Why factories are not located in Inner-city areas any more?

During 1951 to 1991 there was an obvious economic decline in industries, which were based in the inner-city areas. Inner-city areas experienced a massive decline in industry during this time. All of the following resulted in the closure of factories, offices and shops: Industries were expanding at such a rate that they were taking up all the room in the inner-city areas. As we already know there is limited room in the inner city, and it would have been impossibility for the industries to expand any more. If they did expand, it would mean that they were expanding into residential areas, which is another impossibility. Once the factories had reached their full capacity in the areas they were situated, they were forced to move. This is a lack of expansion space. Buildings/factories often became out of date. New technologies had been introduced into the industries, and the basically the old factories were unsuited to the modern techniques. Often the buildings became derelict, and too bad to repair. The new factories were bigger and better, and could not expand in the inner city therefore they moved into the suburban areas. As the new companies looked for places to expand into, they tended to avoid the inner city. The infrastructure was poor. The roads were too small to accommodate all the large vehicles. People living in the inner city tend to park their cars on the side of the road therefore causing a blockage, or narrow roads. As the factories closed and moved, so did the majority of the population. As a result shops and restaurants suffered, and struggle to find business.

Principles of supporting business events Essay

You should use this file to complete your Assessment. The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Please note that this Assessment document has 3 pages and is made up of 3 Sections. Name: Section 1 – Understand how to support the organisation of a business event 1. When organising a business event, describe the range of support activities that may be required. 2. Complete the table below by identifying two ways of providing support before, during and after a business event. Before During After Section 2 – Understand the purpose of displaying professional and helpful behaviour whilst supporting a business event and how to do so 1. Explain the purpose of displaying professional and helpful behaviour when supporting a business event. 2. Describe ways of exhibiting professional and helpful behaviour whilst supporting a business event. Section 3 – Understand how to deal with problems encountered when supporting a business event 1. What are the main types of problems that may occur when supporting a business event? You should include at least three different types of problems in your answer. 2. Identify possible solutions for each of the problems you have listed in Question 1 above. Once you have completed all 3 Sections of this Assessment, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your work to your tutor for marking.

Barilla Case Study: The Underlying Factors In Operation Management

case analysis| MGSM890 Operations Management| | Thursday 9 AM class | Term 3, 2012 Deepika Choudhary | 42621186 | | | Question 1. What underlying factors are driving the distributors order patterns to look the way they do in Exhibit 12, and the DC sales, inventory and stock-out levels in Exhibit 13?The underlying factors that are driving the distributors order patterns to look the way they do are primarily due to extreme demand fluctuations where it was week to week variation in distributors order patterns due to which Barilla suffered increasing operational inefficiencies and cost penalties.The major reasons that speak for demand fluctuation are –excessive promotional activities, volume discount, transportation discounts, no limit in order quantities from distributors or worked out ordering strategies for retailers, product proliferations, poor customer service rates, poor communication and lack of sophisticated forecasting techniques or analytical tools at distributors end. The method adopted to curb this demand fluctuation was in two ways; one with excess FG inventory to meet distributors demand and second additional inventory at distributors warehouses. However this method adoption led to impact in – overburdened manufacturing and logistic operation, poor product delivery, thinning of retailers/distributors margin, increased inventory carrying cost, unanticipated demand, and bull whip effect in the entire supply chain.Whereas the causes for bullwhip effect was due to inaccuracies in demand forecasting, long lead times, inflated orders in high estimated demand scenarios, and, price fluctuation due to promotional activities and order batching (to reduce ordering costs, to take advantage of transportation economies such as full truck load, sales incentives and forward buying due to promotional activities to get benefit from lower price).Thus to counteract the bull-whip effect four strategic options became crucial, which are, to: reduce variabilit y (every day or year around low pricing), reduce lead times (information lead times: EDI and order lead times: Cross Docking), reduce uncertainty (POS, sharing and centralizing demand information) and strategic partnerships (quick response, continuous replenishments and vendor managed inventory (VMI)) The other factors are as follows: Orders placed once a week – most distributors (GDs and Dos) checked the inventory levels and placed orders with Barilla once per week which was not inlined with the pace of demand variation * Average lead time ten calendar days – order once placed would be shipped by Barilla to the distributor over the course of the week that started eight days after the order was placed and ended fourteen days after the order was placed; which was recognized as a bottleneck for distributors * Usage of simple periodic-review inventory systems – distributors placing orders on a weekly basis for those products whose levels fell below a specified reor der level, which made their ordering system obsolete * Computer-supported ordering systems – which all of the distributors possessed but lack of sophisticated forecasting systems or analytical tools for determining order quantities for future demand * Holding huge current inventory levels – distributors and retailers carrying huge current inventories followed by requests from Barilla (manufacturing and logistics personal) to carry additional inventory (to hold goods bought on any type of promotion, including quantity discounts, truckload discounts and canvas period discounts) to dampen the fluctuation in distribution orders; this incurred additional costs to their operating systems * Retail inventory pressure – retailers realizing space crunch in their stores and warehouses to carry very large inventories; limited shelf space in retail outlets; continuous launch of new products and attain best shelf display; which reinforced distributors attitude and felt simila r pressure to increase inventory of items they already stocked and to add items they currently did not carry to their product offerings * Lack of good service from distributors to its retailers – Exhibit 13 (in case study) depicts the huge stockouts that Dos experienced in 1989 despite holding a couple of weeks of inventory.This reflects lack of Dos efficient job servicing to its retailers * Plant has high product change over costs because Barilla has either inefficient production or excess finished goods inventory * Utilization of central distribution is low in terms of workers and equipment’s Question 2. How might they be addressed? Will the proposed JITD system solve the problem? The underlying factors in the traditional approach of order fulfillment had a direct impact on manufactures and retailers in the form of thinning margins. Thus, to address these factors an alternative approach of product delivery was crucial and also to take costs out of distribution channe l without compromising service.This was introduced by Brando Vitali’s JITD (Just-In-Time-Distribution) proposal, which focused solely on dry products to be sold through distributors. This approach was also expected to radically change the way in which Barilla’s logistics managed product delivery with JITD bringing in its two key concepts of: replacing sequential optimization with global optimization and eliminating some of the â€Å"false† economies that drive traditional ordering processes. The major challenges of the traditional and rhetoric logistics and distribution channel were: * Extreme demand fluctuations – Barillas dry products often swung wildly from week to week creating extreme demand variability in distributors’ order patterns and also for Barilla’s manufacturing and logistics operations (since 1980s). Distributors sales volumes variation – to manage demand and supply amongst small distributors order and large distributor s order by forecasting and keeping a check on what is required and where it is required and when it is required * Pressures to manufacturing in terms of production lead-time and perishability of product * High Inventory Carrying Cost & manufacturing cost due operational inefficiencies * Unacceptable Cycle Service Levels (CSL)–inadequate product availability * Distributors’ inability to carry large number of SKUs The proposed JITD system will help to, first, determine the quantities and delivery schedules and assist to improve the operations for Barilla and its customers. Second, ship products only when they are needed and what products are needed, rather than building enormous stocks in Barillas’ facilities. Third, Barilla will reap an indirect advantage by reducing its own distribution costs, inventory levels, and ultimately manufacturing costs, by not responding to the volatile demand patterns of the distributors.Fourth, Barilla will be able to manage the much -needed and important capability to achieve â€Å"flexibility† to respond to the demand from end-consumer, which manages the input filter to produce the orders. Fifth, Vendor Managed Inventory Concept. Sixth, using point-of-sale data from retailers (but this is a limitation of Barillas given distribution channel and lack of bar-code scanner and computer linkage at most grocers in Italy). Seventh, ultimate authority to determine shipments is Barilla SpA. Eight, distributors will provide POS data (current) stock level of all SKUs. Hence, expected benefits for Manufacturer are: * Reduced manufacturing cost * Reduced inventory cycle Increased supply chain visibility will lead to better relationships with distributors * High bargaining power over distributors * Increased distributors dependence on Barilla * A planned production planning is possible * Improvement in manufacturing planning using objective data Expected benefits for distributors are: * High service level–addit ional services to retailers without incurring extra cost * Improved fill rates to Retail store with a quick response * Reduced inventory carrying cost Question 3. What conflicts and barriers does implementation of the JITD system face? The implementation of the JITD system does experience some conflicts/resistance and barriers. The conflicts/resistance experienced are internal and external as follows: Internal Sales representative feared reduction in responsibilities and flattening of sales levels * Risk of failing to adjust shipments sufficiently quickly to changes in selling patterns or increased promotions * Firms distribution unit not prepared to handle such a sophisticated relationship * Free space in distributor’s warehouses will give competitors an advantage to acquire more shelf space * Inability to quick shipment or disruption in supply process may lead to stock-out of product * Inability to run trade promotion * Lack of sophisticated infrastructure to handle JITD * Skepticism about cost reduction External * Unconvinced distributors Distributors were not willing to share their warehouse data * Distributors got impression that they were not handling their inventories well * A strategic move by Barilla to justify their long delivery cycle * Perceived transfer of power to Barilla * Lack of faith in Barillas current inventory management * Distributors were skeptical about the effectiveness of the system Question 4. How would you address these? Barilla should focus in external context on implementing the JITD in a staged fashion where it starts to target one of its largest distributors with whom its relishes excellent and elongated relationship. The resistance could then be handled by running experiments at Dry Product Depots where top management is involved actively to reinforce Barillas strategic vision of the company to adopt JITD as a company wide effort and not just as logistics program.By doing so, the qualitative and quantitative implication of performance improvements can be made public (like, average inventory level drop down, increase in service level to retail stores, drop in stock out rate, existing warehouse to accommodate the increased requirement and thus saving on substantial investment on expansion) to share with other distributors. In doing so, such experiments will help establish the credibility of JITD system. Also, other benefits highlighted will add substance to the JITD implementation, such as: better demand forecasting using JITD that ensures robust supply chain; insulate from the excessive demand fluctuations that leads to increased average inventory level, poor USL and recurrent stock-outs; Centralized information to reduce bull-whip effects and enhance inventory management system; ease to make strategic decisions amongst â€Å"push† or â€Å"pull† based systems; customers to be convinced with the vision of win-win concept.Following which Barilla can showcase the real results of running such experiments with JITD to other distributors and approach them with confidence. This will buy-in vote of confidence from all of Barillas distributors to implement JITD by adapting to different distributors where Barillas team develops capacity to translate customer’s standards into internal standards. During the implementation process people from all levels (top management to implementation managers) from both parties to get involved along with a neutral party which is trusted by both groups. After implementation of the JITD, Barilla team could analyze daily shipment data of the distributors and create a database of its historical demand pattern. In addition, Barilla should stimulate shipments with JITD in place.Following which it can develop a protocol which could be used to communicate with all of Barillas customers. To ease the process of identification, each SKU can be identifies with three product codes – Barillas code, customers code and EAN (European article numbering system) barcode. This coding system will facilitate the information reception through any code and will significantly improve data sharing. This will significantly increase Barillas interactivity with all its customers where they are linked by electronically to Barillas headquarters and can exchange information on a daily basis for: * Customer code number to identify the customer Inventory for each SKU, carried by DC * Previous day’s â€Å"sell through†: all shipments of Barilla’s products out of DC to consumers on the previous day * Stock outs on previous day, for every Barilla SKU carried by DC * An advance order for any promotions that the customer plans to run in the future * Preferred carton size of the delivery Internal address Links https://www. google. com. au/search? q=Barilla+case+study&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org. mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb http://www. slideshare. net/himadrisingha/barilla-spa-a-case-on-supply-c hain-integration http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=PQgBY5wn0aE

