Zara Supply Chain

A network and flow explanation to Zara’ success Angel Diaz and Luis Solis Instituto de Empresa, Maria de Molina 12, 5 °, Madrid 28006, Spain E-mails: angel. [email  protected] edu; luis. [email  protected] edu Abstract Zara is a Spanish fashion manufacturer and retailer that has known swift success. Spaniards have become used to visiting Zara frequently, as there is always a new product. Zara launches 100 different collections every year, with over 11000 models, none lasting more than five weeks in production and with an average lead-time (design to store delivery) of four weeks. Inditex, the group to which the brand Zara belongs owns five brands with over 1000 stores in more than 30 countries. Although its global sales are still one sixth those of Gap, its sales have increased at an average 30% per year over the last three years, with net benefits over sales of close to 12% in the same period. In this paper we examine Zara’ production and distribution systems, looking for clues to its mass-customization capabilities. We argue that the key to Zara’ success is its Supply Chain (network and flows) approach. The production network is made of a tightly integrated net of product specialized factories, intensive in capital and run under Toyota’s principles, and a secondary network of over 400 micro enterprises, tightly controlled by Inditex but independent. All these are located in the same small geographical area, Galicia (northwest Spain). The swift flow is facilitated through advanced automation and logistics systems, with emphasis on postponement. We compare these network and flow approaches to those of Benetton and Gap, and argue that the key to Zara’ success is this combination of a tightly integrated local network coupled to the most advanced flow systems. A final consideration is the sustainability of these orderwinners over time. Keywords: Key words: Zara, logistics network, flow, fashion Introduction Intense competition in the global marketplace is forcing organizations to consider new practices by which they could enhance and sustain their competitive capabilities. Network configurations and alliances is such one option through which an organization can leverage its resources to compete effectively against fast and nimble competitors. Furthermore, the emphasis on supplier integration in supply chain management has contributed to the growing interest on strategic supplier alliances by companies around the world. Strategic network alliances are innovative and interesting forms of relationships between buyers and suppliers, however, successful supplier alliances have proved to be very elusive for the most part (Landeros and Monczka, 1991). Despite that academic and practitioner literatures have devoted considerable attention to supply network alliances issues, its dynamics has yet many unanswered questions. Furthermore, most of the literature has focused on cases in few developed countries like USA. There is a need to expand our understanding about international cases since more and more global supply chain networks are becoming more important. The study of the ZARA supply chain network in Spain is a contribution in this direction. The Spanish integrated manufacturer-retailer of apparel Zara has been defined as the Armani for the masses. Although sales of Zara (close to two billion dollars, comparable to Benetton) are much lower than that of the clothing retailer leader Gap, its financial performance has been bright. Net profits of Inditex in 2001 were 340,4 million â‚ ¬, 31% more than the previous year, out of sales of 3. 249,8 million â‚ ¬, a growth of 24% with respect to 2000. Zara launches over 100 collections per year (11. 00 new garments) and has a total design-to-store cycle time of less than 4 weeks. Every garment will be on sale for a maximum of 5 weeks, after which is removed and sent to discount stores or destroyed. Zara invests close to zero percent of its sales in advertisement (5% of sales for Gap), relying instead on keeping customers perpetually interested in finding new surprises (Zara? s customers visit the conveniently located stores an average 17 times a year). While Gap brands, Zara i ntrigues. We argue in this paper that the success of Zara is explained by a business approach in which a highly automated and largely local production and distribution network facilitates very fast response times as the key competitive advantage, and that this design can be due to cultural and market characteristics of Spain. History The founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega started a small garment factory in La Coruna, Galicia in 1963. In 1975 Ortega integrated downstream by opening his first store, Zara. By the end of the decade six stores with that name were located in Galicia. The eighties saw important changes. Ortega created the parent company of Zara, Inditex (stands for Textile Design Industry) announcing a movement toward integrated designfabrication-retail operations. Also in this period an ex-IBM salesman, Jose Maria Castellano, the actual Vice-president of Inditex, imposed a vision of time-based competition sustained on the intensive use of technology that was to dominate the holding in the future. By the end of this decade Zara had 82 stores in Spain and six abroad. In the nineties the group developed the quick response, integrated logistics network described in this case. An important milestone was the adoption at the beginning of the decade, and well ahead of other Spanish companies, of Just in Time and lean production practices, with knowledge provided by Toyota, Japan. By the end of the century, Inditex added four new brands, each for a different market niche and with their own distribution channels. At the closing of the 2001 exercise the group had 1080 stores (449 of Zara, that represents almost 80% of total sales) in 33 countries, over 20. 00 employees and the impressive profitability and growth figures mentioned in the introduction. Networks and Alliances Researchers have provided some evidence that companies relying on strategic network alliances are more profitable since closer buyer-supplier relationships may offer many technical, financial, and strategic advantages over spot market transactions and vertical integration (Mohr and Spec kman, 1994). Furthermore, strategic alliances provide an effective alternative to improve economies of scale and scope. Different scholars have studied the antecedents that lead to different forms of network alliances. These studies suggest that assets type involved will impact the type of relationships (Dwyer, Schurr, and Oh, 1987). A different stream of research has studied the relationship between environmental uncertainty and resource interdependence with the nature of relationships. Handy, 1995; and Mohr and Spekman, 1994, have conducted empirical exploratory studies on the formation and evolution of inter-organizational elationships. Production and logistics are largely regional at Inditex, with much less outsourcing than is common in this sector. Why the network evolved into this configuration can be due to cultural characteristics of Spain. There exist a rich literature on collaboration. According to this Industry Networks, a set of organizations that have developed recurring ties when serving a particular market, is a variation of the old idea of industrial districts (Ebers & Jarillo, 1998). The drivers for collaboration have been extensively analyzed in the literature and can be synthesized in strategies of coespecialization; the search for mutual learning to support fastest product developments, better information and product flows (resulting in cost and time reductions, a dominating theme in logistics); the creation of virtual scale and scope economies; and in the creation of entry barriers, among others (Cervilla and Lorenzo, 2000). Hofstede characterizes Spain? culture as risk avoidance, hierarchical inclined (Granell, 1997). Solis et al. (2000) show that in Spain companies, integration and closer relationships with local and global suppliers in critical processes are becoming paramount. Strategic network alliances require time and resources to be built and sustained. In getting the benefits of integration and synchronization with suppliers, building trust represents the most critical issue for supply network managers. Important for successful strategic supplier alliances is the communication expected behaviour, particularly the quality of information and participation, and the extent to which relevant information is transparent to suppliers. No less important for alliance success is the existence for a formal purchasing commodity selection process and a formal supplier assessment and selection process. These factors plus a comparatively low degree of outsourcing activity in Spain can explain the formation of this type of network. Factories Inditex owns 25 factories, each dedicated to capital-intensive activities (dye, cutting) and the production of a family items. The large majority of these are located in La Coruna. Inditex has additionally developed a network of external micro-companies, many households, that provide labor-intensive services, mainly sewing, which has proven difficult to automate. According to Mr. Castellano the local work force has higher labor cost but also faster reaction time (than outsourced production in a low-cost area). Distribution Inditex owns a single logistics center in La Coruna. This large facility (400,000 square meters) is largely automated, with 2 carrousels for fold garments (60,000 per hour) and 200 kilometers of elevated tracks. Products are transported directly to stores using outsourced but dedicated carriers (Azkar for land transportation –some 80% of deliveries in 2000, and different airlines for exporting, all taking-off from local Galician airports). Flows Two distinct flows can be appreciated at Inditex. One consists of long-term cycles, i. e. purchasing of raw materials and the other a short-term cycle, i. e. , design, fabrication and distribution. The long cycle starts three to six months before each fashion season and consists in the acquisition of two thirds of the raw materials required, mainly cloth (90% of which is sourced from India, China, Morocco, Mauricio, Korea, Italy Germany and Turkey –the remaining one third is supplied during the season), and of one h alf of all garments (15%-20% is acquired in advance, 50%-60% at the beginning of the season and the rest during the season). These are those items that are thought to be stable, i. e. , basic products for which demand is fairly predictable. The rest of the garments (those thought to have a higher risk) are produced inhouse in the short cycle described bellow. The short cycle start with design. This is totally an in-house affair in which over 200 designer work simultaneously on three season collections, the current one for modifications and improvements and the next two (winter 2002 is being currently worked on in the Spring of 2002). Target pricing and low scale customer acceptance trials are usual practices at this step. Patterns are scanned and sent electronically to the manufacturing plants. Here capitalintensive activities such as dying and cutting are performed, while sewing is manually done by the micro-companies described above. Processes in the plants are kept flexible using lean production principles such as multi-skilled and flexible work forces (with an enviable strike record) and simple Japanese-like control systems. Production is thus pushed into the stores (15% at the beginning of the season, the rest according to demand), where the manager uses hand-held devices (currently Cassiopeia PDAs) to send feedback in close to real time about what moves and what doesn’t (colors, sizes, models), allowing for fast adjustments to the production plan. Replenishment to stores is done twice or three times a week, with a lead-time for existing (or subject to slight design modifications) items of two weeks, and of five weeks for new products. Comments It is interesting to compare the strategy of Zara/Inditex to that of Benetton (a similar sized competitor) and of the market leader Gap. Of the three the more integrated, both upstream and downstream is Zara/Inditex. Benetton produces through a network of mainly regional subcontractors, distributes from a centralized, automated warehouse and retails through franchises. Gap subcontracts production to a network of global producers (over 3000 in more than 70 countries) and has a network of global warehouses and distribution centers. Design Zara Benetton Gap Own- continuous Own-periodic Own-periodic Production Distribution 0% own regional factories Centralized D. C. 50% subcontractors Own stores Regional subcontractors Global subcontractors Centralized D. C. Franchises Decentralized warehouses and D. C Zara/Inditex model is not a fashionable global, outsourced network. It evolved as a probable consequence of limitations in the Spanish market, but has proven that a vertically integrated l ocal network when linked to advanced manufacturing and information technology practices can result in quick response times with little stock or waste, a by-product of the synchronization of offer and demand that the integration nature of the process allows. Postponement of the (in-house) fabrication of fashion items considered of high uncertainty, plus the flexibility and quick response implicit in the lean and automated process results in low levels of stock (40% less than Gap, is proportion to sales) An important question is now whether the organization of Mr. Ortega and Castellano can maintain its characteristics and stellar performance as global growth takes place. Due to European expansion a new distribution center is being built in Zaragoza, close to the French border and facilities for production in Mexico are being considered. Labor shortages in the small Galician area have also been reported. The organization could then decide to play in a niche market position and remain as it is, duplicate the actual local Galician network in other regions (e. g. , Mexico) or move towards a global and more externalized network. If the last, and arguably most probable option is pursuit, the challenge for Zara/Inditex will be to maintain their current flexibility. References Cervilla y Lorenzo (2000): â€Å"Redes de empresas y tecnologias de informacion: copciones para el desarrollo de la PYME†. Debates IESA. Vol. 5. No. 1. Dwyer, F. , Schurr, P. , & Oh, S. (1987). â€Å"Developing buyer-seller relationships† Journal of Marketing, vol. 51 (2), 11-27. Ebers, M. y C. Jarillo (1998). â€Å"The construction, forms, and consequences of industry networks† International Studies of Management & Organization. Vol. 27. No. 4 Granell, E. (1998). Managing cluture for success. Ediciones IESA, 1997. Handy, C. (1995). â€Å"Trust and the virtual organization† Harvard Business Review, vol. 73(3), 40-50. Landeros, R. , & Monczka, R. (1991). â€Å"Cooperative buyer/seller relationships and a firm? competitive posture†. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, vol. 11, 2-8. Mohr, J. , & Spekman, R. (1994). â€Å"Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behaviour, and conflict resolution techniques†. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 15(2), 135-152. Solis, L, & Escobar, D. , (2000). â€Å"The Management of Successf ul Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management Networks: An Empirical Study of Success Factors in Spain† Proceedings of XXXV CLADEA Annual Meeting, September, Barcelona. Zara Supply Chain A network and flow explanation to Zara’ success Angel Diaz and Luis Solis Instituto de Empresa, Maria de Molina 12, 5 °, Madrid 28006, Spain E-mails: angel. [email  protected] edu; luis. [email  protected] edu Abstract Zara is a Spanish fashion manufacturer and retailer that has known swift success. Spaniards have become used to visiting Zara frequently, as there is always a new product. Zara launches 100 different collections every year, with over 11000 models, none lasting more than five weeks in production and with an average lead-time (design to store delivery) of four weeks. Inditex, the group to which the brand Zara belongs owns five brands with over 1000 stores in more than 30 countries. Although its global sales are still one sixth those of Gap, its sales have increased at an average 30% per year over the last three years, with net benefits over sales of close to 12% in the same period. In this paper we examine Zara’ production and distribution systems, looking for clues to its mass-customization capabilities. We argue that the key to Zara’ success is its Supply Chain (network and flows) approach. The production network is made of a tightly integrated net of product specialized factories, intensive in capital and run under Toyota’s principles, and a secondary network of over 400 micro enterprises, tightly controlled by Inditex but independent. All these are located in the same small geographical area, Galicia (northwest Spain). The swift flow is facilitated through advanced automation and logistics systems, with emphasis on postponement. We compare these network and flow approaches to those of Benetton and Gap, and argue that the key to Zara’ success is this combination of a tightly integrated local network coupled to the most advanced flow systems. A final consideration is the sustainability of these orderwinners over time. Keywords: Key words: Zara, logistics network, flow, fashion Introduction Intense competition in the global marketplace is forcing organizations to consider new practices by which they could enhance and sustain their competitive capabilities. Network configurations and alliances is such one option through which an organization can leverage its resources to compete effectively against fast and nimble competitors. Furthermore, the emphasis on supplier integration in supply chain management has contributed to the growing interest on strategic supplier alliances by companies around the world. Strategic network alliances are innovative and interesting forms of relationships between buyers and suppliers, however, successful supplier alliances have proved to be very elusive for the most part (Landeros and Monczka, 1991). Despite that academic and practitioner literatures have devoted considerable attention to supply network alliances issues, its dynamics has yet many unanswered questions. Furthermore, most of the literature has focused on cases in few developed countries like USA. There is a need to expand our understanding about international cases since more and more global supply chain networks are becoming more important. The study of the ZARA supply chain network in Spain is a contribution in this direction. The Spanish integrated manufacturer-retailer of apparel Zara has been defined as the Armani for the masses. Although sales of Zara (close to two billion dollars, comparable to Benetton) are much lower than that of the clothing retailer leader Gap, its financial performance has been bright. Net profits of Inditex in 2001 were 340,4 million â‚ ¬, 31% more than the previous year, out of sales of 3. 249,8 million â‚ ¬, a growth of 24% with respect to 2000. Zara launches over 100 collections per year (11. 00 new garments) and has a total design-to-store cycle time of less than 4 weeks. Every garment will be on sale for a maximum of 5 weeks, after which is removed and sent to discount stores or destroyed. Zara invests close to zero percent of its sales in advertisement (5% of sales for Gap), relying instead on keeping customers perpetually interested in finding new surprises (Zara? s customers visit the conveniently located stores an average 17 times a year). While Gap brands, Zara i ntrigues. We argue in this paper that the success of Zara is explained by a business approach in which a highly automated and largely local production and distribution network facilitates very fast response times as the key competitive advantage, and that this design can be due to cultural and market characteristics of Spain. History The founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega started a small garment factory in La Coruna, Galicia in 1963. In 1975 Ortega integrated downstream by opening his first store, Zara. By the end of the decade six stores with that name were located in Galicia. The eighties saw important changes. Ortega created the parent company of Zara, Inditex (stands for Textile Design Industry) announcing a movement toward integrated designfabrication-retail operations. Also in this period an ex-IBM salesman, Jose Maria Castellano, the actual Vice-president of Inditex, imposed a vision of time-based competition sustained on the intensive use of technology that was to dominate the holding in the future. By the end of this decade Zara had 82 stores in Spain and six abroad. In the nineties the group developed the quick response, integrated logistics network described in this case. An important milestone was the adoption at the beginning of the decade, and well ahead of other Spanish companies, of Just in Time and lean production practices, with knowledge provided by Toyota, Japan. By the end of the century, Inditex added four new brands, each for a different market niche and with their own distribution channels. At the closing of the 2001 exercise the group had 1080 stores (449 of Zara, that represents almost 80% of total sales) in 33 countries, over 20. 00 employees and the impressive profitability and growth figures mentioned in the introduction. Networks and Alliances Researchers have provided some evidence that companies relying on strategic network alliances are more profitable since closer buyer-supplier relationships may offer many technical, financial, and strategic advantages over spot market transactions and vertical integration (Mohr and Spec kman, 1994). Furthermore, strategic alliances provide an effective alternative to improve economies of scale and scope. Different scholars have studied the antecedents that lead to different forms of network alliances. These studies suggest that assets type involved will impact the type of relationships (Dwyer, Schurr, and Oh, 1987). A different stream of research has studied the relationship between environmental uncertainty and resource interdependence with the nature of relationships. Handy, 1995; and Mohr and Spekman, 1994, have conducted empirical exploratory studies on the formation and evolution of inter-organizational elationships. Production and logistics are largely regional at Inditex, with much less outsourcing than is common in this sector. Why the network evolved into this configuration can be due to cultural characteristics of Spain. There exist a rich literature on collaboration. According to this Industry Networks, a set of organizations that have developed recurring ties when serving a particular market, is a variation of the old idea of industrial districts (Ebers & Jarillo, 1998). The drivers for collaboration have been extensively analyzed in the literature and can be synthesized in strategies of coespecialization; the search for mutual learning to support fastest product developments, better information and product flows (resulting in cost and time reductions, a dominating theme in logistics); the creation of virtual scale and scope economies; and in the creation of entry barriers, among others (Cervilla and Lorenzo, 2000). Hofstede characterizes Spain? culture as risk avoidance, hierarchical inclined (Granell, 1997). Solis et al. (2000) show that in Spain companies, integration and closer relationships with local and global suppliers in critical processes are becoming paramount. Strategic network alliances require time and resources to be built and sustained. In getting the benefits of integration and synchronization with suppliers, building trust represents the most critical issue for supply network managers. Important for successful strategic supplier alliances is the communication expected behaviour, particularly the quality of information and participation, and the extent to which relevant information is transparent to suppliers. No less important for alliance success is the existence for a formal purchasing commodity selection process and a formal supplier assessment and selection process. These factors plus a comparatively low degree of outsourcing activity in Spain can explain the formation of this type of network. Factories Inditex owns 25 factories, each dedicated to capital-intensive activities (dye, cutting) and the production of a family items. The large majority of these are located in La Coruna. Inditex has additionally developed a network of external micro-companies, many households, that provide labor-intensive services, mainly sewing, which has proven difficult to automate. According to Mr. Castellano the local work force has higher labor cost but also faster reaction time (than outsourced production in a low-cost area). Distribution Inditex owns a single logistics center in La Coruna. This large facility (400,000 square meters) is largely automated, with 2 carrousels for fold garments (60,000 per hour) and 200 kilometers of elevated tracks. Products are transported directly to stores using outsourced but dedicated carriers (Azkar for land transportation –some 80% of deliveries in 2000, and different airlines for exporting, all taking-off from local Galician airports). Flows Two distinct flows can be appreciated at Inditex. One consists of long-term cycles, i. e. purchasing of raw materials and the other a short-term cycle, i. e. , design, fabrication and distribution. The long cycle starts three to six months before each fashion season and consists in the acquisition of two thirds of the raw materials required, mainly cloth (90% of which is sourced from India, China, Morocco, Mauricio, Korea, Italy Germany and Turkey –the remaining one third is supplied during the season), and of one h alf of all garments (15%-20% is acquired in advance, 50%-60% at the beginning of the season and the rest during the season). These are those items that are thought to be stable, i. e. , basic products for which demand is fairly predictable. The rest of the garments (those thought to have a higher risk) are produced inhouse in the short cycle described bellow. The short cycle start with design. This is totally an in-house affair in which over 200 designer work simultaneously on three season collections, the current one for modifications and improvements and the next two (winter 2002 is being currently worked on in the Spring of 2002). Target pricing and low scale customer acceptance trials are usual practices at this step. Patterns are scanned and sent electronically to the manufacturing plants. Here capitalintensive activities such as dying and cutting are performed, while sewing is manually done by the micro-companies described above. Processes in the plants are kept flexible using lean production principles such as multi-skilled and flexible work forces (with an enviable strike record) and simple Japanese-like control systems. Production is thus pushed into the stores (15% at the beginning of the season, the rest according to demand), where the manager uses hand-held devices (currently Cassiopeia PDAs) to send feedback in close to real time about what moves and what doesn’t (colors, sizes, models), allowing for fast adjustments to the production plan. Replenishment to stores is done twice or three times a week, with a lead-time for existing (or subject to slight design modifications) items of two weeks, and of five weeks for new products. Comments It is interesting to compare the strategy of Zara/Inditex to that of Benetton (a similar sized competitor) and of the market leader Gap. Of the three the more integrated, both upstream and downstream is Zara/Inditex. Benetton produces through a network of mainly regional subcontractors, distributes from a centralized, automated warehouse and retails through franchises. Gap subcontracts production to a network of global producers (over 3000 in more than 70 countries) and has a network of global warehouses and distribution centers. Design Zara Benetton Gap Own- continuous Own-periodic Own-periodic Production Distribution 0% own regional factories Centralized D. C. 50% subcontractors Own stores Regional subcontractors Global subcontractors Centralized D. C. Franchises Decentralized warehouses and D. C Zara/Inditex model is not a fashionable global, outsourced network. It evolved as a probable consequence of limitations in the Spanish market, but has proven that a vertically integrated l ocal network when linked to advanced manufacturing and information technology practices can result in quick response times with little stock or waste, a by-product of the synchronization of offer and demand that the integration nature of the process allows. Postponement of the (in-house) fabrication of fashion items considered of high uncertainty, plus the flexibility and quick response implicit in the lean and automated process results in low levels of stock (40% less than Gap, is proportion to sales) An important question is now whether the organization of Mr. Ortega and Castellano can maintain its characteristics and stellar performance as global growth takes place. Due to European expansion a new distribution center is being built in Zaragoza, close to the French border and facilities for production in Mexico are being considered. Labor shortages in the small Galician area have also been reported. The organization could then decide to play in a niche market position and remain as it is, duplicate the actual local Galician network in other regions (e. g. , Mexico) or move towards a global and more externalized network. If the last, and arguably most probable option is pursuit, the challenge for Zara/Inditex will be to maintain their current flexibility. References Cervilla y Lorenzo (2000): â€Å"Redes de empresas y tecnologias de informacion: copciones para el desarrollo de la PYME†. Debates IESA. Vol. 5. No. 1. Dwyer, F. , Schurr, P. , & Oh, S. (1987). â€Å"Developing buyer-seller relationships† Journal of Marketing, vol. 51 (2), 11-27. Ebers, M. y C. Jarillo (1998). â€Å"The construction, forms, and consequences of industry networks† International Studies of Management & Organization. Vol. 27. No. 4 Granell, E. (1998). Managing cluture for success. Ediciones IESA, 1997. Handy, C. (1995). â€Å"Trust and the virtual organization† Harvard Business Review, vol. 73(3), 40-50. Landeros, R. , & Monczka, R. (1991). â€Å"Cooperative buyer/seller relationships and a firm? competitive posture†. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, vol. 11, 2-8. Mohr, J. , & Spekman, R. (1994). â€Å"Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behaviour, and conflict resolution techniques†. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 15(2), 135-152. Solis, L, & Escobar, D. , (2000). â€Å"The Management of Successf ul Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management Networks: An Empirical Study of Success Factors in Spain† Proceedings of XXXV CLADEA Annual Meeting, September, Barcelona.

