Barilla Spa Case

Barilla SpA Case Table of Contents Executive Summary2 Issues Identification3 Environmental and Root Cause Analysis3 Alternatives or Options4 Recommendation and Implementation5 Monitor and Control6 Conclusion6 Executive Summary Barilla’s high stock out rates along with large average inventory numbers are the main reasons why Maggiali is looking to continue on with Vitali’s dream of implementing the Just In Time Distribution system. However, faced with great external resistance to its introduction, Magialli must look to top management to hop on board and facilitate its acceptance among all partners in the supply chain. Using internal distributors as experiments will allow Barilla to showcase better stock out and inventory results. By doing so, Barilla can gain the acceptance and approval of other distributors. With everyone participating in the JITD, Barilla will be better able to forecast demand and not over react to movements at the consumer level. Issues Identification Giorgio Maggiali, the current director of logistics for Barilla SpA, faces much resistance when he tries to implement a new manufacturing concept called Just-in-Time Distribution (JITD). Initially, this idea was proposed by the prior director, Brando Vitali, but is heavily supported by Maggiali as well. Because of the existing structure in the organization, fluctuations in demand at the end-user/customer level cause the whole system to react adversely. The result is an excess â€Å"safety stock† at all levels of the supply chain, leading to extra costs. This is commonly referred to as the â€Å"bullwhip effect. † Due to the resistance Maggiali faces, he must make a decision on whether or not the JITD is feasible for Barilla SpA and how to implement it with the unsupportive partners in the supply chain. Environmental and Root Cause Analysis The first concept we must understand is how significant pasta is in Italy. â€Å"Per capita pasta consumption in Italy averaged nearly 18 kilos per year, greatly exceeding that of other western European contries. † (pg. 2, Barilla SpA case study) Due to its dominance in the food market, consumers are very aware of price fluctuations and which pastas are â€Å"on sale. † Because of this, forecasting consumer demands is a vital component of the JITD. Without it, the traditional way of order-filling leads to common stock outs and excess inventory throughout the year. Because of the process pasta is made, Barilla cannot simply change its production on a whim. Its production plant must keep the kiln’s humidity and temperature at precise specifications for different types of pasta. As a result, sequential production is optimal to keep downtime and costs low for pasta manufacturing. The JITD was developed to address issues such as stock outs and to make inventory levels more manageable due to better forecasting. It will also allow Barilla to make the production and inventory decisions from a top down perspective rather than bottom to top reactionary chain (bullwhip effect). As shown in the Sales and Stock outs Chart at the Cortese Northease Distribution Centre (Exhibit 13, Barilla SpA Case study), stock outs are a regular occurrence due to the fluctuations in sales throughout the year. The main resistance from Barilla comes from sales and advertising. â€Å"Barilla’s sales strategy relied on the use of trade promotions to push product into the grocery distribution network. (pg. 6, Barilla SpA case study) It is with these sales that enable sales representatives to meet their target goals. If Barilla decides to implement the JITD, the need to push sales for the Distributors would cease to exist. Essentially, Barilla will be replacing sales by deciding how much inventory to stock each distribution centre with. It is quite clear that the sales department fears this system due to job secu rity issues. The external resistance plays a large factor in why Maggiali is unable to introduce the JITD. There are many unconvinced distributors that are unwilling to share their warehouse data. Also, they perceive that Barilla is trying to take power away from them (DC purchasers), and since they do not know too much about the JITD, they have a lack of faith in Barilla’s inventory management. Alternatives or Options Barilla can choose to forgo implementing the JITD and avert any risk in inter-department conflicts. By doing so, they save on any related costs to introduce the system. However, as Barilla expands, so does their manufacturing and distribution. The problem will continue to escalate as more inventory is pushed through the supply chain. Barilla’s other option is to continue pursuing the JITD which can benefit both the manufacturing and distribution process by reducing stock out rates and lowering inventory levels for the DCs. By lowering inventory levels, the DCs will be able to focus on obtaining more retailers so that they can increase the amount of inventory to be stored in the extra warehouse space. Barilla Pro and Con Comparison Table |Pro |Con | |Forgo JITD |Maintain relationships |Previous costs to develop JITD are lost | | |Save initial setup costs |Inventory problem is not fixed | | |Stick with what Barilla knows |Inventory costs continue to rise | |Implement JITD |Better forecasting |Major resistance/lack of cooperation | | |Lower stock outs | | | |Increased inventory space for DCs | | Recommendation and Implementation It is recommended that Maggiali continue pursuing the JITD due to the fact that the inventory management problem will only worsen as the company’s sales increases as well. However, Maggiali must find other ways of implementing the system rather than force distributors to adhere. Firstly, Maggiali must demonstrate that JITD benefits the distributors. Running an experiment of the system at one or more of the distributor’s sites gives other distributors an example to compare to. Once other distributors see what the system can do for them, they may be more willing to participate. A proposed idea would be to run this experiment through an internal distributor. Doing so will prompt less or no resistance and can be monitored closely. Secondly, Maggiali needs to involve top management so that JITD is not just a logistics issue. Having a company wide effort allows all members to participate and as a resuly, less resistance will be observed. Thirdly, since the distributors may think that Maggiali is trying to obtain power over them, Barilla can bring in a third party consultant trusted by both groups to perform an analysis to determine if in fact, the JITD is beneficial for all participants. Monitor and Control In order to determine if the JITD is advantageous over the old system, Barilla will be monitoring stock out rates and average inventory levels hroughout the year. If the results show positive results over previous data, a move should be made to communicate the benefits of the JITD to more distributors. Stock out rates and inventory levels for those distributors should also be collected to increase and confirm the effectiveness of the system. Conclusion By using an internal distributor to as an example, involv ing top level management, and recruiting a third party consultant, Barilla will be able to introduce the JITD system with very little resistance. The top down approach for Barilla’s supply chain will benefit all levels due to increased efficiency in inventory management. As a result, savings will be realized and passed down from manufacturer to consumers. In order to monitor success and build upon it, stock out rates and inventory levels will continue to be observed to determine optimal production and distribution of Barilla’s products. With this system in place, the bull-whip effect that is currently experienced, will be countered by the JITD’s ability to forecast consumer demand.

The panama canal

Since the United States began to feel an upcoming conflict with Spain, we were prepared to go to war. They decided to send the US Oregon from California to Cuba only there was one issue.. The voyage would take over 60 days and 14000 miles to land on Cuba. Not only that but in this process the US Oregon had to stop in South America multiple times to fuel up on coal. At this point the U. S new it was time for a change. They found a way to cut their voyage nearly in half by making a canal that connected the Atlantic to the Pacific.This makes transporting goods, and essential supplies a much quicker process. Incidents leading up to the event†¦ The French were really the masterminds behind this constructions. They started the entire process towards making the canal but in the process, they ran into some issues and went bankrupt. Later on the U. S decided to pick up were the French left off. After getting everything approved in the U. S, Colombia denied us of any right to the property on which the construction was being done. This led up to the Panamanian people rebelling and winning their independence. This now allowed theU. S to finally get a start on completing the canal. What occurred during the construction? The construction finally began in 1904 with over 40,000 workers on the construction site. These workers had to deal with not only Jungle weather but as well as all the dangerous Jungle wildlife there was out there. There was very high temperature, unstable land, and very frequent rain. Sometimes if would rain so often that the river would flood; making construction very difficult. Therefore they built a dam to help with the over flow of water and this defiantly but them back on track with the construction.Despite the numerous accounts for trying to make work conditions safer, over 5,000 workers died due to diseases and accidents on the Job. Results of the Canal†¦ The construction of the canal cost America over $375 million dollars, only now their v oyage was only 40 miles to their destination. They cut the trip by 8,000 miles which is more than half of watt it would have been before. This canal helped the U. S move about much quicker and we had the full support of Latin America. Although in 1914 (official opening) the canal was guarded by the U. S military, it now belongs to the Panamanian but is still used as a trade route for the U. S.

