Compare between two institutions policies Research Paper

Compare between two institutions policies - Research Paper Example Human resource department in an organization carries out a number of functions for the management of the workforce including recruitment, selection, development, orientation, performance, and career path management (Zanko, 2002). This study aims at analyzing employee development as a human resource function as integrated in human resource functions of Shell and Qatar Petroleum. This will be done through numerating the various ways both organizations have similar employee development methods followed by the difference as represented by the policies implemented on employee decision making in Shell and Qatar Petroleum. Employee development augments the skills and understanding of the employees for the achievement of high productivity by the organization and ability of employees to achieve their own personal goals of career development and promotion in the organization (Schmidheiny, 1992). Since employee development ensures the organization has enough human capital with adequate skills a nd knowledge, therefore, it is very important to be implemented in any organization. At shell, a number of measures are taken to ensure the development of employees. In Qatar Petroleum, measures to improve employee development have also been implemented. ... en Shell and Qatar Petroleum in employee development is that the two companies have realized on the need to develop their employees through the provision of measures for employee development. The two companies understand the benefits of a motivated, skilled and well trained human resource as depicted in the different policies and practices harnessed in ensuring employee development is done in both companies (International Business Publications, 2012). Both Shell and Qatar Petroleum offer training of employees for the benefit of the employees in terms of career development and augments their skills in meeting the company’s needs. The measures taken to ensure employment training however differ in the two companies. Qatar provides employee development through the Qatar Petroleum Corporate Training Department (CT), to ensure all employees have enough skills as required by the company. The ways that are used by Qatar Petroleum Corporate Training Department (CT) include provision of professional and training programs. This is similar to Shell where professional training and development is done by the human resource development department in the organization. Shell and Qatar Petroleum have a similar decision making in human resource development that is the exposure of the employees. Employees in both companies area offered opportunities to work in an international environment since the two companies operate in different countries offering the means for the access of these global environment training opportunities. Shell and Qatar Petroleum provide its employees with different training destinations beyond their home country, mainly middle and high level management, in the subsidiaries. Being global companies, employees have opportunities to work with colleagues from around

Article analysis about organization effectiveness Essay

Article analysis about organization effectiveness - Essay Example In practice, it has been made clear that the promotion of collaboration across the organization could not be achieved unless a series of social tools is established (Brill 1). Through a series of strategies that is described in the article of Brill IBM has been transformed to a social business, a fact that has highly enhanced its effectiveness. It should be noted though that the development of the above process has been rather slow, having started in 2005 and being still in progress. The process of IBM’s transformation into a social business needs to be analyzed in order to understand the potential value of social tools in increasing organizational effectiveness, a concern for many firms in the international market. One of the first issues that IBM had to address in order to become a social business has been the potential response of employees to the relevant plan. As Gentile noted, there are people who ‘voice and act on their values’ (Gentile 2). In the context o f organizations this means that ethical behavior can be critical for the success. In IBM, the increase of collaboration has been, necessarily, depended on the ability of the organization to change its culture, emphasizing on knowledge sharing and the use of advanced technology. According to the case study, these efforts have been welcomed by employees in IBM, a fact that significantly contributed in the success of the relevant plan (Brill 1). During the development of the plan, the following problem has appeared: would employees in IBM be able and willing to respond to all the plan’s demands? It is explained that the transformation of IBM into a social business would requite major changes, such as the improvement of employees’ responsiveness to customers’ requests, the adoption of new technology and the decrease of time required for the delivery of products (Brill 1). The firm’s managers have adopted the following plan for achieving these targets: a) â₠¬Ëœinternal social tools’ (Brill 1) have been implemented so that employees working in the sales department have access to critical information regarding the products’ availability and characteristics (Brill 1); in this way, the ability of these employees to respond to customers’ requests has been increased; b) tasks are assigned to employees according to their organizational profile which has been enriched with additional information, than usually, such as ‘spoken languages, interests and work experience’ (Brill 1); through this policy, teams of appropriately skilled employees have been organized across the firm allowing the increase of organizational effectiveness (Brill 1); c) a Shared Activities depository has been added in the firm’s internal network (Brill 1); through this depository employees can be informed on the projects currently in progress and can ask for their involvement, in case they feel they can respond to its demands (Brill 1). Social tools are used for helping employees communicating internally and exchange critical information on various tasks (Brill 1). It is noted that the promotion of Social in the firm’s internal has not been limited ‘to the establishment of Facebook and Twitter accounts for employees’ (Brill 2). Rather emphasis has been given on the gradual change of the firm’s culture, ensuring that IBM will meet all requirements of a

