Pharmacy School Personal Statement Essay

As one of the aspiring pharmacists in the country, my personal and career goal is to be in line with the top-rated practitioners in pharmacy. Hence, it has always been my dream to serve the public, most specially those who are sick and in need of appropriate pharmaceutical assistance. I am aware of the fact that this career demands more of my time because serving these people matters the most. As such, I can say that the work environment in this occupation would never be easy. Moreover, as a postulant in this line of work, I hold on to my oath by rendering quality services for those people who require pharmaceutical aid. As one of the aspiring professionals in pharmacy, I am well guided by my mission and desire to render my quality service for the patients and for this profession. Likewise, assisting people with their pharmaceutical requirements in the most effectual way is one of the most efficient sources of motivation in performance of my duties and responsibilities as medical personnel. Certainly, witnessing people and patients receive the ample service they deserve serves as my primary source of inspiration to move forward and feel optimistic in this field. Ever since I was young, my dream of being a pharmacist in the future is clearly evident as I usually envision of this dream every time my mother gave me medicine to take when I am sick and eventually I would feel a lot better after being administered with the correct type and dosage. Since then, the question of how such specific medicine could work in the human body to cure diseases and other health problems had guided me to find out more about pharmacy. In addition to this, I just attended a program in University of Texas at Arlington and received quality training that would definitely be helpful for me. Apart from this, my enthusiasm in pharmacy is already evident during my younger days as I have broad interest in science. As such, I have been through different formal courses about science in order to improve my medical capabilities and broaden my knowledge, skills, and abilities, which could definitely help me in the achievement of my goal in the field of pharmacy. Particularly, I would state that I am ready to undergo the rigorous training under the doctoral degree program in pharmacy in consideration of my work ethics and actual hours of rendering pharmaceutical services. Thus, I acquired useful and relevant experiences in pharmacy through my former training where I worked as a pharmacy technician. Thus, through these experiences I learned how to work closely with my colleague in achieving a unified goal in pharmacy. Nonetheless, this actual work had taught me how to get along with the patients that I consider a key factor to achieve success in the work place. As I undergo a series of actual pharmaceutical practices, it is perceived that these practical experiences have taught me meaningful insights for this specific line of work. Apart from being well-equipped with formal academic knowledge in pharmacy, being into various actual pharmaceutical practices has helped me well in improving and developing my sense of responsibility and enthusiasm as a pharmacist. Hence, this opportunity to work as a pharmacy technician had given me the chance to experienced valuable actual practices that would be advantageous for me when the time comes that I apply for doctoral degree program in pharmacy. In addition to this, getting involved in various civic activities that has the goal of helping other people enables me to combine work, passion, and volunteerism. Nonetheless, I am given the sense of pride and worth through these activities. In the end, in able to achieve this specific goal of mine, I accept the fact that I have to undergone formal doctoral pharmacy degree. Certainly, I truly believe that through this higher level of learning, I would be able to acquire necessary knowledge that could help me in improving and developing positive characteristics in order to become an outstanding and well-rounded pharmacist. Nonetheless, I hereby submit myself to receive the needed degree in pharmacy in aid of my pursuance to my career and personal goal.

