Organizational communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organizational communication - Essay Example I usually consider the basics of a successful meeting such as arriving in time before the commencement of the meeting. Almost always, I take my time to find the agenda of the meeting, in order to conversant with the objectives of the meeting. Often, a meeting that does not have a good agenda is like the preparation of a meal without a recipe. I almost never walk out of a meeting before its conclusion, because this could be a disruption (Elmhorst, Adler, & Lucas, 2013). Moreover, I could miss important information on the meeting. Furthermore, I never enjoy impulsive participants, as they are usually attention seekers. If I were to facilitate a meeting, I would implement certain guidelines such as determining the reason and need for holding a particular meeting. I would also incorporate the kind of people expected in the meeting and determine their roles. I would also determine the goals to be achieved by the end of the meeting. Lastly, I would plan on effective ways that could lead to the achievement of the desired outcome. Elmhorst, Jeanne Marquardt; Adler, Ronald; Lucas, Kristen (2013). Communicating at Work: Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions, 11th edition (Page 188). McGraw-Hill Higher Education -A. Kindle

Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay After reviewing chapter 13 of Human Resource Management: Acquiring and Building Employees’ Skills and Capabilities; I have reached the conclusion that the best way to improve the management of human resource is to: †¢First place to start improvement would be to improve employee’s skills. Improving employee skills would be very beneficial to any company. Training is important as an employer I want to boost character, commitment, competence, and team player qualities in my employees. I think training sessions that teaches good reinforcement, involves skill role playing, on-the-job training, real-life simulations and experiential training, and welcomes feedback from the trainees are most effective. The training enhancement programs need to be designed based on analyzing data for each employee, and giving assessment before training. †¢Then I have noticed when I enter certain business there’s a picture of one or more of their top employees. The employee is recognized for that week or month for his or her high quality of work. Recognizing your best employees will give other employees the incentives to produce quality work. Acknowledgement shows that you are a team player. Being a team player builds character in an individual. †¢Next, providing incentives boost up moral. I would prefer to initiate the merit pay system for my employees. At my job every year we received a pay raise, not this year the union negotiated to put the raise toward a different cause. The union’s actions cause many employees’ morale to go down. There is nothing like receiving paid reasonable for working excessively. The two areas that I selected are Labor Relations, and Pay and Benefits. Labor relations play a key role within a company. I have experienced employees having problems with their employers and do not have anyone to fight for his or her rights. Improvements with communication will provide the employees means of better communication within their employers. For instance, having an employee’s feedback box will provide all employees’ access to address different issue without the feeling of intimidation. The employees are aware that these issues can be very damaging to the company, if not addressed in the proper manner. I just think that the employees are more in tuned with the issues that are more pertinent. The area of Pay and Benefits is also an important factor. Looking at today’s economy people is willing to work any job with good pay and benefits. In today’s society there are employees who expect to get paid for less work. There are employers who will pay less for more work. I think that ever employee needs to be evaluated honestly on his or her work performance. I would also have employee meetings to collect important feedback. In order to receive honest feedback, I will allow the employees to submit their opinions anonymously. Conclusion After reading the three chapters concerning the ways that human resource management impacts a business. I have realized that I have a lot to learn reading is good but the best teacher is experience. I pray that everything I have and will read stay with me during my future business adventures. A great deal of what I have read, I have been experiencing through the actions of others on my job. Just like with everything else you have to weigh the pros and cons.

My First Time Home :: essays research papers

Shining brightly, in the darkness below the clouds, the lights of tall buildings rose up to meet us. As the plane turned toward Logan airport my anticipation grew; I became anxious, squirming in my seat. The giant Citgo sign, the Prudential, Copley Plaza, Long wharf, and Fenway Park were lit up, and my mind was filled with nostalgic memories that made the descent longer. Bump, thump, bump, thump went my heart as we lowered to the ground. I felt butterflies rise up in my stomach fluttering about like a small circus. My face grew red as my smile grew wider. The excitement grew; I was unable to speak. My body started shaking, if anyone touched me, I would have exploded. Beep, beep went the seat belt sign, and I launching from my chair, annoying all of the more patient passengers around me, yanked the overhead compartment door. Click, it was open, grabbing my backpack, I dashed up the ramp into the terminal. My first victory: I was the first off the plane. Running down the hallway bump, bump, bump, bump, my heartbeat quickened with the pace of my footsteps. The smell of Starbucks cappuccino filled the air, cell phones of all colors in hand, beep, beep, beep went the pagers, my boyfriend's face was warm and bright, my smile grew inches upon seeing him. I ran to his arms, outstretched. As he put squeezed me, my fantasy, my imagination, became reality; I was home for the weekend. He opened the car door, stepping in, I grabbed the cell phone, and I was off. Quickly dialing, beep, bop, beep, boop, every number I had ever known, "Hi is Kat home? Will you tell her Melissa called? Yeah, I'm home for the weekend! School's fine! Bye." Hitting the "clear" button with my left hand, my right hand began reaching and pushing the familiar, preset buttons, on the car radio; fourteen wonderful stations, all playing various types of rock'n'roll, alternative, and popular music, I knew I was in a metropolitan area, for the only cou ntry music stations were at the far end of the dial. We pulled onto "Salem Street", the sign had not changed, green with white lettering, with rust stains on the upper corners. At night the breeze cools over my back and I relish the salt air from the North Shore. Walking up to the doorway I saw the familiar lights, the kitchen was bright, blue everywhere, the countertops filled with leftovers from dinner that evening.

The Genre Cycle Essays -- Film, Movies

Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the â€Å"genre cycle†. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage. The first stage of the genre cycle is called the primitive stage. During this stage of the cycle, the genre of horror is very new. Filmmakers are trying to decide what makes a horror film a horror film, while audience are figuring out what they should expect every time they see this kind of film. For example, Todd Browning’s Dracula is the basic, stripped down blueprint for many monster-horror films today. It features the â€Å"bad guy† accompanied by the â€Å"good guy†. After several horrifying events, Van Helsing kills the vampire, Dracula, and good prevails, again. Thus, establishing that in horror films no matter how grue...

Vision 2030

KENYA VISION 2030 The vision 2030 objectives are to transform Kenya into an economic powerhouse with a sustainable growth rate of 10 per cent by 2030 thus becoming a middle-income, prosperous country. The goals are to wipe out: 1. Absolute poverty 2. Famine 3. Mass unemployment and 4. Preventable deaths from malaria and water-borne diseases. The vision also aims to build a democratic political system, rule of law and protect the rights and freedoms of every individual and society. It is an ambitious document. It almost sounds like Utopia. I like that. A good vision must exercise our imagination and require more than normal effort to attain, otherwise it wouldnt be worth calling it a vision for Kenya. We will not get anywhere doing things as we have always done them. I commend vision 2030 in the realization that inequalities and decentralization should be addressed through the instrument of devolved funds. Much good will follow that, provided the funds are actually accessible (hard lessons need to be learnt of the youth fund). I also like the idea sector to particiapte in them. I am very disturbed that the vision doesnt seem to anticipate the future. It largely focuses on solving the problems we face now, rather than preparing us for the future. We dont want to climb the ladder only to realize when we have reached the top that we started on the right base but leaning on the wrong wall. What shall be the basis for the stable, prosperous and sustainable nation in 2030? In the end, it depends on how committed everyone is to the vision. The stuff on social pillar, political reforms and the constitution sounds very good. I am optimistic that they shall be implemented to some degree. But I am yet to see zeal in government for this vision outside the ministry incharge of it. The government should not sell the vision (and buy the commitment) to the citizens and then submit itself to being held accountable by the people for its success. And, yes, it is feasible to attain the noble aims of 2030 vision and beyond. Paradoxically, this will have little to do with the politician yet it significantly should. The speedily achievement will be driven by a strong civil society, independent media, the private sector and the overly optimistic and hardworking peace loving mwananchi; i. e. me and you. Inclusive of this should be a strong appraisal and review framework to hold the government into account.