Limitation Of The Study Guide Essay

Identifying limitations, and explaining how important they are There are many possible limitations that your research may have faced. However, is not necessary for you to discuss all of these limitations in your Research Limitations section. After all, you are not writing a 2000 word critical review of the limitations of your dissertation, just a 200-500 word critique that is only one section long (i.e., the Research Limitationssection within your Conclusions chapter). Therefore, in this first announcing move, we would recommend that you identify only those limitations that had the greatest potential impact on: (a) the quality of your findings; and (b) your ability to effectively answer your research questions and/or hypotheses. We use the word potential impact because we often do not know the degree to which different factors limited our findings or our ability to effectively answer our research questions and/or hypotheses. For example, we know that when adopting a quantitative research design, a failure to use a probability sampling technique significantly limits our ability to make broader generalisations from our results (i.e., our ability to make statistical inferences from our sample to the population being studied). However, the degree to which this reduces the quality of our findings is a matter of debate. Also, whilst the lack of a probability sampling technique when using a quantitative research design is a very obvious example of a research limitation, other limitations are far less clear. Therefore, the key point is to focus on those limitations that you feel had the greatest impact on your findings, as well as your ability to effectively answer your research questions and/or hypotheses. Overall, the announcing move should be around 10-20% of the total word count of the Research Limitations section. THE REFLECTING MOVE Explaining the nature of the limitations and justifying the choices you made Having identified the most important limitations to your dissertation in the announcing move, the reflecting move focuses on explaining the nature of these limitations and justifying the choices that you made during the research process. This part should be around 60-70% of the total word count of the Research Limitations section. It is important to remember at this stage that all research suffers from limitations, whether it is performed by  undergraduate and master’s level dissertation students, or seasoned academics. Acknowledging such limitations should not be viewed as a weakness, highlighting to the person marking your work the reasons why you should receive a lower grade. Instead, the reader is more likely to accept that you recognise the limitations of your own research if you write a high quality reflecting move. This is because explaining the limitations of your research and justifying the choices you made during the dissertation process demonstrates the command that you had over your research. We talk about explaining the nature of the limitations in your dissertation because such limitations are highly research specific. Let’s take the example of potential limitations to your sampling strategy. Whilst you may have a number of potential limitations in sampling strategy, let’s focus on the lack of probability sampling; that is, of all the different types of sampling technique that you could have used [see Types of probability sampling and Types of non-probability sampling], you choose not to use a probability sampling technique (e.g., simple random sampling, systematic random sampling, stratified random sampling). As mentioned, if you used a quantitative research design in your dissertation, the lack of probability sampling is an important, obvious limitation to your research. This is because it prevents you from making generalisations about the population you are studying (e.g. Facebook usage at a single university of 20,000 students) from the data you have collected (e.g., a survey of 400 students at the same university). Since an important component of quantitative research is such generalisation, this is a clear limitation. However, the lack of a probability sampling technique is not viewed as a limitation if you used a qualitative research design. In qualitative research designs, a non-probability sampling technique is typically selected over a probability sampling technique. And this is just part of the puzzle? Even if you used a quantitative research design, but failed to employ a probability sampling technique, there are still many perfectly justifiable reasons why you could have made such a choice. For example, it may have been impossible (or near on impossible) to get a list of the population you were studying (e.g., a list of all the 20,000 students at the single university you were interested in). Since probability sampling is only possible when we  have such a list, the lack of such a list or inability to attain such a list is a perfectly justifiable reason for not using a probability sampling technique; even if such a technique is the ideal. As such, the purpose of all the guides we have written on research limitations is to help you: (a) explain the nature of the limitations in your dissertation; and (b) justify the choices you made. In helping you to justifying the choices that you made, these articles explain not only when something is, in theory, an obvious limitation, but how, in practice, such a limitation was not necessarily so damaging to the quality of your dissertation. This should significantly strengthen the quality of your Research Limitations section. THE FORWARD LOOKING MOVE Suggesting how such limitations could be overcome in future Finally, the forward looking move builds on the reflecting move by suggesting how the limitations you have discuss could be overcome through future research. Whilst a lot could be written in this part of the Research Limitations section, we would recommend that it is only around 10-20% of the total word count for this section. Limitations Limitations of a dissertation are potential weaknesses in your study that are mostly out of your control, given limited funding, choice of research design, statistical model constraints, or other factors. In addition, a limitation is a restriction on your study that cannot be reasonably dismissed and can affect your design and results. Do not worry about limitations because limitations affect virtually all research projects, as well as most things in life. Even when you are going to your favorite restaurant, you are limited by the menu choices. If you went to a restaurant that had a menu that you were craving, you might not receive the service, price, or location that makes you enjoy your favorite restaurant. If you studied participants’ responses to a survey, you might be limited in your abilities to gain the exact type or geographic scope of participants you wanted. The people whom you managed to get to take your survey may not truly be a random sample, which is also a limit ation. If you used a common test for data findings, your results are limited by the reliability of the test. If your study was limited to a certain amount of time, your results are affected by the operations of society during that time period (e.g., economy, social trends). It is important for you to remember that limitations of a dissertation are often not something that can be solved by the researcher. Also, remember that whatever limits you also limits other researchers, whether they are the largest medical research companies or consumer habits corporations. Certain kinds of limitations are often associated with the analytical approach you take in your research, too. For example, some qualitative methods like heuristics or phenomenology do not lend themselves well to replicability. Also, most of the commonly used quantitative statistical models can only determine correlation, but not causation.