Identifying Trainining Resources

UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA MASTER’S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MGT 745: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT TOPIC: IDENTIFYING TRAINING RESOURCES Introduction This paper purports to outline steps needed to identify resources for training. It will illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of using different types of training drawing examples from the authors’ workplace experience. Resource could be defined as follows, â€Å"a source of supply, support, or aid, esp. one that can be readily drawn upon when needed. â€Å"†¦The total means available to a company for increasing production or profit, including plant, labor, and raw material; assets. † http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/resources Resources can be defined as assets available and anticipated for operations. These include people (learners, facilitators/trainers/consultants), time, infrastructure, equipment, availability of training institutions, and availability of financial resources (money/funds). The ki nd of resources required depend on the type of training that is to be carried out. Hence the identification of training resources is a critical component of training/ learning effectiveness that can be manifested at the individual, team, and organisation level. It is therefore important to identify training resources as this allows training to make a difference that is noticeable; training with a practical value or utility to both employees and the organization. One key factor in employee motivation and retention is the opportunity to continue to grow and develop job and career enhancing skills. Employees need to be equipped to handle employee relations and responsibilities competently. Training in any organization needs resources to be executed or implemented effectively hence the need to draw up a budget that can be utilized. The major resource for training is financial, therefore the need for the department to have cost estimates for most of the training being investigated. For example at the Botswana Police Forensic Science Laboratory, every financial year when budget estimates are drawn for the lab, training is included in the budget. Courses that need immediate attention (as per the need of the lab or gap that exist) are listed together alongside estimated costs and length of the training. Institutions that offer the training, course content, length of training and costs are identified beforehand. This budget is then submitted to the training board of the Botswana Police Service for screening and approval. In the Department of Vocational Education and Training (DVET), short term training budget is decentralized to regional offices and the budget tends to be similar or vary slightly from the previous year whereas long term training budget is coordinated at head quarters. The implication is that short term training budget may not necessarily reconcile with any required training. The organization should also take cognizance of the fact that people learn in different ways, therefore the training has to match employee learning preferences which may help to speed up their training and reduce costs at the same time. Some considerations when identifying resources for training are: †¢ What areas need training to be conducted? i. e. identifying problem areas. †¢ Who needs training and in what area? †¢ How complex is the training that is needed? †¢ How much time do learners have to learn the new knowledge and skills? How much money is available to pay for the training, whether in-house or using a consultant? †¢ How capable are learners to undertake the training? †¢ What are learner's learning preferences and styles? For example, in DVET training for the junior officers (industrial class) is normally done in Setswana. †¢ What institutions are available for tailored or the required training? †¢ Could training be conducted in hous e, on the job, outsourcing or in external institutions? And which method could suite learners? And benefit the organisation in a valuable and practical manner. Types of Training Resources Internal Training The types of training, classified as internal, external or a hybrid of the two have a bearing on the types of resources needed to implement. Internal training can be mentoring, coaching, seminars, workshops or classroom based training e. g. at the department of Government Printing, there is internal classroom based training whereby employees are taught within the department. The training is based on the theory and technical knowledge that the staff needs in order to improve their performance and prepare them for further training. This type of training requires a trainer, classroom, equipment such as projectors, television and video technologies. After completion of this internal training, qualifying employees are then sent for further training abroad for a higher learning programme. In the case of Printing, where there are no local institutions that offer training within the country, the department relies on colleges/universities based in the United Kingdom. The Department of Land Board Services in the Ministry of Lands and Housing mostly provide classroom based training, for example, on introduction to computers. This training is conducted mainly for the industrial class workforce to equip them with basic skills for working and operating computers. The resources used for this type of training include computers, Information Technology officers who conduct the training and the members of staff. At DVET regional offices most short term training programs are externally sourced where it is assumed that specialized courses for specific needs and in addition staff are given liberty to select training courses and institutions but subject to approval by supervisors and funds permitting. Other general training courses such as customer services improvement courses are selected by human resources officers as part of staff development. However, public sector reforms are cascaded internally form senior management to junior officers in consultation/ facilitation with performance improvement coordinators and funds have to be availed as a matter of priority, at times combining facilitators, equipment and funds across departments within the same ministry. It is essential to note that internal training is not as costly as external training which is one of its major advantages, as it is cost effective. Many businesses choose to train employees in-house (type of internal training) can offer a number of advantages over external training providers. Internal training can be: †¢ tailored to specific business' needs †¢ scheduled for a time that suits business †¢ time effective – employees do not spend additional time or money traveling However, there are a number of disadvantages to note including some of the following: †¢ The possible tendency for employees not to take the training seriously especially if it is conducted by a core employee with low reputation within the organisation or has less to offer to other employees. Difficulties faced by the organisation to identify a suitable trainer or the necessary resources in-house / internally. †¢ The potential risk of passing or perpetuating existing inefficiencies or poor business practices For internal training to be effective, HR managers need to ensure they have the appropriate expertise and resources in -house. They will have to dedicate the necessary resources to training programmes. These resources could include management time, an experienced trainer, training or course materials, equipment such as PCs, telephones or machinery and space in which to carry out the training. To help expose and enhance the skills of internal trainer with less information to offer to learners, consideration should be given to send them on a train-the-trainer course to ensure their training methods and materials are up to date and effective. Alternatively, if there are no necessary skills in-house, HR managers could purchase off-the-shelf or tailor-made courses or choose whether to use an internal or external trainer to run the course. This should be supplemented by appropriate e-learning courses and investing in internal training support databses. There are tailor-made courses covering a wide range of topics, one should choose a course that meets organizational and employees needs. They can be targeted, confidential and cost a fraction of the price of sending each employee on an external scheme. ON- The- Job Training (OJT) Under internal training there is also On-the-job training (OJT): Having a person learns a job by actually doing the job. OJT methods Coaching/ understudy For example at the BPS Forensic lab, when new employees start work (newly employed), they first undergo intensive in-house training before they can be released to work independently. At first they circulate in all the sections of the lab to get an overview of what each section does, then after which they are sent to the relevant sections they were employed to join. This is where they are taken through intensive coaching on the tests that are carried out at that particular section. Trainees are taught the theory behind the tests done, shown how to do the actual tests, then do the tests themselves under the supervision of the facilitator (usually an experienced member of the section). At the end a supervisor assesses them both theoretically and practically. When they satisfy the required standard of performance, they are then allowed to work independently. At DVET coaching of new staff does not follow any uniform structure. The new staff members will be coached on the requirements of the job and will then conditions will require older staff in the field to assign tasks coach and supervise the new staff work. At DVET our coaching has advantage of making new staff get to know how to do work quickly, but has disadvantage of not being documented hence may not necessarily consistently follow any set guidelines. Job rotation Job rotation consists of moving a trainee from department to department to broaden his or her experience and identify strong and weak points, the method is inexpensive and provides an organisation with immediate feed back. In the Department of Culture and Youth, Performing arts Unit job rotation is widely used mainly because of lack of staff. An Arts Festival organizer and manager could be assigned perform information and systems analysis activities/ funds allocation / research and documentation activities. This has worked for the department through the years as the organisation is sure of continuity of its programmes despite the loss of any officer in certain specialty areas. One officer who was originally a Performing Arts research and documentation officer ended up being a systems analysis officer. The officer realized that he did not really enjoy his line of specialty hence could easily shift from one specialty to the next for the benefit of the organisation. Seminars and Workshops At the BPS Forensic Lab, some seminars/workshops are conducted for all the employees on certain subjects, e. g. Occupation Health and Safety workshops. Employees gather at a venue and a consultant/facilitator is sourced to deliver on the subject. However, for other workshops one or two employees are chosen to attend on behalf of the lab (especially for those that involve a wide range of participants from different labs/departments and charge expensive attendance fees). After the seminar/workshops the rep(s) share what they have learnt with other employees of the Forensic lab through presentations. They also produce a report which is sent to the Police HR department and a copy left with the Director, Forensic Science Services. At DVET seminar and workshops are the major methods used to enhance skills of staff for short term training. External Training External training has to do more with taking employees to an institution or a place outside the parameters of the working environment. Unlike internal training, this requires more and extensive preparation. It is also capital intensive as more money is needed to pay for accommodation, food, learning materials and other costs associated with training. The HR unit has to first identify appropriate institutions where they can send their employees and his takes time as one has to research on the place before making any decisions. After completing the research a database of these learning places is created so as to have readily available information on where to get what kind of training and at what cost. In identifying these training institutions, the HR unit can send out tenders/quotations to companies. In other cases, institutions themselves send out brochures o r call the organizations and advertise themselves. For example, BNPC and BOBS email their training programmes for the year to our department on matters relating to productivity and quality management. They also advertise on the newspapers. At DVET regional offices every year a compiled list of staff needs are sent to HR officers at head office who in turn prioritize and select officers from training. However, due concerns on transparency of the wholly exercise a training committee is about to start working on staff training, though its guidelines are yet to be finalized. Attachment An example of external training which may not be as costly is sending employees for attachments to other organizations that offer similar services or have advanced technology that you need to learn about. As some people learn better in a practical environment, so sending them for an attachment to an organization that offers the same or similar services will be vital. This kind of training is very cost effective because sometimes if it is done locally, not much money is spent. Example: The department of GPPS wanted to buy new equipment, an image-setter which we found was available at a local private printing house. One officer from the unit that uses the equipment was sent to that company for three months to learn how to operate the equipment. There was no money required as the company offered to help. The training was effective as the employees now assists in operating the equipment and was also able to teach colleagues in the same unit. Example of External training at the BPS Forensic Lab It comes in the following forms a) Attachment of Scientists to labs outside Botswana who have advanced technologies and expertise that ours. The scientists are sent there to learn how to do certain tests or how to operate certain machinery. When they come back, they teach other members of the section, make presentations to the whole lab, and produce a report. b) Short courses (e. g. o obtain certificates on certain operations), Masters’s Degrees in Forensic Science as well as PHD’s in Forensic Science. These courses are offered outside Botswana (no local institution offers courses on Forensics at present), and in many instances people are sent to the UK or the USA. The skills that they acquire in their training are also shared by teaching others what they learnt and also come up wi th better ways of doing things. They also submit reports and make presentations. Apprenticeship training It is a structured process by which people become skilled workers through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training. At the University of Botswana this is done mainly by the engineering department. Students spend time in the classroom learning there after take a semester or 2 working on attachment with DeBeers or any engineering company. This method is advantageous because it links work experience with the learning experience hence preparing a learner to be ready for the workplace. Furthermore, to cut cost in external resource training  an HR Manager should plan ahead to cut costs. That way the manager could be able to send or book a course for a larger group of people to get discounts. Or could send one person on a training course and ask them to teach others in the business. Or take up free offers and cheap training from providers of new machinery and systems. How to identify External Resources Important Steps for identifying external resources drawn from the authors’ various workplaces, 1) List all institutes that offer training and information about them that is location, contacts, type of workshops, Etc. There are many institutes offering training courses, workshops and programs. With the advent of the Internet, many sites also offer free or chargeable online training. ) List key training areas offered by each institute 3) Relate each training area to employees’ needs, competencies and capabilities identified earlier. 4) List web sites that offer free or chargeable online training and maintain up to date information. 5) Correspond with institutes to keep the Department up to date. The advantages of using training providers are: †¢ they are sp ecialists †¢ they can bring you up to date on current best practice and new ideas †¢ employees may interact with counterparts in other companies †¢ employees may learn better away from their usual work environment The disadvantages: it is difficult to know the ability and subject knowledge of the trainer †¢ putting an entire team through training at the same time can disrupt your business †¢ they are more costly than delivering internally †¢ the training may not be specific to your particular business †¢ Not up to date lists of institutions will lead to loss of time when training is required. †¢ Limited knowledge in what is available in terms of training may lead to misconceptions about what the staff may require in terms of their training. E-learning and distance learning courses: There are different types of distance learning methods including correspondence courses and e-learning courses. Some courses may be completed online while others might incorporate study books, CD-ROMs or audio and video tapes backed up by student tutorials and seminars. Distance education and E – learning are therefore advantageous because they †¢ allow employees to complete training while remaining in employment †¢ can be completed at a time to suit the business and employees †¢ are cheaper than externally provided courses are available for a wide range of business topics †¢ Offer recognized qualifications from entry level diplomas and certificates to post-graduate degrees. Training via the Internet: Using the internet or proprietary internal intranets to facilitate computer-based training. University of Botswana has recently established an E-Learning e. g. WEBCT, programme whereby students and staff could learn th rough internet/ intranet. This type of computer based learning carry the Advantages of reduced learning time, cost-effectiveness and consistency in instruction material, methods and presentation. The University also has distance programmes offering Degree in business studies and Diploma in Primary Teaching Education. Radio/ Teletraining: A trainer in a central location teaches groups of employees at remote/ or different locations via TV hookups. This is mainly used by Ministry of Education especially through radio. As a teacher one experience radio lessons whereby both students are taught through radio and instructions are given to the teacher as to how or what to provide to the students. Videoconferencing: Interactively training employees who are geographically separated from each other—or from the trainer—via a combination of audio and visual equipment. One recalls a situation whereby, students who studied Music at University of Natal – Petermarisburg campus from 1999 – 2000 experienced video conferencing. At the time the University, currently known as Univesrsity of Kwazulu Natal, offered Music Degree at the Durban Campus, which then disadvantaged students in petermarisburg. Therefore the University devised the video conferencing to train Petermarisburg students in music courses from Durban campus. While lesson were on process in Durban Petermarisburg students also experienced an interactive and learning process of the same class through video conferencing. Conclusion While internal training is important and can be invaluable in some areas of development, the external training process can add interest, give a greater breadth of experience and working practices, and equally important is the freedom to be able to choose a course and a style of learning that is suitable for each individual, rather than the department or team as a whole. Each individual member of the workforce will have different needs, both in terms of the type of training they require, the level of training and of course the time needed to train. Pitman Training for example, offers flexible learning, which means companies can guarantee each of their employees is meeting their individual achievements and targets, while fitting in their study at a time which suits them. Training can be done at their convenience, without having to sacrifice time at work and also without upsetting that all important work-life balance. Possibly the biggest benefit of drawing on the expertise of an external trainer such as Pitman Training, is the attraction of gaining a nationally recognized certification – providing your staff with confidence that they're receiving quality training, and your company the knowledge that it has quality trained staff All types of training resources seem to carry advantages and disadvantages; this study recommends that an organisation should choose training resources according to its learner’s needs and capabilities. Organizations could outsource trainers who would make the learning meaningful; skills transfer easy and motivate the learner. Outsourcing has the advantage of quickly addressing specific needs, and easier to coordinate but has the disadvantage of being relatively expensive. Organizations could also broaden employee’s skills through on job training and in house seminars, workshops as well as forums and short courses to save on time and cost since time is an essential tool for effective production and success of the organisation. It is advised that organizations should purchase training resources such as laptops, projectors, mobile screen, flip charts, markers, and conference room etc for in house training to be efficient and effective and cost effective. Therefore this paper concludes that there is no best method of training resources but it mostly relies on the needs and capabilities of an organisation. Hence an organisation should choose what is best for it and also consider balancing all the methods provided in this paper. REFERENCES http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/resources Training Development: Fertile Ground for BPO. IDC, May 2003 [pic] ———————– [pic]

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

Semiotics - Essay Example Ultimately, it is now the child’s time to break free from the rein’s of this paternal instinct (Castro’s oppressive regime) and assume its position in the world. Photographs change with and in time in a number of ways. In these regards, one must consider that a photograph exists through its interpretation by outside observers. In these regards, a photograph is a part of an ever-evolving cultural apparatus. In terms of historical photography, particularly, one considers that a photograph changes in time as the historical situations change. One considers the nature of Fidel Castro pictures during the revolution, as during this time they depicted an individual that represented hope and equality for many Cubans. Today these photographs represent an oppressive dictatorship in its early stages of development. In addition, a static photograph can change in the blink of an eye. In these regards, one can discover unique information about this photograph, for instance it could be a picture of a serial killer at a young age that drastically changes one’s understanding of the image. One considers an example of the picture of the raising of the fl ag at Iwo Jima. This photograph represented American victory at one point, yet through the years it has changed to now represent a bygone era in American history. A photograph can also be a metaphor for an entire life. While such a pronouncement may be deductive for some people, as examined on an individual basis a human’s life carries with it a complex amount of changes. Still, many humans who have lived public lives have come to be remembered for significant events or specific characteristics that come to define them as people. One considers the American sport of football as a primary example where individuals come to gain heroic status for their actions. A picture of Joe Montana throwing a touchdown pass then could

