Friday, December 27, 2019

Should Marijuana Be Legalized - 877 Words

Legalize It There was a time when talks of legalizing marijuana went largely untouched by statesmen and policymakers. It seemed that considering legalization was unpopular and that the demand for it existed only in the minds of few. In this ever-changing world, we now see the rhetoric of the matter gradually fade away. That old approach of conservatism seems to be marginalized regarding this groundbreaking social topic. With 75% of the nation expecting that marijuana will find a federal path to legality, the ability to buy, possess, and consume recreational cannabis is perfectly legal in four states. Furthermore, economists have begun to study this subject in great depth. By and large, their analysis has concluded that the nationalized legalization of cannabis would stimulate the American economy. Additionally, black-market criminals would no longer profit from the vast exploitations of the marijuana plant, while licensed growers, retailers, and consumers would all reap the positive ends. In sum mation, revenue from the federally-mandated legalization of marijuana would prove economically beneficial to both the federal government and domestic businesses. Legalization would, in turn, affect a number of different economic systems, but it might pose some ethical questions for the Catholic Church and other religious institutions. First and foremost, production of nationalizing the pot industry begins with licensed growers. Currently, we have the proper infrastructure for cannabisShow MoreRelatedShould Marijuana Be Legalized?849 Words   |  4 Pageswhether marijuana should be legalized. Around 23 states have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. In the state of Illinois, medicinal use of marijuana has been passed on April 17, 2013. Since January 2014, patients are able to obtain marijuana with a doctor s recommendation. The new debate is whether marijuana should be legalized for the general public as a recreational drug. Although some believe that marijuana is harmless, and that it has beneficial medicinal uses, marijuana shouldRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1715 Words   |  7 PagesMarijuana in Society Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (â€Å"Marijuana† 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel â€Å"high† or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (â€Å"Marijuana† 1). Like mostRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1489 Words   |  6 Pagescannabis plant or marijuana is intended for use of a psychoactive drug or medicine. It is used for recreational or medical uses. In some religions, marijuana is predominantly used for spiritual purposes. Cannabis is indigenous to central and south Asia. Cannabis has been scientifically proven that you can not die from smoking marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized to help people with medical benefits, econo mic benefits, and criminal benefits. In eight states, marijuana was legalized for recreationalRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1245 Words   |  5 PagesMarijuana is a highly debatable topic that is rapidly gaining attention in society today.   Legalizing marijuana can benefit the economy of this nation through the creation of jobs, increased tax revenue, and a decrease in taxpayer money spent on law enforcement.   Ã‚  Many people would outlaw alcohol, cigarettes, fast food, gambling, and tanning beds because of the harmful effects they have on members of a society, but this is the United States of America; the land of the free and we should give peopleRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1010 Words   |  5 PagesThe legalization of marijuana became a heated political subject in the last few years. Twenty-one states in America have legalized medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington are the only states where marijuana can be purchased recreationally. Marijuana is the high THC level part of the cannabis plant, which gives users the â€Å"high† feeling. There is ample evidence that supports the argument that marijuana is beneficial. The government should legalize marijuana recreationally for three main reasonsRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1350 Words   |  6 Pagespolitics in the past decade would have to be the legalization of marijuana. The sale and production of marijuana have been legalized for medicinal uses in over twenty states and has been legalized for recreational uses in seven states. Despite the ongoing support for marijuana, it has yet to be fully legalized in the federal level due to cultural bias against â€Å"pot† smoking and the focus over its negative effects. However, legalizing marijuana has been proven to decrease the rate of incrimination in AmericaRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1231 Words   |  5 Pagesshows the positive benefits of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law. In recent years, numerous states have defied federal law and legalized marijuana for both recreational and medicinal use. Arizona has legalized marijuana for medical use, but it still remains illegal to use recreationally. This is absurd, as the evidence gathered over the last few decades strongly supports the notion that it is safer than alcohol, a widely available substance. Marijuana being listed as a Schedule I drugRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1457 Words   |  6 PagesSHOULD MARIJUANA BE LEGALIZED? Marijuana is a drug that has sparked much controversy over the past decade as to whether or not it should be legalized. People once thought of marijuana as a bad, mind-altering drug which changes a person’s personality which can lead to crime and violence through selling and buying it. In the past, the majority of citizens believed that marijuana is a harmful drug that should be kept off the market and out of the hands of the public. However, a recent study conductedRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1596 Words   |  7 Pages But what needs to be known before a user can safely and completely make the decision if trying Marijuana is a good idea? Many do not want the drug to be legalized because they claim that Cannabis is a â€Å"gateway drug†, meaning it will cause people to try harder drugs once their body builds up a resistance to Marijuana, because a stronger drug will be needed to reach a high state. This argument is often falsely related to the medical si de of the debate over legalization. It is claimed that this wouldRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?985 Words   |  4 PagesLegalize Marijuana Despite what people believe about marijuana, it hasn’t once proved to be the cause of any real issue. It makes you wonder what the reason as to why there is a war on drugs. Why is marijuana the main concern? Since the time that alcohol and tobacco became legal, people wonder why marijuana isn’t legal yet. The fact that marijuana is illegal is mainly caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. Once the government starts anything, they stick to it. At

Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Beatles An Influence on Pop Culture - 1182 Words

There has been no other band that has influenced pop culture like the Beatles have, according the Rolling Stone website. The Beatles were an English rock band that performed in a city called Liverpool. The Beatle’s members consists of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. There genres was rock and pop during the years they were active in 1960-1970. In the early 1960’s, they were known as Beatlemania instead of the Beatle’s but as their song writing grew in culture they came to be professed as an epitome of the ideals shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions. They began to build their reputation in the 1960’s while playing in Liverpool and Hamburg. Their manager Brain Epstein, along with George Martin boosted their music potential. After, their first hit â€Å"Love Me Do† came out, they became more popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1962. They got their nick name â€Å"the Fab Four† as the Beatlemania grew in Britain and by the 1964 they became international stars in the â€Å"British Invasion†. In 1965, the created some very influential albums like the Rubber Soul in 1965, Revolver 1996, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts club Bands 1967, The Beatles in 1968, and Abbey Road in 1969. One of their members, Lennon was shot and kill in December in 1980 after their brea k up and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. The Beatles was the best things to happen in the twentieth century, during 1964, they were held the first five slows on the BillboardShow MoreRelated The Beatles Influence in Pop Culture Essay1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Beatles Influence in Pop Culture The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. They were able to conquer and influence pop culture with their music. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the W.S. during the 1960s, and later the request of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.3 billion albums. During the sixties, The Beatles using revolutionary ideas in their music inspiredRead MorePop Culture as an Expression of Society Essays636 Words   |  3 PagesPop culture is the modern lifestyle which is countenanced and recognized by society, the cultural patterns that are common within a population. The general opinion is that pop culture is a useful expression of society and the prevailing environment, as pop culture is the culture which is followed by the majority, and therefore reflects society. The pop culture of a society is influenced by many aspects of society such as music, movies and modern technology. Modern day songs and movies promoteRead MoreThe Impact Of Beatles On American Pop Culture1698 Words   |  7 Pagescoming artists such as The Beatles. The impact The Beatles had on society and society’s standards in the 1960s was so massive that their influences would last long into the future, even after the breakup of the band. The strides not only being made in music but in the culture of America were ones that would last for decades. Even today, 46 years after the breakup, the Beatles legacy is still kept alive through tributes and record sales are still skyrocketing. The Beatles were the most influentialRead MoreThe 1960s Of The 1960 S1394 Words   |  6 Pagesmusicians who were influential during the 1960s such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and The Eagles, arguably none were as influential as The Beatles. Consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George H arrison, and Ringo Starr, helped change the face of popular culture of the 1960’s through their music, image, and influence on the counterculture of the time. The Beatles originally started off as The Quarrymen in 1957, headed by John Lennon and consisting of other musicians. That same year Paul McCartneyRead MoreMusic And Music : Mozart And The Beatles Composed Pop And Rock920 Words   |  4 Pagescomposer of classical music who was regarded as on of the best composers that had ever lived. The Beatles were a British boy band who had revolutionized pop and rock music. Although Mozart composed classical music and The Beatles composed Pop and Rock, the two have something in common; they revolutionized music. The Beatles do share a similarity to classical music though. Growing up, the members of The Beatles listened to BBC radio, which played classical music and familiarized them with what classicalRead MoreThe Beatles And Bob Dylan905 Words   |  4 Pagesvarious ways, Britain and America have influenced and inspired one another for many years. Music was, and still is, a huge connecting factor between the two countries. The Beatles and Bob Dylan, two of the most famous artists of all time, demonstrate how Britain and America had a profound influence on each country’s music culture. In the beginning of American history, America was heavily influenced by Britain because it was considered the â€Å"Mother Country† for the pilgrims that settled throughout NorthRead MoreSimilarities Between The Beatles and Pink Floyd775 Words   |  4 PagesPink Floyd and the Beatles had more in common then they’re often credited. Both bands members were raised in the United Kingdom. The original framework for â€Å"The Beatles† was conspired by the best friends, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Likewise, â€Å"Pink Floyd† was created by best friends Nick Mason and Roger Waters. By the same token, both bands were founded while the members received their education. World War II was a pin point in each of the band members lives, if not directly affecting them, thenRead MoreMusic Of The 60s Help Shape Modern Australian Society1259 Words   |  6 Pagesthe ideas.† This was pronounced by Bob Dylan, a folk musician of the sixties: an era in which the mus ic heavily influenced the culture of the time and continues to influence the music and culture today. The music and artists of the 60s influenced radio and television, the music, fashion and lifestyles of the people, particularly youth, heavily influenced the popular culture Australia, USA, Britain and other Western Countries. The music of the â€Å"swinging 60s†especially influenced the lives of many teenagersRead MoreThe Musical Influences On The Beatles : The Beatles1644 Words   |  7 Pages Cynthia Leon Music 12 Dr. Michael Zilber The Beatles The Beatles are an English rock band that became one of the most iconic bands in history. All four of the band members of the Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ring Starr were born in Liverpool in the early 1940’s. During this time England was in the midst of WWII and they were deemed as â€Å"war babies†. The shambles that England was left in cultivated skiffle from the U.S. which was a form of music that made it fairly easyRead MoreThe Beatles : The Most Successful Recording Artists Of All Time1592 Words   |  7 PagesThe Beatles â€Å"All you need is love†. â€Å"Whisper words of wisdom, let it be†. â€Å"Here comes the sun†. These household phrases are all attributed to one band: The Beatles. Considered the most successful recording artists of all time, this band is one that has transformed the music industry, revolutionized popular culture, and in essence, changed the world. Even the most adamant skeptics cannot deny the contributions of this historic band, and its importance can be evaluated using relevant criteria. The

