Working in groups at the work place Essay Example for Free

Working in groups at the work place Essay Organisations all around the world provide remarkable but extraordinary workplaces for millions of people. The majority of workplaces require employees to interact towards other fellow employees and the public. Working together with other employees generates a group. There are many ways to define a group, A group may be defined as a collection of individuals who are interdependent in some way (Johnson and Johnson, p15; 2003). According to this definition, working at the same organisation is the event, which affects them all, and it initiates the individuals to work together. The natures of groups produce a relationship between each individual, which expands from the interaction with one another. Not everyone will get along or have the same opinions, but this teaches everyone to appreciate the fact that all individuals are different and to identify the various cultures. In the workplace when the group gets along, it should improve the effectiveness of the relationships between the people identified. This will help the group to have a high morale and will improve the companys reputation. Lenards, is a well-known poultry shop, which serves a variety of fresh chicken. It is a multi-award winning company, considered to be one of Australias leading fresh food retailers and a pioneer in the kitchen ready market(Dias, 2002). I am currently working at Lenards located at Middle Park, and have been employed there for approximately six months. During these six months, I have particularly become close to two fellow employees, Donika and Nick. I have also formed a good relationship with my manager Ray. The objectives of this report will identify in individuals such as personality and attitudes, behaviors individuals demonstrate that leads a person to believe that they have those personalities and attitudes, the level of morale existing between people in the workplace and the indicators of morale that are present and any cultural and social differences that has an influence on the relationships of these people. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Ray (Supervisor) Ray is of great importance to the team at Lenards as he is in charge of the businesss daily operations. Therefore his personality and attitudes reflect strongly upon the business. Managers need to be aware of their own attitudes, assumptions and beliefs, as well as being sensitive to their subordinates perceptions, needs and motivations. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.11). Rays duties reflect upon his personality, which makes his duties easier to perform. One important personality for managing is planning. Planning is where the decisions are made and are the essence of a managers job (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.174). The decision making process is a set of eight steps including identifying a problem, selecting an alternative, and evaluating the decisions effectiveness. Ray tries to be aware of the stores problems by making sure the employees are serving the customers the right way, and checking that all the procedures are carried out properly. When he identifies a problem within the team, he will usually inform the group about the problem so that no one else makes the same mistakes. Organising is another major behavior for managing. This helps the business to be more organised with team responsibilities and also individual responsibilities. At the beginning of the day Ray sets out what he wants to be done, how it will be best to do it and when it should be done by. The challenge for managers is to design an organisational structure that allows employees to effectively and efficiently do their work while accomplishing organisational goals and objectives. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.274) Leading, is concerned with the subject of behavior and the actions of people at work. It is important for managers to be good leaders so that they have good control over the employees and the business. These areas look towards attitudes, personality, perception, learning and motivation it also includes norms, roles, team building and conflict (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.384). Ray is an understanding person, who tries not to judge. For example, if we are late for work and have a good reason for it he will understand and wont go further into the situation by being nosey. He also gets along well with every customer and does not treat any customer differently no matter of their looks, or culture, etc. Job satisfaction refers to an individuals general attitude towards their job. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p. 389). Rays high involvement as the manager of Lenards has made him extremely motivated and displays positive attitudes. Organisational commitment is an individuals orientation towards to the organization in terms of loyalty identification and involvement. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p. 59). Ray participates in the workplace daily and he shows a considerably high commitment to the workplace. He understands the different cultures of all employees and does not treat anyone different. All managers are required to perform duties that involve people (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.11) Ray does his job very well by performing the duties that involve people at a great level, he interacts well with all the customers by starting conversation and offering bonus cards and cooking guides, he always tries his best to make every customer smile. Morale is basically the need for a manager or supervisor to give their employees direction, guidance, support, encouragement, praise and recognition for work. It is understood that Rays morale is the highest out of all the workers in the business. He shows a cheerful attitude towards employees and is always willing to perform certain tasks for the daily operations. Nick (High Employee) As one of the main employees that make up the staff of Lenards, Nick contributes greatly in the food preparations and daily operations. His personality seems to be much more conversant compared to the rest of the employees. Nick is more tranquil, meaning that he is calm, easy-going and open-minded at the same time. He is always cooperative towards the group and the customers. Human or interpersonal skills represent the ability to work well with and understand others, to build cooperative effort within a team, to motivate and to avoid conflict. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.11). Nick has developed many skills over the many years that he has been employed at Lenards for. This makes him more conversant meaning that he is much more experienced compared to the rest of the group. Nick is someone that the group members rely on if Ray is not around. The team is very reliant upon Nick because of his great knowledge towards the business and the skills that impact upon the business. A person, who is tranquil, is easy going and calm towards many situations. It is important for group members to portray tranquility so that they can keep there cool at times of frustration. Nick is an outgoing person but at the same time he stays calm and on task. Cooperation is important within a group and a businesss customers. Instead of an individual completing there own duties on there own, the group can work together as a team to complete all the tasks in an organised way. This means that each individual can get help from others where needed. The primary goal is to get along sufficiently well to achieve the goals and do the tasks. (Birchall Colwill, 1996, p70). Nick cooperates well with every team member by helping everyone complete tasks, and by identifying and informing us of something we are doing wrong. He also cooperates well with the customers by coming to a conclusion with a customer who has a problem. Nick, being a thinking and also a feeling person, tends to be logical but always considers others feelings, having both feeling and thinking dimensions giving strength. He is always organised and also understanding. Nick shows that he is a well-organised employee. He always asks questions like are you busy or do you need any help at all with that? He is careful with his words (as to not offend or dishearten other co-workers) and always likes to help other people if they are in need. Organisational commitment is how much a person contributes in doing task and the loyalty towards the business. Nick, having work there for over 5 years, shows that he is loyal