TBD Devastator - Douglas TBD Devastator

TBD Devastator - Douglas TBD Devastator TBD-1 Devastator - Specifications: General Length: 35 ft. Wingspan: 50 ft. Height: 15 ft. 1 in. Wing Area: 422 sq. ft. Empty Weight: 6,182 lbs. Loaded Weight: 9,862 lbs. Crew: 3 Number Built: 129 Performance Power Plant: 1 Ãâ€" Pratt Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine, 850 hp Range: 435-716 miles Max Speed: 206 mph Ceiling: 19,700 ft. Armament Power Plant: 1 Ãâ€" Pratt Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine, 850 hp Range: 435-716 miles Max Speed: 206 mph Ceiling: 19,700 ft. Guns: 1 Ãâ€" forward-firing 0.30 in. or 0.50 in. machine gun. 1 Ãâ€" 0.30 in. machine gun in rear cockpit (later increased to two) Bombs/Torpedo: 1 x Mark 13 torpedo or 1 x 1,000 lb. bomb or 3 x 500 lb. bombs or 12 x 100 lb. bombs TBD Devastator - Design Development: On June 30, 1934, the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAir) issued a request for proposals for a new torpedo and level bomber to replace their existing Martin BM-1s and Great Lakes TG-2s. Hall, Great Lakes, and Douglas all submitted designs for the competition. While Halls design, a high-wing seaplane, failed to meet BuAirs carrier suitability requirement both Great Lakes and Douglas pressed on. The Great Lakes design, the XTBG-1, was a three-place biplane which quickly proved to possess poor handling and instability during flight. The failure of the Hall and Great Lakes designs opened the way for the advancement of the Douglas XTBD-1. A low-wing monoplane, it was of all-metal construction and included power wing folding. All three of these traits were firsts for a US Navy aircraft making the XTBD-1 design somewhat revolutionary. The XTBD-1 also featured a long, low greenhouse canopy that fully enclosed the aircrafts crew of three (pilot, bombardier, radio operator/gunner). Power was initially provided by a Pratt Whitney XR-1830-60 Twin Wasp radial engine (800 hp). The XTBD-1 carried its payload externally and could deliver a Mark 13 torpedo or 1,200 lbs. of bombs to a range of 435 miles. Cruising speed varied between 100-120 mph depending on payload. Though slow, short-ranged, and under-powered by World War II standards, the aircraft marked a dramatic advance in capabilities over its biplane predecessors. For defense, the XTBD-1 mounted a single .30 cal. (later .50 cal.) machine gun in the cowling and a single rear-facing .30 cal. (later twin) machine gun. For bombing missions, the bombardier aimed through a Norden bombsight under the pilots seat. TBD Devastator - Acceptance Production: First flying on April 15, 1935, Douglas quickly delivered the prototype to Naval Air Station, Anacostia for the beginning of performance trials. Extensively tested by the US Navy through the remainder of the year, the X-TBD performed well with the only requested alteration being an enlargement of the canopy to increase visibility. On February 3, 1936, BuAir placed an order for 114 TBD-1s. An additional 15 aircraft were later added to the contract. The first production aircraft was retained for testing purposes and later became the types only variant when it was fitted with floats and dubbed TBD-1A. TBD Devastator - Operational History: The TBD-1 entered service in late 1937 when USS Saratogas VT-3 transitioned off TG-2s. Other US Navy torpedo squadrons also switched to the TBD-1 as aircraft became available. Though revolutionary at introduction, aircraft development in the 1930s progressed at a dramatic rate. Aware that the TBD-1 was already being eclipsed by new fighters in 1939, BuAer issued a request for proposals for the aircrafts replacement. This competition resulted in the selection of the Grumman TBF Avenger. While TBF development progressed, the TBD remained in place as the US Navys frontline torpedo bomber. In 1941, the TBD-1 officially received the nickname Devastator. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that December, the Devastator began to see combat action. Taking part in attacks on Japanese shipping in the Gilbert Islands in February 1942, TBDs from USS Enterprise had little success. This was largely due to problems associated with the Mark 13 torpedo. A delicate weapon, the Mark 13 required the pilot to drop it from no higher than 120 ft. and no faster than 150 mph making the aircraft extremely vulnerable during its attack. Once dropped, the Mark 13 had issues with running too deep or simply failing to explode on impact. For torpedo attacks, the bombardier was typically left on the carrier and the Devastator flew with a crew of two. Additional raids that spring saw TBDs attack Wake and Marcus Islands, as well as targets off New Guinea with mixed results. The highlight of the Devastators career came during the Battle of the Coral Sea when the type aided in sinking the light carrier Shoho. Subsequent attacks against the larger Japanese carriers the next day proved fruitless. The TBDs final engagement came the following month at the Battle of Midway. By this time attrition had become an issue with the US Navys TBD force and Rear Admirals Frank J. Fletcher and Raymond Spruance possessed only 41 Devastators aboard their three careers when the battle began on June 4. Locating the Japanese fleet, Spruance ordered strikes to begin immediately and dispatched 39 TBDs against the enemy. Becoming separated from their escorting fighters, the three American torpedo squadrons were the first to arrive over the Japanese. Attacking without cover, they suffered horrific losses to Japanese A6M Zero fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Though failing to score any hits, their attack pulled the Japanese combat air patrol out of position, leaving the fleet vulnerable. At 10:22 AM, American SBD Dauntless dive bombers approaching from the southwest and northeast struck the carriers Kaga, Soryu, and Akagi. In less than six minutes they reduced the Japanese ships to burning wrecks. Of the 39 TBDs sent against the Japanese, only 5 returned. In the attack, USS Hornets VT-8 lost all 15 aircraft with Ensign George Gay being the only survivor. In the wake of Midway, the US Navy withdrew its remaining TBDs and squadrons transitioned to the newly arriving Avenger. The 39 TBDs remaining in the inventory were assigned to training roles in the United States and by 1944 the type was no longer in the US Navys inventory. Often believed to have been a failure, the TBD Devastators principal fault was simply being old and obsolete. BuAir was aware of this fact and the aircrafts replacement was en route when the Devastators career ingloriously ended. Selected Sources Aviation History: TBD DevastatorHistory of War: TBD Devastator Boeing: TBD Devastator

