicates that this industry is not attractive for new entrants. However, for those companies that are already in the industry, it is attractive. 2. Key Success Factors of Carbonated Soft Drinks industry 1. Size of Company (distribution and market share) The companies size is an important factor in such an industry. E.g. PepsiCo is the second leader in the industry as well as one with the largest market share. 2. Location (Convenience and Availability) Convenience for customers is also essential in a soft drink industry. Such that a company must make sure the soft drink is readily available everywhere in supermarket, grocery stores, vending machines, and restaurants. Brand Loyalty Due to the diverse soft drinks and the intense competition in the industry, brand loyalty plays an important success factor for a company. E.g. PepsiCos regular customers are devoted to Pepsi and they rarely switch to other brands. Loyalty creates inelastic price change. PepsiCo successfully adapts to customer taste. International market International presence is essential for the success of Soft Drinks industry. Going global is important for it helps the company enhance growth. E.g. the majority of PepsiCos profits come from US yet population growth in markets like India and china could lead to potential market growth. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Strong Brand Reputation Strong market Position PepsiCo is an early entrant which helped build market share. Its market share accounts for 31% of the market share of the carbonated soft drinks industry. Availability of large Free Cash Flow ( and Strong Revenue Growth) Solid revenue results in the second quarter of 2009 reflecting PepsiCos Product innovation, strong effective net pricing, and cost discipline showing a 5.5 percent increase in net revenue and an 8 percent increase in core EPS. PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Indra Nooyi said Our results this quarter reinforce the advantages of our balanced portfolio, as our food and international businesses delivered solid performance while we continued the transformation of our North American beverage business.(Nooyi, 2009) PepsiCo has large amount of free cash flow and lack of capital constraint creating strength for the company to improve its innovative capabilities, and create a strong distribution thus further strengthening its brand. Strong and creative advertisement Besides PepsiCos strong advertisement, it uses creative techniques. Such that PepsiCo created an add through a football field with most well known players (Kaka-Brazilian, Henry-France, Drogba-Godivoi, Messi-Argentine, Lumoard-England) . Extensive product list Pepsi offers various products besides the Pepsi cola. It offers beverages and snacks. Its also the number one maker of snacks (potato chips and corn chips). Weaknesses: Many Large existing Competitors Large existing competitors in the market create significant weakness for PepsiCo and thus create a need for stronger advertising, consequently requiring higher capital. Following are the strong competitors sharing a high market share in comparison to PepsiCo with 31% market share: Coca Cola has a market share of Æ’Â   43% Dr.Pepper Snapple Group Inc. Æ’Â  15% of the market Concentration PepsiCo is concentrated in North America (US, Canada, Mexico), where almost 70% of its revenues comes from. Opportunities: Acquisitions and Alliances: Due to the increased threat of rivalry and competition in the carbonated soft drink industry, acquisitions and alliances create an opportunity that reduces such threats. Through acquisition the market share rises and the revenue rises, though the high cost of doing it is a drawback to such a strategy. Acquisitions of rivals (e.g. RedBull) Increase Market Share Increase Advertisements Advertisements play a major role in Carbonated Industries. For example, for one to see Pepsis add on road while very thirsty would likely to stop by a petrol station or any convenient store who offers Pepsi to purchase it. Strengthen Brand names of N.A portfolio: Since coke dominates Western Europe and Latin America, PEPSI dominates Middle East and Southeast Asia. Threats: Change in customers taste: weakening demand in USA Æ’Â  new federal nutrition guidelines identified regular CSD as largest source of obesity-causing sugars in American diet (Pinto, 2006) Health care awareness Increased awareness of health campaigns cut down revenues of soft drink industries. Customers move to substitutes such as water, non-carbonated drinks and juices. These challenges are PepsiCos target to overcome, such as the figure below shows the peoples negative perception of PepsiCo. High Rivalry As Explained earlier, threat of rivalry is very intense due to the following factors: Large number of competitors, Decline in growth of the industry, Lack of differentiation in products, and low switching costs. Therefore there exists an intense competition for shelf space due to expanding array of products and packaging options Large company size, will demand a varied marketing program; Social, cultural, economic, political and governmental constrains. As a result, the company will incur more expenses and resources. Threat of substitutes is very high. People can easily substitute Pepsi with other drinks. Strategic recommendations to the firm based on your SWOT analysis Since PepsiCo has availability of high free cash flow (strength), I would recommend that PepsiCo opts for Acquisition and Alliance (Opportunity) to increase its market share thus to take over its rivalry (threat) Due to the threat of health campaigns (threat), PepsiCo should increase its product line (opportunity) I would recommend that PepsiCo increases its EPS and increase PepsiCos stock price, by: Increasing Income Decrease amount of outstanding stock B. Company strategy analysis 1. Mission Statement/Strategic intent/Vision Mission statement: Our mission is to be the worlds premier consumer products company focused on convenient