towards the business and always contributes as much as he can, thus is highly committed. It is understood that Nick is very spirited within the business as he has considerably high morale. Morale is the mental or emotional condition of a person or group, as indicated by the level of enthusiasm, confidence, cheerfulness, or the like. Nick shows morale through his confidences and cheerfulness at work, where he loves to interact with others. He always shows that he wants to work and is very confident in doing daily tasks. Donika (Employee) Donika shows great deal of personality and is possibly the most complex employee at Lenards. She is an extremely outgoing person she loves interacting with others but is not always aware of people and/or things around her, this becomes one of her weaknesses, feeling. Other than this she is perceiving, but has equal strengths. A feeling person is a person who is more aware of people, problems and situations around them than being logical and objective. This means that the person places more value in people and their life. Donika does not show a lot care for much more than just the job she does, but she likes to know about other employees weekends, problems and loves interacting. At times she can be a bit judging towards people, for example, she may comment about customers after they have left, such as saying something like, That person had stinky breath. Perceiving is where an individual always thinks twice before acting or always want to know more about the task given or problem before making solutions for the problems or task. Perceivers like to take in new ideas and perspectives with others but tend to have a weakness in planning and organizing within the workplace. For example, Donika is a less organised employee by not putting her full effort into a task. For example, when it comes to the end of the day and we have just had a rush of customers leaving all our duties out the back unfinished, she will do a lazy job by not washing thing properly so that she is not late to leave work. Having equal strengths with intuition and sensing means that the person can see possibilities, likes new ideas, enjoys solving problems, can work in complicated situations, likes to establish facts and has minor errors. Having balanced strengths in this dimension could give a person great personality to work with. An example of this can been seen in the workplace at Lenards where Donika likes to invent and discuss new ideas and would like to question others opinions on whether or not the new ideas would be successful if implemented. One day Donika noticed that where the knifes are placed could become a hazard. The knifes are placed on a magnetized holder, Donika suggested that we purchase or create something which would be more safe which the knifes would not fall out of. When she came up with this idea, she informed the management after suggesting it to the rest of the employees. It is understood that Donika has a high morale towards the business organisation as a whole. Morale as said before is a state of individual psychological well being based upon a sense of confidence, usefulness and purpose. The confidence she shows is considerably high. She also likes to motivate and encourage others to work faster and effectively. Donika holds a cheerful attitude towards the job. Deema (Employee) During the six months which I have been employed at Lenards for, I have formed good relationships with the employees and the manager. Human or interpersonal skills represent the ability to work well with and understand others, to build cooperative effort within a team, to motivate and to avoid conflict. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.11) This makes my job enjoyable and bearable to anticipate. I differ from the group at Lenards in many ways, but I can relate to the employees in many ways. My culture becomes some of the many differences that I have with the group. My family background is stable and has brought me up to be understanding, friendly, cheerful and easy to talk to. On the other side of my personality I can be impatient, unmotivated and unorganized at times. By understanding peoples situations, it helps them to feel comfortable to interact with one another. When there was a new employee, I understood his situation as I had been in the same place before, so I tried me best to help him and make him feel comfortable in his new work place. When others interact with me, I try to put my self in the same situation so that I can understand what they are talking about. By being understanding upon peoples situation is one of the aspects of friendliness. By being friendly towards the group I feel that I enjoy work much more by interacting with one another. By being friendly towards the customers I have realized that they become happy with the service and tend to come back. From being impatient, certain situations become irritating to handle. For example, when customers are picky with what they want, while there are many other customers waiting behind them. While being at work I have to try my hardest to be patient with customers, and try to ignore the irritation I get. Many of times I can become unorganized by coming late to work but other than that I tend to work hard and motivate myself by interacting with the employees and customers. Morale is the spirit of a persons mind where the person can be affected by confidence, cheerfulness and willingness as stated above. I always work with a cheerful attitude, but may sometimes have the will to conduct certain tasks; rather I may need to be instructed to do so. I do not have full confidence in all assigned task so I can sometimes be unsure of what to do in certain operations. The morale I have mainly comes from my enjoyment of interacting with the group and customers. CULTURAL AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES Culture and society can single everyone out from each other. Culture, can be defined as A deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concept of universe and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people the course of generation through individuality and group striving. (Samovar Porter) The cultural differences within Lenards are of great importance to how people act and explain things. People are raised with different cultures and these changes the way we act, explain and differentiate between different cultures. Culture serves as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of people. (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p. 559) As we go through the workers it is understood that the manager and employees have certain cultural differences within the business. All the employees at Lenards have different backgrounds, I am from Iraq, Ray is Australian, Nick is from New Zealand and Donika is Italian. This proves that a group can work together regardless of each others backgrounds. Having a different social status between workers could really contribute in the way workers act within the organisation. Ray, being the manager of the business organisation uses his status to influence others in the workplace. He acts controlling at times to express that he is dominant but does care for employees opinions. As for Nick, he always respects all employees and customers. He listens well to what everyone has to say, when consulting the manager he always asks relevant questions and discusses any problems in a very formal way. Donika appears to talk naturally to anyone with any social differences within the business; she cares less of what status you are as she thinks that all people are equal in the workplace. Deema, being the least experienced in the organisation tends to respect all people and talks formally and respectfully towards every worker within the business. After going through and analyzing the social differences between the workers, it demonstrates that there is a considerably high difference between them. They all show different attitudes to different social statuses within the workplace. The group at Lenards is all different from one another. We all have our own beliefs, cultural and social differences, but it does not stop us from interacting with each other. There are times when we all agree on things and times when we dont. For example, Ray and Nick always leave the radio on Triple M, and myself and Donika always ask to change it to B105. It never causes a fight because we all understand that we like different types of music and we all share the radio stations. CONCLUSION All organisations require for employees to work in a group. For