Office Gym Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Office Gym Time - Essay Example For the first group, Group A, a survey was sent to 20 random employees who had access to the office gym and also were offered an incentive of 30 minutes paid gym time by their office. For the second group, Group B, a survey was sent to 20 random employees, all of whom had access to the office gym but were not paid to do so by the company. Randomization was done through the use of a computer program to select random employee ID numbers. After the data was collected, it was graphed and analyzed. The first graph on the left compares the amount of office gym time that was used between the two groups. The top box plot shows Group A’s use of the gym, while the bottom box plot shows Group B’s use of the gym. As can be seen from the box plot, Group A spent considerably more time in the gym, and this was most likely due to the paid incentive. However, this graph alone is not enough to determine the program’s success. For further analysis, the box plot on the right shows employee satisfaction between the two groups. As can be seen from the box plot, it appears that Group A has slightly higher employee satisfaction. Further analysis was conducted by calculating the summary statistics. The table shows the calculated summary statistics for gym time for each group. From the summary statistics calculated in this table, we can conclude that Group As gym time was higher than Group Bs. This was most likely due to the paid incentive for Group A. However, a link needs to be made to prove the benefits involved. To show this link, the employee satisfaction summary statistics show the differences in employee satisfaction between the two groups. As can be seen by the summary statistics, the mean and median for Group A are both considerably higher. As such, it is statistically confirmed that Group As the level of satisfaction is higher than that of Group Bs.

Human Resource Management in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Resource Management in China - Essay Example In past building, money and the products were considered as the vital assets, but today Human resource is right up with the other monetary and liquid assets and in successful organizations it is considered as the most important strategic asset of the organization. Human Resource management has a great role in changing the business ideologies and modern rationales up to this point (Bhatia & Dey, 2005). This changed labeled the Human Resource department as the advocates of the employees, rather then the advocates of the employers as in the past. The modern world has admitted that Human Resource department is an important strategic department and has a key role in organization as it deals in managing the most vital asset of the organization, the Human workforce. Previously this department was considered as a wasteful and completely unnecessary expense center where as now it is considered as the strategic partner with other departments in achieving the organizational goals. Human Resource managers manage organizational activities through different practices. These practices are not a constant in all the organizations. Not all the managers all over the world use the same Human resource management methods (Daft, 2001). It is because they operate in different organizations that are placed in different countries and cultures. Therefore the responsibilities of the Human resource managers play a vital role for the organization as a whole. For example consider an Organization that is placed globally. Then the job of the Human Resource manager is to find out about the labor force of the country, their diversity, age trends, skills and culture. Where as other factors should also be considered such as the economical conditions, government regulations, infrastructure, laws and culture of that country. Managers must also screen the external environment before entering the market. If these factors are handled lightly before setting up a business in the country, organization may end up in loosing vast amount of money and resources. That is why HR managers should consider all the aspects very carefully as the availability of the required labor force and its nature of motivation may also depend upon these factors (Globalization & Environment, 2009). Other than that a company has to answer the questions, which must involve all the departments of the organization. These questions may include why they want to go to that country, who will be the workers, what will be the structure, from where will the finances come and what are the legal requirements to consider. These questions bring all the departments like Finance, legal and Human Resource department into play. As a HR manager ones job is to find out about the labor force availability and the legal issues dealing in the labor and the human resource laws of the country. Both the areas are the most important areas for the organization, as it enters a new country. As workers are the one who are responsible for running the business, where as legal laws keeps a check on companies activities and management in the treatment of the that workforce. The final decision maker must seriously consider the report submitted by the HR manager if the business is to be successful (Heller, 2007). PEST Analysis of

Issues for Women (or Minorities) in Leadership Research Paper

Issues for Women (or Minorities) in Leadership - Research Paper Example However, leadership is never an easy task. It takes great amount of skills and abilities to become a successful leader. Although there is no clear and definite description of a successful leader, there are some qualities which are required in a person for him/her to be a good leader. First of all, a leader needs to have a vision in his mind and should be able not only follow it, but also share it with his team members. Besides this, the leader needs to practice integrity, be dedicated towards the organization or the task, have creativity and be open to criticism and new ideas. Lastly, the leader also needs to be humble and fair towards others (Hakala, 2008). When it comes to being in the role of a leader, women are much different than men. Not only do men and women differ in their leadership styles, there is also considerable difference in their vision, approach towards problems and thinking patterns. However, being different does not mean that women are incapable of being successful leaders. There are several examples of women leaders who have been praised a lot for their leadership skills. But, on a mass scale, men still dominate in the capacity of leadership. This is because of a number of issues women face in leadership. Firstly, women in the social and cultural structure are seen to be less dominating than men. This is seen by the predefined notions and the practices which maintain a system of power in the society. This social structure has the tendency to shape decisions, interactions and social relations. As a result, researches have revealed that men and women draw out different responses from the people around them. The difference is primarily due to the above stated cultural and social factors. Hence, women leaders stimulate different reactions than male leaders because of preconceived expectations. This makes it very difficult for a