Ikea History and Swot Essay

History Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder, has a very intriguing and impressive life story. Kamprad was a very intelligent young Swedish boy who quickly turned into the 5th wealthiest man in the world. His net worth is now $4.2 billion. At a very early age Kamprad started his selling knowledge. When he was just 5 years old he would buy matches in bulk at a cheap store in Stockholm and re-sell them around his neighborhood at low prices, but enough to make a hefty profit. Kamprad’s selling continued and expanded from flowers to greeting cards to pencils and pens throughout the 1920’s. As Kamprads business skills increased he began studying the retail prices of different items in Sweden. He recognized that furniture prices had increase by 41% in 1935 and realized how profitable this area of retailing could be. In 1943, at age 17 Kamprad received money from his father for his successful studies and used the money to create a business. IKEA was then formed, standing for Ingvar Kamprads initials (I.K.) and the first letter of the farm he lived on, Elmtaryd (E) and the first letter of the village he lived in, Agunnard (A.) Kamprad created his furniture line in 1948 aiming for furniture that would be affordably priced. He began only selling his furniture through magazine advertisements. In 1953 the first showroom opened in Almhult Sweden. This was the first time consumers could physically see and feel the IKEA furniture before ordering them. 3 years later the need for flat packs and self-assembly furniture gave rise; one of IKEA’s co-workers had to remove the legs of a table to fit into their car without damaging the surroundings. (â€Å"IKEA Official Page†) In 1958 the first IKEA store was opened in Almhult Sweden. It was the largest furniture store in Scandinavia at the time with 6,700 square meters. Two years after the opening the store Kamprad introduced the first IKEA restaurant which was located inside the furniture store building. Kamprad expanded his store outside of Sweden in 1963 by opening an IKEA store in Norway. Within ten years IKEA stores were being opened outside of Scandinavian countries and expanding into 3 more continents (â€Å"IKEA Official Webpage†.) One of the most recent expansions was into the Dominican Republic in 2010. IKEA is in the process of opening new stores and developing the most innovative furniture products of today. Store Locations After IKEA opened in Sweden in 1958, it quickly moved into other Scandinavian countries opening stores in Norway in 1963 and in Denmark in 1969. Throughout the 1970’s IKEA rapidly spread through Europe. The first store outside of Scandinavia opened in Switzerland and quickly after IKEA made its presence in Germany. In 1975 IKEA arrived in Australia and opened its first store in Sydney. Throughout the 1970’s IKEA also opened stores in Japan, Hong Kong, The Netherlands and Singapore. Germany has IKEA’s biggest market with 46 stores in the country. Following Germany is the United States with 38 stores across the country. As of right now, IKEA has not appeared in developing countries, but is still planning for more global expansion (Countries.) IKEA group has continued growing every year and is now a large retail experience with over 123,000 co-workers. IKEA’s employees help generate annual sales of more than 21.5 billion dollars. The stores locations are placed strategically. The location is near major roads, freeways and public transportation. Although the stores are not normally placed in densely populated areas, IKEA is still successful and reaps high traffic due to the Huff Gravity model. Since IKEA stores are so large and carry a wide range of products, people are willing to travel a further distance to their stores. The largest IKEA store is in Stockholm, Sweden with a size of 55,200 square meters and following behind it is the Shanghai, China store with a size of 49,400 square meters (â€Å"IKEA†) In 2011 IKEA announced a plan to build a wind farm in Sweden to help IKEA achieve its ecological goal of running on 100 percent renewable energy. The next year IKEA made another announcement about the company creating a chain of 100 economy hotels in Europe. However, these IKEA hotels will not follow the same IKEA brand name and will not be furnished with IKEA’s furniture. The list below contains the country and number of IKEA stores present in the country, ranked in order of their opening dates: Sweden (17), Norway (6), Denmark (5), Switzerland (7), Germany (46), Japan (5), Australia (7), Canada (12), Hong Kong (3), Austria (6), Singapore (2), The Netherlands (12), Spain (15), Iceland (1), France (28), Saudi Arabia (3), Belgium (6), Kuwait (1), United States (38), United Kingdom (18), Italy (20), Hungary (2), Poland (8), Czech Republic (5), United Arab Emirates (2), Slovakia (1), Taiwan (4), Finland (4), Malaysia (1), Russia (14), Israel (2), Greece (4), Portugal (3), Greece (5), Portugal (3), Brazil (3), Turkey (5), Romania (1), Cyprus (1), Ireland (1), Dominican Republic (1), Brazil (1), Bulgaria (1) and Thailand (1) . Target Market IKEA strives to have a wide target market, wanting people around the world of all different demographics and psychographics to purchase IKEA products. IKEA defines its global target market as â€Å"young people of all ages† including individuals, families, design exteriors, and hospitality businesses like hotels. IKEAs target audience includes but is not limited to age groups of 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 years old. IKEA focuses on college and post graduate aged individuals. IKEA’s target market contains both sexes. IKEA’s target market typically lives in urban college and metropolitan areas. The salaries of the target market can range from $15,000 to $50,000 and are usually spending their money on technology products (such as iPhones and iPads.). IKEAs target audience engages in a quick paced lifestyle that may include travelling and moving often, for example moving from apartment to apartment or to an upgraded home. Due to this â€Å"mover† lifestyle they are normally looking for a cheap, easy to build product that can be packed tightly. Because of their median income, the consumer is not very status conscientious and is not searching for expensive designer furniture. The shoppers’ personalities are relaxed and/or creative and artistic. They are considerably fashionable and search for trends, but love to get deals simultaneously. They want to do things themselves (which follows closely with IKEA’s do it yourself product attitude) and care about the environment (Rowe.) IKEA also focuses on budget conscious families. This target market is beginning to start a more domestic lifestyle. The families usually have young children. To satisfy this target market most IKEA stores include a daycare or child-watch section for the children inside the stores. Although this target audience is in a different stage in their life, they still hold similar habits and lifestyle as the previously described target audience (Rowe.) Product Assortment IKEA is a retailer of home furnishings. You can find anything you need for every room in your house at IKEA. From the IKEA official website, their departments include: Bathroom| Living room| Bedroom| Office furniture| Cooking| Outdoor| Decoration| Secondary storage| Dining| Small storage| Eating| Textiles & rugs| Hallway| Youth room| Kitchen| Children’s IKEA| Laundry| IKEA FAMILY products| Lighting| | (â€Å"IKEA Official Webpage†) IKEA sells items ranging in these categories and they even provide customers with the service to help them create their own kitchen, closets and office with IKEA products. Their kitchen services include Total Project Management, Delivery, Installation and more. Their individual kitchen planning start at $199 and their measuring service start at $49. In IKEA retail locations, they also have IKEA Food. They have a restaurant where they sell their own assortment of Swedish food, located inside the IKEA retail store. Customers can sit down in a cafeteria style dining and enjoy IKEA’s famous Swedish meatballs and Lingonberry drink at amazingly low prices. In IKEA, there is also a Bistro/Exit Cafà © right at the checkout where they sell typical American food, ranging from 75 cents to $4, such as hot dogs, chips, soda, frozen yogurt and more. IKEA also has their own â€Å"grocery† section where they sell Swedish food. The IKEA official website states that the IKEA Swedish Food is â€Å"based on Swedish recipes and traditions, the wide choice of food and drink runs from frozen meatballs to sweets and coffee. You’ll save time and money whether you’re making a meal for your whole family or putting together the menu for a party† (IKEA). Their food categories include: Beverages, Easy to prepare, Meat, fish & seafood, Pastries, desserts & cookies, Sweets, chocolates & snacks and Swedish celebrations. The last category has food items such as Swedish Christmas drink, cheese pie, Rhubarb crumble tart, and frozen Saffron rolls. SWOT Analysis Strengths * Low prices: IKEA has a strong concept based on offering a wide range of well, designed, functional products at low prices. They have created a design that is a balance between function, quality, design and price which appeals to customers in tough financial times. Their pricing strategy appeals to consumers both with limited financial resources and those with higher budgets searching for trendy, modern furniture. Due to Porter’s generic strategies, IKEA follows an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy. * Product’s ease of assembly: IKEA products come with clear instructions making it easy for anyone to assemble the product without the help of a professional. * Location and design of store (the IKEA store experience): IKEA locations are successful because of the Huff Gravity Model – due to the large size of IKEA, people are willing to go the distant locations where IKEAs are located. IKEA’s store design is very unique. The layout is designed in such a way that makes customers go through the entire store to get to their final purchase. A lot of customers go to IKEA for its unusual experience. * Global positioning: IKEA is available throughout the world and they cater their products to each country they go into. For example, they redesign the size of the beds for the different countries. American consumers need larger sized bedding differentiating from the European consumers who had smaller, longer beds. * Reputation for products and company: IKEA customers enjoy the modern look of IKEA products because the target market consists of creative individuals searching for trendy products. IKEA’s brand is ranked globally at number 28 and ranked number 1 for sustainable image by Ranking the Brands Overview (Brand Ranking.) * Large catalogue reach: IKEA’s yearly catalogue reaches several countries and easily advertises IKEA products to those customers. Their catalogue is distributed in 36 countries, in 27 languages and in 52 different versions. Weaknesses * Product quality: IKEA has been known for having poor quality products. But the need for low cost products means there has to be a compromise between quality and price. * Poor customer service: Because of IKEA’s do it yourself model and very straight forward instructions eliminates the need for a help desk and intensive customer service. Customer service is important to ensure complete shopping experience and ensure repeat business. * Massive store growth- IKEA is experiencing problems in a couple of their home markets. One example is the UK is expanding the number of IKEA store locations but the number of shoppers is not increasing. This means that there is a constant number of visitors divided by a larger number of retail outlets producing fewer shoppers per store. In the past consumers would travel large distances to visit stores and each store a had a large number of visitors, now the amount of consumers purchasing IKEA products has not increased in numbers but they are able to visit a more local store. These new store locations reduce the footfall per store and sales density (SWOT Analysis IKEA.) Opportunities * Financial condition: Because of the current financial condition, consumers are trading down from expensive stores to the low priced products offered at IKEA. * IKEA website: IKEA has an opportunity to grow through expanding their online shopping. IKEA website only has a few items you can purchase and IKEA will ship it to your house or you can pick it up at an IKEA location near you. IKEA could expand their online product offerings and services to increase product sales. * Smaller stores: IKEA store locations are distant and large and they can take advantage of opening smaller stores in more dense locations where people can buy small home products or buy their Swedish food. IKEA must only open these new store locations in places where the number of customers is increasing, to avoid a reduction in footfall per store like the UK market. * More stores in the U.S.: IKEA currently has only 38 stores across the country and they could possibly expand this market due to the high percentage of sales the United States gives IKEA. * Capitalize their Green efforts: IKEA can capitalize on their GREEN efforts. Customers’ desire to have less of an impact on the environment and due to the increased demand for cheaper and greener products, IKEA can take advantage of this and develop these products that the market wants. * Bonus/rewards services: IKEA can add bonus/rewards services to increase customer satisfaction as well as increase customer loyalty. Threats * Product quality: IKEA products are poorly made and people are willing to spend the extra buck to buy a product of better quality that will last for years. * Competitors: More competitors are entering the low price household and furnishing markets increasing the competition IKEA will have to face. * When the economy strengthens- The recession slows down consumer spending and disposable income reduces. However when the economy strengthens, consumers will be willing to purchase furniture products at a higher price in order to get better quality. IKEA needs to find a way to stay profitable when the economy takes this turn. Promotion Strategy IKEA promotes their retail through traditional advertising such as TV commercials, a yearly print catalogue as well as utilizing new ways of advertising such as social media and guerrilla marketing. In the past IKEA’s television commercials were characterized as funny and crazy often stating the slogan â€Å"they are crazy these Swedes†. This statement referred to the â€Å"crazy† low prices IKEA products were offered for. They would also often have a Swedish guy driving a yellow buggy loaded with IKEA boxes. Presently, IKEA commercials are more simple and modern. The new commercials focus on families in a household setting using IKEA products. These commercials continue with the humorous appeal, but only focus on a few IKEA items, to ensure the customers are more focused on the substance of the commercial. IKEA utilizes social media by holding contests on websites such as Facebook. When they were opening their new IKEA Malmo store in 2009, they created a Facebook campaign where a showroom picture was uploaded to their Facebook profile and the first people to tag an item won that item (How To? From IKEA). Through the speed of social media, IKEA was able to get their customers to personally promote IKEA. IKEA also has held several contests throughout the years. They have contests such as â€Å"What’s your story?†, â€Å"The Life Improvement Project†, â€Å"Dream Kitchen Giveaway† and several more. They really enjoy promoting their products by getting their customers involved. IKEA uses customer interaction in many of their promotion strategies. IKEA also has a yearly catalogue that can be sent to your homes or picked up at a local IKEA location. IKEA’s yearly catalogue takes up a large part of their marketing budget because the catalogue is used as a main channel for communication around the world. IKEA’s catalogue is distributed in 36 countries, in 27 languages and in 52 different versions. The catalogues distributed in different countries have the same Scandinavian names but differ in their product offerings which are highlighted on separate pages (Gustafson). IKEA caters to the different countries where they distribute their catalogues by trying to incorporate the different cultures into their catalogue. On top of sending paper catalogues around town, IKEA likes to go out of their way to show IKEA products in their normal settings but in extraordinary locations utilizing the concept of â€Å"guerrilla marketing†. This usually occurs when IKEA is opening new stores. Examples of IKEA’s guerilla marketing include redecorating bus stations with IKEA furniture, redoing a subway bus with IKEA furniture and mounting IKEA furniture off the side of buildings. They make it as extreme as possible because they want to draw in people’s attention and make them stop and have a look. To promote their store in Tampa, IKEA produced their take on a ‘message in a bottle’ by placing an IKEA playroom inside a giant plastic bottle. In Japan, IKEA transformed a gingko tree-lined boulevard in Tokyo’s shopping district of Aoyama into an open-air museum. They had fifteen box-like structures the size of typical Japanese rooms which were fitted out IKEA furnishings (Capell). IKEA alters their advertising to the match the different cultures and environment for each country, but continues to enforce their unusual extreme promotions to reach a large amount of people and hold their attention. . Works Cited Capell, Kerry. â€Å"Ikea’s New Plan for Japan.† BusinessWeek. N.p., 25 Apr. 2006. Web. . â€Å"Facts & Figures.† IKEA. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . Gustafson, Martin, and Eric Jonsson. â€Å"Influence of Culture and National Image on Marketing: A Study of IKEA’s Promotion in Sweden and France.† (2008): n. pag. Web. . â€Å"History .† IKEA offical webpage. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . â€Å"How To? From IKEA.† IGK Marketing RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2013. . IKEA. Advertisement. IKEA. N.p., n.d. Web. . â€Å"IKEA.† Countries with IKEA Stores. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . â€Å"Marketing Teacher.† SWOT Analysis IKEA . Marketing Teacher Ltd 2000. Web. 25 Feb 2013. . Rowe, C.. â€Å"Scribd.† IKEA Marketing Plan. N.p.. Web. 21 Feb 2013. . ADD BRAND RANKING WORKS CITED