Future business needs of reverse logistics Research Paper

Future business needs of reverse logistics - Research Paper Example It is becoming a concern in the modern day supply chain that retailers should try to incorporate reverse logistics into supply transactions and should not treat them as individual or minor cases. The management in lace should also strive to link up the various transactions in the supply chain to be in line with reverse logistics. The statistical control process can be of great help in the shaping the future of reverse logistics. This type of approach emphasizes on the end quality of a particular product. This process emphasizes on efficiency and ensures that the desired end goal is met with minimized waste and increased efficiency. This approach takes two stages: the first stage is the commencing of the process while the second stage is the frequent application of this process. The statistical control process commonly makes use of machine, man, material, and method in the manufacturing process (Dekker et al., 2004).. Since this method of production emphasizes on the quality of production, it puts a keen interest in the initial stages of this production method. This emphasis is to ensure that there is efficiency in the production process rather than correction of mistakes made at a later stage. This process can therefore mint reverse logistics into the initial programme of the supply chain to make the process more efficient and effective. The core tenets that the statistical control method applies are control charts, the stable process, and the excessive variation procedures to obtain the desired results. According to Dyckhoff et al. (2004), the leadership put in place should be in a position to ensure that the process is not only efficient but also put across counter attack procedures. The main aim of leadership in position is to ensure that the return of merchandise is swift, less costly and convenient to both the manufacturers and the customers. The leadership should ensure that there is avoidance of the return of already

Mary Kay Ashs Essay Example for Free

Mary Kay Ashs Essay Story By phoebe Mary Kay Ash was a famous American businesswoman and the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. She started her business with a small investment of $5000 in 1963, and soon became one of the most successful business women of her time. Mary Kay Ash was born on 12th May, 1918 in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas. Her childhood experiences shaped the future of this visionary woman, and with a significant impact to the American history. Due to the illness of her father, her mother worked for 14 hours a day at a local food restaurant to take care of the family, while Mary Kay looked after her father along since she was young. Her mother always put the â€Å"you can do it† spirit in the young Mary’s mind. One time, Mary Kay’s mother went to work and she needed to take care of the illness father at home alone, she had to decoct medicine herbs for her father but she didn’t how to do it. So she called her mother to teach her step by step on the phone, but little Mary Kay was afraid, but her mother said to her gently †you can do it † . Finally, she did it. Since then, this sentence has inspired her when she encountered difficulties. When she was only seventeen years old, she married Ben Rogers then soon had three children, while her husband went to serve in World War II; she took the job of direct selling of books. Due to her amazing marketing skills, she earned an amazing $25,000 in just six months. While Mary Kay was enjoying her professional success, things at the personal front weren’t that smooth. Her husband was killed on the battlefield, and left her with three children. After her divorce, Mary Kay took up a job with Stanley Home Products, a direct sales firm. She became very successful in selling home care products but didn’t get enough recognition for her work. Her supervisors not only didn’t appreciate her work but also never raise her salaries. However, if a man did what she has done, somehow he can get an award. The inequality between men and women are very obvious in her workplace. So finally she resigned after worked very hard for 25 years in the firm, at the same time she learned a very important lesson of her life that men could not believe that a woman can be successful in business. Mary Kay turned her attention to writing a book, which eventually changed the course of her life and became a plan for her dream company that had innovative marketing plan for women. But her accountant said that she will close down if you start to open it. It’s impossible, She has seen many of these cases that many people went bankrupt within six month. But Mary Kay never heard of it, she believed that she can do it well. In 1963, with an investment of $5000, only a 500 sq. feet store in Dallas, Texas, Mary Kay and her nine zealous beauty consultant started the Mary Kay Cosmetics Company; it was a direct cosmetic products selling company. In the first year of operation, they made a staggering profit of $200,000. In the two years time, Mary Kay Company was selling products worth one million dollars. By this time, the company she created had become a worldwide enterprise with representatives in more than 30 markets. She applied the strategy of giving incentives over good work and started by giving pink Cadillac to the top salespersons of the year. The other incentives included diamond jewelry, bumblebee pins, and 5-star vacations. This strategy really worked and became one of the reasons for company’s success over the years. If you want, do it, you can, this is her famous wisdom and realized the dream for women and a better life of abundance with heart. She also published three best-selling books during her lifetime. Her book, â€Å"Mary Kay on People Management†, another best seller was included in the business courses at Harvard Business School. Mary Kay received many honors and awards during and after her lifetime. In 1976, she received the Hall of fame Award from Direct Selling Association. Two years after that, in 1978, she got the Cosmetic Career Woman of the Year Award from the Cosmetics Career Women, Inc. The same year she received the Horatio Alger Distinguished American Citizen Award from Horatio Alger Association and so on. Mary Kay Ash passed away on 22nd Nov, 2001. She was buried in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. She is the greatest women I paid my full respect to her. She gives women the courage to fulfill our dream not only in Mary Kay Company but also another business sectors and proved that not only men can be successful in business but also women can be. Yes, she did it. It’s a very good piece of work, the detail information are very clear. But it will be a good idea to give one or two more examples on how she relate idea of â€Å"you can do it† in her later successful business life.