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Depression Across Community Environment †Myassignmrenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Depression Across Community Environment? Answer: Introducation The research question in the presented case scenario attributes to the systematic analysis of the psychosocial experiences of the adolescent individuals affected by the pattern of depression across the community environment. The qualitative research analysis would analyse and investigate the impact of the clinical manifestations of the depressive episodes on the on the pattern of health and wellness of the depressed adolescents. For example, the pattern of emotional paralysis experienced by the depressed adolescents requires exploration in the context of evaluating their subjective experiences attributing to irritability, impatience, anxiety, fear and panic (Amini, Negarandeh, Cheraghi, Eftekhar, 2013). Depressed people might experience dyshedonia, leading to the development of inconsistent behaviour. Similarly, disturbed thought processes of the depressed adolescents require subjective qualitative analysis while identifying the state of their guilt, spiritual conventions, beliefs a nd level of frustration (Amini, Negarandeh, Cheraghi, Eftekhar, 2013). The qualitative analysis requires further utilization in the context of exploring the pattern of cognitive decline experienced by the depressed adolescents. The identification of the attributes including indecisiveness, adverse evaluation, absence of concentration and memory, physical constrains, pain pattern, sleeping issues, facial alterations, appetite problems as well as sexual dysfunction is necessarily required for their evidenced-based qualitative analysis (Amini , Negarandeh, Cheraghi, Eftekhar, 2013). The study design as well as study method for this qualitative intervention could include the administration of semi-structured interviews to the adolescent individuals affected with the pattern of depression and associated clinical manifestations (Overend, et al., 2015). The recruitment of the study participants will be based on the diagnosis of depression and age group of the eligible subjects. The findi ngs of the interview data require a subjective analysis by multiple healthcare professionals from diverse clinical backgrounds (Overend, et al., 2015). The analysis of the depression-based data would require the utilization of a grounded theory approach in the context of generating a theorized concept evolving from the research findings. Contrarily, the quantitative analysis of depression manifestations and experiences of the adolescent people requires their objective measurement with the utilization of pre-defined variables and scales for leading a hypothesis (Teixeira, Fernandes, Llonch, 2013). These scales could measure the intensity of depressive episodes experienced by the depressed people and interpret the severity in terms of scores. The higher scores will correlate to the elevated level of deterioration of self-esteem of adolescent individuals, under the influence of depression. However, lower scores will reveal minimal influence of depression episodes on the quality of lif e and wellness outcomes of the depressed adolescents (Teixeira, Fernandes, Llonch, 2013). Sample Recruitment The qualitative recruitment strategy focuses on including the study subjects in accordance with the subjective inclusion criteria specified for undertaking the research intervention (Mendez-Luck, et al., 2011). The research professionals would identify the potential participants after their systematic screening and the subjects who do not qualify in the adolescent age range would be summarily rejected in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Similarly, the healthy adolescents who do not experience depressive manifestations require exclusion from the research study. The qualitative sample recruitment strategy would not consider the subjects who refrain themselves from undertaking the preliminary screening process or quit the study during the follow-up period. The qualitative sampling of the depressed adolescents will take into consideration the knowledge base and subjective experiences of the adolescents in relation to the pattern of depression and associated experiences (Palinkas, et al., 2015). People without appropriate knowledge of the same will remain excluded from the study in accordance with the qualitative selection convention. The qualitative inclusion criteria will also consider the communication potential of the selected individuals in terms of sharing their depression experiences in a reflective, expressive and articulative manner (Palinkas, et al., 2015). The qualitative method of purposeful sampling attempts to acquire the in-depth understanding of selected subjects in the context of undertaking subjective analysis from the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews (Palinkas, et al., 2015). Contrarily, the quantitative selection methodology will acquire a more generalized selection approach while utilizing an established set of formulae on a wider scale (Palinkas, et al., 2015). The qualitative selection methodology advocates the concept of homogeneity warranting the selection of a smaller sample size in comparison to the quantitative sel ection approach that requires the selection of a larger number of research subjects (Palinkas, et al., 2015). Data Collection Approaches The data collected from the semi-structured interview sessions in the presented case scenario would require the production of larger data sets for their subjective evaluation by the healthcare professionals (Sutton, 2015). The transcription of the recorded data is necessarily required before initiating the qualitative data analysis process. Research professionals might also append annotations in relation to various behavioural and environmental attributes that could influence the qualitative data analysis and the associated results (Sutton, 2015). The appended field notes assist in evaluating the influence of circumstantial factors on the quality and accuracy of the extracted data. Contrarily, the data collection method acquired while undertaking quantitative research intervention advocates the requirement of data acquisition in the electronic format with the utilization of IT based interventions (Ponto, 2015). The tailormade self-administered questionnaires assist in collecting a hu ge amount of data in relation to the severity of depression experienced by the adolescent participants. The utilization of digital systems for capturing the non-verbal responses of the research participants assists in retaining the accuracy of the data collected and stored in the electronic medical records (Ponto, 2015). Data Analysis The qualitative data analysis of the experiences of depressed adolescents requires subjective execution by the research professionals (Austin, 2014). The research team members might perform coding of the retrieved information or interpret the same by appending their own remarks. The coding of the retrieved data requires its thematic capture with the identification of the concepts, thoughts and ideas requiring systematic evaluation by the research professionals (Austin, 2014). The text or phrases used by the study subjects during the semi-structured interview sessions requires focussed and meaningful interpretation with the objective of retrieving the perspectives advocated by the participants. Thematic conversion of interview findings might require the utilization of software like NVivo (Austin, 2014). Manual conversion of large datasets into grounded themes is not recommended in the context of reducing the scope of errors in the interpretation of study findings. Research professiona ls require systematic documentation of various coding paradigms in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Austin, 2014). Thematic conversion of the depression data in the presented clinical scenario will assist in generating a hypothesis that might require further testing and evaluation through prospective quantitative research interventions (Austin, 2014). However, the quantitative data analysis approach advocates the determination of variables and establishing the same while incorporating a set of values with each variable requiring evaluation (Simpson, 2015). These variables require assimilation in accordance with the measurement level and attributes requiring assessment in accordance with the pre-defined parameters of the research study. In the presented case scenario, these variables might include the low severity and high severity depression episodes and the values could indicate the clinical manifestations experiences by the depressed adolescents across the com munity environment. The categorical evaluation of variables and associated values assists in their meaningful sequencing that evidentially predicts the outcomes of the quantitative research intervention. The dependent as well as independent variables require objective statistical interpretation for generating the research findings. The statistical approaches including ANOVA, Binomial test, Chi-square (2) test and Kendall tau () alternative requires utilization in the quantitative analysis for the systematic theorization of the outcome data (Simpson, 2015). Findings and Generalization The qualitative research intervention leads to weaker findings in comparison to the findings obtained through quantitative study (Anderson, 2010). The qualitative findings are categorized while structuring the responses provided by the participants. The baseline of the qualitative findings includes the evidence-based literature containing previously recorded data on the same subject of study. The generalizability of the qualitative research findings is achieved through the process of meta-synthesis, multidimensional analysis, documentation and audit of the recorded data, consistent comparison of the datasets, triangulation as well as systematic sampling (Leung, 2015). Therefore, the findings of the presented case scenario could acquire generalization with the systematic analysis and audit of the recorded patient experiences in terms of depressive complications. Contrarily, the pattern of generalizability retrieved through quantitative approaches varies reciprocally with the statistic al power of the study variables (Kukull Ganguli, 2012). The quantitative study findings acquire generalization in accordance with the research setting, sample selection methodology, level of selection bias as well as study limitations. The pattern of generalizability of quantitative research findings results in the generation of a hypothesis on a wider scale (Kukull Ganguli, 2012). However, the generalizability of findings in a quantitative intervention might reduce their sensitivity as well as internal under the influence of confounding variables (Kukull Ganguli, 2012). Therefore, healthcare professionals require undertaking evidence-based measures with the objective of reducing the scope of occurrence of bias in the study findings while excluding the confounding dataset from the research analysis. Grounded Theory Approach and Qualitative Research The acquisition of the grounded theory approach assists in the justification and design of the qualitative research methods in the context of generating findings of elevated quality (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). These high-quality findings will require consistent utilization in the prospective research interventions with the objective of enhancing patient care outcomes in the clinical settings. The grounded theory approach in the context of qualitative analysis advocates the utilization of inductive assessment without waiting for the complete collection of the required data (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). The data collection process runs in parallel with data analysis while facilitating the process of theoretical sampling. The grounded theory intervention further advocates the process of coding and comparison of the recorded data in the context of identifying the pattern of variation in the extracted data. The interrelation of codes results in the generati on of concepts. The data analysis is facilitated by memo-writing (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). The concomitant execution of memo-writing, data comparison and coding leads to the process of theoretical sampling that evidentially assists in the development of emerging theory. The grounded theory approach advocates the acquisition of theoretical saturation in the context of substantiating the study results from the data analysis (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). Substantive extraction of results under the direction of grounded theory approach leads to the development of substantive theory that revolves around the interrelated concepts and never considered as final by the research professionals (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). Two grounded theory approaches include the evaluation of the dental treatment knowledge of the dental practitioners identified through interview sessions and theoretical sampling, and the willingness of the treated patients in terms of receiving the recommended dental approaches (evaluated through interview sessions and memo-writing) (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). References Amini , K., Negarandeh , R., Cheraghi , M. A., Eftekhar , M. (2013). Major depressive disorder: a qualitative study on the experiences of Iranian patients. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 34(9). doi:10.3109/01612840.2013.789942 Anderson, C. (2010). Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(8). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987281/ Austin, Z. (2014). Qualitative Research: Getting Started. The Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 67(6), 436-440. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4275140/#__sec10title Kukull, W. A., Ganguli, M. (2012). Generalizability - The trees, the forest, and the low-hanging fruit. Neurology, 78(23), 1886-1891. doi:10.1212/WNL.0b013e318258f812 Leung, L. (2015). Validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 4(3), 324-327. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.161306 Mendez-Luck, C. A., Trejo, L., Miranda, J., Jimenez, E., Quiter, E. S., Mangione, C. M. (2011). Recruitment Strategies and Costs Associated With Community-Based Research in a Mexican-Origin Population. The Gerontologist, 51(1), S94S105. doi:10.1093/geront/gnq076 Overend, K., Bosanquet, K., Bailey, D., Foster, D., Gascoyne, S., Lewis, H., . . . Chew-Graham, C. (2015). Revealing hidden depression in older people: a qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial. BMC Family Practice. doi:10.1186/s12875-015-0362-2 Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health, 533-544. doi:10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y Ponto, J. (2015). Understanding and Evaluating Survey Research. JADPRO, 6(2), 168-171. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601897/ Sbaraini, A., Carter, S. M., Evans, R. W., Blinkhorn, A. (2011). How to do a grounded theory study: a worked example of a study of dental practices. BMC Medical ResearchMethodology. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-128 Simpson, S. H. (2015). Creating a Data Analysis Plan: What to Consider When Choosing Statistics for a Study. CJHP, 68(4), 311-317. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4552232/ Sutton, J. (2015). Qualitative Research: Data Collection, Analysis, and Management. CJHP, 68(3), 226-231. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4485510/ Teixeira , N. J., Fernandes , d.-C., Llonch , S. A. (2013). A quantitative, cross-sectional study of depression and self-esteem in teenage and young adult burn victims in rehabilitation. Ostomy/Wound Management, 59(9), 22-29. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24018389

