How effective is Citibank at resolving and retaining its staff? Essay

To provide Citibank with a report that recommends improvement to recruitment and retention. Objectives 1) To assess the benefit, if any provided by Citibank for its employees. 2) To select appropriate performance criteria for the reasurement of staff performance. 3) Examine and analyse employee perception of the current training provision. 4) Examine and evaluate other factors that may influence staff morale. In order to manage the performance of staff managers I will be using performance criteria: This is a handy measuring tool, which is used as a method by which I will be assessing people’s performance and the satisfactions and dissatisfactions of their work. I will also be assessing the performance criteria of their absenteeism and the No of days staff are absent in a period of time. Also I will be checking on productivity and the number of staff measured against output. I will be monitoring the retention rates data and to see how long staffs have worked, whether they are temporary or permanent. Company History and Background to problem The company I am investigating is a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc, Citibank International plc. Specifically I will be looking at the Distribution Division of the Global Consumer Bank in the UK. In the year of 2001 Citigroup hailed its position as one of the most successful financial services in the world. It registered double-digit increases across many lines of business, and a 20% returns on equity. Their main objectives are to establish trusted relationships with consumers, corporations, institutions and governments. They operate for both sectors of businesses, private and personal banking. They have corporate banking and this is for business, which generates a lot of money. Citibank is a large corporation and is known as a public limited company, or PLC, meaning that its shares can be floated and then traded on the stock market. Any member of the general public can therefore become an owner of these organisations. I have analysed the annual report for Citigroup in 2001. The figures are very promising and show an increase of 8% in revenue over the previous year. What I am currently basing my project on is the Citibank branches situated in London. The branches are based at Oxford Circus, Strand, Monument and Canary Wharf. I shall be conducting this coursework with the help of Danny Childs, Assistant Vice President of Citibank; he is also in charge of the employees in the London branches. I shall be conducting research within the offices of Citibank to determine the quality of staff behaviour and how they go about customer services. I shall analyse my findings and from the information I discover, I will talk it over with Mr Childs and sort out ways to retain a positive atmosphere in his offices. Performance Indicators I am going to select the appropriate performance to evaluate Citibank’s effectiveness in training. There are two types of performance indicators: A) Qualitative: – In-depth research into the motivations behind the attitudes of the employees through the questionnaires that I have conducted. B) Quantitative: – Pre-set questions on a sample of 13 employees have in order to provide statistically valid data. I wrote this questionnaire and received anonymous and therefore unbiased answers that meet the research objectives. Performance management simply expressed is an approach to managing people, which helps to ensure that individual’s performance goals and capabilities are linked to the goals and plans of the business. When this occurs, business performance goals are met; people know what is expected of them and receive the support they need to develop their capabilities. Modern performance management is based on the principle of ‘objective cascade.’ This means that everyone sees a clear connection between: a) The goals of the entire business. b) The goals of the department. c) How the performance goals of teams and individuals relate to and support business goals. What is the overall approach to performance management in Citibank? Purpose Performance management provides a commitment and fair approach to managing performance of all people within Citibank. Aims: – Clarify performance expectations in relation to what people do and how they go about it. * Address and enhance performance through honest and constructive feedback. * Identify and deliver training and development to meet individual and team capability requirements. Performance indicators that can be used for Citibank can be: – Performance Indicator Purpose Profit Can be measured in quarterly times of the year to see how much money Citibank is bringing in. Staff turnover The amount of staff that has left Citibank can be measured with the staff from last year. Absenteeism Annually compared to provide the number of times employees have taken days off. Research Methodology For my research into Citibank, I will be conducting several different kinds of methods to gather my data. My research will include both primary and secondary data. Therefore, my answers will be accurate and reliable. Primary Research Primary information is the process of gathering information directly from people within your target market, as I will have shown by the time this project is completed. I shall be gathering data from the market by means of conducting an anonymous questionnaire. A questionnaire contains several advantages: – * + Through the questionnaire I can construct my questionnaire to suit the needs of fulfilling my research objectives. * + A questionnaire contains up-to-date answers from the employee’s. * + Through the questionnaire I can also understand the state of mind the worker is in and how he feels about working within Citibank. The questionnaire will be emailed to all of the staff employed by Danny Childs. They will then fill it in and return it back to me. I have decided to use this method because it is honest and will be unbiased. It is reliable and will be of present and true facts. It is also a good idea because it is anonymous and employees won’t feel pressured into giving answers that only are only said for the sake of Danny. I will be handing out questionnaires to 30 people in Danny’s workforce. Secondary Research I will also be using other sources of non-primary findings. They are called secondary research. Secondary research is the process of collecting data that is not new. It can be old evidence from magazines, the Internet or statistics. In this case when the secondary research is collected it will be analysed in accordance to the questionnaires. These sources will be coming from Danny Childs past findings and research data, which he has stored on his laptop. These findings inform me of staff turnover and retention rates of Citibank. I will only be gathering data that is from the past year and which I consider to be useful. Secondary research gives a background analysis of the primary research conducted and I will be able to notice any trends, if any, in the results. After I have had all the results in for both the primary and secondary, I will combine them together and have an accurate answer and accomplish my aim. I will be using a quantitative research method. This asks pre-set questions to the Staff of Citibank. This is called sampling as I am making sure my results are going to be typical of the whole Citibank workforce. My questionnaire will be unbiased and ensure that my objectives are met. I will also research into my answers to check how valid they are. Before starting off my main concerns to do with sampling was that how am I going to choose the correct people for interview (sampling method) and also deciding how large a number to interview (the sample size). There are 4 main sampling methods: Random sample, Quota sample, Stratified sample, and Cluster sample. Random Sample: This is when I would select employees within Citibank and ensure they are all treated equally in the questionnaire selecting process. A successful random sample is one which: 1) Picks names at random from a register process†¦e.g. every 50th name. 2) Send an interviewer to each worker within the offices of Citibank and question him. Quota Sample This is when you’re- selecting interviewees in proportion to their age within the offices. This allows the interviewer (which would be me) to question whoever he sees in the office room, as long as the correct quota is achieved. Stratified Sample Only those with certain characteristics are to be interviewed. Eg: I am going to only interview managers within Citibank worldwide. This means I am interviewing individuals at random. Cluster Sample This is sampling only within a certain area, such as university towns or certain business districts. It is usually used for students such as me who are doing projects on a large scale. Therefore I have decided that the sample that I will be conducting is Cluster Sampling. This is because my sample size was 13 employees and is only referring to the distribution division of Citibank, and not the rest of the company. Analysis Out of the thirty questionnaires that I handed out among the staff, only thirteen questionnaires were sent back to Danny Childs who then forwarded them back to me. The reason not all questionnaires were filled in was that half of them thought that it was Danny himself who had constructed the questionnaire and not me. After receiving the questionnaires I went about analysing each question and breaking them down in terms relating to the aim. All answers that were multiple choice, I ensured that I amalgamated the answers and I created pie charts to visually show my answers. Where questions have a ‘long hand’ answer I will be using ‘verbatims’. This is when I will be lifting relevant comments from the answers. The way I have done this is to pick out key messages and repeated statements within the answers and to then summarise it: – 1) How long have you been at Citibank? What employees wrote A=Less than a year 1 B=1-3 Years 8 C=3-5 years 4 D=More than 5 Years 0 Out of the thirteen who answered, the majority of employees (eight workers) said that they worked between one to three years. Only one employee who filled in the questionnaire has been with Citibank for longer than a year and also had the most negative comments to say about Citibank as an employer. I constructed a Pie Chart to represent the data above: – 2) How would you rate Citibank as an employer? What employees wrote A) Poor 0 B) Below Average 2 C) Average 4 D) Above Average 7 E) Excellent 0 Out of the thirteen that answered, the majority of workers currently employed at Citibank said in their questionnaire that as an employer, they rated Citibank as average. The reasons for this are explained in question three. I have constructed a pie chart to show the data above for question two. 3) Give a Brief reason for your answer to the previous question. Most of the employee’s answered that Citibank provided a â€Å"Good benefit package e.g.: salary, BUPA.† Two employees claimed that Citibank is â€Å"more enjoyable than previous employment.† Four employees were not happy with their employer’s and were not afraid to let it be known. One of those four even went far enough to leave the question unanswered which goes to show how much he values Citibank as an employer. Referring to page 2 of my appendix, an employee said, Managers don’t want to see customers, even if they are available to assist. The worker sees this as a bad thing, yet if he thinks about it he can use this to his advantage. The manager of the branch may believe in Maslow’s theory of management and develops a democratic approach towards his staff. By allowing the staff to think for themselves and make the correct decisions, Danny Childs will only be called in absolute urgency, and by shadowing him for a week I learned and watched the way the workforce was run. 4) When was the last time you attended a training course? The employees have answered this question vaguely and were not afraid to point out that ‘Citibank training is bad’ and that it is ‘so boring’. One employee even said that he ‘cant remember’ the last course he had attended. This goes to show that Citibank need to invest in making their training courses more innovative and enjoyable for their workers in order to keep them motivated. They could ensue team working in the courses meaning placing workers who haven’t worked together before or are not in the same social circle as that particular worker into a group, switching their tasks around and discussing ways of them working more effectively. Team working, managed effectively, can provide employees better quality and more innovative work at a lower cost and at a faster rate. To achieve such improvements in performance employees must be involved. They must have the ability to contribute and feel they are listened to. Greater participation can help a company like Citibank gain a competitive edge. Although this may be expensive, the outcome may be fruitful. The workers may leave the course happier and wanted and therefore work harder and produce more business for Citibank. 5) Overall, what do you think of the training provided at Citibank? What employees wrote A) Poor 2 B) Below Average 1 C) Average 6 D) Above Average 4 E) Excellent 0 Most of the employees at Citibank rated training as only average. I discussed this topic in more detail in question four and discussed the different approaches that could be taken. Even if changes were implemented correctly, I would hope that if I was to ask the same question to staff in six months, the majority might answer that training is Excellent. Below is a pie chart, which I created to show my results from question five: – 6) What keeps you motivated at Citibank? Nine out of the thirteen that answered said that the salary they are on is what keeps them motivated. There were no other factors involved in keeping the staff happy. Three workers said that they survive by motivating themselves and only one claimed that he was there only to do a job. Three things influence the motivation of staff in practice: * The company culture. * Its approach to managing its people * The financial reward systems. Company culture means the accepted set of attitudes and habits within an organisation-its ethos. Every business has its own culture, and Citibank is no different. Within an hour of sitting in the office with Mr Childs, jokes aside I set out to work hard throughout the week. What kept me motivated was that I was working at a top bank and I wanted to please Danny so as not to disappoint him. It was challenging, yet purposeful. Elton Mayo was a motivational theorist who pointed out that the difference in attitude was often to do with the unofficial leader or leaders of the staff concerned. For the majority of the workers, it is the financial reward system that keeps them motivated. Danny explained to me that each of his sales team has a PRP (performance-related pay) scheme to follow. It is a highly attractive system for encouraging staff to work towards the organisation’s objectives. The usual method is: 1) At the end of each month, the individual’s achievement is discussed against the targets set. 2) If they have reached a target or gone above it, they are rewarded with a pay rise, or are given a bonus scheme to work to. 7) Do you feel you get motivation from your managers? This question was answered with much criticism towards the managers. I designed this questionnaire to find out exactly what the staff is thinking and I got what I wanted. This question was answered in a way that it was being critical of the managers and mocking their intelligence. In two of the questionnaires, staff said that the managers give â€Å"support rather than motivation†. Support and motivation are two totally different things. Support is when the manager doesn’t literally do the work for an employee, but rather sets the framework for what is to happen. Motivation is when a manager would encourage his employee’s to do something by means of offering them incentives. For most of the answers given in this question it is plain to see that employee’s don’t feel they get the right motivation that they feel is deserved. Most managers assume they understand human motivation when in practice they have never studied it. As a result they may underestimate the potential within their own staff. Or unthinkingly cause resentments that fester. The process of managing people takes place in every part of every organisation. By contrast a few people would need to know the financial concept of gearing in their working lives. So lack of knowledge of motivational theory is particularly unfortunate and has exceptionally widespread effects. In this case, ignorance leads to managers to ignore motivation altogether. They tell themselves that control and organisation are their only concerns. Other managers may see motivation as important, but fail to understand its subtleties. For these reasons, I can state that there is a case for saying that the concepts of motivation are that of the important factors in running a business. 8) Do you feel you have career prospects at Citibank? Most of the employee’s answered this question with mixed answers. After reading each answer I realised that it was roughly a 50/50 outcome. Some of the employees saw themselves with a future at Citibank, while others thought that they deserved to be elsewhere. A lot of factors can depend on whether or not an employee has a future at Citibank. The outcome I have come to is that the reason the question was not answered properly was because I didn’t ask the question correctly. What I should have I asked was Where do you see yourself in two years time? That way, I will be getting a more detailed answer from the employee and he/she will give me a clear idea of what they think lays in their future. Here is a pie chart to represent the data: – As you can see from the graph, 54% of the staff saw themselves with a future and 46% saw themselves leaving Citibank. 9) Do you feel you are paid a fair wage for your job compared to the banking market place? Out of the thirteen employees, nine answered that they are happy with their salary compared to other banks. Citibank â€Å"on the whole, pays fair wages.† One worker said â€Å"there is always room for improvement† showing that although they are being paid well, more money is always better. Referring back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, if the pay levels were increased, it can be used as an incentive to ensure that they remain at Citibank. Maslow believed everyone has the same needs- all of which can be organised as a hierarchy. When employees earn enough to satisfy these needs, however their motivating power slowly disappears. Maslow then referred to his ‘hierarchy of needs’ in order for them to remain motivated: Self-Actualisation Esteem needs Social needs Safety needs Physical Needs 10) Are you offered any financial incentives such as bonus schemes or awards? Out of the thirteen that answered this question, ten replied that they are offered decent incentives if they work hard enough to earn them. A workforce must be put in place, which provides departments such as operations and marketing with the correct number of appropriately skilled employees to accomplish their targets. For an employee to work well, he must first be able to have a good relationship with his employer. I created a pie chart to give a visual representation of the data I received: – 11) Do you feel Citibank has effective managers within branches? More employees said that managers are effective within the branches, although those that weren’t happy, had a lot to criticise. One worker said that managers â€Å"should be more hands on.† The question that came to my attention is What is an effective manager? There are several explanations to this question, and I am going to explain it by means of McGregor’s Theory X and Y. This comes from Douglas McGregor who identified two styles of management. Theory X managers tend to distrust their employees; they believe they don’t really enjoy their work and that they need to be controlled. In McGregor’s own words, many managers believe â€Å"The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can.† This theory is not about workers, but he is actually talking about the managers themselves. Theory X in other words is how managers view their workforce. On the other hand, Theory Y managers are more likely to involve employees in decisions and give them greater responsibility. The managerial assumptions identified by McGregor X and Y are: * â€Å"The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.† * â€Å"The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility.† * â€Å"Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.† It is clear that Danny is a theory Y manager in some aspects as he is inclined to adopt a democratic leadership style. Their style is to delegate authority to meet specific objectives. Theory X style is to be self-fulfilling. Lazy people are obviously going to produce less output then a lively person. The way to make that lazy person lively is to offer him an incentive, which will motivate him to work harder. 12) Would you recommend your friends to work for Citibank? Eight employees said that they’d recommend friends to work for Citibank, one of them saying what I needed to read, â€Å"Higher starting salary compared to High Street Banks.† The answers show that it was mixed opinions and there could be several reasons. Workers may not want to mix business with pleasure and therefore for friends to be around them in the office, their performance can severely decrease. 13) What, in your view, could Citibank do to improve your working environment? The employees answered and voiced their opinions to make the working environment of Citibank better. The question was answered in detail and I was happy with the result. Appendices Below you will find that I have broken down my questionnaire into an easier way to understand. I completed this before I began my analysis and this appendix can be referred back to as a backup for my analysis at anytime: Question 1- How long have you been at Citibank? A) Less than a year B) 1-3 Years C) 3-5 Years D) More than 5 Years