Report on HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Report on HR - Essay Example Effective human resource management would encourage team playing and would enhance collective performance in the organisation along with accentuating the individual performances. In case of performance management, a sound human resources policy would allow individuals to grow along with the growth of the organisation. This would entail involvement of the people in the work that they are assigned and autonomy in the context of the work done. There are several aspects of human resources which have a positive impact on the employees and help them to perform better in the organisation. The HRM can assign challenging and mentally stimulating jobs to the employees so that the employees find diversity and interest in the work that they do. The human resources managers often take several indicators which show that the organisational performance is increasing. Thus they try to make improvement in these indicators to bring an improvement in the overall organisational performance. In case of Wa l-Mart for example, the performance of each of the retail outlets is estimated by the HR department of Wal-Mart by analysing the length of the queues in the billing counters, the level of stocks that lie on the shelves and the stocks that are remaining at the end of the day. These are the key indicators that provide the HR department an idea about the areas where the performance can be improved to generate greater profits. (Harter, Schmitdt and Hayes, 2002, pp. 268-279). The managers in Wal-Mart act as the immediate superiors of the lowest level and junior level employees. Therefore it is important for the managers to encourage the employees to perform better in the daily activities of the retail store. The employees on the other hand should have respect for the managers and should be motivated by them for the achievement of any target that they need to meet. The human resource policies of Wal-Mart are progressive in nature in the sense that the implementation of the HR policies sho uld be done with efficiency and the goals that the line managers set for the employees have to be in accordance with the organisational policies. Thus it is essential for the managers to have leadership skills which would drive a positive energy in the entire organisation culture. Mutual respect should flow bilaterally for the line managers and the junior employees. The relations of the employees with the organisation and its various elements are some of the major benchmarks of the organisational effectiveness. The Human Resource Departments of the organisations generally engage the employee into participation programmes

Basics of finance and investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Basics of finance and investment - Essay Example Bad news is always remembered more because it is human nature that people’s miseries create a stronger impact in our minds. But it should also be remembered that if there is a Leeson, there is also a Warren Buffet. Money was lost on internet stocks, but just before that, money was also made on the same internet stocks. And Bernard Madoff was one of a kind, who took advantage of people’s confidence to him as a SEC consultant. There was nobody before or after him who operated at the level he did, because the there is usually in place an effective regulation of the market and most such operators are caught early on (Arnold, 2004). If there are no extreme developments such as market crashes and financial crises, investing for value long-term has always been sound strategy for enhancing wealth. There are several vehicles for investment: the savings account, the money market, certificates of deposit and common stocks are some of them. Each of these instruments is associated with a particular level of rate of return. The rate of return is the percentage gain an investment makes – in short, how much yearly earnings are expected as a proportion of the capital invested. The rates of return fluctuate, but they maintain a more or less consistent relationship with those of the others. For instance, the savings account in a bank would normally have the lowest rate of return which is denoted by its interest rate. The money market placement has a slightly higher interest rate, followed by certificates of deposit, and then the stock investment. The average rates of return for each of these instruments is shown in th e second row of Table 1 (source: UK National Statistics Online). The rate of return plays an important part in the concept of compounding. In compounding, the returns that have been accumulated for one year becomes part of the