America At War: The World Is Not Enough :: essays research papers

When a person is given the microphone at a podium, the attention of the audience is customarily afforded to that person so that they may convey their message(s) clearly. In the past fifty years, advancements in technology and the ability to transmit information have transformed the world into a global stage for any individual or group who wish to broadcast their agendas. The more modernized and stable countries, namely western European nations and the United States of America, have a strangle hold on the microphone to this global stage and are reluctant to release it. The major problems inherent in the effort to emphasize global instead of discreet national histories of mass communication rest within the mentalities of these western powers. A country, like America, whose mindset fosters ideals such as media imperialism, capitalism, and cultural dominance will have supreme reign in a society that can be easily influenced by the various tools of the media. With the exception of the Persian Gulf War in the early 90’s, the Vietnam War is the last major conflict that the Unites States has been involved in. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, which effectively ended the Cold War and automatically allowed America to become the front running nuclear power, the U.S. needed a new objective to conquer other than communism. Since the U.S. armed forces cannot thoroughly flex its military muscles in the absence of a war, an acceptable alternative is to inundate other developing countries with the thoughts of â€Å"democracy and freedom† through the media. However, the validity of America’s true intentions are often questioned when it begins to preach that all humans are entitled to have the freedom of choice. What exactly, do these freedoms entail? Normally, for American businesses and industries, this suggests that people are free to choose to consume American made goods and products. Although it may have been inadvertent at first, an imperial power such as America will expand in its blundering efforts to do good or protect its borders (Herman 1992). After a certain amount of time, this expansion is no longer by chance but by purpose because those who control the channels of media begin to promote imperialistic views, which eventually lead to the domination of a market, be it newspaper, radio, or television. The American dominance in the television market for example, can be aptly characterized by a silly show about lifeguards working on a Los Angeles beach.