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Productivity Audit

Table of Contents Introduction General impression of the audit Analysis Recommendations Value Facet Analysis Conclusion References Introduction A Productivity audit is a tool that companies and businesses use to analyze an organization’s effectiveness. A company achieves this by determining the status of its productivity. A productivity audit establishes the organization’s current productivity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Productivity Audit specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Recently, due to increased competition and the dynamic nature of customers’ needs, many companies are adopting the productivity audit as a tool. This helps to increase organization’s productivity, thus giving it a competitive advantage in the market. Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in United States of America, has its head quarters in Deerfield, Illinois. The company has expanded its business into all fifty states in America and Puerto Rico. It has over eight thousand stores in the USA. Walgreens offers a wide range of products and services. These include consumer goods, services, and pharmaceutical products. It supplies its products and services through Walgreens health services, Walgreens Health and Walgreens Wellness Divisions. It also has three mail order facilities in its portfolio. Walgreens has positioned most of its stores in prime locations except a few located in malls. General impression of the audit A productivity report should be comprehensive and fair to ensure that the organization does not underestimate or exaggerate its productivity status. The management should establish standards and policies for use during the audit to improve consistency and uniformity within the organization. The Walgreens’ productivity audit report presented in this paper will focus on eight key areas. Policies are the fundamental guidelines that govern the operations of an organization. The audit will evaluate Walgreens policies and, how the policies are contributing to the productivity of the corporation. Leadership of an organization is a critical component in determining the overall success of the organization. The audit will evaluate how Walgreens’ leadership has affected the productivity of the corporation.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Objectives should be measurable, time bound, attainable and communicated to all stakeholders of the organization. The productivity audit will evaluate the roles, which the objectives of corporation have played in the success of the business. The audit will also establish modifications to put the organization at a competitive advantage over similar corporations in the industry. Inputs are the resources that an organization incorporates into the production process. They include raw materia l, capital, and labor. The productivity audit will establish how inputs into Walgreens operations contribute to its productivity. The audit also evaluates how the management can make these inputs more efficient to maximize the productivity of the corporation. Technology helps an organization to keep up with the market trends. However, technology becomes obsolete unusually fast hence; an organization has to keep in investing in new technologies to compete appropriately in the competitive market. Investment into technology enhances creation of new products and services, thereby meeting the changing demands of the market. The audit report will establish how technological changes have influenced Walgreens’ productivity and carry out a cost benefit analysis to determine revenue generated from technological investments. According to Drummond, Ensor, and Ashford (2008, p.95), business managements should revise performance measures of the various inputs on regular basis to avoid redu ndant divisions in their organizations. The productivity audit will determine the performance measures, which Walgreens uses to evaluate performance of its employees, technology and the working procedures. This will help the Walgreens to identify areas where the management needs to make more emphatic performance measures to increase productivity of the corporation. Work procedures are the steps, which an organization follows during production of its products and services. An organization should improve work procedures on a regular basis to enhance the quality of its products and services. The organization should use a learning curve to reduce cost and improve the quality of its products and services.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Productivity Audit specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The audit will evaluate the evolution of working procedures in Walgreens over the years. The results will help Walgreens t o establish how the working procedures can increase the organization’s profitability through cost reduction and production of high quality products and services. Finally, the productivity audit will analyze the productivity status of staff members in the organization. The organization’s staff provides a link between the technology, inputs, and working procedures. Employee’s performance and competency are critical factors in improving the output and quality of services and products, which an organization offers. The Walgreens productivity audit will establish the competency of employees in the various divisions. The purpose of the audit is to identify training needs of Walgreens’ employees. This shall enable the management to increase the productivity of the employees. Analysis Walgreens has a policy that ensures that eight per cent of its supplier’s minority business enterprise and two percent of the suppliers serve diverse markets. This ensures th at the organization’s products and services are available at the grassroots. Walgreens has policies that enhance its contribution to the development of the community. Through its community-based programs for example, Walgreens plays a very crucial role in the development of the community. In addition, the organization has a policy that ensures that any prospective supplier of its products and services adheres to the company’s stipulated standards of performance. Walgreens has non-discriminatory policies of recruiting suppliers to its products and services. These policies have enabled Walgreens to become the market leader in the pharmaceutical and health products and services’ industry. However, for over the years, the company has not been having a clear policy of prescription of sale of over the counter medicine. As a result, the corporation once faced a lawsuit in which the state accused the corporation for altering doctor’s prescription and selling drug s to patients without a doctor’s written approval. Since the inception of Walgreens in the year 1901 by its founder Charles R. Walgreen, the corporation’s leadership has steered the corporation into financial prosperity. The leadership has in fact ensured that customers access quality products at affordable prices for over the years.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The corporation’s leadership has been hereditary since its inception. The current management of the organization has maintained the corporate culture and leadership perspective established by its founder. The Management has been majorly concerned with expansion of the corporation by encouraging diversity and supporting minority businesses and women. The management of Walgreens is actively involved in the control of production of the corporation’s goods and services. This ensures that their costs are relatively low. The expansion strategy by the management has ensured timely availability of the organization’s products and services to their consumers. Walgreens’ Leadership has had a positive impact on the organization since it has ensured that the corporation maintains leadership in the market. The leadership has established a corporate culture that ensures environmental conservation. The organization also empowers the disabled and minority groups in the co mmunity by offering them employment opportunities. Walgreens’ objectives include fostering growth of the corporation through supply diversity. Walgreen also gives back to the community through its corporate social responsibility program. The corporation recognizes talent by training the disabled and incorporating them among its staff. Through this way, the corporation empowers the minority and disabled in the society. Walgreens’ objectives have helped foster good public image in the community, its supplies, products, and services. Good corporate social responsibility is critical in increasing a company’s productivity. hrough empowerment of minority businesses, women and the disabled, Walgreens contributes directly to the development of the community. Walgreen does not stipulate its productivity objective in its mission statement, which perhaps affects the achievement of its goals. The merchandizing division of the corporation manages productivity of all the inpu ts of the corporation. The division manages the beauty, personal care product lines, and consumables. It also controls the health and wellness operations. Effective merchandizing plans ensure that the corporation supplies quality products and services to the market at affordable prices. The corporation’s ability to supply quality and affordable products and services has enhanced its realization of diverse market objective. Diverse markets have lead to increase in the organization’s revenue over the years. The ease with which consumers can access the organization’s product has lead to an upward trend in the organization’s revenues for over the years. However, to uphold the standards, the corporation undertakes rigorous process of training of all its suppliers and staff to ensure that the organization does not compromise any of its standards at any level. Performance standards and measures in Walgreens aim at ensuring that customers receive quality and safe products and services. The corporation’s auditing department ensures accountability and efficiency in the accounting and finance department. It indeed reinforces management standards in this department. The pharmaceutical department, beauty, and health care product lines, have safety regulations or standards that the production units have to adhere to avoid legal suits for production of substandard products. The standards also stipulate product recall procedures. Recall policies ensure that the organization recalls substandard products that find their way into the market as fast as possible to mitigate the harmful effects they could have on consumers. There exist clear rules and procedures in the Customer service department, which stipulate rerun of goods into the store after purchase, and shipping procedures for the mail order service. Through employee-customer relation’s policies, the performance standards have ensured that the organization maintains customer satisf action. There are in fact set standards to guide the staff when interacting with their clients. The standards also ensure that the corporation does not get involved in legal battle with the state due to supply of substandard products, which may be hazardous for consumption by customers. The innovation department is in charge of ensuring that the corporation uses the latest technology in production, marketing, and distribution of its products and services. Walgreens has adopted innovative expansion strategies that have facilitated the company’s penetration into the class of drivers of the market for over the years. The company also ensures that production of its beauty health, wellness, and pharmaceutical products uses the latest technology in the market. The company uses on line shop for distribution of its products and services globally, which it then delivers to its customers through shipment. Technology has helped Walgreens to keep up with market trends especially by offer ing the most advanced products to its customers. Technology has also helped the organization to maintain its market leadership in the industry. Because of the size of the organization, Walgreens establishes and monitors its work procedures at the departmental level. The corporation has business units, with their respective heads, and professional, functional units, which manage the overall activities of the