foods and beverages. We seek to produce financial rewards to investors as we provide opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees, our business partners and the communities in which we operate. And in everything we do, we strive for honesty, fairness and integrity (PepsiCo Inc., 2009) Reproduced Mission statement: PepsiCo aims to be the worlds number one foods and beverages producer. It mainly focuses on providing money for its investors as well as enhancing the market with jobs and opportunities for growth. PepsiCo try their best to be honest, fair and truthful in all of their operations. Critique: The mission statement relatively reflects the core values of PepsiCo. It specifically describes its goals and objectives. It also sets guidelines for the activities and operations that need to be accomplished in order to meet the company prospects aims. Vision: PepsiCos responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which we operate environment, social, economic creating a better tomorrow than today. Our vision is put into action through programs and a focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company. (PepsiCo Inc., 2009) Reproduced Vision: Operate by creating a better future sustainable environment. Critique: A vision is a statement that states what the firm will be in the future. Pepsis vision aims toward creating a future healthier, sustainable friendly environment. PepsiCo vision should be more specific to its goals and objectives in order for PepsiCo to be more productive in the future. It should be more creative and easy to adapt to new trends. The vision can help PepsiCo in controlling the future market. PepsiCo Generic Strategy: According to Michael Porter, there are two types of competitive advantages a firm an posses: A firm can either make the same products that its competitors do, but with a lower cost. Æ’Â   Cost Strategy OR A firm can differentiate its products from those offered by its competitors, either by offering better and more expensive products or by offering lower quality cheaper products Æ’Â   Differentiation Strategy. To gain a competitive advantage in the market, PepsiCo looked in its position in the industry. It engaged in cost leadership competitive strategy: Since PepsiCo is a large corporation, it can keep the prices of its products low through the massive production and economies of scale. They also can buy from suppliers in bulk at a discount and make use of the technology to lower the prices of the final products. Not to forget that the extensive distribution channels and the global existence of the firm are considered as important factors to reduce the price. Allocating the cost among the brands carried by PepsiCo, the proficiency in the development and production help PepsiCo achieving its cost leadership strategy. PepsiCo also vertically integrated. It has merged with Pepsi bottling group in order to reduce the cost of distribution. Additionally, the types of input or raw materials that are used in this industry are: sugar, bottles, cans, water, ink and plastic. Since these raw materials are not differentiated and are easily available in the market, PepsiCo can achieve economies of scale. By looking at the graph above we can learn that by achieving economies of scale the firm will reduce its costs which will lead to lower prices of the final products. Although lower prices will result in having price war, which had already existed between PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and other firms in the CSD industry, it will still help the company in increasing its market share and to compete in the industry. Adapting the Cost leadership strategy had raised strong barriers for any new entrants to enter the market since it will be very hard to compete with a well-known brand that offers low prices. PepsiCos key resources that could lead to long term competitive: In order to stay ahead of the future and present competition, Pepsi has developed many attributes. It has constructed a business strategy that will allow it to outperform its competitors. Therefore PepsiCo has concentrated on few main resources that it believes will turn out as competitive advantages for the firm which will help it to goal superior performance in its industry. These competitive advantages are believed to be: Strong Brand Name Advertising: PepsiCo has the luxury to spend around 200 million dollars in this field, which allows it to reinforce the products. The strong advertising helps PepsiCo to introduce new products very quickly because it helps in improving the awareness level on the consumers about launching new products. PepsiCo logo/ being the 2nd leader of the market: PepsiCo is a very well-known brand not only because of products taste but also because of its logo and unique way of packaging. These all created what is called brand recognition. The unique blue and red symbol made PepsiCo very recognizable among people. Pepsi has spent 637 million dollar over the five past years on its marketing plan just to introduce the new rich deep blue packaging. This color represents the eternity of youthfulness and openness. Celebrity endorsement: Pepsi had used famous faces such as Britney Spears and Beyoncà © in advertising its products, which lead to attract more customers and increase the level of costumers preference. Although celebrity endorsement was a success but PepsiCo wont be using celebrities anymore as a step forward reducing its future cost. Extensive Distribution Channels / Location In Feb. 26, 2010 PepsiCo had merged with Pepsi Bottling group and PepsiAmerican which strengthening its distribution. It has local and global locations. PepsiCo has locations in 150 countries all around the world. Physical locations: PepsiCo soft drinks can be found in vending machines which are located in high traffic locations, schools, universities. PepsiCo reaches more consumers by also distributing its products to restaurants, department stores and grocery markets.