CRM in Dubai Arabic Restaurants

Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) is a widely applied strategy used in the retail and hospitality industries to retain customers. To study the effectiveness of applying CRM in Dubai, two culturally local restaurants have been chosen to determine the customer segmentation in regards to the level of CRM performed at each. The focus on local companies allows for a more comprehensive analysis of strategies designed specifically around the Dubai market. The first segment of this report provides a descriptive outline from both primary and secondary research of the two establishments: an Arabic restaurant, Reem Al Bawadi and a Lebanese restaurant, Mezzah House. An analysis of both restaurants determines that Reem Al Bawadi focuses on providing a high customer service level, professionalism, and food quality; whereas Mezzah House relates in a greater extent to the customer in a more comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. However, both restaurants do not implement a specifically designed CRM or retention strategy to build life time relationships with their customers. You can read also Classifications of Restaurants Based on the analysis of both restaurants, it can be concluded that CRM could be effectively implemented but is currently not evident in the retail and hospitality industries in Dubai. The Mezzah House succeeds for instance, through the use of weekly events to attract repeat customers. Similarly, Reem Al Bawadi is able to provide superior customer service (though formal and less personal) through customer feedback survey cards. Neither restaurant identifies with a need for formal CRM strategies to be developed. Both restaurants are sufficiently patronized by both the tourist segment and the locals. Consequently, the implementation of CRM in Dubai, with respect to the demographics of the city (that being 85% of the inhabitants are expatriates which will in time leave the country and tourists) as a whole is not a developing trend in the city at this time. The research summary and CRM justification highlights the differences of two restaurant chains, one US based and one European, who consistently improve the application of CRM and how these techniques could be implemented more directly within the Dubai market. The paper’s conclusion summarizes the important findings including an explanation of why CRM should be implemented in Dubai eateries, as related to the experiences noted within these two restaurants. There are marketing tools in place but not fully utilized as a formal plan for Customer Relationship Marketing. Introduction Utilizing Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) in the retail and hospitality industries to retain customers has been a developing practice throughout U. S. and developed European markets but is rarely recognizable in developing arenas. The question of whether Dubai, a city built from sand to skyscrapers which seems to seep tourist money, could benefit from developing a trend of using CRM to effectively build a relationship with its customers. Through first and secondary research using two culturally local restaurants the paper describes a study in the level of CRM performed in the Dubai market. The first segment of this report provides a description of the establishments: Reem Al Bawadi and Mezzah House. Experience The Food – The Research * Reem Al Bawadi – An Arabic Dining Experience General Description: For the purpose of this paper, the Dubai Jumeirah location of the Reem Al Bawadi, an Arabic restaurant with multiple locations in Dubai, will be discussed. This particular restaurant cannot be accessed by the metro; so, that either a car or taxi is required. The Restaurant provides both outdoor and indoor seating and due to the high ceilings and open spacing inside, a warm and authentic atmosphere is created maintaining the Arabic charm. Indoor seating is divided into two dining areas for smoking and non-smoking guests, both providing free Wi-Fi upon request. The menu ranges from traditional Arabic cuisine to Italian specialties such as pasta and pizza, providing a variety of dishes to the customers. The Jumeirah Road location is frequented by both tourists and local inhabitants and yet the pricing is reasonable when compared to other restaurants in the area. A main course with a drink runs around 70 to 80AED in total. The restaurant welcomes guests for both an entire meal for lunch and dinner or only drinks or small portions during the day. Customer Segmentation: Many of the customers at this location are walk-ins who pass by the restaurant and decide to dine on impulse. Because many are tourists, it is more difficult and almost impossible for the restaurant to build lasting relationships with the tourist segment. As Reem Al Bawadi operates multiple restaurants in Dubai, the steady segment of customers are inhabitants of the city which have visited others within the chain have interest due to a previous experience. Reasonable pricing for a full-service in the right location addresses mainly middle to higher income consumer segments. Customer Relationship Marketing Application: A review of what can be described as outstanding customer service reveals the entire staff to be friendly, helpful and caring for the guests. The waiters are knowledgeable of all the menu and capable recommending specific dishes according to the customer’s palatable tastes. Constantly visible to the guests and ensuring a smooth operation, the manager is of the restaurant seeks to enhance customer satisfaction. The internal organization is clearly hierarchy and women are only placed in the positions of hostess and clerk. They are expected to welcome guests and are not in serving at all. Reem Al Bawadi distributes feedback cards regarding reception, service, cleanliness and food quality in both English and Arabic (see appendix 1). This would indicate customer feedback is used to improve the service level. The employees however, exhibit a formal relationship to all customers and none were recognized as loyal guests or treated differently. The employees do not introduce themselves to the guests nor do they make any attempt to build rapport. Differences Between Primary and Secondary Research: The Reem Al Bawadi homepage is not customer friendly. Although the website provides a clear overview within the different icons, a considerable amount of information is missing. For instance, the history, values, internal operations and even menu prices are not presented on the website. Consequently the company’s strategy for customer retention is not readily apparent. As for social media, the Facebook page also only provides basic information including location, type of cuisine and methods of payment. Facebook and Twitter are used to promote special events such as sporting events but, none of the online marketing tools provide any information about he value of the customer to the company or any explanation of a CRM strategy. Supported by the above described findings of the primary research, it can be concluded that Reem Al Bawadi does not seem to have a specific CRM strategy or show any kind of recognition for repeat customers. Even so, great food and quality service breed positive online reviews which alone can build a loyal cu stomer base. * Mezza House – A Lebanese Arabic flair General Description: The Mezza House is also an Arabic restaurant located within walking distance from the Dubai mall, which can be conveniently accessed by metro or car. Similar to the Reem Al Bawadi, the restaurant offers both outdoor and indoor seating areas. The menu varies from Lebanese to Palestinian, Syrian and Jordanian food, combining it into Levantine cuisine. The menu cards display pictures of dishes so that customers develop a sight appeal to different menu items. The Restaurant is popular for its shisha culture and cosy atmosphere; so much so that non-smoking areas are not provided and usually the restaurant is quite boisterous. The noise level and shisha provides an atmosphere for social gatherings including free Wi-Fi to all guests. Customer Segmentation: The following customer segments were identified at Mezza House:, approximately 80% of the customers are Arab, followed by 15% of local customers and 5% of Western guests. As the restaurant does not provide a separate non-smoking area, it attracts mostly shisha-loving guests and excludes customers who would like to dine in a non-smoking area. The prices are similar to any other restaurant providing Lebanese food and thereby mainly middle to higher income customer segments are attracted, similar to Reem Al Bawadi Restaurant. Customer Relationship Marketing Application: Unlike the previous restaurant, waiters at Mezza House are generally attentive and make distinct efforts to engage with the guests by verifying satisfaction and responding to special requests. In contrast to Reem Al Bawadi, a difference between new and regular customers can be observed, as regular customers are treated as part of a family and some are even addressed by name. In addition, the food presentation is above average. Managers and employees verified that new staff is only hired if prior work experience was proven. Differences Between Primary and Secondary Research: Mezza House actively promotes its special weekly events on their website. These include ‘Ladies’ Night, Friday Brunch, and a Karaoke Night. This is used to generate return business, attracting repeat customers through a special experience married to high quality food. Their social media marketing constantly updates the Facebook with new event announcements and pictures of food. Online customer reviews are positive and relate to a high food quality and exquisite experience. However, many service quality comments are negative. This is mainly based on the fact that the employees relate to the guests in a personal rather than professional way. Customers seeking for a luxurious dining experience will be disappointed. In addition, the service perception of the customer differentiates from the service that the employees and managers would like to promote. Service quality is one of the main ideals for management. Research Summarization and CRM Justification: From the experience and research of both restaurants, it can be concluded that neither has implemented a clearly defined CRM strategy. Reem Al Bawadi does not relate to its customers and seems to gain its profit mostly from tourists and walk-in guests. Nevertheless, the establishment focuses on providing high service levels and exceptional food quality, requesting feedback but not using it to build relationships. The Mezza House has a more customer friendly atmosphere and homepage which actively promotes events to build relationships with guests centered around the dining experience. CRM can be effectively implemented, but is not currently evident in the Dubai retail and hospitality environments. While some elements of CRM are utilized, such as the superior customer service of the Reem Al Bawadi and the weekly events and personalized service in the Mezza House, neither apply customer retention strategies. Since the Reem Al Bawadi is located at Jumeirah Road where tourists and locals pass by, this particular restaurant may not have the need to invest into retaining customers, but as a strategy for the chain it could be utilized. The Mezza House clearly implements more elements of CRM represented through online marketing and relationship uilding; however, except for the weekly events, activities to retain the customers on a long term basis cannot be identified. The experience justifies that CRM can and has been implemented in Dubai, however, on a very limited basis and is not readily apparent in the retail and hospitality industries. * Value CRM IN Dubai Although Dubai has a population of 2. 1 million inhabitants, more than 85% of the population are expatriates who come and lea ve the country. In addition, tourism is the most important economic factor for Dubai, as approximately 13 million tourists per year come to Dubai. Therefore, especially in the hospitality industry, managers might assume that CRM is not applicable as mainly tourists come to visit the restaurants and hotels and expatriates often do not stay for many years. Since the two restaurants chosen for this paper are local, not specifically known by tourists or expats, CRM does not seem to be as applicable as in international chains where customers visit the same brand in different cities of the world. In fact, applying CRM might be easier in cities with a higher percentage of local inhabitants so that life time relationships with customers can be built and become more valuable. Restaurant chains such as the U. S. based O’Charley’s or the Italian chain VaPiano might find it easier to implement CRM in Dubai, as many expats and tourists recognize the brand and would visit a familiar setting or even be curious about the menu in a different country Conclusion: As shown by the examples of Reem Al Bawadi and Mezza House restaurants which implement specific elements of CRM but do not have a defined retention strategy, CRM can be effectively implemented. However, it is currently not widely applied in the Dubai retail and hospitality setting. As both restaurants are located in tourism areas and only 15% of the Dubai market is local, the restaurants are able to gain sufficient revenue from tourists and only a small amount of loyal local customers. Therefore, the restaurants do not visualize the need of implementing a CRM retention strategy. Consequently, due to the unique demographics rarely found in any other city, it is more difficult for Dubai retailers and restaurants to implement CRM. The curiosity of tourists and expats to taste authentic Arabic cuisine enables restaurants to operate successfully without developing a formal CRM strategy which focuses on specific customers. Website reviews such as â€Å"Tripadvisor† and â€Å"Timeout in Dubai† effectively promote the restaurants by word-of-mouth promotion as a marketing tool in contrast to a developed CRM strategy. As a final note, both restaurants were highly recommended for a return visit by the research staff to experience exceptional flavour of food and Arabic culture.