this to be effective, the members in the group should all get along, understanding each others differences which may relate to culture or society. Just because people work together in the same work group does not mean the share common interests (Birchall Colwill, 1996, p4). All individuals may share many qualities with other people, but they still have their differences, the majority of these come from cultural and social beliefs. It is important for groups to accept each others beliefs so they can interact with each other. Good morale associates with group performances and makes the workplace a happy place. For employees to have good morale, they need to enjoy their job, and when employees enjoy their job they then demonstrate a great attitude towards customers, to influence the return of everyone who is served. I believe that the group at Lenards has a high morale. This is due to the fact that we all get along well; pressure is not put on to anyone, and no one ever seems to complain about working. The customer response is good and we have many regular customers, who very rarely complain. I think that a great influence for the groups high morale is from Ray. Most reasons why employees have low moral is if they dont like their employer. Ray is easy going and does not boss us around, and all of us get along well with him. Human relations is a process by which management brings workers into contact with the organization in such a way that the objectives of both groups are achieved. (Hodgetts, 1987, p6) Overall, it is vital for group associations to accept each others differences so they can interact together with good team work to produce a good morale to the society. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Richard M. Hodgetts, 1987, Modern Human Relations at Work third edition, Florida International University, New York. * Luft, J. (1970, 2nd Ed.) Group processes; an introduction to group dynamics. Palo Alto, CA: National Press Books * Georgia Birchall Jenni Colwill, 1996, Working Relationships, Alice Graphics, Melbourne. * David W. Johnson Frank P. Johnson, 2002, Joining Together Group theory and group skills, Pearson Education, Inc. USA * Stephen P. Robbins, Rolf Bergman, Ian Stagg, Mary Coulter, 2003, Management third edition, Pearson Education, NSW * L. Dias http://www.lenards.com.au/ 2002

Competitive Advantage In The Banking Industry

Competitive Advantage In The Banking Industry Online banking is a self service technology that is used by customers of the bank to carry out in real time activities such as, payment of bills, check account balance and transfer funds. It is worthwhile to note that online banking can be used to reduce cost for banking institution. For instance Hernandez-Murillo et al (2010) suggest that the cost of a customer doing online banking transaction, in a brick and mortar bank in the United State is about one percent of the cost of the customer using the traditional banking method. Esser (1999) reported some of the advantages of online banking to the customers. The findings were: Customers can easily manage their accounts as they can access their accounts any time of the day. The customers do not also need to visit the bank premise to request for services such checking loan rates, view their transaction history etc. Customers can set up a standing order to pay bills and can also schedule new bills or stop payment of bills, when the need arise but this is subject to availability of the internet. Specialised services such as ordering for checks, changing user profile or address can all be done through the online banking. Messages are sent to customers via encrypted email. It should however be noted that the use of internet by bank is not seen just as an innovation and a convenient way for customers to use banking services, but also as a way to make more profit and to reduce operating cost for the bank (Arnaboldi and Claeys, n.d.). Internet banking services are expanding rapidly in the developed countries mainly due to the availability of computers and easy of access to the internet. Its adoption is developing countries was at a slower pace, until recently when banks in developing countries are offering internet banking against the limitation they face (Jenkins, 2007). Another noteworthy point is that online banking can also act as a disadvantage to banks, for instance a troubled bank that has low deposits and could not for borrow from the interbank, when the news of the banks distress leaked out, most the customers withdrew their deposits through the internet without facing the issue of queuing in the banking hall and opening time (Janson, 2009). This could not have been possible without the online banking facility. Customer satisfaction is affect by several factors that can hinder or improve the adoption of online banking by the customer. One of these important factors is personalisation, which demands politeness, courtesy, and friendliness from the employees of the bank toward the customer (Simmers et al, 2008). However, the self-service technology has made a remarkable change in the way the bank interacts with its customer (Simmers et al, 2008). Most of the researches on online banking explore the factors affecting the adoption by banks. The focus of their researches were on the usage of online banking by banks as a reaction to the adoption decisions of the industrys competitors (Hernandez-Murillo et al 2010). Hernandez-Murillo et al (2010) study the factors that determine the adoption of online banking by banks in United States during the period 2003-2006. The Multimarket Contact index was used by these researchers as a substitute of the strategic force required by banks to adopt online operations as a competitive reaction to the rivals actions. The authors results suggest that strategic consideration plays an important role in the adoption of online banking by geographically localised market. Tan and Teo (2000) base their study on studying the factors namely, attitudinal, social and behaviour control, that affect customersthe adoption of online banking in Singapore. The theories of planned behaviour and diffusion of innovations were used by the authors to evaluate their hypothesis. The authors argue that the consumers attitude, his subjective norms and his perceived behavioural control, all contributes towards his adoption of online banking. Amin (2009) examines the factors affecting the acceptance of online banking by people in Malaysia through the use of a technologically accepted model called a linear regression. He propose through the study that the qualities, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived credibility and social norm were statistically important while perceived enjoyment was not important. Another factor affecting the adoption of online banking by customers is security of the account accessed through the internet. For customers to feel secure and make use of online banking, the bank must offer online security systems that protect customers assets and information (Smith, 2006). The research to examine the intensity of the impact of online banking on the financial performance of community banks carried out by Acharya et al (2008), both sampling and statistical procedures were used to build a broad online banking index. The basis of their study was on analytical frameworks which used both the structural equation modeling (second-order factor analysis) and multiple regression analysis. Internet banking seems to represent a possible means of allowing new entrants into the banking industry (Arnaboldi and Claeys, n.d.). Smith (2008) uses Porters five force model to analyse the competition within retail banking in an increasingly financially troubled environment. In his analysis where used data from 22 banks, Smith suggests that the barriers to entry identified may not prevent considerable number of entrants into the banking industry. He also observed that the true competition amongst banks may be found in the differentiation of their internet banking products. The paper is based on an exploratory research for a sample of nine banks from each country, a web survey is conducted to collect data for each internet bank using an analytical framework based on a three dimensional model. Both the advancement in technology and change in social trends, such as the increase in customers preference to perceived convenience, have caused a high reorganisation of the financial institution. Banks have to re-examine their marketing strategies and also prompt growth in the adoption of self-service technologies (SSTs) (Loonam