Customer-Driven Learning at Radisson Hotels Essay

In the case study titled â€Å"Customer-Driven Learning at Radisson Hotels Worldwide† the background, growth, and service guarantees of the Radisson Hotel chain is discussed. Radisson Hotels was founded in 1938 by Curtis L Carlson of Carlson Companies Inc. The company’s headquarters were located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was divided into four operating groups – Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Carlson Marketing Group, and Carlson Leisure Group. In 1975 Radisson only had ten hotels but quickly grew to three hundred and sixty locations in forty seven countries by 1998 by partnering with existing hotel companies creating Radisson SAS Worldwide under the â€Å"growth at any cost† model. By 1998 Carlson Hospitality Worldwide included Radisson Hotels Worldwide, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, TGI Friday’s, Regent Hotels, Italianni’s, Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill, Friday’s American Bar, and Radisson Seve n Seas Cruises (Schroeder, pg 454). Also in 1998 Curt Carlson’s daughter Marilyn Carlson Nelson took over as CEO of the Carlson Companies. It was at this time that Brian Stage, Radisson’s president, and Maureen O’Hanlon, Radisson’s executive vice president, started taking initiatives to transform the â€Å"growth at any cost† model to becoming a more customer-focused brand. To achieve this transformation from the current diverse hotel quality, they included a service guarantee, a guest satisfaction measurement program, and employee satisfaction measurement program, and an information technology initiative. Their goal was to make Radisson the â€Å"most trusted and respected brand worldwide† (Schroeder, pg 454). To support these strategies, Stage and O’Hanlon initiated a 100% guest satisfaction program, a fully integrated guest information system, guest and employee satisfaction measurement programs, guest recognition and rewards program, and a genuine hospitality program . Customer satisfaction is a relative concept that varies from one customer to another (Schroeder, pg. 147). A service guarantee is a promise by a company to compensate the customer in some way if the defined level of service delivered is not duly met. An effective service guarantee sets clear standards of performance for customers to expect and to which employees adhere (Al, 1993; Rose, 1990; Hart, 1988). It communicates to workers the level of service the organization intends to offer to its customers, as well  as provides a clear and strong task identity (Cahill & Warshawky, 1995). It mandates that every decision and employee must focus on the customers. Successful implementation of a service guarantee would require managerial emphasis and proper allocation of resources on key determinant variables. Management staff is primarily responsible for the formulation and communication of service priorities to frontline staff as well as the design of recovery measures for resolving customer complaints. Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or failure of hotel service providers. Hotels typically measure quality through inspections and with customer-satisfaction data. David Kearns once said â€Å"Performance benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, services and practices against the toughest competitors or those companies recognized as the industry leaders.† In today’s competitive environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations. The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another, demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and performance. To be successful, hotels must deliver positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by comprehensive service quality management. Significant changes are occurring in the hotel industry that affect how providers run their businesses as well as what services they offer. There is a greater need to attract new customers, find new revenue sources, reduce operational costs and increase customer satisfaction. Successful quality management of next-generation services requires end-to-end service management across complex, multitechnology, multivendor infrastructures. Providers need to be able to quickly assess the impact of events on the performance and availability of revenue-generating services, establish and ensure aggregate service quality levels, and provide a detailed analysis of an individual subscriber’s experience that correlates back to broader service quality trends. In effect, providers need to be able to visualize service quality, prioritize their efforts and communicate relevant information to all stakeholders. This means they need to consolidate key data from disparate systems and from multiple vendors. They  need to be able to model relationships and dependencies between the network, applications and databases so they can see what resources are critical to their service. Communication plays a vital role in managing overall service quality. Providing relevant service intelligence to those who need it such as operations, IT, executives and customer care, helps providers rapidly resolve issues and minimize service impact on customers. They can quickly relate performance to business metrics. They can get a real-time view to better understand the customer experience. By improving communication across all levels of the value chain, they can help improve overall service quality and customer satisfaction. With the improved communication, Radisson must train all employees from all franchises in the same fashion to create a more consistent customer-driven concept. Many companies and franchise systems have found themselves in a situation where rapid change and deployment is critical to