Communication and Dialogue Essay

In this new era of globalisation wherein people from diverse culture and ethnicity have come together to work in an organisation, dialogue is indeed an important way of communication. Many researches have proved the fact that differences in culture may inculcate a difference in the thinking pattern or stem into differential analysis of a situation. In an organisation where values and growth are related  to each other, differences in opinion may lead to altercation and conflicts if not addressed well. Dialogue, a bidirectional flow of communication where emphasis is laid not only on saying but also on listening and understanding at the same time can be an useful tool in an organisation to resolve inter personal conflicts, conflicts within the department or conflicts between two different departments of the same organisation. The essay will highlight the importance of introduction of dialogue in a multicultural organisation and its use as a problem solving tool in multicultural organisation where cultural thinking act as an impediment among them. Also, it will review the role of dialogue in promoting organisational learning. Next it will explore some of the barriers in communication such as â€Å"Silo virus† and need for eliminations of those barriers, ending into a conclusion for the implication of dialogue in a multicultural organisation. Sequential Conversation or Unidirectional Flow of Communication versus Dialogic conversation A conversation is said to be sequential or unidirectional when there is a flow of information from the speaker to the listener (Eisenberg & Goodall, p. 27). This one way communication can be practically seen in classes where student completely rely on teachers lectures, also when managers or the instructor define the protocol of the work to the subordinates or receivers. In other words in a unidirectional or sequential communication listeners are passive and are uninvolved in constructing the ideas of the communication (Eisenberg & Goodall, p. 28)  . Traditionally communication between managers and employee were articulated as straightforward unidirectional flow of delivering management messages to employees and other constituencies (Tourish and Hargie 2009, p. ). However, dialogue provides equal opportunities to all who are involved in the communication. Everyone has the say to voice their opinion and give their feedback either in agreement or in opposition of the core matter. Dialogue in a working definition can be defined as a mindful conversation emphasising on equitable and empathetic transaction of opinions of the participant s to create new opportunities for working together to produce new and innovative ideas (Eisenberg & Goodall, p. 40-45) Hence dialogue is a balance between creativity and constraints (Eisenberg & Goodall ,p. 0). Dialogue demands its participants should be able to critically reflect themselves i. e, they should be open to the fact that the perceptions made by them may not always be accurate. â€Å"What we perceive is often based on our needs, our expectations, our projections, and, most of all, our culturally learned assumptions and categories of thought (Schein 1993,p. 33)†. Participants should be able to suspend the perceptions and feelings for some time to see the outcome of the dialogue (Schein 1993). By suspending the feelings the participants will allow the disagreements to fly off, hence will build mutual understanding and trust on each other. Higher the trust higher will be the effectiveness of the group. Participants will be open to voice their unfearful opinions, and will come up with more innovative and successful solutions. Dialogue as a problem solving tool in a multicultural organisation The definition of dialogue says that there should be equal sharing of perceptions, assumptions, thoughts and experiences to come to an radical conclusion (Schein 1993). Healthy communication connects the employee more strongly with the organisation by eliminating the sense of isolation and dissatisfaction. Employee who communicate regularly with their managers and co-employees have a higher sense of job engagement than those who are reluctant to voice their opinion. There is a direct relation between the healthy communication, participation of the employees in decision making and growth of the organisation. Dialogue does not only mean that you are heard, but it also signifies that your voice matters in the decisions of the company. It gives a sense of belonging to the employee and burns out stress and discomfort. The organisation with the higher number of contented employee will have higher productivity both in number and innovations. â€Å"The quality of relationships with co-workers is a crucial factor in determining levels of job satisfaction† (Tourish & Hargie 2009, p. 16). Job satisfaction cannot only be guaranteed by successful completion of a task, but it involves many other vital factors too. Today when it is impossible to find an uncultured organisation, learning about the intercultural ommunication is an indispensable necessity (Crossman et al 2011, p. 57). Culture plays an prominent role in structuring human behaviour, ideas and thought process (Wood2011). Differences of thinking may lead to ambiguity at the work place which may end into conflicts. According to Ting-Toomey, the greater the difference between two cultures, the more that conflicts will arise in areas such as historical griev ances, cultural world views and beliefs (Crossman et al 2011). Creating Coherence in Multicultural Organisation with dialogue Employees have different personal needs and hence different dimensions for the satisfaction. The organisation should know about the personnel needs of the employee and should work in a way to nurture good relationships among the employees (Tourish & Hargie 2009). Incorporating good communication practices such as regular group meetings, open house discussions or building new channels for communication sustains job engagement of the employee. Mangers should have expertise in intercultural communication skills to nurture an environment of tolerance to the ambiguity caused by incompatibility of cultural values and norms. As Brannen & Salk 1999, said working together to give fruitful result can only be achieved by compromising the ambiguity and confusion for quality issues. The practices like   an  open house group discussions  ,thought sharing and dialogues exchange with seniors and colleagues will help in bridging the gap of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Employees who have an access to information, organisation policies, new ventures and developments feel more secure and safe at work. Intercultural communications along with dialogue help in enhancing the process of organisational learning through group interaction. It helps in sharing of cultural ideas, values and beliefs. Cordial and happy relations at work place eliminate stress and burnout caused by work pressure and thus benefits the employee with good concentration and higher thinking. Socially balanced work culture  breed  employee with better insights and hence result in collaborative thinking and exemplary innovations. However in a real business world where emphasis is laid more towards the successful completion of the task, is it realistic to preach dialogue at every stage of decision making? Is it possible for an organisation to understand the needs of every employee? Will it be correct to say that it  is the responsibility of a manager to inoculate good intercultural communication where the employees are reluctant to shift their values and paradigm? Implementing dialogue can be a laborious process for a manager. It is the Manager who bears the responsibility of accomplishing the targets with in the given time frame. Dialogue can only be successful when employees are ready to take the responsibility to change themselves, else it will only result in wastage of time. Dialogue is easy to preach in a likeminded group sharing similar values but difficult to express with those who are reluctant to change. Say for instance it is easy to teach a budding employee about the virtues of good communication. However,  the same could not be expressed to those highly experienced or talented employees who are reluctant to adapt to new changes. Also, it is difficult to bring employees out of their comfort zone and to speak up expressing their true feelings. Dialogue- the core of organisational learning Dialogue lies at the core of organizational learning, for without dialogue, individuals and groups cannot effectively exchange ideas, nor can they develop shared understanding† (Mazustis & Slawinski 2008, pg 438). Argyris said that there are two different modes of learning, Model 1 and Model II, best be summarized as single or double loop learning. He mentioned in his writing â€Å"Teaching Smart people how to learn†, highly skilled professional are good at single loop learning because of their vast experiences and success gained in those experiences. However, Argyris argue that it is difficult for them to admit their mistake,  and hence they adopt a defensive attitude wherein they start blaming others for the failure. Defensive reasoning can block learning. Model I learning behavior persists throughout the organization resulting in to win/lose dynamics in which individual avoid confrontation (Mazustis & Slawinski 2008). On contrast Model II which is based on open dialogue, self-reflection and double loop learning will help in bringing fundamental changes in organizational norms, priorities and behavior (Argyris and Schon1978). It is through dialogue that people share ideas with others. Integration of these ideas with others is only possible when a group has   a  common language and common thought process, which can only be built by dialogue(Mazustis & Slawinski 2008). Shared meaning can lead not only to the transference of knowledge, but also to the creation of new knowledge and understanding among participants (Mazustis & Slawinski 2008). Finally, the process get embedded into the organization. This process is what Crossan et al. (1999) refer to as institutionalizing. Dialogue is therefore at the core of the socio-psychological processes of the model of organizational learning (Crossan et al. , 1999)† (Mazustis & Slawinski 2008). Barriers to communication- Silos formation Advancement in technology and increase in complexity of organisation resulted in division of the organisation into different specialised departments or subunits. Employee in one department share same work language, technology and work terminology developing a subculture of its own. Different departments in an organisation work together to complete the task, failure of one may result in failure of others. Organisational effectiveness is therefore dependent on the valid communication across subculture boundaries† (Schein 1993,p. 41). Silo formation and Need to eliminate Silos Fragmentation of organisation into small departments may result in the formation of â€Å"silos† throughout the organisation. Individuals in silos share strong personnel bonds, common interests, abilities, work structure and relational bonds that differentiate them from others. Individuals in a silo interact more to each other than with the outside employees creating an atmosphere of alienation for those who are not part of the silo group. Silos act as a barrier to inter departmental flow of communication resulting in the  creation of isolation and hostility for others who are not  part of the group. Employees hesitate to co-operate with other departments thinking that the objective of their silo is different from that of other department. Interdepartmental competition may prevent the desire to transfer valuable information from one to other department. Communication breakdown can lead to errors and finger pointing, lack of responsibilities and hence failure of the task or the department itself What is the role of a good manager in an organisation full of silos? Managers should learn to trust his team members and also should show respect their peers. Mutual trust, respect for each other structure and values will help in dissolving silos. Senior should preach the essential values of their organisation and not that of a single department. Organisation based on Hierarchical pyramid structure An organisation based on principals to maintain and respect hierarchical structure, could not support dialogue. Hierarchy do not support the idea of cross questioning your boss or voicing against the idea of your manager, it may lead to serious repercussions for the employee. Time constrain Time is again a vital factor to be considered while promoting dialogue. Every project is designed to be accomplished with in a limited time frame. Listening to every voice of the department may lead to wastage of time. Managers should be able to recognise the right time to implement debate and discussion instead of dialogue. Breaching the comfort zone of employee Dialogue demands empathy and tolerance to other and is a time consuming process. In this fast pace society where human beings are already over engaged with priorities it is difficult to maintain patience to listen to others. Highly experienced employee find it difficult to listen to a new employee, they do not want to change their work protocol and hesitate to adapt to new changes. It is difficult to breach the comfort zone of over experienced employees and sometimes they find it insulting too. Defensive Behaviour and lack of trust Individuals may engage into defensive routines where they hesitate to open a dialogue with the seniors fearing that may lead to some serious problems with the co-employees or the manager himself. Also, colleagues working in an organisation may feel competition with their  colleague, and thus, employee consciously prevent flow of information to others creating a hostile environment for others. Lack of true Feedback Dialogue may be impeded by organisation norms such as the practice of only delivering good news to senior managers, and hiding distressing news. Individuals need  the  information to be able to detect and correct errors, but some organizational norms prevent such information from being discussed (Argyris and Schon, 1978). Baker et al. 2005: 425), for example, conclude that some ‘norms determine what can be said and not said, what and who is heard and not heard, who has  a  voice and who does not have  Ã‚  a  voice   who is in and who is out of the conversation’ (Mazustis & Slawinski 2008). These norms inhibit prevent knowledge from being shared openly across functional silos, divisions and levels. Conclusion Dialogue is no doubt an i mportant tool of communication to bring changes in an organisation and to promote  a  higher degree of organisational learning. Proper implementation of dialogue in an organisation will make employees more responsible to each other. It will also ensure trust, empathy, tolerance and engagement among the employees by creating a safe and secure work environment. Sharing of ideas, discussion about work and group thinking will inculcate high sense creativity and innovations. However, it is difficult to have an idealistic organisation working on the principals of dialogue. It  is a group endeavour and demands time and patience which are difficult to attain in this fast pace society. Human beings are primarily driven by their emotions and it is difficult to suspend feelings and emotions which is the demand to sustain a dialogue. Implications of dialogue are great but is difficult to practice. Books Crossman, J. , Bordia, S. & Mills, C. 2011 Business Communication : for the Global Age, McGraw-Hill, North Ryde, N. S. W. Eisenberg,M. , Goodall,H. L. & Trethewey,A. 2010, Organizational communication : balancing creativity and constraint, Boston : Bedford/St. Martin’s Cheney,G. (ed. ) 2011, Organizational Communication in an Age of Globalization : Issues, Reflection ;amp; Practices, 2nd edition, Long Grove, Ill. : Waveland Press Cottrell, S. 011, Critical thinking skills : developing effective analysis and argument, Houndmills, Hampshire, UK : Palgrave Macmillan Ferraro, G. P. ;amp; Briody, E. K. 2013, The cultural dimension of global business,7th ed. , Pearson, Boston, pp. 29-65. Hargie,O. ;amp; Tourish,D. (ed). 2009, Auditing organizational communication : a handbook of research, theory and practice ,Imprint East Sussex : New York, NY Walker, R. 2011, Strategic management communication for leader s, Mason, Ohio : South-Western Cengage Learning Wood,J. 2011, Communication mosaics : an introduction to the field of communication,Boston, MA : Wadsworth E journals Amy,H. 2008, ‘Leaders as facilitators of individual and organizational learning’ , Leadership ;amp; Organization Development Journal, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 212-234 Argyris 1991, ‘Teaching smart people how to learn’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 69,no. 3,pp. 99-100 Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978), ‘Organizational Learning: A theory of action perspective’ Bloor,G. 1999, ‘Organisational culture: organisational learning and total quality management’ , Australian Health Review, Vol 22, no 3 Groysberg, B. ;amp; Slind, M. 2012, ‘Leadership is a conversation’, Harvard Business Review, 90(6):76-84. Mazutis,D. amp;Slawinski,N. 2008, ‘Leading organizational learning through authentic dialogue’ , Richard Ivey School of Business,The University of Western Ontario, Canada, Vol 39, pp. 437-456 Schein,E. 1993, ‘On dialogue, culture, and organizational learning’ ,Organisational Dynamics, Vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 40-51 Website Forbes, John Kotter, viewed on 26 March 2013, ;lt;http://www. forbes. com/sites/johnkotter/2011/05/03/breaking-down-silos/;gt;. Matthew Moore 2011, viewed 26 March 2013, ;lt;http://www. improvementandinnovation. com/features/article/breaking-down-organisational-silos-why-its-important-collaboration-quality-and-gro/;gt;.