Does online profiling mirrors or creates identities The WritePass Journal

Does online profiling mirrors or creates identities Introduction Does online profiling mirrors or creates identities IntroductionWHAT IS ONLINE PROFILING.WHAT IS IDENTITYKEY ISSUES: The diffusion of internet-freedom or constrain?ONLINE vers. OFFLINE IDENTITYCONSUMPTION AND DATA PROFILINGCONCLUDING THOUGHTSReferences:Related Introduction WHAT IS ONLINE PROFILING. Online consumer profiling is a complex phenomena that can be researched from a variety of perspectives. First of all, it is obviously an advertising technique that revolutionized the effectiveness of targeted advertising. However, online consumer profiling is not just a smart way to reach consumers. Consumer profiling has been present in advertising for a long time now, with theorists arguing about its possible effects on society and consumers. Greg Elmer(2004), in his work ‘Profiling machines: Mapping the Personal Information Economy’ provides an overview of some of the standpoints with regards to profiling. From the perspective of Foucault’s famous concept of panopticon, profiling is presented as means of exercising surveillance in the societies of control(Elmer, 2004). Foucault suggests that in such societies the differences between reward and punishment are blurred(Emler, 2004), this can be illustrated by some of the online consumer profiling techniques. For example, checking the weather forecast online, usually requires from us typing in our zip code. This initial reward( i.e the perspective of getting free and accurate information on weather in our area) ends up being a punishment. Ultimately, we provide advertisers with important geographic data that can then be used for consumer profiling. Similarly to Foucault,   Dandekre (cited in Elmer, 2004) sees profiling as a part of society of control. In fact, according to Dandekre, profiling is a sign of modern surveillance which signifies the shift from the supervision to bureaucratic surveillance, which is a lot more invasive and depends highly on technology. Elmer(2004) states that profiling is an ongoing distribution and collection of information about desires, habits and location of groups or individuals. Moreover, Elmer(2004) suggests that consumers actively assist in creating profiling databases, as all collected data are being cross referenced. Lyon(The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society, 1994) seems to share this view, as he sees consumers as self communicating entities, triggering their own inclusion into system of surveillance, that works through a series of seductions and solicitations. In terms of profiling effects on society, there are two main standpoints. Gandy(1993) in The Panopticon: a Political Economy of Personal Information views profiling as a system of sorting both individuals and whole communities into abstract categories that is unavoidably discriminatory. He continues to say that this system forces individuals wants and desires into ‘larger, rationalized and easily diagnosable profiles’(Elmer,2004,23). On the other hand, R.A Clarke(Information Technology and Dataveillance, 1988) sees profiling as a system of predicting ‘deviant behavior’ and fails to recognize possible risk of prejudice or discrimination. Early works on profiling seem to focus more on the effects it has on communities, as profiling was seen more as a part of the shift towards technology. However, with the fast development of internet and more advanced profiling techniques there seem to be more interest in the position of the individual in the process of online consumer profiling. WHAT IS IDENTITY According to John Deighton(2005), who analyzed the consumer identity motives in the information age, identity can be defined as a cluster of characteristics that we display in a social setting (2005,236). In the digital setting, the characteristics that construct identity are being grouped, coded and manipulated. In the cybernetic sense identity is used as a point of   reference for who one is or aspires to be(236). Author stresses the crucial part identity plays in analyzing consumption, as it could be a source of information on one’s habits, dislikes or desires. When discussing identity, Deighton(2005) also touches up on the notion of ‘being identified’(237). Being ‘identified’ means to be observed   or recognized and   in the off-line setting, this notion relies heavily on the facial/physical recognition. However, in the digital world, it is our online activity that enables us to be identified. The lack of ‘face’ in the digital setting, creates space for us to take on many identities. Deighton(2005) (247) sees identity as an opposite of anonymity and suggest that in an online world, we lose our anonymity by simply ‘signing in’. With that in mind, the techniques used to identify an individual online provoke many theoretical questions about the authenticity of online identity. boyd(2001) maintains that users need to gain awareness of the data they leave online, in order to construct truthful identities. However, because as online users, we have no control or knowledge on what data is being archived there is no way to verify its accuracy. Boyd does not necessarily condemn all corporate efforts to ‘reconstruct’ the individual through digital data. Her focus seem to remain on consumers’ right to access the collected data   and use to build self-awareness(46). She introduces the concept of a digital mirror(53), linked to Lancan’s mirror stage of development, during which a child acknowledges themselves as a unique individual for the first time(53). Boyd(2001) maintains that the lack of material body online, pushes users into using digital representations, that serve as an online agent constructing our identity. Through online personal profiles, we gain an illusion of control over our online identity. However, boyd(2001) stresses that even though we hold control over a limited amount of information, the way we perceive ourselves online is different from the way others see us(53). In that respect, boyd(2001) puts a particular emphasis on the data aggregation online, which means that information on our current online activity is combined with the information from the past(53). It is argued that providing users with information on their personal data   that can be accessed by third parties, would allow to provide feedback and adjust one’s online behavior and as a result gain greater control over their online identity.(54) One of the most important issues in online consumer profiling is the notion of individual versus consumer identity. Gandy(1993) maintains that profiling categorizes one’s desires and wants into broader and simplified profiles. Therefore, how accurately does it mirror one’s personality? Is consumer identity different from our non-consumer identity? Are they one and the same thing? Or is consumer identity simply a part of our identity just like race or sex.? This and similar questions are being posed by theorists researching online consumer profiling. Similarly to Daighton(2005), Zwick and Dholakia(2004) in ‘Whose identity is it anyway? Consumer Identity in the age of Database marketing’ stress that today consumer is no longer anonymous due to the ‘digitazation ‘of the market space. This means that once information became digital it can be stored in the database for years and shared as a binary bit. Authors seem to lean towards the post-structuralist perspective of data based marketing technologies as a discourse, which constructs a consumer as a cultural object and then uses as a target for marketing purposes. Due to the fast development of profiling techniques, an online consumer can be tracked and analyzed during every minute of their online activity. This information can provide an invaluable insight into consumer’s nature. Zwick and Dholakia(2004) suggest that market database becomes consumer’s identity and therefore has to be looked at as a form of language, as it attempts to make sense of the world and create a system of representation. Drawing from Foucault’s, Zwick and Dholakia(2004), state that every system of representation, in no matter what form, articulate newly ordered spaces of knowledge, in which an object of representation becomes(†¦) known.(p.3) Acknowledging market databases as a form of language, enables us to look at consumers as cultural objects. Ziwck and Dholakia(2004) suggest that because of market databases’ linguistic power, our own ability to construct identity is threatened. Consumers become objects constituted through the performative powers of market database   discourse. Limited ability of consumers to construct their own identity is one of the effects of online consumer profiling and database marketing, discussed by Zwick and Dholakia(2004). This is because consumers are lacking control over the language that constitutes their identities. In that respect, consumers’ participation is denied in the digital market space. To put simply, it could be suggested that online profiling constructs and forces identities upon consumers. ZwickDholakia(2004)stress that most databases do not refer back to the consumers after tracking and analyzing their online activity. This can suggest that these databases are being created to suit marketer’s needs rather than to truthfully reflect consumers’ identities. More importantly, the accuracy of such databases can easily be undermined. One consumer is most likely to be recorded in several databases that can differ in focus, structure and size. In this case, databases construct multitude of representation of the same consumer, who is being assigned several different persona to take on in the digital marketplace. This results in, consumer being ‘a blended, digital simulation whose ‘nature’ depends on the composition of the databses’(Zwick and Dholakia,38 2004) Zwick and Dholakia(2004) see online profiling mainly as means to construct a customer rather than to reflect a customers’ identity. Authors acknowledge consumers’ minor participation, in the process of creating database, which is limited to acts of online consumption. However, consumers do not have the control over how much and what kind of information is being collected, despite numerous online privacy options. Zwick and Dholakia(2004), unlike most theorists, do not seem to be preoccupied with the issue of online privacy with regards to online profiling. Authors suggest that, in most cases, the creation of online consumer identities takes place without the participation of a ‘real’ consumer. KEY ISSUES: The diffusion of internet-freedom or constrain? The issue of increased internet control has been raised also by David Bell(in CREEBER 2008), who talks about the diffusion of the internet. On one hand internet can be seen as empowering and reaching towards greater openness and freedom of speech and access to information. On the other hand, internet’s great ability to control and dominate its users is becoming more apparent. Furthermore, Bell(2008) notices how internet is being used by corporate capitalism to influence users and propagate its agendas. With that respect, Bell appears to share Henry Jenkins’ view of digital divide and monopolization of internet by corporations.(Creeber, 2008) However, the issue that Bell(2008) seems concerned with the most is the invasive nature of internet. Nowadays, he argues, we tend to evacuate real life into digital spaces. Social networking sites and e-commerce are equivalents of aspects of life that used to belong to ‘real’ life. Not only, do we live a significant part of life online, we also bring cyberspace into real life. With the emergence of new technologies like Ipads and mobiles with internet connection we can experience cyberspace, with all its flaws and advantages, almost all the time(Bell, 2008). This extreme growth in internet usage and accessibility opens a whole new world to consumer profiling. danah boyd examines the connections between identity and participation in social networking websites. She illustrates the great extent to which social networking sites ‘invaded’ the offline world. In ‘None of this is Real Identity and Participation in Friendster’(2008) author mentions the ubiquity of Friendster in the surrounding offline world. With people signed in on the website on their laptops in a local cafà ©, rockstars encouraging fans to join the online community during a concert and social networking websites being a topic of conversation in offline social situation(boyd, 2008), online advertising platforms become a part of popular culture. McAllister and Matthew(2003) talk about the increasingly blurring differences between commercial and popular culture. With the intrusion of commercial values on popular culture, advertisers gain the ability to brand spaces from outside of commercial culture and therefore manipulate consumers to engage with consumer culture at all times. However, the synergy of popular and commercial culture is not the only factor facilitating the development of online advertising. The lack of understanding and clear distinction between private and public in the online environment (Stern, 2004), often leads to users sharing more information that they would in an offline environment, resulting in internet being an extremely important source of consumer information(Faber et al, 2004). Faber et al point out that one of the fastest developing trends in online advertising is research analyzing content areas not traditionally associated with advertising, for example internet sponsorship(2004,3). Marketers ability to track user’s online activity, offers the opportunity to generate ‘personalized’ advertising. Faber et al refers to information flexibility(2004,11) to describe the phenomenon of tailoring advertisements to suit needs and desires of particular customers. Faber et al maintains that personalization of banner ads, increases the likelihood of user engaging in the ad(2004,5). Personalized ad can be key-word activated or   generated using consumer database(2004,5). Gadzheva(2007) maintains that due to the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) much more personal data is being processed online, making it extremely difficult to supervise(2007,63). Any traces of data ‘left’ by a user during their online activity can be correlated to produce consumer profiles, usually without user’s knowledge(2007,64). Although consumers are often portrayed as victims of internet technology, Glen Creeber(2008) in his work, provides and alternative perspective on approaches towards internet and its effect on individuals. Postmodern standpoint sees consumption as a basis of today’s existence with consumer culture determining cultural sphere of our life(Creeber, 2008). This approach looks at technology as a way of improving audience’s active participation and is a lot more positive than some of the standpoints that often demonize new media. Creeber(2008), drawing on Levinson’s work, suggests that postmodern audience is seen as participants rather than just voyeurs. Similarly, post structuralist perspective assumes that audience is able to resist ideological meanings present in the new media advertising(Creeber, 2008). It also acknowledges audiences’ role in creating the meanings, as post structuralism focuses more on how new media messages are being decoded by the audience, rather than how producers encode them. This approach has been highly criticized by more skeptical theorists. Postman(1985 Amusing ourselves to death ) points out that the alleged choice and active participation offered by the internet is only illusionary. In reality, because internet has been monopolized by corporations, it reduces options available to audience to the same commodified, consumerist produc(Creeber,21, 2008). Critics of post structuralism and post modernism perceive audience as not being able to acknowledge the illusionary nature of the propaganda messages conveyed by the internet. KEY ISSUES ONLINE vers. OFFLINE IDENTITY With different approaches to internet audience, internet profiling, needs to be looked at from the perspective of consumer identities. In simplified terms, internet profiling aims to study consumers’ identities using a variety of data available online. Data used for the analysis is consumers personal information but also their needs and desires, often expressed through their consumer choices. Therefore, from marketers point of view, to reach ‘a true’ insight into one’s identity, consumer has to be analyzed from the perspective of the identity signaling . This approach, however, provokes a debate over how truthful such analysis could be. Berger and Heath(2007) suggest that consumers buy products not only for their function but also for what they symbolize, we buy products but also the ideologies behind them. Partially, our consumer choices are based on what products we feel express or match our personality, life style. However, we also make consumer choices that aim at constructing our desired identity(Berger and Heath, 2007) Of course, it is not only advertisers who scrutinise our consumer choices, it is also others who make assumption about our preferences or social status based on our purchases(Berger and Heath, 2007).Drawing on McCracken’s concept of meaning movement, Berger and Heath (2007) suggests that individuals’   tastes communicate identity, as others make assumptions based on the groups or â€Å"types† of individuals that are commonly associated with particular taste . It is argued, however, that using a similar model of ‘associations’, advertisers are in charge of creating norms of behaviour for consumers(Beckett, 2008, Reflective consumer). Advertisers anticipate consumer’s needs and desires by cross referencing online activity of other, similar consumers. Therefore apart from responding to current consumer’s needs, advertisers also aim at developing those needs. Rettberg Walker (2009) examines the ways in which social media create representations of its users. Author focuses on the data filtering mechanisms, employed by social media in order to offer us simplified templates or narratives of our life. Rettberg-Walker sees those representations as positive phenomena, enabling consumers to analyse their own life, made out of data retrieved from the internet. Author stresses also that in the 21st century we become used to online technologies and acknowledge our participation in the online environment. Internet offers us a chance to express our identities rather than uncritically accept the mass media representations of the world (436).   