LOUIS VUITTON enter CHINESE MARKET Essay

Luxury product sales boost in the emerging marketing like China, which has extraordinary growth and strong potential consumers for the development of luxury goods in the China market. With gradually lower and lower increase of revenue in the European countries, Louis Vuitton (abridged as LV in the following sections) commits itself to set up more stores in China. However, LV is faced with the problems of declining profits in China, which urges it to adjust its entry strategy into the China market. In this case, this report will focus on distinguishing the factors that influence LV’s development in China and laying out schemes for LV’s entry into China market by initially examining the internal and external environment for LV; analyzing the operational plan for LV’s entry into China based on the environment examination, and generating an action plan for LV’s entry strategy at the end of the report. Introduction Louis Vuitton (abridged as LV in the following sections) is planning to set up more stores in the China market. However, it is now faced with the problems of declining profits in China, which urges it to adjust its entry strategy into the China market. In this case, this report is to lay out schemes for LV’s entry into the China market by distinguishing the internal and external factors that influence LV’s development from the perspectives of country factors and internal advantages of LV with reference to the SWOT analysis model; analyzing the operational plan for LV’s entry into China based on the environment examination and including suggests on firm strategy, organization structure and management, entry strategy and modes, manufacturing management, marketing plan, and accounting as well as finance management; and generating an action plan for LV’s entry strategy at the end of the report according to the specifications of the business operational plan. Research Methods The research method of literature searches is adopted to generate this report. This method is chosen because there are plenty of existing studies  on the development of luxury goods, which makes it possible for abundant literature searches. Also, there are a great many resources on the annual reports of Louis Vuitton available which offer insights into the financial performance of this company. Anyway, luxury goods are indeed possessed by the majority of people, which makes direct interviews or surveys less available. External and Internal Environment The internal and external factors that influence LV’s development will be examined in this section from the perspectives of country factors and internal advantages of LV. A SWOT analysis will be involved in this section, which aims to find out the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of the company according to analysis on the internal conditions of the company and the external environment the company is faced with (Johnson & Scholes, 2002, p122). External environment: Country factor analysis The external environment for LV’s entry into China will be discussed in terms of the politics and government policy of China, the economy and the China market, the social culture and transportation of China, and will be concluded from the perspectives of opportunities and threats for LV’s entry into China. In terms of politics and government policy, China is now actively opening up to the world and enhancing trade relationships with world brands since the reform and opening up policy. In terms of the economy and the China market, according to Yuval and Vinay and Cathy (2011), the analysts of Mckinsey quarterly, China has increasing booming urban cities including the second- and third-tier cities and the world second-largest GDP which means strong purchasing power the China consumers for luxury goods and great market potentials (para 8). They also pointed out that by 2015, Chinese consumers will account for more than 20 percent of the global luxury market. On the other h and, the large market potential has drawn a host of luxury-goods companies to enter the China market, which makes the competition fiercer and fiercer. And it is troublesome for LV that there are plenty of fake goods imitating LV’s style prevailing in China, which are actually not likely to reduce LV’s high-end consumers, but would exert negative influences on consumers’ impression and awareness of LV. I  terms of social culture, for one thing, the China consumers are attracted by middle- and high-end products and somehow more attracted by French luxury goods, and they believe that the higher the price, the better the quality (Yuval, Vinay and Cathy, 2011, para7) (Exhibit 1). For another thing, the traditional virtue of thrift is rooted in the mindset of the Chinese, with which some of the rich in China indicate that they would not spend a large sum of money to get a product. (Exhibit 1) In terms of transportation, airlines are increased like the Emirates group which launched air routines in the main cities of China, and railway transportation as well as road transportation is more and more available, making it convenient and fast for cross-national transportation. Therefore in conclusion, the opportunities for LV’s entry into China can be concluded as China’s encouraging policies on foreign brands’ entering into China; China’s booming urban cities and increasing middle- and upper- class consumers with strong purchasing power; Chinese consumers’ purchasing preference for French high-end products; and the more and more convenient cross-national transportation in China. While the threats for LV’s entry into China entail the fierce competition from the peer companies and brands; the trouble coming from increasing produced counterfeit products imitating LV in China; China consumers’ cautious traditional views on luxury goods purchasing. Anyway, when it comes to China consumers’ rational attitude towards luxury goods purchasing, it may be an opportunity for LV if it succeeds in drawing out their desires and needs for LV’s products, otherwise it may turn out to be a threat for LV’s expansion in China. Internal environment based on national level The advantages of internal environment for LV on national level lie in the its preference and prospect to greatly expand its business in China, its experiences of operating in China market for about twenty years, and its strong influence on and temptation to the China consumers, as well as customer loyalty for it. On the contrary, the disadvantages lie in its high price which will greatly influences China consumers’ will to purchase the products, and in its could-be easily imitated appearance and style which is made used of by some China manufacturers in producing fake goods. Internal environment based on firm level The nature of LV’s products Dubois and Czellar and Laurent (2001) delineated Luxury goods as products with extraordinary quality as well as high price, rareness and uniqueness, aesthetic appeal, respectful long history, and the sense of being superior to others (p156). Yacine and Johnathan and Motohiro (2004) argued that luxury goods manual crafting and diligence should be involved into the manufacturing and designing of luxury goods (para 2). Based on these studies, the nature of LV’s products can be abstracted as unique, rare, and excellent-quality, and extraordinary. I ndustry characteristics of luxury goods Kapferer (1996) suggested that luxury industry distinguishes the needs and demands of the wealthy people like prominent social figures, and produce unique superior products for them, which acts like a status symbol for the rich (p251). While Heine (2010) stated that the luxury industry is also fashion-oriented and high-quality guaranteed. And it is closely associated with the needs of the wealthy. Judging from these studies and the advancement of luxury products nowadays, the industrial characteristics of luxury products can be concluded as extraordinary quality with high guarantee, extremely personalized with unique designed style, strong brand recognition and customer loyalty, and highly profitable sales based on its high price. Advantages and disadvantage of internal environment for LV on firm level The advantages of LV on firm level mainly lie in its good brand image, abundant product portfolio, wide expansion in the China markets covering most of the first- and second-tier cities, and its control on the designs of products. This can be told from the following aspects. Above all, LV enjoys a good reputation of high quality and excellent services that it has occupied the first place of the 2012 Hurun Ranking of the Top ten luxury brands in the world (see Appendix 1), in which LV beats Hermes, the second in the list by nearly 43%. Also, LV offers manual crafting designed products which are special for certain customers. What’s more, it offers permanent after-sale serves to its customers (Paul, 2012, p79). The disadvantages of LV mainly lie in its lower production rate and high price which leaves it less price elasticity. It possessed relatively lower production rate, for it takes certain time and manual efforts to make a high-quality products (Jill & Glenn & Taro, 2009, p122). It sets high prices for its products based on the quality and meanwhile aims to distinguish market segmentation, which however makes the price too high from the perspectives of the majority of China consumers. Marketing potentials In recent years, the China government has made adjustments towards Foreign Direct Investment. It cancelled the extra bonus policy which had existed since the 1980s when China actively encouraged investment on foreign enterprises (Dan, 2009, para1). Anyway, the general tendency of attracting foreign companies to enter into China is still unabated. Therefore, government policies and regulations are still positive for LV’s advancement in China, which indicates that China remains great market potential for LV if it adjusts itself to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages according to the environment. Based on the external and internal environment analysis, an operational plan to help LV enter and compete effectively in the China market will be generated in the following section, which includes consideration to firm strategy, organization structure and management, strategy and modes of LV’s entry into China, manufacturing management, overall marketing plan, and accounting and Finance management of LV facing the entry. Corporation strategy helps direct the future development of firms, including differentiation strategy and low cost strategy (Gerry & Keven & Richard, 2008, p245). The firm strategy suggested for LV to compete in the China market is to differentiate itself from other luxury companies and brands, and the strategy to lower its costs. Apart from the regular introduction of new products or the quality control of products like most luxury companies may do, LV is supposed to give extra care to its customer services, delivering extraordinary experience to customers, like regular special consultancy for every customer to lead the their needs and help them realize personal values relative with LV’s values. As for methods to lower costs,  it can be achieved through managing the operational cost of LV and through cost control in the supply chain of LV. For example, to integrate its resources and improve its supply chain by cooperation with fixed partners who professionally manage logistics in order to get a price discount, which may lower the costs of transportation and save time for product updates. Organization Structure and Management Organizational structure management is for accomplishing certain goals effectively Gerry & Keven & Richard, 2008, p137). For LV as an international company, the organization form of departmentalization is rather appropriate. With human resources gathered and organizational structure formed through departmentalization, the process of delegation is to be introduced. Delegation is to delegate certain authority and responsibility to the staff and achieve harmony and trustworthiness among leaders and staff (Robbins & Mary & Nancy, 2005, p165). LV has a big number of stores in China, and it will be better if the headquarter delegates authority for the managers in the branches in China, who are then able to manage the stores more practically and efficiently. Based on the managing form of departmentalization and the method of delegation, the form of decentralization can be adopted. If the business of a company is in fast pace and tend to change quickly, and is operated in diversified different areas, it should choose the form of decentralization (Robbins & Mary & Nancy, 2005, p165). As an international luxury company with operating areas in all geographic parts of China, LV values timeliness and adaptability towards the quickly changing fashion world, which makes decentralization suitable for LV’s development in China market. Entry strategy and modes The entry modes for international companies entail strategic alliance, exporting, licensing or franchising, joint venture, a new wholly owned subsidiary, and acquiring established enterprises (David & Cynthia, 2004, p147). As for LV, a luxury brand which is positioned as high-end, unique and high-price, it would be better for it to establish its own stores in the targeted country (Giacalone, 2006, p33). Since LV has its own stores in China, it adopts the wholly owned subsidiary method of entry so as to hold  its characteristic of unique and independent, and to pursue global standardization. Where to enter into is essential for LV’s operation in China. LV has already set up stores in all the geographical areas of China (Exhibit 2), and most of its focus is the first-tier cities and less second-tier cities. For example, nearly 33% of LV’s stores in China are located in Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan (Exhibit 2), while there are a great many second-tier cities where many wea lthy people inhabit in mainland China. According to the table of index of China’s cities for luxury product operation (Exhibit 3), second-tier cities like Shenyang, Dalian, Hangzhou, and Chengdu have great potentials for luxury product operation. Moreover, second-tier cities like Dalian, Hangzhou and Chengdu are among the most popular tourism cities in China, where tourists are more likely to purchase luxury products when they are in their pleasant holidays with planned shopping lists. Also, the renting rate of second-tier cities is much cheaper than first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai. As for LV, whose stores often cover a large amount of space, second-tier cities will save it considerable amounts of costs. Therefore, second-tier cities should be the primary choices of LV’s operation in China market. Manufacturing management Manufacturing management is associated with production for global markets, outsourcing and logistics management (Philip & Gary, 2009, chap13). As for LV, its production is unique and enjoys good reputation among consumers for they are produced in France, labeled as high-quality and high-level. Therefore in this case, production activities of LV are supposed to be located in France. In terms of logistics, it will be better for LV to outsource the management of logistics to companies that are professional in this field, for LV has no experiences in logistics and it should focus on the production and sales of products instead. Marketing plan Marketing Strategy can be formulated with references to the following aspects: Product attributes, Distribution methods, communication approaches, and pricing strategy (Alan and Simon, 2012, p399). Apart from the four aspects listed above, marketing strategy is influenced primarily by market  segmentation (David & John, 2012, p102). With regards to age, socio-cultural factors, economic development and the psychological factors, LV narrows its target market in China to the young and adult generations who are under the age of forty. Anyway, the primary focused consumers are adults. In this case, LV is supposed to give more care to the young, who are the right future potential customers for LV. Besides, the young of the rich families in China can often easily win parents’ compromise and financial support to purchase luxury products. Therefore, emphasis on unique products for the young is highly profitable in return and may also bring vigor to the growth of LV. In terms of product attributes, it is critical for the development of products, for it the product attributes satisfy the customer’s needs, the product will definitely boost sales (Alan and Simon, 2012, p399). LV’s product attributes as products with extraordinary quality as well as high price, rareness and uniqueness, aesthetic appeal, respectful long history, and high-class awareness greatly meet customers’ needs for supreme experience and extraordinary taste. Therefore, it should focus on product designs that can differentiate its products from those of other brands to keep its customer loyalty. As for distribution methods, LV should stick to its strategy of selling its products directly to consumers through its stores, for it has independent stores and distribution system. Anyway, it is possible for LV to set up online stores under the circumstance of the China market. In terms of internet shopping, which is now prevailing in China, and the electronic commerce of China is gradually become mature. Amazon and China’s T-Mall online shopping has reached high turnover in recent years (The Economist, 2011). In terms of China consumers, who prefer to shop online especially the young and the adult, with internet becoming more and more available for the Chinese people, China online market has high potential for LV’s attempt at online stores. In terms of communication approaches, LV is involved more in direct selling, and advertising. In terms of direct selling through stores, it creates opportunities for deepening the communication between consumers and the staff of LV. In terms of advertising, LV focuses on delivering its value and product attributes to consumers and it choose its spokesperson cautiously. Selecting spokesmen for LV is quite a good choice for the development in China, especially for attracting the young. For example, the newly selected and the only spokesman  for LV in China, Bingbing FAN is quite appropriate for the disposition of LV, unique, independ ent and elegant, which has become a big piece of news in China and has intensified the public focus on LV recently. Therefore, the right choice of spokeman will benefit LV in the China market. Anyway, the country-of-origin effect takes effects on the Chinese people who deeply believe in French luxury products (Glamheden, 2006, p35). In terms of pricing strategy, it will be better for LV to keep the same price in different countries, which means the amount of money consumers spend in a LV store in China is the same as that in France in value. This is because that some Chinese prefer to fly to France to get the LV products for it’s cheaper in France. In order to boost sales in China market, it’s better to apply the same pricing strategy. Accounting and finance management As for accounting management of LV in China, LV has to pay great attention to the inflation conditions of the China market, which has been rising in recent years both in food and non-food prices (Jay and Azhar, 2011, para2). LV should adjust its pricing strategy and accounting management according to the inflation conditions of China, for if inflation goes high, assets will be depreciated and the original price cannot represent the real value of LV’s products (Mankiw, 2011, p643). Mankiw states that inflation results to the value depreciation of money, which will benefit the export of the home country and make it disadvantageous for the import from foreign countries’ import to the home country. This explains the significance for LV to adjust its price according to the inflation conditions in China market. In order to create and maintain a competitive advantage, LV’s financial management should be involved financial control and money management (Alan & Simon, 2012 , p423). Now that LV has already decided to invest in the China market, financial decisions and the money management are to be focused on. In terms of financial decisions, according to Alan and Simon’s theory (2012) on financing decisions, LV may prefer local debt financing in the China market, where local currency has recently depreciated. In terms of money management, LV should try to reduce the transaction costs, which is generated when a firm transfers cash from one currency to another (Alan & Simon, 2012, p433). Recommendations- action plan With the help of the discussion of the China market environment for LV, and the analysis and conclusion of the operational plan for LV’s entry into China in the previous sections, recommendations for action plans for LV will be given as follows. As for formulating firm strategies, LV is supposed to take the differentiation strategy by distinguishing itself from other luxury companies by emphasis on high quality and exclusive customer services, and to adopt the cost reducing strategy by integrating resources of its supply chain and reducing transportation costs through the long-term cooperation with professional partners of logistics fields. As for organization structure and management, the organization form of departmentalization with a combination of functional forms, product, consumer service and geographic area is recommended. Next, the method of delegation can be introduced for LV so as to delegate authority for the managers in the China stores. Last but not least, it will be better for LV to implement the form of decentralization, which will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of LV’s operation in China. As for entry strategy and modes, with wholly owned subsidiary, LV should cautiously select its targeted locations in China. Apart from the first-tier cities, second-tier cities where there is considerably strong purchasing power and lower renting costs would be appropriate for LV to set up new stores. As for manufacturing management, production activities of LV are supposed to be located in France, for effect of country-of-origin works on China consumers who believe that goods produced in France would be more reliable and high-end. In terms of logistics, LV is supposed to outsource its management of logistics to companies that are professional in this field. As for marketing plan, LV should continue to highlight its product attributes like high quality and exclusive design to consumers, to apply the communicatio n approach of advertising using the spokesman strategy, and to keep price nearly the same in different countries without dramatically change. As for accounting and finance management, LV should adjust its pricing strategy and accounting management according to the inflation conditions of China, and to focus on its financial decisions, and money management decisions. Specifically, LV may adopt local debt financing in the China market, and try to reduce the transaction costs. References Alan M. & Simon C. (2012). International business. London: Pearson. Dan H. (2009). Foreign direct investment in China-the times has changed. Retrieved from: http://www.chinalawblog.com/2009/04/foreign_direct_investment_in_c_1.html David C. & Cynthia M. (2004). Corporate strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill. David J. & John F. (2012). Foundations of marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill. Dubois, B., Laurent, G. & Czellar, S. (2001). Consumer rapport to luxury: analyzing complex and ambivalent attitudes, Retrieved from: http://ideas.repec.org/p/ebg/heccah/0736.html Gerry J., Kevan S. & Richard W. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, p245-p266. Giacalone, J. (2006). The market for luxury goods: the case of the Comità © Colbert, Southern Business Review, 32(1), 33-40. Glamheden A. (2006). Country-of-origin effects and consumer attitudes towards luxury brands, Doctoral thesis. University of St. Gallen. Retrieved from: http://www.gbv.department/ Heine, K. (2010). The personality of luxury fashion brands, Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 1(3), p88. Jay H. & Azhar I. Does China have an inflation problem? Wells Fargo Securities. Retrieved from: http://www.realclearmarkets.com/blog/ChinaInflation_03292011_final%5B1%5D.pdf Jill G., Glenn B. & Taro I. (2009). Art, fashion and architecture. New York. Publisher: Rizzoli. Johnson, G & Scholes, K. (2002). Exploring corporate strategies. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Kapferer, J. (1996). Managing luxury brands. The Journal of Brand Management, 4(4), 251-260. Mankiw G. & Mark P. (2011). Economics.2nd Revised ed. UK. New York: Cengage Learning. Paul G. P., (December 1, 2012), Louis Vuitton: the birth of modern luxury. U.S.A. New York: Abrams. Philip K. & Gary A. (2009). Principles of marketing. U.S.A. Washington: Pearson Education. Robbins p. & Mary C. & Nancy L. (2005). Management. 8th ed. Canada. Washington: Pearson Education. The Economist Journal, (2011). E-commerce in China: the great leap online. . Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/21540260 Yacine A., Johnathan A. & Motohiro Y. (2004). Luxury goods and the equity premium, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 6, No. 6, p46. Yuval A., Vinay D. & Cathy W. (2011). Tapping China’s luxury-goods market. Mckinsey quarterly. Retrieved from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Tapping_Chinas_luxury-goods_market_2779