Acquisition of Instagram by Facebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Acquisition of Instagram by Facebook - Essay Example A comprehension of the strategic reasons behind this acquisition is a critical aspect to gauge the long-term motives of the companies. Facebook is a social networking platform that helps to connect with family as well as friends along with facilitating in sharing own views and opinions, sending messages, sharing images and videos and playing games among others. On the other hand, Instagram Inc. founded in 2010, is a free photo sharing application software company. It provides a very beautiful, fast as well as amusing way of sharing photos with the family and friends. The company has become very popular with its photo sharing application but the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook at a valuation of $1 billon is really surprising for the whole industry because since the establishment of Instagram the company has no turnover up to now. It has only 35 million users of the application especially the Apple Smartphone users as well as other Android smartphone users. It is also very surpris ing for all because there are a lot of blog sites that are already accumulated with Facebook, despite this it has acquired such as a small application based company (Gavaghan & Warren, 2013). In this context, it is definitely required to be pointed out that understanding the strategies of the big companies is at times really quite complex. The term strategic management describes the process of analysing decisions as well as actions taken by an organisation in order to create and derive sustainable competitive advantages. Therefore, it is determined that managing the strategy of an organisation effectively as well as efficiently is the essence of organisational growth (The Social Media Guys, 2010). This essay intends to critically discuss the strategic opportunities and threats facing Facebook. Moreover, the different methods of strategic development that can be used by the companies will be identified. Consequently, amid these methods, the appropriate method applicable in case of Fa cebook’s acquisition of Instagram will be evaluated. In addition, with the aid of the TOWS matrix, a critical analysis would be made of the strategic decision taken by Instagram’s management to join forces with Facebook. Strategic Opportunities and Threats Facing Facebook In the global business world, every organisation has to deal with two types of environment i.e. internal environment as well as external environment. In this context, the parameters that will be described comprise the opportunities as well as the threats faced by Facebook by taking concern the external environment (Thompson & et. al., 2005). In the context of strategic opportunities for Facebook, firstly there is a need to highlight the acceptance of the global people of this innovative concept. The audience size of this social networking media and the talents who are associated with this concept is the significant strength as well as opportunity of this organisation for dealing with any hurdle coming from the global competitors. The term strategic opportunity is a broad concept because it is not only defined by the present business scenario simultaneously it also dedicatedly focuses on the sustainability as well as future prospects (Jeffs, 2008). In order to address the varied strategic opportunities, there is a need to determine the core strategic causes behind the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook. Behind this strategy, unquestionably it can be stated that Facebook acquired this company not because of the turnover generated by it but owing to the user acceptance related to the application. Facebook seeks to sustain in the global market through continuously providing innovative

Innovation and Technology Management in Apple Inc Essay

Innovation and Technology Management in Apple Inc - Essay Example Apple is fully geared to take advantage of these developments. While making radical product innovations, Apple takes the pain in quickly updating and adding incremental changes while taking feedback from the customers. At Apple, ‘Time is Essence’ while developing and launching new products in quick succession. Innovative culture has percolated downwards extensively in Apples all processes and activities. Apple takes extreme precautions in creating patents for its technology products to prevent competition taking undue advantage. Apple is equally conscious in developing its human capital. ‘Apple University’ is the brainchild of Steve Jobs to continue with the same spirit of innovations in future that Apple is known for. Apple has been consistently scoring the top place on the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for the last several years among all technology companies; the brand Apple has become synonymous to innovative ideas, designs and products. Apple Inc. is US-based consumers electronics company with headquarter in Cupertino, California. The company designs manufacture and sells software and hardware products such as iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes. Apple notched worldwide sales of $182 billion in the year ended October 30, 2014. By market capitalization (shareholders worth), Apple occupies a top place among technology companies for the last several years. Apple employs over 72000 full-time employees worldwide and operates over 425 retail stores across the world. The company is known for its innovation in design, and product development creating one of the most satisfying user experiences. The above mission statement from Steve Jobs was created when the company was in its early phase and when a great many products had not taken any shape. However, in later years, Steve Jobs proved what he meant.

Persuasive speech PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Persuasive speech - PowerPoint Presentation Example Mayoclinic(2010) reports that three hundred people are added to the waiting list each month, and each day approximately seventy-seven people get a life saving donated organ. The kidneys are the most sought after organs, their main responsibility is to filter the blood; that is, keeping the blood clean, and helping it to maintain its proper balance of water and electrolytes(balanced electrolytes allows the body to function normally). Diabetes, we hear about it every day, in the media, people with whom we associate, diabetes, the silent killer, is a widespread disease in the United States, and high blood pressure are the most common cause of kidney disease. However, these are not the only causes of kidney disease, other causes are infection and genetic disorder (New York Organ Donor Network). I have seen first hand what kidney disease can do. Dialysis can be a painful procedure. One sits for four hours three time per week as their blood is filtered. Sometimes this causes weakness or nausea, or both. New York Organ Network(2010) reports that â€Å"there are currently over 80,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. prospect of survival is heart transplant. New York Organ Donation Network(2010) reports that: â€Å"Each year, over 2000 heart transplants are performed in the United States.   These lives were saved as a result of selfless individuals who chose to give the gift of life.   Yet, thousands more are still on the waiting list of a heart transplant.† If you are giving away your heart you are already dead. Therefore, make someone life better and become an organ donor. Cigarettes, that what most people think when they hear the words â€Å"lungs’ disease.† Of course, smoking is one of the major cause of lung disease, yet, not the only cause. According to Medline Plus (2011), There are three types of lung disease: airway diseases