Rettberg-Walker also acknowledges the limitations of users participation in the web. Author maintains that freedom of expression online is nowadays greatly controlled by commercial interest and mass customisation based on templates and segments. The literal example of this phenomena, would be social networking sites that provide users with templates to fill in with personal data(460). Rettberg- Walker’s interest focuses on how we construct personal narratives in response to larger cultural templates, often exploited by mass media. Even though Rettberg-Walker, states that most internet users will follow the existing templates and copy   the already generated content, it’s the individual contributions to larger cultural templates that matter (460). One could suggest that ‘template generated’ identity lacks authenticity or creativity, however Rettberg-Walker   argues that above all it provides a sense of belonging, as observing our life displayed online in a similar manner to celebrities, for example, we gain the feeling of inclusion into a larger cultural template(464). The longing for the inclusion into larger cultural patterns may be rooted in the modern issue of social and psychological identity. Gabriel Lang(2006) in Unmanageable Consumer examines the issues of modern identity and its relation to consumption. Author suggest that a modern day individual constructs their identity through consumption and it is the consumer ethic, rather than work, that lays at the basis of our existence(84). One could argue that Lang’s point of view constitutes the basis for online profiling. Thus, if in modernity identities are being constructed through consumption, then marketers are right in ‘profiling’ users based on their online consumption patterns. Allison Hear expands the concept of identity construction through consumption and analyses the idea of ‘self-branding’, being a form of project of the self that leads to increasingly blurred distinctions between product and consumer. Hear explains that self-branding constitutes of conscious construction of self-images through the usage of mass media cultural representations and templates of mainstream cultural industries, which leads to generating value and material profit(198). Hear draws attention to significant differences between exercising branded self in an online and ‘real world’ environment. Author stresses that today social network sites are the centre of both social interactions as well as consumption(210). Social network sites enable users to manage their own online profiles and connect with other users, who engage in similar activities. Each user creates an online representation of their identity or particular aspects of it. Allison maintains tha t it is the ‘questionnaire like’ formats of social network profiles that encourage users to reveal their preferences, mainly in relation to mass media culture, consequently exposing their specific consumer tastes (210). The important notion of self branding on social network sites revolves around the multiplicity of roles that a user takes on online. By carefully designing our online representations, we become authors or as Allison puts it ‘actors’ of our own digital narratives. However, we also act as ‘promotional objects’, displaying chosen traits of our personality to convey a particular message and its symbolic appeal, in order to create value of our representations(211). Allison argues that this approach encourages users to perceive themselves as ‘commodities’, not only because of the ‘branded’ nature of the profiles they create but also the ongoing contest of popularity on the social network websites. Users add n umerous ‘friends’ to their profiles, in order to display their popularity in the social circle(211). Users profiles, according to Allison, are both created and consumed as a commodity. However, another important aspect of online self-branding, is the advertisement aspect of all popular social network sites, which appear to be a perfect platform for reaching a specific segment of consumers. It is to do with their ability to attract specific type of demographics and deliver advertisements in a ‘non-intrusive’ way. Users often engage with the advertisements out of their own will, by ,for example, joining a group dedicated to a specific brand or product. Advertisers set up profiles of particular products, which users can add to their ‘friends list’ and then receive regular updates alongside with information on their ‘real’ friends. This increasingly tight bond between product and consumer, is concluded by Allison as a collapse of distinctions between notions of the self,   processes of production and consumption(212). With the products invading the digital representations of users identities, marketers reach a new way of promoti ng the brand. It is the users that are made to ‘work’ and spread the popularity of a product. Allison suggests that the process of self branding is a form of labour, which serves people to transform nature into objects of their imagination(213). Without a doubt creating a digital representation of one’s self involves a substantial amount of labour, revolving around choosing the right aspects of our identity to be represented. In that sense, it is no different from self-presentation in a real world environment. However, the problem with digital representation of one’s self seem to be based around the exploitation of the self-branding labour. One could argue, that the digital profiles of users, no longer serve to represent their identity but to promote a particular product. CONSUMPTION AND DATA PROFILING Antony Becket(2008) provides an overview of Peppers and Rogers work that examines the shift from traditional marketing to collaborative marketing. Authors provide a critique of mass marketing as well as   describe the mechanisms of customer relationship management, which lays at the basis of collaborative marketing. Online targeting, through suggestion and recommendations, is a perfect example of marketer’s attempt to implement a more interactive ‘one to one’ marketing. Peppers and Rogers(Beckett, 2008) see technology as a vital part of developing customer-producer relationship as well as forming customer identity. Beckett(2008) focuses also on debates on power relations between producers and consumers, with special emphasis on the role of consumer. Beckett(2008) suggests that modern social theory of identity construction, as the ’reflexive’ self is highly related to contemporary patterns of consumption. In today’s world we engage in an ongoing process of identity formation through active, reflexive decisions, including our consumer choices. Reflexive consumption is seen by some as liberating as it offers consumers the opportunity to construct desired identities. On the other hand, Beckett maintains that reflexivity could be looked at from the perspective of governmentality, as locating individuals in relation to power and authority(Becket,2008,302). Becket continues to say, that from this perspective reflexivity could be seen as a mechanism of control and domination, through shaping consumers’ needs and   desires to suit particular agenda. Becket(2008) also discusses Peppers’ and Rogers’ extended critique of mass marketing and their claim about RM and CRM being a remedy to problems with mass marketing. Peppers and Rogers identified three main critiques of mass marketing : the loss of consumer’s individuality, inability to recognize loyal and non-loyal customers and lack of dialogue between producers and customers. Authors suggest that marketing should shift away from the concepts of mass marketing and aim at establishing collaborative marketing, which engages customers in ongoing, collaborative activities with the producers(2008,304). Collaborative marketing aims at ‘identifying’ the individual consumers and classifying them based on their value to the producer. Therefore, in order to achieve that, producer has to engage the consumer into the technologies that allow to ‘get to know’ them.(2008,306). Becket(2008) suggests that with the emergence of complex softwares and databases, customer relationship management has reached another level of customer classification. It is because of the emergence of innovative tracking technologies that producers are being given the power to govern and influence individuals’ needs and customer value. Becket(2008,306) gives example of loyalty cards or electronic databases to illustrate how consumers are being involved in a network of ‘surveillance’ technologies. Becket(2008, seems to clearly mark his opinion on whether markets create people’s needs and identities. Author states that producer can nowadays anticipate and alter possible future purchases. One way of doing it is by comparison with other shoppers. This would suggest that consumers are being categorised and altered to fit the ‘norm’. The process of ‘normalisation’ can be executed through for example, recommendation ads or personalised e-mails. In the eyes of producers, customers become an active participant when they respond to those recommendations(Becket, 2008,308). Manipulation, according to Becket (2008), happens on two levels. First level is based on creating norms of behaviour through recommendations ads. Secondly, producers aim at engaging consumers with the market, in order to turn them into savvy, active participants. In reality, it is just another way to programme customers to be susceptible to marketing techniques. However, is there perhaps another way of looking at the mechanisms of collaborative marketing’? After all, as Becket(2008) reminds us, the goals of customer relationship marketing promise an improved lifestyle for the customer. ‘Active’ consumers have the chance to engage with marketers to satisfy their needs and better the quality of their life through consumption.   Becket(2008), drawing on Peppers and Rogers work, presents an alternative version of society, where consumers are not necessarily simply either manipulated or authoritative. The reflexive consumption, puts consumers in a position of collaborator. Peppers and Rogers(Becket, 2008, 311) present a vision where consumption is liberating, as a consumer can reach a better life style through ‘active’ consumption. All in all, Becket’s(2008) work comes down to a dilemma between collaborative marketing offering a greater freedom, wider variety of choice and life style improvement achieved through consumption and collaborative marketing being a constrain mechanism, that promotes ‘unnatural’ need for consumption. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS The problem of online profiling provokes a debate over the increasing intervention of technology into our privacy. There has been a considerable amount of literature devoted to the problem of blurred distinctions between private and public in the online environment. However, the problem of the influence of recommendation ads on the identity construction has not gathered enough direct attention. Although, the debate on the diffusion of the internet is strongly linked to the issue of online targeting. Since, if internet can be seen both as liberating and constraining, so does online targeting. On one hand, online targeting offers liberation through direct marketing, enhanced, individualized consumption. On the other hand, it traps us in categories of norms of behaviour, tricks us to believe that the recommendation ad has been generated especially for us and therefore are suitable for us. However, acknowledging the increasing influence of targeted advertising on creating norms of behaviour which ultimately aims at shaping our online behaviour, brings up social anxieties with regards to online surveillance. Sceptics may question the extent to which targeted advertising can shape one’s identity. Nonetheless, it cannot be ignored that targeted advertising exercise the power to reinforce social divisions(Lyon,1994,156). Through targeting consumers based on the information available online, which places them into particular segments, online advertising mimics the existing social divides.   It is the advertisers who predicts our tastes and decide on our value. These sorting mechanism result in groups of consumers being excluded from particular advertising simply because of their consumer profile. Lyon(1994,156) maintains that when analysing the nature of modern consumption surveillance, we have to take into consideration both how data-subject are constituted as consumers and how their consumption pattern is being interpreted through the means of commercial surveillance. Without a doubt, online targeted advertising is an issue surrounded with controversy and ethical dilemmas. With the fast development of new media technologies and general synergy of popular and consumer culture, the role it plays in defining modern society becomes more apparent. References: Berger, J. A Heath, C. (2007). Where Consumers Diverge from Others: Identity Signalling and Product Domains. Journal of Consumer Research. 34 (August), pp.121-130. Creeber,G Martin, R (2008). Digital cultures: Understanding the media. Milton Keyns: Open University Press. 11-46 . Elmer, G (2004) Profiling Machines: Mapping the Personal Information Technology. United States of America: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gandy, O.H (1993)   The panoptic sort : a political economy of personal information. Oxford: Westview Press. Clarke R. (1988) Information Technology and Dataveillance. Retrieved from rogerclarke.com/DV/CACM88.html on 14th of February 2011. McAllister, P (2003) Is Commercial Culture Popular Culture? A Question for Popular Communication Scholars. Popular Communication, 2003, Vol. 1 Issue 1, p41- 49p. Lyon, D (1994) The Electronic Eye: The Rise of surveillance Society. United states of America: Univeristy of Minessota Press. Rottberg Walker, J (2009)Freshly Generated for you and Barack Obama: How Social Media Represent Your Life. European Journal of Communication 24,pp.451-466. Zwick, D Dholakia, N. (2004). Whose Identity Is It Anyway? Consumer Representation in the Age of Database Marketing. Journal of Macromarketing. 24 (31), pp.31-41.