Describe the roles of amino acid R-groups to the transmembrane Essay

Describe the roles of amino acid R-groups to the transmembrane channels that allow passage of molecules and ions across lipid bilayers - Essay Example On the other hand, the hydrophilic amino acids are usually established on the outside of proteins and in the lively cores of enzymatically lively proteins. This means that the natural world of some amino acid R-groups permits enzyme reactions to take place. The imidazole ring of histidine permits it to function as either a proton contributor or acceptor at physiological PH. Therefore, it is mostly discovered in the hasty heart of enzymes. Hemoglobin is the best example of membrane channel that plays a vital role in movement of molecules and ions. The aptitude of histidines in hemoglobin is responsible for cushioning the H+ ions ionization of carbonic acid in red blood cells (Berg, Tymoczko and Stryer 55). This is the main factor of hemoglobin that that permits it to swap over O2 and CO2 at the tissues or lungs respectively. The most influential alcohol of serine and threonine in addition to the thiol (-SH) of cysteine, permit these amino acids to take action as nucleophiles throughou t enzymatic catalysis. Moreover, the cysteine thiol is capable of developing a disulfide union with other cysteines: From the chain above, the easy disulfide is recognized as cystine. The development of disulfide unions between cysteines available within proteins is significant to the development of lively structural spheres of influence in a huge number of proteins (Berg, Tymoczko and Stryer 60). The process of disfulfied union between cysteines of distinct polypeptide chains of oligomeric proteins performs a significant function in commanding the structure of complicated proteins such as the insulin receptor. All the above mentioned processes takes place in membranes and the fact that certain little molecules go through easily while others find it hard to go through makes the membranes of the R groups to be considered selectively permeable (Berg, Tymoczko and Stryer 67). This is because when several sugars of equal molecular size are available both

Engineering disasters that have occurred since 1800 Assignment

Engineering disasters that have occurred since 1800 - Assignment Example That is why the failure of the Engineers is called the Engineering Disasters. The Engineering disasters can be divided into different categories such as civil engineering disasters, Mechanical Engineering disasters, Nuclear Disasters, Environmental disasters, space disasters, etc. The primary causes of engineering disasters are usually considered to be According to the recent research conducted by Swiss federal Institute of technology in Zurich, it was proved the 800 cases of structural failure in which 504 people were killed, 592 people injured, and millions of dollars of damage incurred due to the Engineering disasters. When the faults are from the Engineers’ side, they are classified by the researchers in the following manner So the Engineers have no option but handle each and every task carefully. Here the paper specially focuses on many disasters that have occurred since 1800. This article is the analysis and the study of different Engineering disasters and the causes responsible for these disasters. Let’s have a look at some of the Engineering disasters from 1800 to till now. In 1854 a catastrophe occurred due to the failure of Engineers in building the steamship named Arctic where approximately 300 people had to loss their lives. The great appalling thing in this disaster was that not a single woman or child could survive. This steam ship was built in New York City and it was launched in 1850. This giant ship was 284 feet long, one of the largest ships in those days. Its steam engines powered large paddle wheels on either side of its hull. It was well equipped with spacious dining rooms, saloons, and staterooms, the luxurious accommodations never before seen on a steamship had been provided to the people. On September 13, 1854 Arctic reached in Liverpool after a trip from New York City. On its return trip to New York the Arctic would be

Early-Modern Ethiopian Migration to Italy and the Question of European Essay - 1

Early-Modern Ethiopian Migration to Italy and the Question of European Racism - Essay Example It is worth mentioning that Ethiopia does not have strong historic ties with Italy because the Italian kings were involved in military ventures with the nation in late 1890s and 1930s. Italy initially had control on Somaliland, Libya and Eritrea. Hence, it also had an inclination to expand its empire by gaining administrative and military control on Ethiopia, which enjoys unique location that contributes significantly to its geographical importance in Africa. Nevertheless, Italy faced strong resistance from Ethiopian military in 1890s; thereby resulting in its failure to accomplish its evil intentions against this African nation. However, the stronger Italy easily defeated Ethiopian army in 1935 war and gained what it desired. Later, Ethiopians and British banished Italian ruling forces after which Ethiopia emerged as an independent nation on the map of world (Kwintessential Report, n.d). Historians, theorists and international Relations researchers such as Fransen and Kuschminder (2009) have argued that the major reason towards internal and external migration of Ethiopian refugees is political unrest and uncertain economic environment. Nonetheless, Ethiopia in past was known to be a poor nation where unemployment rates were extremely high as a large number of people were below poverty line.

Kinship System of Yanomamo Culture Research Paper

Kinship System of Yanomamo Culture - Research Paper Example In the Yanomamo community, their males are considered to be more valuable than their female counterparts (Rosman, Rubel & Weisgrau, 2009). The leadership positions in their community determine their village’s relations with neighboring villages due to the existing kingship along with marriage patterns. The leaders within the community are chosen from the kinship groups with most members in the village (Early & Peters, 2000). Within the Yanomamo society, marriages are usually arranged by the older kin within them who include brothers, fathers and uncles (Rosman, Rubel & Weisgrau, 2009). In these communities, there exists a social imbalance with women being less than men which is worsened by the fact that some of the men are polygamous. These people additionally practice marriage within related groups of people which have in turn helped in speeding their population’s growth (Early & Peters, 2000). The women in these villages undergo abductions along with incest taboos tha t play a great part in decreasing the effects that come from inbreeding. When bilateral marriages between cousins are allowed double relations are created since their parents may have gone through similar marriages (Rosman, Rubel & Weisgrau, 2009). The resultant internal conflicts that arise tend to bring about village fissioning among them. The villages that are not related through marriage are urged to make peace by engaging in trading activities which help them in abstaining from war. Gifts are also offered between the leaders in the warring villages to help in preventing the occurrence of conflicts (Chagnon, 2012). The Yanomamo people usually have role prescriptions within their communities which are mainly keyed into people who hold certain... This research paper focuses mostly on Kinship, that is a vital system among the Yanomamo people. Their culture has mainly remained unchanged due to their ferociousness along with strong wills. Their kinship system conforms to a pattern referred to as the Iroquois classification which insists on them having bilateral cross marriages between cousins. The people from the Yanomamo community usually organize their relationships in the order of closeness. They are organized from the local partilineal moieties, village settlements, feasting alliances, marriage alliances and trading alliances to their enemies. In localized moieties there are rarely partrilineage groups that have members who exceed two grown-up generations with members coming from the same villages. In the Yanomamo community, their males are considered to be more valuable than their female counterparts. The leadership positions in their community determine their village’s relations with neighboring villages due to the existing kingship along with marriage patterns. The Yanomamo people usually have role prescriptions within their communities which are mainly keyed into people who hold certain statuses. The individuals living within this community are supposed to know who they really are in order for them to handle their prescribed roles appropriately. The researcher states that individuals with superior statuses within the Yanomamo community are given extra roles for them to perform since they are pivotal for the operations of the society.