Advantages for Young people live with out Parents Essay

Advantages for Young people live with out Parents - Essay Example Not having parents to live with would expose them to direct emotional and psychological pressures. The advantage here is that, the youth is getting an opportunity to face those early challenges and get seasoned to the turbulence of life. These experiences would make them sensitized to the importance of facing those challenges and seeking for opportunities to achieve. In other words, living without a support mechanism would make youth independent and self sustainable. One very important problem that the parent children relationship faces is generation gap. Generation gap is nothing but differences in ideologies and thought process. This would cause further distortion in the relationship between the parent and young children. Youth living without parents would not be influenced by and confined to the ideology of their parents. This would mean that they will develop an early individuality. At peer level, they will have an advantage of being relatively mature and able to handle complex things. This is very much important to be successful in

The engineering industry in The Philippines and Cambodia Assignment

The engineering industry in The Philippines and Cambodia - Assignment Example This increase necessitated the increase of engineers to handle the large importation and technological development. Survey indicates that compared to other industries in the country, the Engineering and architectural industry occupies over 25% of the market share making it the leading industry in terms of growth and development (Philippines Statistics Authority, 2012). The demand for engineers in this country is very high due to the reasons mentioned above about their trends. The universities however are now able to almost meet the demand with them producing over 40,000 engineers every year which has ensure that the demand is met almost to the full capacity required which is a positive thing. The company is continuing to expand its manufacturing and hence continues demanding a lot of engineers. Engineers in Philippines are required most in the categories of mechanical engineering as well as electric and electronic engineering. The rest of the engineering specializations such as the metallurgical engineering, the material as well as the industrial engineering are also required though not in large numbers as such. Cambodia has for a long time been affected by poverty and civil war negatively affecting the development of the industries. The current situation of the country is that various development projects have started to be funded by institutions such as World Bank and hence demanding an influx of engineers. The engineering industry has therefore started being on the rise with the increase in demand of even students in their last year of engineering education. According to The Editor of The New Economy, (2012), the civil engineering has been among the most engineering departments with the highest demand and whose work is being seen at the moment. The civil engineers are rising to be involved in planning and development of dams, referral hospitals, and roads among other types of constructions. On the increase are the electric

Blog Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blog - Article Example This is symbolically a romantic experience and as seen it builds up the imaginations which follow. In most of the modern Hollywood films, the same is the case. Women are elements of romance and they motivate all what men do. This is clearer from the latest Vampire Diary series where everything happens motivated by romance around Elena Gilbert. There exists some difference between the old films and the new. You will realize that, the old films presumed the natural gender roles and women were only viewed as subservient persons there for a man’s pleasure and taking care of the family. In â€Å"Octavian Saint Laurent from Paris is Burning Documentary†, she believes in the provocative ideologies as a means to reach men’s hearts. This is not the case in the modern movies where the women are depicted to be very dynamic characters who believe that whatever a man can do, a woman can threefold or more and do it in a match better way. Look at a modern movie of â€Å"Mr. and Mrs. Smith†. Both are detectives and they do their jobs equally well. The woman presented here is of independent character. Earlier in times, women were very uncommon in arts and films. They were literary ignored and this something which they did not like. However, despite the fact that there were women who were artist in old days, their efforts were also trivialized and this why history has a few number of great women artists. This concern prompted Linda Nochlin to write an essay that brought a revolution in the art and film industry as far as women are concerned. She asked the big question as to why there are no female artists in history and then people began to think (Druckman 26). One of the impacts of her work is that it led to artistic liberation of all women who were interested into joining the arts and film industries. A feminist arts movement was established to champion for the rights of women in

The inquiry into the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Assignment

The inquiry into the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust - Assignment Example Goals: According to the annual report of 2008, the basic goals of the trust were as follow. They wanted to develop and maintain the position as the first preference of a broad range of acute services. They wanted to achieve this by increasing the diagnostic direct access. In this way, the patients can make direct bookings for the diagnostic tests such as scans. Moreover, they wanted to decrease the waiting time of the patient in the hospital and to improve their experiences. By expanding the range and nature of services, they declare their ultimate goal was to increase their market share. They were trying to achieve this particular goal by developing the interventional cardiology services and implementing the marketing strategy. Further, they wanted to develop specific services into the Centres of Clinical Excellence. They were trying to expand the services of the hospital by developing the Dermatology Centre of Excellence, Orthopaedic and Rheumatology clinical expertise and scope of practice. They wanted to develop a seamless service provision across acute and community service. To bring the services closer to the patient’s home, the trust wanted to develop outreach consultant clinics. Other than this, they wanted to provide services like chemotherapy, in the homes of the patients. It was also part of their goals to develop services on the Cannock Chase Hospital site so that they can better meet the needs of the community. This was done by maximising the use of Cannock Chase Hospital, by relocating the trust services into two floors. With the help of partner organisations, they wanted to develop new health related services in vacant accommodation. Their last goal was to be the cleanest place in the town. This can be done by further investing in the recruitment of cleaning staff. This goal can also be achieved by providing high quality services with modern facilities. Likewise, they would be able to have strict hygiene standards (Mid Staffordshire NHS Fo undation Trust Annual Report, 2008). In the coming years, these goals were not given the due importance by the management and thus, were ignored by them. Since the management did not stick to its goal, the trust collapsed when it was reported that around 1200 patients died due to the negligence of the staff between the years of 2005 and 2009 (Ellicott, 2010). As a result, on 9th June 2010, the secretary of State announced a full public inquiry in the form of commissioning, regulatory bodies, and supervisory (The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, 2010). Literature review on healthcare system Heath care has emerged as a complex and dynamic organization. As the environment is ever changing and competition is becoming intense, the healthcare has also become technology oriented. This is done because in a small span of time they are expected to please their patients, keep good relationship with the staff, accommodate the shareholders, and meet the requirements of othe r stakeholders such as government, financial institutions, consumer forums, professional bodies and others. To maintain all the desires, management of the healthcare has to stay in touch with latest developments and the recent trends in patient care. Other than this, the management should improve their skills for better use of the existing resources and powerful technology. The management has to assess

The underrepresentation of women in science and engineering is the Essay

The underrepresentation of women in science and engineering is the result of innate differences in aptitude and interests. Agree or disagree, with reference to relevant evidence - Essay Example This researcher claims that such is a farce and is untrue. Far from the decadence of the past, women in this millennium has given much participation in labor, construction, decision-making, legislations, research, science, aviation, military service and in endeavors that require calculable minds. The oppressive condition within the society and even within the confines of homes dialectically encouraged them to reclaim those rights to attain education, to become part of the national workforces, and to become significant partners for societal development. To have a global glimpse of women’s space, Index Mundi reported that the world has global population of nearly 7 billion people, of which, about 88.3% males and 79.2% females from aged 15 above have attain a certain level of literacy (Barrientos & Soria, 2012). It’s also reported that there are about 793 million illiterate populace are in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan (Barrientos & Soria, 2012). Data further unveiled that most those who are unable to attain degree of education are women comprising about 2/3 of such populace who are concentrating within the regions of Arab states, South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. While this is a challenging fact confronting the world’s educational system, there is however some significant changes in the ratio of women enjoying degrees on science, math and engineering. The Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy [CSEPP] (2007) for instance, cited that in Vancouver from 1974 to 2004, women comprise one-third of doctorate in 50 leading chemistry departments; 27% form mathematics and statistics, and one-fourth in physics and astronomy (p.14). There were also one-fourth of women who garnered doctorate degrees in chemical engineering and 15% in general engineering course (CSEPP 2007, p. 14). The same institution observed the while there were many women who

China after World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

China after World War II - Essay Example World War II erased the distinction between civil and military resources and saw the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial and scientific capabilities for the purposes of war effort; nearly two-thirds of those killed in the war were civilians. This period was the brunt period for the Chinese people. They agonized misery, separations, and dislocations. There had been fret about food, clothes and about myriad things. No matter the story begins but it has an elated ending. But until it comes, the Chinese had the potential to smile in the face of hardships and to carry on--a spirit that had fostered them through the affliction of the seven years of this war as it sustained them through the catastrophe of the past. The Chinese rose after each calamity, not only unbeaten but also stronger through the discipline of hardships, which, down the centuries, they. China was under the influence of civil war. Across the plains of Manchuria troops of Chiang Kai-shek's central govern ment were combating for supremacy against the military forces of the Chinese Stalinists. With the generous help of American imperialism, Chiang Kai-shek was succeeded in capturing the strategic town of Szepingkai. Next, the Stalinists were expelled from Changchun, the Manchurian capital. Chiang's forces were being deployed for the stabbing of Harbin, the last important Manchurian urban center in Stalinist hands. The Stalinists had endowed all these cities when they swept into Manchuria from North China in the wake of withdrawing Soviet troops. Despite the detriment of the predominant cities, Stalinists had corporeal dominant of Manchuria and retained at least three-quarters of this vast area with its 30 million population. Chiang's control scarcely extended beyond the railroad zones. This was the picture in Manchuria, north of the Great Wall. Meanwhile, fighting between Chiang's troops and Stalinist forces was also under way in the extra-mural province of Jehol, which the Stalinists took over by disarming Japanese forces at the time of Japan's surrender. There were half-a-dozen fighting fronts around; the great northern metropolis of Peeping and Tientsin. There had been battles in the neighboring seaboard province of Shantung. Sporadic skirmishing had been taking place in the central China domains of Kiangsu, Chekiang, Anhwei and Hupeh. This is an old struggle, which has been going on with different degrees of intensity for 18 years. The Stalinists had corroborated a double power in the inner region of China and had mobilized a great number of the peasantry to their flag. This amplification and broadening of the conflicts resulted into the imperialist war. In the early stages of the Sino-Japanese war the big coastal cities were lost to Japan after bombs and artillery fire had granulated their industries. This was a meticulous clout to the working class. At the end of 1937, after Shanghai had been withdrawn by Chinese troops, the number of factory workers in that city dropped by 90 per cent - from 300,000 to 30,000. The extent of economic restitution emerged under the Japanese occupation results into the drastic increase in the number of industrial workers and the number of industrial workers had risen to about 250,000. But from then on, as the China coast pointed to American encirclement, industry was short off the raw materials and foreign markets, power output was decreased, and the internal market dwindle hastily. The manpower of the industrial labor was again declined greatly. Shanghai was China's

Wireless Protocol Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wireless Protocol Standards - Essay Example WAP also brought in improved security factors propagated by mobility. If we look into the areas where WAP based services is used today it can be said that it is used in banking services, stock exchange, hotel reservations, bus schedules, Internet access and e-mail, will be accessible by general mobile phones. WAP helps easy and quick delivery of relevant information and services to mobile users with wireless terminals. However, the main disadvantage is that it comes with limited displays and data transfer capabilities. In fact WAP is an arrangement that is made for a set of communication protocols to standardize the way in which cellular devices use Internet access, together with World Wide Web, news groups, e-mail and IRC (Paukkunen, 1999). Over the years several such standards have evolved and this paper intends to discuss some of them in detail. 802.11 standards: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in the year 1997 created the first WLAN standard and it was named 802.11 after the name of the group formed to oversee its development. However, soon the disadvantage of using 802.11 came into picture and it was found that 802.11 only supported a maximum network bandwidth of 2 Mbps. As a result of this the information transfer was too slow for most applications. Today, ordinary 802.11 wireless products are no longer manufactured due to the lack of demand (Mitchell, 2008). 802.11b: As the technology advanced IEEE expanded on the original 802.11 standard in July 1999 and created the 802.11b specification. It was found that 802.11b supports bandwidth up to 11 Mbps when comparable to traditional Ethernet. Similar to 802.11, 802.11b uses the unregulated radio signalling frequency (2.4 GHz). As a result of lower frequencies, this is common among vendors particularly to lower their production costs. The use of 802.11b has some disadvantages. For instance, being unregulated, 802.11b device can incur hindrance from other devices such as

