Business Case Study Tips

Business Case Study Tips Contextual analyses are papers that understudies are frequently approached to compose. Here you will locate some valuable tips that may help you recorded as a hard copy your Business contextual investigation. The reason for any contextual investigation paper is giving a careful examination of a specific circumstance while calling attention to specific realities and ideas about the issue for the situation study, and furthermore anticipating the result of future circumstances, in view of discoveries from the contextual investigation. For a business understudy, information on business contextual investigation tips is significant on the grounds that these tips can empower an understudy to build a marvelous business contextual investigation exposition. The main tip is understanding the contextual analysis and what is normal from its discoveries. A contextual investigation exposition is a scientific paper, which involves doing broad exploration and utilizing ideas, hypotheses, and information to expound on the discoveries of the examination meeting. Contextual analysis articles for the most part feature normal issues of specific fields of study. Looking at these issues on a profound level targets giving hearty answers for the issues. Most investigations are composed with the point of giving answers for issues that are known in a specific field. The means that one should take when composing a decent contextual analysis is to initially figure out what the contextual investigation is about. You can generally consider issues examined in class or issues found while reading for tests in your field of study. You can likewise look at data in your school library or even check the web for intriguing inquiries on which to base your contextual investigation. When you have looked at a few sources and decided the issue for which you are keen on directing a contextual investigation, you should then peruse the same number of books, magazines, diaries, and other significant sources regarding the matter. As you read these sources, consistently take notes, which will help you in monitoring the sources as you start composing the article and refering to the data for referencing. You should then choose center around an association, people or an organization right now confronting the exploration issue on which to base your examination. At that po int you can design interviews with key individuals of these substances to acquire essential information on the issue and potential answers for the issue. In the event that you choose to talk with people, you ought to guarantee that all the individuals you meet are engaged with the association that you are expounding on. You should then start meeting these people in an arbitrary request, to assemble whatever number unique perspectives as could be allowed. While directing the meetings, you could likewise have a go at asking the interviewees what they have done to take care of the issue and furthermore their sentiments about the issue and what they may do any other way when given the order to discover an answer for the issue being considered. An option in contrast to these tips is to purchase an example business contextual investigation article from our site and see with your own eyes how a business contextual investigation paper is composed. When you put in a request, our help group will audit it and send it to a skillful essayist, who has involvement with the required field. Simply visit CustomWritings.com contextual analysis administration now!

Pride and Prejudice :: English Literature

Pride and Prejudice One of the primary Novels written in English, Jane's Austen's Pride and Preference which has been around for around 200 years. Distributed in 1813 during when England were at war with France. Pride and Preference offers a story wherein the upper-working class society are the setting for the relationship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. In when Women's primary point is to discover a spouse against monetary highbrow character and class bias, Austen's Novel praises the love over class preference and monetary pomposity. This epic was set in 1797-1815 in Longbourn, rustic England. The tale is told from Elizabeth Bennet's perspective. At the time it was composed, ladies needed to get hitched before twenty six else they would have no where to live or need to live with a family member, and not be significant in the house, or posed any inquiries. So ladies needed to go around attempting to get youngsters' consideration before they got excessively old, this is appeared in Charlotte Lucas who weds Mr. Collins who is a fool, she wedded for a home later on in life which overrules everywhere contemplations. This shows how much weight was on ladies to wed so they could be secure later on throughout everyday life. A youthful honorable man called Charles Bingley has leased the estate of Netherfield Park. This gets the Bennet's young ladies energized who have five unmarried little girls - Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Mrs. Bennet is edgy to get them all wedded so she can live some place later on in life when Mr. Bennet bites the dust. After Mr. Bennet goes to see Mr. Bingley, the Bennet's go to a ball at which Mr. Bingley is there. He is hitting the dance floor with Jane and spends a great part of the night hitting the dance floor with her. His dear companion, Mr. Darcy is less satisfied with night and gladly will not hit the dance floor with Elizabeth. Which do you mean? and turning round, he searched for a second at Elizabeth, till getting her attention, he pulled back his own and briskly stated, She is middle of the road; however not attractive enough to entice me; and I am in no humor at present to offer result to youngsters who are insulted by other men. You would do well to come back to your accomplice and make the most of her grins, for you are burning through your time with me. These words let us know that he is pleased and doesn't believe that the individuals at the ball are sufficiently commendable to hit the dance floor with him. The inconsiderateness with which Darcy treats Elizabeth makes an awful impression of him in her brain. An impression which will stay for half of the novel, until reality of Darcy and

The Best Things to Do During a Study Break

The Best Things to Do During a Study Break So now that Finals Week is in full swing and youre all hitting the books, youre probably thinking of when your next study break is. Its  understandable youre thinking this because everyone needs a study break once in a while. When I  need a moment  away  from the UGL (Undergraduate Library), below are some of the things I do: Shut down technology and sit in silence.  Sometimes just 10 minutes in complete silence will help clear your head of clutter vocab. Im not saying youre going to forget all of the things youve studied the past few hours, but its always good to stop for a moment and take deep breaths. Exercise at the ARC.  Exercising at the ARC or even CRCE is  a great stress reliever. Also, its super healthy to exercise, so its a win-win situation. You can run  on the treadmill or lift weights downstairs. Get healthy and get As, Illini! Watch a quick 20-minute episode of something on Netflix.  If you have a Netflix account, you  should  be taking advantage of it. There  are  a ton of Emmy award-winning shows that are perfect for a quick study break. My personal favorite  is How I Met Your Mother. Give yourself a hand for all the hard work youve been doing  while youre at it. Get yourself a coffee.  There  are  plenty of coffee shops around campus, including the Caffeinator, Espresso Royale, and Starbucks. That caffeine youll be getting will really push you to stay awake those last late hours in the UGL. So take a study break, Illini! You deserve it! Daniel Class of 2018 I’m an Advertising major in the College of Media. I’m from a northwest suburb of Chicago called Buffalo Grove. I chose Illinois because it was the first university in the entire world to offer an Advertising major, which is pretty cool!

Marketing Strategies Of The Fast Food Industry Essay

Have you ever sat down at a fast food restaurant enjoying a delicious triple grand slam cheeseburger and think about all the strategies of how all of this was created? I know I have. The fast food industry is one of the most complex industries out there. With all the marketing strategies, healthier options, and completive markets this could easily but one of the most difficult industries to be a part of. To evaluate, this industry I will dive into the fields of management, the completive landscape, organization of the industry, changes in the industry, and the organizational culture around it. To start off, the organization in the Fast Food Industry is extremely complex. On the basic level, restaurant will usually comprise their workers with Crew Members, Crew Trainers, Maintenance Members, Preparation Members, and Crew Leaders. The industry organizations will divide the crew into these patches in order, for them to achieve their business goals. Typically, we will see industry leader s such as McDonald’s divide their management staff in many segments. This would include Floor Supervisors, Swing Managers, First Department Managers, Second Department Managers, Third Department Managers, and the General Managers. This gives the restaurants a variety of staff and more promotion opportunities that could be exceeded in the restaurant. Beyond the restaurant we will see Patch Managers, District Managers, Opps Managers, the CEO if the company is not bought out, and then the Board ofShow MoreRelatedMarketing Strategies Of Fast Food Industry Essay2238 Words   |  9 PagesFast Food Industry Have you ever sat down at a fast food restaurant enjoying a delicious triple grand slam cheeseburger and think about all the strategies of how all of this was created? I know I have. The fast food industry is one of the most complex industries out there. With all the marketing strategies, healthier options, and competitive markets this could easily but one of the most difficult industries to be a part of. To evaluate, this industry I will dive into the fields of management, theRead MoreMarketing Strategies For The Fast Food Industry Essay1645 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Whether it is the latest television commercial or an ad in the local paper, businesses are using marketing to entice the consumer to purchase their latest product they are offering for a specific price. While some companies may have great marketing strategies, if they fail to price their product accordingly to be competitive with their competition, they will find themselves with lower sales than expected. Pricing changes may change for various reasons Paley (2006) from introducingRead MoreEssay about Competition Among Fast Food Chains1639 Words   |  7 PagesCompetition Among Fast Food Chains MARKETING INFORMATION NEED FOR THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY To begin with, for the fast food industry around the world, the leading fast food chains; marketing information is wrapped around from convenience location, changing preference, quality of food, pricing of fast food, potential customers, age of the customers, menu selection and diversification and last of all superior service. From marketing perspective, LOCATION for the fast food service toRead MoreChipotle Market Segmentation And Product Strategy1155 Words   |  5 PagesSegmentation and Product Strategy Introduction Chipotle Mexican Grill is one the fastest growing restaurant businesses in the United States. Chipotle Mexican Grill was founded by the current CEO, Steve Ells, in 1993. 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In the fast food industry, businesses such as McDonald’s must establish certain business and marketing strategies. PrimarilyRead MoreMarketing Plan For Taco Bell1556 Words   |  7 PagesExecutive Summary Taco Bell is a mainly national fast food restaurant specializing in Tex-Mex cuisine. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. They serve over 2 billion customers each year and have over 6,500 restaurants, with about 80% of them being owned independently as franchises. Vision Mission Vision – Taco Bell will grow into the largest fast food provider of Mexican style cuisine in emerging markets. The brand will have an established presence in Asia, South America, and AfricaRead MoreMc Donalds Maketing Strategies Essay1527 Words   |  7 Pagesthe marketing strategies being pursued by McDonalds and identify the market dominance, which has lead to McDonalds being on of the most successful multi-nationals to date. Effective marketing has enabled McDonalds to create a worldwide demand for fast food. ‘The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim is to know and to understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him/her and sells itself! Peter Drucker, Cited in Marketing Concepts Strategies p6 Read MoreKfc Marketing Fundamental1686 Words   |  7 PagesSuppliers 3 2.2. Franchisees 3 3. Competitors 3 4. Industry 4 III - Macro Environment 4 1. Political 5 1.1. Carbon tax 5 1.2. Minimum wages 5 2. Social Cultural 5 3. Economic 6 IV - Conclusion 6 V - References: 6 I - Introduction KFC, which has full name as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is one of well-known fast food brand names in the world due to their effective marketing strategies. To create good marketing strategies, KFC needs to understand the market by conducting a market