The critique of We are raising a generation of deluded narcissts Essay

The critique of We are raising a generation of deluded narcissts - Essay Example The current generation of students is highly obsessed with success and fantasy, courtesy of the negative media influence on their psychology. A study undertaken for 47 cumulative years has indicated that freshmen in colleges and universities, up to a tune of 30% are regarding themselves as gifted and self-driven to success, yet their test scores indicate otherwise (Ablow, n.p.). It is the toxic psychological impact that the media has on children, adolescents and young adults that is giving such young people the illusion of being celebrities, though in a more unrealistic world. Through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, young people have obtained the sense of control in their world, where they display to the world what they would want the world to see, akin to the celebrities, sportsmen or movie stars, while controlling and blocking those who may poke holes into their self esteem issues (Ablow, n.p.). The friend following and the friend lists they have managed to gene rate out of such social media platforms, which are purely based on false love and false fame, make them feel that they are already stars. Playing different types of games also makes them feel as if they are Formula 1racers or sharpshooters, thus deluding their minds psychologically, such that it is the social media, the computers and the computer games that have turned into the psychological drugs addiction of the 21st century. This explains why young people are doing anything to distract themselves from reality, through becoming more and more drunk, tattooed, smokers and drug addicts, to help them sustain their false pride. This article has touched on the center nerve of the youth problem; technology, social media, advertisement and carefree society thus does little to control the unrealistic pride and fame that young people are displaying. Nothing can be true, than the fact that many lonely, lowly esteemed and less confident youths and adolescents have found salvation in the

Theories to Todays Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theories to Todays Organizations - Essay Example Nowadays, business organizations look at the employee in a different perspective by seeing him not just as a mere resource used in production but a strategic partner for the attainment of the various organizational goals. Thus, companies have made the leap in motivating employees through the use of positive reinforcement, non-monetary benefits, highly-conducive working environment, rewarding career, and programs which further boost their strengths and competencies. Dell, Inc. has been regarded as one of the best organizations to work for in terms the motivational techniques that it put in place to ensure company-wide efficiency. It should be noted that Dell practices employee empowerment in order to communicate its trust and confidence in the workforce. In contrast to the typical assembly line, Dell builds productive and cohesive work teams in the manufacture of its various products. The company also conducts regular training and workshops in order to further the strengths and competencies of its human resource. This effort shows the company's concern in the growth and development of its employees as well as its way of ensuring that its workforce which will help the organization further its thrust for profitability and operational success.

Critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Critical thinking - Essay Example g or valid reasoning is also widely used in reporting events that is happening around us, tell jokes to our friends and colleagues, extending an invitation to a special someone, making promises to other people, telling stories, giving orders or instructions to our subordinates or co-workers, describing something, entertaining other people, the act of evoking emotions, and a lot more (Fischer a, pp. 15 - 16). To have a good critical thinking, having a good logic is never enough in enabling us to solve problems. It is equally important for us to have positive attitude and the necessary skills and knowledge in terms of solving problems. With regards to the importance of critical thinking, the definition of critical thinking as mentioned by Alec Fisher and Friedrich Nietzsche will be discussed followed by comparing and contrasting the two traditions of critical thinking. As part of going through the main discussion, specific examples coming from its respective texts will be provided accordingly. As part of the conclusion, my personal reflection will be expressed in details explaining how I view the two traditions of critical thinking as explained by Fisher and Nietzsche. Alec Fisher acknowledges the different definitions of critical thinking as provided by the famous contributors behind the development of critical thinking which includes John Dewey, Edward Glaser, Robert Ennis, Richard Paul, and Michael Scriven. According to Fischer, John Dewey – known as the ‘father’ of the modern critical thinking tradition defined critical thinking or ‘critico-creative thinking as â€Å"active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds which support it and the further conclusions to which it tends† (Fisher b, p. 2). Upon analyzing the definition of critical thinking as provided by Dewey, it simply means that critical thinking is an ‘active’ process or the process wherein the receiver of information or

How Do We Select Our Life Mates Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

How Do We Select Our Life Mates - Research Paper Example One of the theories that contemporary social science uses is called Five-factor personality traits model. This model uses five distinct characteristics to describe an individual’s personality. This assignment conducted a survey to determine self-portraits of 190 respondents through a set of questionnaires. Survey questionnaires were tailored to characterize respondents per Big-five model theory. The respondents then described the portrait of their expected life partners through the same questionnaires. This assignment conducts a literature review on mate selection process; uses the results of the survey to test several correlations between respondents’ self portraits and their mates' portraits. The assignment presents the results of the findings. How Do We Select Our Life mates? Introduction The man said, â€Å"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.† – this is said in the 23rd verse of the Genesis 2:23. The next verse, Genesis 2:24 says,† That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is to his wife, and they become one flesh (â€Å"BibleGateway.com†, n.d.). This is how everything started and until this day we ponder with the question how to select our life mates (Kim,n.d.). Choosing a life partner is one of the crucial decisions that all of us face in the lives. Unfortunately, neither our schools nor our society provides us with the foresight and knowledge needed to make the best possible choice (Kim, n.d.). In the process of adolescent development, an individual creates an identity, which contains a set of self-defined commitments (Klimstra, et.al., 2012). Two unique personalities with two separate identities in future create the nucleus of a new family. It can truly be compared with the birth of a new star. That is why; both social science and society spend enormous time to find the answer which two personalities may be the best combination as  a couple. The science has been struggling to find a theory that may be attributed to the mate selection process. Could it be ideal mate personality concept, dark triad concept, or big-five model of personality? The scope of this research does not constitute the goal in focusing on merits and demerits of various concepts in mate selection process; it rather analyzes the correlations between mate selection and big-five model of personality traits. Mate selection from cross-cultural and historical perspective strongly varies from country to country and culture to culture (â€Å"Introduction to Sociology†, n.d.; Figueredo, et.al., 2006). This process even in the same culture with the passage of time makes evolutionary or revolutionary changes. For example; sixty years from now in the USA this selection process predominately was based on how one’s parents felt about him or her, how stable his or her economic resources appeared to be, how healthy the person appeared to be, how good/moral his or her character appeared to be (â€Å"Introduction to Sociology†, n.d.). However, today it is not a selection but a search. Nonetheless, both selection and search have criteria. To identify the search criteria, this search conducted a qualitative survey focusing on the attributes of big five personality traits. Personality can be considered as a metric that describes a person’s character through quality, which makes one individual different from another individual. From the viewpoint of psychology, personality represents a dynamic concept that describes the growth and development of an individual’s entire mental system (Bedi, 2011). Even though, from the psychological viewpoint, one person’