The Chinese Miracle Essay Example for Free

The Chinese Miracle Essay Many developing countries have sought rapid and sustained economic growth, but few have encountered China’s success. What are the key explanatory factors accounting for the so-called â€Å"Chinese miracle† of the past three decades? Introduction The landscape and the economy of China has extremely changed and developed for thirty years. The â€Å"Chinese miracle† as we called is a really interesting topic such no one country had known a lightning economic ascent as China. Several factors explain that rise to power but I think it is better to talk about almost entirely a few of them instead of name ten factors and develop them during only some sentences. That’s why I have chosen to develop three elements for this essay which are, in my opinion, the main key factors explaining the potential ascension of the Chinese economy of the past three decades. Of course, for this subject, we have to talk about the Reform and Opening up of 1978 without which China would not be the second world economic power nowadays. Given that it is an essay of a few pages, I will develop a few aspects and not all the elements of this economic reforms’ program. China’s Reform and Opening up In 1978, thanks to Deng Xiaoping who led the Communist Party of China, China knew the world’s biggest economic reform of the nineteenth century. This reform is the most important key factor which can explain the so-called â€Å"Chinese Miracle†. It provides the country an open-minded economy on the world. The reform and opening up took place in two steps. Firstly, in the first ten years from 1978, the reform involved stopping collectivize of agriculture and doing the opposite, the opening up for the foreign investments and to allow businessmen to start up business. Secondly, from the end of 1980s, it entailed privatization of companies and contracting out of a lot state-owned industry. Although state monopolies in sectors such as banking and petroleum remained, the economic reform brought lifting of price controls, protectionist policies and regulations. Thanks to this economic reform which is the largest, foreigners and also overseas Chinese began to invest in China. During the past 30 years, the investment range of overseas Chinese has developed from labor-intensive to capital or technology-intensive industries and has expanded from the hometowns of overseas Chinese to western China via the coastal areas, the inland and central, eventually leading to the all-round opening-up of China. Overseas Chinese businessmen and their enterprises have made a huge contribution to the expansion of Made in China products all over the world. At present, investing in China has become a trend for overseas Chinese. Although statistics are not complete, overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao who have found enterprises represent about 70% of the total of overseas-funded enterprises in China. In the past thirty years, they have donated billions of yuan to Chinese public services, to set up thousands of middle and primary schools. They also donated vehicles, medical equipment, motorcycles, nylon cloth, fertilizers, chemical fibers, refrigerators and agricultural machines. The return of many overseas Chinese directly changed the daily lives of ordinary Chinese people at that time by means of televisions, washing machines, sewing machines and radios which were scarce items. When we notice all the capital, the investments and donations which have been brought for three decades by the overseas Chinese and the foreigners, we can say that without the Reform and Opening up which gather a lot of economic reforms, the economy and quality of the life in China would not be what it is now. Population, production costs and way of life in China According to me, ones of the most important factors which can explain the surprising and rapid growth of China are the population in China, the cost of living and the way of life of Chinese people. Although some of countries in Europe enjoyed a fast growth decades ago, no one benefited from a growth with two numerals during several years like China. One of the reasons is the population in China which exceed 1. 300. 000. 000 persons, which means that more than one person out of five on the Earth is Chinese. With the biggest population of the world, it is not surprising that China is one of the biggest economic world-power because the country disposes of a huge workforce. Although having a big population for a country bring it to be a big economic power in the world like the United States, France and Russia, it is not enough for a country to establish itself as the first worldwide producer in a lot of different sectors. Indeed, China can base its economy on its population but especially on its cost of living therefore on the production costs. The cost of living is the biggest known reason of the economic success of China since we had known the globalization because all the production costs for the companies are cheaper than in Europe and the United States. Since our world economy entered in the globalization, almost of the companies from the secondary sector (in contrast with the primary and the tertiary sector) had begun to produce their goods or some pieces of their goods in China. Worldwide companies except non-profit-making organizations and a few ones have as goal to make profits. So, since China has opened its borders to foreign countries to doing business with them three decades ago, multinational but also small and medium-sized firms took advantage of this great opportunity to outsource their factory in order to reduce their production costs substantially and so to make more profits. However, it’s also the way of life, the culture of the Chinese people which contribute to make this kind of large-scaled producing system possible. Chinese people have a different consideration about their job, their work more and they have less leisure time than European people. They work hard, they usually finish their workday at 8 pm and they have fewer days off