BAE Systems-EADS Merger Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BAE Systems-EADS Merger Plan - Essay Example However, unification of two struggling companies may not always guarantee their resurrection. This paper will specifically discuss whether or not mergers make economic sense with particular focus given to the reaction of UK, French, and German governments to the BAE/EADS merger. BAE Systems-EADS merger plan In the last year, Britain’s BAE Systems planned a â‚ ¬38bn (?30.4bn) merger with its rival European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co (Franco-German maker of Airbus civilian jets). According to a Telegraph report by Ebrahimi and Monaghan (2012), the planned merger would have formed the world’s second biggest aerospace and defence company after Boeing. If the merger had become successful, the merged entity would have achieved combined sales of ?60bn and employed 220,000 people worldwide (ibid). In addition, the planned venture would have contributed to Europe’s military efforts, developed British nuclear submarines and own airbus, and attained the status of bigg est plane manufacturer in the world (ibid). Many industry analysts supported this deal as they believed that the planned merger would provide the companies with the synergies of combined operations. Proponents of this strategic plan pointed out that BAE systems have strong presence in the US market where the government is one of the largest and potential customers. Hence, EADS can take advantage of this potential strength of BAE Systems. At the same time, the planned deal might also benefit BAE Systems to improve its earnings by spreading its operational area to commercial aircraft and space satellites. The shrinking Western Defence market was also cited to justify the planned merger. The 60/40 split in favour of EADS was a major controversial term of this merger. From another view point, â€Å"the mathematical flipside for BAE shareholders is that the merger is a no-brainer at 60/40† (Boland & Kirk 2012). Anyhow, the talks over the BAE-EADS merger did not reach a mutual agre ement and hence the initiative was called off later. Reaction of UK, French, and German governments UK and French governments took a favourable stand toward the BAE Systems-EADS merger whereas the German government opposed this strategic move. According to a BBC report (2012), while evaluating the approach of Britain toward this merger deal, the country particularly wanted its counterparts to restrict their influence in the new company so as to keep the strong relations with the US government. Hence, the British government needed to obtain a dominant position in the merged company. However, it must be noted that Britain’s officials took huge efforts to make this deal a reality. In a close observation, it seems that the British government emphasised more on its personal interests rather than the continent-wide interests. To illustrate, the British government particularly wanted to maintain BAE’s strong position in the huge US market and the country was never willing to spoil its good relationship with the US. The British government believed that obtaining a strategic control over the merged company would assist the country to continue its strong business relationship with US. In sum, Britain tried to decrease other countries’ political influence over the new venture. While analyzing the stance of France in the BAE-EADS merger, it seems that France was interested to make this deal

Miscommunication within a hotel hierarchy Research Paper

Miscommunication within a hotel hierarchy - Research Paper Example The management operations with reference to an organization involve employee relationship, facilities management, public relations, efficient utilization of resources, accounting and finance as well marketing and customer relationship. Efficient communication at all levels is important for the successful operation of a company. The communication in general parlance within the hospitality industry, especially in hotels is mostly customer-centric or customer oriented because the organization needs to be in constant touch with the customers, unlike other industries where the customers are usually dealt with by sales and service departments. Therefore, the customer relationship is the central theme, and all the administrative and management functions are focused on personalized service to the customers aiming customer satisfaction. It is very important to identify the areas where there are chances for miscommunications for taking corrective measures to improve the operational efficiency of the management with a view to improving the management operations and the level of customer satisfaction. The customer profile is varied on account of various factors which include cultural differences, nationalities, languages spoken and economic differentials to name a few which could act as barriers to communication or lead to miscommunication or misinterpretation. Also, the type of customer and reasons for their stay could be classified under several categories such as business, tourism, government service, etc.local, international, personal, official and so on. The duration of stay varies according to the type of customers and purpose and the type of service varies with the duration of the stay also. There are individuals and corporate companies as customers. The business in respect of corporate compani

Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Logistics - Essay Example It, in a manufacturing enterprise, consists of raw materials, work in progress and finished products. While the transportation cost of inventory may not be significantly variant, there is a significant variation in the cost incurred in storage of inventory. While some of the costs involved in dealing in and management of inventory are accounted for in the benefits associated with having the inventory, some of the involved costs are considered as wastes. Inventory therefore has its advantages in the form of derived benefits while it is at the same time associated with a number of disadvantages that includes induced unnecessary costs. One of the disadvantages of inventory, and which induces costs is the processes that are involved in the flow of inventory in an organization. Goldsby and Martichenko for example explains the additional costs of managing inventory as a disadvantage that an organization has to endure in order to obtain a set of inventory and finally transfer them to their point of demand. Every set of inventory held by BMW will therefore induce an extra cost to an entity on top of the cost of the goods. The additional costs such as the costs incurred when the inventory is â€Å"received, housed, paid for, and insured† are examples of expenses that BMW is most likely to incur when dealing in inventory (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005, p. 20). Such costs add up to operational costs, costs of sales and consequently reduce an organization’s profit margin. Maintain an appropriate level of inventory at a particular time is however associated with satisfaction of consumers’ immediate demand for commodities (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005, p. 20). A stock of goods allows BMW to deliver commodities at customers demand instead of arranging for the commodities after an order is placed. Maintaining inventory is therefore associated with both advantages and disadvantages. Another advantage of inventory that may prompt for endurance of the involv ed costs of its maintenance is the security of continuous supply of commodities to BMW’s consumers. This is because suppliers are not expected to regularly avail commodities in the supply chain. Seasonality or disrupted operations may also cut off flow of commodities from a supplier. Similarly, disruption in supply chain activities such as transportation systems may limit access of commodities down the supply chain. Maintained inventory can therefore allow BMW to be able to absorb ‘short-term’ disruption in supply chain to ensure continuous supply of products down a supply chain. While it adds to the costs on an organization, it also facilitates customer utility by ensuring ready availability of commodities at consumers’ demand (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005, p. 20). Inventory management through customer relation management and supplier relations management is another process that monitors and influences inventory decisions by establishing reliable links u pon which planning can be made for a continuous supply chain with minimum inventory costs. This ensures that BMW stocks inventory for immediate future needs of its commodities, by the consumers. Similarly, developed relations with both suppliers and consumers identifies needs for value addition and facilitates reduction of costs in distribution through eliminating unnecessary costs (Lambert, 2008, p. 295; Cope and Brown,

Reflection on Academic Writing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Reflection on Academic Writing - Term Paper Example The disciplines I have read widely about include humanistic, analytical and legal psychology. In reading widely on human psychology, I understand that this discipline typically holds that humans are inherently good creatures. It uses a holistic approach to the existence of humans. This discipline also pays a special attention to phenomena such as human potential, free will and creativity. Basically, I have come to understand this discipline encourages us to view ourselves as â€Å"whole people.† It also encourages self exploration and not just the study of behavior in other people. Also, in researching and writing about analytical psychology, I have come to understand that this discipline emphasizes on the main importance of an individual psyche as well as the personal quest for wholeness. The discipline also recognizes the significance of the symbolic in human life. Lastly, in writing legal psychology, I have understood that the discipline involves studying legal institutions, psychological research about the law and those who come in contact with the law. In reasearching widely and writing about the three disciplines, I have seen myself being a better, writer and a researcher in psychology. However, despite my growth in understanding of this field, I have encountered a lot of challenges. For instance, being an interdisciplinary field, it lacks a solid purpose and definition. However, I have done more research and consultation in this field to overcome these challenges (Beech, 2009). In the process of reading and writing psychological papers, I have used different materials. Since the materials differ greatly, I have been in a position to gather information from different sources. As noted earlier, I have used the different materials to research widely on various disciplines in psychology. In reading different materials for different disciplines, the information I have gathered greatly differs. Getting

Are No-Suicide Contracts Effective in Nursing Practice Essay

Are No-Suicide Contracts Effective in Nursing Practice - Essay Example There are different thoughts in a patient’s head and psychologically the act provides the patient with a different mindset. In a sense, it assists in the fuelling positive thoughts in a patient. The no-suicide act also provides patients with a means of attaining assistance. Many patients suffer from severe emotional stress and they are unsure of what to do with their lives. The act provides the patients with reasonable steps they can take when they begin to feel suicidal. The use of the suicide act hinders different interventions as much faith may be placed on this method. Many studies state that nurses become less competent in the presence of a no-suicide contract. As the nurses are reluctant to implement other approaches, they may overlook obvious and much better intervention methods Apart from being able to detect early suicidal warning signs, the nurse should also be able to detect warning signs in the patient’s history (depression, drug abuse, recent divorce or unemployment, psychiatric disorders). The nurse should refer the patient to psychiatric department if he or she detects warning signs of suicide (verbalization- â€Å"I can’t live like this any longer†; reckless behavior; giving away valued possessions and abuse of narcotics) 8. Please develop 3 nursing interventions for the patient’s plan of care that are each directly related to the identified nursing diagnoses. Please include a rationale for each nursing intervention. Establishment of a therapeutic relationship with the patient. The nurse must be fully aware of the patient’s condition in order to understand the history of the problems and the different approaches taken in the past. The nurse must also understand the patient and his or her attitudes towards the current situation. Validation of the patient’s thoughts towards his or her condition. This is useful in establishing the relationship between the nurse and patient. It also assures the client that the