and OLoughlin, 2008). Very little research has explored the role of SST in a high involvement service such as that of financial investments. Customer satisfaction with banking services was researched with respect to their interaction with human and technology. It was discovered through the use of multiple regression that consumers overall satisfaction is predicted to be influenced more by human rather than technological encounter (Haytko and Simmers, 2009). While consumers show they are displeased with failure in transaction that involve a bank employee, they tend to accept responsibility for any kind of failure they come across during or after the use of online banking and may continue its usage (Haytko and Simmers, 2009). It should however be note that the focus group used in the research by Haytko and Simmers were students who already has high affinity for the internet. Liao and Cheung (2008) employ the use of service quality (SERVQUAL), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and transaction cost analysis to measure customer behaviour to the use of online banking. In their empirical studies, six elements of SERVQUAL namely, usefulness (USE), ease of use (EOU), reliability (REL), security (SEC), responsiveness (RES) and continuous improvement (IMP) , were used to relate to consumer satisfaction in internet banking services (CSIBS). The study was Laukkanen et al (2008) provides more insight to barriers erected by bank customers to the adoption of online banking. The researchers split the non-adopters of online banking into three groups namely the postponers, opponents and rejectors. They suggest, through survey papers submitted by some customers of banks in Finland, that psychological barriers are higher determinant of resistance to adoption than ease of use and its value. Bauer and Hein (2006) carried out another research to gain more knowledge about the consumers point of view in the adoption of online banking. They use micro-economics theory of consumer utility maximisation to model how consumers make decisions on adopting online banking. Simmers et al (2008) relatively examine how the impact of the human services and those provided by technology affect the consumers satisfaction. The authors through two studies both use the six-item and five-point Likert scales conclude that human encounter was initially more important than technology encounter until the convenience of banking online prevailed. The first study was carried out through the survey of some undergraduate students, with most of those that responded between age 19 and 21 years. The second study was carried out with as survey of 153 bank customers at the university, with most less the 24 years of age. It could be seen from these studies that students who have higher affinity to the internet are used for the two studies. It should also be noted that the research is carried out in US, but will most bank customers in UK score convenience higher than online banking security? Joseph and Stone (2003) investigated the customer perception of the impact of technology on service delivery in the banking sector. According to the findings of this research . . . high scores on the ability to deliver service via technology appears to be correlated with high satisfaction with services deemed most important to customers Hence, availability of internet banking services appears to be very important for banks for customer satisfaction and retention. However, availability of internet banking services itself is not a sufficient factor to increase customer satisfaction. User friendliness of the internet banking services appears to be an important factor for customers to use these services Research has been carried out on performance of the internet as an alternative or complementary channel used in delivering some bank services, like current accounts. For instance Gondat-Larralde and Nier (2004, cited by Arnaboldi and Claeys, 2008) carry out a research on the competitive process in the UK market for personal current accounts between 1996 and 2001. The rate at which the market shares changed with respect to price differentials between the brick and mortar banks and the direct banks that use the internet and telephone to operate. The results of the research point to the significance of customer switching cost as a key determinant of the competitive process in banking industry. Mukherjee and Nath (2003) suggest note that the physical separation between the bank operation internet service and the customer introduce an environment of insecurity. The authors develop a structural equation model, called Lisrel, and through empirical test carried out on 510 internet users in India. Nearly all research work refer to the US banking system and research attempts on the performance of online banking are few (Arnaboldi and Claeys, n.d.). IBM (2005) identify three shortfalls of customer satisfaction researches, the first one is that enough attention is not paid to the different behavioural segment customers belong, the research usually take a general view of the customer base. The next one is that most of the researches are not analytical as they fail to show the impact the different elements of the customers experience might have on the brand support and emotional link. Lastly how customer satisfaction is measured is a poor forecaster of to future behaviour of customers. This research differ from other studies in that it will be carried on banks in UK and as there are little research done on the use of online banking as a tool competitive advantage in the banking industry. The author will survey focus groups made up of bank customers in UK will be use to analyse the reason for adoption of online banking and finally the evaluation of satisfaction derive by the bank customers. Qualitative data analysis research will be

Strategic management and business policy module

Strategic management and business policy module 1 There were a number of concurrent changes in the VSM Group in the period 1997-2003, is the VSM Group still the same company? No the company has changed a lot with the arrival of the new CEO, new things has been introduced as: More people were involved in strategic sessions New mission statement Companion strategy High involvement of employees on different level Purchase of competitors added production capacity to the firm Processes have been directed towards strengthening the linkages between functional areas in the value chain. The physical relocation of the RD and marketing departments to the same building New programs for educating the retailers and customers on sewing and using the machines. Integrating technology (mainly on line) with the innovation of the new machines. 2 How would you describe the strategic capability of Viking Sewing Machines in 1997? In 2003? In 1997: The Company brought their managers of their major national sales companies as well as the marketing vice president into the top management; also there were changes in their operating systems New mission and documents brought different level together which added a broader sight Bringing the technical expertise and marketers together to come up with new innovations that meet customers needs. In 2003: New and exclusive dealers had been added. Two strong brands, Pfaff as a high quality brand, and Husqvarna as the family and innovative brand. Brno added add capacity of production to the company, which was cost efficient and added capacity to the production. They have expertise in the product development of the sewing machines industry 3 Are the core competences in 2003 more robust than in 1997? Definitely yes; there were more focus in the strategy and direction in 2003 They have better product development capabilities. Two strong brands. An IT company to develop their own technology work, thus controlling the embroidery market. Building linkages within the value chain. 