The Controversy Over Censorship In Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Controversy Over Censorship In Huckleberry Finn Essay Throughout the years, conflict with race has set the tone for the flowering and evolution of Americas history. In present day America, racial slurs are uncommon. They are used as a sign of discrimination in a way that is unfamiliar to the ear. Published in 1884, Mark Twain wrote one of the most powerful stories of all time, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which exhibits the intimate dynamic of racism in the time of great agony, injustice, and inequity for African Americans. The word ‘nigger’ appears 219 times throughout the story. (Hudson, 2011) This has provoked a great amount of conflict, and has escalated to the extent in which many schools are forbidding the book; erasing it from grade-school curricula due to the illiberality in context. Years have passed, and racism is now not accepted in many societies, as it was in the 19th century. We forget that Twain used his language to instrument the behavior of society. Language serves as a link to historical culture. Removing the word would remove the significance of why it was ever placed there. (Bouie 2011) For years now, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been ceasing rapidly from school curricula because of the use of the word ‘nigger’. Instead of banning the book, the idea of changing the word from â€Å"nigger† to â€Å"slave† has been issued. Alan Gribben, an english professor at Auburn University, proposed this idea to the publisher in hopes that more schools could persist in using Mark Twain’s writing as an educational source and in trust that this addition would manage the growth of the roots of the book once again. Gribben once wrote, â€Å"even at the level of college and graduate school, students are capable of resenting textual encounters with this racial appellative.† (Gribben, 2011) Substituting the word does nothing essential to the aspect of understanding our failures. Avoiding the fruitless actions of the past does not gain justice, awareness, and will not yield an era in which discrimination occurred. (Chabon, 2011) Although the language in Huckleberry Finn is discriminatory towards African Americans, the actions of banning and substitution should not be made. America was not always the same way it is today, and that is something we, as Americans, have to respect and understand. There is no better way to connect to the story than without the tone and word choice while reading the unrevised edition of Huck Finn. This was a culture that was ugly and cruel. Pretending it never happened, by substituting the word ‘nigger’ for ‘slave’, cannot provide the full amount of wisdom and accurate knowledge of this generation. Earl Ofari Huchinson from The Grio states, â€Å"Critics are calling it censorship, a slap at freedom of speech, and a gross distortion of Twain’s intent Twain’s goal was to show the ugliness an evilness of slavery and to do that he had to use the rawest racist language of his day.† (Huchinson, 2011) Twain was aware of the discerning words a nd selected them finely to portray this era of life. The era of this story was based on a time that racial slurs were more acceptable and habitual. Slavery was a large part of society. Time was different. Language was raw. Twain used his words to show the immortality of society linked to slavery and to do this, he used the most vulgar language of this time. (Huchinson, 2011) He chose words that were essential to the intimacy of the story, and should not have been blamed for such language that was used more than a century ago. Jennifer Crane explains for The Corner Observer, that Huckleberry Finn shows an accurate understanding of how far our society has come since the 1800’s. â€Å"Besides getting a history lesson, Huck teaches us life lessons. It shows how an innocent boy can break free from societys wrongful thinking and finally think for himself. This act of individualism by Huck affects how people viewed race,† (Crane, 2011) she comments. Yet the decision to keep the book from the original is still up in the air. (Crane, 2011) People may argue that the substitution is the best method to keep these books in grade school curriculum. (Kakutani, 2011) Starting on page six, the ‘n’ word begins to escalate and continue to be seen till the last chapter. This word is one that most people do not find comfortable saying, let alone reading. Changing the authors original work, even in the slightest, alters the intentions that were engaged. A new, restored edition of Huckleberry Finn will be released in mid-february by SouthNew books. Words will be eliminated that appear displeasing. Their main task is to develop a new impression of Huckleberry Finn that may gather a new group of individuals. At a disparaging standpoint, altering a book’s motives, by removing or substituting a word, would completely diminish the motif Twain possessed. Alexandra Petri from The Atlantic wrote, â€Å"This is like changing War and Peace to Peace, because war is unpleasant to remember.† (Petri, 2011) Their mission, in my eyes, confuses me, because I do not comprehend the idea and reasoning around altering a story’s cultural presence to gather a larger crowd, when they do not get to experience the absolute, powerful experience that they otherwise would. Exchanging ‘nigger’ for ‘slave’ is unreasonable and holds a weight of culture and historical importance. Removing this curriculum in schools deprives children of famous, classic literature that has such great history and mark on society. (La Rosa, 2011) (restate thesis, intro) References: Bouie, J. (2011). Taking the History out of ‘Huck Finn.’ The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/01/taking-the-history-out-of-huck-finn/68870/ Chabon, M. (2011). The Unspeakable, in Its Jammies. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/01/the-unspeakable-in-its-jammies/69369/ Crane, J. (2011 February 8). There shouldn’t be a controversy over Huck. The Corning Observer. Retrieved from http://www.corning-observer.com/articles/book-9139-huck-schools.html Huchinson, E. (2011 January 5). Why the N-word should stay in ‘Huck Finn’. The Grio. Retrieved from http://thegrio.com/2011/01/05/why-the-n-word-should-stay-in-huck-finn/ Kakutani, M. (2011, January 6). Light Out, Huck, They Still Want to Sivilize You. The New York Times. Retrieved from

Self Leadership Another Way To Achieve Performance Education Essay

Self Leadership Another Way To Achieve Performance Education Essay Abstract In the quest for employee performance organizations seek novel leadership strategies. Self leadership behavioral-focused, natural-reward and constructive-thought strategies provide a sound solution (Houghton, 2006). Research across diverse settings has shown that the practices of effective self-leadership strategies can lead to many benefits including enhanced motivation, positive self-efficacy perception, and improved employee performance (Bandura, 1991). Rooted in social learning theory cognitive evaluation theory, self-leadership is more comprehensive theory of self influence than self-control and self-management theories. A conceptual self leadership frame work for employee performance is also suggested in this paper for organizational application. Keywords: Self-Leadership, Self-leadership Strategies, Self efficacy/Personal mastery, Motivation, Employee performance. Introduction The most influential part in our life that has the ability to support growth than anyone else is our own self. This paper is not about the leadership of others, rather something more fundamental and more powerful i.e. self-leadership. Simply stated leadership is an art of mobilizing others for shared aspirations (Bass, 1995). Leadership is the behavior of an individual when he is directing the activities of a group towards a shared goal (Coons, 1957). Leadership requires using power to influence the thoughts and actions of other people (Zalenik, 1992). Leadership is about articulating visions, embodying values, and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished (Engle, 1986). Leadership is a social process in which one individual influences the behavior of others without the use of threat and violence (Buchannan, 1997). The simplest definition of leadership perhaps is a process of influence between a leader and follower (Hollander, 1978). There are many definitions or descriptions of leadership based on equally vast and differing viewpoints. So in the light of above, Self-Leadership can be described as a process of self influence to navigate own-self for achieving desired outcome (Manz, 1992). In fact, as the opening lines suggest, our greatest latent source of leadership and influence comes not from an external  leader, but from within ourselves. Self Leadership Self-leadership theory is based on self-influence, self-management and self control theories that has recently gained significant popularity and inspiring potential for application in modern organizations. Simply stated, self-leadership is a process through which people influence themselves to achieve the self-direction and self-motivation required to behave and perform in desirable ways (Manz Neck, 1999). Self-leadership is rooted in Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986). Social learning theory explains that how people can influence their own cognition, motivation, and behavior (Yun, 2006). On the other side, social cognitive theory explains that there is a continuous interaction between people and their environment (Davidson, 2000) and behavioral outcomes are means of information and motivation (Bandura, 1986). Therefore, how self-leaders think and behave according to cognitive, motivational, and behavioral strategies (Yun, 2006) is explained by Self-Leadership theory. This is a process of self-influence which is facilitated through the use of both behavioral and cognitive strategies. Self-leadership has three distinctive strategies: behavior-focused strategies, natural reward strategies, and constructive thought pattern strategies (Houghton, 2006). Behavior-focused strategies comprises on self goal setting, self observation, self-reward, self punishment and self cueing. These strategies are intended to strengthen positive, desirable behaviors (e.g. Job performance, Team Performance). Behavior-focused strategies are particularly useful in managing behavior related for achieving performance including its unpleasant aspects. Natural-reward strategies focus on tasks that are intrinsically motivating. These strategies can also include the focusing of attention on more satisfying or rewarding aspects of a given job or task rather than on the unpleasant or difficult aspects. Constructive-thought pattern strategies focus on how thinking functional patterns are created and maintained. These strategies include identification and replacement of false self assumptions and irrational beliefs, creating of mental imagery for future successful performance, and positive self talks. Combining all these strategies yields an impressive package of self-influence kit that has a huge potential for organizational application in todays rapidly changing business environment. Self-leadership is a more comprehensive theory of self-influence than both self-control and self-management (Manz, 1986). Self-leadership combines the behavioral strategies suggested by self-management and self-control with cognitive strategies based on the concepts of intrinsic motivation and constructive thinking patterns. Self-leadership is more of a broader concept than both the theories of self-control and self-management. Self-management highlight extrinsic rewards (e.g. monetary rewards, praise, recognition, and self-reinforcement based on external stimuli). But self-leadership goes beyond this viewpoint and focuses on natural rewards. Natural rewards imply that performance of the task or activity is a reward in itself (Manz Neck, 1999). In summary, conceptualization of natural rewards in self-leadership theory is mainly based on the intrinsic motivation literature. Motivation, according to one definition, is an attribute that moves us to do or not to do something (Garrison, Broussard and Gredler, 2004).Motivation refers to the motives underlying behavior (Guay et al., 2010). Motivation can also be defined as voluntary uses of high-level self-regulated learning strategies, such as paying attention, connection, planning and monitoring (Turner, 1995). However Hornby (2000) states that motivation is an incentive to act or move. Research tells that there are two types of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is the result of externally administered motivators including pay, compensation and benefits, material possessions, monetary gains and positive evaluation by others. Intrinsic motivation is that type of motivation that is activated by personal enjoyment, interest, or pleasure (Deci et al, 1999). Intrinsic motivation is derived from within a person and positively effects behavior and performance (Ryan Deci, 2000). Performance refers to the effectiveness of individual behaviors that contributes to organizational objectives (McCloy, Campbell Cudeck, 1994). However Motowidlo (1997) argues that performance is all about behaviors with an evaluative aspect. Self-leadership theory encompasses both intrinsic motivation literature and cognitive evaluation theory (Deci Ryan, 1985).Cognitive evaluation theory advocates that intrinsic motivation is driven by the need for competence (i.e. to exercise and extend ones capabilities) and the need for self-determination (i.e. the need to feel free from pressures such as contingent rewards). Cognitive evaluation theory argued that individuals will try to seek feelings of competence and self-determination by overcoming challenges (deCharms, 1968). Support for the efficacy of intrinsic motivation has been demonstrated in numerous empirical studies (e.g., Deci, Connell, Ryan, 1989; Harackiewicz, 1979; Zhou, 1998). Feelings of competence and self-control (i.e.self-determination) are central part of natural rewards provided by self-leadership theory (Manz Neck, 1999). Through self leadership strategies, activities and tasks can be chosen, structured, or perceived in ways that lead to increased feelings of competence self-determination that in turns enhance task performance. Self leadership theory is very much complementary with self-determination theory (Deci, 1972). Although natural reward strategies are generally effective, self-reward strategies utilizing external rewards may also be helpful (in those situations where natural or intrinsic rewards are not needed) to increase (individual or team) performance (Manz Neck, 1999). At the heart of social cognitive theory lies the concept of Self-efficacy or personal mastery (Bandura, 1986). Self-efficacy talks about persons beliefs regarding his/her capabilities to achieve a specific task (Bandura, 1991). As per cognitive evaluation theory need for competence and self-determinations (Deci Ryan, 1985) leads to more difficult goals selection and increased perceptions of self-efficacy which in turn, leads to higher future performance (Bandura, 1991). Self-leadership theory incorporates all above components of cognitive evaluation theory and social cognitive theory. In short self-leadership strategies mentioned above enhance self-efficacy perceptions, which lead to higher levels of performance (Manz Neck, 1999). Empirical evidence supports the effectiveness of self-leadership strategies in increasing self-efficacy perceptions and performance. More recently, role of self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between self-leadership strategies and performance has also been examined indicating significant relationships (Prussia et al., 1998). Positive Perception of self Efficacy or Personal Mastery SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE Based on the literature above it can be summarized here that Self-leadership is a process of self-influence based on self-control, self management and self regulation theories. It is also rooted in motivation theories, Social learning theory and cognitive evaluation theory.  Research across diverse settings, from the educational domain to the airline industry, has shown that the practices of effective self-leadership strategies can lead to many benefits including high motivation, self-efficacy, and enhanced employee performance (Bandura, 1991).  As mentioned Self leadership strategies include behavioral-focused, natural-reward and constructive-thought pattern strategies. Taken together these core self-leadership strategies and aligning them to motivation, self efficacy and performance following conceptual frame work (figure.1) is suggested aiming at to achieve successful performance in an organization. This suggested conceptual frame work is modified from the basic model of Self leadership and personal effectiveness proposed by Manz Neck (2007). Figure.1 In the light of the self leadership literature the figure.1 above is suggesting a conceptual framework which implies that applying self-leadership strategies and their components through effective training programs in organization can help in developing self-led employees who can achieve goals like individual, team based or organizational performance through personal mastery. Successful performance leads to positive perception of self efficacy which creates a positive self sufficient upward spiral effect for new successful performance. As per limitation in this paper identifying individuals team based self leadership and team member work role performance was not studied which creates room for future research. Effective self-leadership strategies do not stress independent employee behaviors by ignoring teams or organization context. Rather, effective self-leadership strategies encourage a coordinated effort by individuals to seek their own personal identity and mode of contribution as part of a group, teams or organization that produces synergistic performance (Konradt; Andreßen; Ellwart, 2009). Furthermore, self-leaders are less likely to be resistant to organizational change (Neck, 1996) which is important for any learning organization as it responds and adapt to changing environment. As organizations continue to redesign and adopt structures that need a greater dependence on individual initiative, the popularity of self-leadership concepts is likely to remain strong. Finally, self-leadership behavior shaping strategies provide considerable assurance for taking the quest for employee performance to the next higher level. Indeed, effectively trained self-led employees, both behaviorally and cognitively, may offer the best blueprint for achieving employee and organizational performance in the 21st century.