Bias in Abstinence-Only Education Essay Example for Free

Bias in Abstinence-Only Education Essay In addition to being an ineffective deterrent to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, abstinence only education prevents young women from making well informed decisions about their sexuality.   Cases of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV infections is on the rise despite the government allocating funds for abstinence only programs.   This paper seeks to look at the government policies with regard to abstinence-only education programs and its relationship with unwanted pregnancies. It is a known fact that sexual abstinence is being practiced in all countries in the world as a sure way of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.    Men and women of all ages who are not ready to accept the risks that accompany sexual activity embrace abstinence which is a normal and acceptable practice.   As a way of expressing love, affection and tenderness, majority resort to intercourse and sexual activity. Sex is also being used by couples to strengthen their relationships.   However, it has often been argued that using sex to cement relationships can distort one’s judgment.   Among women, having sex may strengthen the feeling of love but do not actually cement or deepen the relationship. Exploring sexual behavior within an environment of deep commitment where having children is considered as a possibility is always rewarding.   Majority of people are however not prepared for commitment hence opt for abstinence until they develop a stable relationship. Abstinence is 100% effective in protecting an individual from sexually transmitted.   However, if the majority of the population could realize its effectiveness, then we would not be having such headlines like the ones we have seen in the past of teen births being on the rise.   However, abstinence is not an easy practice considering how strong sexual drives are among humans. The rate of teen births steadily declined since 1991 and this could have been because of the intensive educational campaigns that were initiated during that period.   These campaigns included encouraging people to use contraceptives and condoms and enlightening people on the risks of Aids and sexually transmitted diseases.   However, today statistics now show an increase by 3% in teen births the first time ever in 14 years. (Wilson, Kelly, Patricia,2005) Is it that the sex education programs that the government adopted are no longer working? The government has tried to show some effort in curbing STDs and unwanted pregnancies. The first federal abstinence-only program was enacted in 1981 and this was designed primarily to support pregnant and parenting teenagers.   This came through the adolescent Family Life Act which was also passed the same year. AFLA also funded â€Å"abstinence-only† programs meant to encourage responsibility and self discipline among teenagers (Abstinence Only Programs 2008, p.2). Abstinence-only program’s purpose was to teach the general population and especially the teenagers how they stand to gain from abstinence. It also sought to teach abstinence from pre-marital to all schooling children.   The abstinence-only program was supposed to teach the values of abstinence with regard to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.   According to this program, the expected standard of human sexual activity revolved around a mutually faithful monogamous relationship.   However, with all these well clarified goals, current scientific research shows that this program is ineffective. A study of ‘abstinence-only-until marriages’ program inferred that the classes fail to serve its goal of delaying the onset of sexual activity the young people.   An evaluation of 11 of these programs showed that they do not have a lasting positive effect on the asexual behavior of young people (Ibid 4).   Instead of a positive effect on the young people they showed a negative willingness to use contraceptive because the program emphasized on contraceptive failure. It has often been reiterated that abstinence-only programs endanger the youths because adolescents are denied complete information.   These programs fail to provide contraception information and in some cases, they have been accused of providing wrong information which may lead to youths forgoing contraceptive use. Teens are exposed to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases because of lack of responsible sex education.   Only safer sex intervention can reduce unprotected sexual intercourse as compared to abstinence only programs.   The Federal Fund for abstinence -only programs have negatively influenced schools.   Avery good example involves the Gloucester High school in Massachusetts with the summer vacations beginning 17 girls at the school are expecting babies (Kathleen Kingsbury, Wednesday June 18, 2008). This proves further the failure of the program to curb pre-marital pregnancies.   In order to reduce the prevalence of this at the school a local pediatrician advocated for the prescription of contraceptives.   However, this has been met with hostility.   Amazingly it is the desire of these teens to get pregnant and this only proves how distorted their perception towards life is.

Is Globalization Good or Bad?