4 What are the important factors in the macro-environment that influence VSM and its industry? Political The political situation might be influenced by the trade agreement between the States and the European origin products. Also, manufacturing in the Far East might have some regulations and extra taxations since these markets are flooding the world with lower priced products. Economic The economic situation is affected by the difference in currency of the different origin or production and consumer markets. To raise quality they might need to shift the factors from Far East to another location with higher pays. Also, Sales of low priced simple machines have increased, while more advanced machines showed steady sales. Social Clothes became cheaper so no need for sewing at home. More social activities emerged and resulted in less time afforded to sewing hobbies Technological This had the major contribution here due to: The high development of the internet usages and its spread; The power and reach of the new software. Enhancement of the senses and computerized motors to give better functionality to the machines. People (Customers) are more technologically driven and are up to date with innovations thus request the new and complicated models. Environmental Natural crisis as Tsunamis are threatening the Far East which might result in a cut of production and disturbance to the manufacturing flow. Legal It will depend on new regulation for this industry or in the industrial market as a whole 5 What are the forces of competition in the sewing machine industry? Five Forces analysis Competitive rivalry Moderate since there are moderate product innovation, and no real competition in the market through prices and addressing resellers. Low number of competitors covering the same segment There are some product differentiations in the complete products that depend on innovation Entry barrier Low, with some concern regarding the reach to the distribution channels that work exclusively with the other companies. There are some capital investment and know-how but its not a major one. Buyer power Buyers have high bargaining power due to low switching costs between brands since the industry is mature and there arent a lot of product differentiations for the general products. Supplier Power There arent any concentration in the supplier side , and the raw material are mainly general materials and the production and the RD at the VMS are covering the other parts , thus we see this as weak Substitutes Mostly this market have good quality machines and a lower cost ones from east Asia , thus they differ in price and quality , and switching cost is low , thus it will increase the threats for the normal machines , while complex computerized machines are limited in the market. From the above we dont see the market as attractive for new entrant since people tent more to buy cloths outside and have very attractive and affordable prices of clothes rather than creating their own. 6 What are the next strategic issues Viking will have to address? What strategic options might be considered? They need to maintain their technical leadership and managing the value chain. Also they need to manage their brands and their recent acquisitions. As for their next steps it should be to protect and build on their current successful position. They should work on increasing their customer orientation, RD, production, marketing, distribution in all parts of their value chain. Where the retailers have a major role in reaching their customer, which needs concentration and follow up on their training and supporting them , this will also place a good part of the attention on marketing and customers relationship management and VSM has transformed with the help of the new CEO from a product orientated company to a market oriented one. They also started to focus on selected customer segment to cover their needs; this is shown with the different targeting technique from their VMS and Pfaff line of machines, were they need to work on the innovation of products and services. The company has good attention to the acquisition of Emnet and software engineers computing companies. Where they need to build on their traditional strength and benefit from their product development, and the use of the new technology to add an edge for them in this industry m where the production have to be met with an aggressive and smart sales force . 7 How does the strategy of the VSM Group match its strategic capability with its environment? How did it change from 1997 to 2003? They need to concentrate on their existing resource positions and building on their new resources to capture a position on their selected market. VSM had many important recourses and competences that help them with their initial strategy building on their RD process and innovative production which have highlighted their brand , here they missed the importance of marketing and its power to play with the environmental factors to bring more success to the firm . And since the market was declining the way to survive was to concentrate on differentiation products that are high computerized. And mainly focus differentiation and top of the line models ,which needed to reach the customer with exclusive retailers and at prime locations , and took keep the flow of the experience they had trained the retailers to a level that represent them and keep a good relationship with the customers . Here they also created training programs for their end users of the machines and train them on professional ways and patterns of using these machines. Problem with their earlier value chain and not being able to have the benefit reach their clients due to the lack of the marketing control over retailers thus the new strategy was to fix this cut in the link in the value chain, another issue they were facing is the lack of communication between their RN and their marketing department, which the new CEO brought these department physical near each other to enhance this channels. Their new acquisition of their competitor Pfaff added new resources and a strong high end brand to the group, the thing now is how to manage their two brands since they compete in the same markets knowing that the perceived value and prices are not the sole player in the market, here they benefited from their technological edge and their high quality products in a clear market communication process to reach their desired customers segments each one by its own without affecting the flow and the strategy of the other brand. 8 The case starts with the arrival of the new CEO. What role did Mr. Runnquist play in the transformation of the company? How important is he for the future of the company? The New CEO defiantly added a lot to the organization and did a paradigm shift to their working culture, such as collaboration of a bigger audience in major decisions of the organization, educating employees, retailers and end users . He was under press since the company was newly sold to a new owner that expected revenues to jump , which made him shift the organization from production oriented to market oriented one to capture all aspects and react on them . Here the need for a new mission, vision and strategic document of the organization emerged , where he have going the forces from different departments to participate and build them , this of course included different levels of the organization to jump in these activity which have added some sense of commitment and ownership among all levels . Another major issue he worked on is the harmony and good level of communication in their value chain, working from the RD, production, marketing, Sales, retailer to the end customers. This helped in having all these level at the same level of professionalism and updated knowledge to better understand the products to be able to sell or buy them. He is very important for the continuity and the future challenges that will face VMS, he need to continually have an eye open for new channels and treats and benefit from this firms resources and capabilities building on their experiences to capture opportunity and turn around weakness and treats to bring more success to the firm, this of course implies that he might have another paradigm shift if it is needed. 9 At two points in time, the CEO of the VSM Group opens up a broad discussion on the strategic issues. What issues are discussed and why does he involve a larger group of the management on these issues? The first one was in 1997, when he joined the organization and need all level to be part of the new paradigm shift and mind set of the firm and be a part in creating their new mission. The second one was in 2000, after the acquisition of other firms team from outside the higher management was brought again to discuss the future of the firm and to gain legitimacy for the strategy ahead. The importance of this part was also to set all minds to a focused set of actions to deal with the two competing rand so as not to confuse the market and employees so and not to lose their corporate identity. It is important to participate a good audience to create commitment to the new strategic moves and create some sense of ownership among different level in the firm and push hard for the future and targets.