Effect of Globalization on Business and Profit Making

Effect of Globalization on Business and Profit Making Chapter 1 Throughout history, profit-making entities (among other) have constructed an ever-more-global economy. In the last 15 years or so, unprecedented changes in communications and computer technologies have given the process new momentum. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, know-how and raw materials move ever more rapidly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures mingle more unreservedly. As globally mobile capital reorganises business firms, it sweeps away regulation and undermines local and national politics. Globalisation creates new spins of old trading ideas (auctions are becoming increasingly prevalent in buying and selling); it starts new markets and it contributes to wealth, even as it causes extensive distress, chaos, and strife. It is both a source of tyranny and a medium for global movements of social integrity and liberation. Undoubtedly, in the first quarter of the 21st century, the profit-making firm functions in an environment full of global opportunities and threats; and in the wake of recent corporate scandals, the firm, simultaneously, is heavily constrained by ethical self-restraining as well as innovative regulations enforced by domestic and global-governance institutions. 1 Globalisation According to A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index (2003), which is based on indicators such as economic integration, technological connectivity, personal contact, and political engagement (see Table 1 below), from about 1999 to 2003, global foreign direct investment and portfolio capital flows slowed down significantly thus contributing to the weakening of globalisation. Other global trends, especially international tourism, telephone traffic and worldwide access to the internet stayed strong helping to compensate for the weakening of international economic ties, thus deepening global links overall. What are the lessons that the profit-making firm may derive from the globalisation of economic activity? It appears that global markets, as discussed in the remainder of the section, ‘offer to the firm less legal restrictions, induce reduction in excess capacity, cause higher market concentration and contribute to higher profits. Consider 1, which links together two 2-dimensional diagrams: one has its origin in the southwest with global concentration measured on the vertical axis and profits on the horizontal; the other has its origin in the northeast with excess capacity measured on the vertical axis and legal restrictions on the horizontal. As it is discussed below, globalisation enables firms to move ‘northeast from point A to point B. Table 1 A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index (2003) The 2003 results do not show causation, but they do point to significant correlations; they demonstrate that the most global countries are those where residents live the longest, healthiest lives; women enjoy the strongest social, educational, and economic progress; global integration leads to secularisation. For the third year in a row, in 2003, Ireland ranks as the most global, due to the countrys deep economic links and high levels of personal contact with the rest of the world. Western Europe claimed six out of the ten most globally integrated countries in this years survey. And the USA broke into the top ten, ranking first in the number of secure servers and internet hosts per capita. Countries from Central and Eastern Europe, Australasia, and Southeast Asia also made it into the upper tier (the five most global countries are reported above followed by the top five global firms in Europe and Asia). Ranking indicators  · Economic integration: trade, foreign direct investment, portfolio capital flows, and investment income.  · Technological connectivity: internet users, internet hosts, and secured servers.  · Personal contact: international travel and tourism, international telephone traffic, and remittances and personal transfers (including worker remittances, compensation to employees, and other person-to-person and non-governmental transfers).  · Political engagement: memberships in international organisations, personnel and financial contributions to UN Security Council missions, international treaties ratified, and governmental transfers. 1.1 Legal restrictions As globalisation expands, many firms find themselves (by choice or coincidence) operating in countries that impose less legal business regulations relative to their home countries. Global firms put pressure on local governments to establish more favourable business regulations or refrain from enforcing their regulatory laws (regardless of how minimal or fair they are) or, if such laws do not exist, to avoid applying them. As a result, less regulated or totally unregulated markets reduce barriers on the flow of goods and money across borders, creating a more integrated and profitable global economy. Over regulation: Business firms in developing nations face much larger regulatory constraints than those in developed nations; as reported in Doing Business in 2005 [World Bank, (2004), p.3], â€Å"(a) they face 3 times the administrative costs, and nearly twice as many bureaucratic procedures and delays associated with them. And they have fewer than half the protections of property rights of rich countries. (b) Heavy regulation and weak property rights exclude the poor from doing business. In poor countiers 40% of the economy is informal. Women, young and low-skilled workers are hurt the most.† The lowering of over regulatory constraints is actively pursued because it brings benefits to firms (they spend less money and time on dealing with regulations) and to governments (they spend fewer resources regulating and more providing social services). Moreover, fewer regulations attract foreign firms with all benefits and, of course, costs associated with them. Hence, globalisation enables firms to benefit from the removal of unnecessary regulations and the establishing of trade-encouraging, incentive-loaded laws. At the same time though due to ‘global complexity, the emergence of new innovative technology-driven markets as well as inability of regulatory authorities to enforce the existing legal enactments (reformed or not), some firms, as described below under illicit trade, may avoid compliance with domestic or international laws. Illicit trade: The fact that, globally, unlawful trade in products and services involving intellectual property, money laundering, third shift production and alien smuggling has been on the rise, implies that authorities in various countries experience hard time in dealing with the problem. As Naim (2003) writes, intellectual property illegalities, a modern kind of piracy, involves business software, shampoos, motorbikes, medical drugs, industrial valves, supply of illegally copied copyrighted music, and among other, theft of brand names. In Naims words: â€Å"Governments have attempted to protect intellectual property rights through various means, most notably the World Trade Organizations Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Several other organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Customs Union, and Interpol are also involved. Yet the large and growing volume of this trade, or a simple stroll in the streets of Manhattan or Madrid, show that governments are far from winning this fight.† Additionally, deregulations of financial markets have given rise to rogue global banking, tax havens, and money laundering. All these factors make possible cross-border money transfers, while simultaneously, improvements in electronic technologies make distance less of a barrier and turn money into e-money defined by Naim as â€Å"cards with microchips that can store large amounts of money and thus can be easily transported outside regular channels or simply exchanged among individuals.† Naim states that â€Å"estimates of the volume of global money laundering range between 2 and 5 percent of the worlds annual gross national product, or between $800 billion and $2 trillion. †¦ The sophistication of technology, the complex web of financial institutions that crisscross the globe, and the ease with which â€Å"dirty† funds can be electronically morphed into legitimate assets make the regulation of international flows of money a daunting task† magnified by the introduction of e-money.† Moreover, according to the United Nations, alien smuggling is the fastest growing business of organised crime. According to Naim, this kind of modern enslavement has become a $7 billion a year enterprise and it involves mostly women and children; and contrary to the efforts made by governments to curtail the problem, especially in the UK, Southern Europe and in the USA, the problem is becoming more difficult and complicated over time. Again, Naim puts it graphically: â€Å"A woman can be â€Å"bought† in Timisoara, Romania, for between $50 and $200 and â€Å"resold† in Western Europe for 10 times that price. The United Nations Childrens Fund estimates that cross-border smugglers in Central and Western Africa enslave 200,000 children a year. Traffickers initially tempt victims with job offers or, in the case of children, with offers of adoption in wealthier countries, and then keep the victims in subservience through physical violence, debt bondage, passport confiscation, and threats of arrest, deportation, or violence against their families back home.† And of course, intellectual property, humans, and financial capital are not the only products and/or services traded illegally for big profits by global networks. There are also markets in human organs, endangered species, stolen fine art, and deadly industrial waste. The unlawful worldwide trades in all these merchandise and services share numerous essential characteristics such as high-tech innovations, societal and political transformations and open fresh markets. Fast spreading globalisation causes the regulatory environment to become more complex which serves as a cover for opportunistic profit through illicit trade, networks and markets. At the same time, governments are becoming increasingly ineffective in dealing with the problem. Although the global community attempts to regulate global business activity through entities such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the World Bank (WB), alliances such as the G-7, or the G-20, and treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol, the global business environment, by and large, is becoming gradually freer. 1.2 Global concentration As legal constraints become wobblier, the power of global firms, in terms of concentration, increases. Widespread merger and acquisition (MA) activities between already big industrial and financial firms started during the 1990s. The new gigantic corporations, by and large, control a large global market share in their respective industries. The build up in global concentration has sweeping implications for the 21st century. As reported by Mohamed (2004) â€Å"total global mergers activity grew from over $150 billion in 1992 to over $2000 billion in 1998, when eight of the worlds ten largest mergers took place. By 1999 it was over $330 billion.† The enhanced mass and influence of these new giants has been central to the intuition that globalisation advances at a blazing speed. In general, most of these global activities, such as MA, foreign direct investment and international trade, are between developed nations. Mohamed reports that â€Å"this concentration of economic power and activity is clearly illustrated by the fact that over 95% of the companies on the Fortune 500 (ranked by value of sales) and FT (Financial Times) 500 (ranked by market capitalization) lists are developed-country companies. In addition, only a handful of developing-country companies feature on the list of the top 300 companies ranked by expenditure on research and development (RD). When one considers that developed countries have less than 20% of the worlds population then the magnitude of the disparities in the global economy cannot be more evident.† Escalated global economic concentration was caused by a number of actions. There was a shift towards focusing on core activities that led to unbundling of formerly diversified conglomerates. There were vast investments in knowledge capital, primarily in hardware, software and information technology (IT) services. Much of the RD outlays of multinational corporations has been on IT, which has helped develop coordination of all aspects of their dealings internationally. There has been globalisation of mass media (e.g., CNN and BBC), which has led to the creation of global franchises (e.g., McDonalds and Wal-Mart), global brands (e.g., Nike) and global marketing infrastructure. The global reach, multiplication and liberalisation of financial markets as well as rapid growth of international capital flows since the 1970s contributed to the growth of multinational corporations. Much of the funds for the new giants came from institutional investors, who prefer big companies that sell popular brands, control large market shares, invest significantly on RD and focus on their nucleus activities. Additionally, as reported by Mohamed, â€Å"the process of global concentration that started in the 1990s happens not only in leading companies but also upstream in their suppliers and downstream in companies distributing their products. The leading companies have pressured their suppliers and distributors to work more closely with them and to become global leaders in their own areas by also growing through MAs. This process has further concentrated the global economy.† 1.3 Excess capacity The massiveness of the global market (the market size effect) along with adaptive, flexible and responsive marketing (the marketing effect) enables global firms to sell more. Additionally, they sell at reduced prices because of lower production costs due to outsourcing and insourcing as well as due to new inexpensive technologies such as the internet and the cell phone (the cost effect). Obviously, market and marketing effects induce firms to reduce their excess capacity but cost effects enable firms to add excess capacity. Whether or not the reduction in excess capacity is in absolute value greater than the increase in excess capacity is an empirical question. Undoubtedly, global manufacturing is on the rise enabling firms to become more adaptable, more flexible in production and distribution as well as more responsive to the needs of customers; and since the global economy is on the rebound after the depths it reached in 2008/2009, see Table 2, it is perhaps reasonable to believe that rising global demand will contribute to a reduction in excess capacity which, in absolute value, would exceed the increase in excess capacity leading to more profit and, hopefully, to improved global economic well-being. Finally, as stated by Helpman (2006), in this global economy we have experienced rapid expansion of trade in services and trade in intermediate inputs. With respect to exports [Helpman, (2006), p.590], â€Å"only a small fraction of firms export, they are larger and more productive than firms that serve only the domestic market, and more firms export to larger markets. A small fraction of firms engage in FDI, and these firms are larger and more productive than exporting firms.