the company’s success. It’s absolutely essential to have a roadmap under these conditions. Once training is completed, studies and surveys must be done that include guests and employees to provide information that can be used to increase customer and employee satisfaction as well as help shape the direction for a defined service guarantee. Once defined, the service guarantee should be implemented to continually provide quality measurements and improve employee motivation. Providers also need a real-time view to understand the customer experience. How many customers are experiencing the service? Who is impacted by service issues? Providers need to be able to quickly assess the impact of events on service performance and availability, as well as how the business is affected. By providing a detailed analysis of an individual subscriber’s experience and correlating it back to broader service trends, providers can better manage the overall customer experience. Information technology software delivers comprehensive service quality management and customer experience management that help service providers  differentiate through improved service quality and lower operational costs. It gives them the ability to monitor and manage, from a single, central location, the availability, performance and quality of services. Information technology software equips them with a complete view of all the resources that comprise a service, from very beginning all the way to the customer. Information technology software not only plays a part in accelerating the drive to improve service quality but additionally measures information needed to improve customer and employee satisfaction. It can measure and create reports against key measurements to more effectively monitor availability, quality of virtually any service. By delivering new, high-quality services to market, they can attract new customers and generate new revenue streams. By enabling an improved customer experience, providers can help reduce churn, positively affect the uptake of that particular service and impact a subscriber’s willingness to try new services. Delivering consistent high-quality services to customers in a franchise business is more difficult than in a non-franchised business. In a franchised business, all employees must be trained in the same manner as well as have access to the same information. There are no exact guidelines, nor books to follow, nor formulas to adhere to when it comes to establishing and maintaining strong franchisor-franchisee relationships. It must be a strategic choice that is constantly enhanced, nurtured, and developed (Howe, 2003). Once a relationship is commenced it must be sustained, and any effort to maintain a high-quality affiliation requires the vital component of effective, two-way, communication. The franchisor is responsible for providing the channels for communication. A commitment to high-quality communication will also help to align the goals of the management team, hotel workers, owners, corporate management, and corporate staff. There are other benefits that come from this commitment to a two-way exchange of ideas and perspective. It cultivates a mutual respect and commitment between the employees, building trust and therefore solidifying a fully functional and working relationship. This should be designed to keep in touch with the franchisees’ core needs and goals, and provide an environment that enables  franchisees to approach the franchisor with questions, concerns, or ideas for improving the programs or recommended changes. Another means of communication is an intranet site accessible only by the franchisor, franchisees and their employees that provides a forum for questions, news updates, and other business information. Through these various forms of communication the franchisor can educate franchisees on the brand strategies and enhance their ability as keepers of the brand (Howe, 2003). Through a commitment to each of the key elements of effective two-way communication franchisors and franchisees can strengthen the strategies and consumer level execution that will drive their brand’s performance (Howe, 2003). Since the beginning of the change that Stage and O’Hanlon brought about, services have been implemented to acquire and satisfy customers. These services include the Express Yourself pre-arrival online check-in, the â€Å"Curtis-C† reservation system, the â€Å"Yes I can!† training program, the gold points plus customer reward program, and their 100% guest satisfaction service guarantee. These programs are designed to link the customers with the staff. The information technology used to create the check-in and reservation systems is an amazing service that benefits both the guest and the staff. The â€Å"Yes I can!† training program has been developed to train all employees consistently throughout the franchises to assist in aligning the goals of each franchise with their new brand strategy. The gold points plus reward program is a program that allows it’s customers to earn reward points that can be used for free stays or air miles. It also gives its members access to exclusive hotel and travel offers as well as in-hotel benefits. The website for the gold points program also lets it’s members make online reservations, check-in online, and select their stay preferences. In the matter of the last ten years, Radisson Hotels has escalated from a once â€Å"unfocused† brand into one of the world’s leading, full-service global hotel companies. This has been successfully accomplished through the organization of its franchises and implementation of information technology systems. Radisson Hotels & Resorts is committed to change and innovation in  all key areas including its growth