Sustainability framework on Apple and Samsung Essay

Sustainability framework on Apple and Samsung - Essay Example Recognition of organizations embracing environment sustainable frameworks is because climate change has become a significant issue in the society (Hart, 1997). A sustainable framework consists of Clean technology, sustainability vision, Pollution prevention and Product Stewardship (Hart, 1997). This paper will analyze two companies in the same industry in regards to their efforts to reduce environmental pollution. The analysis will be on Apple and Samsung companies. In addition, the paper will compare the sustainability framework suggested by Hart to the framework implemented by these two companies. Samsung has been viewed as a leader in this particular industry. Since the creation of Samsung, a lot has been put in place to reduce environmental pollution. Samsung is a telecommunications company with a variety of products on its brand. Its major products are mobile phones, computers and other electronics. The company has a significant global market with target market across the globe. 70 % of all nations across the globe boast of at least one major Samsung outlet (Magureanu, 2013). For this reason, the production level of the business entity is significant considering the level of demand on its products. With a large production level, the levels of emissions in the practice are also high. For this reason, this organization has set strategies to reduce their emissions to the environment. This is the ability of an organization to use technology that is environmental friendly. In addition, an organization should be able to develop approaches to technology that are environmental friendly. Samsung is developing technology that considers suitability to the environment (Magureanu, 2013). Comparing old and new products by Samsung, there are significant differences in the hazardous nature of the product. In an argument by Hart (1997) Samsung products are less radioactive even when

Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 4

Accounting - Essay Example Other companies can reside their head offices in other foreign countries. Therefore, the investment in other companies can be beneficial for the company in a manner that, the interest rate paid on the investment can be higher than the company home place. In questions below, we will record the accounting impact of investments in other companies with the help of double general journal entries (Cespa, 2002). Journal Entries: Anytime when a business does financial transactions, they record it with the help of a journal entry posted in the general journal under specific account heads of the transaction (Peavler, 2015). They are very important for keeping the records of the daily transactions done under the specific account head of the business. With the help of journal entries, the basic financial standing of the account head can be figured out. They also help the companies to monitor their cash-flow from the receivables and payables. They help business in accumulating a number of expenses done in a transaction. If the journal entries are not maintained, the finance department or the outside audit companies can be lost during the search of financial data to assert the income and its tax. Short term investments are the part of current assets on the balance sheet as short-term investments are the part of the debt or equity. These investments are the investments made in deposit certificates, interest based bonds and high-value bonds. They are recorded at cost and are cost adjusted with respect to change in their market prices (Needles, Powers, & Crosson, 2012). They can easily be liquidated. Therefore with high level of liquidity, the short term investments can save the Clarity Corporation from being dissolvent i.e. they will be an un-gained income for the company and while calculating the total income, they will have a strong cash position with respect to their rivals in the market. With the strong cash position, the corporation can invest in those