Hrm: Selection Process

UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN GRADUATE SCHOOL MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SELECTION PROCESS: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS ON THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUBMITTED BY: MAY O. TOLENTINO SUBMITTED TO: DR. CARMEN N. HERNANDEZ Selection Process: Survival of the Fittest Introduction Charles Darwin first pondered this concept in his work On the Origin of Species during the 19th century in the context of the survival and extinction of biological species.Later did Herbert Spencer coin the phrase to draw comparable idea on his economic theories. Survival of the fittest according to Darwin’s theory means that only the ones most suited to a particular environment will survive. Those who can’t adapt will surely perish, while those who can adapt will stick around, and maybe even become suited to new environments. We might ask did they discover anything that might be applicable to business in the 21st Century? Or its relevance could be also a pplied in human resource management more specifically in selection process?Let us think of nature and ecological systems as a vast â€Å"free market† of perfect competition, where all living organisms are competing with each other for limited resources (sunlight, water, minerals, etc. )? Synonymous as to the many job applicants competing with each other in a struggle for survival or in plain employment term- to be hired. To be chosen as the best fitted candidate among the crowd of applicants for the one coveted position is indeed collectively tend to operate in ways analogous to natural eco-systems.Is it possible that success and survival in the wild might be analogous to success and survival in the employment race? Selection can be conceptualized in terms of either choosing the fit candidates or rejecting the unfit candidates, or a combination of both. Selection process assumes that there are more candidates than the number of candidates actually selected, made possible thro ugh the recruitment process. According to Gupta (2006), selection is the process of choosing the suitable persons out of all the participants.In this process, relevant information is collected through a series of steps so as to evaluate their suitability on the job to be filled. Furthermore, selection is the process of assessing the candidates in various means and making a choice followed with an offer of employment (Graham, 1998, p. 206). Selection is an important function as no organization can achieve its goal without selecting the right people, where wrong choice would lead to wastage of time, money and spoils the environment of the organization.In this regard, scientific selection and placement of personnel will go a long way in building up a stable workforce, where it helps to reduce absenteeism and labor turnover as well as very helpful in increasing the efficiency and productivity of the organization (Dessler, 2005). Selection vs. Recruitment Selection is different from recr uitment, where recruitment technically happens before selection. Recruitment involves identifying the sources of manpower and encourages them to apply for the job opening. On the other hand, selection is choosing the best out of those recruited.Recruitment aims at increasing the number of applications for more choices. According to Prasad (2005), recruitment and selection differs in terms of objective, process, technique, and outcome which are discussed as follows: Firstly, the ultimate purpose of both is to acquire suitable candidates but their immediate objectives differ, where the basic objective of recruitment is to attract maximum number of candidates so that more choices are available; the basic objective of selection is to choose best out of the available candidates.Secondly, recruitment differs from selection in terms of process, where it adopts the process of creating application as large as possible; while selection adopts the process of screening as fewer candidates or so metimes one candidate is selected. Thirdly, as to the techniques involve; recruitment techniques are not really intensive, requiring skills as against in selection process where highly specialized techniques are required.Lastly, since both are interlinked steps in the process of manpower acquisition, they differ in terms of outcome; where the outcome for recruitment is application pool which become input for selection process which on the other hand the outcome is finalizing the candidates who will be offered jobs. Factors (Conditions) for Selection Process The basic idea in selection process is to solicit maximum possible information about the candidates to ascertain their suitability for the employment; and given the fact that there are factors which affect in collecting such information (Prasad, 2005, p. 06), he proposed the following factors which determine the steps in the selection process: 1. Various steps involve in the selection process depend on the type of personnel to be selected. For example, more information is required in the selection of a manager than a subordinate worker. 2. Selection process depends on the sources of recruitment and the method that is adapted for making contact with prospective candidates.For example if we used tv ads, selection process is more time consuming and comprehensive whereas campus recruitment is shortened and maybe completed in a day. 3. Selection process depends on the number of candidates that are available for selection. If a large number of applicants, we also need to create various filtering points to reduce the number of applicants at a successive point while a small applicant turnout would mean lesser filtering points required. 4. Organization’s selection policy also determines the ways to be involved in the selection process.For example in JBLFMU context, where selection of industry experts as Board Members are stipulated in the policy should be an alumnus of the university and hold the highest or p resident position of any international sponsored shipping companies in the Philippines. Gupta suggests that the selection process can be successful if the following conditions are met: 1. Someone should have the authority to select; where this authority comes from the employment requisition as developed through analysis of the workload and workforce. 2. There must be one standard of human resource with which applicant can be compared.In other words, a comprehensive job description and job specification should be available beforehand. 3. There must be a sufficient number of applicants from whom the required number of employees maybe selected. In this regard, recruitment and selection process invariably influence the whole matter of employment function in the organization. Steps in Selection Process Selection process consist of the series of steps; at each stage, facts may reveal something about a candidate that may either be a win or blow on his/her chances on the job. It is a series of barriers or challenges in which the applicant must cross.These hurdles or screens are designed to eliminate unqualified candidate at any point in the selection process. There is no exact formula or standards to be used in all organizations or for all jobs. The complexity of selection procedures increases with the level of responsibility of the position to be filled. Therefore, the strategy and method used for selecting employees varies from firm to firm or from one job to another. For instance in JBLFMU, the recruitment and selection process differs to a faculty candidate and a personnel applicant.Scholars of Human Resource Management such as Gupta, Prasad, Armstrong, and Ivancevich, suggested the following steps to be involved in employee selection process, though not necessarily to be implemented chronologically: 1. Preliminary Interview 2. Application Form 3. Selection Test (Physical, Cognitive and Personality Test) 4. Work Samples 5. Employment Interview 6. Medical Examinati on 7. Reference or Background Check 8. Final Approval 9. Employment 10. Induction 11. Follow-up or Evaluation Applicability of Selection Process in JBLFMUIn the context of JBLFMU environment; most of the above steps in selection process are applied both on academic and non-academic personnel, however the exercise does vary from the steps. For instance, in non-academic personnel once applications are received, short listing of applicants is done by the HR officer in respect to the applied jobs, preliminary interview is organized with the respective department head, methods of assessment is done by administering various forms like taking of aptitude or job related and personality tests.Then those who passed will go to another round of final interview then final selection is done together with the department officer. Selected applicant is called to fill various forms including medical examination to effect his/her employment; if found fit is awarded offer of employment stipulating term s and conditions of employment. Duties are assigned and orientation is undertaken. But if all applicants happen to fail the standards of the selection process, the post will be advertised again for recruitment. As for academic personnel, the difference lies on the additional steps of a twice presentation of simulated teaching.Then the person to approve the teaching plantilla will include the HR Officer, Subject Area Head, Dean of the College and the university administrator. To wit based from the theories discussed above, JBLFMU abides to the following steps in selection process: 1. Screening of applications, where available applications should be short listed in respect to their qualifications and experience in correspond to the job requirement. Only applicants who fit the bill should be interviewed. For large number of applicants, aptitude test could be used to screen them. 2.Prepare for the interview, where at this step the type of interview is established, it can be I groups or individually; written or oral interview. Guideline and questions are prepared beforehand. 3. Develop factors and methods of assessment, where various score sheets and assessment forms are prepared in order to maintain consistency. 4. Conduct the interview or as for academic personnel a demo teaching, where at this stage applicants are given equal chance to demonstrate their strength and capabilities in respect to the requirement of the job. 5. To undertake cross referencing for interviewees.Check resumes for related experiences and background check. 6. Communicating the decision to the candidates. At this stage the applicant is informed of the result via letter or phone call. The chosen candidate will be asked to come and fill required forms to effect the employment. 7. Requiring a medical examination on the selected applicant to avoid future problems that might affect job performance. 8. Offering letter of employment and filling required forms to effect employment functions, where in that contract stipulates terms and conditions of employment. 9. Placement and orientation.It is at this step the JBLFMU selection process ends, where the employed applicant is endorsed under his/her supervisor followed by a company orientation. Conclusion Therefore, the basic objective of selection is to hire those candidates that are suitable or fitted for the position with a high probability of job success. A multiple hurdle plan is the best selection strategy. Selection hurdles or tests include pre-employment inquiries, application forms, initial screening interviews, background investigations, teaching demo for academic applicants and interviews.Also, recruiting and selecting the right people for the company is a challenge, and every situation is unique. JBLFMU should be innovative, persistent and realistic, and can communicate the strength of the institution and the benefits of the position offered to attract high quality employees to build careers in the organization. Survi val of the fittest in selection process perspective redounds to matching the best qualified candidate to fit the requisites or requirements of the job in achieving organizational goals. This in turn will mutually benefit the individual and the organization, as they adapt to the changing environment.Bibliography Armstrong, M. (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. (10th edition ed. ). London: Kogan Page Limited. Dessler, G. (2005). Human Resource Management. (10th edition ed. ). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Gupta, C. (2006). Human Resource Management (Rev. Edition ed. ). New Delhi: Sultan Chad and Sons. Ivancevich, J. (2003). Human Resource Management (9th Edition ed. ). New York: McGraw Hill. Prasad, L. (2005). Human Resource Management (2nd Edition ed. ). New Delhi: Sultan Chad and Sons. Rush, D. (1995). Biology: Natural Science (3rd Edition ed. ) New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Hans Hofmann in the Abstract and Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Hans Hofmann in the Abstract and Nature - Essay Example The main concept behind abstract art is based on the idea that art is not static, but rather interactive with its audience and the political and social ideas of the audience's present as well as the symbols inherent in the particular forms used within the artwork. By reducing the recognizable forms, therefore, it becomes possible for the artist to attain a more pure expression in his or her creation. Jean-Francois Lyotard argues that avant-garde art uses experimental innovations in technique and structure to attempt "to make visible that there is something which can be conceived and which can neither be seen nor made visible" (Lyotard, 1997: 78). As an abstract artist, Hofmann was known as a synthesist because he brought together traditional methods and avant-garde concepts concerning the nature of painting, largely based on the works of Modern painters Cezanne, Kandinsky and Picasso's Synthetic Cubism. Because teaching dominated much of his creative life, his art was often critically measured against his theories. With his European sensibilities and his newly adopted American spirit, it needs to be remembered that Hofmann's work exemplifies a fusion of multiple aspects of 20th century art. A look into his biography reveals the development of his ideas regarding nature and abstraction while a glimpse into his career reveals how his teaching reflected this conceptual development. Biography Hans Hofmann was born in 1880 near Munich, Germany in a small city called Weissenburg, Bavaria. Growing up, he was surrounded by images of the past as his city still retained many remains of its ancient Roman past and of the countryside, with the closest large city being Ingolstadt more than 30 miles away. While this doesn't seem that far away to a modern audience accustomed to the use of cars to drive to the city every day from far off suburbs, Hoffman grew up in a time when the automobile was just springing to life. The first practical working horseless carriage was created in 1889 in Germany by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, when Hofmann was already 9 years old (Ament, 2005). It is possible that Hofmann had a chance to experience some of the technologies that were being developed in association with the automobile, however, because his father moved the family to Munich when Hofmann was just 6 when he took a job working for the government. "Hofmann developed an interest in m athematics, science, music and art at a very early age. When he was sixteen, his father helped him obtain a job with the Bavarian government as the assistant to the director of public works. During this time, Hofmann further developed his technical knowledge of mathematics, even inventing and patenting an electromagnetic comptometer" ("Hans Hofmann", 2007). Despite this, Hofmann's interest in art was superior to his interest in mathematics and, when his father died in the late 1800s, Hofmann decided to pursue this interest in greater detail. By 1898, Hofmann was studying art at the Mortiz Heymann's art school in Munich, where he came into contact with