Values of Early Childhood Education Essay Example for Free

Values of Early Childhood Education Essay Research Proposal The purpose of my proposed study is to analyze the values of early childhood education in the public schools system. There are several things that I hope to accomplish by conducting this research. This research will further illustrate how a sound foundation on certain skills enhances the readiness for those students entering kindergarten. This research will also provide possible solutions for kindergarten retention rates in the public schools system. I plan to investigate the answers to my questions using data, personal interviews with teachers, research based journals and magazines. I plan to utilize documents such as report cards and standardized test scores from schools. There are several sub-questions that I plan to examine such as: How and when do we know a child is ready for kindergarten? What measures are being used to assess the readiness of kindergarten? Why does full-day kindergarten work? I am a Kindergarten teacher who has benefited greatly from having a sound foundation early in my academic career. Therefore, I will keep an open mind throughout this paper and only state facts based on information found during my research. Parents, teachers, and other school employees are concerned with the issue of kindergarten readiness in today’s youth. Some districts start students in kindergarten based strictly on age. Other districts start students in kindergarten based on student’s scores from kindergarten screening tests. The screening tests are frequently administered by inexperienced employees (West). It is very difficult for a child to be confronted by a stranger, and perform several different tasks in a pressured testing atmosphere. Although these two ways have worked in our country for years, times are changing. Full-day kindergarten is also a growing trend throughout the nation that has had a positive impact on kindergarten retention nationwide (Atkins-Burnett and Meisels 37). This seems to be making up for the lack of unity in the kindergarten admission throughout the United States. Although it seems to be patching up everything properly this should not be used to patch up the mistakes of the way we decide on a child’s readiness to enter kindergarten. Mrs. Cheryl Mueller, former director of the Center for Child Development on the campus of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, states that these screening tests are mostly developed locally and claim to test things that are not important to the readiness of a child in kindergarten. At the Center for Child Development where Mrs. Mueller previously worked, the teachers must administer an evaluation two times during the school year which tests the child’s knowledge on several different tasks that determine the child’s readiness(see figure 1). Mueller believes that a pre-k program is imperative for a child to be fully prepared for kindergarten at age five. This should be the standard nationwide (Mueller). The â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† now in place across the country has raised the bar on pre-k classrooms nationwide. In 2006, pre-k school teachers were required to hold an associates’ degree (Tozer). With these standards being raised it ensured that proper education in a pre-k classroom would be take place and encourage more parents across the nation to get involved in placing their children in a pre-k program. This would significantly reduce the kindergarten retention rate says Mueller. There is no statewide standard, which prevents a lot of children from advancing to the first grade. The kindergarten retention rates continue to climb all over the country. The Education Statistics Services Institute states 40% of children that are retained in kindergarten are more likely to have behavioral problems, and set backs in social development with other children (West). This is why there should be four aspects that a district reviews in order to determine a child’s readiness for kindergarten including; social and emotional development, approaches to learning, communication, and cognitive development and general knowledge, and this should be a nationwide criteria. Social and emotional development in children of five years old is imperative in determining the readiness of a student for kindergarten. A student that is five years old, and ready for kindergarten should be able to do a certain check-list of activities including:  · Dresses self without help  · Tie shoelaces  · Balances on each foot  · Heel to toe walk  · Can count on fingers  · Knows own address and phone number  · Recognizes colors and common shapes  · Copies simple shapes (e. g. triangle or square)  · Able to print a few letters and numbers  · Draw a person with a head, body, arms, and legs  · Speaks in phrases that are understood by others  · Plays make believe and dress up  · Plays and shares with others  · Understands opposites  · Recalls parts of stories These are just some of the social and emotional aspects that should be nationally accepted to the guidelines for kindergarten readiness (Amos). These tasks should be evaluated by a pre-school teacher or by a highly qualified expert. A student’s developmental skills are also very important in evaluating a child’s readiness for kindergarten. They need to be able to complete several different tasks to function happily in the kindergarten classroom. These tasks include parts of speech and language, gross motor coordination, fine motor coordination, and social and emotional. In the speech and language section students need to ask meaning of words. This determines whether or not the child will be involved in the learning process in a classroom setting. The student must describe pictures and experiences. They must use appropriate verb tenses and grammar. This will ensure a core of knowledge for the kindergarten curriculum. Also, the student must recognize simple jokes, riddles, and absurdities. (Gisler and Eberts). The student’s gross motor coordination should also be an important factor in determining the child’s readiness for kindergarten. They must be able to walk downstairs using alternate feet, and hop on one-foot; this is to check the child’s balance and ability to walk. They must jump along a six- foot line with both feet. The student needs to be able to walk scissor steps across a line. Last, but not least, student must be able to begin to skip alternating feet. These evaluations are done in a few states nationwide. These evaluations do take place in certain districts in the state of Mississippi and are administered by properly trained educators. This needs to become a nationwide standard. (Williams) The next part of the evaluation should include fine motor coordination including using scissors to cut a straight line. It seems like an easy task but as a kindergarten teacher witnessing it first hand everyday; it is hard for students to complete this task. The child needs to copy a circle, square, and cross. This is to make sure the child is ready to learn extensive penmanship. This is also where students need to draw a person with a body, a head, and four limbs. This is not to see if there is an artist in the making, yet to see if children comprehend parts of the human body, and to see if they can distinguish their basic shapes. The final portion of this part of the evaluation should be social and emotional. This would include the child handling snaps, buckles, zippers, and possess the beginning knowledge of shoe tying. The child should be fully potty trained, and should independently take care of their own business in the bathroom. They should be able to dress and undress independently. This is very imperative especially with the laws and regulations between a student/ teacher relationship from kindergarten and beyond (Schweinhart and Zongping). A child also needs to be able to function in structured group activities with rules and discipline. The student needs to have sympathy for others in all situations. And, of course the golden rule, â€Å"Sharing is caring† all students need to partake in sharing and taking turns. If a child can complete these tasks they will be ready and able for the task at hand. â€Å"A child who is socially ready for school should be able to make friends, gets along with peers, and communicates well with teachers. Children who arrive at kindergarten with social competencies generally have an easier time forming relationships with their peers and better school outcomes† (Elovson 27). Dr. Elvoson has a good handle on this situation. The social aspect is often overlooked in most kindergarten evaluation tests, if the district even has any such test. A kindergartener should be able to ease in joining others in play, have an ability to make and keep friends, and positively interact with peers. There is a large percentage of students who interact with their peers who show positive social behaviors while a very small percentage show poor social development. Full-day kindergarten is a trend nationwide that is helping with the oversights, or lack of kindergarten evaluations. Full-day kindergarten has made state standards and standardized testing more advanced so, that at age five children will attain more knowledge academically, in better preparation for the first grade. It also gives teachers more time to get to know their students, and individualize their instruction. In turn, it gives students more time to learn all the academics that kindergarteners are required to learn. Having students in class over twenty hours a week has produced the increased studying of, all subject matter including: math, social studies, and science every day (Walston). This is preventing kindergarten retention. Kindergarten retention is another serious problem that could be avoided if we increased the rigor of the content on kindergarten evaluations. The pre-k tests that are administered at educational institutions such as the Center for Child Development Center in Hattiesburg takes the gross motor, fine motor, psycho/social, self-help, cognitive, homework, and reading/writing categories and put them into a mini-evaluation as shown in figure one. This is what every state should do for the kindergarten evaluation. In figure one a sheet is shown where the teachers that do the evaluation are told to show children ten colors. The children must point them out and recall the colors without any help from the instructor. Then, the child must pick out four shapes, and tell the instructor the names of four shapes. Next, the student is asked to count to ten. Following counting the numbers aloud the student must then look at flash cards of the numbers and distinguish them apart by name without any help from the instructor. The final step of part two in the evaluation consists of the alphabet. The students must say the entire alphabet without singing the alphabet. This is difficult even for adults. Then the students must recognize the alphabet as shown with flash cards, with again, no help for the instructor. These evaluations seem to work very well, and 95% of the Center for Child Development students goes on to pass kindergarten successfully (Mueller). In conclusion, there are some of these same techniques taking place in different parts of the United States today. Education is an essential part of growing up. Many children begin school at the age of 5 or 6, when they usually enter kindergarten. Kindergarten is where the foundation is set for a child’s long term educational progress. Some view kindergarten as a baby stage that is not important, but really it’s the first step that a child takes into the real world. The skills learned in kindergarten will be carried with the child forever. â€Å"Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand box at nursery school† (Fulghum 4). However, children’s learning capabilities are at there peak at earlier ages than that. Preschool is the special tool for an educated future, but few people pay attention to or care about preschool’s potential benefits. Children are valuable to the future of the country, but the government has largely ignored them. At the Federal level, the government should make it a law that every child should enter preschool and also create free preschools available to all families. Preschool is a tool that would improve our children’s performance in school by giving them a head start in education, lower the risk of being placed in special education or being held back a grade, developing social skills, and lowering the crime rate. Although you might think that preschool is just a place for parents to drop off their children while they are at work for the day, you’re wrong. It is in preschool where children learn the necessary skills needed to succeed in school and in life. It’s not only the children who reap the benefits of early childhood education; their parents, fellow peers, and even society feel the positive effects of quality preschool programs. Children enrolled in quality preschool programs are more likely to succeed academically and socially when they are older. In preschool your child will listen to poetry and songs building blocks needed to grasp phonics and reading skills when it is developmentally appropriate. The play that takes place with water, sand, and containers gives them the foundation for understanding some basic math concepts. Matching, sequencing, one-to-one correspondence are all activities that are done over and over in preschool settings and help children get ready to learn academics. Judy Packer, a pre-k teacher at French Elementary School in Jackson says, â€Å"Children learn more in their early years than they ever will again. With the dissolution of the extended family, the best way to support early learning is with publicly funded pre-K. † Quality pre-K programs helps children by helping them accomplish something all families want for them: success in K-12. School success in turn, is a path to life success – to children’s ability to graduate from high school, support themselves as adults, to own homes, stay out of trouble with the law, and eventually raise their own families. Referring back to Graduation by Maya Angelou she briefly described what it felt like to graduate from high school, as she tells the story, the importance of this day for Angelou grows beyond that of the typical graduation. These days preschool has a big impact on whether a student will graduate or not. Quality preschool boosts our K-12 schools by laying a learning foundation that enables children to arrive at kindergarten ready to learn, play and build on their self confidence. Preschool lifts a burden off our K-12 public schools by ensuring that all children have the chance to start strong in school. Kindergarten teachers know from experience what a positive contribution preschool makes toward children’s success in school, also the kindergarten teachers see first hand the difference between kids who have experienced quality preschool and those who haven’t. References Amos, Denise. â€Å"No More Nappy Time-Kindergarten’s Serious†. Enquirer 06 April. 2005: 4-7 Atkins-Burnett, Sally, and Samuel J. Meisels. Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention. New York: Cambridge, 2000. Elovson, Allana PhD. The Kindergarten Survival Handbook: The Before School Checklist a Guide for Parents. New York: Parent Ed Resources, 1993 Fulghum, Robert. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. New York: Ballantine, 1986 Gisler, Peggy Ed. S. , and Marge Eberts Ed. S.. â€Å"Education Q A with†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Family Education Online (2005): 4 pars. 17 Nov. 2005 Meisels, S. J. , S. Atkins-Burnett, and J. Nicholson. â€Å"Assessment of social Competence, Adaptive behaviors, and Approaches to Learning with Young Children. † National Center for Education Statistics (1996) 6 Nov. 2005 Mueller, Cheryl. Conference Call. 5 March. 2009 Packer, Judy. Personal Interview. 24 March. 2009 Schweinhart, Lawrence J., and Xiang Zongping. â€Å" The Michigan School Readiness Program Evaluation through Age 10. † High Scope Ed (2002):3-9. 23 Nov. 2005 Tozer, Steven E. , Guy Senese, and Paul C. Violas. School and Society Historical Contemporary Perspectives fifth edition. New York: McGraw, 2002. Walston, Jill. Education Statistics Services Institute 28 June 2004-cited in Ellovoson West, Jerry. â€Å"Delaying Kindergarten: Effects on Test Scores and Childcare Costs. † Education Week Magazine 27 Feb 2004:1-3 West, Jerry. Education Statistics Services Institute 07 June 2004-cited in Ellovoson.