National University of Singapore Personal Statement

Having a degree is one of the most admired achievements in the life of an individual. It is the basis of how your future will be. If you have a nice and much known degree then you have the greater chances of being hired the moment you graduate. I chose to apply Business Management and Communications and News Media in this University for I believe that National University of Singapore is going to help me build my future and dreams through their much established curriculum and high standards.I know that Business Management and Communications and News Media really fit me for the reason that I have lots of experience that has polished my character, intelligence and attitude. I chose Psychology because I believe that this can help me have a brighter future. Basically, this course is a lot of fun. Studying business, about how to communicate effectively and things about News Media would also help me develop the attitude or the character on how to deal with people in such a manner that is we ll educated and proper. Having a degree in this course will help me get the best job being offered in the society. I know having this degree will let me become more productive.There were certain experiences I have had in relevance with my chosen course. One of those was when I was part of the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde; where in I was Gwendolyn, one of the main characters. I have always loved theater, especially acting. Gwendolyn Fairfax in this play portrayed a conservative Victorian. She always aims on being intellectually updated, where in she upgrades her skills and knowledge by attending conventions and the like. But the only thing is that she isn’t true. She was not her real self, she was just acting out what she thinks would be good and acceptable.Gwendolyn in this play is a strong willed and aggressive woman for what she feels she expresses it immediately. She was an epitome of grace and beauty among women. I can very much connect with Gwendo lyn; I know what my principles and values are. I never compromise my reputation. I am also strong willed and assertive in the sense that when I know that I am on the right track, I am never afraid to go and pursue it. All the qualities that Gwendolyn has that I can easily relate like her being strong willed, assertive but still compose and decent, applies to my chosen course.Through this experience I had in the play, was just one of the stepping stone for me to polish my character or attitude especially with regards to being patient. Being patient with my co- members in the play and the long time hours in practicing the play in order to come up with the best. I never settle for less. I always want to achieve the best. I never want mediocrity. I believe I can apply all these values in my chosen course.I am also teaching in our Sunday school in a local church. I am teaching children ranging from 6 – 9 yrs old. Through this experience I never forget that Religion is also importa nt. It was important before but it is much important today.Religion involves the relationship between mankind and what is regarded as sacred. Religion almost always includes the belief in the supernatural and a code of ethical behavior. Why do men suffer? What is the nature of the Universe and how it is governed? What is the nature of man and what is his destiny? Religion tries to answer the questions of ultimate existence and of life and death and human and destiny. Many religions hold the universe is governed by God. Through religion man may see meaning in the universe and find a personal role in it.Thousands of years ago, religion played a very vital role in the lives of the people. Even thought that time things were not that so complicated not like now, people still has a closer connection to God. People then put a greater emphasis on going to church, fellowshipping with their brother’s and sister’s and in maintaining their relationship with their creator.As of now , in our present times I think that Religion is ten times important than it was before. As the modern world is evolving and is now being introduced to different kinds of beliefs and theories that could likely shake our foundation of faith for God. The basis and the only foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ. We must hold on to him more especially these days that there are many deceivers out there that are being used by the enemy to destroy us and to keep us away from the loving arms of God.When we don’t have a strong foundation of our relationship to God, we can easily yield to the temptations and offerings that Satan will present to us, like the technology of today. If we don’t know how to control the usage of technology of today, we can be manipulated and controlled by it. That is just one of the tactics of Satan to let us fall into the pit he is preparing for us, for us to be kept away from God’s destiny for us.We are free to choose what we want to do, but we are not free to determine if what he have chosen is good or evil, right or wrong. Our choices may be good or bad insofar as they conform to God’s divine and eternal law and the imperatives which are made known to us through the mediation of conscience that God has bestowed in spirits. In my life I have made many decisions that brought great changes to me as an individual. There are times that I am very doubtful to make a choice especially in a very hard situation. But whenever I am in doubt to make a choice, I just listen to my conscience for me to determine and scrutinize what is really the right thing for me to do.A mature moral decision is not only a decision to make a good deed that â€Å"we ought to do† but also a â€Å"choice made in good faith to make what we want ourselves to be†.   