Personal aspect management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal aspect management - Essay Example In the organizational context, influencing implies commitment to the desired result enough to spend needed energy to achieve it. The concept of influencing is connected with commitment defined as a state of being in which employees become bound to a particular actions by a belief system that sustains those actions and their own involvement. In many situations (conflicts, disputes and decision-making) influencing is important as an instrument to achieve some preconceived state or desire (Fabian 54). It arises out of a felt need (important enough to cause use of energy) and a mechanism (the control over resources needed by others) that allows for possible improvement of that need. According to Beardwell et al (2001) the power sources include legitimate, expert, reward, coercive, referent. These sources of power are intentional and instrumental in its use. Leaders and managers activate them only as they value the possible outcome sufficiently to expend needed energy in power action. The process of persuading employees is based on argumentation and reasoning. Persuading process can be explained as a relationship in which an employee independently weighs reasons another person. Armstrong (2001) underlines that persuading is central to man's continuing concern for administration and organization. How people organize and relate to each other to get planned goals accomplished is central to organization and administrative theory. The overreaching problem of organization life is securing follower compliance. This compliance comes without losing the long-term amicable relationship between the person desiring compliance and the person whose behavior change we seek. And this must be done with an eye on conserving scarce resources. Influencing and persuading allows management to guide employees and customers, their actions and preferences (Austin, Pinkleton 38). Influence and persuasion are commonly exhibited through orders the managers issue to someone subordinate to them. They can be seen as coercive resource employees get by virtue of authority grants from those above and below us in the social structure. It is often logical, reasoned, legitimate, and systematic in its application and use (Barham, Conway 45). A number of studies have demonstrated that situational factors moderate the attitude-behavior relationship. Individuals differ profoundly in their use of persuasive message strategies. Certain people consistently employ manipulation and deceit, whereas others eschew these tactics. Some people use emotional appeals, whereas others resort to threat. Research has examined individual differences in compliance-gaining attempts to determine the impact that personality and demographic factors exert on message strategy selection. First, participants in the various studies are probably more mindful and self-conscious about their message strategy selections than are communicators in the real world By asking respondents to respond to a series of hypothetical scenarios or to construct a persuasive message, researchers found that respondents reflected on their persuasion behavior (Hannagan 49-52). In the workplace, supervisors who clearly identify the performance expectations of their subordinates and inform them of their degree of conformance to the stated requirements may be providing their subordinates with feelings of control and reducing their feelings of uncertainty. Employees who know that they are acting

Cost Analysis for Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cost Analysis for Decision Making - Essay Example will continue making the containers and performing maintenance.)   Alternative B: Liquid Chemical Co. will continue making the containers, but it will outsource the maintenance to Packages, Inc.   Alternative C: Liquid Chemical Co. will buy containers from Packages, Inc., but it will perform the maintenance.   Alternative D: It is completely outsourced. Packages, Inc. will make the containers and provide the necessary maintenance Alternative A: In case if Liquid Chemical Company opt this alternative in which it will continue to make containers and performing simultaneously, the company will have to incur all the necessary costs as all those costs would be relevant costs needed to make and maintain the current production. Relevant costs pertaining to this particular alternative are full material costs amounting to $500,000, full labor cost which includes cost of supervisors and workers amounting to $500,000 cumulatively. Moreover, the full departmental costs of Dyers’ tha t amounts to $358,000 would also be a part of this alternative. Overall, this alternative would incur $1,717,000. The costs that are not relevant to this particular alternative are contract costs to Packages Inc in relation to maintenance and container, severance cost and pension cost. The advantage of this alternative is that the company will have control over its production pattern, job security of Dyer’s departmental workers etc. ... There will be a reduction of $50,000 in material cost, $90,000 in labor cost and $65,000 in departmental overhead costs. But additional $375,000 contract cost need to be incurred as a result of outsourcing the maintenance task. The main advantage of this alternative is that the company would be in a better position to concentrate on its core activity of making the containers and outsource the secondary activity of maintenance. The disadvantage of this alternative is that it is more costly than alternative A resulting in addition of $188,500. Alternative C: This alternative requires that Packages Inc. should provide containers to Liquid Chemical Company but the Liquid Company should perform the maintenance. This alternative would lead to substantial cost reductions in terms of material, labor and overheads including the departmental head’s salary of $80,000 as his services will no longer be required because of closure of this department. However, he would be compensated by tran sferring to some other department. The main contract fee of providing the containers that amounts to around $1,250,000 would be the most relevant cost in this regard. Overall, this alternative is more costly than previous two alternatives incurring around $1.6m. Alternative D: The final alternative provides Liquid Chemical Company to outsource both making of containers as well as performing maintenance services. This alternative would result in vanishing of all material, labor and overhead costs. At the same time the huge costs relating to contract fees, severance and pension would make this alternative as the most costly alternative as a whole. This alternative would snatch the control of Liquid Chemical Company over the quantity and quality of the desired level. Part

Single parenting and the effects it will have on children and they how Annotated Bibliography

Single parenting and the effects it will have on children and they how handle relationships - Annotated Bibliography Example ng child can be difficult, besides the obvious economic hardships there are many psychological effects resulting in depression and behavioral instability. Another reason for increase in number of single parent led families is outside or before marriage births and it is estimated that about 40 percent of the total births in America occur without marriage (Ablow). Research shows that the child subjected to a divorce or living alone with a parent since birth can have low self esteem, rebellious behavior and an overall negativity towards marriage and opposite sex (Coontz). The research takes into consideration a popular sitcom, â€Å"two and a half men† and investigates the core issues the child faces after parental divorce and the influencing factors in his life as well as the nature of relationships the child has with others. It would further compare popular research material based on single parenting recommending practical steps that can be taken to avoid negativity in a child. It shall furthermore explain different parenting styles including authoritative, permissive and authoritarian approaches and propose the most suitable style for such children. The sitcom Two and a Half Men revolves around three main characters; Alan Harper (Father), Charlie Harper (Uncle) and Jake Harper (Child). Alan is a dim wit and weak personality with childhood issues of his own, lives with his brother but has no say in the household matters. He has a tendency to be obnoxious, exhibits vindictive behavior towards her mother and sees his alcoholic brother as an inspiration. Jake is a lethargic child with low self esteem and no real ambitions, after his parent’s divorce he spends time with his mother and father but is more influenced by his father and uncle. He has low intelligence and no concern for personal hygiene but is aware of the norms prevalent in the house; norms set by Charlie. Charlie Harper is an alcoholic and sex addict on a self destructive pattern, a confident and self

Personal Philosophy of Meaning and Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal Philosophy of Meaning and Value - Essay Example My approach towards meaning and value is one of a significant one since I understand that everything happens for a reason and it is this meaning which is embedded within the reason that needs to be found out. What this will eventually do is to provide more rationale for things that will shape up in the future as well as provide me a sense of understanding for similar things that keep on happening around me at different times of the day. In this paper, I will outline what I consider as meaningful from life, from a strictly personal viewpoint and what I look for in life as far as my personal thinking and mindset are concerned. Also, I would check upon my personal life instances and my professional growth patterns and more so the same whilst now in the role of an IT project manager. I have devised a personal action plan that outlines the manner in which I have advocated my philosophy within the domains of this paper and this action plan aims to give an idea of what I think would be the right course of action as to go about doing things from an ethically correct professional sphere. I believe that we were put on this earth to bring some kind of glory or joy to the ‘One’ who put us here. Whether this is an all-powerful God, an uninvolved Creator or some sort of ‘alien’ life form I will not discuss here. Just suffice it to say that the same is some sort of a more powerful being which probably takes at least some interest in the actions of those that He has created or placed here on this Earth.