Case Study Management People Organization - 1294 Words

MBA501 – MANAGEMENT PEOPLE amp; ORGANISATION ASSIGNMENT – 2 STRATAGIC MANAGEMENT SUBMITTED BY – SANDEEP KUMAR STUDENT ID - 11592203 SUBMITTED TO – RAMANATHAN R. INDEX ASSIGNMENT – 2 Introduction Introduction Strategic management – It is the set of action used to formulate and implements specific strategies (includes continues planning, monitoring, analysis and decision) that will achieve the competitively superior fit between the organization and environment, so as to achieve organizational the goals. Along with it, it is necessary to rise the performance of an organization to its competitors, means the organization’s average profitability is high as compare to its competitors. It can be apply both on small as well as big organization. Due to Strategic management, for employees of an organization, it becomes very easy to understand and fit in their work according to organization’s plan. So strategic management is to eye on both targets and objectives of organizations. Apple Inc. is one of world’s large company. It is founded by Steve Job, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak in the year of 1976. Apple Inc. is a software and hardware company. Moreover, Apple Inc. has innovative marketing strategies. Means creating new software and hardware of its products series - iPhone, iPod, computer, iMac, iTune. Apple Inc. always try to give new technology to their consumers. Along with it, all the product of Apple Inc. are very expensive, but due to its product qualities and features itShow MoreRelatedOrganizational Behavior1653 Words   |  7 Pages| Management of Innovation: TransAct Insurance Corporation Case Study | Prepared for: MGT1000-Term Assignment Submitted: 28 September 2011 Prepared by: 1. Introduction: TransAct Insurance Corporation Case Study â€Å"Change is the only constant said Heraclitus, Greek philosopher† (Change Management Training, 2011). This is main challenge that every business faces when they become aware of the need for improvement. TransAct Insurance Corporation (TIC) providesRead MoreHrm Strategy : A Case Study On Ikea1375 Words   |  6 PagesHRM Strategy in a case study on IKEA 1. Introduction The human resource function has undergone throughout its history major transformations and evolutions. Concepts managements have given way to others as imposed by the globalization of markets and by a workforce more educated: more fluid and diverse. In this context of internationalization, companies are anxious to take their benefit so as to seek the most advantageous model management. United States speak of mobilizing and unifying model of humanRead MoreA Business Perspective Of Management Discipline1299 Words   |  6 Pages 1. From a business perspective why is management discipline important? Compare and contrast the management discipline to medicine and law (how are these similar and how are they different - be specific in your explanations and provide examples to support your response). From a business perspective management discipline is as important as the next key factor to company success because it, â€Å"...drives the field forward† (Magretta, 9). Having discipline can help to set measurable goals, stay on trackRead MoreResearch On Social Enterprises And Innovation1374 Words   |  6 Pagesliterature reviews. The rage of literature review in this stage include: social enterprises journals, the challenge of social enterprises, design management journals and review, design strategy etc. As well as books of social enterprises and design and innovation etc. Literature review section will extend until stage2 and stage3. In terms of case studies, the cases focus on Europe area especially in the UK, as social entperirsces have the vibrant performance compare with other countries. Also, the researchRead MoreLeadership Decision Making. Leaders Will Undeniably Be1147 Words   |  5 PagesLeadership Decision Making Leaders will undeniably be faced with a plethora of different decisions to make. Some of the decisions that they make are not necessarily the most important decisions that are needed to be made, and in most cases these minor decisions will affect nobody but themselves. However some of the decisions that they have to make can affect every person that is involved with the task at hand. Making these kind of decisions big and small are part of what is expected from someoneRead MoreAnalysis Of Soni And David Pitts On Diversity And Work Performance1379 Words   |  6 Pagesdiversity in the public sector: A case study† by author Vidu Soni, the main focus of the study is about how receptive the workforce is about diversity and who are the main components to contribute to the change in the workplace. Soni studied the â€Å"diversity model† aiming as an involvement and a practical method to fully and equitably utilization towards rewarding employees or workers of different ra cial or ethnic backgrounds. â€Å"This model not only advocates that organizations actually recognize, acceptRead MoreFailure Of Responsible Management : Enron Corporation1645 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction This report is select to investigate an example, which failure of responsible management. The Enron Corporation is an example, because Enron event is the typical case for organization failure of responsible management In the end of 2001, Enron scandal has been disclosure, Enron stock prices slumped, and its financial tricks was exposed. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began survey of company s records. Enron’s auditor ‘Arthur Andersen ‘destroys relevant documents. (AilonRead MoreOrganizational Environment: A Human Resource Management Perspective1676 Words   |  7 PagesOrganizational Environment A Human Resource Management Perspective Organizational Environment: A Human Resource Management Perspective Organization is defined as group of people who put joint and systematic efforts to achieve desired goals (Robbins, Kotze and Coulter, 2003). The goals of organization are the goals of all the people who join hands in the efforts. However, there are certain motives in the mind of every individual who wants to join organization. In the organizational literature, theseRead MoreErp As A Potential Solution For The Organization1736 Words   |  7 PagesERP as a potential solution for the organization Abstract ERP has become a potential solution which the companies are aiming for to improve their business process performances. There are various challenges that are encountered by the organizations in terms of people, process and systems oriented issues in the usage of disparate systems. In aim of increasing their business operations, the companies are eying at ERP as potential solutions. In this research paper the focus is upon understanding howRead MoreGridlock Meadows : An Organization1309 Words   |  6 PagesGridlock Meadows Case Study Gridlock Meadows as an Organization The residential treatment center in the case study, Gridlock Meadows, is a good example of an organization. According to Krist-Ashman (2014), an organization is a social entity that is goal directed, linked to the outside environment, and designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems. A social entity is a group of people who are together for a social reason (Kirst-Ashman, 2014). The residential treatment center

Brave New World Chapters 11 and 12 Free Essays

Chapter 11. After Johns vomits from the disgust of viewing hundreds of identical twins in the Factory where the Bockanovsky process is put into practise, he goes on to find that the State’s library does not have Shakespeare. After John and Lenina go to a feely movie together, the night comes to end and John drops Lenina off at her house without having sex with her. We will write a custom essay sample on Brave New World: Chapters 11 and 12 or any similar topic only for you Order Now This leaves her bewildered and lacking confidence. She deals with the situation by taking soma, and john releases all of his passion and emotion by reading Shakespeare. These actions are similar because both are methods of escape. For John, the raw and passionate emotions in Shakespeare help him to understand himself and his world, and for Lenina, soma allows her to pacify any overwhelming and unmanageable feelings. Chapter 12. 1. Helmholtz has always felt some sort of urge to explore his writing abilities and truly experience life beyond the World State. Meeting John has justified for Helmholtz just how corrupt society truly is. He is captivated by John and feels that his feelings of being unique are justified. Finally, the beauty and truth he sees in Shakespeare’s writing are justified through meeting John- someone who shares a common love for such powerful and tragic writing. 2. â€Å"Why was that old fellow [Shakespeare] such a marvellous propaganda technician? Because he had so many insane, excriciating things to get excited about. You’ve got to be hurt and upset; otherwise you can’t think of the really good, penetrating X-rayish phrases†¦ No, it won’t do. We need some other kind of madness and violence. But what? What? Where can one find it?†¦ I don’t know. † pg. 185 This quote is said by Helmholtz Watson in a room aloud with John and Bernard present. He had just finished rehearsing Shakespeare with john and begins to praise how well Shakespeare can write. What he means by this quote is that Shakespeare was able to write such deep and expressive â€Å"x-ray phrases† because it derived from something so powerfully tragic and violent. He believes that the success of fictional writing derives from true emotion. How to cite Brave New World: Chapters 11 and 12, Essay examples