Is Globalization Good or Bad? Globalisation is a wildly popular subject of discussion in todays literature. It is a phenomenon which has many different dimensions, which include economic, cultural, environmental and political issues. There is a wide spectrum of different opinions about its origins, present effects and future outcomes. Moreover, almost every globalisation aspect is a subject of a very heated academic debate. The topic is so debatable that there is no one conventional definition of globalisation. Nevertheless, it can be narrowly defined as the international integration of markets in goods, services and capital. Thomas Friedman defines globalisation as that loose combination of free trade agreements, the Internet and the integration of financial markets that is erasing borders and uniting the world into a single, lucrative, but brutally competitive marketplace. Whereas Dicken defines globalisation as a more advanced and complex form of internationalization which implies a degree of functional integr ation between internationally dispersed economic activities (Dicken, P. 2003). There are many different ways to approach the issue of globalisation. Most generally the academic debate on the topic of globalisation can be divided into three distinct camps: hyperglobalists (Ohmae, Friedman, Giddens), sceptics (Hirst and Thompson, Ruigrok and van Tulder, Sachs and Warner) and realists (Dicken). While hyper-globalists accept globalisation as a fact and generally perceive it as a beneficial process, sceptics argue that the characteristics of the phenomenon have already been seen at other moments in history and that it is largely negative in its effects. Realists hold the middle ground between these opposing views and support the idea that benefits can arise from globalisation, however it is also critical to establish some sort of regulation. Nevertheless, before considering any theoretical frameworks or any high level academic analysis, I would like to think about a hard socio-economic evidence on which most of the above thinkers arguments are based. In the main body of my work I would like to consider negative and positive outcomes of globalisation which will be dominantly structured around six main socio-economic factors, which include: effects on employment, growth in inequality, environmental damage, international institutions, power of governments and foreign direct investment (FDI). Employment. In regard of employment many sceptics argue that the process of globalisation leads to relocation of work to developing countries from developed, which in effect increases unemployment in the developed world and leads to greater exploitation of workers in the countries to where re-location takes place. To elaborate on the above argument I can say that it was certainly true at the early stages and in many instances still is that there are many places in the world, like South-East Asia, where conditions created by large multinational companies are generally inhumane. Notoriously famous production sites of Nike in Vietnam and China are not as appalling as they used to be, however most developed country workers would still consider them as unacceptable. It also true that many thousands of workers in countries like Britain, Germany and US keep on loosing their jobs to more cost effective sites elsewhere. A good example would be Dysons and Black and Deckers relocation from Britain to lower cost centres in the far east and central Europe. Also there is another frightening aspect in changes of the global employment patterns, which is fall in the real wages. This trend shows up especially strong in the US labour market. Arguably it happens because of increase in wage bargaining powers of large multinational enterprises, which now can use excuse of relocation and increased international competitiveness to ditch an additional pay rise. On the other hand, it can be argued that the conditions provided by multinational companies in developing countries most of the time are a long step ahead of local businesss and keep on improving. One needs to consider a notion of the opportunity cost to see the true picture of what is going on. If a so be employee of the Nike factory would not take a job at the factory he would most likely end-up working for a much lower wage in worse conditions or being forced to supply the black market with any personal services they could, which in most cases arent of the most pleasant nature. One study found wage premium associated with FDI of 12% for blue collar and 22% for white collar workers. It can also be argued that the sweatshops are just a step in the process of industrialisation, which helps to eradicate uncertainties related to the agricultural societies. An example of South Korea can serve as a good illustration. In 1960s the country was twice as poor as North Korea, however due to t he policy of openness adopted by the South Korean government the country experienced a breathtaking period of economic growth; it is now as rich as Portugal and a member of OECD. South Korea also begun as a supplier of basic services like clothe manufacturing, and now it is the biggest shipbuilder, steel producer and provider of broadband internet in the world. (other employment arguments: labour costs are determined by the amount of labour used, as well as by prevailing local wages. Whereas, the price of a Nike shoe is set according to what consumers are willing to pay for it. We have chosen to leave in democratic societies based on the principles of capitalism and free market economy, so learn to live with consequences of your choice or move to North Korea. As well arguments like the workers at the factory would not be able to afford even to buy a one pair of shoes they make with their monthly wages. SO WHAT, employees at Ferrari factory cant afford to buy Ferraris or chambermaids at Ritz Hotel London cant afford to stay at Ritz. The underline is that people do not work in order to consume what they produce). Inequality. Another major aspect of globalisation is its affect on world inequality. There is no greater problem facing the world at the beginning of the 21st century than that of world poverty. One in five of the worlds 6 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, almost half on less than on 2 dollars a day. Nearly a billion do not have access to clean water, 2.4 billion to basic sanitation. Eleven million children under five die each year from preventable diseases. (HERE YOU CAN ARGUE BOTH WAYS: EITHER START ATTACKING GLOBALISATION OR SAY THAT IT IS THERE TO HELP). There are many largely contradictory studies on the issue. I also suspect that some of the findings produced by globalisation supporters and sceptics alike can be a subject to data-mining. Nevertheless, it is argued that the growth in absolute income differentials between North and South becomes wider. For instance, 1990-2001 gap between average GDP per head rose from $16,100 to $19,100. On the other hand, two French economist s at Delta, a research institute in Paris Francois Bourguignon and Christian Morrison have chartered the change in the global inequality since 1820. They found that world inequality increased steadily between 1820 and 1980 the gap between the typical persons income and the average widened from around 40% to around 80% but that between 1980 and 1992, inequality fell a little. Another way to measure inequality is to look at what has happened to people living in extreme poverty. Between 1987 and 1998, the share of the worlds population living on less than a dollar a day fell from 28% to 23% (not much if you think about how much profit multinationals made in the same time period). * Strong relationship between openness and growth, which contributes to reduction in the world poverty and inequality e.g. Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan since 1960s. India and China recently. * Effects on skilled and semi-unskilled workers in the US. (WORLD BANK) Figure 4 suggests that there is no simple association between changes in trade openness and changes in inequality. Certainly there are many well known cases of countries where inequality has risen as they became more integrated into the world economy. Wages of high school educated males in the U.S. fell 20 percent between the mid 1970s and mid 1990s. Income inequality increased in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Uruguay after they liberalized trade at different times in the last three decades. China, one of the fastest integrating countries, also experienced one of the largest inequality, however this was from a situation of very high levels of economic equality prior to integration. Growth was still fast enough to massively reduce poverty. Global Economic Prospec2004 found the number of people living on less than $1 a day in China fell from 361 million in 1990 to 204 million in 2000. But, as Figure 4 suggests, there are also about as many ca ses where inequality fell with more trade openness. Environment. Another very important feature of globalisation is its impact on the environment. According to Thomas Bode (Greenpeace): The modern economy is a fire-breathing vampire of petroleum which is slowly cooking our planet. It is a well known fact that globalisation is linked to increase in pollution levels, which is largely caused by increased travel and more intense use of earths resources. In the post Second World War era, the globalization of environmental degradation has been massively accelerated by a number of factors: fifty years of extraordinary resource-intensive, high-pollution growth in the OECD; the industrialisation of Russia, Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet states; the breakneck industrialisation of many parts of the South; and a massive rise in global population. In addition, we are now able to perceive risk and environmental change with much greater depth and accuracy. Humankind faces an unprecedented array of truly global and regional environmental problems, the reach of which is greater than any single national community (or generation) and the solutions to which cannot be tackled at the level of the nation-state alone; these include, most obviously, global warming, ozone depletion; destruction of global rainforests and loss of biodiversity; oceanic and riverine pollution; global level nuclear threats and risks. Over the twentieth century these transformations have been paralleled by the unprecedented growth of global and regional environmental movements, regimes and international treaties. However, none of these institutions has as yet been able to amass sufficient political power, domestic support or international authority to do more than limit the worst excesses of some of these global environmental threats. There is an urgent need for some world-wide enforceable regulation which would eliminate opportunities for the large multinational to cut corners in complying with the World environmental standards. (Use examples: Union Carbide in Bhopal India; European forestry companies in south America; Shell and Brent Spar). On the other hand, It should be noted that argument against globalisation can be considered as an argument against economic growth in general. It is true, however, that growth in developing countries is accompanied by severe environmental degradation. However, recent evidence suggests a more subtle and complex relationship between economic development and environmental protection. The environmental impact tends to decline with economic growth of a country. A 1998 World Bank study of organic water pollution found that pollution intensity fell by 90 per cent as per capita income rose from $500 to $20,000, with the fastest decline occurring before the country reached middle income status (Figure 6. Hettige, Mani and Wheeler, 1998). Average air quality in China has stabilized or improved since the mid-1980s in