Journel Analysis Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journel Analysis Report - Assignment Example Some of the strategies advocated by the authors include: teachers have to create a supportive and hospitable learning environment for the learners. A welcoming environment is a necessity since most of the learners are in various levels of acculturation. As such, they are still familiarizing themselves with the foreign culture, language and school. Next, teachers in learning institutions should implement effective and tested strategies. For example, interactive teaching strategies are vital for ELLS. In addition to these strategies, the authors argued that incorporating a variety of assessments in the ELLS learning activities is beneficial. These assessments pinpoint the progress and advancement rate of various ELLS. Moreover, challenging lessons that reflect high expectations from ELLS encourage them to learn quickly. A lot of American teachers have a deficit perspective of American English Language Learners. This view discourages the ELLS from excelling in their studies. Lastly, the authors urge the teachers to engage parents of ELLS in their children’s education. By incorporating these strategies, teachers will have an idea or notion of how to work with diverse students, specifically English language learners. First, will teachers attend programs to familiarize themselves with these strategies? This is an appropriate question since teachers would be better equipped to handle ELLS if they attended these programs. The teachers would be guided by experts on how to handle American English Language Learners. As such, they will be in a better position rather than reading these strategies themselves. Secondly, how will the teachers deal with parents who are reluctant in being part of the children’s education? Some parents might not support their children’s education. Therefore, how will FCS teachers handle this situation? Nearly all strategies

One Hundred Secret Sense - Amy Tan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

One Hundred Secret Sense - Amy Tan - Essay Example Chinese culture and English culture are so inherently different from each other that it often takes a lifetime for an individual of Chinese origin to adjust in an English or American culture. The difference between the two cultures is almost as strong and evident as the difference between the Chinese and English language. The narration of Chinese superstitions and tales strengthens the relationship between Kwan and Olivia. Kwan’s belief that she can see ghosts because of having yin eyes originates in her relationship to the past because it is a belief of the Chinese culture. Her relationship to her past is particularly evident from the fact that Kwan recounts tales from the past life. The story The Hundred Secret Senses revolves around the process of creation of the new Asian-American identities that Kwan and Olivia, and millions of Chinese girls like them undergo while living in a culture that is worlds apart from their original culture. The fundamental reason why Kwan contemplates a trip to China is to find out more about her connection to the Yin world. Remembering and accepting her past has a significant effect on how Kwan lives now. It eventually becomes obvious that there is a connection between the fidelity of Kwan to Olivia and that of Nunumu to Miss Banner in terms of past lives being in the present. As the visit of Kwan, Olivia, and Simon to China is transformed into a tragedy, Olivia happens to accept the faith of Kwan. It is because of Kwan’s remembrance and acceptance of her past that she manages to lead Olivia to the realization that in addition to what can be perceived with the use of five basic senses, there is a whole lot of other things which cannot be understood without the use of the hundred secret senses. Olivia gushes in the conclusion of the novel, â€Å"The world is not a place but the vastness of the soul. And the soul is nothing more than love, limitless, endless, all that moves us t oward knowing what is true. . . . And

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 28

Case Study - Essay Example Lufthansa is one of the five founding members of the largest Airline alliance known as â€Å"Star Alliance†, which was established in the year 19971. Contextually, discussions will also be made regarding the influence of Lufthansa’s performance due to the cooperation with Star Alliance. Lufthansa has adopted various strategies in order to expand the market internationally among which the creation of strategic alliance with the Star Alliance is considered the most effective one. It is the largest airlines alliance having 28 members. The Star alliance was founded in the year 1997 by five different airlines company including the Scandinavian Airlines, Thai airways, Air Canada, United Airlines and Lufthansa. As a result of the alliance, Lufthansa has been able to reduce the resources as well as the cost through the sharing of other airlines partner. This resource sharing strategy has led the company to maximize the profits and operate more efficiently. Moreover, the alliance has also provided opportunity for the company to expand its international territory and gain access to the new markets. Generally, expanding a market requires a vast investment of capital, but because of the strategic alliance, Lufthansa do not have to incur large investments to enter any new marke ts or face any risk. However, the company is also trying to expand the international market by acquiring renowned small carriers of different countries and establishing alliances with reputed airline companies of the world. Moreover, entering the American market was possible by Lufthansa due to the collaboration of Continental Airlines with the Star alliance. Moreover, in order to expand the international market, the company also established alliances with the airline industries of China and India2. The cooperative strategies being adopted by Lufthansa helps the company to make

Nurse symbolises Essay Example for Free

Nurse symbolises Essay In contrast to these three characters, the next characters show the opposition facing the accusations. Firstly I will discuss the protagonist of the play John Proctor, whom I have already mentioned. Proctor is a steady man, in whose presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly. He is described as a man in his prime, with a quiet confidence, and an unexpressed, hidden force, which reveals his nature to the reader. Despite his affair with Abigail that becomes the source of the accusations, the reader feels sympathy towards him due to his preference of rationality over the supernatural, and his modern quality in his logic and his willingness for a better life for future generations. The Nurses, particularly Rebecca Nurse, are represented as near saints who rely upon practical wisdom and experience. Miller reveals that the Nurses have held a grudge against the Putnams both over land, and also over Putnams wanted man in the ministry. Rebecca Nurse symbolises the good in the community although this does not affect Putnams motivations and the accusations that are made. The last character is Giles Corey. He is a man who didnt give a hoot for public opinion, but is able to oppose Putnam and Parris due to his contentious, and combative manner. Finally, there is the Reverend John Hale, who approaches religious matters with the conviction of a scientist. He holds the belief that they cannot rely upon superstition to solve the girls problems but they may find a supernatural explanation for the events. Although he does not side with anyone, he is wrapped up in the hysteria that has been created, and evokes further paranoia. He shows the essence of the conflict of religion and superstition that is at the foreground in The Crucible. The First Act of The Crucible shows several significant themes that continue during the play. I think that one of the most important themes is the ability for accusations to snowball, gaining pace and involving others that were in the background. An early example of this is the charges against the girls and Tituba. At first they are accused of simply dancing, then of dancing naked. These accusations proceed until Tituba is deemed a witch, and others are accused of Satanism. Another important theme is the shift of blame from one character to another. This is largely due to the minority of people willing to accept the consequences of their actions. The ability of characters to choose whichever position suits their self-interest is encompassed in the First Act largely with Abigail, who uses everything for her own purpose. As I mentioned during my introduction, the play is aptly named The Crucible, which serves as an instrument in which tensions reach a climax under the cloud of accusations. In Act Three, Danforth refers to the title in saying We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment. This is true in the sense that all the motives of the characters are revealed, but these have to be firstly explained, and this occurs in Act One. Miller uses imagery and language to add to the tensions and conflicts encountered in the First Act. He uses double negatives as a way to emphasise and also to set the play in the right period of history. Miller uses such imagery as sweated like a stallion: an image taken straight from the farm to reflect the themes and set the period. Miller writes that Abigail states that Let either of you breath a word sun go down. This quote contains very powerful language and gives a sense of the harshness of the atmosphere that they lived in. After Act One, the accusations spiral out of control with countless others being accused including Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and John Proctor himself. The mass hysteria reaches a climax with the accused being hanged after refusing to confess to a sin that they did not do. Reverend John Hale sides with Proctor and says that these accusations are not based upon anything, just personal vendettas. In conclusion, Arthur Miller uses the First Act of The Crucible as a strong foundation for the mass hysteria and the intensity of the paranoia that follows in the play. The themes of the play need to be sown into the play quickly and effectively so as to ensure the quick rise of tension. The main issue throughout the play of the conflict of religion and superstition is involved straight away and Miller establishes the stem of all the accusations of Abigails affair with Proctor quickly, as well as giving an insight into the motivations of the other characters. Miller establishes the characteristics of the Salem community that make it so receptive to the witch hunt and how accusations can ignite fears and panic which can seize a town to such a great extent. The Crucible, thought of as an allegory to the McCarthyism that gripped America is elaborately constructed to illustrate how fear and hysteria mixed with an atmosphere of persecution may lead to tragically unjust consequences. The seeds of future conflict are intricately sown in the first Act to provide The Crucible with a solid base on which the accusations raise the tension and conflict to such extreme heights and where characters are wrapped up in the hysteria that make the play so compelling. All the important themes are encompassed during the first Act, such as the shifting of blame, and the conflicts of characters, that allow the rest of the play to spiral out of all proportions permitting The Crucible to be so powerful and utterly riveting.