Online Business Technologies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Online Business Technologies - Term Paper Example Successful organizations have been at the forefront of implementing e-commerce to integrate business processes and enhance work operations within the organization. The changes heralded by ICT are likely to accelerate in the future and herald fresh technological developments within the digital economy that are likely to generate fresh fundamental approaches to e-business of economy, government, and society accompanied by social and political implications (Stephen 2005, p.2). The term e-commerce is employed to describe online transactions incorporating the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. The advantages of e-business encompass: yielding enhanced precision, quality and time demanded to update and delivering information on products or services; awarding client s the possibility of accessing the catalogs and prices at all time. E-business allows adoption of a fast and immediate way of conducting transactions and allows the electronic delivery of products and enh anced market, competitor intelligence (Phan 2003, p.581). Indeed, e-business has led to an expansion of customer base and rise within export opportunities. E-business pursues utilizing the Internet and linked technologies to integrate and redesign the organization’s internal activities, processes, and external relations, and generate fresh ways of working that are dramatically different from, and frequently superior to what was possible previously. E-business may encompass aspects such as electronic invoicing, electronic supply chain, and electronic marketing and promoting (Lawson 2001, p.377). Some of the conditions critical for e-business entail aspects such as configuration of all processes with the internet; significant revenue contribution from the internet; 24/7electronic infrastructure; and, profit and loss focus. E-business refers to the term employed to describe the mode of utilizing the internet to operate a business. E-commerce encapsulates the ordering, purchasing , slang, and paying for products and services by utilizing the internet. E-business only mirrors a fraction of the global business and can be highlighted as a leading sector that avail entrepreneurs with a suitable platform for entering the market (AMit and Zott 2001, p.493). E-business represents the strategic employment of internet tools and technologies with the aim of enriching all aspects of a business such as marketing, sales, or back-end activities. Background The internet has over time become an increasingly critical part of people’s lives. Indeed, e-business is increasingly permeating the mainstream business culture and becoming a medium connecting consumers and enterprises. Despite the increased growth of e-business, the majority of the industries are yet to realize the full potential of the internet, and there are numerous opportunities that stand to be exploited (Stephen 2005, p.3). This should be undertaken in full knowledge of the fact that technology takes time to thrive and become broadly available. As such, society requires time to adjust to allow all stakeholders to abandon their previous ways of undertaking things, and start utilizing the new technology in such a manner that it actually generates value. Rapid development in infrastructure and services has been widely witnessed in both private and private sectors organizations. The growth that the ICT sector has witnessed has yielded to IT representing one of the biggest capital expenditure by companies/businesses. A significant part of government initiatives has frequently been targeted at increasing the investments within ICT.

Risk Measurement Technique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk Measurement Technique - Essay Example Risk Management is a separate discipline that looks into all the possible aspects and reasons which could count as a risk in a particular background. The aim of risk management is to preempt any incident that might take place, and it focuses on the principle of prevention rather than correction. Risks are of different types, there could be risks towards the financial side of an organization, or the data contained by the department, or the risk of loss of experts and personnel due to various reasons (Hopkin,2012). Risk management techniques focus on a couple of simple and basic questions which pertain to the identification of source of risk. Once the source is determined, their impacts are evaluated, in case of extremely busy lines as is the case in few industries, prioritization is performed, and after that the probable solutions are devised. Various techniques are being used in the field of risk management, however the first and foremost step towards risks mitigation is its identification; it is a normally being said that solution to the problem lies in identifying the problem first.( Ziegler, pg 255, 2005) The same mechanism follows in the case of risk. A proper risk management approach should be adopted. Internationally and professionally there are a large number of measurement techniques for risk. After the step of identification, analysis is conducted which mainly includes understanding the nature and level of severity of a particular risk. All possible impacts and dimensions of the risk are studied and their possible impacts are studied as well. It is a bottom up approach that performs the evaluation keeping in mind all the possible factors that could create any risk. It looks into the processes, products and individuals which could generate any risk. Its strength is the identification of the areas which could be prone to failure and risk, and based on the knowledge, it enables taking

Investment Analysis Coursework 2001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investment Analysis Coursework 2001 - Essay Example ‘Herd’ implies a social grouping of people, who have similar understanding or perception about anything. Here ‘herd’ implies the people, who have the same viewpoint within the stock market. The above statement briefs that market movements are dependent on individuals. If a person buys a particular stock and he is a popular figure in the community and society, then every individual intends to purchase this stock and this is simply because the first person has bought it, not because of the market value of the stock. â€Å"Perhaps 100 people were simply imitating the coin flipping call of some terribly persuasive personality† (Buffett n.d. p. 4). The ‘margin of safety’ principle implies that safety should be ensured while buying stocks. Walter has justified that while dealing in the stock market, it should always be remembered that it is other people’s money which is being handled. Therefore it reinforces the ethics to strongly avert losses while dealing in stocks. It should always be remembered that money is real and therefore should be handled appropriately. If the net worth of a business is $1 and it can be obtained at 40 cents, then it aims to generate profit. In the stock markets risks and rewards are correlated because as the stock grows riskier, more are the returns from this stock. Even though a high risk stock would be able to generate more returns, yet a risky stock can also generate less or nil returns because the stock’s performance is dependent upon its market performance, which is guarded by several principles. Rational pricing is very important in the stock market, as this pricing is needed for fixed income securities and bonds. Rational pricing implies such a type of pricing, which represents that the market price of the assets in the stock market is free of any arbitrage pricing. Eugene Fama has been propounded as the father of the theory of ‘efficient market hypothesis’. Fam a stated two theories related to the efficient market hypothesis. The first theory was classifying the markets on the basis of three types of efficiency. Fama classified three forms of efficiency which are as follows: Strong form efficiency Semi strong form efficiency Weak form efficiency The strong form efficiency implies that all information related to the firm is incorporated in the price of the stock of the firm. The strong form tests are concerned with whether investors or investor groups have monopolistic access in determining the price of a stock. The semi strong form tests imply the prices are adjusted according to the information available about the firm in their announcements to the public, such as announcements of annual earnings, the stock splits etc. that the firm has witnessed. The weak form efficiency is such a test, where only the historical prices of stocks have been displayed to the public and no other details about the firm is divulged. Fama describes the market e fficiency hypothesis to be very simple, which simply points out that the market price of a stock represents all the vital information about the firm. The second concept, which Fama stated with respect to the efficient market hypothesis, was the concept of market efficiency, which can be rejected only with a rejection of the

Global finacial crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Global finacial crisis - Research Paper Example Liquidity rate is the process of transforming solid assets into actual money. It is an indication of insufficient flow of finances. This work focuses on the global financial crisis with regards to its causes, effects and remedies among other aspects. This crisis was caused by several factors more so in the developed world. One of the major causes was the collapse of the real estate sector in 2006. This occurred when the sector lost its securities (pricing). The majority of major financial institutions had to close some operations since majority of them depend on the real estate. This happened when the U.S among other developed nations like United Kingdom established some policies that enabled citizens to own homes by creating a general platform for easy access of housing loans and mortgages. This was a predicament that the move would provide adequate capital to the banks through safe interests. This caused housing prices to reduce from 2006 to 2012. Several real estate agencies or co mpanies reported the greatest losses in the entire history of the sector. This could be indicated in the regional and international stock markets. The policy enables the majority to own their own homes, hence very few people were left to rent or purchase housing facilities from the real estate sector or agencies. ... Most of these companies are funded by institutional investors as well as foreign banks. This compelled President George W. Bush to declare insufficient bailout to the majority of the homeowners who could not repay their mortgage debts or loans. In short, the crisis was a result of policies that enabled citizens acquires loans to build their private residential structures, only for the majority of them to fail to pay their mortgage debts. The government had to offer some bail out, even though at some point, the president declared that were limited resources to offer such bailouts. Depreciation of house prices increased to an extent that such values were far much below the mortgages. This created a kind of foreclosure in the financial sector. From 2006, there was a kind of financial drain from the consumers; as a result, this weakened financial stability among the banking institutions. There was a huge pool of loan defaulters, which compromised the housing market and the national econo my as a whole. The loss was estimated to be trillions of U.S Dollars on a global scale. Much blame for the crisis is placed on the U.S government to establish some policies that encouraged direct deals between the citizens and the global or major financial institutions. History indicates that before 1970, United States ventured on a certain business or economy strategy where vital economic issues were enclosed to the government and not the public. During that period, there were limited deals between the governmental or global financial institutions and private developers, instead the government recognized corporations, companies or partners. Any party wishing to get some loans was to

Debate & MySpace Essay Example for Free

Debate MySpace Essay The motion here today is that Social networking sites can actually cause more harm than good. We do not however deny the fact that in today’s society, these social networking sites do bring benefits to our daily life and also in the ever growing business industry. For example, it helps us connect with our loved ones who are halfway round the globe, or even a marketing platform for business developers with its vast consumer reach. On the other hand, what we are affirming today is that despite it upsides, it can bring about MORE harm than good. It is an increasingly untenable fact, especially with the ease of access to the internet to virtually anyone, that these social media can have more negative effects than good. This is Veronica, she will be speaking about the negative effects that it will bring to our health and financial fraud. Secondly, Hema will elaborate further the effects on business risk and personal risk. Thirdly, Nazrul will touch on the topic of productivity and cyber-criminal activities. Last but not least, Joshua will briefly wrap up about this debate. This is a 5-round debate, and we look forward to challenging our opponent in this controversial topic. Social networking sites are websites that facilitate communication between 2 or more individuals. When we are communicating with 2 or more individuals, many fail to realise that we are essentially putting out information on ourselves out there on the World Wide Web. There are obviously a lot of privacy issues at hand when this happens. Im certain that the opposition will argue that we have control of what we share over the internet, and we can prevent these issues from happening. Even if we are very careful on what information we share, we still cannot prevent all forms of privacy violation  from happening. An article on The Guardian UK states that Facebook users are unwittingly revealing intimate secrets including their sexual orientation, drug use or political beliefs. A research shows that just by looking at a user’s Like activities, they can predict information about the user. Researchers are able to predict a users characteristics, race, religion, beliefs and political views with up to an accuracy rate of a shocking 88%. Even if we do put in controls, data on these sites are still accessible to anyone, especially those with expertise in the IT arena. A student from the University of Georgia is suing her university of $2 million dollar over the misuse of her Facebook picture. The University have pulled out a picture of her in a bikini from her social media account for a district-wide presentation campaign raising awareness on what not to do on social media. Incidentally, this student has set her privacy settings to only allow her friends to view her pictures. These examples here gives a fair indication of how our personal information can be accessed by almost anyone regardless of the measures that we took to protect our information. And if the opposition party would like to argue that it is the user’s decision NOT to put anything on the social sites, then I think that it would be considered as NOT USING these social media sites in any case, and as such, would be irrelevant to the topic of today. Another issue that I would like to address today is Cyber Bullying. Cyber bullying is a very serious problem because it’s very harmful to younger generation psychologically and also physically. Most bullies don’t think about what they say or do have an enormous effect on others. A very famous case sparked the attention of many people to realize that cyber bullying does have a very negative effect. The case of Amanda Todd shocked the world as she posted a video before committing suicide. In the black white video, Amanda tells the world her story of years of bullying. I now would like to pass on to my fellow colleague who will go on to the second point. Cyber Bullying Amanda Todd http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Girl-Commits-Suicide-After-Being-Cyber-Bullied/qIO2h9LBhUaCEB_3oQlbzg.cspx Jessica Laney http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/social-media-blamed-teen-suicide-article-1.1218550 Eden Wormer http://abcnews.go.com/US/bullied-teen-commits-suicide-posting-loves-haterz/story?id=15887174 http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/mar/11/facebook-users-reveal-intimate-secrets http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/student-sues-school-district-for-using-her-facebook-bikini-picture-in-school-wide-presentation/ http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/selfies-damage-relationships-study-article-1.1424830 http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/internet-is-bad-for-kids-mental-health-237178.html In Wake Of Teen Suicides, Ask.fm Faces A Myspace Problem