corporation. However, the organization has established general work procedures for each department to ensure consistency in all its supply chains and business units. To ensure that the Walgreens’ management follows the stipulated regulations before the recruitment of staff and suppliers into the corporation, the potential candidates go through rigorous training programs. The training also ensures that the corporate culture of the organization ingrains into each one of the stakeholders of the corporation. The work procedures enhance uniformity and consistency in all functio ns of the corporation. Consistency enhances provision for quality customer care and products thus, increasing the customer base of the corporation (Guy, 1992, p.38). By ensuring that all the suppliers adhere to the stipulated work procedures, the corporation has made it easy to manage the activities of Walgreens’ wide supply chain. Walgreens recruits most of its staff from disabled persons. The initiative aims at empowering the less fortunate in society. Recruiting such groups of people equips them with skills that enable them to become self-sufficient and self-reliance. After recruitment, the staff goes through rigorous training programs, which ensure that each employee is competent enough, and is well conversant with the organization’s working procedures. The corporation’s staff trains on regular basis to acquaint them with the new technologies in the market. Consequently, this improves their efficiency, thus increasing the productivity of the corporation. or instance, Walgreen has training programs for pharmacists to enable them assist patients with chronic diseases. Walgreens recruits staff from around the country to enable it to handle its ever-increasing workload due to the expansion strategies it undertakes. Recommendations Walgreen should institute a policy for sale of prescription drugs to customers. Although the business units have complied with the policy, the Walgreens should take the initiative to formulate a policy on the sale of prescription drugs to its supply chain and customers. This will ensure that all suppliers of the company’s products and services adhere to this stipulation and therefore avoiding legal consequences of noncompliance such as legal suits and negative public image of the corporation. The organization should institute a program that monitors activities of suppliers to ensure that they adhere to this policy. They should also create awareness among the suppliers for the consequences of noncompliance to this policy. Walgreens should institute standards that ensure that the organization tests all its products to ensure that they meet the required standards before releasing them into the market. Walgreens has had a couple of product recalls, and although the substandard products have never caused a serious harm to consumers, recall of products brings negative publicity to an organization. This consequently affects the demand and hence the market of the company’s products. Management of Walgreens should implement a program that identifies productivity variance in its wide supply chain and business units. The program will ensure that there is uniformity in productivity objectives and strategies adopted in the various units to meet organizational goals. The programs should work in collaboration with a system for reporting any discrepancies in the productivity objectives. When an organization, has measures, which detect discrepancies in productivity objectives, it can avoid cos ts for correcting future problems in a project. Management of Walgreens should take the initiative to adopt productivity audits as a strategy in order to evaluate its work procedures and therefore avoid production of substandard products. The management should encourage collaboration between the production team and supply chains. The collaboration between supply chains and production teams will ensure minimum or nonexistent sale of defective goods to its consumers. Walgreens should train its suppliers to check the products for defects before sale. This will ensure that the products undergo two check levels before sale. Double-checking of products reduces the chances/probability of selling substandard or defective products to customers. This will improve the customer’s confidence to the products of the corporation. Walgreen is a large corporation with over eight thousand stores in the United States. The management of the corporation should adopt corporate structure that is fle xible to allow timely and effective communication of the productivity audit objectives to all the stakeholders. Ensuring that all suppliers and business units are aware of the productivity objectives will minimize objective variances. Walgreens should formulate a productivity plan and make sure that all the supply chains understand their role in accomplishing the objectives of the productivity plan. The productivity plan will enable the top management to monitor and evaluate the performance of the various units. Value Facet Analysis Organization’s stakeholders are critical in helping the corporation to achieve its productivity objectives. Value driven management focuses on values of the organization’s stakeholders. The actions of the stakeholders determine the actions of the organizations (Prokopenko, 1987, p.76). Value facet analysis includes analysis of the organization’s external culture, organizational culture, employees, suppliers, third party, competitors, and the stockholders’ values. Walgreens needs to adopt product measures that will ensure that products, which get to customers, are free of defects that can be hazardous on consumption thus bringing negative public image to the corporation. Walgreens also needs to formulate a policy that will govern the sale of prescription drugs across its supply chain and its business units. To implement these recommendations, Walgreens needs to carry out a value facet analysis to determine how to make its productivity objectives match with the values of its stakeholders. The recommendations’ implementation should be immediate to avoid lawsuit that could arise from defective products in the future. External Cultures of the organization evolves on the basis that there exist values that are common to organizations in the same industry. The move towards globalization has made it necessary to formulate regulations that govern operations of companies in the world. These values help regul atory bodies to formulate universal regulations for organizations in the common industry. Although the regulations may vary in their wording, in different countries, they promote the same values. Walgreens needs to evaluate the external culture before formulating a policy on sale of prescription drugs in its supply chain. This will help the corporation to formulate a policy that many world cultures accept thus leaving no loopholes that may cause legal suits in future. The organization’s culture defines the way of doing things and the acceptable values within that organization. Walgreens has a culture that contributes to the community through its corporate social responsibility programs. Through this culture, it empowers the disabled and minority groups in the community. To develop standards for evaluating its products before sale, Walgreens needs to engrain a culture, which will encourage testing and evaluation of its products. It also needs to engrain a culture that will pro mote adherence to the policy on sale of prescription drugs among its supply chain. Employee’s values should align with the organization’s productivity objectives. When employee’s values match the organization objectives, this will make it easy for the organization to meet its objectives. Walgreens should use the productivity audit on staff to determine their values. It should then determine how those values could align with the organization’s productivity objectives to improve the quality of its products to avoid product recalls in future. Supplier’s values should be in unison with the organizational values and objectives. Walgreens’ merchandizing department should carry out an analysis on the suppliers of the organization’s product. This will help Walgreen to re-evaluate its suppliers’ list and only outsource products from suppliers with values similar to its values. The suppliers should help Walgreens to uphold its product st andards to avoid product recalls in future. Customer’s values are critical factors when deciding on product factors and overall product success. The organization should promote customer values through the provision of quality products that will meet their wants. Walgreens should evaluate its customer’s values. The re-evaluation will help Walgreens to formulate new standards and policies governing its production and merchandizing operations. The customer’s values will also help in the implementation of the policy on sale of prescription in its supply chain. Third party include the government, regulatory bodies and consumers watch groups. Third party values should match the organization’s values to avoid lawsuits and negative publicity on the company. Walgreens should ensure that it adheres to the government’s regulations on the sale of over the counter prescription drugs. The corporation should also ensure that it meets the product standards stipula ted by regulatory bodies through use of standard procedures in its production and merchandizing units. An organization should evaluate its competitors to determine how it will gain competitive advantage through the establishment of productivity objectives that will surpass those of its competitors. Walgreens should implement work procedures that will improve the standards of its products thus avoid product recalls in future. The owners of an organization play a crucial role in influencing the operations of the organization. The owner’s values determine the organization’s productivity objectives. When the organization’s operations are running smoothly, there is promotion of the owner’s values. Walgreens should incorporate its owner’s values through adoption of new standards that will enhance product quality to avoid product recalls in the future. Walgreen should formulate policies that will ensure that the sale of prescription drugs adheres to the s tipulated standards. Conclusion Walgreen is the largest retail distributor of health care, consumables, and pharmaceutical products in the United States of America. The organization has a culture that helps the less fortunate in the society by empowering them with the skills and opportunities necessary to become self-sufficient. A productivity audit on Walgreens shows that the organization has several strengths such as a wide supply chain that has helped it to penetrate over fifty states (markets), in the United States of America. The organization has however some weaknesses such as product recalls due to sale of substandard goods and lawsuits arising from the sale of drugs without a prescription from a qualified physician. Walgreens can turn these weaknesses into strengths and opportunities through adoption of a culture that ensures product quality and adherence to government’s regulations on the sale of over the counter medicine. The corporation should implement these polic ies after the evaluation of value facets to enable Walgreens to align its objectives with those of its stakeholders. Value facets analysis looks at the external cultures of an organization. Such cultures include the organization’s culture, employee’s values, supplier values, customer values, third party values, competitor’s values, and owner’s values. The value facets analysis in this case provided the operative period within which the recommendations are implementable. The implementations of the productivity audit recommendations will increase Walgreens’ productivity. References Drummond, G., Ensor, J., Ashford, R. (2008). Strategic marketing: Planning and Control. Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Guy, M. E. (1992). Ethical decision making in everyday work situations. West Port, CT: Green Word Publishing Prokopenko, J. (1987). Productivity management: a practical handbook. Geneva: International Labor Organization. This research paper on Productivity Audit was written and submitted by user Roy Vang to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Analytical Essay Sample on Gilgamesh and His Journey