strategy, operations, franchising, sales and marketing, and technology, to operate with maximum effectiveness in a highly competitive business environment (The Radisson Story). Technology will undoubtedly continue to develop and Radisson Hotels should continue to progress along with it to stay on top of the service industry as one of the best global hotel companies out there. References Al, L. (1993). Service guarantees in outpatient clinics: a case study. Health Care Management Review, 18 (3), 59-65. Cahill, D. J., & Warshawky, R. M. (1995). Beyond competence: unconditional guarantees as a customer-service tool. Journal of Customer Service in Marketing and Management, 1 (3), 67-77. Hart, C. W. L. (1988). The power of unconditional service guarantees. Harvard Business Review, 88 (4), July/August, 54-62. Howe, Michael C. (2003). Keys to a successful franchisor-franchisee relationship: through a commitment to each of the†¦ Franchising World. http://www.allbusiness.com/management/657315-1.htmlImprove service quality and enhance the customer experience. December 2007 ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/tivoli/whitepapers/GMW14002-USEN-00_SP.pdfKearns, David. Chairman of the New American Schools Development Corporation, formerly chairman and CEO of the Xerox Corporation and Deputy U.S. Secretary of Education. Rose, M. D. (1990). No strings attached. Chief Executive, 60 (Jul/Aug), 30-33. Schroeder, Roger. (2008). Operations Management: Contemporary Concepts and Cases 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill. New York, New York. The Radisson Story. http://www.radisson.com/section/aboutus.story/aboutus.sidemenus

Airborne: United States Postal Service and Express Mail

A five force analysis consists of five parts being threat of substitutes, ease of entry and exit, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and degree of rivalry. The threat of substitutes for Airborne, in the domestic express mail market, came from two other large firms Federal Express and the United Postal Service. FedEx, UPS, and Airborne together held an 85% market share. Fedex held roughly 45% of the domestic mail market and was considered the industry leader, however disputed. Their name was synonymous with sending something overnight.Almost like when at a restaurant we order a â€Å"coke†, no matter what the exact brand is the waitress will understand what we want. The United Parcel Service, UPS, was the largest package delivery company in the world and held a 25% market share of the domestic expedited mail service. Airborne was under the constant threat of substitutes, which were significant. The ease of entry and exit into the expedited mail delivery market is very difficult. Planes, trucks, personal, facilities, equipment all need to be in place before even one package is successfully delivered.Buyers had much bargaining power in that the three largest domestic expedited mail carriers each offered similar products, next morning delivery for time sensitive items. Price, reliability, access to tracking, customer service, and convince of drop-off locations were all things that the customer many times would consider before choosing their carrier. The bargaining power of suppliers was also strong. The physical delivery of the package was only a part of the services offered to customers.The major companies also made it possible to track packages en route, guarantee on time service, and even provide logistical consulting services. The degree of rivalry was very intense between these companies, in the early 1990’s industry observers called the competition between FedEx and Ups the â€Å"parcel war. † Each company would no t only match each other’s prices but also their technology and services Factor| Airborne| UPS| Fedex| Products Offered| 1| 2| 1| Target Customers| 1| 2| 2| Competitive Positioning| 3| 2| 1| Financial Performance| 1| 1| 1|Culture| 2| 1| 3| Land Ops| 2| 1| 1| Air Ops| 2| 1| 1| Marketing and Sales| 2| 1| 1| Customer Service| 1| 2| 2| IT| 3| 2| 1| Totals| 18| 14| 14| Lowest=Best Airborne is strong in its products offered in always seeming to be on the forefront and targeting customers efficiently. Unlike FedEx and UPS, Airborne owned the airport that served as its major hub in Wilmington, Ohio. As a result Airborne did not have to pay fees to the airport and could fix any obstacles that they came across at their own facility without having to consult with any outside parties.Airborne also differentiated by not having its own retail service centers and owning only a portion of their delivery vans. These were both cost saving differentiators, hiring independent contractors to picku p and delivery was 10% less expensive. Airborne did not market to the mass media instead they targeted the personal within companies who were in charge of logistics in order to obtain larger more profitable accounts. Providing flexible, custom solutions for their customers was also a difference in business plans that Airborne however FedEx and UPS also began to claim this.Ensure that Airborne survives and thrives in the future, the company would need to remain competitive with UPS and Fedex. Airborne’s relationship with RPS was beneficial because RPS had connections to the heart of UPS’s customer base in the form of large volume business customers. The physical distribution of Airborne and RPS were completely separate. To survive, I would suggest that Airborne form a stronger relationship not just sharing of marketing and shipping information. How and why has the express mail industry structure evolved in recent years?How have the changes affected small competitors? Th e US express mail industry is highly consolidated. 