Benefits of a Healthy Workforce Essay Example for Free

Benefits of a Healthy Workforce Essay Organisational health programmes are essential to the survival of companies. Undoubtedly, a healthy workforce would work wonders for any business by reducing absenteeism and turnover, and increasing employee motivation, productivity and revenues. Lowe (2004) writes that hundreds of studies have already documented the direct as well as indirect advantages of â€Å"healthy work environments† to employees in addition to their organisations (p. 7). Indeed, healthy workplaces as well as jobs contribute to the well-being of employees. These benefits may be realized by the whole organisation through lower absenteeism, lower turnover, higher job satisfaction, improved performance on the job, lower rates of accident, in addition to â€Å"reduced health benefit and worker compensation costs (Lowe, p. 7). † Moreover, research has revealed that the largest gains in productivity may be realized by the organisation that changes the entire work environment to make it healthier for all employees (Lowe). Research has also revealed that the impact of poor health is keenly felt in the work environment, so therefore managers require an improved understanding of the dangers of allowing minor symptoms to escalate. Four in ten managers who participated in a recently conducted survey related to workplace health complained that they often become angry with others and feel humorless due to pressure. More than fifty percent of the managers complained of physical pain, at the same time as forty four percent reported experiencing frequent headaches. Moreover, fifty five percent complained of constant tiredness, fifty seven percent complained of insomnia, while twenty percent simply stated that they found it difficult to make decisions because of ill health (Poor Health 2006). Unsurprisingly, these results demand organisations to put effective health programmes in place for all employees. Sick employees are not likely to be highly productive in any case. In the United States, businesses are known to spend at least U. S. $450 billion every year on direct health care. Poor health costs around U. S. $225. 8 billion to American businesses each year through absenteeism as well as productivity losses that are related to the health problems of employees and their families. Hence, insurers as well as employers have started to create a large number of health promotion and prevention programmes that have already started to pay handsome dividends. According to a study, American employers may â€Å"reap the average of [U. S. ] $3. 48 in reduced health care costs and [U. S. ] $5. 82 in lower absenteeism costs for every dollar invested in employee wellness (Toomey 2006, p. 13). † Of course, these benefits can be realized anywhere in the world. In the United Kingdom, three quarters of a million workers are known to take time off work each year due to work-related illnesses (Firman 2006). These illnesses are further known to cost businesses as much as ten percent of their total payroll costs. Indeed, by promoting health in the workplace and preventing illnesses through effective health programmes in the organisation, absenteeism and costs related to the same may be drastically lowered. The money that is saved thus may be used by the organisation to update its equipment; on marketing; as well for the provision of training to employees. Organisations may also be able to increase the number of employees with the cost savings realized through effective health programmes (Jim 2006). Indeed, the benefits of health management programmes in the organisation are aplenty. Healthy employees add value to the organisation. The care shown by employers can boost the morale of the workers. The entire organisation benefits from this, as it becomes more efficient with a healthy and therefore productive workforce. REFERENCES Firman, C. 16. 11. 2006 â€Å"Health Matters. † Motor Transport available at EBSCO Host database. Jim, N. 9. 6. 2006 â€Å"Health and Safety Assessments Cut Costs and Boost Productivity. † Electronics Weekly 2256 available at EBSCO Host database. Lowe, G. S. 2004 â€Å"Healthy Workplace Strategies: Creating Change and Achieving Results. † The Graham Lowe Group available at http://www. grahamlowe. ca/documents/93/Hlthy%20wkpl%20strategies%20report. pdf. Poor Health 2006: â€Å"Poor Health Leads to a Humorless, Angrier Workforce† article in Occupational Health (Jun 2006), 58(6) available at EBSCO Host database. Toomey, D. 18. 12. 2006 â€Å"Wellness and Prevention Programs Generate Healthy Outcomes. † Executive Health & Wellness Guide available at EBSCO Host database. Benefits of a Healthy Workforce. (2016, Jul 29). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Culture perspective of India Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Culture perspective of India - Dissertation Example This essay explores that India is next to China and is among the world’s most populated countries. Covering 2.4 per cent of the total world’s area, India cultivates a significant percentage of the total population of the world i.e. 15 per cent. India is a very diverse country in all respects including the religion of people, their cultures, languages and traditions. People of India are diverse in their norms, values and traditions, many of which are influenced by Central Asia, Iranian Plateau, West and Afghanistan because of the fact that India was invaded from them. The political and social organization of contemporary India is determined to much an extent, by the religion, language and caste of the people. Of the 16 official languages identified by the Indian government, Hindi is the one that is spoken and understood almost in every part of India. Indians are very particular about their familial roles and responsibilities. Family is the strongest unit in which people can dwell together. People understand the significance of relationships. The importance of relationships eradicates selfishness and inculcates responsibility in an individual. Parents consider their children their property after they have spent the whole life raising the children. Children also understand that their parents have a lot of rights over them since they fed them right from their birth and bore all their expenses to make them able to earn their own living. There is also respect for elder siblings. Younger siblings respect the elder ones while the elders are expected to be affectionate towards the younger ones. Indian people dwell in large families. There is no trend of cohabiting. Every individual is obliged to get married, both religiously and socially. Newly married couples tend to live with the parents of the groom. Although some couples do live separate, yet it is appreciated if they live in the same house as the groom’s parents. This is done in order to show t heir respect for the parents. Besides, the couple also draws certain benefits from this practice. For example, the couple shares the house expenses with the parents, so it relieves the burden for both the parents and the children. Conflicts between the groom’s mom and the bride are common. It is not that the two have negative intentions against each other, but they gradually indulge in certain conflicts over household matters. This can in part, be attributed to the groom’s love and attention for the bride that creates a distance between the groom and his mom as a result of which, such situations arise. A responsible son is expected to maintain balance between his mom and his wife. A son that can not maintain this balance either lives in a separate house from the start, or separates after some years of the marriage from the parents. Many Indian parents do not distinguish between sons and daughters and consider the two as entitled to equal rights, though some parents ten d not to educate their daughters as much as they educate their sons, and they have a reason for that. These parents think that if they educate their

Breathe-Taking Experiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Breathe-Taking Experiences - Essay Example To me, the most interesting part of the visit to the aquarium was the Giant Tank Ocean that was home to over 2,000 sea creatures. Although the animals were not in their natural habitat, the ocean tank provided a semblance of what could appear to be the natural habitat to these sea creatures since they appeared comfortable in the ocean tank. It occurred to me that only technological advancements by human beings enabled me to see this array of creatures. In this case, the absence of the immense technological advancement could limit my interaction with such a significant number of sea creatures. This made me appreciate the role of science and technology in ensuring that human beings had a chance to interact with nature albeit, not in its natural habitat. Â  After the visit to the aquarium, we went shopping for our spring break to Miami. The shopping experience not only gave me more time to bond with my friends, but I also appreciated the value of a deserved break to have the opportunity to relax and reenergize my brain and body to handle the final part of the semester. During the break, the atmosphere offered by the beaches at Miami will be necessary for rejuvenating my spirits and strength as a break is required in many aspects of our lives. Other than reenergizing, a break is important to reflect on the progress that I have made as a student up to this far. I will take the opportunity to address the challenges I have faced as a student and my personal growth in order to find areas that I should improve in order to succeed as a student. Â  