Overtones By Gerstenberg Essay Example For Students

Overtones By Gerstenberg Essay In Alice Gerstenbergs Overtones, she presents two deceitful women, bothinsanely envious of the other, who meet one day over coffee. Two other actorsliving out their true feelings and being honest show the jealous, rude, buttruthful, side of each of the women. The real women put on an act, saying ordoing nothing that they actually feel towards each other; they are entirelydishonest. The play illustrates how envy leads straight to hatred andunhappiness, which I believe to be the theme. How can you love yourself when youare longing to be someone else, wanted everything they have and hating them forit? The message I got from the play was that deep jealously has only negativeeffects and to be happy you must be your true self and true to yourself. Theplay made me see how silly it is when one puts on phony layers to impressanother. Because there were two different mindsets of the women, I would havetwo of everything, one on a lower stage and then a set just like it on a raisedstage. The wom en hid their true feelings, so I would place the primitive ones onthe raised stage back from the audience, behind a layer of sheer material. Theraised stage can be thought of somewhat like a mind bubble. As everyone shows afake side of himself sometime, I want the audience to relate to the play and tosee themselves in somewhat of a similar situation. I want there to be knowntension between the real women, but I also want to create humor between thecounterparts as a relief of the tension between the two different women, using alot of sarcastic language and actions. I want the audience to leave feelingthankful for what they have.

Organisational knowledge Management

Everything You Need To Know About Feature Stories

Everything You Need To Know About Feature Stories Writing A Feature Story: What To Remember It is a well-known fact that students and even journalists find first feature stories one of the most difficult task throughout their educational or professional life. The writing process involves lots of data, honesty, tact and integrity. You need to depict a certain person to the audience, giving him or her enough credits and presenting in an unbiased way. That is why feature stories often ask the author to do something almost impossible: to get familiar with the person, appreciate personal treats of character, conduct an interview, hold a personal meeting and then write an article, which shouldn’t be all positive and nice. Remember, you are a subjective author and not a cheerleader of a described person. So how is it possible to balance everything? We have collected the six most important steps, which you will need in creating a feature story. With practice and devotion come great results, so take your time and you will surely succeed! Choose a subject, which will be interesting for the reader As you already know, choosing an interesting and timely topic for an assignment is the first and the most important step. However, everything is even more serious, when it comes to a feature story. You need to tell about a person, a certain group or a business, so picking a subject becomes a real challenge. Some of the subjects you may know personally, which is not the best subject for a story. Even if you know who you want to write about, some founders, directors and business owners simply won’t want to talk to you. Make sure you have enough time in advance in order to choose the subject without any hurry. Schedule an interview, suitable for both of you The next stage is when you dive deeper into the assignment. You should reach the chosen subject and ask for an in-person interview. This means a meeting, not a cell phone call or a Skype conference. If you are writing about a group, you will have to talk to several members and maybe at a different time. This makes the process even more challenging. In most of the cases, feature stories are not timely, so you don’t need to rush anything and should take some time to write a good story. Let the interviews take place when it is convenient for all of the participants. The only exception is when the story took place recently and hasn’t been covered in the media. In such a case, you need to rush and be the first one to publish it. Choosing quotes Once your interview is finished, you need to sit down and reread the material, listening to recordings and pulling quotes. The quotes you choose should be relevant to the topic and represent the chosen angle. Stick to a certain side of a personality and highlight it, omitting too many unnecessary details. This is the pillar, which will support your work and will make the story honest and clear. Write a draft Now you can start working on the first sample of your work. Usually, feature stories are built around the chosen quotes. Remember, the reader wants to hear the voice of the described person and not your own thoughts on the matter. This means that you can include as many quotes, as you want. Even if half of your feature story will consist % of quotes, it will be ok. Always try to remember that the discussed subject should be placed in the center of the work, so the more details you provide, the better. Get clarification and approval before publishing When your story is finished, it is necessary to send it to the editor or professor. In addition, you can send a copy to the chosen subject if he or she requires it. However, it doesn’t mean that the subject has a right to change the story or add any details. Make it clear that you won’t grant any changes because it is unprofessional. Simply send a copy and state that you want to make sure that all of the facts and quotes are correct. For the subject, it is another chance to be introduced to the audience. Majority of writers think that it is the reason why the subject shouldn’t interfere and has a right just to notify if some of the details or facts are conveyed in a wrong way. Submit the work Once your editor, professor or the subject don’t seem to have any remarks, you can submit the story.

Bbus leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bbus leadership - Essay Example Some of the CSR initiatives which are undertaken by majority of the companies are donation to charities, implementation of carbon emission controlled processes, sponsorships of awards, philanthropic actions, business code of conduct, cause associated marketing, eco-efficiency and many more (Hansen, 34). With the advent of time, the organizations have realized that they can compete effectively by allocating sufficient amount of resources in CSR activities. There are few companies who have initiated environmental reporting trend so that they can disclose information about the measures undertaken by them to highlight their eco-friendly projects (Philips, 12). For biotechnology companies, it is crucial to make it evident that the waste eliminated from their processes is disposed off in an appropriate manner and there are various measures undertaken to control the carbon emission content. Additionally, they are required to adhere to the waste recycling laws to comply with the ethical business code of conduct (Werther and David, 23). Monsanto is among the leading biotechnology companies which has the reputation of being a prevailing player in the commercial GE (Genetically engineered) crops. It has been the innovator and also the leader in the sustainable agriculture. The organization aggressively publicizes the implementation of its technology as the main driver of its goal attainment. It has done advertisement about some of its CSR activities such as conformance to the production of food in an adequate manner, efficient responsiveness to the global warming issue and controlling the negative effects of the agriculture on environment (Union of Concerned Scientists, 1-5). In reality, the company has been unsuccessful in creating an eco-friendly business as it has engaged its production processes in an array of anti-CSR activities. The eight vital constituents of the company’s business show that it is not playing an important role in the

Artefacts (Idenitifying Materials) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Artefacts (Idenitifying Materials) - Essay Example Quality assurance plays an active role in materials testing. Quality assurance carries out calibration test and manufacturing test. Calibration test is carried out to determine the workability of the measuring properties. Manufacturing test is carried out to determine the adherence to standardization. Some of the tests through which engineering materials are subjected to can be categorized as follows; Mechanical test These tests are carried out on the engineering materials to determine their strength, elastic constants, material properties and performance properties. Mechanical test involves testing the test specimen. The test specimen is obtained through the breaking of the original sample materials. Tensional test These are quasi-static test carried out on the engineering materials to determine the properties of these materials. This test is carried out by exposing the sample material to uniaxial loading conditions. Hardness test The resistances to penetration by most engineering m aterials are determined by hardness test. Hardness test is carried out using three different methods that are scratch test, rebound test, indentation test. Scratch test involves progressive scratching of a hard material. Rebound test involves the ability to determine the material resilience. Material resilience is determined by measuring the potential energy of the material. Indentation test involves production of a permanent impression on the surface of the materials. The size and the force of the impression determine the material hardness. Hardness test can further be categorized as macro hardness test or micro hardness test. The macro hardness test includes Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell tests. Micro hardness test includes Knoop and Tukon test. Torsion test This is a test that is carried out to obtain the stress-strain relationship for the metal. Torsion test is able to generate both the shear stress and shear strain of the material. Impact test This test is conducted to determine the static properties and the mechanical behavior of the engineering material. Heat treatment and the stress concentrations of the material are carried out under impact test. When the drill (Osaki CD 1202 12V) was stripped down, the following material components were identified; Polystyrene polymer Polystyrene is a vinyl polymer structurally made up of very long hydrocarbon chain. The polystyrene polymer has a phenyl group attached to its carbon atom. This polymer is hard and it is a clear plastic. Polystyrene is made from free radical vinyl polymerization of the monomer styrene. This polymer is hard and it is used for making of the drill handle. Due to its hard nature, it is able to withstand a lot of heat. Nylon This is a thermoplastic polymer which is used as a fiber. Nylons are made from diacid chlorides and the diamines.One of the nylon polymer that is nylon 6, 6 is produced from the combination of two monomers. The two monomers are adipoyl chloride and hexamethylene diamine. Another form of nylon is the nylon 6. Nylon 6 is made from a ring opening polymerization. These nylons are used in making the casing for the ball bearing. It is preferred because of its ability to be fabricated into any shape. Diamond This is the hardest engineering material. They are gem-quality carbon crystals. They are highly refractive crystalline carbon types and are used in abrasives, cutting tools and drilling operations. They have slight impurities in their structures, but they are