Employee Relations Analysis of UK Airline

Employee Relations Analysis of UK Airline 2.2.1 An overview of employee relations Employee relations is a term which is now frequently used but very ambiguously defined. It is usually regarded as the substitution of industrial relations. Although many professional bodies such as CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), and many of the recent textbook authors such as Blyton and Turnbull (1998), Farnham (2000), Gennard and Judge (1999), and Hollinshead et al. (2003) considered that there are still some differences between employee relations and industrial relations in context and emphasis, it seems that the term employee relations is still indistinguishable from industrial relations in their articles and books (Rose, 2008). Industrial relations issues actually turned up since the Industrial Revolution in the UK. However, it did not emerge as a recognized field of study and area of vocational practice in industry until approximately 1920, appearing first in the United States (Kaufman, 2004). In the United Kingdom, where the birthplace of industrial relations, it did not became a academic research subject until a decade later and did not get a mainstream position until after the Second World War. This disparate pattern of the term in the US and UK was caused by several factors, such as their different university systems, different management and labour market status, etc (Kaufman, 2004). Kaufman (2004) defined the post war period until the end of 1970s as the golden age of industrial relations, when the term gained rising academic visibility and enhance its influence on national labour policy. After the golden age, a cold climate period emerged, which can also be recognized as the beginning of the shift from industrial relations to employee relations. The shift was resulted in by several influences. Since the early 1980s, an obvious decline in trade union recognition arose at workplace (Salamon, 2000).Kessler and Bayliss (1998) summarized three major factors that resulted in these new departures. The first factor was the political environment of this period. During the period of the Conservative government (from 1979 to 1997), a series of steps were taken to limit the scope of trade union action, set new rules for trade union operations and enhance the role of management, because the government treated trade unions as an institutional impediment, which are harmful or at least unnecessary, to the operation of free markets (Legge, 1995). The marginalization of trade unions enhance the power of employers and gave them more flexibility to deal with employees more directly, so that they could achieve the business goals based on their own value systems without the hindrance of powerful collective bargaining from unions (Hollinshead et al., 2003). The second factor was economic changes. With the development of economic globalization, competition became fiercer in both the product market and the labour market. The decrease in manufacturing industry leaded to the high levels of unemployment. In addition, the great post war recessions were another reason, which raised unemployment dramatically. The third was change in management policies. As a result of fiercer product market competition, organizations began to realize that only hold the technology advantage is no long enough to maintain their competitive advantage. Employers sought to achieve higher level of employees productivity than the past to improve the organizational performance. In addition, non-unionism not only changed the balance of bargaining power between employees and employers, but also individualistic issue within employee relations, although this result is not the object of Conservative legislation. Besides these factors mentioned above, Hollinshead et al. (2003) additionally insisted the social-demographic factors, which refer to higher education levels, woke life balance, and the increase number of women and part timer in labour market, and technological factors, which refer to flexible working time, knowledge workers and computerisation of routine jobs. Because of those different situations, the professional party and textbook authors mentioned above tried to define the new boundary for the term employee relations so that it can be distinguished from the traditional industrial relations. Based on a series of interviews and surveys with human resource practitioners and employee relations managers, CIPD defined employee relations to be a more comprehensive employment relationship than the traditional industrial relations. As CIPD indicated, employee relations emphasizes more particularly on direct communication, managing organisational change and involving and motivating staff, while industrial relations is a narrower conception which just refer to the relationship between employers and collective employees (CIPD, 2005). However, the definition made by CIPD just reflected the perspective of employers. Gennard and Judge (1999) argued that comparing with the CIPDs perspective, the academic discussions require the plurality of perspective on issues and themes. Therefore, they defined employee relations as: a study of managing employees both as individuals and as a collective group, with the priority given to the individual as opposed to the collective relationship varying between companies depending on the values of their management. (Gennard and Judge, 1999) They emphasized the importance of acquiring employee relations knowledge and skills in unionised environments as well as non-union environment. In addition, they also treaded the relative balance of bargaining power between the buyers and sellers of labour services as one of the most important employee relations concepts. Similarly, Farnham (2000) also insisted that the essence of employee relations is paid employment or the pay work bargain between employers and employees. As Farnham, Gennard and Judge all emphasized upon individual aspects of the employment relationship more than collective aspects, Blyton and Turnbull (1999) considered that industrial relations was included in employee relations. They summarized that the particular industrial relations is only about trade unions and strikes. On the other hand, they viewed that employee relations is not only about the collective relationships, but also about the relationship between individual employees and employers. However, the collective aspects of relationship between employees and employers are still their focus point in the field. No matter how many differences these party and authors summarized between industrial relations and employee relations, there is still no significant distinction between these two terms. As Rose summarized (2008), employee relations become more mainstream than industrial relations may be just because it is considered as a more acceptable term than industrial relations as it averts the negative undermeaning associated with industrial relations. Like Edwards argued in 1995: In order to survive, industrial relations needs to change its focus to employment relations, examining not just institutions but how the employment relationship operates in practice, and exploring the outcomes for efficiency and equity. To sum up, employee relations is the outcome of changing contemporary industrial relations influenced by many external factors such as economic environment, development of technology, political steps, etc. It refers to not only the collective aspects of relations between workforce and management, but also the individual aspects of the relationship. 2.2.2 The importance of employee relations to airline industry Belobaba et al. (2009) indicate that the employee relations is particularly important in the airline industry. First of all, the fundamental reason for the significant position of employee relations in the airline industry is its service-intensive nature. Airline industry is labour intensive industry; therefore its proportion of labour costs to total costs is very high. Figure 2.1 European airline labour and fuel cost shares (%) of total operation costs: 2001 to 2008 Source: ITAT (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, 2010) Although the research made by ITAT indicates a slight decrease of labour cost from 2003 to 2008, it still in a large share of total operating costs. According to Rodrigue et al (2009), the percentage of labour cost in the operating costs of the airline industry in the world was approximately 35%, which illuminated about 75% of all non-fixed costs. Figure 2.2 Operating Expenses of the Airline Industry (2004) Source: ATA Annual Report 2005 (Rodrigue et al, 2009) Second, with the high level of union representation in this industry, employees can affect the performance level of airlines significantly. Those effects can be positive and also negative. For example, in adversarial employee relations environment, no matter achieve agreement or not in collective bargaining, it will result in higher costs and less operating flexibility (Gittell et al., 2004) for companies. If collective agreement can be achieved, higher wages should be paid for employees and companies layoff plan may be restricted to improve employment security of employees. If collective agreement cannot be achieved, additional costs might be leaved to companies through collective dispute such as strikes, go-slows, etc. On the other hand, employees also play important roles in adding values for companies. They can reduce companies unit costs through their coordinated and committed efforts and their productivity-enhancing ideas (Gittell et al., 2004). In addition, they can provide hi gh quality service to customers which can be seen as a competitive advantage in contemporary airline industry. Therefore, the status of employee relations within airlines can significantly affect their costs, their financial performance, and the achievement of their business goals. 2.2.3 New perspective of employee relations within contemporary airlines in the UK In the UK, airline industry has a tradition of adversarial employment relations (Marchington et al., 2004). Most airlines within UK accept the existence of trade unions; however, generally have bad relationships with them. Layoffs and wages cut are usually the first strategy used to improving financial performance and avoiding crisis during an economic recession (Rodrigue et al, 2009). However, reducing labour costs is not the only way to get competitive advantage and achieve better financial performance. According to Legge (1995), employee relations actually do not need to be so adversarial even in labour intensive industries. She argued that even companies choose to be more competitive on costs, they can still achieve this aim by increasing the productivity of their capital assets rather than by reducing labour costs. Similarity, Batt (2000) considered that comparing with reducing labour costs, investing in better employee relations could gain a greater return. Hence, like Gittell and Bamber (2010) summarized, although reducing labour costs are the focus of an service sector companys competitive strategy, their costs can be cut down not only by cutting wages and benefits, but also by increasing labour productivity. Management style in employee relations Different authors summarized different types of management styles in employee relations under different systematization. 2.3.1 The unitary theory and the pluralist theory Fox (1966) identified unitary perspective and pluralist perspective based on different general control and direction of labour. There are three main differences between these two perspectives: 1. Management acceptance and recognition of trade unions 2. Views about managerial prerogatives and employee participation 3. The perceived legitimacy of, and reactions to, conflict at work. (Blyton and Turnbull, 1998) Hollinshead et al (2003) indicated that unitary perspective of employee relations essentially treats employee relations as a harmonious relationship between employers and employees. The unitary perspective emphasize that there is a common goal between employees and employer. This common goal can avoid the potential source of conflict and hold employees and employer together to strive for their common objectives. Because of the harmonious relationship within a unitary employee relations environment, there is no need for a third party on behalf of either employees or employers to participate in bargaining process (Hollinshead et al, 2003). Therefore, trade unions are not necessary for both employers and employees. In other words, the labour market is depicted as a natural structure composed of an omnipotent management backed up by the state and of labour dependent on those two parties for its well-being (Gospel, 1992). However, the high level of consensus between employees and employers not always exists, even it does, it is hard to be maintained. The assumption is not reasonable in most application. Employees may accept a series of organizational objectives at the very beginning, but it is unlikely to maintain the long-term cooperation of a workforce (Hollinshead et al, 2003). The failure of the assumption reflects some weaknesses of the unitary theory that is summarized by Hollinshead et al (2003). First, it ignores the existence of differing interests between employees and employers. Second, conflict between employees and employer were considered as deviance (Palmer, 1983). The only way to deal with the conflict is dismissal or the law. Third, with more developed management techniques, many practitioners indicate that ignoring employees interests could result in more intense conflict. Although the unitary perspective can be seen as the earliest theory used to describe employee relations, it refers to many contemporary management ideas related to corporate culture and human resource management (Farnham and Pimlott, 1995). Hence, many employers nowadays still adopt this perspective as good business sense. Comparing with unitary theory, pluralist theory is a perspective that can more accurately reflect the employee relations within larger and more complex employment environment. The pluralist theory acknowledged that there is a limited level of conflicting interests between employees and employers, so that all parties within organization need to work together to achieve a consensus (Hollinshead et al, 2003). Like Trades Union Congress (TUC, the umbrella organisation of the trade union movement) described in a policy document published in 1997: The theme of this statement is partnership, a recognition that trade unions must not be seen as part of Britains problems. At the workplace social partnership means employers and trade unions working together to achieve common goals such as fairness and competitiveness; it is recognition that, although they have different constituencies; it is a recognition that although they have different interests, they can serve these best by making common cause wherever possible. (TUC, 1997) The implication of using this analysis was, unlike unitary theory, which it drew from accounts based upon a political heritage in democratic theory that portrayed decision making as a process of reconciling the different claims made by a variety of competing groups. In other words, it acknowledged the existence of a variety of competing interest groups, but in addition it accepted this variety as legitimated and normal. The existence of conflict was allowed for, and to an extent encouraged. What the theory appears to offer is an account of the nature of industrial relations which achieves greater realism by reflecting the political realities of the situation at that time. This is hardly surprising when the details of that historical period are considered, along with the level of trade union activity and the incidence of industrial disputes in evidence at that time. Conflict was very much the norm (Bassett, 1987). Once again, the theory also established based on a series of assumptions that are hardly recognized in practice. 