Social Care Policies in Global Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Care Policies in Global Society - Essay Example The ageing of the population poses a remarkable challenge to all European welfare states and here the question of care becomes fundamental. Also the many changes taking place in family structures e.g., the increasing divorce rate, the growing number of children born out of marriage, the decreasing proportion of older people living together with their children, all generate new social assemblage where care has to be arranged in new ways. The high participation of women in paid work has contributed to changing care from 'just a women's business' to a major issue of public social policies. A functioning labor market presupposes functioning care arrangements. Even if a welfare state does not itself directly supply a broad variety and coverage of care services, it still remains responsible for providing the required support and guiding to enable families, voluntary and commercial organizations to provide the care that is needed.( Thomas ,1993)(1) Recently, it has become widely recognized that social care policies affect in various field of life of the people -children, family, workers, elderly people, disables, health of the people, education etc -whether it is globally or it is related to the particular countries. Wherever they exist, flexible care services are a major support for the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities. Under these circumstances, we shall analyse some of the fields where the social care policies applied by the government of UK and also we shall scrutinize how these policies differ from other European countries. To better understand, we shall take up the European country of Sweden to compare with UK.   Child care and Fostering   In Europe it is considered that the major cross-national differences are related to the extensiveness of the public sector role; the predominance of the education, health and social welfare systems in delivering the services; the proportion of children of different ages served by these programs; whether services are limited to the children of workingmothers; and the quality of the childcare provided. (Kamerman (1991, 180),).   

Individual 3 international trade operation Essay

Individual 3 international trade operation - Essay Example Samson. However, when investing in the international market, Mr. Samson should be prepared to deals with challenge of stiff competition from the international firms (Choudhury, 2012). Therefore, this study will provide an insight of various elements that Mr. Swanson should take into consideration when investing in the international markets. What is portfolio diversification? Explain why are foreign investments effective at diversifying a portfolio? Portfolio diversification entails hedging risk by investing in various assets/portfolios. This means that a diversified portfolio will expose an investor to less risk as compared to a single investment. For example, if one investment is performing poorly in the market the other one might be performing well hence, distributing risk unlike in a situation where one has invested in single portfolio. Therefore, investors are strongly urged to invest wisely by diversifying their portfolio (Hagin, 2004). In above connection, foreign investments h ave been reported to be effective at diversifying a portfolio due to the following reasons. There is well advanced level of information technology that enables investors to track their investments and market trends as well as promotion of idea exchange. International market tends eradicate foreign exchange controls and hence making it quit effective to diversify portfolio, higher growth and proper flow of international capital makes it effective to diversify portfolio in the international market. Development of both multinational and global companies had made it easier and effective to diversify a portfolio in the international market. Trade deregulation in the international market has made it effective for portfolio diversification within the international market (Yavas, 2007). What are the main reasons to invest in international markets? Explain. The main reasons to invest in international market include: risk reduction. For example, if one has investments in Japan and the other o ne in the U.S, economic down town in U.S may only affect an investment that is in the U.S but not the one in Japan. This means that investing in the international market prevent one from incurring greater risk. Secondly, international markets provide an investor with greater investment opportunities. For example, international market provides investors with an opportunity to trade stocks with higher value as compared to those offered in the domestic market and hence, providing an investor with higher returns (Gibley, 2012). Thirdly, an international market has higher growth potential as compared to domestic market. This provides an investor with an opportunity to take advantage of potential growth in the foreign markets. Fourthly, International Markets provides an investor with an added advantage because international companies can help to boost returns especially when there is fluctuation of domestic currencies. For example, an international investor may obtain more returns when th ere is a decline in the value of dollar while on the contrary a domestic investor may obtain losses. Therefore, the above benefits can lead an investor to venture in international market (Gibley, 2012). What are the major risks associated with investing internationally? There are three most common risks that may be experienced when investing in the

The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Epic of Gilgamesh - Essay Example The epic, with its complex plot is acknowledged by historians and archaeologists as the oldest existing written story although it had been discovered and translated only relatively recently but it never fails to fascinate its readers with its many parallels to the biblical story of the Great Flood and that of Noah and his family. It is therefore not very far-fetched to assume that many parts of the biblical Noah got their origins and ideas from the Epic of Gilgamesh for its many similarities, barring mere coincidence, from the tale of Utnapishtim. What is even more remarkable is the story was based on an actual king named Gilgamesh. This paper explores this gem of world literature from the viewpoint of its importance in terms of its sophisticated moral lessons. Additionally, it will also discuss the universal questions that Man has been asking ever since, questions such as immortality, how to escape death itself, his place in the entire scheme of things in the cosmos, his relationshi p with his gods, with fellow human beings, governance and kingship. Moreover, the paper will likewise offer some hopefully useful insights into the immensity and scale of this grandiose tale. Discussion The epic is partly based on the real historical figure King Gilgamesh who ruled the kingdom of Uruk in ancient Sumeria at around 2700 B.C.E. (before current era, as historians now would like to date historical events rather than the usual B.C. or A.D. in order to avoid a bias towards Christianity and maintain neutrality towards all religions) but was written down in clay tablets only at around 2000 B.C.E. perhaps with an eye towards preservation of a story for posterity. Although it has historical basis as determined by rigorous historical research, it also contains so many embellishments to make the story more interesting to its intended audience and also partly to impart some important moral lessons, like biblical parables. The provenance of the epic story cannot be traced or ascri bed to a single writer but it is rather the work of several authors, who added a portion of the story with each succeeding re-telling to a listening audience, perhaps by the high priests of Babylon. It was originally an oral composition recited by traveling storytellers, which may help to explain why there are so many parts of the story which are mere fragments although it is still offers some continuity. It can be found in the royal library of King Ashurbanipal, who ruled around 700 B.C.E. but still portions or other versions of the same epic were unearthed at different epochs in the time of the ancient city of Babylon, providing a rich ethnological source as well (Maier 377). The Epic of Gilgamesh can be taken in context, in the sense it was written at a time of history when rulers often invoked their right to rule over their subjects from some form of divine intervention or deriving their royal power from the gods. This theme is very recurrent in many historical periods, and this theme is also quite common even in the other areas of the world, where kings ruled either by force or some other means to retain political control such as invoking their authority with their supposed knowledge and wisdom, just like Gilgamesh. A key character, Enkidu, was introduced to the epic as counterbalance to Gilgamesh. A good question to ask might be: What

Marketing Orientation Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Orientation Concepts - Essay Example A company’s focus on the market revolves around the concepts that it may apply when targeting that particular market. Although there are different variations of market orientations, there are four principal categories that have been significantly explored. In the production concept, a company mostly attempts to increase its production without taking customer demands into account. The primary focus of a business that adopts this approach is to minimize costs through large scale production (Morgan, Vorhies and Mason, 2009). This model is based on a company’s belief that economies of scale resulting from production in large amounts would make it possible to reduce operational costs, while maximising profits. Production orientation is virtually extinct or completely assimilated into other approaches, since product quality is currently vital to enhancing the appeal of a commodity.The focus of a sales oriented corporation is clear cut, since it involves producing commodities and then selling them to target markets. This model entails companies manufacturing products or creating services that they forecast customers would need, without carrying out comprehensive research. The model overlooks the fact that selling goes beyond availing products to the market and must involve intensive research, before venturing into product development and eventually putting an appropriate promotion strategy into place. Nonetheless, the sales concept upholds the notion that customers are unlikely to make a purchase.

Health communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health communication - Essay Example I can achieve greater success in the team through hard work to overcome the stress. I prefer feeling to thinking. The main reason for this is the need to maintain interpersonal relationships with other people. I always choose personal concerns about the welfare of others over impersonal facts and objective principle because it considers the points-of-view of persons involved in a situation. ‘Feeling’ enables one to maintain harmony and consider people’s values, unlike ‘thinking’, which requires the application of principles. Based on the article, the higher prevalence of â€Å"feeling† individuals in nursing is because of the need for harmony in the workplace. Those with a preference for ‘thinking’ endure less stress than those with a preference for ‘feeling’ (Nash, 2011). Nursing requires one to advocate for human-centered values that are in line with the way that people react and feel. It enables one to make individual exceptions for individual cases, as opposed to thinking, which requires one to stand firm to outlined principles and hold firm to policies. I agree with Anthony Espinoza that one can handle stress perfectly, depending on the situation. In addition, stress reduces a person’s level of focus, and it may hinder teamwork activities that require coordination of efforts. Feelings often override thinking because of the need to maintain interpersonal relationships. For instance, a nurse should be caring to patients, and they often achieve this through a display of feelings, despite the stress they endure in their long and exhausting work hours. I agree with Angela Bregstrom that a multitude of stress from different places is difficult to handle. For instance, if one experiences stress at the workplace, it is only right that they should not experience stress at home or at school. The ability of stress to arise from virtually all sectors makes it a variable that requires utmost attention before its