85% of the market is served by 3 service providers. There are six second tier players who serve the remaining 15%. FedEx and UPS lead the industry in services and innovation. The following trends have been observed in this Industry. Services: A host of services are provided to suit the needs to different businesses. Overnight shipping and next-morning delivery are most popular amongst other services like next-afternoon delivery and second day service.Same-day and early-next morning services are even costlier. Shipment volumes have risen over the decade however the rise in revenues has not been complimentary, due to falling prices. Customers: it is imperative for businesses to facilitate fast information dissemination. Express mails have provided a medium for establishing this. All businesses and individuals today use this service. Contrary to the traditional belief, items being shipped are high value compared to high weight. These i tems are time-sensitive. Customers have different criteria's to decide which service provider to use.With advancements in technology, this industry has become highly automated, there by providing better customer service with relation to parcel tracking, pick up services etc. The decision matrix generally includes brand name, reliability, price, customer service etc. Customers are generally not loyal as switching costs are negligible. Operations: Most players use the hub-and-spoke model. Major hubs act as collecting grounds for mail from all over America. The mails are then sorted and then sent off to respective destinations.Priority is given to early-next and next-morning mails. Planes land and take off all through the night. Capital expenditure related to a hub is extremely high. Both FedEx and UPS emphasize on improving the sorting capacity†¦ Airborne Express grew very rapidly in the late 1990’s, outperforming both of its main rivals, FedEx and UPS. When evaluating the success of Airborne, it is evident that the organization employed a strategy of low cost leadership, utilizing tactics surrounding efficiencies, cost reductions, market focus, and rigid budgeting.Early in its history, the company targeted a certain market, primarily businesses that shipped large volumes of urgent items to other businesses. This focus allowed Airborne to avoid markets of marginal value. In addition, Airborne retained cost minimization in key functional areas such as technology, marketing, and overhead. Airborne was very selective in their investment in technology and innovation, allowing first adapters to pave the way. The automation they did provide, such as FOCUS and the electronic submission of shipping information, saved money on labor y reducing manual data entry requirements. Also, Airborne did not advertise in mass media, but rather targeted selective logistics managers of major shippers, creating a courting style sales environment (Airborne, p. 12). This all owed for long term partnerships with repeat business. Overhead was kept around 30% less than main rivals. These types of actions, among others performed by Airborne, all point to low cost leadership. When analyzing the role of resources in the firm, Airborne has strong tangible, intangible, and capability resources in their favor.For example, Airborne owned the airport that served as its major hub, including the warehouses that surrounded the airport, which they leased to business customers (Airborne, p. 11). In addition, Airborne owned a fleet of 175 aircraft, although used; they provided Airborne the opportunity to personalize the outfitting of each aircraft to their cargo needs. Airborne also owned a portion of its delivery trucks, using independent contractors to provide balance on labor costs, fuel, and truck maintenance. A lack of unions in the hub also kept labor costs down.A niche market of large corporate clients with solid sales relationships was among the capability resou rces. Along with a large amount of equity and cash, Airborne was situated to be a very strong company. While there are many threats to the sustainability of low cost leadership, one of the biggest threats is imitation, especially in businesses using the internet (DLE, p. 177). Airborne, due to its business model, was both subject to and immune to this threat. Because it waited for others to test new technologies first, Airborne reaped the benefits of rivals work.For example, Airborne created a software system, its Freight On-Line Control and Update System (FOCUS), which imitated Federal Express’ COSMOS, and allowed customers to trace packages themselves rather than rely on company representatives. Because Airborne tailored its innovation practices after already successful programs, they challenged rivals sustainability in the market. On the other hand, Airborne also developed new technologies, like those associated with Xerox scanning and delivery, which gave Airborne the abi lity to deliver Xerox packages before 8AM.This method was easily imitated by FedEx and UPS, which enabled the rivals to provide the same service to their entire customer base, instead of just one client. Airborne was unable to capitalize on the technological advancement after the initial introduction, and therefore, suffered a low cost leadership sustainability threat. ————————————————- Basic Information of  Airborne Express Case Number: 9-798-070 Author: Jan W. Rivkin Publisher: Harvard Business Publishing Year: Feb 5, 1998 Course Category: Strategy ————————————————-Case Summary  of Airborne Express 1997: Airborne Express quarterly revenues up by 29%, and YTD net earnings ad increased by more than 500%. Third largest player in express mail industry. Boost fr om the recent strike at rival UPS. Fastest growing company in the industry, but thin margins. Federal Express had recently raised prices. †¢ Previous year: Fed Ex and UPS launched new services and pricing