Analytical Essay Sample on Gilgamesh and His Journey The Epic Gilgamesh chronicles the journey of a king. Gilgamesh is a king that flaunts his power and enviably shows his week side in most altercations. Gilgamesh has many trials, some he fails, and some he succeeds. Gilgamesh uses his faults and the help of the gods to fuel his desire to succeed as a human. Gilgameshs journey begins with the meeting of the monster that that a trapper spotted outside his city of Uruk. Its name is Enkidu; he is half man and half beast. This causes conflict in the beginning, but all is solved when the men realize their love for each other. They broke doorposts and the walls shook. He bent his knee with his foot planted on the ground and with a turn Enkidu was thrown. There is not another like you who is as strong as a wild ox now you are raised above all men, and Enlil has given you the kingship. So Enkidu and Gilgamesh embraced and their friendship was sealed. (69) Now that the men are allies they choose to work together. In a dream of Gilgamesh, Enlil of the mountain, declared the destiny of Gilgamesh. (70) He was so distraught because he had yet to make a name for himself. I will set up my name in the place where the names of famous men are written. He and Enkidu went to the forest where the monster Humbaba lived. There they began the search for the monster. Enkidu brought up the point that the forest is quite large and this monster is very mean. (71) Gilgamesh panics, he is worried about his name and what people will say about him. So they call on the God who owns the forest, Shamash. Gilgamesh sacrificed a goat to the god; Shamash accepts it and enables the men to find the monster. When the men finally find Humbaba they panic once again and Gilgamesh prays for help. Glorious Shamash heard his prayer and he summoned the great wind.(81) With the great help of Shamash Gilgamesh fell the monster Humbaba Gilgamesh gained the acclaim he wished for, but if not for the help other the God and Enkidu; Gilga mesh would not have made a name for himself. Gilgamesh cleans up after the kill and attacks the god Ishtar. She finds irresistible him so, she asks him to marry her. Come to me Gilgamesh, and be my bridegroom: grant me seed of your body So things as a couple go well, until Istar accuses Gilgamesh of insulting her. She complains to her father Anu, he doesnt give her what she wants, so she steals the guardian of the underworld, the Bull of Heaven. (87) She sics the Bull of heaven on Gilgamesh, but it ravishes the town of Uruk instead. So Gilgamesh kills it in the honor of the god Shamash. Than in turn angers his new love, the god Istar. Because they have killed the Bull of Heaven, and because they have killed Humbaba who guarded the Cedar Mountain one of the two must die. (89) Enkidu had a dream that this would happen. Oh my brother, such a dream I had last night. Anu, Enlil, Ea, and heavenly Shamash took council together (89). In resentment for his life, Enkidu denounced all that had helped him, even the god Shamash. After those remarks it was decided that Enkidu was the one to die. Gilgamesh was helpless. The gods he so relied on were taking his brother. Showing that the hand that feeds can take and it can give. Because I am afraid of death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtim whom the gods took after the deluge; and the set him to live the garden of the sun; and to him alone of men they gave everlasting life. (97) Gilgamesh journeys for a great length of time. He reaches a garden of the gods, they tell him to go back, but he keeps going. Finally he is directed to the ferryman of Utnapishtim who takes Gilgamesh to Utnapistim. Upon arrival he introduces himself and immediately askes Utnapistim how he obtained everlasting life, Utnapistim replies that Gilgamesh will know soon enough. Utnapistim tells Gilgamesh of the great flood from which he escaped. Enlil punished or granted Utnapistim and his with wife with everlasting life. Gilgamesh still pushes Utnapistim for gives of immortality. He gives Gilgamesh a task, Gilgamesh is not to sleep for six days and seven nights and he well receive immorality. He fails. Utnapistim tries to send Gilgamesh home, but Gilgamesh will not let him. He gi ves Gilgamesh another task, There is plant that grows under water, it has a prickle like thorn, like a rose; it will wound your hands, but if you succeed in taking it, then your hands will hold that which restores his lost youth to a man. (116) He finds the flower, but he left it out and a serpent took it and shed its skin and became young. So Gilgamesh took Urshanabi, the ferryman back to Uruk. When they arrived, Gilgamesh asked Urshanabi to climb the city wall and gaze at all that Gilgamesh had created. All Gilgamesh wanted was to be with his friend Enkidu forever. He failed, but in doing so he saw the good he had done for his city. He had made a name there with his citizens and in engraving his story on stone. Gilgamesh was a man and a king with superhuman power. The underlying forces in his power were the gods. They helped him to succeed and they helped to him fail. He learned that though his soul goal was immortality, that he did not achieve, he could live and be proud of what he created in his own city. Gilgamesh did leave his mark, after five thousand years people still learn of the journey of the great Gilgamesh.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Critical Synopsis Essays

Critical Synopsis Essays Critical Synopsis Essay Critical Synopsis Essay The author developed argument by first reviewing both the planned and emergent models Of organizational change ND then moves to discuss the deficiencies of contingency model of change However, more authors moved towards the concept of organizational change and expanded the number or steps to organizational change (Brunets 1996). These facts are integral part of approach to manage organizational change. Within the writing a standout amongst the most persuasive points of view inside what are known as arranged ways to change is that of Lenin who contended that change include a three stage process: firstly, unfreezing the current conduct; besides moving to the new conduct and, at long last, freezing the new conduct The three-stage model was received for a long time as the overwhelming system for understanding the procedure of hierarchical change (Atoned, 2005). Since its plan, the hypothesis has been audited and changed, with stages being partitioned to make more particular steps. In spite of its prominence, Burners circuited Linens unique hypothesis for being in view of little scale tests, and all the more critically the way that it is in view of the presumption that association act under consistent conditions that can be looked into and anticipated. As a result of such reactions a different option for arranged ways to deal with authoritative change was created that is known as the emergent methodology. An emergent methodology to organizational change sees change as so quick and arbitrary that it cannot be achieved from the top down. Rather, it is argued, change ought to be seen as a methodology of realizing the organization reacts to the interior and outer natural changes. Atoned (2005) proposes that this methodology is more centered on change preparation and encouraging for change than for giving reticular preplanned steps for every change undertaking and activity. While these points might be seen as common sense. A key assumption hidden rising speculations is that with a specific end goal to react to change, administrators must have an inside and out comprehension of the association, its structures, techniques, individuals and society. Understanding these will permit leaders to pick the most proper way to deal with change and recognize the components that may go about as facilitators or obstructions to he change. On my own reflection, the new approach itself is not free from argument that questions the convenience of the expansive nature activity successions, and their application to extraordinary hierarchical settings. A more situational or possibility methodology will be better. As these will change from association to association, leaders reactions and systems for change will likewise need to vary.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