than in Europe or the United States. They consider the job as emancipating, an opportunity to socially go up. Of course, it is the case for the graduated Chinese who went at school and university and not for the Chinese who work in the toys or textile factories for example. It is easy for Chinese companies or foreign companies like Foxconn to find workforce like this second part of workers whose agree to work more than ten hours per day in hard working conditions without a good salary because they don’t have work in their village and also in order to bring back money at home to pay the school of their children. In my opinion, these three factors mixed together come to one of the most important reason that China imposes itself as regards world economic power. For a few years, China is the factory of the world. Billions of goods come from the factories of China and most of the biggest factories in the world are located there. Nowadays, the result is so that the Chinese industry carries weight in the world economy. China is the first producer of the toys sector, the shoes sector, the textile sector, the household electrical goods and many more thanks to its huge workforce. The monetary policy of China The second key explanatory factor is the monetary policy of the Chinese government. If China was able to establish itself as nowadays the second economic world-power, it is mostly thanks to its substantial exportations. In fact, we can easily understand that the rate of exchange of the Chinese currency, the Yuan or RenMinBi, play an important part to promote or not the exportations of the country. That’s why for several years, the Chinese government has chosen to devaluate its currency in order to boost its exportations which make for China to maintain a strong rhythm of growth. When we look at the recent history of the RenMinBi, we notice that since 21th July 2005, a nearly-fixed parity vis-a-vis the U. S. Dollar was organized. However, starting from that date the authorities decided to index the Yuan to a basket of currencies and a devaluation of 2% of the Yuan was also decided in parallel vis-a-vis the U. S. Dollar. Facing the American pressure, Beijing agreed to revalue the Yuan little by little until it will be again index to the dollar by a fixed parity in 2008. Since 2008, the Yuan has not evolved weighty in the exchange rate market. For three-four years, we see arguments from Europe and the United States about the Yuan’s exchange rate. According to them, Beijing often maintains its currency to a low artificially level. However, not long ago, even if China wants to keep the control of its currency and not to be dictated by Europe, United States or the IMF about the exchange rate of the Yuan, that one was revalued by its government. So, we can notice that the low rate of the Yuan has greatly favored the Chinese companies compared to European and American firms for many years. Today, the Yuan’s rate has already begun to increase in relation to five years ago. Some experts say that the Yuan is undervalued by more than 20%. But even if the Chinese economy is based on the exportations for three decades, the re-value of the RenMinBi will give again some purchasing power for the households, restart the consumption and will bring China to be less dependent on its overseas trade. Conclusion In conclusion, we can notice that the â€Å"Chinese miracle† has been possible for the most part thanks to the Reform and Opening up in 1978. However, this single reform program doesn’t suffice to explain the fast economic growth of China. Factors as the production costs, the huge population of the country, the culture of the work and the devaluation of the Yuan are key factors which have led China to be the second, and first soon, economic world-power. For three decades by means of these mixed factors, China has greatly improved the state of its economy, the quality of the life of its population, its infrastructure, its education system, etc. Moreover, thanks to the Reform and Opening up in 1978, Chinese people became more open-minded of others cultures. They could meet foreigners and started doing business with them. We can also notice that China is indebted to overseas Chinese who has brought a lot for their country with their bountiful donations. However, although the life’s quality of the Chinese people is better than thirty years ago, we don’t have to forget that in China the Gini coefficient is the highest and so the contribution inequalities are the biggest. One of the next challenges of the Chinese government is to watch out for what more Chinese can take advantage of the good health of the economy. Bibliography Websites : * http://www. china. org. cn/china/reform-opening-up/2008-12/19/content_16978369_2. htm * http://www. china. org. cn/china/reform-opening-up/2008-10/15/content_16645211. htm * http://www. china. org. cn/china/reform-opening-up/2008-12/10/content_16926213. htm * http://www. china. org. cn/international/2008-06/20/content_15859984. htm * http://www.china. org. cn/china/reform-opening-up/2008-11/25/content_16822741. htm * http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-china-20069627 * http://www. nytimes. com/2012/11/09/opinion/china-should-reform-and-open-up. html * http://www. lefigaro. fr/tauxetdevises/2010/04/10/04004-20100410ARTFIG00642-la-chine-et-les-etats-unis-debattent-du-yuan-. php * http://www. lefigaro. fr/tauxetdevises/2010/09/29/04004-20100929ARTFIG00722-yuan-les-deputes-americains-veulent-sanctionner-la-chine. php * http://www. lefigaro. fr/tauxetdevises/2010/03/30/04004-20100330ARTFIG00772-pekin-se-prepare-a-reevaluer-sa-monnaie-. php * http://www. lefigaro. fr/tauxetdevises/2010/05/19/04004-20100519ARTFIG00599-baisse-de-l-euro-pekin-hesite-a-reevaluer-le-yuan. php * http://www. thedailybeast. com/newsweek/2012/07/08/the-end-of-china-s-economic-miracle. html * http://www. guardian. co. uk/world/2004/nov/08/china. jamesmeek Videos: * http://www. china. org. cn/video/2008-11/27/content_16838090. htm * http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=SSuUM3Abe00.