The dignity of the human person implies and demands the rectitude of the moral conscience; that is, it’s being based on truth, which is God’s word. One mus t seriously seek a right conscience or, in other words, one must try to make sure one’s moral judgment is right. This can be achieved by diligently learning the laws of moral life through spiritual formation, asking God for light through a fervent prayer, removing the obstacles to right judgment such as habitual moral disorder or bad habits, and lastly is examining yourself.As I grew up and experienced lots of circumstances, I have now a more grown up approach of making choices. I just do not base my decisions with my feelings at that very moment. I see to it, that whatever outcome after I have made my move, I will still be strong and able to stand up. I will be able to stand firm with my decision. I see to it that it will have more advantages than the disadvantages. I weigh the pros and cons of every circumstance that I am into in which I am task to decide things with. I have learned that not all delightful things are right, for there are also hurtful and unpleasant things t hat turned out right also.Making moral decisions demands maturity and responsibility. To seek to understand reality, to be attentive to the wisdom of the past, to discern the biases and demands of a particular situation- all these efforts are required of a matured individual. Through this experience that I had as a Sunday school teacher, I am able to impart my knowledge about my faith in God towards those who do not know him. In relation to my chosen course, it will help me not compromise especially when graduate from Business Management and Communications and News Media. It will help me become an efficient worker in the area that I will be assigned. I can be a model towards those who are educated yet do not know their real purpose and the intent of their chosen field.I also participated in a national racing competition and won 3rd place. It was my first racing competition where I competed with fifty plus racers, most of them were men. But I still succeeded them because of my drive to win. I never thought that I am weak because I am a woman. I proved them wrong, as I also loved sports. I am a multi tasked individual, I can balance things that I am very much inclined with like in the Academics and Sports.Through the competition, I have proved to myself that I can also do what others can achieve. That gender can not dictate you from achieving, from dreaming. If you want to, then you should have the great drive and interest. I like competition and I do not give up until I will win a fight. It gives a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. My self- esteem is leveled higher whenever I succeed a competition. For me it instigates my willingness to thrive more and work hard, for me not to be put to shame.I am also a hardworking individual, which is why I won the third place in the competition because I was diligent in practicing. I beat all of those men in the contest, even if they were men and symbolized strength, I still conquer them because I was very much eager to win and make others proud of me. I was very much encouraged to go and fight them. like in my chosen degree, I know I am going to meet obstacles or travails as I go along my studies but with the integrity and willingness that I have, I know I am going to survive the hindrances or difficulties I will be meeting along the way.I am a very social person, so my chosen course just fits me that much because in business and communication, one needs to have the ability to go along well with other; that is to socialize; to be able to fit into different groups, or social classes and different types of character. I am a risk taker, especially when I know that I am going to succeed in the end. I am willing to risk things, but on the other hand, I am willing to fight for it too.I like to try new things, things that excite me, like achieving. Having to achieve new thing, I know can bring felicity to my family. Like I said, I never settle for low quality. I always want the best of everything. For I believe that whatever your output is, totally reflects you. So when your output is of low quality, people will see you as an under achiever; a person who only settles for less.I am much interested to be in this degree because I know that National University of Singapore provides one of the best educations I can ever find. They don’t just focus on the academics but also with the totality of the being of their students. They set standards that other Universities do not have. I know I am going to have a great future ahead of me in this institution. I will always have this gratitude in my heart towards National University of Singapore because through them individuals who dreams of having jobs, those highly paid jobs can now fulfill their dreams. Those individuals will be given the hope to dream, and have a bountiful life while having the qualities of a good individual being admired by the society around him.