Application of Anthropological Concepts Essay Example for Free

Application of Anthropological Concepts Essay Concepts in anthropology, especially those which describe, predict, explain, and evaluate the behavior of groups or categories of people are termed as general or explanatory concepts. Kinship, marriage, religion, race, class, and language are some of the general concepts being studied in the field of anthropology. In a way, general concepts can also be used to create models that will facilitate hypothesis testing. In essence, this type of concept is generally a medium of creating specific concepts – concepts which represent a part of a general phenomenon. One may argue that it is difficult to delineate the boundary between a general and a specific concept. However, it should be noted that general concepts represent realities magnified by the rigours of scientific investigation. In some cases, general concepts are known as ideal types (although this is fairly incorrect since ideal types are measurements of existing systems – although derived from it). In this essay, two academic articles or books will be presented to highlight some important concepts applied in the study of anthropology. The first article is a review of Bronislaw Malinowski ethnographic study in the Trobriand Islands. This article focuses on the general effect of kinship to the latent system of a preliterate society and vice-versa. The general thesis of Malinowski study is summed up as follows: Kinship determines the structure of law; law determines the structure of the society. His thesis will be explained in detailed in the following pages. The second article is an ethnographic study of Indian reservations in the United States. Race is the central concept in this article. The thesis of the article is; modernization in the United States erased the Indian notion of race as embodiment of cultural identity. Kinship and Law Firth (1980), in his review of Bronislaw Malinowski study on the Trobriand Islands, identified two types of laws: civil law and criminal law. The first one is positive law governing all the phases of tribal life. The second type is made up of rules safeguarding such institutions as chieftainship, exogamy, rank, and marriage. Thus, the â€Å"civil law, in contrast to criminal, is the ‘law obeyed and not the law broken’† (Firth, 1980:73). The creation of a law system in the Trobriand Islands, according to Malinowski, is essentially based on kinship. The system of law was created to foster greater solidarity among kin or family members. This was later extended to clans outside the immediate kin. Thus, the first type of law (civil) was essentially created out of this purpose. Formal rules governing chieftainship, rank, marriage, and exogamy were essentially derivations of the former. According to Malinowski, since the law was created to maintain kinship ties, it has therefore four senses. Here are as follows: (1) the law of cultural determinism, (2) the law or rule of native conduct, (3) the law of order and maintenance, and (4) the mechanisms of law when breach occurs. In essence, these senses of the law determine the shape or form of preliterate societies. In general, kinship and law are highly associated concepts since they determine the outcome of social relationships. Specifically, according to Malinowski, societies as old as those found in the Trobriand Islands do not need a definite set of laws to define its kinship structure since rules are essentially derived from kin systems. Race and Modernity Lynch (1974), in his ethnographic study on Indian reservations, argued that the modernization process occurring in the reservations was generally dangerous for the whole Indian community in the United States. The dangers are as follows; 1) The basic assumptions of Indian-American culture are radically changing. For example, close family ties are becoming absent in some Indian reservations; 2) Race assumptions are also changing. In the past, â€Å"race† for Indians refer to â€Å"common cultural identity. † Nowadays, American Indians associate race with â€Å"stereotype labeling of an oppressed minority. † In short, the term race was used to convey a â€Å"glorious statement of cultural identity† in the past in contrast to its derogatory sense nowadays. 3) And, the modernization process is creating mediums for racial discrimination. For example, before 1960, it was illegal for Indians to work in mines unless certified by the Employment Bureau (this had been eliminated in the late 1960s, although Indians still face the insecurity and discrimination in the workplace). The author concluded that the modernization process of Indian reservations in the United States had been based on false assumptions; assumptions derived from the West. According to him, â€Å"it provided a glimpse of their future as well, a glimpse made all the more comforting to the West by the assurance it gave †¦ path to modernity† (Lynch, 1974:186). References Man and Culture: An Evaluation of the Work of Bronislaw Malinowski. 1980. Ed Raymond Firth. Britain: Redwood Burn Limited. Rethinking Modernization. Ed. John Poggie and Robert Lynch. 1974. Political Modernization in a Native American Community. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Advantages And Limitations Of Topical Negative Pressure Therapy