International Business Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

International Business Management - Assignment Example However, the company remains pressed for resources and cannot afford to make the wrong decision when it comes to entering a new market. It is currently not in a position to bear high political, economic or regulatory risks. To this end, great potential exists in BRIC countries as the growth potential in these nations tends to be higher compared with the U.S. The founder of Genicon must, therefore, decide whether or not to enter the BRIC markets and, if so, which of these markets to enter. This decision must be made vis-a-vis the decision to continue to expand in European regions such as Germany. It is recommended that Genicon enters Brazil owing to low political risks and smooth regulatory environment. 2. Problem statement Genicon faces the problem of whether to enter into developed markets such as Germany or focus on existing markets or enter into BRIC countries. If it chooses to enter the BRIC economies then which economy should Genicon enter for maximizing its profits and growth p otential and minimizing its risks? 3. Analysis Genicon possesses over 10 years of experience in the sale of laparoscopic instruments within and outside U.S (Kupetz, Tindall, & Haberland, 2010). Internationalization may be active or proactive (Wild & Wild, 2012). However, Genicon’s internationalization has been largely proactive to take advantage of favorable business opportunities. Furthermore, the current marketing and distribution environment required firms to sell through GPOs which favored large companies owing to financial structure (Kupetz, Tindall, & Haberland, 2010). Hence, Genicon’s sales in the U.S were declining (Kupetz, Tindall, & Haberland, 2010). Additionally, international markets were providing higher growth rates as far as the market for MIS was concerned. Theory attributes internationalization to the strategic intent of the founder (Wild & Wild, 2012). The case suggests Genicon’s founder- Haberland to have had interest in entering emerging mark ets owing to their high growth rates. However, the biggest concern encompassing Genicon is which BRIC market to enter. It is important to analyze each BRIC economy from the perspective of various factors. Global legal issues such as intellectual property which faces threat of piracy may be important considerations for international businesses (Wild & Wild, 2012). In terms of the legal environment, India offered improvement in terms of shorter product launch times and tighter IP laws. Russia offered weak enforcement laws whereas China offered uncertain, slow and weak regulatory procedures (Kupetz, Tindall, & Haberland, 2010). Brazil, on the other hand, offered â€Å"internationally accepted† regulatory standards with the prospective introduction of the four-tier system (like that in the EU) which was favorable for Genicon. Considering that the role of government intervention is critical factor for startups, the BRIC countries need to be analyzed in terms of this aspect as well . India has been heading towards privatization. Political ideologies may range from being anarchist ( whereby personal and private groups have liberty) to totalitarian (where every aspect of people’s lives is controlled) (Wild & Wild, 2012). Pluralism exists in the middle whereby both public and private groups coexist (Wild & Wild, 2012). China seems to have moved towards pluralism in the wake of globalization with the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Sectionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sectionalism - Essay Example They had plantations. These were large family farms that produced tobacco and cotton that relied on cheap labor in the form of slaves which was actually intensified as economic sectionalism grew stronger as well. Both North and South sections tried to have representatives in Congress for them to have the power to pass laws that would benefit their sections. Both wanted to have equal States rights and reasonable government tax on imports or exports. The West was also a section but was not part of the sectional conflict between North and South. However, the presence of the West aggravated their conflict as both sections fought to control the West. The people then moved westward and settled there, of course with the additional struggles faced with the first Indian settlers. They saw the west as an "open land", a free land where new opportunities awaited. As more people moved into the west, they realized how potential the land was which then showed the American development. The presence of fertile soil and flat lands attracted the farmers to Great Plains. The discovery of gold and animals rushed in miners and hunters. The people started to acknowledge that additional development to the land could provide them with lots of money. The settlers then slowly started to develop the land and made it prosperous that appealed to investors. The complexity of city life eventually became simple as people tried to embrace the new culture and economy of the West. There were traders, ranchers, miners and farmers that eventually boost the West economy. The opening of the West was indeed an avenue where people started to have hope, rights and duties in expanding and owning a free land. The opening of the West slowly neutralized the sectional conflict between the North and the South. Slavery, one of the four main issues starts to find its voice and freedom. Slavery was believed to be a sectional trait and since the west did not acknowledge this, slaves were not anymore half-free nor half-slave. They can also enjoy what a free man can. No racial discrimination. Black Americans can as well live and work freely with white Americans. Representation, second issue, the North and South as mentioned above seek representatives that will speak on their behalf and propose laws that will benefit their own sections. This is not the case with the West, as people continue to possess economic power, political power arises as well. As new settlers realized their independency in trading, managing and controlling of their new lands, it was also the beginning of intolerance to the government, the individualism of the people. We are to see here that economic opportunities slowly closed the gap caused by sectionalism; however, it also opened to individualism. Individualism in America has allowed a laxity in regard to governmental affairs which has rendered possible the spoils system and all the manifest evils that follow from the lack of a highly developed civic spirit (Turner). An individualism which made the government out of its function due to the immense success of the West economy that encouraged the people to rule the land expecting limited participation from the government. The individualism made them neglectful on their duties and responsibilities as citizens of America. Looking closely to it, the individualism of the West is as worse as sectionalism. Sectionalism only thinks of its own section while individualism only thinks

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Turkish invasion of Cyprus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Turkish invasion of Cyprus - Essay Example Even before the conflict, the tension arose when the Cyprus Convention, on the basis of which Britain 'leased' the island, lost much of its relevance for some reasons, foremost of which was the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. However there is a background of the conflict followed by the year 1878, when Cyprus was offered to the British, the Turkish sultans expected them to build a strong naval base on the island, which could be used as a deterrent against possible Russian attacks on the Asian parts of the Ottoman Empire (Borowiec: 24). This project was never realized thus never fulfilled. Despite high claims and loud voices in Britain that demanded an end to colonial rule in Cyprus, the Convention was never abrogated, resulting in the economic disaster in Cyprus. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, it was felt that the time was not favourable for the Cyprus government as the Turkish government had just relaxed its negotiating position linking free access to Ayios Theodhoros with Artemis Road (Hart: 47). It had also, instructed its permanent representative to the United Nations to thank Secretary-General for his efforts in obtaining the release of Denkta, and to state Ankara's acceptance of the UNFICYP timetable for the phased resumption of police patrols to the village, provided UNFICYP returned the Kophinou police compound to Turkish Cypriot police and redoubled its efforts to settle the Artemis Road situation. The attitude of the Turkish Government was warlike because for months the Demirel administration had been focusing its attention on internal development projects, many involving U.S. economic assistance. However the advance deployment of heavy weaponry and Greek mainland troops were indicating something fishy not only, in battalion strength, around Skarinou, but throughout the island. When the Cyprus crises erupted in 1964, Turkey found itself deprived to get U.S. support, at that time Ankara thought of reapproaching Arabs with a hope that would pay off. However the Arabs instead supported Greece with arms and weapons against the Turkish Cypriot minority (Nachmani: 14). Turkey while depicting such attitude of Middle East as the Arab betrayal, tried to shake hands with the Western world. Conflicts and threats during and after Turkish invasion The political aspirations of the Cypriot leaders were to inspire Cypriots towards either Greece or Turkey instead of creating a mutual concern for the unity of their nation and for their own self-preservation as Cypriots. The dominant feeling that remained long after the invasion among Turkish Cypriots was that the internationally recognized government of Cyprus has not represented the interests of the island's Turkish community. Indeed, it was observed that except minor exceptions, particularly after the invasion, Greek Cypriots regarded Turkish Cypriots as enemies rather than as compatriots. Greeks never considered them as their equal partners due to which systematic economic blockade of the Turkish areas by the Greek side were theoretically intended to 'punish' Turkey (Borowiec: 8). Distances between Greeks and Turks remained wider and therefore alienated the minority that was supposed to share the island with the Greeks. However despite the elements that separated two Cypriot