2.3.2 The individualism and the collectivism Purcell (1987) considered that although Foxs unitary and pluralist theory had a major influence in the beginning of management style issue, the conceptions actually had a lot of limitations in practice. First, both unitary frame and pluralist frame have a number of variations. For example, both organizations those are essentially exploitive of labour and organizations those value the loyalty and commitment of employees are contained within the unitary frame, however, their management style are almost extremes. Similarly, organizations within pluralist frame also need to be sub divided through different kinds of variations. In addition, because of their mutually exclusive feature, these two perspectives seem do not useful as a framework of management style in employee relations. Third, it is often unclear in the way the terms have been used subsequently whether they related to managements beliefs and policies toward trade unions or, in addition, cover direct relations with employees. Therefore, he identified individualism and collectivism as two dimensions of management style of employee relations. Individualism dimension refers to the extent to which the firm gives credence to the feelings and sentiments of each employee and seeks to develop and encourage each employees capacity and role at work. Firms which have individualistically centred policies are thus expected to emphasize employees as a resource and be concerned with developing and nurturing each persons talents and worth. Payment systems might emphasize merit elements and make use of appraisal and assessment techniques designed to distinguish the contribution of each employee in anything from attitudes to attributes, as one firm puts it, The line managers role in managing people is likely to be emphasized, irrespective of whether the manager is in a production, sales, finance or a personnel position. Attitude surveys may well be used regularly since such organizations are keen to assess the efficacy of their policies. Communication systems are likely to be extensive and developed through a variety of media from newspapers and videos to the personal contact between the managers, the individual and small groups of employees. Collectivism is the second dimension of management style that concerns the extent to which the organization recognizes the right of employees to have a say in those aspects of management decision-making which concern them. There are a number of ways to distinguish it from the first one. One possibility is to use a test of trade union recognition for the determination of pay and conditions through collective bargaining. However, this is not of itself sufficient since in so doing we make assumptions about the nature of the relationship between the firm and the union and exclude organizations where employees participate in decision-making through non-union structures. A focus on industrial democracy might be more helpful since it would allow for a variety of methods by which managers become to a greater or lesser extent accountable for their actions to employees, and where staff have some say in decision making. The only problem is that there is no agreed definition of industrial democracy. Purcell and Grays category of management style The category developed by Purcell and Gray in 1986 is one of the most popular typologies of management style (Torrington et al, 2008). Comparing with the typologies mentioned above, it is more comprehensive. Purcell and Gray (1986) defined five types of management styles in employee relations, which are traditional style, Sophisticated human relations style, consultative style, constitutional style, and standard modern style. The traditional style considers labour as a factor of production and employee subordination is assumed to be part of the natural order of the employment relationship. Usually, trade unions are not accepted in this style. This style is mainly adopted by small owner managed companies. In addition, the product market often highly competitive, emphasis on cost control. Grunwick processing laboratories Ltd, Port of Tilbury are typical case adopting this management style. The sophisticated human relations style view employees as the companys most valuable resource. Comparing with the other companies in the same industry, this kind of company usually par employees more above average pay. The aim is to inculcate employee loyalty, commitment and dependency. Companies choose this management style seek to make it unnecessary or unattractive for staff to unionise. This style is usually adopted by large, American owned, single industry, financially successful organizations with a high market share in growth industries. IBM and Marks Spencer are typical cases adopting this management style. The consultative style is similar to the sophisticated human relations companies except that unions are recognised. An attempt is made to build constructive relationships with the trade unions and incorporate them into the organizational fabric. Emphasis is also placed on techniques designed to enhance individual employee commitment to the firm and the need to change. This style is often adopted by British or Japanese owned single industry companies that are large and economically successful, often with a high market share. Companies with relatively low labour costs often adopt this style. Esso and Cadbury Schweppes are typical cases adopting this management style. The Constitutional style have been recognised for some time and accepted as inevitable. Employee relations policies centre on the need for stability, control and the institutionalisation of conflict. Management prerogatives are defended through highly specific collective agreements. The importance of management control is emphasised with the aim of minimising or neutralising union constraints on both operational (line) and strategic (corporate) management. This style is often adopted by single industry companies with mass production or large batch production requiring a large unit size of operation. Labour costs form in these companies indicates a significant proportion of total costs. The product market conditions are often highly competitive. Ford is a typical case adopting this management style. The standard modern style refers to pragmatic employee relations and trade unions are recognised within organizations. Employee relations are viewed as the responsibility of operational management. The importance attached to employee relation policies changes in the light of circumstances. There can be marked differences of approach between establishments or divisions and between various levels of the hierarchy. This style is often adopted by conglomerate, multiproduct companies that have grown through acquisition and diversification, especially in the engineering and heavy manufacturing industries with long traditions of unionisation. General Electrical Co., and British airways are typical cases adopting this management style. 2.4 Employee involvement 2.4.1 The importance and necessity of employee involvement It is quite possible to run a successful business without involving employees in management activities to any meaningful extent, but the chances of sustained success are higher when employees are involved (Torrington et al, 2008). Objectives are more effectively and efficiently achieved if employees have some say in decision making, especially as it affects their own areas of work. Torrington and his colleagues summarized two main reasons for this phenomenon. On one hand, managers may be paid more than their staff, but that does not mean that they always know best. There is no fount of wisdom exclusive only to managers. Ultimately it is for managers to make decisions and to be held accountable, and these can be tough to make. But the chances that they will make the right decision are enhanced if they listen to the views of others and allow their own ideas to be subjected to a degree of scrutiny and constructive criticism. Moreover, involvement allows managers to tap into the ideas and suggestions of staff. The best new ideas often originate from people lower down organizational hierarchies, because they are closest to the operational coalface and often to customers. On the other hand, employees like being involved. They appreciate having their opinions listened to and acted upon, particularly in matters that directly concern their day to day activities. The chances of their being positively satisfied with their work are thus greatly improved if they are genuinely able to be involved. The knock on effects include lower staff turnover, lower levels of absence, the ability to attract more recruits and higher levels of performance. The effective management of change is especially enhanced by employee involvement because people are always happier to support what they helped to create. Types of employee involvement practices Hyman and Mason (1995) identify four categories of employee involvement: Downward communication to individual employees Downward communication to groups of employees Upward communication to individual employees Upward communication to groups of employees Downward communication from managers to employees is used to inform and educate employees so that they are more likely to endorse management initiatives and plans. Chapter three RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction Based on Morse and Fields (1995) framework from the health sciences, Creswell et al (2007) summarized five main approaches used in qualitative research, which are narrative research, case study research, grounded theory, phenomenology research and participatory action research. In this dissertation, case study research methodology is used to explain how employee relations can affect the business performance of legacy airlines. background and definition Although some (Stake, 2005) stated that case study research is not a methodology but only a choice of the object of study, more experts considered it as a methodology, a comprehensive research strategy, and a type of design in qualitative research (Merrian,1998; Yin, 2003; Creswell et al, 2007). According to Yin (2003), a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. Therefore, he (2003) indicated that the case study inquiry is mainly used to deal with the technically characteristic situation in which there will be many more variables of interest than data points, and as one result relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulating fashion, and as another result benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to guide data collection and analysis. Likewise, Creswell et al (2007) summarized that case study research is: a qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information (e.g., observations, interviews, audiovisual material, and documents and reports) and reports a case description and case-based themes. 3.3 Variants of case study research Qualitative case studies may be distinguished by the intent of case analysis. Three variations that exist in terms of the intent- the single instrumental case study, the collective or multiple-case study and the intrinsic case study (Creswell et al, 2007). In a single case-study the focus is on one issue or concern and a bounded case is selected to illustrate this issue (Stake, 1995). In a collective or multiple-case study, the focus is one issue but multiple cases are selected to illustrate this issue. Multiple case design uses the logic of replication as the procedures a re replicated for each case (Yin, 2003). Qualitative researchers are reluctant to generalize from one case to another as the contexts of the cases differ. However, to generalize, representative cases should be selected (Creswell et al, 2007). In an intrinsic case study, the focus is on the case itself e.g. studying a student having a difficulty (Stake, 1995). This paper examines the nature of employee relations (issue or concern) taking the example of an organization- British Airways PLC (case). Therefore it is a single instrumental case study. It explains how theories of employee relations have been applied in practice. 3.4 Case study techniques Many researchers such as Simons (1980), Yin (1984) and Stake (1995) have written about case study research and suggested techniques for conducting this research. They proposed the following steps- determine the research question, select the case and determine data gathering and analysis techniques, preparation and collection of data in the field, evaluate and analyze the data and prepare the report. I have followed these steps during my research. 3.3.1 Determining the research question To arrive at the research question a research focus has to be established along with a research object. In this research, the main focus is on managing employee relations in organizations. The research object can be a program, entity, a person or a group of person (Soy, 1997). Here, the research object is an organization (entity). In this study, I am primarily interested in determining how employee relations is dealt with in organizations. First, I have conducted a literature review that provides information on employee relations and helps to define the following questions: The employee relations status in British Airways, and How to deal with poor employee relations? 3.3.2 Select the case and determine data gathering and analysis techniques There are a number of organizations in the UK suffering from poor employee relations. One of these is the British Airways PLC (Grugulis and Wilkinson, 2002). British Airways is now getting bogged down in collective disputes from its employees. Foreman (1948) suggested three broad categories of data gathering techniques. First, personal documents includes all record yielding information concerning the pattern or functioning of the researchers own personal or social life. It may reflect a social situation to which the author is responsive to or his/her own behaviour (Foreman, 1948). Second, participation observation records includes all chronicles prepared by the analysts following assumption for purpose of investigation of member roles in the unit studied (Foreman, 1948). Third, person reports includes all forms written by persons not directly participating in or identified with, but seeking to organize or to interpret the experiences or history of some personal, group, class, ecological, or cultural unit (Foreman, 1948) 3.3.3 Preparation and collection of Data A case study research requires large amount of data from multiple sources. Systematic organization of data is important to prevent the researcher from becoming overwhelmed by the amount of data and to prevent the researcher from losing sight of the original research purpose and questions (Soy, 1997). Databases have to be prepared to assist with categorizing, sorting, storing, and retrieving data for analysis. It is essential to note down key problems and events, identify key people and revise the research design to address and add to the original set of res