Politics Essays - New Deal, Social Programs In The United States

Politics Essays - New Deal, Social Programs In The United States Politics Frank Sinatra once said, "You're riding high in April, shot down in May. But I know I'm gonna change that tune, when I'm back on top, back on top in June." Does the epitome of individualism lie in the lyrics of a Las Vegas singer? Is this really how far we must look to find the principles on which this country was created? Unfortunately, this is the case. Social programs implemented by the Federal Government have produced a nation of sniveling crybabies. The concept of rugged individualism has been replaced by the doctrine of victimization. Consequently, we find ourselves entrenched in a constant battle to save our nation from imminent disaster. Social and moral deterioration is attributed to the following: the media chastising traditional views, publicly funded Federal handouts, and the breakdown of family values. The median from which the majority of Americans receive their news has one major flaw; it's not actually the news. NBC, CBS, and ABC report the news from their perspective. Whatever news they deem important is constructed to parallel the public sentiment. This has an enormous impact on the way we form social priorities, morals, and personal principles. If were told what to think, how do we become independent? For example, when an individual openly proclaims that welfare is harmful, that same individual is called a bigot by the press. It is no longer safe to promote conservative ideals for fear of public ridicule. Our nation has been in a downward spiral ever since The New Deal. The Roosevelt Administration attempted to remedy poverty by throwing money at the poor, free for the asking. Although we've demonstrated for the past fifty years that this method does not work, it is still implemented nevertheless. The Federal Government subsidizes the poor by sending them tax-free checks. Instead of encouraging individuals to realize their full potential, the Government labels them as helpless; unable to survive without a bloated Federal Government providing them things. Recent legislation is aimed at helping welfare recipients by aiding their job search. Moving recipients off welfare and into jobs gives them a feeling of self-reliance. This is the key to a happy, successful life. Society's ideals have changed dramatically in recent times. Unfortunately, these changes have a negative impact on the families of America. Single parent households, divorces, and teenage pregnancy is becoming more common. Personal responsibility has long been abandoned. Even common courtesy has been thrown in the background. The absence of a stable family threatens the future of our children. The alarming trends show us that children of broken homes have a greater risk of becoming delinquents than their stable family counterparts. Undoubtedly, our founding fathers would be ashamed of our nation's integrity. America was built on core beliefs. The seemingly most important belief is rugged individualism. The founders emphatically stressed the notion that every individual is sovereign, and dependency on Government is political slavery. America can still be saved. Every citizen should feel personal responsible for the welfare of his or her family. In addition, Americans should teach their children to emulate positive role models, rather than the fringe sections of our society. Many people believe that these are extravagant ideals and that we could not afford to upset the current standards. On the other hand, can we afford not to?