Quantitative Research Design Essay Example for Free

Quantitative Research Design Essay Business research is, arguably, founded on the study of social interactions within the realm of commerce and trade. Until recently, such research has seen staunch counter-position of two research paradigms: quantitative and qualitative, the first deriving from positivism, the latter from interventionism. Indeed, the positions taken by individual researchers vary considerably between those like Bryman (1988) who argues for a â€Å"best of both worlds† approach by suggesting that qualitative and quantitative approaches be combined to those of scholars like Hughes (1997) whom counteracts by stating that such technicist solutions underestimate the politics of legitimacy that are associated with the choice of methods. It is the purpose of this essay to analyze these two research frameworks highlighting the positive aspects as well as the flaws and limits, and highlighting the rise of what is often referred to as the â€Å"mixed† method. All of this will be seen within a business contest. Specifically, looking at the author’s proposed future research in the realm of commercial negotiations, the arguments presented will reflect this sphere of research. Quantitative and qualitative research are based on different philosophical approaches and methodologies. Quantitative research derives from neo-positivist philosophy which underlines the belief in the presence of an absolute truth as its core foundation. This perspective of seeing the world translates in the utilization of research approaches founded on scientific analysis through statistical elaborations and mathematical models. The qualitative approach by contrast, does not highlight the presence of absolute truths but rather truths which are dependent on the particular perspective from which a phenomenon is observed through. This off-course entails that qualitative research is undertaken primarily through the adoption of narrative and logical deduction. These differences appear encapsulated in Best Khan’s (1989: 90-90) statement: â€Å"Quantitative research consists of those studies in which the data concerned can be analysed in terms of numbers†¦Research can also be quantitative, that is, it can describe events, persons and so forth scientifically without the use of numerical data†¦Quantitative research is more open and responsive to its subject. † From a first glance, it appears clear that there are substantial differences between the quantitative and qualitative approaches. Indeed, the way data is obtained, the flexibility in methodological application, the objective and subjective nature of the results obtained, are just a few of the most evident points of contrast. Such contracts has resulted in what has been defined as the â€Å"paradigm wars† which has highlighted and emphasized the incompatibility of the two approaches. For a protracted period of time the quantitative approach has been seen the best form of research for two main sets of reason. Firstly, scientific progress in the last century has projected the notion of the scientific approach as the most apt for explaining the world around us. Secondly, the advent of the â€Å"information age† from the 1980’s has seen the ability of elaborating a vast amount of data electronically thus further promoting the scientific approach as the best method to adopt for research. Recently however, the divide between the quantitative and qualitative has diminished to the point of many scholars advocating a debate on the merits of a mixed research methodology utilizing the strengths of both schools of thought. Indeed, the quest for obtaining the best possible research result has seen a reconceptualization of research methods with an integration of the two main philosophies which may be used to converge and convalidate (defined as â€Å"triangulation†), refute data or indeed inform new paths of enquiry. Indeed, research papers today often contain statistical data derived from the quantitative methodology which is then presented and formulated in interviews which put the data into the â€Å"real-world† perspective. The integration of the two approaches also makes sense when one starts to look at the commonalities between them. Indeed, both approaches share the following characteristics: -Research project design -Identification of information -Information management -Analysis of data -Empirical observations There are many other characteristics which instead differentiate quantitative and qualitative research, but a growing group of scholars are now perceiving these differences as positive in that they may reinforce rather than detract from each other. This is often referred to as â€Å"triangulation† and I believe this to be of paramount importance within the context of business research. Indeed, just like the integrated approach, the business sphere also is a mixture and fusion of statistics, and â€Å"hard† financial data in conjunction with â€Å"softer† narrative explanations derived from interviews, and focus groups. Delving even more specifically into my proposed realm of research which centers around the commercial negotiation methodologies adopted in multicultural environments and frontier markets, the integrated approach is, in my opinion, the only approach capable of providing a true and accurate framework for developing such research. This claim is further upheld if one considers the eleven ways in which it is possible to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods: 1)Logic of triangulation in which the findings from one type of study can be checked against the findings from the other type as above highlighted; 2)Facilitation of qualitative research for quantitative research. In this instance the qualitative research informs the quantitative method by providing essential background information and a context; 3)Facilitation of quantitative research for qualitative research. In this occurrence quantitative research methodology helps to inform the qualitative one by providing a filter and narrowing down the subjects which merit further investigation. 4)Quantitative and qualitative approaches are combined into one thereby furnishing a more in-depth analysis. 5)Structure process.

Management and Human Resource Development Essay Example for Free

Management and Human Resource Development Essay 1.Integration with organizational missions and goals According to Garavan (1991), integration into business planning in order to contribute to corporate goals and missions of the organization are very crucial. One of Human Resource Development’s functions is to help in formation of business strategies for the organization and it is seen as a responsive and reactive role for strategic human resource development (McCracken Wallace, 2000). Furthermore, the role of SHRD is to shape the organization strategy instead of simply supporting role. Another role of Human Resource Development is to implement or form the corporate strategy. These tasks require them to link the corporate strategy with the organization’s missions and goals. According to Legnick-Hall and Legnick-Hall (1988) and Butler (1988), besides integrating the corporate strategy with the organizational missions and goals, strategic human resource development also plays an important role in shaping and influencing the missions and goals (as stated in McCracken and Wallace, 2000). 2.Top management support  In strategic human resource development, top management support is very important in order to implement the corporate strategy. The corporate strategy that has been formed need to be led actively by the top management people rather than just simply supported by them (Harrison, 1997). Active leadership from the top management will help the managers to adopt strategic thinking in achieving the targeted goals (McCracken and Wallace, 2000). 3.Environmental scanning  In SHRD, environmental scanning is very important to develop the strategic planning. HRD professionals and others senior managers need to conduct the SWOT and PEST analysis. These analyses will help the organization to respond or react to any changes in the internal or external environment (Rainbird, 1995; Peery and Salem, 1993). However, environmental scanning alone is not enough because HRD terms and top management need to implement it (McCracken and Wallace, 2000). Level of Strategic Human Resource Development  The first level of contexts that are crucial in order to understand the contribution of strategic human resource development is global environment. By analyzing and understanding the global environment is very important for an organization in order to be more flexible. Being flexible helps an organization to control and respond quickly to its surrounding, especially the external environment. This level focuses on a multiplicity of external factors that explain the role of SHRD in crisis management and generate particular SHRD initiatives (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009). There are three sets of component that must be understood in the context of global environment which are local conditions, national conditions and multinational conditions. Local conditions basically focus on laws and protocol. For example, the organization might need to devise emergency planning processes to tackle potential crisis regarding the safety and health law (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009). Local conditions can be divided into two parts which are economic and political trends as well as industry characteristics. The organization must alert with the economic and political conditions within the country. For the industry characteristics, the organization must ensure that their products and services have its own uniqueness. They need to master the products and services very well where all information need to be in their fingertips. They also need to know the targeted audiences for every of the product and services provided. The national conditions which can be divided into four parts. The first part is technology change. The organization must provide adequate training to its employees to increase the productivity of the employees in operating the latest technology. Since technology is rapidly change, so the employees need to be trained from time to time. The second part is the characteristics of the labor market. An organization must be flexible in terms of planning about the resources of the organizations especially when it comes to human resources. The management needs to hire more expertise. The third set is national culture. The organization need to learn and understand about the culture in order to provided the right products and services. For example, the food industry in Malaysia, they need to ensure that most of the foods are halal in order to fit it with the Muslim culture. The last part is regarding the national HRD systems. Some countries use the â€Å"soft† interventions rather than the â€Å"hard† approaches such as codes and protocols (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009). It may appear as a component of partnership planning between the government, employers and trade unions. The last set of components is the multinational conditions which are cross-culture difference and international laws and regulations. Cross-cultural differences such as cultural assumptions towards planning and risk may also operate by some organizations. According to Tierney,Lindell Perry (2001), Asian countries are slow to react to disasters and they do not understand the important of systems and processes to deal with these disasters. Meanwhile, according to Caudron (2002), global terrorist events and international criminal acts have alert the national government regarding the important of providing the security education and professional education of human resources involved in security management. Certain multinational corporations may also pose some policies on individual companies within the corporation’s (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009).