monitored cities, especially large ones the same period during which China has experienced both rapid economic growth and increased openness to trade and investment. Moreover, openness to trade and investment can provide developing countries with both the incentive to adopt, and the access to, new technologies, which may provide a cleaner or greener way of producing the good concerned. For example, much foreign investment is for export markets. The quality requirements in those markets encourage use of the latest technology, which is typically cleaner than old technologies. A World Bank study of steel production in 50 countries found that open economies led closed economies in the adoption of cleaner technologies by wide margins, resulting in the open economies being 17 percent less pollution-intensive in this sector than closed economies (Wheeler, Huq and Martin 1993). Another concern relates less to environmental outcomes and more to environmental regulation. It is argued that increased international competition for investment will cause countries to lower environmental regulations (or to retain poor ones), a race to the bottom in environmental standards as countries fight to attract foreign capital and keep domestic investment at home. However there is no evidence that the cost of environmental protection has ever been the determining factor in foreign investment decisions. Factors such as labor and raw material costs, transparent regulation and protection of property rights are likely to be much more important, even for polluting industries. Indeed, foreign-owned plants in developing countries, precisely the ones that according to the theory would be most attracted by low standards, tend to be less polluting than indigenous plants in the same industry. Most multinational companies adopt near-uniform standards globally, often well above the local government-set standards (Dowell, Hart and Yeung 2000; Schot and Fischer 1993). International Institutions, decline in power of governments and growth in power of multinationals . There are many different critiques published on the topic of globalization, however one of the most effective ones according to my view are on the inefficiency of large international governing bodies, which supposed to direct the process of globalization towards the greater good. Our national leaders tell us that top-down corporate globalization is an inevitable, naturally-occurring phenomenon. But the terms of globalization have been defined by a few powerful organizations that operate without transparency or democratic oversight. There never was economic evidence in favor of capital market liberalization. There still isnt. It increases risk and doesnt increase growth. Youd think [defenders of liberalization] would say to me by now, You havent read these 10 studies, but they havent, because theres not even one. There isnt the intellectual basis that you would have thought required for a major change in international rules. It was all based on ideology. Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank The World Trade Organization is the most powerful legislative and judicial body in the world. By promoting the free trade agenda of multinational corporations above the interests of local communities, working families, and the environment, the WTO has systematically undermined democracy around the world. In the eight years of its existence, WTO panels composed of corporate attorneys have ruled that: the US law protecting sea turtles was a barrier to free trade; that US clean air standards and laws protecting dolphins are too; that the European Union law banning hormone-treated beef is illegal. According to the WTO, our democratically elected public officials no longer have the rights to protect the environment and public health. Unlike United Nations treaties, the International Labor Organization conventions, or multilateral environmental agreements, WTO rules can be enforced through sanctions. This gives the WTO more power than any other international body. The WTOs authority even e clipses national governments. Created after World War II to help avoid Great Depression-like economic disasters, the World Bank and the IMF are the worlds largest public lenders, with the Bank managing a total portfolio of $200 billion and the Fund supplying member governments with money to overcome short-term credit crunches. But the Bank and the Fund are also the worlds biggest loan sharks. When the Bank and the Fund lend money to debtor countries, the money comes with strings attached. These strings come in the form of policy prescriptions called structural adjustment policies. These policies-or SAPs, as they are sometimes called-require debtor governments to open their economies to penetration by foreign corporations, allowing access to the countrys workers and environment at bargain basement prices. Structural adjustment policies mean across-the-board privatization of public utilities and publicly owned industries. They mean the slashing of government budgets, leading to cutbacks in spending on health care a nd education. They mean focusing resources on growing export crops for industrial countries rather than supporting family farms and growing food for local communities. And, as their imposition in country after country in Latin America, Africa, and Asia has shown, they lead to deeper inequality and environmental destruction. International trade agreements such as NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) and GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) were written by representatives of large corporations and they function in the interests of large corporations. For example, detailed studies by Public Citizen and other watchdog groups have shown that in the seven years of NAFTA, transnational corporations from the three signing countries (Canada, USA, Mexico) have benefited while the middle classes and working classes of these countries have suffered. More jobs have been lost due to NAFTA than have been created. Several decades of the GATT have lowered corporate taxes by the trillions of dollars, thus helping to bankrupt governments around the world and make them dependent on borrowing from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the private banks. This indebtedness then gives immense policy influence to the bankers, who are mainly interested in the money cycle not the life cycle. The power of influence over governments in shaping the global economy in the corporate interest is of immense value to global corporations. Some argue that globalisation erodes the ability of governments to: raise taxation, regulate markets and manage currencies. That it becomes the race to the bottom. Governments are told to follow two paths. First, deregulate and privatise. This has been pursued in over 90 countries through structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The bitter legacy is growing poverty in all regions of the developing world, except China. Second, leave business to regulate itself. Corporations have promised to adopt voluntary ethical standards in response to growing public concern over social and environmental damage. But these have often been a public relations exercise to deflect criticism and the few companies that are implementing these standards compete at a disadvantage to the majority of companies that dont. (can use eg. Case study ERM 1992 UK and Italy had to devalue their currencies. Central banks are powerless in trying to control international speculators George Soros is a GANGSTER). On the other hand, there is a substantial evidence that governments did not become more constrained; in some cases there was an increase in their relative powers. For instance, there is a systematic increase in the tax burden in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. (CANT FIND ARGUMENTS TO SUPPORT ABOVE STATEMENT think of something yourself). As well, growing power of multinationals is not such a bad thing after all. It can become a new form of international governance. Multinational companies have very strong financial incentives to behave ethically. If companies will not pay attention to the issues of CSR (corporate social responsibility) their share price can decline, which than leaves than vulnerable to hostile take-overs. There is a growing concern among consumers in the World in favour of support of ethical policies, eg. Fare Trade Policies Starbucks claims to be an avid supporter of fair trade policies. Therefore, corporations may face consumer boycotts, whereas governments are pretty much immune to short-run fluctuations in the popular opinion. Also, some theories of internationalisation argue that MNCs must have higher efficiency than other firms and governments. According to classical economic theory government spending is highly inefficient, because civil servants lack appropriate motives to search for the best possible use of available resources. Government spending also leads to out crowding of finance available to the private sector, which means that the companies have to face a higher cost of borrowing if they want to increase their spending. Governments are more corruptible (MAYBE ). Just think about it our governments collect in most cases nearly half of their countries GDP, half of all the income generated by the economy during the year. And what they do with it?! Spend on defence or some doomed governmental projects largely oriented to stir public opinion in their favour in order to win next general election. Think about all that money which is being wasted because of bureaucracy. US government only collects 30% of GDP in taxes and US is the richest country in the world. Multinationals are great innovators: (e.g. Dunning and ownership specific advantages, Rugman and the flagship firm). + can link to multiplier effect and wage premium. FDI (foreign direct investment) / Trade. As expressed in percentage of the global gross domestic product (gdp), the share of the combined inward and outward foreign direct investment (fdi) stocks rose from 19.2% in 1990 to 34.0% in 1999 and an estimated 38.2% in 2000. (Im sorry but Im too bored to write in detail about trade or FDI). Basic argument is the fact that most of the trade and FDI happens between Japan, US and Europe. 69% of FDI goes to developed countries. Some continents are marginalised, eg. Africa only receives 2% of global FDI. However, to my opinion it is absolutely normal. These are the largest economies in the world. GDP of US is over 12 trillion, whereas GDP of Japan (second largest economy) is over 6 trillion, GDP of EU is about 7 or 8 you cant expect these countries to invest most of their money in Eastern Europe, Africa or South-East Asia. Combined economies of these are dwarfs compared to economies of developed countries. Huge spending in these countries will breed inefficiencies, which than can be followed by another Asian crises (1997) or Russia defaulting on its payments. The cost of finance should reflect its true market value. From the business stand point money should only be invested if they can generate greater wealth, if there are not enough lucrative opportunities to go around de veloped countries should not be competing with each other by providing cheap loans, but concentrate on their regions. Undervalued finance create slack attitude, breads bureaucracy, corruption and have a great potential of destroying dynamic efficiency of developing world (can compare to governments supporting national champions). (VERY CAPITALISTIC VIEW). Nevertheless, developing countries are net recipients of foreign direct investment anyway. e.g foreign firms invest more in Africa than Africa firms invest elsewhere. Conclusion. (use your own depending on which view you support). (Can contrast different theoretical standpoints check the end of International Business lecture hand-out, week 3 A BIT BORRING BE ORIGINAL).