Business Organistions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Organistions - Essay Example At the end of the day, the savings that comes from establishing good leadership skills could result to increasing revenue generation on the part of the company. In general, there is simply no ground or rules behind choosing the best leadership style. To become an effective leader, a manager should be able to search for the type of leadership approach that works best for them. Often times, choosing the best leadership style depends on the manager’s personality, working environment and the members of the team. To avoid wasting time, money, and effort associated with the need to go through the consequences of mismanagement, this study will discuss and elaborate the different leadership techniques used in today’s business organization. In the process of discussing each type of leadership approach, situational examples will be provided to give the readers a better understanding of each leadership techniques that will be discussed in the study. Transformational leadership style is unique in the sense that this approach has four components known as: (1) charisma or idealized influence; (2) inspirational motivation; (3) intellectual stimulation; (4) and individual consideration. (Bass, 1998; Bass et al., 1996; Bass, 1985) Personal charisma is a significant characteristic of a good leader since it is a form of referrent power which could enable a manager to effectively attract his/her subordinates to seriously cooperate with the leader in order to make the organizational goal attainable. (Palmer et al., 2001; Posakoff & Schriesheim, 1985) Considering that transformational leaders are intellectually inclined, this type of leaders tend to go beyond what is happening around his environment since they have the ability to implement new ideas whenever necessary (Johannsen, 2004) aside from being flexible with organizational changes that may

Does US Seek Hegemony over Asia Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Does US Seek Hegemony over Asia - Article Example It is evident from the official statement that the US continues to play a great role to ensure a stable balance in Asia. America’s political, economic and diplomatic leadership enhances global freedom, peace, and prosperity. The US has acknowledged the fact that maintaining order in Asia will be a complex task given the great distances (Glaser, 2011). Â  United States concerns about Asian stability are guaranteed. In using the history of the 20th-century guide, Washington will continue dealing with Asian-Pacific. The US has an issue dealing with China as it has become a rising power. However, United States is seeking to face China has a rising economic and military power in Asia-Pacific. The United States president has promised to make their missions and presence in Asia-Pacific the topmost priority. After the president announcement, approximately 500 US troops were said to be deployed to Australia. The US is foreseeing a growing threat of its hegemony from China. America’s tactical moves to Asia are aimed at pinning down China as well as counterbalancing its development (Glaser, 2011). The US economic and hegemony in Asia-Pacific has triggered concerns about national security. The United States has established a key military base in Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Guam, Singapore and now Australia. The former D efense Secretary of United States spoke at the International Institute of Strategic Studies conference and said that US is aiming at maintaining a robust US military in Asia. The US is taking measures that help them overcome the area denial scenarios and anti-access that the US faces in Asia, which restricts America’s from accessing strategic resources and markets. The United States believes that its hegemony in Asia will deter and defeat the potential rivals. Â  

Online flower ordering system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Online flower ordering system - Essay Example Our vision is to become the leading florist in the locality. We seek to be the most sought after company amongst the local people for delivering flowers reliably. We value the satisfaction of our customers and aim at being part of their memorable moments in life. Our mission is to be a company whose delivery services the local people can reach and use easily and be satisfied with. We seek to provide a good quality, easily accessible, highly reliable, fresh flowers delivery solution to the local people. Our company has successfully been providing flower delivery services to the local area people. The people can place orders in two ways. They can choose to come directly to the shop, check the rates, personally select the flowers and make the payment in advance, provide the recipient’s address, set delivery date and time and thus place a delivery order. They can also choose the flowers and place a delivery order over the phone. The payment can be made through a credit card or by hand. In case of credit card the required details are provided to the sales representative along with the recipient’s address. In case of opting to pay by hand by a customer on phone, the representative of the shop notes down the address of the customer, and then collects the payment from the customer from his doorstep. Since, use of Internet has increased enormously in the area; therefore, it was thought of to make the delivery service of the company accessible over the Internet as well. Currently there is no other company that offers such an online facility, so our company would be the pioneer in introducing the idea in the area. This would contribute in not only increasing the number of satisfied customers but also raise the company’s revenue. Additionally, in case of any renowned event approaching and some special flowers have been arranged for the event, advertisements can be spread easily over the Internet through the customer’s email addresses. The complete setup for delivering flowers is already in place. So incorporating an online sales end would not affect the overall system structure and process. 3. Department and Structure The company runs a completely working flower delivery system. The overall organization comprises of four departments; Figure 1 Organization Structure Sal es: Handles the placement of orders and receipt of payments. Production: Handles for arranging the required flowers. In case, some particular flowers are not in stock, the department can also purchase the requested flowers. Finance: Handles the purchase and investment on flowers, the revenue acquired per day, the fuel consumption and employees pays. Delivery: Handles the delivery of flowers to relevant recipients. It deals with the personnel, their conveyance and routes issues. Every department has a manager who handles the overall working of the related department. The online system shall be introduced as part of the existing sales department. The online system would serve as an additional means of gathering customers through online placement of orders. 4. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Well defined divisions of the departmental activities. Easy incorporation to the existing setup of the organization. Weaknesses: Training of the sales staff would be required to use the web interface. Har dware and software would be required to run the website and access it. Investment would be required for website development and hosting. Opportunities: Absence of a similar online flower delivery service in the

2000 word essay - subject PDAS301 - People, Organisations and

2000 word - subject PDAS301 - People, Organisations and Adminisration - Essay Example S. Pugh, as â€Å"the study of structure functioning and performance of organisations and of the behavior of groups and individuals working in them† (Murugan). These principles provide significant purpose to managers and members of such organizations as well as students of management, business and sociology courses. These principles are moreover, broadly categorised into the classical approach, the neo-classical approach, the modern approach and the post-modern approach. The distinctions among these different approaches lie on the primary focus with which they give importance to. In the classical approach, for example, what is given significant importance are the technical aspects of organizations like formal structures, management, and principles of organisation. Theorists belonging to this approach are Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, and Max Weber. The neo-classical approach, on the other hand, gives emphasis on the human aspects of organisations like motivations, behavior and conduct of people involved in the organization. Some of the theorists in this approach are Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow, Mary Parker Follett and Douglas McGregor. The modern approach, on the other hand, combines the best of both classical and neo-classical approaches by giving emphasis both on the form and structures of organizations and the human factor. Researchers and writers who patterned their research along this model are Chester Barnard, Herbert Simon, and Amatai Etzoini . Finally, the post-modern approach, the least rigid and the most flexible, does not subscribe to any particular form or rule of organizations but stresses that organizations should adapt to internal and external factors surrounding them. Post-modernist theorists are Tom Greenfield, Tom Sergiovanni and Gareth Morgan, among others (Mullins 1999). This paper will examine four theorists representing each of the different organization and management approaches: Max Weber, of the classical approach, and

Problems Working in Multicultural Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Problems Working in Multicultural Teams - Essay Example I think to arrive at a realistic grasping of the problems faced by me in a multicultural team I need to analyze my cultural affiliations in the light of the cultural dimensions propounded by Geert Hofstede. Cultural dimensions pertain to the aspect of my native Chinese culture that could be measured and gauged in the light of the other cultures (Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov 2010). Professor Geert Hofstede conducted a detailed analysis regarding how the values in multicultural teams are influenced by the cultural values of the members constituting the teams. Analysing the Chinese cultural dimensions will immensely help in analyzing and tracing solutions to the problems faced by me in a group comprising of members who were Chinese, Indians and Thais. The four salient cultural dimensions propounded by Hofstede are individualism-collectivism, masculine-feminine, power distance and uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede 2003). Power Distance pertains to the attitude of the people in a society tow ards the power disparities existing in that culture (Hofstede 2002). It determines the extent to which the less powerful members in a society respond to the power inequalities present in that society (Hofstede 2002). China has Power Distance count of 80 which is quiet high (Geert Hofstede 2012). This means that Chinese people are comfortable with the unequal distribution of power in their society and are comfortable with the fact that people tend to differ in the power that they have at their disposal. In the Chinese organizations and institutions the hierarchy is arranged in terms of subordinate and superiors and there seldom are any remedies against the abuse of power resorted to by the superiors. Individualism pertains to the extent of... This essay stresses that culture is something that is learned and acquired and it consists of a set of shared interpretations that are learned, and these interpretations include within their ambit the concepts like values, norms and beliefs which have an immense influence on large groups of individuals and people. Diversity happens to be a concept that is broader than the concept of culture. Diversity is not merely confined to a person’s ethnic affiliations, nation of origin or colour. Diversity is primarily about attributes that inculcate differences in groups and these differences may include physical characteristics, economic status, attitudes, traits etc. This paper makes a conclusion that in case the members in the team turn out to be receptive of the recommendations and suggestions made in this paper, it will not only enhance their cultural literacy but will also enable them to reap the benefits accrued by working in multicultural teams. This will truly make them a global citizen and will allow them to work in diverse nations and cultures. The good thing is that cultural literacy and interpersonal skills are something that can be learned and acquired. So if the team members take care to adopt and practice the above mentioned recommendations and tips, they are poised to experience and appreciative gain in their cultural literacy and the ability to operate in multicultural teams.

2000 word essay - subject PDAS301 - People, Organisations and

2000 word - subject PDAS301 - People, Organisations and Adminisration - Essay Example S. Pugh, as â€Å"the study of structure functioning and performance of organisations and of the behavior of groups and individuals working in them† (Murugan). These principles provide significant purpose to managers and members of such organizations as well as students of management, business and sociology courses. These principles are moreover, broadly categorised into the classical approach, the neo-classical approach, the modern approach and the post-modern approach. The distinctions among these different approaches lie on the primary focus with which they give importance to. In the classical approach, for example, what is given significant importance are the technical aspects of organizations like formal structures, management, and principles of organisation. Theorists belonging to this approach are Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, and Max Weber. The neo-classical approach, on the other hand, gives emphasis on the human aspects of organisations like motivations, behavior and conduct of people involved in the organization. Some of the theorists in this approach are Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow, Mary Parker Follett and Douglas McGregor. The modern approach, on the other hand, combines the best of both classical and neo-classical approaches by giving emphasis both on the form and structures of organizations and the human factor. Researchers and writers who patterned their research along this model are Chester Barnard, Herbert Simon, and Amatai Etzoini . Finally, the post-modern approach, the least rigid and the most flexible, does not subscribe to any particular form or rule of organizations but stresses that organizations should adapt to internal and external factors surrounding them. Post-modernist theorists are Tom Greenfield, Tom Sergiovanni and Gareth Morgan, among others (Mullins 1999). This paper will examine four theorists representing each of the different organization and management approaches: Max Weber, of the classical approach, and