Luxury goods in China Essay

Life is getting harder for purveyors of luxury in China, but the growth prospects are still fabulous Jun 8th 2013 | SHANGHAI |From the print edition â€Å"IT WAS AN AMAZING GOLDEN AGE,† REFLECTS GUILLAUME BROCHARD OF QEELIN, A CHINESE jeweller. From 2007 to 2011 many luxury-goods firms enjoyed double-digit annual growth in China, which became their most important market. The first blows came last year, with an economic slowdown and jitters about the political transition. Now, a crackdown on corrupt gift-giving and a populist backlash against ostentation have added to the woes. The outlook for luxury-goods firms appears to have dimmed. Internet users have posted incriminating pictures, for example of poorly paid bureaucrats wearing suspiciously pricey watches, which have caused heads to roll. Mobs have also disrupted banquets deemed to be too lavish, on occasions forcing officials to their knees to beg for forgiveness. This has traumatised some purveyors of conspicuous consumption. Beijing Xiangeqing, an upmarket catering outfit that is usually highly profitable, plunged into the red last quarter. Sales of shark fin, the key ingredient of a soup served at fancy dinners, are down by around 70% year-on-year. Imports of bottles of Bordeaux costing more than $800 have collapsed. But look beyond the lavish public banquets and a more complicated picture emerges —AND NOT JUST BECAUSE DEVIOUS OFFICIALS ARE NOW THROWING THEIR EXTRAVAGANT PARTIES IN private. It is true that some luxury-goods firms are grappling with slowing demand in China: imports of Swiss watches, for example, fell 24% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013. But Andrew Keith of Lane Crawford, a high-end department store that first opened in Hong Kong in 1850, reports no slowdown at his stores there or in Beijing. Burberry, a British fashion brand, enjoyed sales growth in China of about 20% in the year to March. Sales of private jets in China are still soaring. So what is really going on? It seems that China remains the biggest prize in the luxury industry, but the low-hanging fruit is gone. Luxury firms must now venture beyond the coastal cities where they have made easy fortunes, cultivate new types of customers and market niches, and experiment with new business models. It will be worth the effort. Despite the recent troubles, Bruno Lannes of Bain & Company, a consultancy, insists that â€Å"Chinese have become, and will remain for a long time, the most important luxury consumers. † His firm estimates that luxury sales in greater China (which includes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau) will grow by 6-8% this year, ? 2 ? ? 3 ? to exceed $35 billion, making it a luxury market second only to America. But even that does not tell the full story. China’s rich are travelling more and farther, and do lots of luxury shopping on their travels, especially in Europe, whose weak currencies encourage Chinese visitors to splash out. Measured by the nationality of the buyer, China is now the world’s biggest luxury market, and growing fast (see chart). Last year mainland Chinese took 83m foreign trips, up 18. 4% on 2011. Global Blue, a big tax-free-shopping firm, says its refunds to Chinese shoppers shot up by 58% last year to more than 24 billion yuan ($3. 9 billion). To make the most of this trend, firms need to rejig their shops worldwide. They need Mandarin-speaking assistants, VIP rooms big enough to accommodate large tour parties and payment systems that can handle Chinese credit cards. Philippe Leopold- Metzger, who runs Piaget, a Swiss watch and jewellery brand, says he regards the firm’s outlets in China itself more as showcases than profit-earners: half of his global business comes from mainlanders, but they mostly buy while on foreign trips. That said, there are still plenty of opportunities to expand sales inside China. Kent Wong, managing director of Chow Tai Fook, the world’s largest jeweller, with over 1,700 sales outlets on the mainland, says their takings are continuing to grow. Any weakness is seen chiefly in coastal cities exposed to China’s struggling exports. In the interior, where locals are not yet used to foreign shopping jaunts, â€Å"middle-class incomes are still rising. † Luxury firms are having to adapt to this fragmentation in the Chinese market. Whereas flashy â€Å"bling† still sells to the new money in smaller, interior towns, globetrotters from the coastal cities are returning from their travels as more knowledgeable and demanding shoppers. Armando Branchini of Fondazioni Altagamma, the Italian confederation of luxury brands, says such customers look for more subtle and modern designs. Digitally challenged Over two-thirds of Chinese use the internet to research brands, but most luxury firms have pitiful digital strategies. One study found that luxury websites take four times as long to load in China as elsewhere (because most firms do not put servers inside China’s Great Firewall, which slows access to foreign sites) and rarely offer yuan prices or purchasing options. Mobile commerce is growing in China, but few luxury firms’ websites are optimised for mobile devices. As the tastes of rich Chinese evolve, business models combining local flavour and global savvy are emerging. Qeelin, recently bought by Kering, a French luxury house formerly known as PPR, is one example. Another is Shang Xia, a homeware label inspired by local crafts, launched in 2010 by Hermes, also of France. Under orders ? 3 ? ? 3 ? from the government in Beijing, foreign carmakers and their Chinese joint-venture partners are creating new, local brands: BMW will produce cars with the Zhinuo badge, and Mercedes will market new models under the Denza brand. So far, Chinese luxury buyers, especially of cars, have turned up their noses at domestic brands. But the hybrid brands may prompt them to reassess the â€Å"Made in China† label, says Michel Gutsatz of the China Europe International Business School. At a conference the school recently held, He Haiming of CCTV, China’s dominant national broadcaster, pointed out that â€Å"Made in Germany† and â€Å"Made in Japan† were also once derided, but are now marks of quality. As Europe’s luxury-goods firms grow from low-volume exclusivity to semi-industrial scale—thanks in large part to China’s voracious appetite for their wares—Mr Gutsatz argues that they â€Å"must think of economics† and consider manufacturing in China itself instead of mainly exporting to it. The business of getting wealthy Chinese to open their wallets is bound to go on evolving, but the opportunities for growth make it irresistible. From the print edition: Business.