Merger and Acquisitions Theories in Management

Merger and Acquisitions Theories in Management Management theory and practice Mergers and acquisitions are a main means by which single and individuals are able to grow and then enter the new markets. After this happens, the competitive structure of the whole industries may alter radically in a span of a short time. Mergers are the unifications of two or even more firms into forming a new one whereas acquisitions are the companys purchases of the majority of the shares from another. Mergers and acquisitions can also represent a major mechanism through which the firms that are national are able to become multinational firms. The cost and benefit analysis of the mergers and acquisitions affect the decision by the managers and the shareholders of whether to take up a specific merger and acquisition. The decision by the employees also can lead to the acceptance or refusal of the merger and acquisition (Paul Simon 2). In this paper, I am going to research on why the employee-related issues prevent the succeeding of a merger or acquisition. The modern business environment is characterized by change that is continuous in nature. Every organization is considered as a system where work, process, system, people are all aligned in order to ensure that the unit of the individual, individual and overall systems are well fit to deliver the strategies of the organization. The objective of the integrative process is to integrate people, processes, technologies and strategy without interrupting service, quality or product and not only to combine financial standing of any two companies. Employees issues in relation to the integration phase always relate to the human capital related integration issues such as integration of the culture of the organization, leadership, organization structure and design, processes and systems and retention of the key talent. The other important issues are effective planning for the purpose of integration, employee communications, and the selection of good leaders to manage the business combination and the creation of practices and policies for knowledge sharing and learning and also the transfer. The failure to address the issues that concern merger and acquisition impacts the new and current organization very negatively at the stage of post-merger in two levels. One of these two levels is the individual level and the reactions of the individual employees are insecurity, powerlessness, alienation, a drop in productivity, loss of energy and the rise in absenteeism which increases turnover and profits. Other stress factors include the performance evaluation criteria, the loss of control over the life of the professional and also the alterations in the reporting relationships which would also impact the merger or the acquisition adversely or negatively. There are also many other psychological impacts which result from the merger activity. These are lifestyle instability, loss of confidence, depression, anxiety among others and these symptoms may lead to large-scale industrial strikes at times (Nilanjan and Bhattacharya 143). From this we can find that due to these impacts, the employees can resist the mergers and or acquisition in their companies. The other level is the corporate level and at this level the impacts are long-term in the cultural integration, organization structure and design, processes and systems. The failure to tackle these issues in the phase of planning of the merger process can lead to outcomes such as benefits integration, high financial costs, incompatible HR plans and policies, inadequate communication to the employees, insufficient provisions and reserves for risks that had not been discovered and/or improperly evaluated, inefficient financial accounting for the integration costs, the loss of loyalty of the employees leading to the high turnover rates, the dilemma of the workforce reduction, reduced productivity and finally leads to lowered employee morale (Nilanjan and Bhattacharya 144). These issues are the ones that drive the employees to be against and protect the mergers and acquisitions. The strategic combinations of the mergers and acquisitions have a dramatically greater chance of success in terms of providing the added value to all employees, and shareholders. The success could also be experienced in justifying of the acquisition premium when they are led, designed and implemented with these four elements. The first element is the integrative perspective in which the mergers need to be seen as combinations that try to balance the interplay of the organizational architecture and organizational strategy with the guiding principles of the management of the change. The second element is the designed integration which is the scope, intensity and degree of the integration and should be driven by elementary business case for the merger or acquisition which defines integration process. The third is the differential leadership because leadership is very vital and different leaders have different roles. The leadership roles should be considered and assigned at the initial stages because this could bring confusion at the late stages. Lastly, the expanded due diligence factor is considered where the organizational issues are discussed. In this case, the organizational diligence is made a crucial part of the merger and the acquisition chain of events as is the due financial and legal diligence. An example of the job losses caused by mergers and acquisitions and also the reduction of salaries of the members of banks is the European banking sector. Since the start of 1990s, the European banking sector has witnessed massive job losses and the decrease of the salaries of the employees who were left. The impact of these job losses has been greater in the Northern Europe rather than in the southern Europe. The employment in the sector of insurance has also been affected as a result of mergers and acquisition. The nature and quality of the employment has greatly changed from the year 2000 in Europe (Paul and Simon 2002: 45). The reductions of employment have affected the branch administrative and networks functions. The older workers with the conventional banking skills who do not qualify and therefore not transferable easily to the new developed and centralized functions, for example those that work in the call centers, are affected adversely. These are the people who may rise ag ainst any mergers and/or acquisitions and also the banks may consider these people and reach a decision not to accept any mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions have been known to accelerate corporate practices because the enterprises tend to review the whole cost structure entailing the mergers and acquisitions with the aim of identifying the very maximum savings that are possible. The job losses have increased greatly from 17.5% to 24% due to many mergers and acquisitions. A merger and/or acquisition also referred to as a takeover invalidates in many ways the employment contract. The employee works for someone else without having taken the required steps to change his or her employers. This brings into clear view in an emphatic manner the one-sidedness of the employment relationship and also the idea that the employees do not have any control over the decision of who their employers are. The mergers and/or acquisitions are described as the legitimate means for breaking the implicit contracts in the view of restructuring (Paul and Simon 2002: 183). The mergers are seen as avenues to disrupt job security that the employees have held for long periods and therefore are bound to disrupt the process of mergers and/or acquisitions. These mergers and acquisitions appear to the employees as deliberate strategies to violate the internal norms and also as a hard, brute exercise of powers and therefore they can prevent the succeeding of the mergers and acquisitions. The integrating of the different company procedures and systems requires the harmonization of the different aspects of terms and conditions that apply to the employment signings. These include job titles, pay scales, job descriptions, entitlements and benefits, supervisory and reporting lines are all subjected to revision in order to ensure that there is common practice in the new mergers and acquisitions. These changes may make the employees to reject any mergers and acquisitions. The mergers and the acquisitions upset the links between explicit and implicit contracts in accompany that was in the past based on trust between workers and managers, they are presently founded on assumptions and beliefs regarding mutual responsibility between employees and employers. The integration, merger and acquisition also requires the harmonization of the different aspects of conditions and terms of the employment to ensure that common practice in the combined organization which may alter the existing practices of the human resource and management of either or even both of the organizations. Workers or employees have also considered the lack of incentives due to mergers and acquisitions. There is no transparency in the reward systems and the mergers also lead to contradiction between performance assessments that focus on personal contribution and the objectives that require team-based work. The employees therefore call for better balanced team-based and individual rewards. This is supported by trade unions where they argue that the alterations to the psychological contract which include erosion in the job security are not well reflected in the enterprise reward systems after the mergers and acquisitions. This decreased job security, increased workloads, stress and anxiety are other significant consequences of the heightened merger and acquisitions activity. These factors coupled with lowered morale and also a deterioration of the organization performance has led the employees to be against the implementation of mergers, takeovers and acquisition. This human side of the acquisitions and mergers is all about the overall impact that mergers and/or acquisitions have on the employees in a certain company. These impacts on the psychological difficulties that the employees experience, the culture clashes which may emerge in companies during the post-merger integration period. Finally the ways in which these outcomes manifest themselves that include communication breakdowns, there is also the we-they mentality that occurs between the inclusive organizations in the merger and acquisitions, minimized commitment, reductions in productivity, organizational struggles for power and also office politicking and at last the loss of the key and main organizational members. All these factors combined include the employee issues that affect the realization of mergers and acquisitions (Anthony and James 3). Through research through face to face interviews, a writer concluded that the employees were an important asset to the companies and that they should be considered when the management decides on mergers and acquisitions. Through an interview with an employee of a company that had undergone acquisition, Hayes was told that the employees would not make any move because they were told that their methods were outdated and that they would have to readjust to the new companys way of conducting their activities. He indicated that when he tried to complain to the corporate about the situation, he was warned that if he squawked too loud, his position would be in jeopardy. This resulted to the destruction of the company morale and with time, the main people started leaving and it did not take much time before he also resigned (Hayes 1981: 131). If the company had taken into consideration all complains of their employers, they would have retained their experienced workers and this would increas e the productivity levels. Acquisition and mergers can adequately transform the organizational processes, systems, structures and also cultures of one or both of the companies involved that the employees will often feel confused, frustrated, frightened, stressed or even frustrated and therefore whenever the employees of a particular company here of any merger and/or acquisition they are ready to prevent the realization of the same. On the personal level, these feelings often lead to psychosomatic difficulties, sense of loss, marital discord and at the extreme level, they can lead to suicide. On the level of organization, these feelings are manifested in lowered productivity and commitment, increased disloyalty and dissatisfaction, increased turnover among the key managers, power and leadership struggles especially among the managers who remain in the organization and finally an increase in the dysfunctional work-related behaviors at all the levels of the hierarchy. These impacts on the employee and by the empl oyee are issues that negatively affect the mergers and acquisitions. It is reported that in the 3000 and above mergers that occurred in the year 1985, so many employees estimated to be more than ten thousand lost their jobs and others were forced to accept early retirement (Kanter and Segger-man 1986: 17). It was also estimated that by the year 1990, there will be 2500 savings and loans and 5400 banks that would be involved in mergers and these would affect more than 900, 000 people in the United States. In the year 2009, it was noted that there were decreasing mergers and acquisition activities and that also the credits were tightening. One of the reasons of a successful merger and transaction activity is the compensation which is never done and if it is done it is only given to the executives. The compensation can be a powerful tool to motivate the management and its team to influence positive outcomes in the activity involving mergers and acquisition. This has not been the case in the recent past and the employees are laid off without being paid well leading to the negative feelings that they experience shortly afterwards. This can explain the reduction of the merger and acquisition activity because the employees through their managers are able to prevent the realization or completion of a merger and/or acquisition owing to the fact that they are not compensated. In the recent past there was the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by the Bank of America, there was a problem in the executive pay and compensation and this led to a very expensive roadblock to the desired transaction. A report by the PricewaterhouseCooper indicates that the merger and acquisition activity has decreased 86 percent from the year 2008, the previous year. In addition to these statistics, when the High Court approves the schemes of arrangement of a merger, it takes into account the workers interests. The scheme of arrangement must provide for adequate protection for the employees service benefits and conditions. If the scheme shows otherwise, the High court does not agree to the terms and conditions of the merger and therefore we find that the issues of the employee are considered. The organizational behavior is always reflected by acquisition behavior, the relative size and the cultural compatibility. Global mergers and acquisitions are the main corporate strategies which the multinational corporations use to diversify, expand or even consolidate their businesses. In the year 2006, there was a recorded worldwide annual value of the acquisition transactions exceeded US $ 4 trillion (Larsen 2007: 23). This trend was also recorded in the year 2007 where the worldwide transaction value of the acquisitions in only the first 3 months ranged at US $ 1.13trillion which was the highest busiest recorded quarter ever in history (Saigol and Politi 2007: 145). However, almost 83%of these transactions were unsuccessful (KPMG, 1999; Sirower 1997). A considerable amounts of research developed that the failures were caused by the absence of a national cultural fit which is the cultural distance of the workers and employees (Rottig and Reus 2006: 340). This may lead to cultural problems and clashes among the involved workforces. This in return lowers the employee cooperation and commitment, cause voluntary turnover of the acquired top managers and could also complicate the process of post-acquisition integration (Very and Schweiger 2001:22). The cultural distance might have some positive results but it is among the high points that lead to the failure of the mergers and acquisitions and it is an employee-related issue. The organizational culture which is defined as the interdependent and interrelated system of practices, beliefs, norms and assumptions that the members of the organization bear collectively should be put into consideration before a merger and/or acquisition because when they are altered extensively after the merger, the employees will tend to work against them and this will not promote success of the merger and/or acquisition. The assumptions, norms and practices could be unconscious which are learnt through the socialization of the organization and often reflect the shared perceptions of the daily practices and also determine the things that are carried out within an organization (Gertsen, et al. 1998: 123). An example is the acquisition of the Tokyo Bank by the Mitsubishi Bank in the year 2003. These two organizations had very dissimilar organization cultures. The employees of the Mitsubishi Bank shared a common cultural norm of being to work on time, wearing only white shirts while at work and also thanking their department supervisors and managers in person for any monthly pay checks. But in contrast, the employees of Tokyo Bank were not used to strict dress code and being reprimanded for getting to work late and they also had no duty to carry out a thanksgiving ceremony as they collected their monthly salaries. After the acquisition activity, a huge number of the employees of the Tokyo Bank were alienated by the strict culture of the Mitsubishi Bank and they left the combined company voluntarily. This was in the United States. This is an example of how the employee-related issues could lead to unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions. Poor communication between the employees of the same company after a merger or an acquisition could lead to problems of integration in both the domestic and the international mergers and/or acquisitions. This may cause unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions and it is an employee-related issue. On the other hand, the international acquisitions are characterized by ethnocentrism; nationalistic attitudes; xenophobia and language barriers (Vaara 2003: 864) and these could lead to the failure of the mergers and acquisitions. Work cited Nilanjan Sengupta and Bhattacharya Mousumi. Managing change in organizations.PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Anthony Buono and James Bowditch. The human side of mergers and acquisitions: managing collisions between people, cultures and organizations. Chicago: Beard Books, 2003 Kanter, R and Seggerman, T. managing mergers, acquisitions, and divestiures. Management review, Oct 1986, pp 16-17. Hayes, R. what happens to my people after I sell? The human side of acquisition. In S. J. Lee and R. D. Colman (eds.), handbook of mergers, acquisitions and buyouts. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1981. Paul Temple and Simon Peck. Mergers and Acquisitions: critical perspectives on business and management. : Taylor Francis, 2002. Thomas Straub. Reasons for frequent failure in mergers and acquisitions. Germany: DUV, 2007. Rottig, D. Reus, T.H. Organizational and national cultures consequences for acquisition performance: A meta-analysis, Paper presented at Southern Management Association, Clearwater Beach, 2006. Saigol, L. Politi, J. MA volume tops $1,000bn, Financial Times, March 30: 13, 2007. KPMG. Mergers and Acquisitions: Global Research Report 1999. London: KPMG, 1999. Gertsen, M., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J.E. Cultural Dimensions of International Mergers and Acquisitions, Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 1998 Gertsen, M.C., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J.E. Different concepts of culture, in Gertsen, M. C., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J. E., editors (eds.) Cultural Dimensions of International Acquisitions, Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 1998. Vaara, E. Post-acquisition integration as sense making: Glimpses of ambiguity, confusion, hypocrisy, and politicization, Journal of Management Studies, 40(4): 859-94, 2003 Very, P. Schweiger, D.M. The acquisition process as a learning process: Evidence from a study of critical problems and solutions in domestic and cross-border deals, Journal of World Business, 36(1): 11-31, 2001. Sirower, M.L. The Synergy Trap: How Companies Lose the Acquisition Game, Free Press: New York, 1997.