Partition of India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Partition of India - Essay Example The first major revolt against the British rule occurred in 1857 when the soldiers of the British Indian Army carried out a mutiny and offered their services to the Mughal Emperor. This mutiny quickly spread to other parts of India and it is argued that the uprising, which seriously threatened the British rule in India, was undoubtedly the culmination of mounting Indian resentment toward the social and political policies perpetrated by the British over many decades. The mutiny was eventually thwarted. Nonetheless, all political power was now transferred from the East India Company to the Crown and in 1858, Britain began to directly control most of India. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century would see the growth of new political parties and ideological groups which continually called for the end to direct British rule in India. With the end of the Second World War, the Indian subcontinent witnessed a major political power shift that not only emancipated the country from col onial rule, but also divided the nation into two independent countries, India and Pakistan. The political leaders from these two countries, having fought together for independence from the British, ultimately concocted schemes for the division and partition of the country. The plans for the partition started as early as the end of nineteenth century with the implementation of the British divide and conquer strategy. Under this administrative policy, the British worsened the existing conflicts.... However, the British rule turned increasingly unpopular (Singh 1990). The first major revolt against the British rule occurred in 1857 when the soldiers of the British Indian Army carried out a mutiny and offered their services to the Mughal Emperor. This mutiny quickly spread to other parts of India and it is argued that the uprising, which seriously threatened the British rule in India, was undoubtedly the culmination of mounting Indian resentment toward the social and political policies perpetrated by the British over many decades. The mutiny was eventually thwarted. Nonetheless, all political power was now transferred from the East India Company to the Crown and in 1858, Britain began to directly control most of India. However, the clamour for equal rights and independence mounted. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century would see the growth of new political parties and ideological groups which continually called for the end to direct British rule in India. With the end of the Second World War, the Indian subcontinent witnessed a major political power shift that not only emancipated the country from colonial rule, but also divided the nation into two independent countries, India and Pakistan. The political leaders from these two countries, having fought together for independence from the British, ultimately concocted schemes for the division and partition of the country. The plans for the partition started as early as the end of nineteenth century with the implementation of the British divide and conquer strategy. Under this administrative policy, the British worsened the existing conflicts between the Hindu and the Muslim

Turn On the People in Any Organization Essay Example for Free

Turn On the People in Any Organization Essay The pages of human history daubed in bloodshed on account t of World Wars I and II, war unleashed by Japan at Nanking, the Civil War of USA and many other small and big violent incidents ask the crying question. How to make this Planet Earth heaven-like? The answer is simple and direct. Eyes full of understanding, heart full of love and the life that refuses conflicts- these alone are enough! Most of the violence is for monetary gains, acquisition of territory, and to feed vanity. The materialistic civilization, the industrial and internet revolutions, have unleashed a new war, without actually declaring it. This relentless war is fought on day to day basis in the stock exchanges. Each Nation wants to become economically powerful and prevent others from becoming powerful! â€Å"Today, man is being destroyed by the inner conviction of uselessness and no amount of economic growth can compensate for this loss. † How long can we confront Nature to achieve better standards of living and better standards of life? Reconciliation with the eternal principles of Nature is the need of the hour to achieve genuine peace and prosperity and we need to learn a lot from the Plant and Animal Kingdom. If they can live in accordance with their own Nature in a peaceful manner, why can’t the human beings? Gung-ho is the Chinese language phrase. It is derived from gongye hezuoshe, which means industrial worker’s co-operative. Karl Marx must be shifting in his grave with the mention of this word. Such co-operatives were established for the benefit of workers by Rewi Alley and his team. State who the animal characters of the book are, and why they are important: The three animal characters mentioned refer to three Native American lessons. Champions of commerce and industrial magnates have accepted the supremacy of computer applications, and perhaps have come to the conclusion that this is the only path for economic ascendancy. For such individuals this book has something special and novel. The lessons for organizational turnaround are: The Spirit of the Squirrel, the lesson is one of the powers of worthwhile work. The Way of the Beaver, the lesson is accomplished through empowerment. The Gift of the Goose, the lesson is the exponential factor of motivation. Continuous application, relentless efforts is the key to success. They say, ‘have a will to grow and grow you will! ’ Apply each creature to a management situation; Any management situation, there is one permanent, irrevocable relationship. It is between one human being to another human being. Give respect and take respect—very simple! When you use the best adjectives you can form a wonderful sentence. Similarly, happy, motivated, empowered and encouraged members, who work with the sense of responsibility, can bring nothing but cheer to the financial results of a company. Leadership should score over management; the end-results will be precedent-shattering. â€Å"The Gift of the Goose† is the factor in motivation for an employee who finds himself in a discouraging situation and feels trapped. I know an instance of a bank accountant sending the recovery notice to a dairy unit owner who had lost his two cows that died under mysterious circumstances and he was unable to pay the loan installments. Selling milk of the cows was his only source income. From where would the poor man repay the loan? When this incident came to the notice of the Senior Manager of the Bank, he advised the accountant to give him further loan for buying four cows. He would maintain himself with the profit from the milk from two cows and with the other portion of the profit he would repay the loan amount of the bank! The right decision at the right time, saved the borrower from ruin, and the Banks loan was also repaid fully. Explain what you have learned from each character: Work is worship is not mere the spiritual quote; its practical utility is great. The beauty of the work done with sincerity and dedication is something special. For the best output, basic conditions need to be created for the employees to become basically sound and industrious. When there is a free working environment, when restrictions are less, and one has freedom to take decisions, the results would be encouraging. Those who work only commit mistakes. One who walks will at times stumble. Positive attitude and right frame of mind are the fundamentals to get the results. This is the sum and substance of the messages of the Squirrel, the Beaver and the Goose. Specifically, the principle involved in the example of Squirrel, is that even the small and insignificant looking beings make the difference in the world by their active presence. One needs to cultivate the habit of making the world a better place. We need to have common goals and shared ideals. The Beaver principle is, give the workers the long rope, within the well-defined boundaries. Let them work in a free atmosphere; let them not feel suffocated under the pressure of repeated orders, modifications and revised orders. Teach them to control themselves. The Goose principle, is let good work be appreciated, even the mild rebuke needs to be on an encouraging note. Trust them, and they will give better results. Console them, instead of questioning them. Congratulate them at the earliest opportunity. Choose one or more traits that you would like to emulate, and explain why you feel that way; The Spirit of the Squirrel, the lesson is one of the powers of worthwhile work. The three core ideas of Gung Ho are simple yet profound! : Worthwhile work guided by goals and values; putting workers in control of their production; and cheering one another on. What you do is no doubt important; but how you do, what you do is more important. I like this trait immensely, as it the only way to carry out duties and responsibilities in a peaceful manner. They say, â€Å"It is better to deserve without receiving, than to receive without deserving. † Participation in action is always better than renunciation of action. The modern combustible younger generation wishes to have proof for everything and will not accept anything, unless convinced about it scientifically. Well, here is the proof for the assured reward for productivity. –every action, has the reaction and the intensity of reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action. Over which there is no dispute between the scientists and the spiritualists. One of the rare agreements between the two contending forces; the two opposing forces; the forces that do not see eye to eye with other! This is the solid foundation on which one needs to base one’s understanding, as one is bound to get rewards for one’s loyalty and hard work. Its timing is not the domain of the human being. Right things will happen at the right time and this need not be doubted at all. Gung-Ho approach solidifies such a belief. What changes would you like to see in your own life after reading this book? One of the important guidelines that I got from this book is about interaction with the people; how important it is in day to day disposition in life. Doing appropriate things at the appropriate time, gives positive results. How disciplined and regular are the animals in doing their duty ordained to them by Nature. They never falter. They never disobey the rules. Their food habit is disciplined. They won’t harm anyone without reason. Their traits are decided and certain. I need to learn much by observing the nature of the animals. I need to perform my duty to the best of my ability and judgment, not because someone is telling me, not because my boss is ordering, but because, but only because, to live by hard work is the correct way of life. Another important change in my life is that I begin to love animals and birds, take interest to study their nature, read books on them, and wonder what an important role Nature has provided for them in the beautification and maintenance of flora and fauna around us. Talk about what you liked or did not like about the book. The book is very helpful in creating a work and management culture of excellence. It provides elucidation of notable points to the leaders to increase their knowledge, skills and motivation. It tells that sharing of information is the road to prosperity. It assists in front-line decision making. Productivity is the top concern in any commercial or industrial establishment. And you have to create conditions for its willing acceptance of that expected productivity in the workplace. The employees can build an organization; just as sometimes it is claimed that the employees can break it. Every employer wishes to have the builder. An inspired employee is an asset to any organization in the ultra-competitive business world of the modern day. The traditional concept that the customer is king is assuming new dimensions. How to secure unflinching loyalty for products and how to retain the employees in top gear, as for productivity and the latent creative joy! Gung Ho has solid answers for such situations. This not the book to read and keep aside! It is the reference book, and as one faces different situations in life, the practical examples given will be beneficial to find an appropriate solution. The authors have developed a pleasant way of telling about the leadership qualities and management principles through the example of animals and birds. The principles elucidated in this book can be applied for small as well as big businesses. The book concretely tells how a business establishment on the verge of failure was converted into a success empire. References: Blanchard, Ken: Book: Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization. Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (October 8, 1997) Language: English ISBN-10: 068815428X ISBN-13: 978-0688154288