Sainsburys Team And Leadership Behaviour

Sainsburys Team And Leadership Behaviour Introduction In this assignment I need to understand the team and leadership behaviour. The organisation I have chosen to look at is Sainsburys where I was a former employee. Sainsburys plc is a leading food retailer supermarket. The Scenario that I have presented took place when I was working at Sainsburys which will highlight what team skills took place. The main focus in my report is on leadership I will analyse the group interactions and interdependence that were implicated by applying appropriate theories from the Team Skills. This will then enable me to draw conclusions and offer recommendations for improvement. Sainsburys background Sainsburys plc is a leading food retailer supermarket, founded in 1869; it is the longest standing and the third largest supermarket in the UK. Not only is Sainsbury Britains largest retailer of food and wine but it is also the most respected, according to the reportings of the nationwide surveys of industry analysts and company directors. The company has received top or near-top ratings for product and service quality, successful development, profitable pricing, overall financial performance, advertising and marketing, and superior management, as well as recruitment, training, and retention of high-calibre employees. Characters The four characters that I have chosen to look at have different roles within the company however; they all play an important part in the scenario which shows their great team working skills. I have highlighted their roles within the store (Please see appendix 1). The Scenario I used to work in Sainsburys as a cashier and one day when I was working over-time there was a power cut. The store manger Clive called all the supervisors down to the check outs department and said we need to get all the customers out of store and so the check out manager Kristina done a tannoy on the speaker telling all the customers to leave the store due to the power cut. Meanwhile the store assistant manager, Duncan was calling the Head Office to inform them that the store had a power cut. Imran the supervisor of frozen foods than done a call out to all the staff asking them to leave the building and come to the main entrance of Sainsburys. After arriving to the main entrance of the building all the staff got in groups of 8 which were led by a supervisor. We then had to take the customers cold products and put them in the big fridge at the back of the warehouse which was running on a generator. The staff got told by the store manager Clive that all the cold products of the shelf had to be taken off and put it in to big plastic boxes which then went in the big fridge at the back of the warehouse. There were four supervisors; Amy, Dave, Steve and Imran, I was in imrans group and our task was to take of all the milk products off the shelves and put it at the back to the warehouse where the big fridge was. After we done the milk section we were then asked to do the yogurt section, in total it took us 3 hours, 1 hour more than we expected, this meant that the store lost out on 3 hours of business. After the store reopened I got told by my group supervisor to stand on the door n greet all the customers and tell them all the cold products cant be sold due to a power cut. After a few hours we got the power back and Clive the store manager asked a lot of the staff to do overtime and put all the cold products back on the shelves. The staff doing the over time were split in to 3 groups of 5 and in total it took us four and a half hours to put all the cold products ba ck on the shelf. Transcription of Interaction The dialogue that took place between the main characters in the scenarios described above shows the team work that took place (Please see appendix 2). Theories The trait approach to leadership arising from the great man theory identifies the key characteristic of a leader as being successful. Stodgill (1974) identified a list of main traits and skills that a successful leader should acquire. According to Stodgill, a good leader should possess the trait of being able to adapt to different situations, should be alert to social environments, be ambitious and achievement-orientated. As well as this a good, successful leader should be assertive, cooperative, decisive, dependable and dominant in the sense that they should have the desire to influence others. Stodgill also highlighted a good leader to be energetic, persistent, self-confident, tolerant of stress and willing to assume responsibility. The key skills that Stodgill identified as vital for a successful leader are that they should be creative, conceptually skilled, diplomatic, tactful, knowledgeable about group task, organised, persuasive yet socially skilled. The contingency theory proposed by fiedler (1964) states that they is no one way that is best for managers to lead, different situation will require different leadership style for a manager. The managerial situation depends on various internal and external factors such as the working environment. Fiedler identified 3 situations that could describe the condition of a managerial task; leader member relation, this refers to how well the managers and staff get along, task structure which relates to how structured the job is, position power which associates with how much authority the manager possesses. It has been noted that task oriented managers tend to be better in situation in which they have good relationship with good leader member relationship, structured task and a strong position of power. Leader member relation refers to the amount of dependability and support that the leader receives from his or her employee. The Herschey-Blanchard situational theory (1977) suggests that the appropriate leadership style depends upon the developmental level of maturity of the subordinates. This means that in order to establish the appropriate leadership style, the leader must first establish the maturity level of the subordinates in relation to the task that they are trying to accomplish. According to Blanchard the key situational factors are the readiness and developmental level of the subordinates and therefore four different leadership styles have been recognized; directing, coaching, delegating and supporting. The path-goal model of leadership proposed by Evans (1970) and House (1971) suggests that an individuals motivation depends upon their expectation of the reward. According to Evan the most important way that managers can motivate employees is by offering them reward and indicating what they must do to earn that reward. Analyse scenario Although the staffs at Sainsburys have been trained on what to do when there is a power cut, it still occurs unexpectedly, there is no one best way of leading that particular situation, moreover, a leadership style that is effective in one situation may not be effective in another although they may be similar situations. The optimal leadership style is dependent upon many of the internal and external factors; therefore, in this instance the contingency theory of leadership can be applied (Fieldler 1964) as nobody including the store manager Clive expected this to happen however, he was alert and adapted quickly to the situation. As the store manager to be a successful leader, Clive had to think quickly and act fast, therefore the situational leadership theory proposed by Hersey and Blanchard (1977) can also be applied to this scenario. He took the leader role and communicated well with all the staff by keeping them all informed and assigning them to jobs. Mullins (2002) describes leadership as the relationship through which one person affects the action or behaviour of another, from the scenario we can see that Clive leadership qualities affected the rest of the staff as they felt more motivated and knew what they had to do. Duncan used his initiative and thought of calling the head office and informing them nevertheless he still asked for Clives advice. The same applied to Imran as he thought of gathering all of the staff together however, he still asked Clive first. Clive possesses many of the traits and skills identified by Stodgill (1974) we can see from the way he handled the situation that he has the ability to adapt to different situations and is alert to what is happening around him. In addition to this we can see that as a store manager he is a good leader because he is cooperative with his staff, dependable because the rest of the staff rely on him and empowering because off the influence he has on others. We can also see that he did not panic, was organised and tactful in his approach. Clive assigned job roles according to the level of maturity of the workers; this is in consistent with the Hersey-Blanchard theory. From the scenario we can also see that Kristina took lead as well as she was assigning the supervisors on what section of the cold products to work. Imran was also a leader of his group and took a leading role of his group. Recommendations for improvement Conclusion The scenario shows that relevant leadership skills were in place and therefore the situation was handled successfully although some faults that did occur could have been avoided which has led me to present recommendations for improvement that could be used for future reference. The leadership skills presented in the scenario are also in consistent with the leadership theories that have been established. All the characters displayed leadership qualities even though they had different roles within the company; they still worked as a team to resolve the issue. References Evans, Martin G. (1970). The effects of supervisory behavior on the path-goal relationship. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 5: 277-298. http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=380 Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1977). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (3rd ed.) New Jersey/Prentice Hall House, Robert J. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly 16: 321-339. Fiedler, F. E. (1964). A Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol.1). 149-190. New York: Academic Press. Mullins, L. (2002) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 6th ed. FT/Prentice Hall Mullins, LJ (2007), The Nature of Leadership, Management and OB (8e) Stogdill, R.M. (1974). Handbook of leadership: A survey of the literature, New York: Free Press Appendix 1 Character Position Duties Behavior Clive Male, 35 years old Store manager Clives main duty as the Store Manager is to look after the whole store meaning that all managers of all departments report to him. He has the leading role in the store and has to support all staff. He is very charismatic, a strong leader always interested in getting results. Although at times he can be described as authoritarian and arrogant. Duncan Male, 28 years old Store assistant manager As the store assistant manager Duncans main role is to assist Clive in supporting staff and managing the store when he is not present. He is a reliable, organized and motivated individual. Kristina Female, 38 years old Checkout manager Kristinas main duties are to supervise all staff working in the check-outs departments as well as cashing up the money at the end of the day. She is a very friendly, sociable, confident leader that looks for attention to detail although sometimes may appear to be bossy and dominant. Imran Male, 36 years old Supervisor Imran is a supervisor of the frozen foods department. His main duties are to supervise all workers in that department as well as assisting his manager and managing the department when his manager is absent. Although experienced and of a very helpful nature, Imran is lazy and does not keep to his time keeping. Jessica Female, 20 years old Checkouts operator Jessica is a check-out staff, her main duty is to serve the customers the products they want and to help them with any queries that they have. She is a bubbly and friendly person.