Change Management and Communication Plan Essay Example for Free

Change Management and Communication Plan Essay Riordan Manufacturing is doing big things to improve their organization. They have decided to change how the organization manages their customer management system. The company has not had any formal system for managing their customer information and has in the past left this up to each individual employee. This new system will incorporate the use of one customer management system that will be accessed by all employees. Our team will be assisting with this process and will ensure that our plan will make Riordan more effective. During this process we will need to have several planning meetings to assist with the implementation of this new process and the use of our new customer management system. We as a team will ensure that all steps are carefully planned and well presented to the employees. Our number one goal is to make the company more effective. The topics we will need to address include the organizational structure to include chain of command, organizational culture, and the strategy we will use to make these changes effective. Their current method of management is the chain of command. This allows each division to have a supervisor and many levels between the bottom and the top. The level of supervision includes supervisors, middle managers, and executive managers. The informal power structure is a team-oriented working environment. Assignments are currently being completed by appropriate communication among the employees. The lack of focus on individual success is often overlooked. Decentralization can also be a disadvantage as it can lead to control problems for management. This structure can generally increase conflict among employees. The most effective organizational structure that would benefit Riordan would include self-directed teams. Riordan’s team environment would be excellent for  self-directed teams. Self-directed teams can offer several advantages. The largest factor we considered is motivating the employees. This will allow them the highest level of job satisfactory by boosting morale and giving them meaningful positions. Employees that have high levels of job satisfactory are much more engaged in supporting their organization. An employee’s behavior is influenced by their company’s culture. The organizational culture at Riordan includes fairness, dedication, teamwork, performance evaluations and benefits accommodations. Everything the company offers is factored into the culture. These influence an employee’s motivation and will help an employee grow and gain additional experience and knowledge. Some potential influences include career advancement, job security which in return will lead to loyal employees, excellent customer service provided by the employees, and compensation satisfaction. One of the most difficult challenges a company is tasked with is implementing change. As long as a company knows and understands how to effectively implement change, the less resistance they will receive. Reasons that employees resist change include: lack of awareness to the change, fear of being out of comfort zone, fear of not understanding the reasons for change, personal feelings towards the change, conflicts, and fear for lack of job security. Management should always be prepared to effectively deal and handle the resistance most employees will impose. Some strategies Riordan Company should follow include; effective communication of any ideas and implementation of change prior to the change date. Management should always be mindful of employee concerns and work on different training methods to help them cope with any changes that will be occurring. Every employee should be given the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the changes. Another strategy is to expect the resistance when implementation takes place. The best way to handle that is to address it formally and identify the root causes of the change as well as appoint the right leaders to effectively communicate and address any potential issues. As far as the implementation of the new system goes, the next 12 months will be critical. A plan will help to dictate the direction in which the plan will take the business. Providing a detailed step-by-step instruction manual, so to speak, will be the best chance for the success of the implementation. It may take a bit longer, but implementing the plan only one step at a time will make for  an effortless transaction from one norm to the next. This will also allow for feedback of the employees without aggravation, which will also give them time for significant improvements. At first, the employees will likely be confused by the change. It will take time to adapt to the new norm before an evaluation of the success can be determined. Training will be of great importance. Having a pre-knowledge of the upcoming events will prepare the employees for the inevitable. We know that the change is coming and so should they. The customer base is the best way to know for sure if the plan is effective. Most businesses only exist as a service to a customer; therefore, training the employees on the right and wrong reactions to the customers and the service that they r eceive will be the primary goal for Riordan Manufacturing. This will give the sense that the company is making the necessary changes to better serve them. The Communication Plan Riordan Manufacturing communication plan will consist of a formal email being sent to all managers in charge of specific sectors about the Change Management Plan with a follow up of sector face-to-face meetings. A formal email being sent out will ensure the message being delivered in a timely fashion to prepare the managers for the change. It will also give them more time to prepare a face-to-face meeting with all sector employees before the change is made. The face-to-face meeting will ensure the employees that Riordan Manufacture messages about any change that could affect them are being relayed on a more personable level. This channel will also allow manager to receive feedback from employees whether it is questions or concerns. A barrier that could be a problem for the managers trying to deliver this Change Management Plan is Communication Apprehension. This kind of barrier takes place when an individual gets extremely nervous, anxious, or even tense when speaking or trying to send any type of communication to others. Since the managers are going to have individual face-to-face meeting with their group of employees, we hope that each manager will have the courage to speak up effectively and accurately about the change. To ensure that there has been effective communication to all employees the managers who delivered  the messages will have to send a report back about the reactions shared by the employees during the meeting. Riordan Manufacturing is excited to announce a new customer management system. This new system will be accessible by all employees and will allow us to provide the most effective customer service possible. During the next few weeks, Department Managers will have face to face meetings with all staff members. Team A will provide an overview of the new system and will allow the opportunity for employees to address concerns and ask questions. Please take this time and offer feedback, your feedback and concerns are vital to the success of this organization. Our number one goal is to deliver the best customer service to both internal and external customers. Together we can make this change a success. In conclusion communication and planning are the two most important things when implementing change within any organization. Employees need to know that their input is appreciated and heard. Allowing managers and employees the opportunity to provide feedback will increase morale and will maintain high levels of job satisfaction. Riordan Manufacturing has taken the necessary steps to implement the new customer management system with proper planning and communication.