Were Romans Obsessed with Violence? :: Ancient Rome Roman History

Were Romans Obsessed with Violence? In many modern books written about Ancient Rome and her people, the Romans are often portrayed as brutal and unforgiving people who enjoyed violence and thought it amusing to see people being injured and killed to the point of obsession. It is my aim to establish whether this classification is justified or if it is simply an exaggeration of what a small group of people enjoyed. While it is known that in Rome there were gladiatorial fights, public beatings and the keeping of slaves was legal (and common), it is also important to understand just exactly how advanced the Romans were. The Longman Dictionary of the English Language defines civilised as "of or being peoples of nations in a state of civilisation." And then defines civilisation as "a relatively high level of cultural development; specifically the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of records is attained." I think that by this definition, the Romans were civilised, the educated being able to write and detailed records being kept by many historians. The Romans also had written laws and government, including (later) an assembly for the poorer classes. In fact, their system of law was actually quite advanced (even if it was designed to help the rich) - "The idea was accepted that a man's intentions ought to be taken into account, and there was less importance attached to what he did and what he meant to do. The next thing to become established was the notion that all men must be treated equally." This way of thinking was very advanced and not barbaric or uncivilised at all, in fact the same notion that all men should be treated equally was not established in America, Australia and other countries for many years. It is now common knowledge that, in Ancient Rome, people often attended (and enjoyed) gladiatorial fights to the death, wild beast hunts, naval battles and chariot racing, all which often had religious origins. During the reign of Caesar, thousands of men and animals were butchered just to make a Roman holiday! The Romans also enjoyed pantomimes and plays which too were often very violent in nature - "It was not uncommon for a condemned criminal to be executed [on stage] as part of the play." In modern sources, it is often portrayed that slaves were treated more harshly than was actually the case.

Jamestown, 1607 :: essays research papers

It's 1607, Jamestown, and you are there.... Relive the adventure of 1607 when 104 Englishmen dropped anchor and began to build America's first permanent English colony in Jamestown, Virginia. Explore life at the dawn of the 17th century inside the palisade of a re-created colonial fort, discover the world of Pocahontas in the Powhatan Indian village, and experience the four-month passage to the New World on board re-creations of the three ships that brought the settlers to Virginia. Extensive indoor galleries tell the compelling stories of Jamestown, from its beginnings in England through its often turbulent first century, and of Virginia's Powhatan Indians. The dramatic film, Jamestown: The Beginning, chronicles the endurance of the first settlers as they struggled to build a lasting colony. James Fort Within the re-created fort, step back in time to the 17th century. Try on armor, watch a musket-firing demonstration, and discover how the colonists lived and worked. Powhatan Indian Village Learn about the culture of Pocahontas' people in this re-created village. Explore the Powhatan houses, called yehakins, climb into a dugout canoe and try your hand at grinding corn or weaving plant fibers into rope. Ships Aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed or Discovery, get a sense of how the colonists may have felt as they crossed the Atlantic in the early 17th century. Try your hand at steering with a whipstaff or tiller. Examine the contents of a sailor's "see" chest on the pier, and participate in periodic demonstrations of cargo and sail handling. Galleries The museum galleries recount the history of the colony through exhibits of 16th- and 17th-century artifacts and illustrations. The English Gallery examines the conditions that led to American colonization. The Powhatan Indian Gallery explores the people who inhabited coastal Virginia when the Jamestown colonists arrived. The Jamestown Gallery traces the first century of the Virginia colony while Jamestown served as its capital.It's 1781, Yorktown, and you are there.... The drama of the American Revolution and the birth of a great nation come to life at Yorktown Victory Center. In provocative indoor galleries, witness the Revolution through the eyes of those who were there—from soldiers on the battlefields to women on the home front, from American Indians to African Americans. The evocative film, A Time of Revolution, places you in a Continental Army encampment where soldiers spend an evening reminiscing and musing on their lives and the war that has brought them together. Outdoors, experience the sights and sounds of the Revolutionary War in the re-created Continental Army encampment.