Dealing with conflicts within a family

Dealing with conflicts within a family Most families in todays society will have to deal with a wide range of conflicts and issues concerning the sociology of the family. The purpose of this is essay is to evaluate the consensus and conflict theories of the family and to analyse the concept of gender roles within the family. It will also focus on the feminist critiques of the traditional approaches to the family, and examine two sociological explanations for domestic violence/ abuse within the family Consensus and conflict theory (Task 1) Consensus can be described as an agreed position or a set of values that stresses the importance of behaviour by learning to adjust to society and conforming to a set of norms and values. Whilst the conflict theory focusses on the uneven sharing of power within society and groups such as the workforce, which are in conflict with each other in terms of status and power. However both theories see the origin of human behaviour as being one that is shaped by structure rather than agency. Therefore it can be argued that consensus is a concept in which a common group is founded, whilst conflict can be said to be a disagreement of ideas and principles between people or society. (Giddens, A, 1997) Functionalism and the Family Consensus theory can be related to functionalism. Functionalism focusses on the need for people to conform to an agreed set of norms and values regardless of wealth, culture, race, sex or religion. This theory is carried through to their view of the family. Functionalism focusses on the Nuclear family which is one whos structure comprises of two generations, those being the parents who are joined in a monogamous marriage, and their children. The Nuclear family which evolved through the need to retain property within the family that could then be passed on to future generations supported an industrialist society as the set up of a two parent house hold would enable the father who is looked upon as the head of the house to go out and support a work industry in order to provide for his family, whilst the mother who remains at home would take care of the house and raise their children. (Giddens, A, 2006) Functionalism sees the family as a harmonious unit with the husband and wife living in agreement, and any future products of this marriage (children) being taught through primary socialisation which takes place within the family, the norms (e.g., accepted forms of behaviour and common culture) and values (e.g., value of life and money) of the society in which they are to grow up in. Moore (2001:324) states that the basic socialisation takes place in the family and it is here, through parents and relatives, that we learn the accepted morality of society. Marxism and the Family Marxism which can be related to the conflict theory, like functionalism views the family as an institution which socialises the children that are born into it. However, unlike functionalism which focuses on the family working to promote a consensus society which works as one to benefit everyone, Marxism has a different view of the family. They believe that opposition between profitable establishments such as manufacturing plants (which form a ruling class through individual possession and finance) and the majority of the population who will provide the labour for these institutions, exists. Marxism views the family (which produces the workers who will provide the labour for these economic institutions) as a unit which enables the class differences between the workers and the ruling class to remain and one which also allows for the exploitation of the workers as the status of the ruling class is maintained through the profit they receive from the products of the workers labour. Harala mbos and Langley(2003:39) states institutions such as the family, the education system and the political system are shaped by the requirements of capitalism and serve to support and maintain it. Marxists are of the opinion that patriarchy (which sees the husband adopting the role of the head of the home) exists within the nuclear family. They believe that patriarchy in the family evolved within a capitalist society due to the ownership of private property. Any of the wifes property once married came under the ownership of her husband and could then be passed on to lawfully-begotten inheritors, leading to the wife having no means of living independently from her husband. As cited in Haralambos and Langley (2003:39) In The Origin of The Family, Private Property and the State, first published in 1884, Friedrich Engels argued that the modern nuclear family developed in a capitalist society. Private property is at the heart of capitalism and it was largely owned by men. Before 1882 in Britain, Married women could not own property- it passed on to their husband on marriage. Patriarchy within the home allowed the husband who feels inferior in the workplace to assert his authority over his wife and family who are dependent on him as the bread winner in the family. He would take out his frustrations of work on the family and used dominance as a means of order and control. Moore (2001 167) states that It is women who have their careers interrupted by childbirth and women who carry the main responsibility for childcare. Women are therefore more likely to be financially dependant on their partners, which gives them less power over decision-making in family matters. Feminism and the Family Feminist Sociology is a controversial subject with wide and difficult boundaries. It is an issue that is not just about women, but one that is for women. It is believed that feminism started in the early19th century due to the increasing perception that women face injustice and inequality in a society they feel is dominated by men, be it the workplace or the home. Feminists are of an opinion that the family is one which allows for the control of women by men, through patriarchy. They believe that the ownership of property that is bestowed to men leads to domination of women within the home. The wife cannot cause conflict within the family unit by having a difference of opinion to that of her husband as she has no means of living independently from him, due to lack of the ownership of assets. Feminism sees the free labour a woman undertakes whilst raising her children as an injustice as a capitalism will gain from the fruits if her labour, due to the belief that her children will be a beneficial asset to a capitalist society as prospective workers. Feminism also argues that the wife will provide support (which is classed as emotional labour) to her husband by Listening to his complaints about work, all the while appearing to be in agreement with him, thus soaking up all of his frustration, which will again allow him to go back to the workplace and provide the labour which benefits a capitalist society. (Scott, J, 1996) Evaluation Although Functionalism, Marxism and feminism are all in agreement in their belief that the family plays a major role in society, each theoretical perspective has an individual perceptions of what the family stands for. Functionalism which focuses on consensus within the nuclear family does not take into account the fact that the structure of the family unit has evolved over time, and in todays society that unit may consist of single parent families and same sex marriages and Marxists would argue that functionalism promotes the sustenance of an unfair system within a capitalist society as they ignore any inequalities that exist in society. Marxists would argue that rather than being a unit of harmony, the family is an institution which exists in a society that consists of conflict due to inequalities of power, class and ownership of property in a capitalist society, and that patriarchy within the family evolved in a capitalist society due to the husbands need to assert control over his family due to his lack of power within the workplace. However Feminists would argue that Marxism accepts the dominance of women within the family, and that patriarchy is an excuse for a husband to have control over his wife. However, although feminism advocates for equal rights of women to men, critics of feminism believe that feminists have a pessimistic view of the family, which does not accept the fact that some women in society embrace their role in the family which enables them to nurture their children and provide moral support to their husband. This critique is evident in Haralambos and Langley (2003:41) which states that Critics argue that feminists are preoccupied with the negative side of the family life. They ignore the possibility that many women enjoy running a home and raising children. Gender Roles (Task 2) Gender roles can be described as cultural and personal. We learn the roles that are deemed as acceptable by society, primarily, from the family and the culture we grow up in and then secondarily from outside influences. Gender roles have a huge impact on behaviour and define the way that both male and females think, speak, dress and communicate within society. Parents tend to treat male and female offspring differently, thus instilling the primary socialisation of gender roles in children from when they are born. where the preference of parents is concerned, male children can be deemed as having an edge over their female siblings as majority of parents (especially fathers) would prefer to have a male child rather than a female child as this allows for the continuance of the family name. Secondary gender socialisation in learned through the influences in society such as peers and the media. This is done through the way the children are spoken to and the toys they are given to play with. Boys will often appear more boisterous when playing will act out scenes related to heroism, whilst girls will often take on a more demure role when playing, seeming to act out roles relating to carrying out domestic chores and childrearing. As sited in Giddens (2006:460-461) The toys, picture books and television programmes experienced by young children all tend to emphasize differences between male and female attributes. Although the situation is changing somewhat, male characters tend to outnumber females in most childrens books, television programmes and films. Male characters tend to play more active, adventurous roles, while females are portrayed as passive, expectant and domestically orientated (Weitzman 1972; zammuner 1987; davies 1991) The gender roles that are embedding into boys and girls through primary and secondary socialisation when young influences the roles they adopt within the family unit. It has been suggested by functionalism that men and womens roles within the family are different. This can be evident in functionalisms view of the family. They focus on the belief that men perform instrumental roles, whilst women play an expressive role, and the fact that the consensus theory of functionalism saw education and professional qualification being afforded to the males within the family as they were to be the providers and would have a superior role which involved making all the decisions within the family, whilst it was deemed that females had no use for education as they were to remain at home and carry out the domestic chores within the house, and nurture and raise the children. Marxism too saw the woman taking on a more domestic and caring role, tending to her husbands needs and rearing their children, whilst the husband who was the patriarchal figure in the family unit who owned all their property, went out to work to provide for his family. However, as a result of the emerging feminist movements, womens roles within the family has taken on a more liberal view. Education and professional qualification are now achieved by both men and women. Things that affect the family unit are now discussed between the man and the woman within the home and decision are made in agreement. Housework is now done on more even terms between men and women, and although women still carry out slightly more household chores than men. As sited in Giddens (2006:760) Surveys have found that women still spend nearly 3 hours a day on average on housework (excluding shopping and childcare). This compares with the 1 hour 40 minutes spent by men. (Office of National Statistics 2003). Domestic Abuse (Task 3) Domestic abuse can be described as the oppression and dominance through threats and acts of physical harm against one family member by another. It is used as a means of control and can be exhibited in a variety of ways ( these being verbal and non verbal) which range from low level acts, e,g, cursing, pushing and continual harrassment for sex, to more physical acts such as, the pulling of hair, punching, kicking and in extreme cases, violence which results in death. Although domestic abuse is said to be a deviant for of behaviour that is majority of the time perpetrated by men against women, domestic abuse of men by their female partners is becoming more recognised even though many cases of male abuse goes unreported due to the fact that men see admission of being a victim of abuse as an a loss of masculinity. Giddens (2006:221) states Most violent episodes between spouses reported to the police involve violence by husbands against their wives. Feminists state that domestic abuse inflicted on women within the home is down to patriarchy. They believe that through patriarchy the man adopts a role within the home that allows him greater status to that of the woman. This is done through the chances, within, what they believe to be a male dominated society which are afforded to him as a man,e,g, ownership of property, the attainment of educational qualifications and wealth. Feminists are of an opinion that men use violence as a means of controlling a womans behaviour in terms of keeping her submissive. Scott (1996:157) states Theorists of patriarchy have directed the subordination of women and found Their explanation for it in the male need to dominate the female. However feminists fail to acknowledge the concept that women are also offenders of abuse against men. Society finds it hard to conceive that men can be a victim of abuse at the hands of a woman as since the beginning of society women have always been observed as the weaker sex. As stated in an article on Elizabethan Women Elizabethan society was patriarchal, meaning that men were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors. Women were regarded as the weaker sex. (www.elizabethi.org/us/women) However Marxists who also view the man as the main perpetrator of domestic abuse gives a different argument for the cause. They believe that the man who works in a capitalist society uses violences within the home as a means of releasing the stress that surmounts from working in an industrialist society. They also say that the man who is oppressed within the workplace will come home and use violence to assert his authority within the home as unlike the workplace, the family is an institution where he has power. (Giddens,1997) Elder Abuse (Task 3) Abuse of elder members within the family is becoming more general. This type of abuse can be performed through deliberately disregarding the needs of the elderly, e.g., not providing basic care needs to those less able to care for themselves, being verbally abusive towards them or inflicting pain through actual physical violence which include pinching, biting, slapping and punching. It is hard to know just how common elder abuse is as the victims are less likely to report the abuse that they sustain from members of their family unit. (Scott,1996) . In Macionis and Palmers book Sociology, a global introduction (1998) they provide one explanation of elder abuse as being due to the fact that, more families take on the responsibility of caring for elderly members ( which can be stressful in terms of financial burden and increase in labour within the home) alongside going out to work and raising their own children. In their book they ask the question What motivates people to abuse the elderly? and gives the answer as often the cause lies in the stress of caring. Feminist Critiques of the Traditional Family When society talks about the traditional family, they are in fact refering to the Nuclear Family, which is said to be one of harmony. The nuclear familys structure is one that consists of, a father and mother who are joined in a marriage (that practices monogamy) and their children. Conservative thinkers are said observe the family as The Pillar of Society. The family is said to support a capitalist industry by reproducing the individuals who provide the labour for the institutions which are there to make huge profits from the goods that are produced by the workers. Patriarchy exists within the Nuclear family. The Man is said to be The head of the family, and any money that is earned or any property that is inherited or bought by the family is said to be his. He too makes all the decisions that relate to the family unit. The womans role within the family is said to be more of a domesticated one. She will take on majority if not all of the household chores, and this includes the rearing of children. She is said to be the figure in the family who is observed as the carer. Meeting the care and emotional needs of her children and supporting her husband within a capitalist society by ensuring that he arrives home to an environment that is condusive after a hard and stressfull day at work. (Haralambos and Langley, 2003:39). However feminists view the family diferent from that of a conservative, as they view it as one that consists of inequality, opression , patriarchy and violence. Patriarchy: Gender Feminists conceive that the family is the basis for patriarchal capitalism, which gives rise to the subjugation of women. Liberal feminists consider marriage to be a tradition which needs to be reformed as opposed to extinguishing it altogether. This is evident in Betty Friedans book The Feminine Mystique in which she declared that Women in their 60s were enslaved by domesticity because of the roles they played as mothers and wives. She advocated for an improved quality of life for women outside of spousal relationship. Division of labour/ Free labour: Marxists feminists believes that the division of labour that is undertaken within the family unit is an inequality women as they will provide majority of the childcare and carry out a great percentage if not all of the household chores. Feminists see this unpaid work within the home as an unfair as, the woman taking care of the home enables the man to go out to work and earn money to support his family, which reinforces the position he adopts as the head of the family. They are also of an opinion that this responsibility of care in the home reduces the womans ability to go out and work and earn money which would provide her with a means of independence. Feminists also argue the injustice of the domestic abuse that a woman is subjucted to in the home, even though she is the individual who provides the most support to all other members within the family unit. Gender Inequalities: In Feminist perspective on Reproduction and the family,feminist critics such as Susan Okin suggest that For women to have fair equality of oppurtinity the family need to be re-adjusted on gender terms. This is a general view which is taken by most feminists, as most families are based on inequality and oppression. Okin also stated that the family is a linchpin for gender injustice she also argue that, as women depended on men for almost everything due to patriarchy, this allow them to be subjected to physical, sexual or psychological abuse.(www.illc.uva.ni)