How to Have Effective Communitcation

How to Have Effective Communitcation Lets throw some light upon what Communication is all about: According to Allen, Communication is the sum of all the things, one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of others. It is the bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding. IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: Effective communication is important because one needs to express his ideas clearly and needs to be understood very clearly while communicating. The receiver should understand the message in the same perception as intended by the sender of the message. This is what we call an effective communication. Interestingly though, there are other facets to effective communication when it comes to written communication, popularly known as Seven Cs of Effective Communication. THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IN AN ORGANISATION: Communication is the key to motivation, it helps in informing and illuminating the employees about the task to be carried out, the manner they should be performing their task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. An Effective Communication is the best source of information to the members of organization for decision-making process as it helps identifying and evaluate alternative course of actions. Communication also plays a fundamental role in altering an individuals attitude, i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employees attitudes. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. Human is a social animal and survival without communication is neither possible nor fruitful. Communication also assists in controlling process in a big way. It helps controlling organizational members behavior in various ways. It is the art of getting work done. There are various levels of hierarchy, certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their roles efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management. TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: Letters Memos Circulars Bulletin Reports Instruction cards Manuals In Order to perfect the art of written communication, we have a helping hand known as the Seven Cs Of Communication The principles advocated by Francis J. Bergin. These principles provide guidelines for choice of content, style of presentation, how much is too much etc. Lets take tour of the same. THE SEVEN Cs OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATON For transmitting effective communication written or oral messages, certain principles must be followed. These principles advocated by Francis J. Bergin. Bergin provides guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation adapted to the purpose the receiver of the message. They are also called as Seven Cs of communication. They are: Completeness Conciseness Clarity Correctness Concreteness Consideration Courtesy COMPLETENESS Every communication must be complete and adequate. Incomplete messages keep the receiver guessing, creates misunderstanding and delay actions. Every person should, therefore, be provided with all the required facts and figures. For example, when the factory supervisor instructs workers to produce, he must specify the exact size, shape, quality and cost of the product. Any assumptions behind the message should also be clarified. While answering a letter, all the questions raised in the letter must be replied. A complete message offers the following benefits: Complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results without the expense of additional messages. They can do a better job of building goodwill. Messages that contain information the receiver needs show concern for others. Complete messages can help advert costly lawsuit that may result if information is missing. Communication that seems inconsequential can be surprisingly important if the information they contain is complete and effective. It is advised that while answering a letter one should make sure that all the questions are answered. The message is not complete, if it fails to answer questions like : What is the meeting about? When is it? and Where? CONCISENESS In business communication, you should be brief and able to say whatever you have to say in fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C qualities. A concise message is complete without being wordy. Conciseness is desired because of the following benefits: A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and receiver. Conciseness contributes to emphasis; by eliminating unnecessary words, you let important ideas stand out. When combined with a YOU-VIEW, concise message are inherently more interesting to recipients as they avoid unnecessary information. There is no hard and fast rule for the length of a letter. A two page letter seems short, while a ten line letter may seem all too long depending upon the event and situation. CLARITY The message should be put in simple terms to ensure clarity. Words must mean the same thing to receiver as they do the sender. Complex issues must be compressed in to themes, slogans or stereotypes that have simplicity and clarity. In order to ensure clarity in oral communications, you should use accurate and familiar words with proper intonation, stresses and pauses. Thoughts should be clear and well organized. The important considerations in attaining clarity are as follows: Choose precise, concrete and familiar simple words. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs. In short, simple and short words are more effective than pompous and heady words. Using the K-I-S-S Method Keep It Short and Simple! If the message does not help recognizes who actually the person is? It may be possible to have many people with same name in an organisation. What great work he/she has done? When? And what he/she is expected to do now? It is not a clear message. CORRECTNESS The term correctness, as applied to business messages means right level of language and accuracy of facts, figures and words. If the information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose credibility. Transmission of incorrect information to superior will vitiate decision making process. Transmission of incorrect messages, grammatical errors should also be avoided. All the messages must be transmitted and responded to at the most appropriate time. Outdated information is useless. Since communication is an expensive process, transmitting outdated information involves wastage of time, money and human resources. The principle of correct timing also stipulates that you communicate your message at a time when it is likely to prove most effective. CONCRETENESS Concreteness of messages is an essential requirement of effective communication. It means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. In oral communication, we cant draw tables, diagrams, or graphs to make our statement vivid, but we can precise words to convey the correct messages and support it by relevant facts and figures. If the message is specific, there would be increased likelihood that the message is interpreted by the receiver as intended by sender. For sending concrete messages, the following guidelines should be followed: Use concrete expressions. Use specific facts and figures. Put action in your verbs. Choose vivid, image-building words. Facts lend credibility to our communication since it is not possible to refute them. Concrete expressions create visual images that are easy to register. So instead of vague, generalized statements, definite facts should be given. The statements with no passion, no vivid detail, having nothing that creates emotion and nothing that tells people in the audience why they should care does not work well. CONSIDERATION Consideration means preparing the message with the receiver in mind. In order to communicate effectively, the sender should think and look from the receivers angle. He should adopt a humane approach and understand the emotions and sentiments of the receiver. The socio-psychological background of the receiver must be understood. The golden rule First understand than be understood should be followed. It should be noted that consideration underlies the other 6 Cs of the communication. Four special ways to indicate considerations are as follows: Focus on You instead of I and We. Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver. Emphasis positive, pleasant facts. Show empathy. Ask how you would feel if you were to receive this message. Consideration also requires emphasizing positive and pleasant facts. To say no, sorry,regret,disagree should not be used in direct and straight forward manner. COURTESY Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of please and thank you, although applying socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy. Rather it is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others. In business discussions, you should say things with force and assertiveness without being rude. The following guidelines should be observed to ensure courtesy: Thank generously for a favour. When someone does a favour to us, acknowledge it promptly and thank the person. Apologize for an omission. If you had committed a mistake, express regret promptly and sincerely. Avoid irritating expressions. Words and expressions having negative connotation should not be used in the message. Use of non-discriminatory expressions that reflect equal treatment of people regardless of gender, race, ethics, origin and physical features. Below mentioned are some useful guidelines to advice staff members in the organization on how to best communicate effectively: 12 guidelines: Take sufficient time to effectively communicate. Care. Learn to be empathic. Be honest and sincere. One of the cruelest things one can do to another person is to not acknowledge that person. Develop a sense of belonging when interacting with others. Be welcoming and inclusive. Regularly, in your daily life, interact with persons whose culture, race, ethnicity and other identifiers and important characteristics are different than your own. Welcome persons with disabilities. Person with a disability is the preferred manner of speech, versus disabled person. Place the person before the disability. Spend quality time with persons whose backgrounds are different than yours. Set an example by being welcoming and inclusive to everyone. Learn to pronounce names correctly. Make a concerted effort to do so and to remember names.