Advantages And Limitations Of Topical Negative Pressure Therapy Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a new method used for improving wound healing. It influences granulation formation, bacterial colonization, and increasing wound blood flow. Although this method has been used explosively for wound healing, its influences are not cleared enough. So the main aim of this review article is to weight up the benefits and problems associated with this method. Method: An electronic search was done via Pubmed, Embase and ISI web of knowledge data from 1960 to 2010. The abstracts and titles of each paper were analysed and selected according to especial parameters. Result: The results of the relevant literature were characterized based on the benefits and problems associated with use of this method. Discussion: Direct comparison of NPWT with other available method is difficult. Although there are some research to support the effectiveness of using this new method on wound healing, more controlled clinical trials are needed to defiantly prove that the NPWT is less expensive and more effective wound care modality. A wound is defined as a break in the skin which is usually caused by cuts or scraps. The selection of the treatment methods depends upon the severity of the wounds (how serious they are). Healing is a response of the injury that sets into motion a sequence of events. There are classically four stages associated with wound healing which include: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodelling (Hart, 2002, Stephens and Thomas, 2002, OKane, 2002). Many factors can interact with one or more phases of wound healing process which can facilitate or decrease its rate, such as local and systematic factors. Local factors are those which directly influence characteristics of wound itself, while systematic factors consists of those which related to state of individuals and their abilities regarding wound healing. Some systematic factors include infection, age and sex hormones, stress, diabetic, obesity, medication, alcoholism, smoking and nutrition and using some treatment method such a s Topical wound healing (Guo and DiPietro, 2010, Ranzato, 2009, Urschel et al, 1988, Argenta and Morykwas, 1997, Kirby, 2007). The effects of some factors such as oxygenation, infection, age, stress, medication, obesity, nutrition are well described in the literature and were investigated by many researchers(Guo and DiPietro, 2010, Shepherd et al, 2006, Lioupis, 2005). However, using some parameters such as topical negative pressure therapy (TNPT) is new method for wound healing (Miryam et al, 1999, Kirby, 2007). Pressure is one important parameter which can influence wound healing. In one side, it can decrease the speed of healing as produce skin ulcers in some patients suffering from stroke and spinal cord injury and those who need to be in bed for a long time. In other side, it can be used to facilitate the wound healing process, especially in chronic wound (Miryam et al, 1999, Argenta and Morykwas, 1997, Evans and Land, 2001). In contrast to other available methods, this procedure is a little bit new so the main aim of this review article was to review the relevant literature regarding TNPT and its influ ences on wound healing. Moreover, it was aimed to show the positive and the side effects of using this method. Method: An electronic search was done via the Pubmed, Embase and ISI web of knowledge data from 1960 to 2010. The abstracts and titles of each individual study were assessed by author. A first selection of relevant literature article was done based on weather the title and abstract addressed the research question of interest. Figure 1 shows the stages which were selected in this review process. The second selection of the articles was done according to the following criteria: experiment practice published in English addressing using this method on wound healing Figure 1: The stages which were selected in this research study The results of the various research studies were characterized based on mechanism of action, the instrument used and the benefits and problems associated with the use of this method. Result: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is also known as Tropic Negative Pressure (TNP) used as a non pharmacological treatment for chronic and actuate wounds, such as pressure ulcers, diabetic wounds, abdominal and trauma wounds (Argenta and Morykwas, 1997, Evans and Land, 2001, Kirby, 2007, Miryam et al, 1999). What is NPWT? This method of treatment based on this idea to turn the open wound into a close one. Moreover, it is possible to remove the excess fluid from the wound. Although, this method has been used exclusively in UK since 1995, the idea behind this method is not new. For nearly more than 50 years suction drainage has been used. It has been reported that continues suction, negative pressure drainage serve as an excellent atmospheric bandage in subcutaneous surgical procedure and help to increase the speed of wound healing. The concept was based on mechanics of physics. The application of controlled subatomospheric pressure causes mechanical stress to the tissues. The new vessels are constructed with in the tissue and the wound is drawn closed. It should be noted that the degree of pressure to the wound tissue is small, but when all areas of the wound work togheter in an efford to close toward the centre point, the effects of negative pressure become impressive and results in quicker healing an d resolution. This system consists of non adherent, porous wound dressing (polyurethane foam or gauze dress) and a drainage system which are attached to each others by use of a transparent film. The foam is connected to a VAC vacuum pump through an evacuation tube. The suction guarantee a continues vacuum in the polyurethane foam producing a high contact zone in wound foam interface. It is required to change the foam every 2 days. The system is commercially available in UK since 1995 and has been used significantly for wound healing. Figure 2 shows various components of this system. Figure 2: The NPWT system used for improving wound healing ( adapted from (Miryam et al, 1999) with permission NPWT has three forms which differ based on the type of dress used, such as Bio Dome, gauze and foam. The polyurethane foam was used first by Morkey and Argenta in 1997. It has been reported that the foam can be easily cut according to the wound size, especially those which has a regular contour and used when better granulation formation and wound contraction is a desirable goals. However, gauze can be used for sensitive and irregular wounds. The type of selected foam is based on the type of wound as is mentioned in table 1. The foam is placed into the defect and the area is covered with adhesive drape. The suction generate a continues vacuum in the foam, producing a high contact zone in wound foam interface so a vacuum seal is achieved. It should be mentioned that the negative pressure applied on the wound is 125 mm HG below ambient that is transmitted to the wound in a controlled manner. The selected pressure in this system is based on especial guidelines as shown in table 2. Wound Description Poly- urethane (black foam) Polyvinyl- alcohol (soft foam) Both Either Deep, acute wounds with moderate granulation tissue growth X X Deep wounds with extremely rapid growth in granulation tissue Deep pressure ulcers X Superficial wounds X Postgraft therapy X Fresh grafts X Compromised flaps X Tunneling/sinus tracts/undermining X Diabetic ulcers X Dry wounds X X Deep trauma wounds X Superficial trauma wounds Table 1: The types of the foam used in NPWT system Wound Type Target Pressure Poly-urethane Target Pressure Polyvinyl- alcohol Acute/traumatic wound 125 mm Hg 125-175 mm Hg Surgical wound dehiscence 125 mm Hg 125-175 mm Hg Meshed graft 75-125 mm Hg 125 mm Hg Pressure ulcer 125 mm Hg 125-175 mm Hg Chronic ulcer (diabetic/arterial vascular) 50-75 mm Hg 125-175 mm Hg Fresh flap 125 mm Hg 125-175 mm Hg Compromised flap 125 mm Hg 125-175 mm Hg Table 2: The selected negative pressure used in NPWT based on the type of foam used Evidences regarding NPWT: There are some evidences regarding the positive effects of using NPWT on wound healing. The main advantages of this treatment method include: provision of moist wound healing environment removal of the fluids and infection material which help the wound to heal speedy assisted profusion decreased bacterial colonisation enhance formation of granulation tissue rapid cell division increased blood flow increased number of active fibroblasts and macrophages enhance epidermal cell formation decreased harmful chronic wound fluid reduced the number of dressing changes and decrease damage to underlined tissue provision of mechanical approximation of wound edges promotion of viscoelastic flow due to tissue stretch limitation of zone of injury after orthopaedic trauma splinting effect Indication and contraindication of using NPWT: The foot and drug administration (FDA) approved this method for treatment of non healing wounds. Then it has been extended to include chronic, acute, and traumatic and sub acute wounds, flaps and grafts. In the United State of America the following contraindications have been considered in this regard: wound with necrotic tissue untreated osteomyelities fistulas to organs or body cavities placement directly over exposed veins and arteries malignancy within wound What are the problems associated with NPWT: The following problems have been mentioned in the literature regarding NPWT: patients may experience discomfort or pain when the foam dressing is changed topical skin problem may arise during use overgrowth of geast or Candida infection skin stripping and sub epidermal granulation foam removal frequently results in trauma to wound in the form of minor capillary and granulation tissue disruption achieving and maintaining a vacuum seal can be difficult at times staff must be well trained and educated Discussion: There are over 325 publications on NPWT wound healing method, including 15 randomized clinical trials. However, it can not be concluded strongly that the system results in faster wound healing than other conventional methods or provides cost effective despite much greater material cost. It has been reported that using this method enhances bacterial clearance which improves the speed of wound healing. When microorganisms enter to wound, consume the nutrition and oxygen which otherwise directed toward tissue repair. When the amount of wound infection decreases (reducing bacterial loads) the healing capacity improves (the blood used for wound repairing). However, in the research undertaking by.. on 25 patients reviewed respectively, it was found that using this method dose not have any effects on bacterial clearance. Moreover, bacterial colonization increases significantly with this therapy and remains in the range of. Improvement in Granulation tissue formation was another advantage mentioned in using this method for wound healing. Granulation is a small blood useless and connective tissue in the base of the wound. A well granulation wound provides an optimal bed for epidermal migration and for skin grafts as a newly formed capillary incorporate the transplanted skin. Studies have shown that granulation tissue formation is enhanced by negative pressure by virtue of interstitial fluid resolution and resulting increase in circulation. In the research done by .. on 162 patients it was shown that NPWT improves the proportion and rate of wound healing after partial foot amputation in patients with diabetics. Nearly 56% of the patients using this method achieved a comparable closure during 16 weeks assessments compared with 39% in control group. In the other research done by Blume et al (2008) the safety and clinical efficiency of this new method was compared with Advanced Moist Wound Therapy (AMWT) to treat foot ulcers in diabetic patients on 342 patients. It was found that a greater proportion of foot ulcers achieved by this method in contrast to other method (43.2% compared to 28.9%). The time of therapy was the other considered parameter in this research. The time of therapy was a little bit less in this method. Regarding the safety of the two methods there was no significant difference. Morie et al carried out a literature review based research regarding the effectiveness of this method. They mentioned that although many controlled and non randomized studies describing the effectiveness of this new method, few prospective randomized control trials have been published. They claimed that the researches in this field have lots of problems such as: small sample size, variable outcome measure across studies, significant methodological problems. So it is not possible to have a strong conclusion regarding the effects of this method in contrast to other methods. They suggest that other research must be done regarding the effect of this method on healing, cost of care, patient pain and quality of life in contrast to other methods. Gregor et al have undertaken another literature review regarding the effect of using this method. They also concluded that although there seems to be some evidences regarding the effects of this method on wound healing outcome as a main outcome, they are insufficient to clearly prove an additional clinical benefit of this method. Cost consideration: wound care is an expensive endeavour. The range of pressure ulcers which is one of the main complication of being in bed for a long time is between 2000 and 70,000 per wound. NPWT decreases the cost regarding wound healing through a decrease in the number of dressing changes required. Moreover, the supervisory role of the trained nurses would be decrease to perform dressing change. According to the results of a research the long term cost of NPWT was lower and output was better when compared with standard wound care method. In another research study it was shown that the cost of wound healing was decreased by 38% in contrast to other method, as the healing occur by 61% faster than using gauze dressing method. Conclusion: The review of the relevant literature stated that the available evidences can not be used to determine a significant therapeutic distinction of NPWT method in contrast to other methods. There are over 325 publications on this method however only 15 randomized clinical trials compare the new method with other available methods. It is concluded that the available research studies can not support the effectiveness of this method on wound healing. It should be mentioned that direct comparison of NPWT to a particular type of dressing would be difficult as it is unlikely that a single dressing type would be appropriate through out entire healing process. As there is not enough research which directly focus on the effects of this method on wound healing, and safety according to wound type, the author of this article represent a need for a large high quality randomized studies. Moreover, it is recommended to evaluate the effects of this method based on the used components.

Tech Schooling Essay examples -- Education, Vo-Tech High Schools

When plumbing goes bad, hair needs cutting, or the car goes on the fritz, who is going to get the call? Most people will answer â€Å"the plumber, the stylist, or the auto repair place down the road at Wal-Mart.† That answer is mostly correct. Although, the focus needs to be on how those people got where they are today. These people, who do so much work for us every single day, need to get some consideration. In most cases they would have gone to a vocational high school or technical college. These are special schools in which students learn the exact skills they need to complete their desired career in an accelerated period of time. More people should be encouraged to go to these schools, because we will need more Blue Collar workers in our future. Students as young as fourteen years of age can enter these vo-tech high schools to start training for their future career (Nolan 4). This may seem young to some parents because the common misconception of these schools is that the student stops traditional education to enter technical classes (Nolan 3). This is a false statement. Any high school student that decides to get into a tech program still has to take all of his or her core classes. At Central Nine in Indianapolis, the students have to take a half day at their normal high school. They still have to take their English, math, science and all the other required courses for them to graduate with their class. Then the second half of the day is spent taking their vocational classes at the Central Nine building learning the skills for their desired career. For far too long, people have regarded vocational schooling as a second class option to a traditional college. Some believe that only under achievers will attend this type of school... ...ast consider them. On the other hand, we do not need to force this concept down the throats of these nice people who are dead set on a four-year college. Vocational schooling is not for everyone. Some people are just not cut out to do manual labor. That is okay though, we still need the lawyers and bankers in our world. Encouragement is a common word throughout this paper. The best thing that can be done about the problem of dwindling enrollment in technical college is to encourage people considering this schooling. Encourage people to look into this type of education, because we do need more Blue Collar workers in our future. Encourage current or past students to talk about their experiences in tech schools with people who are confused about what they want to do in their life. Encourage them that this option is NOT for under achievers, but for over achievers.

Intergroup Theory :: Social Psychology Society Essays

Intergroup Theory 1) Intergenerational communication has always been a source of frustration especially in communication where the age gap is largest. Because of the broadness of the topic, there are several different theories and ideas on the ideal intergenerational communication. As all participants are very different, it becomes very difficult to differentiate between the right and wrong strategies for successful communication. People need to associate themselves with the communication that seems most closely related and accurate to their functioning capabilities. There are many aspects that can produce a positive or negative interaction. Sociologists, social psychologists and other people most interested in this form of communication have examined communication and relationships for years and have created several categories and theories of communication. The intergroup theory incorporates several European social psychology theories that coordinate individual and social aspects of ones personality to the effect it has on the communication. Intergroup theory bases communication ability and quality around the social life of the participants. The theory presents several social identifications that influence an individual’s identity. As a result of the person fulfilling their own identity they eventually fall into their own common social groups. Depending on the situation and the interaction, either the individual identity or the group characteristics and reputation play a vital roll in the interaction. These groups transcend different impressions and feelings depending on who is interpreting it. The life stage, social circumstances and experiences effect how the group is interpreted by outgroup members (Turner 1982). People in society today tend to divide themselves among a community into social groups and categories where one feels more accepted and shares common qualities with the group. Experiments have shown that solely being part of any arbitrary social group gave the participants satisfaction. Generally when people belong to any group they will favor their own group which appears evident is groups of similar nationality, gender or other personal views (Tajfel, Billig, Bundy & Flament, 1971). In groups such as Greek life, stereotypes may form when several members begin to behave and believe similarly. This is common as people hold more pride in their ingroup. Also unwritten guidelines often form through the common interests on the members. Just as members of an ingroup categorize themselves, in the intergroup theory we categorize outgroup members. Identities are created primarily from physical characteristics and first impressions. This is a classification created for one group about the other group.