The Implementation Of Performance Management

The Implementation Of Performance Management Performance management is one of the tools human resource managers can employ to engage employees and teams to achieve their goals and motivate them to achieve high levels of organizational performance. Nowadays, HR managers are faced with a variety of competition and business environments that are constantly changing individuals values and lifestyles. Hence, the HR mangers need to understand the processes that can help employees achieve the goals set by their organizations. Aim The purpose of this report is to evaluate human resource management, in particular, performance management by focusing on three general purposes namely, strategic, development, and administrative. Arguments are made outlining the advantages and disadvantages of implementing performance management systems. Furthermore, sources of performance information used to evaluate the sales assistance of ANZ Bank are examined. Finally, an evaluation of the fairness of performance management is provided. Relevant literatures will be reviewed and discussed to support the ideas presented within this document. Scope This report discusses, evaluates and in some cases, criticizes existing researches dealing with performance management and also shows the relationship between different researches toward performance management, including the advantages and disadvantages of implementing this system. Also, evaluations of the performance information that can adequately measure the performance of ANZs sales assistance along with the fairness of performance management systems are provided. The General Purposes of Performance Management Commonly, the purpose of Performance Management is to achieve an organizations goals or objectives. For instance, Walters (1995) states performance management is the process of improving the quality and quantity of work finished and aligning all the activities involved with an organizations objectives. Similarly, Armstrong (1998) recommenced performance management as the strategic and integrated approaches to deliver the successful to organization by improve the performance of employees by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors. Moreover, William (2002) states that performance management targets individuals within an organization and aims to direct and improve their performance and ultimately enhancing the organizations objectives. Schuler, Fulkerson and Dowling (1991) claimed that Performance management is an essential business driver to help businesses achieved desired results. Generally, Performance Management is an ongoing process that needs to be monito red throughout the year. The Performance Management purposes, which mainly includes areas such as, strategic, developmental, and administrative. Thus, the overall expectations and performance objectives are reviewed as following: 2.1 Strategic Purposes: Armstrong (1999) pointed out that the important features of PM are goal setting and feedback coupled with the development of individual characteristics as well as the development of organizations strategies. Utilizing the ideas presented within several literature reviews, the major roles of Strategic Performance Management can be classified as follows: (i.e. Atkinson, 1998; Dumond, 1994; Sink, 1991; Martinsons et al, 1999; and Neely, 1998) Overlooking the process of strategy implementation by assessing if the strategy is being put into practice as planned. Managers and higher-level personnel issue objectives and goals and not only ensure that these strategies are implemented but also that the contents of the strategy are up to date. The position check and selection employees by looking at whether the result of performance expectation is achieved University of California, Berkeley introduced the communication process that includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and evaluating results. Consequently, to help employees understand and meet the company goal provided the clearly of direct communication by pass the information to employees about the expectation of individual to be achieved, and also provides the feedback including benchmarks performance in difference department, teams, individual by report as the whole regarding their performance with respect to expected goal have been consider. Documentation process that enable line manager and employees to see the performance management as a part of daily workplace behavior. 2.2 Development Purposes: Performance management is an ongoing process. After a set of work objectives and organizational goals are agreed upon, the HR start with a clear agreement based on the strategy, goal, measure, and performance goal to be implemented. Organization coaching and developing process by evaluation of employees attention to these strategies and point out employees strength and weakness when the employees not perform well as they should. Therefore, the performance management seeks to improve these employees performance. Moreover, organization has to ensure the employees achieved the measurement results through the feedback so employees know where they stand. De Cieri et al. 2008 suggested that to build a performance culture by establish the process to encourage performance management feedback each day rather than the process that occurs throughout the year. As the result, the reviewed of performance annually more likely distorted and forgotten in order that organization should progress monito r regular and provide employee feedback after each particular event finished. At the end of performance period, assessment is made against objectives, means or behaviours demonstrated. Plus, new objectives for the next performance period maybe established (The University of California, Berkeley). Furthermore, Kaplan and Norton (2001) argued that employees at level need to learn the principles of the system, its measures, tools and procedures. Thus, the organization encourage improvement and learning by provided valuable information to help identify individual training need to improved employee performance and build up the potential of employee for further advancement. Moreover, Performance management system focuses on the skills that are required to perform a particular job and training will help employees to achieve that skill employee will get training that are required and have better positions and compensation offers within the organization. 2.3 Administrative Purposes: De Cieri et al. 2008 described the studied of PM can help the organization in particular to administrative decision making such as salary, promotion, retention, and termination and recognition of individual performance. The organization can define employee salary toward their performance, the person who greater performance will get the greater salary. The successful of performance management process (well-conceived and well-implemented) can motivate employee through financial with the compensation and also can motivate by non-financial reward such as positive feedback and opportunities to development (Armstrong, 1999). Thus, the reward can motivate employee via their efforts that rewards can be financial and non-financial by basically rewards provide base on the organization ability to pay and legal regulation as the company take the action by use the performance measure to calculate the rewards. As the result, it can say the reward can motivate and encourage building short term and long term incentives of engage performance. As the result, compensation can motivate the person to perform well by the good compensation package will increase the employees productivity and satisfaction level of the employees. In additional, some organizations award the salary and bonus base on their performance. Armstrong and Baron (1998) demonstrate that performance can be affected by several of factors, all of that should be taken into account when managing, measuring and rewarding performance. 3.0 Arguments For and Against the Implementation of Performance Management Argument For: Increasing Productivities A key aspect of performance management is training and developing new techniques that can help organizations improve individual, team and organizational performance. For example, ANZ develop their employees to be successful in their roles, by hosting training programs in a wide range of areas such as developing inspiring leadership qualities, providing learning and development opportunities and by developing and retaining talented employees who want to undertake challenging assignments. As a result of all these programs, trained sales assistance units are able to market new products online to increase customer convenience and satisfaction (Corporate Responsibility Review, 2008). As online functionality improves with time and effort, customers are provided with concise and timely information such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and so on, resulting in an increased number of customers utilizing these services and higher s productivities. Produce Meaningful Measurement of Employee Performance Performance management can help ensure that employees receive a fair appraisal based on their performance, by using various methods to evaluate employees. Organizations then inform employees of the results, in the form of constructive feedbacks. Organizations also take efforts to improve aspects of employees productivity by providing clear information of what is expected of them and align these expectations with the overall company goals and targets and also by hosting quality training and development programs. Consequence, the measurements are useful for organization setting standards for comparison with similar organizations or previous years (Hyndman and Anderson, 1997) Increased Retention Rate Performance management systems are implemented not only to evaluate employee performance but also to understand the basic needs of employees. It helps senior mangers to understand what employees are looking for, in terms of job satisfaction or how he/she is performing in their respective jobs. It helps to increases retention rates in organizations. Employees are aware of what is required of them and focus their output according to these specifics. For instance, ANZs business strategy of recruiting and retaining employees has resulted in an increase in the number of employees from 8,810 to 9,245 between 2008 and 2009 (ANZ, 2010). Performance management also can help ensure that employees receive equitable treatment because performance management appraisals are based on results. Analysing these results can lead to enhanced job satisfaction, increased productivities and so on. Additionally, performance management can facilitate ongoing, constructive communication between supervisors and employees, all the while focusing on achieving organizational goals and targets. Armstrong and Baron (2003) also suggest that the successful implementation of performance management systems can result in desirable culture changes and avoid problems such as, lack of understanding and enthusiasm. Against: High Cost Recently, organizations have been forced to cut down cost due to the global economic crisis. The decision of whether or not to train employees has been a consequence of this phenomenon. Even though training is the best way to retain and maintain employees, the effects of economic recession have led to organizations cutting down on training programs. During periods of economic recession, organizations are faced with a higher than normal rate in employee turnover. (Glance, Hogg and Huberman, 1997). External Factors Performance management frameworks and systems do not directly take into consideration external factors such as, global recessions or natural calamities. As such, when such a scenario does arise, performance management system may have to undergo heavy modifications to compensate. Unrealistic Performance Targets Sometimes organizations are desperate to achieve organizational goals and as a result, unrealistic performance levels may be set for employees. These targets are often difficult and unattainable, and as a result, dissatisfied employees may decide to leave their jobs. Actual Performance versus Target Performance Failing to effectively implement performance management systems may give rise to a lapse between actual and target performances. A managers inability to conform to procedures such as conducting regular meetings to discuss employees performance and providing them with necessary training may lead to a breakdown in the entire system. Therefore, an employees lack of understanding of what is precisely required of them can greatly impact an organizations performance as a whole. 