Starting Up a Cookie Company

Starting up a cookie company on-campus You and your roommate are preparing to start a company producing cookies in your oncampus apartment. By starting up this business, you want to provide fresh cookies to starving fellow students late at night. However, you still have to figure out some aspects of the business model such as the price to charge, whether you will be able to make profit and how many orders you can accept. The business concept You have an extraordinary idea: to bake fresh cookies on delivery, using a customer chosen combination of ingredients.The cookies can be picked up at your apartment within one hour. Several factors will enable you to be different from your competitors such as store-bought cookies. First, the cookies will be fresh since they will only be produced after the order is received. Therefore, the buyer will be getting cookies that are literally hot out of the oven. Second, you will have a variety of ingredients available to add to the basic dough, includ ing chocolate chips, M&M’s, chopped Heath bars, coconut, walnuts, and raisins. Buyers will telephone in their orders and specify which of these ingredients they want in their cookies.Consequently, you will have the freshest, most exotic cookies anywhere, available to your fellow students next to campus. The production process Baking cookies is simple: mix all the ingredients in a food processor, spoon out the cookie dough onto a tray, put the cookies into the oven, bake the cookies, take the tray of cookies out of the oven, let the cookies cool and finally, take them of the tray and pack them in a box. You and your roommate already own all the necessary capital equipment: a food processor, cookie trays and spoons. Your apartment is equipped with a small oven that is able to hold one tray at a time.Your landlord pays your electricity. As such, the variable costs are merely the cost of the ingredients (estimated to be 1 Euro/dozen), the cost of the box in which the cookies are packed (0,30 Euro/box, each box holds a dozen cookies), and your time (what value do you place on your time? ) A more detailed description of the production process is described below. The first step of the whole process is to take the order. Your roommate has figured out how to do this quickly and This case is an adapted version of the Kristen Cookie case, Harvard Business Review. ith 100% accuracy: by using electronic mail to accept orders and to inform customers when the order will be ready. Since this process runs automatically, it does not take any of your time. Therefore, this step will be ignored in further analysis of the process. You and your roommate have timed the necessary physical operations. The first physical production step is to wash out the mixing bowl from the previous batch, add all of the ingredients, and mix them in your food processor. The mixing bowls hold ingredients for up to three dozen cookies.You then dish up the cookies, one dozen at a time onto a cooki e try. These activities take about six minutes for the washing and mixing steps, regardless of how many cookies (i. e. , one or more dozens). However, dishing up the cookies onto the tray takes two minutes per tray per dozen. The next step, performed by your roommate, is to put the cookies in the oven and set the thermostat and timer, which takes about one minute. The cookies bake for the next nine minutes. So the total baking time is 10 minutes, during which your roommate is busy setting the oven during the first minute.Since the oven only holds one tray, a second dozen takes an additional 10 minutes to bake. Your roommate also performs the last steps of the process by first removing the cookies from the oven and putting them aside to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully packing them in a box and accepting payment. Removing the cookies from the oven takes only a negligible amount of time, since it must be done promptly. Furthermore, it takes two minutes to pack each dozen and about o ne minute to accept payment for the order.As experienced bakers know, the description above contains some simplifications. For example, the first batch of cookies for the night requires preheating the oven. However, such complexities will be put aside for now. Please begin your analysis by developing a process flow diagram of the cookiemaking process. Question before starting up your business To launch your business, you need to set prices and rules for accepting orders. Some issues will only be resolved after you get started and try out different ways of producing the cookies.Before you start, however, you at least want a preliminary plan, which as much a This case is an adapted version of the Kristen Cookie case, Harvard Business Review. possible specifies, so that you can do a careful calculation of how much time you will have to devote to this business each night, and how much money you can expect to make. For example, when you conduct a market survey to determine the likely dem and, you will want to specify exactly what your order policies will be. Therefore, you will have to answer the following operational questions: How long will it take you to fill a rush order? -How many orders can you fill in a night, assuming you are open four hours each night? -How much of your own and your roommate’s valuable time will it take to fill each order? -Because your baking trays can hold exactly one dozen cookies, you will produce and sell cookies by the dozen. Should you give any discount for people who order two dozen cookies, three dozen cookies, or more? If so, how much? Will it take you any longer to fill a twodozen cookie order than a one-dozen cookie order? How many food processors and baking trays will you need? -Are there any changes you can make in your production plans that will also allow you to make better cookies or more cookies in less time or at lower cost? For example, is there bottleneck operation in your production process that you can expand c heaply? What is the effect of adding another oven? How much would you be willing to pay to rent an additional oven? This case is an adapted version of the Kristen Cookie case, Harvard Business Review.

Invisible Man Character Analysis

Character Analysis of Griffin H. G. Wells character Griffin in The Invisible man is a private person who displays his arrogance and selfishness throughout his speech, actions, and interaction with others. Griffin is a character of few words although still conveying a bold personality throughout his actions we learn about his selfish, arrogant mentality. As the quote goes â€Å"actions speak louder than words†. The persona of Griffin proves this right. Through his actions The Invisible Man’s being is revealed and ripped apart to show his selfish, arrogant personality.The very first action that sets the entire tone for this novel is the act of Griffin turning himself invisible. Griffin’s studies in this field were not very advanced up to this point. He had done some experiments on inanimate objects and even animals but never to a human. At first Griffin thinks of being invisible as being super human which he states â€Å"To do such a thing would be to transcend ma gic. And I beheld, unclouded by doubt, a magnificent vision of all that invisibility might mean to a man, -the mystery, the power, the freedom.Drawbacks I saw none. You have only to think! And I, a shabby, poverty-struck, hemmed-in demonstrator, teaching fools in a provincial college, might suddenly become-this. † Griffin, the Invisible Man never thought of the downfall that comes with the glory of experimenting on himself. Throughout the entire story Griffin is living with his mistake becoming a superficial human and doing whatever gets his personal gain. Experimenting without further studies shows Griffin’s risk taking personality of wanting the reward before the work.As The Invisible Man enters the story he is settling down in the Inn owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hall after arriving Griffin soon realizes that he left his entire life’s work in the downward part of Iping several hours