† And although according to Helpman (2006, p.591), the theory of comparative advantage, as an explanation of intersectoral international trade, and the theory of imperfect competition, as an explanation of intra-industry trade, are still valid, globalisation brings â€Å"to trade theory a new focus: the organizational choices of individual firms. By focusing on the characteristics of individual firms, the theory can address new questions: Which firms serve foreign markets? And how do they serve them, i.e., which choose to export and which choose to serve foreign markets via FDI? Under what circumstances do they outsource in a foreign country rather than at home? And if they choose integration, under what circumstances do they choose to integrate in a foreign country, via FDI, rather than to integrate at home?† Table 2 Real projected gross domestic product (GDP) and growth rates of GDP for regions (in billions of 2005 dollars) 2000-2015 GDP Year 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2015 W 39190.56 44828.46 46641.28 48405.39 49297.02 47992.14 49005.27 58114.16 D 29313.46 32197.09 33091.60 33890.60 34017.97 32749.26 33146.61 37232.39 D less US 18220.25 19763.70 20300.67 20825.75 20895.84 19955.19 20032.69 22162.27 DE 8416.01 10729.04 11507.29 12319.63 12977.47 13056.42 13653.30 18126.72 FCP 1461.09 1902.34 2042.39 2195.16 2301.59 2186.46 2205.35 2755.04 EM 5890.55 7647.06 8198.94 8812.17 9278.61 9278.48 9704.73 12953.24 Annual growth rates Year 2001 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2015 W 1.71 3.38 4.04 3.78 1.84 -2.65 2.11 3.45 D 1.27 2.31 2.78 2.41 0.38 -3.73 1.21 2.32 D less US 1.59 1.84 2.72 2.59 0.34 -4.50 0.39 2.07 DE 2.78 6.30 7.25 7.06 5.34 0.61 4.57 5.68 FCP 4.50 5.72 7.36 7.48 4.85 -5.00 0.86 4.57 EM 3.55 6.09 7.22 7.48 5.29 0.00 4.59 5.78 Notes: W = World; D = Developed nations; D less US = Developed nations less US; DE = Developing nations; FCP = Former centrally planned nations EM = Emerging market nations. Source: Data found in World Bank World Development Indicators, International Financial Statistics of the IMF, Global Insight, and Oxford Economic Forecasting, as well as estimated and projected values developed by the Economic Research Service all converted to a 2005 base year. Available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Macroeconomics/Data/ProjectedRealGDPValues.xls. 1.4 Insourcing and urbanisation in developing economies Insourcing (incoming foreign direct investment) and outsourcing (outgoing foreign direct investment) have been contributing to net benefits of formal firms in both developed and developing nations and in turn to the well being of all. Drezner (2004, p.22), in response to rhetoric against outsourcing in the USA, states that â€Å"outsourcing of American jobs to other countries has become a problem of epic proportion. Fortunately, this alarmism is misguided. Outsourcing actually brings far more benefits than costs, both now and in the long run. If its critics succeed in provoking a new wave of American protectionism, the consequences will be disastrous for the U.S. economy and for the American workers they claim to defend.† In developing nations though, insourcing has been transforming local economies in new directions that cause global anxiety. Demographics in China, India and many more economies indicate that populations, in search of jobs and a better life, have been migrating towards urban, industrialised, centres, abandoning their agrarian lands, creating megacities and giving rise to urbanisation-type problems. (See self-explanatory projected population data for China and India in Tables 3 and 4). Table 3 Urban, rural population trends in China Population (000s) 1985 2005 2025 Total 1,070,175 1,321,569 1,480,430 Urban [Proportion (%)] 241,766 [22.6] 507,725 [38.4] 773,155 [52.2] Rural [Proportion (%)] 828,409 [77.4] 813,845 [61.6] 707,275 [47.5] Source: Available at http://ww2.unhabitat.org/habrdd/conditions/eastasia/china.htm. Table 4 Megacity population trends in India Population (000s) 1991 2011 Total 844,272 1,292,506 Delhi 8,723 24,867 Mumbai 12,572 21,780 Calcutta 10,916 16,509 Source: Available at http://www.ifpindia.org/ecrire/upload/press_ifp_website/ indiapolis_articlerelu.pdf. Megacity build-up and abandonment of agrarian lands have been occurring throughout the developing world1. In all these countries, historical data seems to support two stages of development: In Stage I, prior to insourcing, most of the population lives in the agrarian sector on subsistence agriculture and/or on meagre wages from selling their labour. Overpopulation forces people to exist under perpetually poor conditions causing the supply of labour to be perfectly elastic since there is around abundant low-skilled perfectly substitutable agrarian labour. In general, in this stage of development, the agrarian sector may be described by 2, where A = agrarian, e = equilibrium, WA = wage rate, LA = labour, DA = demand of labour, and LA = supply of labour2. Point V corresponds to the amount of available labour in the sector, point T to the amount of labour employed by the informal economy at equilibrium (point e) and (V-T) to the surplus of labour in the agrarian sector. Insourcing gives rise to Stage II. Incoming foreign direct investment takes root in urban centres (in most cases near the coast, e.g., China) and offers higher wages to attract labour from agrarian regions. In this stage, the industrial sector may be described by 3, where I = industrial. It is assumed that at We supply of labour in the industrial sector is equal to zero (workers would have no incentive to migrate if they cannot receive higher wages). Equilibrium initially occurs at eI, where DI is equal to SI, and labourers get paid WeI > We. At this market wage rate, the industrial sector absorbs portion TU of the total surplus labour available in the countryside. In turn, because there is still unused surplus labour in the agrarian sector (portion UV), more insourcing triggers higher demand for labour in the industrial sector (DI ¢) and migration of the remaining surplus labour; additional migration to urban areas causes the labour supply to become more elastic (the supply functi on flattens and rotates out to SI ¢). At the new and final equilibrium of eI ¢, WeI ¢ The above analysis implies many benefits: employment and income improve; know-how spreads through technology transfer; saving, investment, and tax revenue increase greatly contributing to growth; in addition to the above, people may prefer the city because it is more likely to endeavour entrepreneurial opportunities, find formal education for their children, have access to healthcare, enjoy entertainment, live cosmopolitan lives, and take advantage of proximity to major transposition hubs (for travelling to other countries and inside their own). However, the analysis implies costs as well, especially as they relate to urbanisation, such as: pollution (air, water and land); crime (especially in inner city areas); traffic jams; crowded housing; loss of arable land; food shortages (since people abandon their agrarian fields in the country and/or because they turn agrarian fields near the city into suburbs); creation and stagnation of an informal economy; lack of socialising due to isolation from, and alienation of, neighbours; deterioration in education (due to capacity limitations) as well as healthcare, transportation and governmental services (especially in utilities, fire and police protection); and finally, dependency on food importation, foreign direct investment and foreign capital markets. 1.4.1 Development views: ‘romantic, ‘parasite and ‘dual economy In addition to the above, urbanisation in developing nations spawns informal business firms, which, in general, do not pay taxes or abide by laws and regulations. According to some economists, such firms do not contribute to the overall growth of the economy. Development economists agree though that registered, law abiding, efficiently run entities known as formal business firms have to be encouraged to exist through incentives and governmental policy for they are the only capable of boosting economic growth and development. According to the United Nations (2008, p.1), â€Å"four billion people around the world are robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law.† Informal business firms account for up to about half of economic activity in developing nations but researchers disagree about their role. As explained by La Porta and Shleifer (2008, pp.275-276), â€Å"there are three broad views of this role, (referred) to as the romantic view, the parasite view, and the dual economy ‘dual for short view (otherwise known as the) ‘Wal-Mart theory of development.† In the ‘romantic view, associated with de Soto (2000), informal firms, which are similar to formal (for example, they attract equally talented employees), are held back by barriers to official recognition: lack of secure property titles, deeds, securities and contracts that describe the economically significant aspects of assets. The lowering of such barriers would improve the ability of firms to borrow against registered and secured property-based collateral; additionally, it would enable them to more easily acquire, and/or merge with, other firms. In contrast, the ‘parasite view holds that informal firms, led by less-able, mostly uneducated, entrepreneurs, choose to stay small; as such, they lack the needed scale to operate efficiently and, conveniently, they enjoy cost advantages since they do not pay taxes, offer fringe benefits to employees, follow safety requirements in the workplace or abide by other regulations and the rule of law. These firms impair the economys growth: they reduce overall productivity and they take away market share from more productive formal firms because of their cost advantage over them. Hence, governmental initiatives to uproot these ‘parasites (such as enhancing audit capabilities to reduce tax evasion and enforce regulations) would contribute to efficiency, employment, growth and development. Finally, according to the ‘dual view, informal and formal firms may coexist as long as government tax and regulatory policies support the development of formal firms without encouraging or discouraging informal firms. Unlike the romantic view, this view holds that formal firms are different than informal: formal firms attract more skilful employees, their owners are better entrepreneurs, they are officially recognised, they can raise capital and they abide by regulations. Unlike the parasite view, the dual view maintains that informal firms are not a threat to formal firms because, for the same products, they charge higher prices (due to inefficient production and thus high costs) and because they mostly operate in different markets selling to different clients. La Porta and Shleifer (2008, p.278) report that empirical evidence supports the ‘Wal-Mart theory of economic development and they stress that â€Å"the dual view sees the (informal) firms as providers of a livelihood to millions, perhaps billions, of extremely poor people, and it cautions against any policies that would raise the costs of these firms. This view sees the hope of economic development in policies, such as human capital, tax, and regulatory policies, that promote the creation of (formal) firms, letting the (informal) ones die as the economy develops.† 2 The increasing relevance of auctions Firms may participate in auctions as buyers (bidders) or sellers (auctioneers). As buyers, they want to maximise buyer surplus (the difference between what they would be willing to bid at and the bid they actually pay). As sellers, they want to maximise profit (the difference between the bid they would be willing to sell at and the cost of the auctions object). Although any entity may rely on auctions for selling and buying, a few ‘liaison firms have become very famous over their valuable and pioneering business concepts. Such firms are Christies, Sothebys, and eBay.com. Retail, franchise or land acquisition, government procurement, and various services, among many more, rely on auction-type selling and buying. For example, retail stores (such as Filenes Basement in Boston) report a price on an items tag but the actual price paid by the client is lower the more time the item is up for sale on the floor; in turn, unsold items are donated to charitable organisations. Similarly, sellers in fresh produce markets lower prices towards the end of the day prior to disposing off the items. Governments purchase military assets and/or services of engineers for public infrastructure by relying on bids submitted by the sellers of those services and franchise owners bid for the privilege to own a franchise licence. Home developers, often, buy land in multiple lots through auctions and, of course, eBay has turned every single person on the planet into a potential auctioneer and/or a bidder. Auction results depend on many factors such as type of auctions or design, information of bidders valuations (which may be identical or different) and their attitudes towards risk, whether or not bidders bid on many or on a bundle of units and, of course, on whether or not bidders and auctioneers act ethically. For more details and a guide to literature see Klemperer (1999). 2.1 Bidders (or buyers) Table 5 describes five well-known auction types. Bidders in an English auction would have the incentive to bid higher than other bidders but lower than their true valuation. An advantage to English auctions is that, during the auction, bidders may swiftly revise bids upwards (up to but not higher than whatever they are willing to pay) based on information about the valuations of other bidders in the auction. Bidders in Dutch and First-Price Sealed-Bid auctions would have the incentive to bid strategically so that they never lose to someone with a lower valuation of the item under auction. A strategy for the bidder in these auctions would be to shade down the bid to the unknown second highest bid. As explained by Pepall et al. (2005, pp.640-641), each bidder may estimate the second highest bid as follows: assuming that each bidder in the auction believes that her valuation is the highest, if bidders draw from a uniform distribution [0, Ï…] with all N bidders equally spaced on this interval (where Ï… = highest bid), then the average of the highest value in samples of size N drawn from [0, Ï…], or the second highest bid, would be [(N 1) / N]Ï…. (For example, if there are N = 5 bidders and a bidders highest valuation is $100, then the second highest valuation is [(5 1) / 5] $100 = $80; hence, the optimal bid for this bidder would be $80). But, if the bidder is wrong on her beli ef that she is the highest bidder she may lose the auction. Thus, bid shading implies a possible benefit an Effect of Globalization on Business and Profit Making Effect of Globalization on Business and Profit Making Chapter 1 Throughout history, profit-making entities (among other) have constructed an ever-more-global economy. In the last 15 years or so, unprecedented changes in communications and computer technologies have given the process new momentum. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, know-how and raw materials move ever more rapidly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures mingle more unreservedly. As globally mobile capital reorganises business firms, it sweeps away regulation and undermines local and national politics. Globalisation creates new spins of old trading ideas (auctions are becoming increasingly prevalent in buying and selling); it starts new markets and it contributes to wealth, even as it causes extensive distress, chaos, and strife. It is both a source of tyranny and a medium for global movements of social integrity and liberation. Undoubtedly, in the first quarter of the 21st century, the profit-making firm functions in an environment full of global opportunities and threats; and in the wake of recent corporate scandals, the firm, simultaneously, is heavily constrained by ethical self-restraining as well as innovative regulations enforced by domestic and global-governance institutions. 1 Globalisation According to A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index (2003), which is based on indicators such as economic integration, technological connectivity, personal contact, and political engagement (see Table 1 below), from about 1999 to 2003, global foreign direct investment and portfolio capital flows slowed down significantly thus contributing to the weakening of globalisation. Other global trends, especially international tourism, telephone traffic and worldwide access to the internet stayed strong helping to compensate for the weakening of international economic ties, thus deepening global links overall. What are the lessons that the profit-making firm may derive from the globalisation of economic activity? It appears that global markets, as discussed in the remainder of the section, ‘offer to the firm less legal restrictions, induce reduction in excess capacity, cause higher market concentration and contribute to higher profits. Consider 1, which links together two 2-dimensional diagrams: one has its origin in the southwest with global concentration measured on the vertical axis and profits on the horizontal; the other has its origin in the northeast with excess capacity measured on the vertical axis and legal restrictions on the horizontal. As it is discussed below, globalisation enables firms to move ‘northeast from point A to point B. Table 1 A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index (2003) The 2003 results do not show causation, but they do point to significant correlations; they demonstrate that the most global countries are those where residents live the longest, healthiest lives; women enjoy the strongest social, educational, and economic progress; global integration leads to secularisation. For the third year in a row, in 2003, Ireland ranks as the most global, due to the countrys deep economic links and high levels of personal contact with the rest of the world. Western Europe claimed six out of the ten most globally integrated countries in this years survey. And the USA broke into the top ten, ranking first in the number of secure servers and internet hosts per capita. Countries from Central and Eastern Europe, Australasia, and Southeast Asia also made it into the upper tier (the five most global countries are reported above followed by the top five global firms in Europe and Asia). Ranking indicators  · Economic integration: trade, foreign direct investment, portfolio capital flows, and investment income.  · Technological connectivity: internet users, internet hosts, and secured servers.  · Personal contact: international travel and tourism, international telephone traffic, and remittances and personal transfers (including worker remittances, compensation to employees, and other person-to-person and non-governmental transfers).  · Political engagement: memberships in international organisations, personnel and financial contributions to UN Security Council missions, international treaties ratified, and governmental transfers. 1.1 Legal restrictions As globalisation expands, many firms find themselves (by choice or coincidence) operating in countries that impose less legal business regulations relative to their home countries. Global firms put pressure on local governments to establish more favourable business regulations or refrain from enforcing their regulatory laws (regardless of how minimal or fair they are) or, if such laws do not exist, to avoid applying them. As a result, less regulated or totally unregulated markets reduce barriers on the flow of goods and money across borders, creating a more integrated and profitable global economy. Over regulation: Business firms in developing nations face much larger regulatory constraints than those in developed nations; as reported in Doing Business in 2005 [World Bank, (2004), p.3], â€Å"(a) they face 3 times the administrative costs, and nearly twice as many bureaucratic procedures and delays associated with them. And they have fewer than half the protections of property rights of rich countries. (b) Heavy regulation and weak property rights exclude the poor from doing business. In poor countiers 40% of the economy is informal. Women, young and low-skilled workers are hurt the most.† The lowering of over regulatory constraints is actively pursued because it brings benefits to firms (they spend less money and time on dealing with regulations) and to governments (they spend fewer resources regulating and more providing social services). Moreover, fewer regulations attract foreign firms with all benefits and, of course, costs associated with them. Hence, globalisation enables firms to benefit from the removal of unnecessary regulations and the establishing of trade-encouraging, incentive-loaded laws. At the same time though due to ‘global complexity, the emergence of new innovative technology-driven markets as well as inability of regulatory authorities to enforce the existing legal enactments (reformed or not), some firms, as described below under illicit trade, may avoid compliance with domestic or international laws. Illicit trade: The fact that, globally, unlawful trade in products and services involving intellectual property, money laundering, third shift production and alien smuggling has been on the rise, implies that authorities in various countries experience hard time in dealing with the problem. As Naim (2003) writes, intellectual property illegalities, a modern kind of piracy, involves business software, shampoos, motorbikes, medical drugs, industrial valves, supply of illegally copied copyrighted music, and among other, theft of brand names. In Naims words: â€Å"Governments have attempted to protect intellectual property rights through various means, most notably the World Trade Organizations Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Several other organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Customs Union, and Interpol are also involved. Yet the large and growing volume of this trade, or a simple stroll in the streets of Manhattan or Madrid, show that governments are far from winning this fight.† Additionally, deregulations of financial markets have given rise to rogue global banking, tax havens, and money laundering. All these factors make possible cross-border money transfers, while simultaneously, improvements in electronic technologies make distance less of a barrier and turn money into e-money defined by Naim as â€Å"cards with microchips that can store large amounts of money and thus can be easily transported outside regular channels or simply exchanged among individuals.† Naim states that â€Å"estimates of the volume of global money laundering range between 2 and 5 percent of the worlds annual gross national product, or between $800 billion and $2 trillion. †¦ The sophistication of technology, the complex web of financial institutions that crisscross the globe, and the ease with which â€Å"dirty† funds can be electronically morphed into legitimate assets make the regulation of international flows of money a daunting task† magnified by the introduction of e-money.† Moreover, according to the United Nations, alien smuggling is the fastest growing business of organised crime. According to Naim, this kind of modern enslavement has become a $7 billion a year enterprise and it involves mostly women and children; and contrary to the efforts made by governments to curtail the problem, especially in the UK, Southern Europe and in the USA, the problem is becoming more difficult and complicated over time. Again, Naim puts it graphically: â€Å"A woman can be â€Å"bought† in Timisoara, Romania, for between $50 and $200 and â€Å"resold† in Western Europe for 10 times that price. The United Nations Childrens Fund estimates that cross-border smugglers in Central and Western Africa enslave 200,000 children a year. Traffickers initially tempt victims with job offers or, in the case of children, with offers of adoption in wealthier countries, and then keep the victims in subservience through physical violence, debt bondage, passport confiscation, and threats of arrest, deportation, or violence against their families back home.† And of course, intellectual property, humans, and financial capital are not the only products and/or services traded illegally for big profits by global networks. There are also markets in human organs, endangered species, stolen fine art, and deadly industrial waste. The unlawful worldwide trades in all these merchandise and services share numerous essential characteristics such as high-tech innovations, societal and political transformations and open fresh markets. Fast spreading globalisation causes the regulatory environment to become more complex which serves as a cover for opportunistic profit through illicit trade, networks and markets. At the same time, governments are becoming increasingly ineffective in dealing with the problem. Although the global community attempts to regulate global business activity through entities such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the World Bank (WB), alliances such as the G-7, or the G-20, and treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol, the global business environment, by and large, is becoming gradually freer. 1.2 Global concentration As legal constraints become wobblier, the power of global firms, in terms of concentration, increases. Widespread merger and acquisition (MA) activities between already big industrial and financial firms started during the 1990s. The new gigantic corporations, by and large, control a large global market share in their respective industries. The build up in global concentration has sweeping implications for the 21st century. As reported by Mohamed (2004) â€Å"total global mergers activity grew from over $150 billion in 1992 to over $2000 billion in 1998, when eight of the worlds ten largest mergers took place. By 1999 it was over $330 billion.† The enhanced mass and influence of these new giants has been central to the intuition that globalisation advances at a blazing speed. In general, most of these global activities, such as MA, foreign direct investment and international trade, are between developed nations. Mohamed reports that â€Å"this concentration of economic power and activity is clearly illustrated by the fact that over 95% of the companies on the Fortune 500 (ranked by value of sales) and FT (Financial Times) 500 (ranked by market capitalization) lists are developed-country companies. In addition, only a handful of developing-country companies feature on the list of the top 300 companies ranked by expenditure on research and development (RD). When one considers that developed countries have less than 20% of the worlds population then the magnitude of the disparities in the global economy cannot be more evident.† Escalated global economic concentration was caused by a number of actions. There was a shift towards focusing on core activities that led to unbundling of formerly diversified conglomerates. There were vast investments in knowledge capital, primarily in hardware, software and information technology (IT) services. Much of the RD outlays of multinational corporations has been on IT, which has helped develop coordination of all aspects of their dealings internationally. There has been globalisation of mass media (e.g., CNN and BBC), which has led to the creation of global franchises (e.g., McDonalds and Wal-Mart), global brands (e.g., Nike) and global marketing infrastructure. The global reach, multiplication and liberalisation of financial markets as well as rapid growth of international capital flows since the 1970s contributed to the growth of multinational corporations. Much of the funds for the new giants came from institutional investors, who prefer big companies that sell popular brands, control large market shares, invest significantly on RD and focus on their nucleus activities. Additionally, as reported by Mohamed, â€Å"the process of global concentration that started in the 1990s happens not only in leading companies but also upstream in their suppliers and downstream in companies distributing their products. The leading companies have pressured their suppliers and distributors to work more closely with them and to become global leaders in their own areas by also growing through MAs. This process has further concentrated the global economy.† 1.3 Excess capacity The massiveness of the global market (the market size effect) along with adaptive, flexible and responsive marketing (the marketing effect) enables global firms to sell more. Additionally, they sell at reduced prices because of lower production costs due to outsourcing and insourcing as well as due to new inexpensive technologies such as the internet and the cell phone (the cost effect). Obviously, market and marketing effects induce firms to reduce their excess capacity but cost effects enable firms to add excess capacity. Whether or not the reduction in excess capacity is in absolute value greater than the increase in excess capacity is an empirical question. Undoubtedly, global manufacturing is on the rise enabling firms to become more adaptable, more flexible in production and distribution as well as more responsive to the needs of customers; and since the global economy is on the rebound after the depths it reached in 2008/2009, see Table 2, it is perhaps reasonable to believe that rising global demand will contribute to a reduction in excess capacity which, in absolute value, would exceed the increase in excess capacity leading to more profit and, hopefully, to improved global economic well-being. Finally, as stated by Helpman (2006), in this global economy we have experienced rapid expansion of trade in services and trade in intermediate inputs. With respect to exports [Helpman, (2006), p.590], â€Å"only a small fraction of firms export, they are larger and more productive than firms that serve only the domestic market, and more firms export to larger markets. A small fraction of firms engage in FDI, and these firms are larger and more productive than exporting firms.