4.0 An Evaluation of the Performance of ANZs Sales Assistance Like any successful organization, ANZ bank takes its corporate responsibilities very seriously by adopting responsible business practices and by reporting and updating their Corporate Responsibility (CR) Performance. ANZs CR Reporting follows the guidelines set by the global best practice standards. In 2008, ANZ Bank implemented a new, streamlined approach, known as the Global Performance Management Framework, to facilitate enhanced monitoring of their employees performance and to utilize their personnels full potential. As such, the simplified and globally homogenous approach they adopted utilizes a concept known as balanced scorecard, which measures and evaluates the performances of their employees across four main company objectives, namely, Financial, Customer, People and Process, and also the benchmarks of behaviour and risk/compliance that are exhibited throughout the year. The Performance Management at ANZ is divided into three stages: Performance Planning, Performance Coaching and Performance Assessment. Performance Planning: This stage involves setting clear and measurable objectives and targets at lower levels of the organization. Strong emphasis is placed on the impact that achieving these goals have on the organizations broader business goals and priorities. Employees and managers are unified under a common set of highly ambitious, yet realistic and achievable goals from the beginning so that each individual understands the importance of his/her role and how he/she can contribute to the overall success of the organization. One of the key focuses of this stage is ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of the behaviour and risk/compliance standards expected of them. Performance Coaching: At this stage of Performance Management, managers conduct regular meetings with employees to coach and develop them. Managers are required to evaluate employees performance and appraise their current status in respect to the performance levels expected of them by conducting mid-year performance discussions. A key aspect of this stage is to ensure that managers provide employees with sufficient support and learning opportunities that can enable them to succeed at their roles. Performance Assessment: At this stage, higher level personnel provide lower level employees with an evaluation of their performance at the end of the year. The outcomes of this stage are linked directly with the companys remuneration and rewards schemes. (Corporate responsibility review, 2008) Following these guidelines, the Performance Management Framework provides each individual within the organization with a clearly defined set of objectives and goals and ensures that they understand precisely what is expected of them. Sales assistance involves handling routine client enquiries in all segments of the companys objectives. Therefore, the tools and instruments employed in maintaining the organizations new Performance Management Framework, can effectively evaluate the performance of sales assistance in ANZ Bank, especially when coupled with detailed and informative annual CR Reports. In addition to providing annual performance reports, ANZ also maintains a Corporate Responsibility website and issues annual CR Interim reports and monthly Corporate Responsibility updates to stakeholders. The information contained within all these reports and updates can adequately evaluate the performance of personnel, and more importantly, provide detailed information on specific branches of the companys departments, like sales assistance. ANZ has been reporting on its CR Performance since 2004. Each year, the organizations goals and work programs include high-priority issues involving their industry, customers, employees and the community. According to the 2008 CR Report, by September 2008, ANZ had witnessed the first rise in customer satisfaction statistics in over six months. The organization had set six customer-oriented goals: Implement a new Personal Division policy and processes to assist retail customers facing financial difficulty Maintain their position as the number 1 Lead Bank for major Corporate and Institutional clients Achieve Equator Principles reporting for 100% of ANZs Project Finance transactions Continue to improve their retail customer satisfaction and match the performance of community and regional banks Meet or exceed the performance standards set out in their Customer Charter and conduct a review of its commitments Implement Institutional social and environmental lending policies for forests, mining, energy and water. The first three goals in the above list were successfully achieved, while the latter three goals were partially satisfied. There were five employee-oriented goals set by the organization for the year 2008, and only one of these goals placing women in managerial positions in Australia and New Zealand was unattained, although, the actual statistics only marginally trailed the target figures. The goal of employing 100 Indigenous Australians, as part of the Indigenous Employment Strategy was successfully accomplished, as 106 Indigenous trainees were employed by ANZ in 2008. The three other set goals that were partially achieved are: Closing the gap on pay differential between men and women at all levels of the organization, Reducing their Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate by a further 20% in Australia and New Zealand and report performance globally, and improve their performance in the ANZ Engagement and Culture Census. Of the four community-oriented goals that were set, all four were successfully accomplished. The goals included: Release ANZs bi-annual financial literacy research, Meet their financial literacy and inclusion program targets, Achieve 70,000 hours of staff volunteering across the Groups and 15% participation in payroll giving, Achieve the commitments in our Reconciliation Action Plan including staff training, financial literacy and assisting to build the capacity of Indigenous organizations. The figures and outcomes in these reports provide adequate information towards evaluating the performance of various branches in various departments. 5.0 Evaluation of the fairness of performance management One of the most important functions of human resource management is Staff Performance Management. As discussed earlier, ANZ Bank employs a management tool known as the Global Performance Management Framework to monitor, evaluate and enhance the performance of its employees. One of the key aspects of Performance Management is to formulate a set of goals and priorities that serve as targets and guidelines for employees to better understand their respective roles and how each individuals performance impacts the organization as a whole. The employee performance management system encompasses the following basic aims: Direct employees in order to achieve the objectives in the various departments and branches present within an organization. Appraise, evaluate and monitor the performance of employees and enhance communication between employees and management personnel. To provide pathways and formulate schemes for developing employees. Throughout this report, various research materials are sited supporting the fact that performance management, if implemented properly, can ensure an organizations success. This section of the report attempts to link performance management with other Human Resource Management functions to ascertain and evaluate the fairness of performance management. Figure 1: The link between Performance Management and other HR Functions For a performance management system to be effective and functional, certain elements are normally incorporated into the system: Open and fair Oriented towards the competency of employees An ongoing process (HRM civil service bureau, 1999) Open and Fair This element of the performance management system seeks to achieve fairness in performance appraisal by encouraging employees to be outspoken and constructive in their feedbacks. Additionally, managers are also encouraged to be open and objective in their appraisals of the employees. The following methods can be instrumental in accomplishing this: Formulating comprehensive and detailed objectives and targets. Encouraging higher-level employees to conduct discussions with employees pertaining to their performances and providing counselling and training when necessary. Making equal opportunities available to all staff members, in terms of promotions, remuneration and rewards packages and training and development. Forming a panel, whenever possible, to facilitate fairness in performance appraisals. Oriented Towards the Competency of Employees The competency of employees can be broadly classified into two sub-categories; core competencies and functional competencies. Competency relates to the knowledge, attributes, attitude and skills that are required for an employee to succeed in his/her role. Core competencies include a set of skills necessary for an employee to satisfactorily perform his/her duties in their respective departments. Functional competencies include specific sets of skills required by an individual to perform his specific role in the organization. Making use of a system that is competency-oriented greatly enhances the beginning stages of performance management, where goals and objectives are formulated. Employees at different levels of the organization are able to understand what is required of them due to the well-structured job requirements that align each individuals role in the organizations chain of command. An Ongoing Process Performance management systems are an ongoing endeavour that requires constant attention and monitoring. Failing to maintain set standards on a regular basis may lead to a decline in the quality of the companys performance and output. This process involves: Performance planning: This stage involves the appraiser and the appraised, in that, the former informs the latter of the responsibilities and objectives they are required to satisfy, by setting realistic, precise and quantitative targets as comprehensive guidelines for them to follow. Coaching and development: Here, particular emphasis is placed on giving recognition to good performance and providing helpful feedback and guidance to employees. Recognizing noteworthy performances can be a good way of boosting morale and encouraging employees to strive for excellence. Providing continuous counselling and advice can ensure that employees are up to date in the organizations ongoing quest for success and retaining the level of success, once it is achieved. Interim review: An interim review aims to evaluate employee performance. It is a formal interview or discussion where the evaluating personnel identifies performance results and undertakes appropriate actions, assesses development and training programs, identify any shortcomings or barriers that prevents employees from reaching their full potential and make modifications to the objectives required of the employee. Human Resources personnel bridge the gap between employers, managers and employees. Therefore, in addition to their other tasks, HR personnel can ensure the fairness of the employee performance appraisal procedures by understanding the employees concept of fairness and encouraging helpful feedback from employees, thus facilitating better communication between higher-level personnel and lower-level employees.. A fair and transparent system promotes and encourages employees to perform at their best, as the possibilities of achieving promotions and benefit packages are ever present and realistic. Conclusion Obviously, PM is one of the most important functions of HRM which links individuals objectives and organization goals. Thus, PM can be a very effective and efficient management tool if applied properly. An organization should provided its employees with the clear information of the organizations aims, job expectations and motivate employees to perform better by focusing on the desired results, improving communication, and developing the skills and attitudes of employees to better enable them to achieve organizational goals. Moreover, the implementation of performance management frameworks can be both advantageous and disadvantageous for an organization. Analyzing ANZ banks sources of performance information shows that the implementation of a solid PM framework, coupled with their globally recognized reporting methods enables the organization to adequately evaluate the performance of ANZs various departments and sectors, including the sales assistance unit. Finally, fairness in evalua ting and appraising employees performance within an organization can motivate employees to enhance their performance. Organizations can achieve this by providing equal opportunities for their employees towards promotion options, access to remuneration and rewards schemes, training/counselling/mentoring/advising, providing clear, concise information and specifying job tasks and so on. 7.0 Recommendations Organizations should continue to review their strategies regularly by focusing on performance management. Organizations should strive to take actions that can facilitate improvements and employee training and also focus on the development of strategies to justify any gaps, if present, between the organizations actual performance and target goals. Fairness plays an important role in motivating and guiding employees. Although, the concept of fairness may vary from one individual to another, there are certain ideologies, however, that remain constant. For example, it is commonly understood in a workplace that an employee should be rewarded based on his/her performance within the organization. The aspects of fairness that may vary from one individual to another are feelings of how one was treated by his/her employer or manager in regards to a particular scenario. Therefore, it is important for managers and employers to ascertain how their employees perceive fairness. This can be accomplished by providing employees with questionnaires that will enable them to express their take on fairness. This will help higher level personnel to understand their employees more intimately and tailor their remuneration and rewards packages and training opportunities accordingly. In performance management, the employees are subject to be reviewed by their managers. Employees will directly receive feedback from the members of their team. The team members will observe each other and then report to managers when performance problems occur. Subsequently, the managers should combine the feedback gained from their team members and then undertake the necessary corrective measures.