On Identity, Amin Maalouf

On Identity, Amin Maalouf To Be and Not To Be. In this book, Amin Maalouf, discusses one of the most vital notions of the self; identity, in an analysis of historical and contemporary contexts aiming to reveal the misconceptions and abuses of this mode of recognition. Whether national, religious, ethnical or other, identity has been the prominent element and more than often the instigator of serious upheavals in the world. He examines how we have come to define ourselves and how certain modes of identification can be dangerous. Every time identity is determined on the basis of a single form of affiliation, danger arises, since this often leads to fanaticism, whose various shades appeared throughout history and continues to exist in time. He attributes this to an ill understanding of identity and an unnecessary paranoid attempt of its preservation. The two main themes of this work, religion and globalization, are corollary treated. The author provides a clarification of how these two affect and form one another. He addresses the matter of religion, by trying to deduce how it came to emerge as the focal proponent of identity in present times via a chain of questions, attempting to understand its significant universal reemergence. He proposes some answers, attributing this phenomenon to the descent of Communism and Marxism, for instance, and how this is a reaction to their emphasis on secularism. The author opposes the primacy of any kind of religious affiliation and calls upon a new element of association. He advocates the separation of church and identity, and affirms that this type of identifying affiliation ought to be replaced with a more humanistic one. He does not take a stance against religion per se, for he personally, as he explains, does not oppose religious affiliations and recognizes the perpetual significance of their nature. But as mentioned earlier he condemns the distraught tendency of shrinking identity down to one form of association. This regression of identity generates what he calls killer identities. I believe there exists another, similar form of regression, which he did not mention, one which I would call guilt identities .This is common among members of historically or currently exploited groups, who have developed a tendency to abuse such associations. Some Palestinians still do apply and obtain scholarships that were only assigned to their nationals at various higher educational institutions, for instance, when in fact they can afford to pay for the whole student body. Another example of this would be the Jews redundant reference to the Holocaust. This abuse and manipulation of history, I find to be highly despicable and disrespectful, for the only Jews that have all the right to refer to it I think are the ones who survived it. Similarly some African Americans use slavery or racism to justify their personal failure, which is absurd for while racial discrimination can definitely be the case in some instances, major inequalities that exist and persist are because of class and lack of opportunity. Then the author turns to the issue of globalization, describing the power of its disseminating nature. In this discussion, he explains that the reason for the reemergence of religion lies in its power to gratify two of the most basic human yearnings, the need of belonging and that of spirituality. At the same time, he argues that because of this religion is being ascribed as the antidote to globalization. The author presents a very sound analysis of religions ascent. However, his condemnation of the primacy of its affiliations appears simply irrational, for religion, like everything else, has its extremities, varying from fanaticism to apathy. It is these that tarnish its name, and it is these that should be condemned. Although I do acknowledge Maaloufs position and his attempt to reach a much more profound and comprehensive link of association, such as humanity, I still do find it rather idealistic, almost utopian. For even though it is the only common trait across the globe, humanity has seldom succeeded in uniting nations history is a vigilant witness of that. In spite of its significance, people have never treated humanity with high regards. I cannot conceive of a reason that would inspire them to acknowledge it now. I do agree that this human notion Maalouf proposes would be an ultimate global bliss, yet I do not think that the world is ready for it, given the state of chaos it is in now due to political systems, materialistic notions or simply apathy. This is precisely why I think that religion, when taken for what it really is, as opposed to a set of dogmatic customized interpretations, would serve as an absolute unifier, which ever religion it might well be I am no fanatic myself to state that my faith is the true one. We do not have to all ascribe to the same one (while that would be ideal, I am seeking to be reasonable). I know what faith is able to do to ones perception of life, and I do not think seeing the world through ones religion of choice turns a person into an extremist. Religion, when taken for what it really is, is the b elief in being a part or pertaining to something bigger than ones self, a system of tolerance and preservation of the most basic rights and dignity. It can only gratify the human in you and not the opposite. We are all in need of that kind of touch to our souls, otherwise our lives would be like frameless pictures, dull and fragile. In addressing the tangible battle between identity and globalization, the book demonstrates how this clash has constantly been disregarded as a normal reaction to change and hence not in fact been taken seriously. It advocates that we as individuals ought to take this with real concern, since we are to the most part, subconsciously engaged in it. Knowing who we are and where we stand is something we have come to take as evident, a conception that is shaken often times when an incident occurs, significantly altering things and putting us on sides we did not know existed. It is this very specific state of consciousness that this essay is aiming to stir. The author explains that ones heritage can be divided into two types, vertical and horizontal, and affirms that our horizontal heritages have more affect on us than we realize. That is to say, when considered objectively, one actually has more commonalities with his contemporaries than with his ancestors. This point is worth contemplati ng deeply, I believe, since we do, by convention or denial, tend to primarily, if not exclusively, identify ourselves by our vertical heritages. This notion of heritage incorporates the true essence of identity for people tend to often times presume that identity is something fixed that you get at birth and anything past that would be treated as treason. In fact, it is the actual opposite of that: identity is a constant state of evolution. The vertical heritage is what is bestowed upon us at birth and then everything else one encounters in his life will build up ones horizontal heritage. These levels should be recognized and understood so one could have a solid and healthy perception of himself for as Maalouf stated; it is necessary at this point in time to draw attention to the gulf that exists between what we are and what we think we are (Maalouf p.86) In their judgment of globalization, people should not forget that like any other medium, it is inherently neutral and holds the potentiality of both good and bad in it. Any medium is in a state of neutrality until used, and hence any condemnations of globalization would not only be groundless but ridiculous as well. The author attempts to demonstrate the potential good that globalization can bring; he believes that such a phenomenon can help create a universal identity. He explains this by asserting that the only primary feature of identity that should be grasped is humanity and that this is the only type of affiliation that would never shrivel the concept since it is what we all have in common, regardless of our differences. Hence, I believe, the paranoid notion that by accepting this undeniable bond, people will risk becoming less of the individuals that they are is absurd. This specific type of union is not exclusive in nature and therefore cannot possibly cause any sort of loss. This globaphobia, I believe, stems from basic human insecurities, for fear of the unknown instigates fear of the other, and fear of a universal identity is in reality a cling to existence. People will always try to distinguish themselves in order to prove their presence. When a group of different people meet, they usually identify themselves by nationalities , and when a group of the same nationalities meet, identification becomes on a regional basis and when those of the same region meet, it boils down to areas and neighborhoods. These sub-levels of identity go even deeper, since every individual is unique and will continue to defend that singularity whenever a presumed threat is perceived. Hence, although the human universal identity that Maalouf is advocating might seem to be too unrealistic a demand from the world at present, it seems to be the more objective approach to any chance of peace, for nothing is more certain and real than humanity in its true form. Everything else is in the realm of terms and actions where intentions and motives rule, giving the international arena a complex and slippery base. Humanity, on the other hand, is the only part of us that is irrefutable for one cannot merely pretend to be a human being! (One could argue that history has produced examples of certain exceptions to that, such as seemingly inhumane tyrants practicing brutal depravity on the human race, but these are of no significance to my argument). This human connection, that Maalouf advocates, I believe is indeed the deepest of connections, whose depth emanates from the fact that it shatters all trivial ties and is subtly effortless. It is an ability we all possess inherently by virtue of birth. And I believe that the reality of this was so adequately presented in this book. On Identity has undeniably enhanced my understanding of what identity really is, and has acquainted me with a couple of new theories as well, all while bringing into my consideration certain elements that I so plainly regarded as evident, I would definitely recommend it ,it was a pleasure to read.