Tata Consultancy Services SWOT and PESTEL Analysis

Tata Consultancy Services SWOT and PESTEL Analysis Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) is the worlds leading global Information Technology consulting firm and business outsourcing organization that envisaged and forged the espousal of the flexible global business practices, which nowadays facilitate organizations to manoeuvre more professionally and construct more value. The IT industry was not has it is now when TCS started in the year 1968. TCS was started as the Tata Computer Centre a dissection of the Tata group whose chief business was to offer computer services to other concerns. TCS marked a tremendous growth with marking its presence in 34 countries across 6 continents, with a absolute range of services across diverse industrial fields. TCS ranked in top ten in the fortunes rank list for the year 2009. The concern shaped consolidated income of US $5.7 billion for economic year ended 31 March 2009 and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in India. TCS expanded into China, Hungary, Brazil, and Mexico in order to incarcerate the opportunities in financial services and services like Remote Infrastructure management and BPO in those countries, TCS always offered a unique manner to its global customers by positioning its brand in the worldwide market. The zenith of all these lead to the concerns contributions of TM Global Network Delivery Model(GNDM) across Europe, China, India, US and Latin America as well as incorporated full overhaul offerings, all backed by the promise of certainty of experience for customers. By 2007, the value enunciation of Experience certainty was officially initiated, acknowledged and authenticated by global customers. As the Indian financial system sustained to grow in the new century, the necessity for technology to constrain comprehensive augmentation became part of national schema. TCS, which had been spending additional, time in domestic IT from the time when its commencement was well located to assist the National Government at the central and state level, in its inventive proposals. TCS, by its own initiative shaped a digitized delivery system. In a manifestation of the companys ground-breaking spirit and with an aspiration to extend the benefits of the IT upraise across the country. TCS aptitude to convey high-quality overhauls and resolutions are matchless. It is the worlds first organization to accomplished an enterprise-wide Maturity Level 5 on both P-CMM and CMMI, using the most meticulous assessment methodology SCAMPISM. TCS Integrated Quality Management System integrates process, populace and technology maturity through various ascertained frameworks and traditions including ISO 9001 :2000, IEEE and SW-CMM, CMMI, 6-Sigma and P-CMM. For maximum flexibility, speediness, and competence, a vigorous IT strategy is essential. TCS contribution facilitates companies to construct the most of their IT investments from providing system testing solutions, application development, management services, and integration solutions. COMPANY BACKGROUND: TCS has the wide spread economical boundaries around 36 countries with seven physical centres of operations around the world. TCS was founded by Tata group which was established by jamstji Tata in 1868 an oldest and respected group of companies in India. The First chairman was Jahangir Ratanji Dadabhoy followed by Nani Palkhivala. The first general manager was F.C. Kohli. TCS first assigned to offer punch card services to a sister corporation, Tata Steel (TISCO). It later bagged the nations first domestic software project, the Inter-Branch Reconciliation System (IBRS) for the Central Bank of India. It has also provided bureau services to Unit Trust of India; as a result TCS became one of the first companies to offer BPO services. In the early 1970s; Tata Consultancy Services in full swing exporting its services. TCSs inaugural global order came from Burroughs, one of the first business computer manufacturers. TCS was assigned to write code for the Burroughs machines for numerous US-based clients. This knowledge helped TCS to bag its first onsite project the Institutional Group Information Company (IGIC), a data hub for ten banks, which served to two million clients in the US, TCS was assigned to assert and upgrade its computer systems. TCS holds the credit to set off the first software research and development centre, the Tata Research Development a nd Design Centre (TRDDC) in 1981and in 1985 the first client committed offshore development centre was established for Compaq. Early 90s was golden era for the Indian IT industry; they grew tremendously due to the Y2K virus and the introduction of Euro. TCS lead the way for industrial unit replica for Y2K conversion and built-up software tools which undertook the automatic conversion process and facilitated third-party developers and customers to use. In 1999, TCS fortified the opportunities in outsourcing the E-Commerce and the connected solutions and set up its E-Business division with ten people. In 2004 it illustrated a vigorous development of contributing half a billion US dollars to TCSs total revenue. In the year 2004, TCS was ranked under public sector, though much later than its competitors such as Infosys, Satyam and Wipro. TCS entered into a brand new area of IT services (Bioinformatics). The next two years that followed TCS aced a huge growth in progress both nationally and internationally. TCS assists some of the worlds major MNCs to take up the accurate technology-enabled solution that helps them: Optimize business recital Decrease product progress time Get better product differentiation Smooth the progress of arrangement of business with technology Join their extensive supply chains Offer real-time business handy Lesser functioning costs. Tata Consultancy Service Profile: Type: Public BSE: 532540 Founded: 1968 Headquarters: TCS House, Rave line Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 India Key people: Ratan Tata, (Chairman of the Board, Tata  Group) S Ramadorai, (CEO and Managing  Director) Jobhi Mahalingam, (Executive Director  and CFO) N Chandra, (Executive Director, COO, CEO   MD Designate) Phiroz Vandrewala,(Executive Director  and Head, Global Corporate Affairs) Ajoy Mukherjee, (Vice President and  Head, Global Human Resources) K Anantha Krishnan, (Vice President and  Chief Technology Officer) Services: Information Technology Consulting, IT Services, Outsourcing, BPO, Software Products Products: TCS Bancs, Digital Certification Products, Healthcare Management Systems. Revenue: US$ 6.019 billion (in FY 2009-10) Net income: US$ 1.128 billion (in FY 2009-10) Employees: 150,000 (As on 1 April, 2010) Website: http://www.tcs.com FINANCIAL POSE: TCS financially persists to demonstrate the steady stand in the top position of Indian IT firms. As the IT outsourcing market records more rapid growth pace, TCS expressed a steady growth rate in 2008-09, whose consolidated revenue grew by 23% to 27% which helped TCS to cross the $6 billion revenue milestone. TCS operating margins improved to 23.73% by 109 basis points. TCS have also increased its dividend share to Rs.14 in the last financial year. The TCS directors have also recommended an issue of bonus shares in 1:1 ratio and it was the second bonus issue since 2004. TCS completely focused in helping their customers relationship with them simultaneously adding fresh customers and penetrating in novel market segments and emerging verticals which made them to add 163 new customers internationally in the past year. TCSs foremost market North America crossed new high point of revenue above $3 billion and grew 26% in 2008-09 in spite of recession, While Europes branches faced a express growth of 38.5% during the same year. It is very significant for an organization to certify the differentiation of its revenue stand and to uphold its augment impetus. TCS always delivers that the 143,000 TCS employees are the supreme assets of all which includes 50,000 global associates from 67 countries and TCS trained 93,000 software professionals of which, 22,000 college graduates in the past academic year which was tremendous growth. TCS is incessantly investing to unlock new markets and services which made them to invest in emerging markets like Asia-pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The firms gigantic team of human resources is serving the TCSs panorama not only in business but also its contact on the community. TCS made an effective evolution in corporate sustainability. TCS persists to be a pioneer of growth for the reason of its established ability to reinvent the business and organisation. The concern is placed to exert in collaborative mode, significant assessing all that TCS does. TCS holds a strong position in the future IT global market. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: A basic structure distributes responsibilities among the members of a company. Its purpose is to contribute to the successful implementation of objectives by allocating people and resources to necessary tasks and designing responsibility and authority for their control and coordination The three levels of organizations are technical level, managerial level and the community level. (Mullins, 2008) The organizations are differentiated based on the task, the employees work and the nature of company and its HR policies and conditions. A hierarchy is handled in order to treat people equally in companies; Treating equal is just that they are literally equal, In order to extract best from an employee, the person above him will treat them as one and the same to extract the maximum and best work from them Functional organization,  matrix organization, and  line organization  are three common types of organizational structure (Mullins, 2008). The main intention of organiza tions is to distribute the tasks; the main aspect is to preserve the relationship between employees of different stages in order to drive them towards the single task and to monitor the progress of the assigned task. The TCS have a very well designed organization. The organizations can be classified into two main divisions they are Centralization. Decentralization. Centralization A simple and effective execution of policies for an entire organization. Gives a reliable approach over the organization. Makes trouble-free organization and administration control Better employ of specialization including better amenities and paraphernalia. Decentralization Facilitated verdict is to be nearer to the operational level of work. Amplified receptiveness to local conditions. It persuades inspiration and confidence of the staff. Observance progress in compliment and more supple structures. TCS offers services in eight areas of service: Business process Outsourcing, Business Intelligence and performance Management, Enterprise Solutions (CRM, ERP, and SCM) IT Consulting, Application Development and Maintenance, Engineering and Industrial Services, IT Infrastructure services, Testing and quality Assurance. TCSs are divided in following divisions Financial Services, Energy and Utility, Banking, Life sciences and Health care, Insurance, Securities trading system, Retail and Consumer goods, Telecommunications, Government and Transportation. TCS follow a standard organizational growth which helps them to organize the vast team under single board of directors; the type they follow is matrix organization. The matrix organization is a combination of functional departments which provide a stable base for specialized activities and a permanent location for staff and units that integrate various activities of different functional departments on a project team, product, programme, geographical or systems basis (mullins 2007). (www.tcs.com) DISADVANTAGES ADVANTAGES More involvement can cause aggravation and uncertainty among team members. Adequate meeting makes this type more time consuming. A detailed understanding is needed in order to be a part else result in bad performance which affects the total team work. A very good ability is needed in order to perform better and draw attention. Distribution of possessions is supple among the organization. Facilitates in intricate verdicts and appropriate for recurrent transformations occurs in unbalanced atmosphere. To meet demands from customers and helps to make unity within the team. Provides an opportunity to extend both practical and product skills. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: Even though the organizational culture will look like a similar saying its really solid to describe and elucidate as the word culture is derived from anthropology. In simple it can be described as the reflection of fundamental works about the way by which the work is performed. The collection of traditions, policies, value, attitudes and beliefs that comprises an invasive framework for everything we do and believe in an organization (Mullins, 2008). The corporate cultures can be categorised by two influential factors, The degree of threat coupled with the organizations manners The pace at which organisations and their employees obtain comment on the success of verdict or strategies. If the customs are adopted by the employees, it amplifies the supremacy and rights of management in three ways. Categorizes themselves with their organization and consent to its decree when its the defined fascination to do. To integrate the organizations worth when they are right. Enthused to accomplish the organizations objectives. The types of Organizational culture are Power culture, Task culture, Person culture, Role culture. A well-built organizational culture lies on eight strong pillars of OCTAPACE referring to authenticity, confrontation, autonomy, openness trust, proactive, collaboration and explicitness. Organization cultures can be categorized into strong and weak cultures. The organizational culture of TCS is translucent in stipulations of pay and its HR policies. There is a towering level of employee engagement as the concern pay structure stimulates and supports employees to achieve better to receive an excellent sum of their recital pay. There is an incessant improvement and growth of workforce through different modus operandi like the T model. It is a proficiently managed organization with client fulfilment as its top most precedence. Workforces are given lofty sum of respect and everybody is addressed as an ASSOCIATE to make them believe that their input really matters. But there are some minorities who believe that TCS follows a cold culture, by cold they signify that persons are not concerned about others. Few think that TCS has an energetic culture and there are lots of communal performance which the concern takes on to help the underprivileged and poor. One such initiative is the TCS Maitree, it is a non-profit auxiliary of TCS which utilize the employees to approach further on and educate the under privileged children or seize a camp in a countrys rural area to educate them regarding the knowledge on computers. PS T Model is new software intended by TCS, all the workers information pertaining to his possession, competencies, skill set, etc are fed and then the software gives the three best domains where the employee would best be suited. This model when launched will help in smooth inter- departmental reloc ates. TCS values are ethical, in which TCS have its own set of rules, policies, values which is called TATA Code of Conduct which was explained by HR with immense efforts during induction process, in easy words it can be described as that TCS is not doing business from people but doing business with the people. The TCSs culture is dynamic and favourable for vigorous growth and antagonism. THE NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: Change is persistent manipulate. It is an unavoidable part of both social and organizational life and we are all subject to continual change of one form or other (Laurie j Mullins 2008) There are factors which are substantial to the organization change are: Global inflation and economic meltdown. Non-availability of resources. The limitations on products lifecycle due to frequent revises in technologies. Very high competition in escalating and capturing new market places. BUSINESS STRATEGIES: TCS names its business divisions as Industry Service Practice. TCS has it maximum revenue from Banking Financial Services and Insurance Sector. GENERIC BUSINESS STRATEGY: Low outlay of Global delivery 24X7 model. Delivery with the help of established release and excellence framework-IQMS in time. A whole focus on customer retention and client relationship in order to uphold the business revenue which is 95.6% Distinguished in low end services in both capital and price A solid protection from the money fluctuations with currency prevarication. Owing to its tough knowledge management system and resource strength, TCS has been triumphant in attaining the cost leadership in the Industry. In recent years TCS has been following a further resolute strategy where they are moving towards the requirements of customer and the nature of business as like Middle East, Europe, and Asia-pacific. TCS focus much on customers and the area rather than being broad. A full Focus on the centres of Excellence(CoE) to strengthen potential in order to build the state-of-art elucidation in particular technologies such as testing, virtualization and architecture. The high end skills and scale will help TCS to embark upon huge projects aimed at converting clients, IT applications and Infrastructures. GLOBAL STRATEGIES: When the global strategy of TCS is being closely observed, it will illustrate an influencing labour cost in South America, China and some parts of Europe. Employing overseas experts into the post of Directors in order to obtain the frequent changes in the business is also can be referred as one of the key strategies of TCS Clayton M Christensen(HSB Professor, joined TCS in 2006) Dr. Ron Sommer (former chairman of the board of management of Deuteshce telecom AG, joined TCS in 2006) Laura M cha (Member of Executive Council of the Hong Kong special Administrative Region(SAR) and Non-Executive Chairman of HSBC investment, Asia ltd) TCS have a keen view in looking US and UK for the Business Revenue markets and India for the skilled employees. TCS is very keen in establishing global delivery centres outside India which can demonstrate TCS as a Global company. TCS was the first one to set the global delivery centre in China which distinguished TCS from other corporate companies. In recent years TCS was frequently changing its approach towards global market; recently TCS reconstructed its structure towards its global operations to implement a Customer centric and integrated approach which is anticipated to assist in avoiding the risk factors arising from the Economic Meltdown in western countries. TCSs operation units are mainly divided into five main divisions. The well established markets are North America, U.K and Western Europe and the new markets are Latin America, Middle East, India and Eastern Europe. The new restructured plan was considered as the very good change by the TCS as it is attaining impetus in Europe and other markets, which is obvious in the companys marked growth rate of 40% every year. The operations In Middle East and Latin America had also seen a substantial growth. TCS had built new delivery and offshore centres in Latin America like Uruguay, Mexico and Brazil. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES: TCS is always keen in upholding the strategic relationships with various International technology vendors. These relations are distinguished in various magnitudes such as service provider, customer, supplier, and alliance partner. The relationships with the international technology vendors have made TCS to maintain a holistic. TCS made a joint venture with these vendors on joint research influencing each other strengths to research and to develop the best breed offerings. Joint advancing engagements. Significantly new or improved solutions. Joint go-to-market strategies for the solutions. ACQUISITION STRATEGY: TCS is concentrating the growth in two ways the organic means and inorganic means. The Inorganic way is in the course of acquisitions of companies which craft business sense to TCS. The concerns should adjoin great value to TCS. The Business with CMC is assisting TCS taking a very sharp gaze to the domestic Industry. Both companies have synergies in the government sector. They made various agreements with various companies some of them are the agreement with the citi group to transfer 12,000 employees in banking sectors for cash and external support in IT. Tata InfoTech Limited (TIL) was merged in early 2006. It was also a software service company like TCS which have branches around the world like America, Europe and Australia. Comparable to the financial venture made greater than, TCS yet again prolonged its banking commodities and shared its European operations after attaining a 75% equity wager in its Switzerland-based partner, TKS-Teknosoft. TKS was the marketing representative f or TCS in Europe. TCS: CO INNOVATION NETWORK (COIN): TCS is following a coin strategy in order to face the competition as the globalisation has created a elevated competition among the IT companies. It is necessary for the IT companies in order to follow an innovative technology thus resulted in the Advanced Information and Communication Technology which made practicable for companies to collaborate and perform Globally Distributed Network (GDN). Disorderly improvements are not the consequence of a solitary technology pretended by the minority of people but the combination of similar technologies may result in getting a combined innovative technology which will be much more effective and useful for the companies to perform globally. This concept of innovation network is not novel; classically it was the technology releasing body e.g. IBMs driven Innovation Networks and Googles Gartner Innovation networks are already been in existence, for TCS it is the customer driven innovation network where the participants are delivery rudiments and explorations. SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT analysis is a prearranged loom to calculating the strategic position of a business by identifying its strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. SWOT offers an uncomplicated way of analysing the results of marketing review. Internal strengths and weakness are abridged as they communicated to external opportunities and threats. (Jobbers; 2007) It analysis the complete strategy of the company based on policies and the business method which they follow. This pictures the companies advantages and disadvantages in companies perspective. The SWOT for TCS is as follows, (S)TRENGTHS widespread universal reach Strong economic presentation Human management skills Innovative lab system The Fame of the founder (W)EAKNESSES Momentous publicity to financial service markets. Deficient in level of consulting operations. (O)PPORTUNITIES Expansion in worldwide IT services Focus on SMB segment Expanding maneuvers in countries like china Focus on high end business and consulting (T)HREATS The Hike in Employee costs Powerful competition from overseas firms like Accenture, IBM etc. Merge in the end markets Currency gratitude Increase in competition from low wage. (S)TRENGTHS: The popularity and the reach all over the global markets made TCS a reputed and known firm in the Global IT Market. The TCS had launched the branches all over the world which can be considered as the primary strength for the TCS. TCS made clear and strong economic presentations around the globe which makes its clients a financial confidence about the company. The International base of TCS, India is known for its skilled employees in IT field which naturally made TCS very strong in Human resource. TCS is also skilled in the management skills as its board of directors are from overseas countries in order to adopt the strategies from all the parts of the world. TCS have a very good infrastructures and innovative labs with all the latest technologies which help TCS employees to update the latest technologies and to make research in various fields. The fame of the founder is also an added strength for the TCS. (W)EAKNESS: The excess exposure on the financial service markets which usually need to be kept confidential is considered as the main weakness of TCS. TCS is also lack in effective consulting team which show a strong reflection of decline in the growth cycle of the TCS, Being a company which works on Outsourcing projects usually needs a very good effective consulting team which acts as the bridge between the clients and company. TCS really lacks in that. (O)PPORTUNITIES: TCS being a fast growing IT firm is very keen in establishing and expanding its business to almost all the parts of world right from India, China, Latin American countries, Asia-pacific and etc which opened up a great business opportunity for TCS. The Focus in the SMB segments is also lays a very good business opportunity for TCS. Expanding the global branches to void countries like china, Asia-pacific will extend the business opportunities of TCS in future. TCS have a very good opportunity in high end business and consulting in the future if they rectify their weakness in consulting service. (T)HREATS: The rapid growth and development in India and other global areas, A common demand for employees arise which result in the increase of cost for employees. TCS has to face a very high competition from overseas and well established companies like IBM, Accenture and etc. The complete merge in the End markets is also a biggest threat for TCS. The advantage on rupees always stands as the biggest threat to all IT companies in general. Increase of competition from low wages is another threat. The similar Indian firms like Wipro, Infosys are also at their full phase of capturing global markets. TCS has to face a cold war against the threats which the company faces. As all the competitors of TCS are equally strong and effective in which TCS cant ignore the supple one. PORTERS ANALYSIS ON TCS: Porters tool will help to analyse the main five competitive factors which affects the companys growth (www.emeraldinsight.com) Being TCS itself is an supplier, it do not have problem with the suppliers, the other four forces which are problematic to TCS are the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of customers, the threat of substitutes and the spirited rivalry between the existence. In the untimely days the software exports, the software wholesale market was overlooked by very few massive like Accenture, EDS and IBM, where the Indian concern were outlined as small level companies in result the TCS and other Indian software companies competed themselves in the lower end of the business, which resulted TCS and other organizations to choose small projects and tasks which are simple to do. TCS also faced a customer market that was conquered by the insurance companies and huge banks. While TCS keenly hunted for alliances with larger sellers as a competitive strategy, TCS most successful approach was to honestly loom clients and admit the minor charges that its competitive pose dictated. The entry of new companies have reduced rapidly as the huge companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro have developed and grown huge in their market share, size and reliability with their customers. Though, the companies struggle to decrease their straight rivalry through demarcation of manufactured goods, in every market there has been enormous competitors. TCS has to work seriously upon reducing the bargaining power of customers. TCS can prevent price strategy in mixing up with purchase decision. It means that TCS should bring more than undifferentiated indoctrination by moving up the cost sequence. Such approach might be difficult in the software outsourcing business as the clients have an in-depth domain enterprises and rights of inclination to hold on to the work allocated under considered consulting. The clients very well know that the complete bargaining power lies in the strategic consulting; outsourcing that may reduce their bargaining power. TCS have to build up enough knowledge so as to construct outsourcing these errands a convincing worth plan. Of course, it is exactly in this empire that the multinational outsourcing firms such as Accenture, IBM, and EDS are the most vicious customers. Falsifying groupings are often viewed as a superior approach to offset clients bargaining command. Though, constructing alliances with companies functioning in clients sites have to be low-priced as this would advance focus on TCS in application progress. On other side, the attainment of a medium-sized US firm with sturdy customer relations and domain expertises could offer a striking opportunity. Even if expenses per employee would increase, the go up would be minute since workers needs are lesser for higher value-added jobs. The main anxiety for TCS is opposition from existing companies like Wipro, Infosys and CTS as it has produced rivalry for active dealings and twisted noteworthy pricing stress. Internationally, Companies like EDS have sited themselves as competent of handling huge, turnkey ventures which can distinguish themselves from contestants such as Accenture and IBM that spotlights on superior value-added jobs such as consulting. This proposes an organically-driven expansion strategy for TCS: as TCS should persist to do the similar sort of job that it presently do, but should attempt to arrest a better section of the value-addition by accepting huge projects. Although it has exhibited a potential in distant project management, TCS would be requisite to increase the same capability. But, there are also few risks which prevail in this strategy. TCSs huge dimension implies that it might have already exploited wealth to amount in applications improvement. Adding to that, the strategy may tender the latent for huge growth since it essentially engages elevated value-added actions. Before, this was hard, partially owed to the technical complexity in rejecting the value-chain away from the modularization of appliances programming. In recent years, though, systems design, manufacturing services, and systems integration job have increasingly been outsourced suggestive of that, if the abilities are at hand, those works could be completed in India. The threat of substitutes are mainly from the China, Philippines and eastern Europe which emerge as a biggest threats to the Indian IT companies, which is mainly due to the low cost. The companies from these countries quote very low price for the same quality of products as the Indian Companies do, which creates a great impact on medium to long term projects. It is difficult for TCS being operated from India to attain the organic growth. As the globalization