Chapter 10 Mayhem at the Ministry

Mr. Weasley woke them after only a few hours sleep. He used magic to pack up the tents, and they left the campsite as quickly as possible, passing Mr. Roberts at the door of his cottage. Mr. Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved them off with a vague â€Å"Merry Christmas.† â€Å"He'll be all right,† said Mr. Weasley quietly as they marched off onto the moor. â€Å"Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes him a bit disorientated for a while†¦and that was a big thing they had to make him forget.† They heard urgent voices as they approached the spot where the Portkeys lay, and when they reached it, they found a great number of witches and wizards gathered around Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys, all clamoring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible. Mr. Weasley had a hurried discussion with Basil; they joined the queue, and were able to take an old rubber tire back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really risen. They walked back through Ottery St. Catchpole and up the damp lane toward the Burrow in the dawn light, talking very little because they were so exhausted, and thinking longingly of their breakfast. As they rounded the corner and the Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the lane. â€Å"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!† Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard, came running toward them, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in her hand. â€Å"Arthur – I've been so worried – so worried -â€Å" She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the Daily Prophet fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, Harry saw the headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, complete with a twinkling black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops. â€Å"You're all right,† Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring around at them all with red eyes, â€Å"you're alive†¦.Oh boys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together. â€Å"Ouch! Mum – you're strangling us -â€Å" â€Å"I shouted at you before you left!† Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob. â€Å"It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OW.L.s? Oh Fred†¦George†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay,† said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house. â€Å"Bill,† he added in an undertone, â€Å"pick up that paper, I want to see what it says†¦Ã¢â‚¬  When they were all crammed into the tiny kitchen, and Hermione had made Mrs. Weasley a cup of very strong tea, into which Mr. Weasley insisted on pouring a shot of Ogdens Old Firewhiskey, Bill handed his father the newspaper. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page while Percy looked over his shoulder. â€Å"I knew it,† said Mr. Weasley heavily. â€Å"Ministry blunders†¦culprits not apprehended†¦lax security†¦Dark wizards running unchecked†¦national disgrace†¦.Who wrote this? Ah†¦of course†¦Rita Skeeter.† â€Å"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!† said Percy furiously. â€Å"Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans -â€Å" â€Å"Do us a favor, Perce,† said Bill, yawning, â€Å"and shut up.† â€Å"I'm mentioned,† said Mr. Weasley, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he reached the bottom of the Daily Prophet article. â€Å"Where?† spluttered Mrs. Weasley, choking on her tea and whiskey. â€Å"If I'd seen that, I'd have known you were alive!† â€Å"Not by name,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Listen to this: ‘If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.'.Oh really,† said Mr. Weasley in exasperation, handing the paper to Percy. â€Å"Nobody was hurt. What was I supposed to say? Rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods†¦well, there certainly will be rumors now she's printed that.† He heaved a deep sigh. â€Å"Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office; this is going to take some smoothing over.† â€Å"I'll come with you, Father,† said Percy importantly. â€Å"Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck. And I can give him my cauldron report in person.† He bustled out of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley looked most upset. â€Å"Arthur, you're supposed to be on holiday! This hasn't got anything to do with your office; surely they can handle this without you?† â€Å"I've got to go, Molly,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"I've made things worse. I'll just change into my robes and I'll be off†¦.† â€Å"Mrs. Weasley,† said Harry suddenly, unable to contain himself, â€Å"Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?† â€Å"Hedwig, dear?† said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. â€Å"No†¦no, there hasn't been any post at all.† Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry. With a meaningful look at both of them he said, â€Å"All right if I go and dump my stuff in your room, Ron?† â€Å"Yeah†¦think I will too,† said Ron at once. â€Å"Hermione?† â€Å"Yes,† she said quickly, and the three of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs. â€Å"What's up, Harry?† said Ron, the moment they had closed the door of the attic room behind them. â€Å"There's something I haven't told you,† Harry said. â€Å"On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again.† Ron's and Hermione's reactions were almost exactly as Harry had imagined them back in his bedroom on Privet Drive. Hermione gasped and started making suggestions at once, mentioning a number of reference books, and everybody from Albus Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts nurse. Ron simply looked dumbstruck. â€Å"But – he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean – last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?† â€Å"I'm sure he wasn't on Privet Drive,† said Harry. â€Å"But I was dreaming about him†¦him and Peter – you know, Wormtail. I can't remember all of it now, but they were plotting to kill†¦someone.† He had teetered for a moment on the verge of saying â€Å"me,† but couldn't bring himself to make Hermione look any more horrified than she already did. â€Å"It was only a dream,† said Ron bracingly. â€Å"Just a nightmare.† â€Å"Yeah, but was it, though?† said Harry, turning to look out of the window at the brightening sky. â€Å"It's weird, isn't it?†¦My scar hurts, and three days later the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again.† â€Å"Don't – say – his – name!† Ron hissed through gritted teeth. â€Å"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?† Harry went on, ignoring Ron. â€Å"At the end of last year?† Professor Trelawney was their Divination teacher at Hogwarts. Hermione's terrified look vanished as she let out a derisive snort. â€Å"Oh Harry, you aren't going to pay attention to anything that old fraud says?† â€Å"You weren't there,† said Harry. â€Å"You didn't hear her. This time was different. I told you, she went into a trance – a real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again†¦greater and more terrible than ever before†¦and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him†¦and that night Wormtail escaped.† There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absentmindedly with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread. â€Å"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?† Hermione asked. â€Å"Are you expecting a letter?† â€Å"I told Sirius about my scar,† said Harry, shrugging. â€Å"I'm waiting for his answer.† â€Å"Good thinking!† said Ron, his expression clearing. â€Å"I bet Sirius'll know what to do!† â€Å"I hoped he'd get back to me quickly,† said Harry. â€Å"But we don't know where Sirius is†¦he could be in Africa or somewhere, couldn't he?† said Hermione reasonably. â€Å"Hedwig's not going to manage that journey in a few days.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† said Harry, but there was a leaden feeling in his stomach as he looked out of the window at the Hedwig-free sky. â€Å"Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry† said Ron. â€Å"Come on – three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play†¦.You can try out the Wronski Feint†¦.† â€Å"Ron,† said Hermione, in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, â€Å"Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now†¦.He's worried, and he's tired†¦.We all need to go to bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch,† said Harry suddenly. â€Å"Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt.† Hermione left the room, muttering something that sounded very much like â€Å"Boys.† Neither Mr. Weasley nor Percy was at home much over the following week. Both left the house each morning before the rest of the family got up, and returned well after dinner every night. â€Å"It's been an absolute uproar,† Percy told them importantly the Sunday evening before they were due to return to Hogwarts. â€Å"I've been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers, and of course, if you don't open a Howler straight away, it explodes. Scorch marks all over my desk and my best quill reduced to cinders.