Self-Validation and Social Acceptance Essay -- Culture Cultural Essays

People often need to have validation from themselves, in regard to both their sexuality and general self, before being able to be accepted others. Too often this important fact is disregarded by today's culture and societal norm. This appears to be a recurring theme throughout the many passages and articles we have read in class, as well as in various piece of fictional literature. I will be using the 1991 film "Paris Is Burning," a short work of fiction by Jane S. Fancher called "Moonlover and the Fountain of Blood," the lecture given by Carolyn Dinshaw on the twenty-third of September, and Cherrie Moraga's "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind" to support my thesis. Originally, I started thinking about this paper in a manner quite different from that which will be shown here. I thought I knew everything I had learned and that I could take a single idea and 'run with it,' as the saying goes. Then I began reviewing the articles and rereading my classmates' posts. I have always had an unusual interest in how 'outsiders' interact with a society that tends to be somewhat exclusive. Being on the receiving end to this sometimes painful exclusiveness, having had a disability from an early age, the ideas of censorship and prohibition toward people discovering themselves intrigued me. Due to illness, I watched "Paris Is Burning" after sending in my original plan for this paper. I was impressed by the complexity of the homosexual community in New York during the eighties. Despite the fact that all of these men were living outside of societal norms, they had a sense of belonging and home. They created Houses and families to replace what they had lost, but also to give them something they had not experienced in their previous liv... ...Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity, ed. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi, New York, Routeledge. 7. 234. Moraga, Cherrie (1996), "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind," in Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity, ed. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi, New York, Routeledge. 8. 234. Moraga, Cherrie (1996), "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind," in Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity, ed. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi, New York, Routeledge. 9. 238. Moraga, Cherrie (1996), "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind," in Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity, ed. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi, New York, Routeledge. 10. Moraga, Cherrie (1996), "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind," in Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity, ed. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi, New York, Routeledge,

Hamlet: The Dog Will Have His Day :: essays research papers

"The Dog will have his Day" When fear overcomes individuals, it acts like a "poison"; it paralyses them, which forces them to escape. In the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare reveals how it is human nature for people to run and hide from a quandary. Hamlet being burdened with the sins of Denmark tries to find a proper escape that will not force him to take decisive action. To Shakespeare the desire for escape is an unpredictable one. Eventually fate has its way; a person can try to avoid it but it will eventually devour you. All too often when the jaws of fate open, people set up complications to stumble over so they don't have to face the belly of the beast. This allows them to start fabricating excuses for their apparent lack of action. Ostensibly, Hamlet "seems" to be a man of power and heart. Yet under all the ranks and nobility, he is nothing more than a coward that can not accept the idea of his fate. When Hamlet is given the role of vigilante he "swears" that he is man enough for the job. However when Hamlet does not kill Claudius outright, he begins to lose his vigor. The prince suspiciously admits that he is "mad" and uses it as an excuse to keep prolonging the inevitable fate that he must face. By toppling over this hurdle, Hamlet tries to find reasons why he does not have the tenacity for revenge. Running from the jaws of fate, Hamlet continually defies his solemn oath to his father. Even though a person tries to avoid the beast, they don't understand that it dominates their life. It is in places where they would least expect it. In Hamlet's case this problem is something that he can not just simply avoid; not only does it dominate his life but it starts to take over his conscious state like a "poison". He is constantly reminded of the molestation that his incestuous uncle has just inflicted on Denmark. For a sinful King is the same as a sinful country and someone must save the nation's people from those transgressions. Yet Hamlet does not want to acknowledge that he is the savior. Nevertheless fate continually shows Hamlet through coincidental instances that he must do what he "swore" to do. While in the Church, Hamlet looks over while in the confession box and sees Claudius confessing his sins to God.

Free Essays: The Weak Gods of Iliad, Odyssey and Epic of Gilgamesh :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Weak Gods of The Iliad, Odyssey and Gilgamesh    The Oxford English Dictionary defines god as Ã’1. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient ruler and originator of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheist religions. 2. A being of supernatural powers, believed in and worshipped by a people.Ó The first definition reflects Modern AmericaÕs connotation of the word god. The latter recalls the Ancient Greco-Sumerian ideal of a being greater than man. While both definitions are equally valid in literature, many perceive the word only in the first view. However, the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Epic of Gilgamesh portray gods with limits and weaknesses. The contemporary Christian god is able to demand things of his followers, readily expecting wholehearted and unquestioning obedience. This was not the case with his ancient counterparts.    Rather than exacting demands upon their followers, occasionally the ancient gods were limited to requests. Often they were refused. In the Odyssey, the goddesses Circe and Calypso both expected lifelong commitments from the mighty Odysseus. Both promised great things to the hero, including godhood. Odysseus was able to refuse both goddesses. Human obstinacy beat out the whims of goddesses. If the Protestant god were to make sexual demands upon his followers, more than likely, he would not be refused. One could argue, though, that Odysseus did give in to the goddesses by bedding them. Always though, his focus eventually shifted to returning home and reuniting with his mortal wife. Homer portrayed a man who refused immortal beauty for true love: Ã’She is mortal after all, and you are immortal and ageless. But even so, what I want and all my days I pine for is to go back to my house and see my day of homecoming. And if some god batters me far out on the wide blue water, I will endure it, keeping a stubborn spirit within me, for I have already suffered much (93-94).Ó Thus, the mortal Odysseus was able to deny the temptations of the goddesses multiple times. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, another goddessÕ whims are put down. Ishtar, goddess of war and love becomes attracted to the mighty but mortal Gilgamesh. But rather than jumping right into the sack with

Causes of Prejudice

Prejudice is an opinion that is not based on actual evidence or experience. In â€Å"Causes of Prejudice,† Vincent Parillo describes the psychological and sociological reasons of prejudice. Among these causes, frustration is defined to produce a prejudicial attitude towards others. Parillo explains in his work that throughout history, minority groups have been used as scapegoats to take the blame for certain events. He clarifies that scapegoating is the act of blaming others for an incident that is not their fault.This idea is also visible in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in the art where a lawyer named Atticus tries to prove an African American innocent who has been falsely charged with raping a white woman. Therefore, both Parillo's â€Å"Causes of Prejudice† and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird support that frustration is a cause of prejudice because of an increase in aggression towards a scapegoat. To begin with, frustration is caused by relative deprivation, which is the lack of resources in an individual's environment when compared to others.This results in aggression towards a scapegoat in order to relieve this tension. â€Å"Frustrated people ay easily strike out against the perceived cause of their frustration. However, this reaction may not be possible because the true source of the frustration is often too nebulous to be identified or too powerful to act against† (Parillo 583). His view is also seen in To Kill a Mockingbird, when Mayella Ewell claims Tom Robinson has raped her. Atticus tries to prove to the Jury that Tom Robinson in fact did not rape Mayella and that she, a white woman, kissed Tom, a black man.Mayella is an Ewell; a very poor family in the town of Maycomb and therefore she has to live through tough onditions which include living behind the garbage dump, barely having any money to support her dad and seven siblings, as well as being beaten by her own father. Most importantly, she is frustrated t hat she always feels dissatisfied with her life since she was never able to experience any happiness by being isolated from the rest of the world. Therefore, she tries to at least kiss a black man to feel some sense of happiness.When she realizes it is condemned by society, her frustration increases partly because society is not allowing her to have a small amount of happiness, and o she shows her aggression by blaming Tom Robinson for raping her. In addition, aggression resulted from frustration is pinpointed towards scapegoats because they share similar characteristics of being vulnerable to blame. â€Å"The group must be (1) highly visible in physical appearance or observable customs and acations; (2) not strong enough to strike back; (3) situated within easy access of the dominant group .. † (Parillo 584). To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in southern Alabama in the 1930's. This was the time period where prejudice against African Americans was present. Segregation was pre sent because having white skin was een to be better than having black skin. This simple difference in skin color resulted in an unfair treatment of African Americans. Separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, churches, and schools resulted for African Americans and whites. Also, since whites felt that the blacks were inferior to them, they tended to assume all blacks were unintelligent.When Mayella copes with her frustration of being isolated from the rest of the world by blaming Tom Robinson, the court looks at his skin color instead of the evidence given tor this case. Even though Atticus provides plenty ot evidence that roves that it was impossible for Tom to commit the rape of Mayella, Tom is still found guilty because even if Mayella is part of the lower class of Maycomb, she is still a white woman, making her superior to Tom Robinson.It is evident that frustration plays an important role in determining prejudicial attitudes. Both the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and â€Å"Causes of Prejudice† by Vincent Parillo, agree that frustration is caused by relative deprivation and when aggression forms, the blame is placed on scapegoats. These scapegoats share similar characteristics which allow them to be vulnerable to the blame that falls upon them.