† And although according to Helpman (2006, p.591), the theory of comparative advantage, as an explanation of intersectoral international trade, and the theory of imperfect competition, as an explanation of intra-industry trade, are still valid, globalisation brings â€Å"to trade theory a new focus: the organizational choices of individual firms. By focusing on the characteristics of individual firms, the theory can address new questions: Which firms serve foreign markets? And how do they serve them, i.e., which choose to export and which choose to serve foreign markets via FDI? Under what circumstances do they outsource in a foreign country rather than at home? And if they choose integration, under what circumstances do they choose to integrate in a foreign country, via FDI, rather than to integrate at home?† Table 2 Real projected gross domestic product (GDP) and growth rates of GDP for regions (in billions of 2005 dollars) 2000-2015 GDP Year 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2015 W 39190.56 44828.46 46641.28 48405.39 49297.02 47992.14 49005.27 58114.16 D 29313.46 32197.09 33091.60 33890.60 34017.97 32749.26 33146.61 37232.39 D less US 18220.25 19763.70 20300.67 20825.75 20895.84 19955.19 20032.69 22162.27 DE 8416.01 10729.04 11507.29 12319.63 12977.47 13056.42 13653.30 18126.72 FCP 1461.09 1902.34 2042.39 2195.16 2301.59 2186.46 2205.35 2755.04 EM 5890.55 7647.06 8198.94 8812.17 9278.61 9278.48 9704.73 12953.24 Annual growth rates Year 2001 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2015 W 1.71 3.38 4.04 3.78 1.84 -2.65 2.11 3.45 D 1.27 2.31 2.78 2.41 0.38 -3.73 1.21 2.32 D less US 1.59 1.84 2.72 2.59 0.34 -4.50 0.39 2.07 DE 2.78 6.30 7.25 7.06 5.34 0.61 4.57 5.68 FCP 4.50 5.72 7.36 7.48 4.85 -5.00 0.86 4.57 EM 3.55 6.09 7.22 7.48 5.29 0.00 4.59 5.78 Notes: W = World; D = Developed nations; D less US = Developed nations less US; DE = Developing nations; FCP = Former centrally planned nations EM = Emerging market nations. Source: Data found in World Bank World Development Indicators, International Financial Statistics of the IMF, Global Insight, and Oxford Economic Forecasting, as well as estimated and projected values developed by the Economic Research Service all converted to a 2005 base year. Available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Macroeconomics/Data/ProjectedRealGDPValues.xls. 1.4 Insourcing and urbanisation in developing economies Insourcing (incoming foreign direct investment) and outsourcing (outgoing foreign direct investment) have been contributing to net benefits of formal firms in both developed and developing nations and in turn to the well being of all. Drezner (2004, p.22), in response to rhetoric against outsourcing in the USA, states that â€Å"outsourcing of American jobs to other countries has become a problem of epic proportion. Fortunately, this alarmism is misguided. Outsourcing actually brings far more benefits than costs, both now and in the long run. If its critics succeed in provoking a new wave of American protectionism, the consequences will be disastrous for the U.S. economy and for the American workers they claim to defend.† In developing nations though, insourcing has been transforming local economies in new directions that cause global anxiety. Demographics in China, India and many more economies indicate that populations, in search of jobs and a better life, have been migrating towards urban, industrialised, centres, abandoning their agrarian lands, creating megacities and giving rise to urbanisation-type problems. (See self-explanatory projected population data for China and India in Tables 3 and 4). Table 3 Urban, rural population trends in China Population (000s) 1985 2005 2025 Total 1,070,175 1,321,569 1,480,430 Urban [Proportion (%)] 241,766 [22.6] 507,725 [38.4] 773,155 [52.2] Rural [Proportion (%)] 828,409 [77.4] 813,845 [61.6] 707,275 [47.5] Source: Available at http://ww2.unhabitat.org/habrdd/conditions/eastasia/china.htm. Table 4 Megacity population trends in India Population (000s) 1991 2011 Total 844,272 1,292,506 Delhi 8,723 24,867 Mumbai 12,572 21,780 Calcutta 10,916 16,509 Source: Available at http://www.ifpindia.org/ecrire/upload/press_ifp_website/ indiapolis_articlerelu.pdf. Megacity build-up and abandonment of agrarian lands have been occurring throughout the developing world1. In all these countries, historical data seems to support two stages of development: In Stage I, prior to insourcing, most of the population lives in the agrarian sector on subsistence agriculture and/or on meagre wages from selling their labour. Overpopulation forces people to exist under perpetually poor conditions causing the supply of labour to be perfectly elastic since there is around abundant low-skilled perfectly substitutable agrarian labour. In general, in this stage of development, the agrarian sector may be described by 2, where A = agrarian, e = equilibrium, WA = wage rate, LA = labour, DA = demand of labour, and LA = supply of labour2. Point V corresponds to the amount of available labour in the sector, point T to the amount of labour employed by the informal economy at equilibrium (point e) and (V-T) to the surplus of labour in the agrarian sector. Insourcing gives rise to Stage II. Incoming foreign direct investment takes root in urban centres (in most cases near the coast, e.g., China) and offers higher wages to attract labour from agrarian regions. In this stage, the industrial sector may be described by 3, where I = industrial. It is assumed that at We supply of labour in the industrial sector is equal to zero (workers would have no incentive to migrate if they cannot receive higher wages). Equilibrium initially occurs at eI, where DI is equal to SI, and labourers get paid WeI > We. At this market wage rate, the industrial sector absorbs portion TU of the total surplus labour available in the countryside. In turn, because there is still unused surplus labour in the agrarian sector (portion UV), more insourcing triggers higher demand for labour in the industrial sector (DI ¢) and migration of the remaining surplus labour; additional migration to urban areas causes the labour supply to become more elastic (the supply functi on flattens and rotates out to SI ¢). At the new and final equilibrium of eI ¢, WeI ¢ The above analysis implies many benefits: employment and income improve; know-how spreads through technology transfer; saving, investment, and tax revenue increase greatly contributing to growth; in addition to the above, people may prefer the city because it is more likely to endeavour entrepreneurial opportunities, find formal education for their children, have access to healthcare, enjoy entertainment, live cosmopolitan lives, and take advantage of proximity to major transposition hubs (for travelling to other countries and inside their own). However, the analysis implies costs as well, especially as they relate to urbanisation, such as: pollution (air, water and land); crime (especially in inner city areas); traffic jams; crowded housing; loss of arable land; food shortages (since people abandon their agrarian fields in the country and/or because they turn agrarian fields near the city into suburbs); creation and stagnation of an informal economy; lack of socialising due to isolation from, and alienation of, neighbours; deterioration in education (due to capacity limitations) as well as healthcare, transportation and governmental services (especially in utilities, fire and police protection); and finally, dependency on food importation, foreign direct investment and foreign capital markets. 1.4.1 Development views: ‘romantic, ‘parasite and ‘dual economy In addition to the above, urbanisation in developing nations spawns informal business firms, which, in general, do not pay taxes or abide by laws and regulations. According to some economists, such firms do not contribute to the overall growth of the economy. Development economists agree though that registered, law abiding, efficiently run entities known as formal business firms have to be encouraged to exist through incentives and governmental policy for they are the only capable of boosting economic growth and development. According to the United Nations (2008, p.1), â€Å"four billion people around the world are robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law.† Informal business firms account for up to about half of economic activity in developing nations but researchers disagree about their role. As explained by La Porta and Shleifer (2008, pp.275-276), â€Å"there are three broad views of this role, (referred) to as the romantic view, the parasite view, and the dual economy ‘dual for short view (otherwise known as the) ‘Wal-Mart theory of development.† In the ‘romantic view, associated with de Soto (2000), informal firms, which are similar to formal (for example, they attract equally talented employees), are held back by barriers to official recognition: lack of secure property titles, deeds, securities and contracts that describe the economically significant aspects of assets. The lowering of such barriers would improve the ability of firms to borrow against registered and secured property-based collateral; additionally, it would enable them to more easily acquire, and/or merge with, other firms. In contrast, the ‘parasite view holds that informal firms, led by less-able, mostly uneducated, entrepreneurs, choose to stay small; as such, they lack the needed scale to operate efficiently and, conveniently, they enjoy cost advantages since they do not pay taxes, offer fringe benefits to employees, follow safety requirements in the workplace or abide by other regulations and the rule of law. These firms impair the economys growth: they reduce overall productivity and they take away market share from more productive formal firms because of their cost advantage over them. Hence, governmental initiatives to uproot these ‘parasites (such as enhancing audit capabilities to reduce tax evasion and enforce regulations) would contribute to efficiency, employment, growth and development. Finally, according to the ‘dual view, informal and formal firms may coexist as long as government tax and regulatory policies support the development of formal firms without encouraging or discouraging informal firms. Unlike the romantic view, this view holds that formal firms are different than informal: formal firms attract more skilful employees, their owners are better entrepreneurs, they are officially recognised, they can raise capital and they abide by regulations. Unlike the parasite view, the dual view maintains that informal firms are not a threat to formal firms because, for the same products, they charge higher prices (due to inefficient production and thus high costs) and because they mostly operate in different markets selling to different clients. La Porta and Shleifer (2008, p.278) report that empirical evidence supports the ‘Wal-Mart theory of economic development and they stress that â€Å"the dual view sees the (informal) firms as providers of a livelihood to millions, perhaps billions, of extremely poor people, and it cautions against any policies that would raise the costs of these firms. This view sees the hope of economic development in policies, such as human capital, tax, and regulatory policies, that promote the creation of (formal) firms, letting the (informal) ones die as the economy develops.† 2 The increasing relevance of auctions Firms may participate in auctions as buyers (bidders) or sellers (auctioneers). As buyers, they want to maximise buyer surplus (the difference between what they would be willing to bid at and the bid they actually pay). As sellers, they want to maximise profit (the difference between the bid they would be willing to sell at and the cost of the auctions object). Although any entity may rely on auctions for selling and buying, a few ‘liaison firms have become very famous over their valuable and pioneering business concepts. Such firms are Christies, Sothebys, and eBay.com. Retail, franchise or land acquisition, government procurement, and various services, among many more, rely on auction-type selling and buying. For example, retail stores (such as Filenes Basement in Boston) report a price on an items tag but the actual price paid by the client is lower the more time the item is up for sale on the floor; in turn, unsold items are donated to charitable organisations. Similarly, sellers in fresh produce markets lower prices towards the end of the day prior to disposing off the items. Governments purchase military assets and/or services of engineers for public infrastructure by relying on bids submitted by the sellers of those services and franchise owners bid for the privilege to own a franchise licence. Home developers, often, buy land in multiple lots through auctions and, of course, eBay has turned every single person on the planet into a potential auctioneer and/or a bidder. Auction results depend on many factors such as type of auctions or design, information of bidders valuations (which may be identical or different) and their attitudes towards risk, whether or not bidders bid on many or on a bundle of units and, of course, on whether or not bidders and auctioneers act ethically. For more details and a guide to literature see Klemperer (1999). 2.1 Bidders (or buyers) Table 5 describes five well-known auction types. Bidders in an English auction would have the incentive to bid higher than other bidders but lower than their true valuation. An advantage to English auctions is that, during the auction, bidders may swiftly revise bids upwards (up to but not higher than whatever they are willing to pay) based on information about the valuations of other bidders in the auction. Bidders in Dutch and First-Price Sealed-Bid auctions would have the incentive to bid strategically so that they never lose to someone with a lower valuation of the item under auction. A strategy for the bidder in these auctions would be to shade down the bid to the unknown second highest bid. As explained by Pepall et al. (2005, pp.640-641), each bidder may estimate the second highest bid as follows: assuming that each bidder in the auction believes that her valuation is the highest, if bidders draw from a uniform distribution [0, Ï…] with all N bidders equally spaced on this interval (where Ï… = highest bid), then the average of the highest value in samples of size N drawn from [0, Ï…], or the second highest bid, would be [(N 1) / N]Ï…. (For example, if there are N = 5 bidders and a bidders highest valuation is $100, then the second highest valuation is [(5 1) / 5] $100 = $80; hence, the optimal bid for this bidder would be $80). But, if the bidder is wrong on her beli ef that she is the highest bidder she may lose the auction. Thus, bid shading implies a possible benefit an