† â€Å"Why are they all sending Howlers?† asked Ginny, who was mending her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi with Spellotape on the rug in front of the living room fire. â€Å"Complaining about security at the World Cup,† said Percy. â€Å"They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks.† Mrs. Weasley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. Harry liked this clock. It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time, but otherwise very informative. It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family's names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. â€Å"Home,† â€Å"school,† and â€Å"work† were there, but there was also â€Å"traveling,† â€Å"lost,† â€Å"hospital,† â€Å"prison,† and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, â€Å"mortal peril.† Eight of the hands were currently pointing to the â€Å"home† position, but Mr. Weasley's, which was the longest, was still pointing to â€Å"work.† Mrs. Weasley sighed. â€Å"Your father hasn't had to go into the office on weekends since the days of You-Know-Who,† she said. â€Å"They're working him far too hard. His dinner's going to be ruined if he doesn't come home soon.† â€Å"Well, Father feels he's got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn't he?† said Percy. â€Å"If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his Head of Department first -â€Å" â€Å"Don't you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!† said Mrs. Weasley, flaring up at once. â€Å"If Dad hadn't said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented,† said Bill, who was playing chess with Ron. â€Å"Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts' Charm Breakers once, and called me ‘a long-haired pillock'?† â€Å"Well, it is a bit long, dear,† said Mrs. Weasley gently. â€Å"If you'd just let me -â€Å" â€Å"No, Mum.† Rain lashed against the living room window. Hermione was immersed in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, copies of which Mrs. Weasley had bought for her, Harry, and Ron in Diagon Alley. Charlie was darning a fireproof balaclava. Harry was polishing his Firebolt, the broomstick servicing kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday open at his feet. Fred and George were sitting in a far corner, quills out, talking in whispers, their heads bent over a piece of parchment. â€Å"What are you two up to?† said Mrs. Weasley sharply, her eyes on the twins. â€Å"Homework,† said Fred vaguely. â€Å"Don't be ridiculous, you're still on holiday,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Yeah, we've left it a bit late,† said George. â€Å"You're not by any chance writing out a new order form, are you?† said Mrs. Weasley shrewdly. â€Å"You wouldn't be thinking of restarting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, by any chance?† â€Å"Now, Mum,† said Fred, looking up at her, a pained look on his face. â€Å"If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?† Everyone laughed, even Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Oh your father's coming!† she said suddenly, looking up at the clock again. Mr. Weasley's hand had suddenly spun from â€Å"work† to â€Å"traveling†; a second later it had shuddered to a halt on â€Å"home† with the others, and they heard him calling from the kitchen. â€Å"Coming, Arthur!† called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying out of the room. A few moments later, Mr. Weasley came into the warm living room carrying his dinner on a tray. He looked completely exhausted. â€Å"Well, the fat's really in the fire now,† he told Mrs. Weasley as he sat down in an armchair near the hearth and toyed unenthusiastically with his somewhat shriveled cauliflower. â€Å"Rita Skeeter's been ferreting around all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report. And now she's found out about poor old Bertha going missing, so that'll be the headline in the Prophet tomorrow. I told Bagman he should have sent someone to look for her ages ago.† â€Å"Mr. Crouch has been saying it for weeks and weeks,† said Percy swiftly. â€Å"Crouch is very lucky Rita hasn't found out about Winky,† said Mr. Weasley irritably. â€Å"There'd be a week's worth of headlines in his house-elf being caught holding the wand that conjured the Dark Mark.† â€Å"I thought we were all agreed that that elf, while irresponsible, did not conjure the Mark?† said Percy hotly. â€Å"If you ask me, Mr. Crouch is very lucky no one at the Daily Prophet knows how mean he is to elves!† said Hermione angrily. â€Å"Now look here, Hermione!† said Percy. â€Å"A high-ranking Ministry official like Mr. Crouch deserves unswerving obedience from his servants -â€Å" â€Å"His slave, you mean!† said Hermione, her voice rising passionately, â€Å"because he didn't pay Winky, did he?† â€Å"I think you'd all better go upstairs and check that you've packed properly!† said Mrs. Weasley, breaking up the argument. â€Å"Come on now, all of you†¦.† Harry repacked his broomstick servicing kit, put his Firebolt over his shoulder, and went back upstairs with Ron. The rain sounded even louder at the top of the house, accompanied by loud whistlings and moans from the wind, not to mention sporadic howls from the ghoul who lived in the attic. Pigwidgeon began twittering and zooming around his cage when they entered. The sight of the half-packed trunks seemed to have sent him into a frenzy of excitement. â€Å"Bung him some Owl Treats,† said Ron, throwing a packet across to Harry. â€Å"It might shut him up.† Harry poked a few Owl Treats through the bars of Pigwidgeon's cage, then turned to his trunk. Hedwig's cage stood next to it, still empty. â€Å"It's been over a week,† Harry said, looking at Hedwig's deserted perch. â€Å"Ron, you don't reckon Sirius has been caught, do you?† â€Å"Nah, it would've been in the Daily Prophet,† said Ron. â€Å"The Ministry would want to show they'd caught someone, wouldn't they?† â€Å"Yeah, I suppose†¦.† â€Å"Look, here's the stuff Mum got for you in Diagon Alley. And she's got some gold out of your vault for you†¦and she's washed all your socks.† He heaved a pile of parcels onto Harry's camp bed and dropped the money bag and a load of socks next to it. Harry started unwrapping the shopping. Apart from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, by Miranda Goshawk, he had a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment, and refills for his potion-making kit – he had been running low on spine of lionfish and essence of belladonna. He was just piling underwear into his cauldron when Ron made a loud noise of disgust behind him. â€Å"What is that supposed to be?† He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long, maroon velvet dress. It had a moldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs. There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley entered, carrying an armful of freshly laundered Hogwarts robes. â€Å"Here you are,† she said, sorting them into two piles. â€Å"Now, mind you pack them properly so they don't crease.† â€Å"Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress,† said Ron, handing it out to her. â€Å"Of course I haven't,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"That's for you. Dress robes.† â€Å"What?† said Ron, looking horror-struck. â€Å"Dress robes!† repeated Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"It says on your school list that you're supposed to have dress robes this year†¦robes for formal occasions.† â€Å"You've got to be kidding,† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"I'm not wearing that, no way.† â€Å"Everyone wears them, Ron!† said Mrs. Weasley crossly. â€Å"They're all like that! Your father's got some for smart parties!† â€Å"I'll go starkers before I put that on,† said Ron stubbornly. â€Å"Don't be so silly,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"You've got to have dress robes, they're on your list! I got some for Harry too†¦show him, Harry†¦.† In some trepidation, Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he had expected, however; his dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all – in fact, they were more or less the same as his school ones, except that they were bottle green instead of black. â€Å"I thought they'd bring out the color of your eyes, dear,† said Mrs. Weasley fondly. â€Å"Well, they're okay!† said Ron angrily, looking at Harry's robes. â€Å"Why couldn't I have some like that?† â€Å"Because†¦well, I had to get yours secondhand, and there wasn't a lot of choice!† said Mrs. Weasley, flushing. Harry looked away. He would willingly have split all the money in his Gringotts vault with the Weasleys, but he knew they would never take it. â€Å"I'm never wearing them,† Ron was saying stubbornly. â€Å"Never.† â€Å"Fine,† snapped Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Go naked. And, Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh.† She left the room, slamming the door behind her. There was a funny spluttering noise from behind them. Pigwidgeon was choking on an overlarge Owl Treat. â€Å"Why is everything I own rubbish?† said Ron furiously, striding across the room to unstick Pigwidgeon's beak.