Friday, November 15, 2019

Impact of Employee Motivation Strategies on Customer Service

Impact of Employee Motivation Strategies on Customer Service Creating and maintaining a well-motivated work force is challenging task of a company. The confidence and motivation of work force are being constantly worn down by the inevitable rejection they suffer from buyers as part of everyday activities. To some extent, a high level of employee motivation is derived from effective management practices. To develop motivated employees, a manager must treat people as individuals, empower workers, provide an effective reward system, redesign jobs, and create a flexible workplace. Empowerment occurs when individuals in an organization are given autonomy, authority, trust, and encouragement to accomplish a task. Empowerment is designed to unshackle the worker and to make a job the workers responsibility. In an attempt to empower and to change some of the old bureaucratic ideas, managers are promoting corporate entrepreneurships. Entrepreneurship encourages employees to pursue new ideas and gives them the authority to promote those ideas. Obviously, entrepreneurship is not for the timid, because old structures and processes are turned upside down. Managers often use rewards to reinforce employee behavior that they want to continue. A reward is a work outcome of positive value to the individual. Organizations are rich in rewards for people whose performance accomplishments help meet organizational objectives. People receive rewards in one of the following two ways: Extrinsic rewards are externally administered. They are valued outcomes given to someone by another person, typically a supervisor or higher level manager. Common workplace examples are pay bonuses, promotions, time off, special assignments, office fixtures, awards, verbal praise, and so on. In all cases, the motivational stimulus of extrinsic rewards originates outside the individual. Intrinsic rewards are self-administered. Think of the natural high a person may experience after completing a job. That person feels good because she has a feeling of competency, personal development, and self-control over her work. In contrast to extrinsic rewards, the motivational stimulus of intrinsic rewards is internal and doesnt depend on the actions of other people. When people think of honoring employees for jobs well done, they may typically think of monetary rewards. However, these may be neither necessary nor the best type of reward. By contrast, frequent, positive feedback provided within a n enjoyable, team-oriented environment makes a tremendous difference in employees sense of being valued and, as a result, their commitment to your company. With or without financial rewards, these cultural aspects of the workplace could be the smartest investment in the staff and business. 2.0 Problem Statement McDonalds want to improve service quality and productivity in company; the single most effective thing is improve employee morale and motivation. Fortunately there are many ways to do this from the familiar recognition and reward programs to motivating with good management, teams, training, and more. And the really good news is that most of these programs dont cost a lot of money. Motivating customer service employees provides details on the full range of approaches use to improve frontline motivation. It is important to understand exactly how these motivational approaches have been put into action in to improve customer service and provide better customer care with customer satisfaction in McDonalds. It is important to hire the right people after all, you can never motivate the wrong people, create powerful recognition and incentive programs, that fully engage and motivate employees and make the frontline job more interesting, challenging, and rewarding through empowerment, teams, good management, training, and more. 3.0 Research Objectives To identify current employee motivation strategies in McDonalds To identify effective motivates factors of employees in McDonalds To understand the customer feel about the employees of McDonalds To introduce proper employee motivation strategies to improve customer service and employees performance in McDonald 4.0 Research Questionnaires What are the current employees motivation strategies in McDonald? What are the best effective employee motivation factors for McDonald? How is the customer view about the employee of McDonald? What are the most suitable employee motivation strategies to improve customer service and employees performance in McDonald? Chapter -02 5.0 Literature Review Literature Review of Employee Motivation and Customer Service Many people go to work every day and go through the same, unenthusiastic actions to perform their jobs. These individuals often refer to this condition as burnout. But smart managers can do something to improve this condition before an employee becomes bored and loses motivation. The concept of job redesign, which requires knowledge of and concern for the human qualities people bring with them to the organization, applies motivational theories to the structure of work for improving productivity and satisfaction 5.1 Employee Motivation When redesigning jobs, managers look at both job scope and job depth. Redesign attempts may include the following: Job enlargement, often referred to as horizontal job loading, job enlargement increases the variety of tasks a job includes. Although it doesnt increase the quality or the challenge of those tasks, job enlargement may reduce some of the monotony, and as an employees boredom decreases, his or her work quality generally increases. Job rotation, this practice assigns people to different jobs or tasks to different people on a temporary basis. The idea is to add variety and to expose people to the dependence that one job has on other jobs. Job rotation can encourage higher levels of contributions and renew interest and enthusiasm. The organization benefits from a cross-trained workforce. Job enrichment, this called vertical job loading, this application includes not only an increased variety of tasks, but also provides an employee with more responsibility and authority. If the skills required to do the job are skills that match the jobholders abilities, job enrichment may improve morale and performance. Todays employees value personal time. Because of family needs, a traditional nine-to-five workday may not work for many people. Therefore, flextime, which permits employees to set and control their own work hours, is one way that organizations are accommodating their employees needs. Here are some other options organizations are trying as well: A compressed workweek is a form of flextime that allows a full-time job to be completed in less than the standard 40-hour, five-day workweek. Its most common form is the 4/40 schedule, which gives employees three days off each week. This schedule benefits the individual through more leisure time and lower commuting costs. The organization should benefit through lower absenteeism and improved performance. Of course, the danger in this type of scheduling is the possibility of increased fatigue. Job sharing or twinning occurs when one full-time job is split between two or more persons. Job sharing often involves each person working one-half day, but it can also be done on weekly or monthly sharing arrangements. When jobs can be split and shared, organizations can benefit by employing talented people who would otherwise be unable to work full-time. The qualified employee who is also a parent may not want to be in the office for a full day but may be willing to work a half-day. Although adjustment problems sometimes occur, the arrangement can be good for all concerned. Telecommuting, sometimes called flexi place, is a work arrangement that allows at least a portion of scheduled work hours to be completed outside of the office, with work-at-home as one of the options. Telecommuting frees the jobholder from needing to work fixed hours, wearing special work attire, enduring the normal constraints of commuting, and having direct contact with supervisors. Home workers often demonstrate increased productivity, report fewer distractions, enjoy the freedom to be their own boss, and appreciate the benefit of having more time for them. Of course, when there are positives, there are also negatives. Many home workers feel that they work too much and are isolated from their family and friends. In addition to the feelings of isolation, many employees feel that the lack of visibility at the office may result in the loss of promotions. 5.2 Employee Motivation Strategies 1. External Motivation There are two kinds of external motivation: a) Fear You had better get this right, or you will lose money, job, respect, relationship, status, etc. b) Incentives If you do this right, you will gain money, recognition, status, promotion, lifestyle, etc. The impact of external motivation is temporary. When the threat or incentive is removed, motivation is lost. 2. Internal Motivation Most employees have been exposed to the idea If it is to be, its up to me. And they have all been advised to set goals. Many employees set worthwhile goals, BUT their suboptimal thinking prevents them from taking the best actions to achieve the best outcomes. They compromise their own best interests, because they havent been educated in the art and science of consistent Optimal Thinking. As an Optimal Thinking leader, you assess and best resolve demotivating company rules, policies and behaviors (e.g. unproductive meetings, destructive criticism, and unclear expectations about employee performance). By minimizing demotivates and optimizing no-cost employee motivation strategies (e.g. maximizing job ownership, setting supremely motivational realistic challenges and goals, providing fair treatment and appropriate recognition, measuring performance progress, optimizing collaboration and teamwork) and educating your employees in the consistent art of Optimal Thinking, you will provide the most conducive environment to optimize employee motivation and productivity. 5.3 Motivation Theories Motivation has been researched by psychologists and others for many years. A number of theories have evolved which are pertinent to the motivation of employees. The basis of Maslows motivation theory is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower factors need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem) that must be satisfied before a can act unselfishly. He called these needs deficiency needs. As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward self-actualization. Satisfying needs is healthy, while preventing gratification makes us sick or act evilly. The two-factor theory (also known as Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. It was developed by Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist, who theorized that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of each other. Expectancy Theory proposes that a person will decide to behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be. In essence, the motivation of the behavior selection is determined by the desirability of the outcome. However, at the core of the theory is the cognitive process of how an individual processes the different motivational elements. This is done before making the ultimate choice. The outcome is not the sole determining factor in making the decision of how to behave. 5.4 Importance of Customer Services Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. It can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as company want, but unless company can get some of those customers to come back, business wont be profitable for long. Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy happy enough to pass positive feedback about business along to others, who may then try the product or service offer for themselves and in their turn, become repeat customers Good salesperson can be used to sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not ever be able to sell that person anything else. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue. Answer your phone. Get call forwarding or an answering service. Hire the staff if business need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. Dont make promises unless you will keep them. Not plan to keep them, will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. It is important think before you give any promise because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one. Listen to your customers. Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasnt been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customers point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches and the product babble. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem. Deal with complaints. No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, You cant please all the people all the time. Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service. Be helpful even if theres no immediate profit in it. The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band and charged me nothing! Where do you think Ill go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think Ive told this story to? Train your staff (if you have any) to be always helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable. Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isnt) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, I dont know, but so-and-so will be back at Take the extra step For instance, if someone walks into your store and asks you to help them find something, dont just say, Its in Aisle 3. Lead the customer to the item. Better yet, wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people. viii) Throw in something extra. Whether its a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And dont think that a gesture has to be large to be effective. The local art framer that we use attaches a package of picture hangers to every picture he frames. A small thing, but so appreciated. Chapter -03 6.0 Methodology Staff surveys are usually very helpful in establishing whether staff in your company is motivated and therefore performing to best effect. Aside from the information that questionnaires reveal, the process of involving and consulting with staff is hugely beneficial and motivational in its own right, Whilst survey will be unique to McDonalds and staff issues, industry and culture, some useful generic guidelines apply to most situations and own questionnaires on employee motivation. 6.1 Sampling Frame Research is mainly focused on primary data. Random sampling method is used for the primary data collection. Two questionnaire surveys are conducted for the research study. It is randomly selected 10 McDonalds in all over the country. Then it is selected 100 employees from all over the McDonalds in country. It is randomly selected 100 customers from selected ten McDonalds in all over the country. 6.2 Data Collection Mainly research is focused on primary data and secondary data also collected from books, journals and informal discussions. Two questionnaires are prepared to collect all the information required for the objectives. One questionnaire is prepared for the McDonalds employee and other questionnaire prepared for the McDonalds customers. Then the prepared questionnaire is pre tested with five employee and five consumers to make sure that questionnaires are appropriate to get required information. Then questionnaire survey is conducted randomly selected 100 employees and customers. Questionnaires are completed when interviewing the employee and customers. Chapter -04 7.0 Data Analysis 7.1 Employee Survey According to the results of the questionnaire survey, out of the sample that were subjected to the survey 75% of chefs and managers said that they were satisfied with the level of flexibility of working hours. However only 61% of the cashiers were satisfied, and it should be noted that out of the cashiers that were interviewed 53% are female workers. The female workers may find it difficult to match their requirement with the available working shifts. Even though the management had emphasized that the performance related rewarding strategies were in place, the questionnaire analysis shows some contradicting results. Only 37% of chefs, 46% cashiers are satisfied with their salary. But 100% of the managers are satisfied with their salary. Also approximately 37% of chefs and cashiers are satisfied with the benefits, while 75% of the managers are satisfied with their benefits. Further 25% and 38% of chefs and cashiers are satisfied with the frequency and amount of bonuses respectively. However 50% of the managers are satisfied with the bonuses. But 62% chefs, 53% cashiers and 100% of the managers are satisfied with the rewarding scheme. Nevertheless this analysis indicates a more focus and biasness towards the management in terms of rewards and the requirements of the team members are not sufficiently addressed. However based on the questionnaire analysis, on average 50% of the employees are satisfied with the career advancement opportunities available to them. So the reason for this lower satisfaction level should be investigated. The results of the questionnaire survey shows that around 76% of the operational level employees (cashiers, chefs, etc) are below 4 years in service. So this can be a symptom of employee turnover or they may have been promoted to higher grades. So it is identified that the job security for the KFC team members are high, a large number of employment opportunities are available within their group of companies and their career path is clear. According to the questionnaire results 75% of chefs and 100% of managers are satisfied with their job security. However the cashiers show a lower satisfaction rate of 53% of job satisfaction. Even though the management believes in a supportive corporate culture to enhance employee motivation, the effectiveness of the implementation of the strategies is questionable. This because the results of the questionnaire results revealed that only 50% of the chefs and only 46% of cashiers are satisfied with the existing corporate culture even though there is 100% satisfaction of the management. 7.2 Customer Survey 100 customers were interviewed in this survey, according to their view 69% customers satisfied with customer service delivering in McDonald, 26% customers dissatisfied and 5% customers were neutral in that question. Product quality and price view of customers were good 78% of customers satisfied with product quality and 82% customers satisfied with product price. According to customer view, researcher can summarized their view as above Chapter -05 8.0 Conclusions Recommendations 8.1 Conclusions It can be concluded that the rewarding strategy which is in place at the moment is somewhat ineffective. One of the major issue with the current system is it is more bias towards the management but does not take into account the requirements of the team members. This fact is proven by the results of the questionnaire analysis. For instance only 37% and 46%% of chefs and cashiers are satisfied with their salary, respectively. However 100%% of the managers are satisfied of their salary. On the other hand 37% and 38% of chefs and cashiers are satisfied with their benefits respectively, while 75% of the managers are satisfied. It can be concluded that, in general KFC has taken actions tom promote their team members to higher positions in anticipation of motivation. When considering the results of the questionnaire only 0% of chefs and 15% of cashiers have service records of more than 7 years. So the chefs and cashiers may be promoted as managers in course of time. This fact is further supported by the fact that no managers were found to have less than 4 years of experience at Mcdonald. So managers must be promoted from the operational level to their current position. 8.2 Recommendations It is recommended to revise the existing rewarding scheme appropriately to accommodate the requirements of the team members in terms of amount of economic benefits ensuring a win-win situation for both the employees and the employer. It is recommended to attend to the issue of high work load of female cashiers, and to the issue of lack of new technology in McDonald. It is emphasized that by bringing in new technology to reduce work load. It is recommended to design a new shift of working, different to the general shifts that are currently available in order to accommodate the requirements of the female employees. It is recommended to provide convenient physical working environment for female workers. It is recommended to assess the training needs of chefs regularly because of the technical nature of the job and because of a chefs ability to deliver superior customer satisfaction. Proper training program should be organized and conducted continuously to enhance the knowledge and the skill base of the chefs.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Female managers at Nagel