The Relative Impact of Recruitment/Selection, Training, and Development for Organizational Effectiveness

This paper discusses the relative impact of recruitment/selection, training, and development for organizational effectiveness. First, recruitment and selection is discussed. Job analysis is very important in the selection process because it provides a realistic job preview and it identifies relevant traits and abilities needed for the job. Furthermore, predictive validity of several selection methods are discussed from which work samples, GMA, tests, and structured interviews are appeared to be the best predictors of future job performance. Second, the impact of training on organizational effectiveness is discussed.Training design issues are discussed, and it is argued that training can increase organizational effectiveness although the effects of training are hard to assess. In addition, training is linked to recruitment and selection in which it is argued that the two HR practices are interdependent. Third, the concept development is discussed in which a distinction has been made b etween team and organizational development. The success of development is highly dependent upon employees’ support. Moreover, the concept strategic human resource management is introduced.This concept entails linking HR practices to the strategic management processes and emphasizing coordination or congruence among different HR practices in order to increase the effectiveness of HR policies. Finally, three different theoretical perspectives on SHRM are discussed; the contingency, the configurational, and the universalistic approach. Introduction Competition, globalization, and continuous change in markets and technology have caused a transformation in the role of human resources (HR) from a traditional administrative to a more strategic role (Beer, 1997).Human resource management (HRM) has become a part of the firm’s strategy and has to be minimized as a cost and maximized as value-adding component (Rogers & Wright, 1998). However, the added value of HRM has been subje ct of debate. Although latest empirical research showed that HRM has an positive effect on performance, the relationships are often weak and the results remain ambiguous (Paauwe & Boselie, 2008). So, there seem to be some indistinctness on what impact human resource practices actually have on organizational performance and effectiveness.This paper will go into this  issue and discuss the relative impact of recruitment and selection, training, and development for organizational effectiveness. First, the concerning concepts will be defined and discussed. Furthermore, the impact of the three separate HR practice on organizational effectiveness will be discussed. Finally an attempt will be made to integrate these HR practices and their effect on organizational effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness In order to discuss the impact of the three HR practices, the concept organizational effectiveness needs to be defined which is a very broad, vague concept and therefore hard to define .Effectiveness refers to the output while taking into account the preset objectives, it is clearly a goal oriented measure (Rogers & Wright, 1998). This definition of effectiveness remains very broad since there are multiple ways to assess or measure outcomes. In this paper the typology of Dyer and Reeves (1995) will be used, who distinguish between four measures of organization outcomes; human resource outcomes (turnover, absenteeism, job satisfaction), organizational outcomes (productivity, quality, service), financial accounting outcomes (return on assets, profits), and capital market outcomes (stock price, growth, returns).Logically, they argue that HR strategies were most likely to have an impact on HR outcomes, followed by organizational outcomes whereas the other two outcomes are more indirectly related. Recruitment and Selection Job analysis and recruitment The first HR practice that will be discussed is recruitment and selection, which is quite essential for organizations s ince it all starts with recruiting and selecting the right employees. An appropriate selection system starts with a job analysis in which the duties a job requires and what skills are needed to perform these duties is being analyzed (Fisher, Schoenfeldt & Shaw, 2003, chapter 4).Job analysis can provide a realistic job preview about what the job will be and therefore reduces early employee dissatisfaction and turnover (Fisher et al. , 2003). Job analysis is also important for the assessment of job performance in for example 360 degree feedback since a job analysis can set performance criteria. In this feedback subjective measures are used which are vulnerable to measurement rating errors like halo-effects (Viswesvaran, Schmidt & Ones, 2005).Nevertheless, subjective measures might be very useful to assess organizational effectiveness, especially in relation to HR practices since subjective measures are mainly used to assess HR or organizational outcomes which are more directly related to HR practices (Dyer & Reeves, 1995). Objective measures involve actual percentage figures for sales growth or profitability which measure financial and capital market outcomes and these are more distal and indirectly related outcomes (Dyer & Reeves, 1995).Once applicants with realistic job expectations are recruited the actual selection process starts. Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular position and organization (Mony, Noe & Premeaux, 2002, p. 175). The recruitment process is very important for this because recruiting the right employees with realistic job expectations has a significant impact on the quality of the selection decision (Mony et al. 2002, chapter 7).Making right hiring decisions is one of the best ways to improve productivity. Therefore, majority of managers recognize employee selection as one of their most difficult and most important business decisions (Mony et al. , 2002). The selection proc ess starts with choosing the right selection instrument. Job analysis is also highly relevant for this since job analysis can identify relevant and specific traits and abilities needed for the job which saves time by not measuring irrelevant traits or abilities (Voskuijl, 2005).The goal of the selection process is to select those applicants who are likely to perform the best on the future job. Therefore, the selection methods used in the selection process need to be valid, especially high predictive validity and/or incremental validity are relevant. Predictive validity refers to observing employee performance over a period of time to determine whether the selection method has differentiate the successful and less successful employees (Mony et al. , 2002).Incremental validity refers to whether the instrument can explain anything additional beyond other instruments. Selection methods Schmidt and Hunter (1998) performed a meta-analysis of 85 years of research in personnel selection pre senting the validity of 19 different selection procedures for predicting job and training performance. They also assessed the incremental validity of selection procedures beyond the predictive validity of general mental ability in order to assess which combinations of methods show the highest validity for job performance.Their results revealed that work sample tests (0,54), GMA tests (0,51), and structured interviews (0,51) show the highest predictive validity for job performance. Schmidt and Hunter (1998) state that GMA can considered to be the primary personnel measure for hiring decisions. More recent findings of Schmidt and Hunter (2004) confirmed this and state that GMA is of critical importance. Salgado et al. (2003) found similar results and argue that there is validity generalization and large operational validities in different occupational groups for predicting job performance and training success with GMA measures.Salgado et al. (2003) found job complexity to be a moderat or; the more complex the job is, the more GMA matters. Regarding the incremental validity above GMA tests, Schmidt and Hunter (1998) conclude that the best combination of selection methods would be the GMA test plus a work sample test (0,63), or plus integrity test (0,65), or plus a structured interview (0,63). Unstructured interviews show a lower predictive validity as well as lower incremental validity above GMA tests compared to structured interviews.According to a meta-analysis of Huffcutt, Conway, Roth and Stone (2001) the most frequently rated construct in interviews in general are basic personality and applied social skills. They also distinguish between unstructured interview and structured interview and found that structured interviews focus more on constructs that have a stronger relationship with job performance like job knowledge and skills, whereas unstructured interviews focus more on general intelligence and education (Huffcutt et al., 2001).So, it seems that unstruct ured interviews mainly measure general mental ability; intelligent people tend to do better on unstructured interviews. Nevertheless, many organizations in the United States rely solely on unstructured interviews (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) since they have a high face validity; they are transparent and people feel like they have some influence over the results. Although the results of Schmidt and Hunter (1998) show that there are more valid methods available.Since people, as  well as the applicant as the recruiting organization, seem to have a preference for unstructured interviews, they should be used at the end of a selection process where their potential harm is minimalized since only suitable candidates are left. Another selection method which employers often use and believe to be a useful predictor whereas academics believe that they have little predictive validity, is grade point average (Roth, BeVier, Schippmann & Switzer, 1996). The meta-analysis of Roth et al. (1996) however , shows that GPA could be a more valid predictor of job performance than many academics thought.Taking a look at personality inventories as selection tools, Dudley, Orvis, Lebiecki and Cortina (2006) conclude that they are becoming increasingly popular and most researchers agree personality is important for predicting job performance. The five-factor model is the most used method to assess personality, the most important factor for predicting job performance is conscientiousness (Dudley et al, 2006). Schmidt and Hunter (1998) found a predictive validity of 0,31 for conscientiousness tests.Conscientiousness is also a construct that is often measured in interviews, as Huffcutt et al.  (2001) have found that conscientiousness is the single most rated construct in structured interviews and is a good predictor of job performance. Schmidt and Rader (1999) argue that different approaches of structured interviews all measure facets of conscientiousness and GMA which have a known generaliz able validity. There is some dissent whether facets of a broad trait like conscientiousness are also relevant to consider in the prediction of job performance. Research shows that narrow traits or facets show incremental validity above and beyond global conscientiousness (Dudley et al., 2006).Moreover, Schmidt and Rader (1999), and Huffcutt et al. (2001) argue that facets of conscientiousness like responsibility, dependability, initiative, and achievement orientation are important in predicting job performance. So, recruitment and selection have quite some impact on organizational effectiveness provided that the selection system first recruits the right employees and then, in turn the right and relevant selection methods are used to select the best suited applicants for the position.Job analysis is important in this process because it both enables providing a realistic job preview as it identifies the traits and abilities needed for the job, selection methods can be chosen based on that. The selection methods with the highest predictive validity are work samples, GMA tests, and structured interviews in which conscientiousness is a frequently rated construct. However, the predictive validity of these selection methods refers to job performance of that particular job on individual level rather than organizational performance or effectiveness.Nevertheless, choosing the right selection methods and selecting the best employees will probably also increase organizational effectiveness. Training Training design Training and employee development can be defined as ‘a systematic approach to learning and development to improve individual, teams, and organizational effectiveness’ (Kraiger & Ford, 2007, p. 281). Thus, the goal of training is to improve organizational defectiveness. The effectiveness of training programs is often hard to assess, especially at the organizational level where many other factors might interfere and influence the outcomes.Therefore, the training should be designed in such a way to make evaluating effectiveness possible. First, training criteria should be set, without these you cannot determine if the goals were met. Training criteria are classified into two levels: training level and performance level, the latter is most important for assessing the impact of training on organizational effectiveness because performance-level criteria are concerned with the person’s performance on the job rather than in the training setting (Spector, 2006, p. 181).Spector (2006, chapter 7) however, states that one should include criteria at both levels to thoroughly evaluate effectiveness, although some studies show that training is effective at the training level but not at the performance level. In order to assess the criteria a proper design should be chosen. The two most popular designs are: pretest-posttest and control group (Spector, 2006). Pretest-posttest design is intended to evaluate how much participants gained from the training by testing the performance criteria before, and after the training (Spector, 2006).In the control group design, participants are tested only once after the training and are compared with equivalent employees who have not been trained (Spector, 2006). In practice however, the most used design is the post-test with only self-report measures, which is obviously not sufficient for evaluating effectiveness because there is not comparison possible. Besides, self-report measure might not be a valid predictor of performance, as Dysvik and Martinsen (2008) show in their study that student’s subjective reactions to teaching and their consequent performance were not correlated.On the other hand, assessing training effectiveness at organizational-level is also very hard when the control group or pretest-posttest design are used. For the control group design is it hardly impossible to find an equivalent organization in order to make comparison possible. When using the pr etest-posttest design another problem might occur; other factors might emerge during the training process causing increased organizational effectiveness. In an ideal situation the trained entity should be isolated in order to exclude spurious effects, obviously this is hardly impossible too.Furthermore, Spector (2006) points out some factors that should be taken into consideration when designing a training program in order to maximize the transfer of training. Ignoring these factors might result in an training program that does not affect behavior on the job (Spector, 2006). These factors are for example; feedback, training should be as identical to real job situations as possible, and overlearning which refers to giving the trainee practice beyond what is necessary to reach the