Globalization and the World Economy Essay

Globalization is a powerful real aspect on the new world system, and it represents one of the most influential forces in determining the future course of the planet. It is described as having â€Å"many dimensions: economic, political, social, cultural, environmental, and security† (Intriligator, 2001). Globalization in the 21st century is inevitable. Increased globalization and international businesses are growing because technology is expanding rapidly especially in communications and transportation. According to Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) countries are beginning to remove many international restrictions facilitating trade and commerce. Numerous governments have developed services to help conduct international business more easily. Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about foreign goods and services and want them in their home country. Increased global competition has stimulated more companies to enter the international arena for selling goods and services. In most cases, improved political relationships among some of the major economic powers have made international trade more profitable. As the world shrinks because of the internet, improved communication and transportation more countries are cooperating on transnational issues related to business and commerce. Globalization has changed the scope and focus of business. The impact of globalization can be categorized generally in terms of distance, country, and culture. Our world is becoming increasingly interdependent because of globalization. Globalization did not just â€Å"happen†. It was driven and is being driven by a number of worldwide developments. Some of these developments have spanned many years, and some have occurred in a relatively short period of time. The first development was the end of the cold war. As stated by Brooks and Wohlforth (2000) the world changed in 1991 when the â€Å"Soviet Empire† collapsed. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies helped to bring major political changes. With the removal of a threat of war, global interdependence could take hold. The second development is the world’s increasing population growth. This growth all but ensures a broad, expanding, worldwide market for goods and services, and an expanding workforce. The third development is the emergence of free markets on a worldwide basis. According to Ruggiero (1996), country after country is opening its borders to a freer flow of goods, services, technology, and capital. Many are forming regional trade blocks that facilitate investment and commerce in their local economies. The World Trade Organization (WTO), an international body that deals with the rule of trade between nations, is actively helping countries at all level of development with financial and trade agreement support. The fourth development has been the ongoing emergence of a worldwide technical and logistics framework. Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) remark that tremendous strides in communications and transportation technology enable businesses to quickly know about and demand products and services developed in another part of the world. A worldwide telecommunications network is in place to facilitate global commerce, with millions of phones supported by satellites and fiber optic cables. An array of ships, planes, trucks and other logistical systems makes it possible to transport people and packages to almost any point in the world. The last development is the explosion of the internet on the world scene, which is playing a key role in aspects of global commerce. Kabuga (2000) argues that the arrival of the internet has speeded up globalization. This growth in internet usage on a worldwide basis has had a major effect on global business activities. The advent of the internet has allowed for rapid access to world markets. Knowing how to use the internet for globalization activities can be very beneficial for a company. In this dotcom economy, everything can be produced anywhere and sold anywhere. The internet has given many companies a new view on how to handle global business needs. Globalization is not just a â€Å"me too† trend. There are solid reasons why some businesses embrace the global path and others do not. Three solid business factors for globalization are expansion of sales, to acquire resources, and to minimize risk. Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) claim that a company’s sales are dependent on two factors: the consumers’ interest in their products or services and the consumers’ willingness and ability to buy them. Higher sales mean higher profits, so increased sales are a major motive for company’s expansion into globalization. To acquire resources manufacturers and distributors seek out products, services, and components produced in foreign countries (Daniels, et al. , p18). Foreign sources may give companies lower costs, new or better products, and additional operating knowledge. To minimize swings in sales and profits, companies may seek out foreign markets to take advantage of business cycle differences among countries (Daniels, et al. , p18). International operations may reduce operating risk by smoothing sales and profits and preventing competitors from gaining advantages. When deciding how and where to conduct business globally, it’s important that companies have some knowledge of the target countries. According to Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) political policies and legal practices, behavioral factors, economic forces, and geographical influences are key external forces that affect the way a company operates and the amount of adjustment it must make to its operations in a particular country. Knowing background information on the countries can help in two areas: communication and credibility. Knowing about the target country gives a common ground for talking with people from that country. This can open the door to effective communication. Knowing about the target country gives credibility when talking about the country to others, both within the organization and native to the foreign country. Another benefit of knowing about foreign operations is increased awareness of how to help an operation be successful. Without adequate knowledge, a company may not realize what it takes to succeed with a foreign operation or realize that an operation is in danger of failing. Globalization has sparked some of the most highly charged debates of the past decade, been the subject of countless books and cause of major demonstrations in Europe and North America (World Bank, 2000). Critics of globalization see it as a process by which power is taken from the poor and given to the rich and powerful, particularly to transnational corporations Aisbett (2004). Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) have put these claims into three broad categories: threat to national sovereignty, growth, and growing income inequality. Globalization does not reduce national sovereignty. It does create a strong incentive for governments to pursue sound economic policies (International Monetary Fund, 2000). While globalization may confront government officials with more difficult choices, the result for their citizens is greater individual freedom. In this sense, globalization acts as a check on government power that makes it more difficult for governments to abuse the freedom and property of their citizens. Criticisms against globalization are really criticisms against economic growth. The assumption is that globalization brings more production or growth, which, in turn, brings both long-term and negative consequences (Daniels, et al. , p15). Growth and globalization have gone hand-in-hand; economic growth in the last fifty years has been faster than it was in earlier centuries. According to Krueger (2002), the impact of the faster growth on living standards has been phenomenal. We have observed the increased well-being of a larger percentage of the world’s population by a greater increment than ever before in history. Globalization offers greater opportunity for people to tap into more and larger markets around the world. In regards to growing income inequality people look at not only absolute achievement or improvement, but also at how well they do compared to other people, especially those in other countries. Thus, improvement in global well-being is of little solace to most people unless they, themselves, are doing better and at least keep up with others (Daniels, et al. , p15). Growing income inequality is said to be the Achilles Heel of globalization (Krueger, 2002). This characterization is misleading in several respects. There has been in the last century remarkable income growth, but it obvious that the progress has not been evenly dispersed. The gaps between rich and poor countries, and rich and poor people within countries, have grown. The richest quarter of the world’s population saw its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase nearly six-fold during the century, while the poorest quarter experienced less than a three-fold increase (International Monetary Fund, 2000). As stated by Krueger (2002) â€Å"poor people are desperate to improve their material conditions in absolute erms rather than to march up the income distribution†. The focus should be on impoverishment than on inequality. Many have argued that these claims have exploited people in developing countries, caused massive disruptions to their lives and produced few benefits in return (World Bank, 2000). According to Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) anti-globalization forces have protested meetings of international organizations and conferences, both peacefully and violently in recent years, as they press for legislation and other means to stop or slow the globalization process. Organizations against globalization see it as a new form of imperialism or as a new stage of capitalism in the age of electronics. Globalization has involved greater openness in the international economy, an integration of markets on a worldwide basis, and a movement toward a borderless world. Supporters point to the significant reductions in poverty achieved by countries, which have embraced globalization with the world economy such as China, Vietnam, India, and Uganda. â€Å"Globalization has had a significant impact on all economies of the world, with manifold effects† (Intriligator, 2001). According to an article on Freetrade. org (2007) for the less developed countries, globalization offers access to foreign capital, global export markets, and advanced technology while breaking the monopoly of inefficient and protected domestic producers. Faster growth, in turn, promotes poverty reduction, democratization, and higher labor and environmental standards. Because it expands economic freedom and spurs competition, globalization raises the productivity and living standards of people in countries that open themselves to the global marketplace. This growth in cross-border economic activities takes various forms such as International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and Capital Market Flows. In international trade, a growing share of spending on goods and services is devoted to imports from other countries. A growing share of what countries produce is sold to foreigners as exports. As stated by Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan (2007) to meet their international objectives companies’ strategies require them to trade and transfer means of production internationally. When countries have fewer restrictions on foreign trade, it gives them the opportunity to gain economies of scale by servicing markets in more than one country from a single base of production. This trading and transferring of goods and services is what links countries economically. Several impacts of globalization on national economies deserve particular mention. One is the growth of foreign direct investment at a rapid rate. Foreign direct investment is on the rise around the world. It is now a competitive requirement that businesses invest all over the globe to access markets, technology, and talent. Attracting foreign direct investment has become a key part of national development strategies for many countries. They see such investments as bolstering domestic capital, productivity, and employment, all of which are crucial to jump-starting economic growth. While many highlight FDI’s positive effects, others blame FDI for â€Å"crowding out† domestic investment and lowering certain regulatory standards. The effects of FDI can sometimes barely be perceived, while other times they can be transformative. While the FDI’s impact depends on many conditions, well-developed and implemented policies can help maximize gains (World Bank, 2000). Capital market flows over the course of the past decade, companies’ in many countries (especially in the developed world) have increasingly diversified their portfolios to include foreign financial assets (foreign bonds, equities, loans), while borrowers increasingly turn to foreign source of funds, along with domestic ones. While flows of this kind to developing countries rose sharply in the 1990s, they have been much more volatile than either trade or FDI flows, and they have been restricted to a narrower range of â€Å"emerging market† countries (World Bank, 2000). Globalization has many advantages; properly executed it integrates world trade and financial markets, promotes economic growth, and provides opportunities for better education and living standards. It has already been noted that globalization has both positive and negative effects. Whether one sees globalization as a positive or as a negative development, it must be understood that it has clearly changed the world system and that it poses both opportunities and challenges. It is additionally clear that the above economic, political, social, cultural, environmental, and security developments that have led to globalization are still very active. I believe these trends toward greater globalization will continue to expand in the future.