One of the most important issues concerning the workforce at Nagel Partners is its gender demographic. The proportion of male to female employees is approximately even at the lower levels. However, the number of female role models available to these women employees is disproportionately low, amounting to only about 10% at the executive levels. Nagel Partners’ executives have expressed concern about the profitability of training more female employees to fill managerial and executive positions, and this concern is justified. However, it would prove very beneficial to this firm to embark on such a training scheme, since many women do tend to give out their best performance under situations that are generally different from those that male leaders and managers are able create. One of the major divisions in leadership type is between task-oriented (production-oriented) and relationship-oriented (employee-oriented) leaders. While a task-oriented leader tends to focus on the accomplishment of production goals, relationship-oriented leaders are foremost concerned with the well-being of their subordinates (Lewitz & Bem, 1983). However, once the task has been accomplished, the task-oriented leader is usually better able to focus on relationships. The opposite is true for relationship-oriented leaders, who are able to facilitate the optimal completion of tasks once it has been established that needs of subordinates (or of the group) have been met (1983). In a firm like Nagel Partners, which focuses on a predominantly task oriented job (accounting), task orientation is a necessity. However, considering that employees are human beings, a holistic look at management would warrant the inclusion of a more relationship-based orientation. The type of leader that a woman will prove to be (whether task- or relationship-oriented) may have an impact on her performance as a manager. Though this cannot be considered true in all instances, women have generally been perceived as being more relationship-oriented than men (â€Å"Masculine and Feminine,† 2005). This has also been seen by many as having the ability to affect productivity as a manager in a task-oriented firm. However, in a firm with such a large population of valuable women workers as Nagel Partners, it can be seen that women do have the capability to perform tasks well. Furthermore, it has been stated by several leadership researchers that leaders who are relationship oriented lead divisions that perform as well as those of leaders who are task-oriented (2005). One of the keys behind this is the fact that relationship-oriented leaders are capable of creating an atmosphere in which tasks can be performed at optimal levels (2005). Since women generally have a natural proclivity toward being relationship oriented (â€Å"Masculine and Feminine,† 2005), then the need for such a leader might be considered to be very large at Nagel Partners. Females workers trained to occupy leadership positions are likely to have a positive effect on the productivity of their female subordinates, as they have a natural inclination toward creating the atmosphere in which these persons can produce their best work. Training would, however, likely be necessary in an effort to increase these female managers’ tendency toward the more task-oriented goals of giving directions to and setting standards for employees. The ability for employees to identify with those in leadership positions is also an important component in a manager’s power or influence with employees. The large proportion of women on the payroll at Nagel Partners would allow for increased identification, were more women to be trained and placed in managerial and executive positions. Despite this fact, it has also been shown that many females have trouble subordinating men (Lewitz & Bem, 1983). Some women may have an innate problem with this, while others might come across male employees who are reluctant to behave subordinately toward a female manager. Since as many men as women work at Nagel Partners, training is necessary to improve prospective female managers’ ability to relate well to both sexes. This is an especially good idea since it has been shown that training has the ability to transform less assertive women by increasing their assertiveness in given situations. Women were able to increase the efficacy of their performance in mixed-sex groups as a result of such intervention (1983). Therefore, training women to become managers in this firm would prove beneficial. One possible challenge to be faced by increasing the number of female managers is that in the workforce culture of the United States, masculinity as a leadership type seems to be generally given a higher value. First of all, this operates under the assumption that achievement and assertiveness are masculine traits. While this is not always the case, when training female leaders, considerations should be made regarding methods of enhancing (or, if need be, instilling) those attributes. The fact that these women will be leading other women makes any inherent femininity traits an invaluable leadership tool. However, the fact that these women would also be leading men makes it necessary that those who do not already possess masculinity traits be trained in that area. All these factors would make the training of female managers very beneficial to Nagel Partners. References â€Å"The ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ sides of leadership and culture: perception vs. reality.† (2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leadership and Change. October. U. of Penn. Retrieved on February 23, 2007 from Lewittes, H. J. & S. L. Bem. (1983). â€Å"Training women to be more assertive in mixed-sex task-  Ã‚   oriented discussions.† Behavioral Science. 9(5), 581-596. Â