Analysis of the Credit Card Industry in Turkey Essay

The veritable Turkish governance is very master western and secular, however its divided ghostly loyalties, stretch forths surrounding Greek sovereignty rights and fundamentalist groups threaten the expected 5 twelvemonth constancy of this administration. governing body involvement in banking The Turkish Government has a recital of involvement in banking affairs which is of absorb to worldwide investors. The Turkish state owns and finances a number of its banks and provides artificial st powerfulness to the banking system with state funded initiatives. The Government has similarly tailored remunerations in line with inflation range e. g. negligible wages pass judgment. With new-fangled IMF hinderance the grand term plan for joker is exempt non absolutely clear. EU rank and file The Turkish Government is pro EU membership and this is electric electric potential droply the biggest paradigm lean on the horizon for duds pecuniary system, this factor is farth er dealt with as a key number one wood. economic wager Rates Low come to pass judgment in jokester fuel give take-up and go for ca practised extend in credence notification issue. Historically high(prenominal) interest rates guide to to a greater extent than widespread loan default and meant that little switching occurred as consumers were tied to provider.Economic growth in turkey, with higher aims of affection and upper income, urban dwelling professionals and bump access to continuing bringing up has doubtless affixd cite fluff take-up. (This could similarly be construed as a kind factor). Global financial crisis The nitty-grittys of the worldwide financial crisis entrust have a major effect on banking restrictions to impart and quote availability in dud. bombs export martplaceplaces pull up stakes be likely affected by the current crisis which has a major effect on GDP which in subprogram affects victimisation up agency. Social Higher standard of activeHigher standards of living among consumers have a practiced blame on effect for ascribe menus issuers. In bomb 7. 5% of GDP is invested back into tuition thus consumers argon more financial savvy. urban/Rural Divide Urban dwellers have a some(prenominal) higher likelihood of mention card subr issueine given their potential for access of issue and probability of a steady wage earning role. As the economy develops Turks atomic number 18 progressively moving off the land from sickly paying seasonal work to the cities that tenderise a go chance of regular income and personal development. Technology E mer coffin nailtile systemWorth in excess of 2 quantityion euro to the economy and with 16 billion pot accessing the meshing E-Commerce is a grand growth area and potential dispersal ship for the citation card exertion. It is as well a medium for information dictated purchasing by dint of advertising potential and its access is yeted by t elephone technology integration. SMART Cards The security afforded to the conviction card industry through physical exertion of SMART cards has a beneficial affect on usage through 1. Increased level of merchants accepting the preparation 2. dish out protection for use in mesh Cafes (here broad rime access the internet) 3.Security of service has become a line of business for competition among issuers coupled with the above technologies, the enlargement in EPOS facilities mean more access to products and services through course confidence card use, homogenising the myriad of potential minutes and benefiting both consumer and merchant. ATMs also have further facilities to enhance the benefits of using plastic such as bill pay, sprightly kiosks etc. Legal interpellation of Government/Key official Institutions thither have been widespread alters in the rectitude in Turkey affect the quotation card industry such as 1. Restriction on credit card limits . Illegal ity of altering terms without informing consumer 3. Increases in minimum payment required 4. The interchange Banks demoralizeing of the interest rate cap 5. Loosening of the frameworks roughly mergers and acquisitions All of these interventions alter the bewitchingness of the market for the credit card industry, which was historically fraught(p) with lack of regulation and anti-consumer practises. Identify the 4 KEY DRIVERS FACING THE CREDIT nib SECTOR 1. Technological Advances 2. State interjection in Financial Affairs 3. EU membership 4. Rural-Urban Migration Technological AdvancesThe rapidly progress technology in the field of energetic payment ordain have a lasting effect on the credit card industry. Companies that can stay forth of the game with fresh technologies in security, pretend management and result be beaver placed to benefit from increased A physical credit card is genuinely simply a vehicle to withhold a magnetic strip containing coded information. In terms of technology this is already quite an dated Already systems are designed to swipe a card on a merchants mobile phone, this will allow for a myriad of services which will no all-night require cash transaction e. g. bridle-path traders. Advances in retina scanning technology are also at an advanced level and it is envisaged that the futurity of mobile payments whitethorn be through facial recognition or retina scanning. Other technology such as what is used in The Baja Beach parliamentary procedure in Barcelona where they inject a rice-size VeriChip RFID kink into the wrist or upper fort of its patrons whom pay by swiping their arm equal from http//www. creditcards. com/credit-card-news/credit-cards-of-the-distant-future State Intervention The level of further state intervention in Turkeys financial affairs will be a key driver in Turkeys future credit card success or decline.As we have seen, exits by the government to regulate the industry have squeeze on the po tential earnings of the banks through lowering interest rates. In procedure this type of regulation has stabilised the markets and led to economic growth which impacts positively on numbers of consumers for sale to the celestial sphere. Whether the current republican Democracy in Turkey will be in power expiry forward is obviously of importance to this argument. With elections collectible in 2011 the future of state intervention in banking affairs is unclear. EU rank and fileTurkey becoming a skilful member of the EU will be another key driver in the credit card industry. EU admittance will mean the freeing of trade and access to a further viosterol million consumers. It is about likely that Turkey would be a more mesmeric market for global companies, of interest here, financial organisations who would be stringed by the large numbers of unbanked consumers and those who see Turkey strategically as the gateway to Eastern markets. The credit card market would likely become much more free-enterprise(a) with new entrants who would most likely look to merge with/ take for granted existing indigenous banks.Rural-Urban Migration According to the cheek study the majority of people in the agricultural areas of Turkey tend not to be credit card users. As the economy improves large numbers of rural people ( in particular male) will likely move towards the larger urban centres to participate in the industrial or service spheres. This in hitch leads to greater numbers with the potential to use credit cards, in turn twistinging greater numbers of potential consumers to the arena. SECTION 2 Porters 5 Forces 2. mathematical function the five forces framework to identify the forces bear upon the Turkish credit card sector a.Graphically illustrate the five forces (see overleaf) b. construct conclusions from the 5 forces analysis to explain 1. How attractive the sector is I consider the Turkish credit card sector to be an attractive market for a large mul tinational e. g. BNP or Barclays to enter. From my analysis I have concluded that consumers are unconnected and suppliers are concentrated. Rivalry is high, yet only among 4 suppliers, considering rivalry in an industry such as haulage this must(prenominal) be considered attractive. Capital requirements of entry are high, but not on the get over of industries such as mining might be.Economies of scale and experience exist, however for companies already in credit card markets in other countries by no centre insurmountable. The threat of substitutes is relatively low as the credit card holds a relatively niche position. Product differentiation/ dedication is low among existing consumers good offers would attract new business, as would strong internet presence. Turkey has 40 percent of people who are bankable based on their socio-economic status and age in Turkey are still unbanked, having no accounts with each banks in Turkey (www. mckinsey. om/clientservice/ /Credit_Cards_in_T urkey. ashx) This data identifies a large section of the Turkish commonwealth who are potential consumers for a new entrant therefore the market could potentially grow importantly for all players involved. 2. How the competitive forces are changing/may change The competitive forces are currently changing most notably in areas such as consumer access to information. More widespread access and use of the internet will drive further competition in the market through portals such as comparison websites, industry reviews etc.This will ultimately increase bargaining power of consumers, leading to decreased profits for suppliers. EU accession would alter the competitive forces among the major players currently in the sector. Interest rates set by the ECB, participation in the single currency etc. would have a significant impact on the state financed banking institutions and would alter their relevance. One would umbrageous that in a free market system the Turkish government would chil liness the opportunity of divesting the burden to international organisations to increase competition.With increased market stability and better financial statement, consumers use of substitutes may extend to less expensive forms of credit such as personal loans. Coupled with better economic conditions consumers use of debit entry cards may also increase given that currently lower income workers struggle to maintain a fit sufficient to cover their living costs. 3. How the sector may change to reflect changing forces The credit card sector can move more of its marketing compute toward E-Marketing and target new and younger consumers through this medium.MBNA have used this marketing channel very successfully in the past. In order to combat increased phthisis of personal loans and increased use of debit cards the credit card sector may look at corporal lower interest rates, better offers through loyalty bonuses and customer kickbacks and better education of its customers as to how to better use their credit cards. In order for the credit card sector to prepare for increased competition post EU accession it may look to further differentiate its offerings to cost to the Turkish people e. g. align the credit offering with cultural values or emotions.It might be necessary to offer further services aligned to credit cards such as life sentence insurance to augment and differentiate the offering. 3. Scenario preparation Scenario 1 Renewed Political/Terrorist vehemence in Turkey In recent years, terrorist bombings some with significant numbers of casualties -have enamored religious, political, and business targets in a miscellany of locations in Turkey. The potential remains throughout Turkey for violence and terrorist actions both by transnational and indigenous terrorist organizations such as PKK, . Revolutionary Peoples outpouring Party/Front (DHKP/C) and AlQaida. Adapted from http//www. eubusiness. com/atomic number 63/turkey/invest) Given Turkeys increa sing dependence on unknown direct investment a pass on to more concerted campaign of political violence would spell disaster for the credit card industry. Large financial corporations, especially US owned would be deterred from ingress the market, or potentially pull out of the market thus decimating competition. Access to sources of international credit and lending would dry up therefore affecting consumers ability to purchase products and services on credit.Turkeys export market would potentially be destroyed as westward nations would deter from transacting in case monies were being skimmed to fund further terrorist activity. This would further lower the GDP of the country affecting the spending power of consumers in turn negating the need for credit cards. Further knock on cause of violence complicate the loss of capital Governments have available to invest in its economy, on education and infrastructure. Government capital would have to be spent on further soldiery and s ecurity projects.The tourism industry, a extensive earner for Turkey would be decimated as travelers would fear the threat of violence. The black market economy would thrive under such conditions and regular banking functions would significantly cease with numerous consumers using cash/barter systems of attaining needs. With think of to the Credit card sector, this scenario would be super detrimental to its future, as consumer confidence in the financial service sector would be decimated. The sector would have to pour colossal resources into transaction security and marketing the discolouration safety and correct usage policies to consumers. inattention numbers would likely increase referable to instability and escalating interest rates. Scenario 2 Turkey Gains Full EU Membership The EU is committed to reinforcement Turkey in its path for membership. The initial objective of EU financial support towards Turkey was the addition of an area of peace, stability and prosperity in spite of appearance and beyond Europe. Once the Union accepted Turkey as a candidate, financial assistance began to focus on supporting Turkey in its preparation for EU membership http//www. eubusiness. com/europe/turkey/ backing A study on the EU (http//europa. eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction. o) reported the following economic benefits of a country get together the EU 1. An average of 2. 15% increase in GDP 2.Exchange rates for Turks travelling through Europe would be eliminated, as would the potential damaging effects exchange rate swings have on Turkish exports. I would assume that the credit card sector would become significantly more competitive in the fresh of EU membership therefore the sector would have to increase its marketing and stigmatisation spend, but would have a larger pool of consumers to choose from.