criteria (Spector, 2006). Effectiveness of training programsAccording to the previous paragraph training can have quite a big impact on organizational effectiveness, provided that the right criteria, design, and design factors are formulated. There are however, different views on the effectiveness of training programs. On the one hand there is the ‘best practice’ view that states that firms that investigate in training and development efforts outperform those who do not. On the other hand, Wright and Geroy (2001) state that ‘the belief that training leads to improved employee and firm performance is myth that equates training with goodness’ (p.586).Campbell and Kuncel (2001) support the best practice view by stating that ‘training is a critical component of effective human resource management’ and that its importance for both individuals as organizations can probably not be overstated. A point of critique to the best practice view is the issue of reverse causality, since already successful organizations tend to invest more in training and development (Tharenou, Saks & Moore, 2007).Moreover, there are studies that argue that the effectiveness of tr aining is dependent on several individual, contextual, and situational factors that might mediate or moderate the relationship between training and organizational effectiveness. Colquitt, LePine, and Noe (2000) attempt to develop an integrative theory of training motivation using a meta-analytical approach. They summarized literature on training motivation including its antecedents, situational and personality variables, and its relationship with training outcomes like declarative knowledge, skill acquisition, and transfer.They argue that more proximal variables, like motivation to learn and transfer of training, mediate between the more distal variables (in this case individual and situational characteristics) and job performance (Colquitt et al. , 2000). Findings of this study indicate that individual characteristics like locus of control, conscientiousness, anxiety, cognitive ability, job involvement, and self-efficacy are significant predictors of training motivation.Also the si tuational factor climate, which refers to trainee’s perceptions about characteristics of the work environment that influence the use of training content on the job, was a significant predictor of training motivation (Colquitt et al. , 2000). Blume. Ford, Baldwin and Huang (2010) performed a similar meta-analysis in exploring the impact of predictive factors on the transfer to training, though they examined these effects in different tasks and contexts.They found that predictor variables like motivation and work environment had stronger relationships to transfer when the focus of training was on open as opposed to closed skills (specific skills) (Blume et al. , 2010). Furthermore, their results confirmed the meta-analysis of Colquitt et al. (2000) by finding positive relationships between training transfer and cognitive ability, conscientiousness, motivation, and a supportive work environment (e. g. climate). Especially cognitive ability is a valid predictor of training succes s (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Salgado et al., 2003; Colquitt et al. , 2000).The main difference between these two meta-analysis is that Colquitt et al. (2000) focus on the difference between distal and proximal variables in which training motivation is a more proximal variable, and therefore indicated as a mediating variable. Whereas Blume et al. (2010) do not distinguish between distal and proximal variables, and consider individual characteristics and training motivation to be both predictors of transfer of training. What these two meta-analyses do not show it the eventual impact of training on organizational outcomes.Tharenou, Sasks and Moore (2007) examined this in a meta-analysis from 67 studies. They distinguish between human resource (employee attitude, behavior, and human capital), organizational performance (performance and productivity) and financial outcomes (profit and financial indicators). The results of their review suggest that training is positively related to HR outco mes and organizational performance outcomes, though the effect is small caused by other variables that influence employees attitudes (Tharenou et al. , 2007). In addition, training was only very weak related to financial outcomes (Tharenou et al., 2007).This partly confirms the previous mentioned research of Dyer and Reeves (1995) since Tharanou et al. (2007) suggest that the outcomes more proximally related to training show the strongest correlations. Training and Recruitment & Selection So, one can conclude that training has quite some impact on organizational effectiveness although but this effectiveness is dependent on several variables. Tharenou et al. (2007) for example suggest that the relationship between training and firm performance is mediated by employee attitudes and human capital.Employee attitude is something that can be influenced at the workplace, by for instance creating a supporting work environment, whereas human capital is much harder to directly influence. Huma n capital refers to workforce knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). Some of these KSAs however, can be indirectly influenced by adapting the recruitment and selection process to select employees with characteristics that predict training success. Conscientiousness and general mental ability are the most mentioned individual characteristics that have shown to be good predictors of training success (Salgado et al., 2003; Blume et al. , 2010; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Colquitt et al. , 2000).Schmidt and Hunter (1998) argue that when employers are using GMA test to select employees, that employee will have a high level of performance as well as he or she will learn the most from job training programs and will acquire job knowledge faster from experience. This also works the other way around, Connerley (1997) suggests that one of the strategies to attract better employees is to improve the quality of recruiters by training them.This, and the earlier mentioned issue of adapting recruitme nt to select employees that are more likely to benefit from training, shows the interdependency between recruitment and selection, and training in relation to organizational effectiveness. Development The last HR practice discussed in this paper is development which is highly connected to training. Employee development has already been discussed in the previous section about training, therefore this section will mainly focus on team and organizational development.Team developmentThe changing nature of work has led to an increasing shift towards the use of teams which has implications for how teams should be designed to enhance both individual and team performance (DeShon, Kozlowski, Schmidt, Milnerz & Weichmann, 2004). Kozlowski and Ilgen (2006) define team development as ‘an informal process by which group members attempt to create effective social structures and work processes on their own’ (p. 105). They conceptualize team effectiveness as performance evaluated by ot hers, member satisfaction and viability (Kozlowky & Ilgen, 2006).Furthermore, several factors that enhance team effectiveness are pointed out; unit and team climate, team mental models and transactive memory, collective learning, team cohesion, team efficacy and potency, and team regulation skills (competencies, functions, and dynamic adaption) (Kozlowky & Ilgen, 2006). Adair, Hideg and Spence (2013) support the view that team climate, cohesion, and collective learning are important by pointing out the importance of developing shared values in teams. Furthermore, DeShon et al. (2004) examined the role of feedback towards individual and team goals and how this affects resource allocation decisions.They found that teams receiving individual and team feedback were most committed to the team goal (DeShon et al. , 2004). So, these studies mainly point out the importance of team development for team effectiveness. Castka, Sharp and Bamber (2003) go even further by stating that the use of teams is an important means in organizational change and continuous improvement (innovation activities) and that the organizational ability to mobilize their employees in teams for problem solution matters not only to managers, but also to investors (p.29).Investors attach great importance to use of teams and might base their decision to invest based on this (Castka et al. , 2003). Castka et al. (2003) introduce two arguments why organizations can gain from teamwork development. First, organizational teams can improve organizational performance through involvement, learning, and increased communication. Second, as pointed out before, organizations that develop their teamwork and improve their performance due to this increases its value for investors (Castka et al. , 2003).Thus, according to these authors, team development might also have effects on the organizational level and might even affect financial outcomes by referring to investors. Organizational development Weick and Quin ( 1999) argue that ‘from the perspective of organizational development, change is a set of behavioral science-based theories, values, strategies, and techniques aimed at the planned change of the organizational work setting for the purpose of enhancing individual development and improving organizational performance, through the alteration of organizational members. on-the-job behaviors’ (p. 363).So, according to them organizational change and development can enhance individual development as well as improving organizational performance by altering organizational members on the job behaviors. As argued before, these behaviors might be enhanced by training or by recruiting and selecting the employees that are most likely to behave in a way that enhances organizational development and performance. Other ways to alter employees’ on-the-job-behavior is using interventions like job rotation, job enrichment, and teambuilding which lead to better organizational outcomes (B uchanan & Huczynski, 2010) and it motivates employees.Piderit (2000) argues that successful organizational change is highly dependent on generating support and enthusiasm from employees for the purposed change. Grant (2011) proposes that end users can imspire and motivate employees by deliviring convincing testimonials of their experiences with the organization, whereas when leaders are the sole source of inspiring messages, they are considered as being uncredible. Organizational development is thus aimed at improving organizational performance, the effectiveness of this aim is to a large extent dependent on employees’ acceptance and support for the development.However, there is some critique on organizational development that it mainly focus on soft attitudes and values, rather than on the hard operational and financial results (Buchanan & Hyczynski, 2010). In addition, the difficulties in assessing and measuring the effectiveness that applied to training programs might also aply to organizatioanl development. Strategic Human Resource Management Although there are some conditional factors that need to be taken into account, the three HR practices discussed in this paper can have quite some impact on organizational effectiveness.The problem often is that it is very hard to assess the sheer effectiveness of these practices on organizational effectiveness. Nevertheless one can conclude that the HR practices mainly have their effect on proximal human resource and organizational outcomes like turnover, job satisfaction, and productivity which in their turn might have effects on financial outcomes. This is seen from a micro or tradition HRM perspective, which covers the sub functions of HR policy and practice.The growing importance of HR for organizational success however, has led to an increasing interest in making HRM a more integral, strategy-driven activity in organizations (Perry, 1993, p. 59). This is called strategic human resource management which ca n be defined as ‘an interdependent bundle of planned or emergent human resource activities that are intended to achieve positive organizational outcomes’ (Maler & Fisher, 2013, p. 23 ). These interdependent bundles of HR practices should be aligned in such a way to complement and strengthen each other (Gruman & Saks, 2011).This is a macro-orientated view of HRM, it differs from traditional HRM on two dimensions, as argued by Wright and McMahan (1992). The first is the vertical dimension which entails the linking of HR practices to the strategic management process of the organization. The second dimension is horizontal, which emphasis the coordination or congruence among the different practices (Wright & McMahan, 1992). An example of this, is the congruence of selection and training as earlier discussed in this paper.So,  an internal fit between the HR practices of an organization can lead to a higher added value than when the HR practices are considered as separate. T heoretical perspectives Behavioral perspective focuses on employee behavior as a mediator between HR practices and firm performances (Wright & MCMahan, 1992). So, this perspective can explain that although some HR practices might not have a direct impact on organizational effectiveness, they do enhance employees’ behavior (e. i. motivation and commitment) which on its turn affects firm performance.The bahavioral perspective has its roots in contingency theory. Contingency theory entails that an organization’s HR practices must be consistent with other aspects of the organization in order to be effective (Delery & Doty, 1996). Two other theories that are distinguished, are the configurational and universalistic theory. Configurational theories are concerned with how the pattern of multiple independent variables is related to a dependent variable rather than with how individual independent variables are related to the dependent variable (Delery & Doty, 1996, p.804).The S HRM perspective is a form of configurational theory because it is an integrative perspective which argues that patterns of HR activities, as opposed to single activities, are necessary to achieve organizational outcomes (Gruman & Saks, 2011). SHRM is also a form of the contingency perspective, because the vertical dimension of Wright and McMahan (1992) entails the linking of HR practices to the strategic management process of the organization.On the other hand, there is the universalistic approach, which is the earlier mentioned best-practice view which states that some single HR activites are always the best choice to achieve organizational outcomes. The earlier mentioned meta-analysis of Thanerou et al. (2007) found support for both the contingency and universalistic perspective. On the one hand, they found that training appeared to be stronger related to outcomes when it was matched with organizational capital intensity and business strategy (contingency), whereas on the other ha nd, they found training to be related independently to organizational outcomes (Tharenou et al., 2007).Also other studies discussed in this essay show support for both perspectives, GMA for example is found by Schmidt and Rader (1999) to be a generalizable factor , since it is always a good predictor of job performance and training succes. Salgado et al. (2003) however, found job complexity to be a moderator. Finally, Delery and Doty (1996) assessed the theoretical foundation of the SHRM literature, and concluded that each of the three perspectives can be used to structure theoretical arguments in order to explain significant levels of variation in financial performance.