away. Instead of Griffin doing this on his own he directly reveals himself to Mr. Mar vel threatening him to retrieve his work. Griffin having no connection with Mr. Marvel and really no boundary of trust other than his black mail of killing him displays his risky, hungry for power mentality perfectly.Actions may speak louder than words but dialect will always still display the integrity of a character as done perfectly with short and to the point sentences done by H. G. Wells. Griffin’s dialect is direct and arrogant added with the mastery of subtle speech his character comes to life displaying his selfish, arrogant attitude. Right from the starting chapter you get a taste of Griffins arrogant and selfish attitude. Griffin in need of a room in Mr. and Mrs.Hall’s inn without prior relations demands a room free of charge, with his attire and attitude Griffin seems dangerous to which the inn keepers agree to his command. The way he is so straight forward in his own ways to provide shelter for himself display his thoughts of others as very cut throat. Thro ughout this tale Griffin never shows the human emotion of empathy or understanding for anyone but himself. It is apparent that he understands these emotions by artificially displaying them for personal gain.Kemp, an associate of Griffin during his early years before he turned himself invisible comes in towards the story while Griffin shows he really doesn’t want anything from Kent but help on turning himself back he tells him â€Å"Alone, there is so little I can do, but with a confederate, a thousand things are possible. † This quote displays that Griffin understands how to get to people and use them for the time being to only better his life, showing his selfishness. Griffin’s speech is a display of his personality but his treatment of other characters also displays his arrogance and selfishness.Griffin’s indirect but private sociable skills with others delve into his character and display just how arrogant and selfish he is. Griffin’s ability to keep his relationship with others is always ruined by him leading to hatred from many people during the story and show casing his selfishness. For example Griffin’s colleague Kemp throughout his college years was his best friend who throughout the years could read Griffin like a book revealing his greediness even before his experiment of turning invisible. Griffin seems to not even acknowledge his own ways in which is common for these two traits.In the first chapter you can already form an opinion of Griffin as he walks into the Inn demanding a room and throughout his entire stay he is rude, demanding and extremely selfish towards the well beings of others staying up making a ruckus, using vulgar language and being confrontational about his own disturbances give an image of Griffin being arrogant. Griffin treats others as unequal through his extreme selfishness and arrogance his character forms. H. G. Wells character Griffin in The Invisible man is a private person who displ ays his arrogance and selfishness throughout his speech, actions, and interaction with others Invisible Man Character Analysis Character Analysis of Griffin H. G. Wells character Griffin in The Invisible man is a private person who displays his arrogance and selfishness throughout his speech, actions, and interaction with others. Griffin is a character of few words although still conveying a bold personality throughout his actions we learn about his selfish, arrogant mentality. As the quote goes â€Å"actions speak louder than words†. The persona of Griffin proves this right. Through his actions The Invisible Man’s being is revealed and ripped apart to show his selfish, arrogant personality.The very first action that sets the entire tone for this novel is the act of Griffin turning himself invisible. Griffin’s studies in this field were not very advanced up to this point. He had done some experiments on inanimate objects and even animals but never to a human. At first Griffin thinks of being invisible as being super human which he states â€Å"To do such a thing would be to transcend ma gic. And I beheld, unclouded by doubt, a magnificent vision of all that invisibility might mean to a man, -the mystery, the power, the freedom.Drawbacks I saw none. You have only to think! And I, a shabby, poverty-struck, hemmed-in demonstrator, teaching fools in a provincial college, might suddenly become-this. † Griffin, the Invisible Man never thought of the downfall that comes with the glory of experimenting on himself. Throughout the entire story Griffin is living with his mistake becoming a superficial human and doing whatever gets his personal gain. Experimenting without further studies shows Griffin’s risk taking personality of wanting the reward before the work.As The Invisible Man enters the story he is settling down in the Inn owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hall after arriving Griffin soon realizes that he left his entire life’s work in the downward part of Iping several hours away. Instead of Griffin doing this on his own he directly reveals himself to Mr. Mar vel threatening him to retrieve his work. Griffin having no connection with Mr. Marvel and really no boundary of trust other than his black mail of killing him displays his risky, hungry for power mentality perfectly.Actions may speak louder than words but dialect will always still display the integrity of a character as done perfectly with short and to the point sentences done by H. G. Wells. Griffin’s dialect is direct and arrogant added with the mastery of subtle speech his character comes to life displaying his selfish, arrogant attitude. Right from the starting chapter you get a taste of Griffins arrogant and selfish attitude. Griffin in need of a room in Mr. and Mrs.Hall’s inn without prior relations demands a room free of charge, with his attire and attitude Griffin seems dangerous to which the inn keepers agree to his command. The way he is so straight forward in his own ways to provide shelter for himself display his thoughts of others as very cut throat. Thro ughout this tale Griffin never shows the human emotion of empathy or understanding for anyone but himself. It is apparent that he understands these emotions by artificially displaying them for personal gain.Kemp, an associate of Griffin during his early years before he turned himself invisible comes in towards the story while Griffin shows he really doesn’t want anything from Kent but help on turning himself back he tells him â€Å"Alone, there is so little I can do, but with a confederate, a thousand things are possible. † This quote displays that Griffin understands how to get to people and use them for the time being to only better his life, showing his selfishness. Griffin’s speech is a display of his personality but his treatment of other characters also displays his arrogance and selfishness.Griffin’s indirect but private sociable skills with others delve into his character and display just how arrogant and selfish he is. Griffin’s ability to keep his relationship with others is always ruined by him leading to hatred from many people during the story and show casing his selfishness. For example Griffin’s colleague Kemp throughout his college years was his best friend who throughout the years could read Griffin like a book revealing his greediness even before his experiment of turning invisible. Griffin seems to not even acknowledge his own ways in which is common for these two traits.In the first chapter you can already form an opinion of Griffin as he walks into the Inn demanding a room and throughout his entire stay he is rude, demanding and extremely selfish towards the well beings of others staying up making a ruckus, using vulgar language and being confrontational about his own disturbances give an image of Griffin being arrogant. Griffin treats others as unequal through his extreme selfishness and arrogance his character forms. H. G. Wells character Griffin in The Invisible man is a private person who displ ays his arrogance and selfishness throughout his speech, actions, and interaction with others