Anthrax :: essays research papers

Anthrax is the preferred biological warfare agent because: It is highly lethal. 100 million lethal doses per gram of anthrax material (100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent). Silent, invisible killer. Inhalational anthrax is virtually always fatal. There are low barriers to production. Low cost of producing the anthrax material. Not high-technology. Knowledge is widely available. Easy to produce in large quantities. It is easy to weaponize. It is extremely stable. It can be stored almost indefinitely as a dry powder. It can be loaded, in a freeze-dried condition, in munitions or disseminated as an aerosol with crude sprayers. Currently, we have a limited detection capability. What is Anthrax? Anthrax is a naturally occurring disease of plant eating animals (goats, sheep, cattle, wine, etc.) caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is an illness which has been recognized since antiquity. Anthrax was common in essentially all areas where livestock are raised. Intensive livestock immunization programs have greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease among both animals and humans in much of the world, an most outbreaks occur in areas where immunization programs have not been implemented or have become compromised (primarily Africa and Asia; however, outbreaks occurred during the mid- I 990's in Haiti and the former Soviet Union). Anthrax spores can remain viable for several decades under suitable environmental conditions; thus, absence of cases does not equate to absence of risk. Humans can contract anthrax in three ways: Through cuts or breaks in the skin resulting from contact with an infected animal (cutaneous anthrax), resulting in local and possibly systemic (bloodstream) infection. From breathing anthrax spores (termed "woolsorters" disease) resulting in an infection of the lungs (inhalational anthrax). From eating infected meat, resulting in gastrointestinal infection (gastrointestinal anthrax). Gastrointestinal anthrax is generally not considered a threat to U.S. forces. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of anthrax begin after a 1 to 6 day incubation period following exposure. For contact or cutaneous anthrax, itching will occur at the site of exposure followed by the formation of a lesion. Untreated contact anthrax has a fatality rate of 5-20 percent, but with effective antibiotic treatment, few deaths occur. Initial symptoms for inhalational anthrax are generally non-specific: low grade fever, a dry hacking cough, and weakness. The person may briefly improve after 2 to 4 days; however within 24 hours after this brief improvement, respiratory distress occurs with shock and death following shortly thereafter.

Theology of the Hammer :: Essays Papers

Theology of the Hammer In order for us as a society to move forward, I believe that we must adapt the same central ideas that Habitat for Humanity implements. The mission for Habitat for Humanity simply is to eliminate poverty housing by partnering with families to build and renovate houses. They implement "Matching the Word with Deed" (Fuller 21). I feel that this is important because preaching the good word of God is not the only way to help people, as there are many forms of doing God's work. "We know equally well that talking and praying alone will never dig the foundation, nor will piety by itself put up the walls. Only the powerful combination of the word and deed can get the job done" (Fuller 26). I really hate coining old clichà ©s, but simply put " you can not just talk the talk, but you must also walk the walk." I firmly believe that Fuller's views are very realistic. The term "theology of the hammer" is basically about "†¦doing more than just talk about faith and sing about love. We must put faith and love into action to make them real, to make them come alive for people. Faith must be incarnated; that is to say, it must become more than a verbal proclamation or an intellectual assent. True faith must be acted out." (Fuller 7). I do not see that as being unrealistic. After all, there is no reason that people should be restricted to praying for people that are in need in some church. If people have the choice to sit in some pew and pray for the less fortunate to get shelter, or build them shelter in God's name, why on earth would these people not want to lend a hand. Another point to support my argument is the facts. Habitat for Humanity has built and renovated several thousand homes.

Tupac Essay -- Tupac Shakur 2pac Biography Biographies

Tupac When thinking of the Hip-Hop industry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Tupac Shakur. Shakur was born in the Bronx on June 16, 1971. He was reared by his mother Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers. Tupac's family later relocated to Oakland, California, where he spent much of his time on the street. As a kid, he was always getting himself into trouble, and he was very lonely. He started writing songs to keep himself out of trouble. An article from VIBE magazine "Troubled Times for Tupac Shakur" quotes Tupac. "'I was lonely, I didn't have no big brothers, no big cousins until later. I could remember writing songs.... I remember writing poetry.' " 1 Tupac was talented in the areas of poetry, songwriting and acting from the beginning. He started acting at a young age, and he joined the rap group Digital Underground, performing as a dancer in 1990. In an interview with MTV, John Singelton, the writer-director of Boyz in the Hood and Poetic Just ice, says that Tupac was a natural born actor; he knew how every role should be played.2 Tupac began his public acting career before his music career. After the Digital Underground debut, Tupac signed to Interscope Records and released his first solo album, 1991's 2pacalypse Now. The album quickly went gold thanks to the hit singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's Got a Baby," as well as a high-profile appearance in the hit movie Juice. Tupac's 1993 follow-up album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., reached number four and went platinum, spawning the top 10 hits "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up." Then in 1995, Tupac put out Me Against the World, which debuted at number one, went platinum and established Shakur as one of the most popular and successf... ...world knew Tupac Shakur as a troubled but successful performer. Sex, drugs, and violence encircled his life; however, he overcame and emerged as one of the most successful rappers of all time. Tupac was a man who loved his mother and who held great respect for women, whom he thanked and celebrated in his music. Many adults rejected his music due to the profane language and his gangster lifestyle; however, his fans will always appreciate the awesome quality of his music. His death brought renewed attention to Inner-City violence as well as corruption in the rap music industry and East Coast /West Coast feuds. It also put a dent in the music world and left a void in the hearts of his family and friends. As time goes on, Tupac's music will continue to thrive through radio and album sales, but his legacy will live on through the hearts of everyone whom he touched.