schemes o UPS moved to distance-based pricing, with prices raised on long-distance shipments, lowered on short-distance shipments. Fed Ex followed suit in 1997. Would Airborne? The Express Mail Industry in the United States: Services provided include: physical shipment of packages, shipment tracking, on-time service guarantees, customs clearance expedition, warehousing services, logistics consulting services †¢ Customers: o Businesses In industries such as financial services and consulting, express mail had become the standard means of delivering docs o Typical shipments: business docs, electronic components, medical samples, and replacement parts. o Customer base broadening. Portion of goods considered perishable or time-sensitive increasing over time. Acceleration in th e pace of business increased express volume shipped by each customer. Main consideration factors when deciding whether to ship an item express mail were urgency of shipment and price Carrier selection based off of relative price, carrier reliability, brand name, tracking capabilities, customer service, drop-off convenience, and/or habit. Discounts based on volume encouraged customers to focus on one carrier. However, customers tend not to be loyal when a contract expires. †¢ Operations: 1. Large fleet of vans and drivers. Drivers leave central depot and collect packages. At point of pick up, hand-held computer used to scan the package’s barcode and enter package data.Data transferred to central computer, which determined routing. Package scanned at each subsequent transfer points so that the company could track its progress. 2. Packages driven to airport, placed in containers, which were, in turn, placed on company-operated cargo planes. Upon landing at airport, usually around 11 pm, crew, using special equipment, unloaded plane in 20 minutes. Second crew simultaneously servicing plane in prep for outbound flight. 3. Cargo containers taken to hangar, where packages are sorted according to final destination. Labor-intensive.Once sorted, packaged placed in containers and loaded onto planes. Planes typically depart from 3 am – 4 am. Planes landed around 6 am at destination airports. 4. Packages unloaded, distributed to vans, and delivered to final destinations. †¢ Lower-priority packages follow slightly different route – more likely to travel by truck rather than air. †¢ Heavy investment in large hub facilities, air and ground fleets. †¢ Devoted to customer service and sophisticated information systems. †¢ Competition: †¢ Domestic Express Mail Market: 3 major players = Fed Ex, UPS, Airborne Express, serving ; 85% of the market. nd tier players: BAX Global, DHL Worldwide Express, Emery Worldwide, Roadway Package S ystem, TNT Express Worldwide, US Postal Service. †¢ US Postal Service served much of the remaining 15% of the market, popular due to the convenience of the post office to residential customers. However, prohibited by law from offering volume discounts to business customers. Also, could not track packages efficiently, and poor delivery record. †¢ DHL, TNT focused on international market. o DHL offered extensive service in hard-to-reach areas of the globe. Required knowledge of customs procedures and officials to clear customs quickly.Not heavily invested in domestic capabilities. †¢ BAX Global, Emery focused on heavy cargo †¢ RPS focused on 2-day delivery via a ground network, targeting price-sensitive business customers. Known for efficient ground transport and sophisticated IT. †¢ Fax, email †¢ Compete on multiple fronts, including prices, products, and customer service Major Competitors †¢ Federal Express o 45% domestic express mail market o Hist ory: Invented the industry. Prior to founding, express deliveries flew as freight in holds of passenger planes. Frederick Smith, proposed an airline dedicated solely to express delivery of mail.Argued airlines designed to carry passengers suboptimal for carrying express mail. Any route acceptable for a package as long as it arrives on time. Hub-and-spoke routing more efficient for express mail. Packages would be collected at a single airport, sorted, and sent to their destinations. 1971, Federal Express incorporated. Target market focused on small packages, which were largely ignored by other air carriers. High barriers to entry: assembling fleet of jets, constructing a hub in Memphis, securing initial customers, and gaining governmental approval in highly regulated airline industry.Service started in April, 1973. 1983, reached $1 billion in revenue, the first company to do so within 10 years of start up, without acquisition. o Technology: COSMOS, central computer system, coordinate d vehicles, people, packages, routes, and weather information. Supertrackers used by couriers to enter in package info Digitally Assisted Dispatch System (DADS) directed couriers to pickup locations and uploaded info from Supertrackers to COSMOS Gave customers Powership computer terminals and shipping software to prepare shipping paperwork, streamline billing, and track shipments. www. fedex. com o Marketing ; SalesAggressive marketing led to widely recognized mottoes High advertising expenditures + sales reps + money-back guarantee o People ; Culture â€Å"People, Service, Profit†¦When people are placed first, they will provide the highest possible service, and profits will follow. † Promoted from within. No layoffs policy. Cross-trained employees and cultivated a large part-time workforce. Extensive employee-training programs Employees given wide latitude to make decisions on their own. Expected to take risks and resolve problems on own. Emphasis on communication. â₠¬ ¢ FXTV broadcast daily company news, weather conditions, competition info, etc.Formal compensation system. Managers’ incentive pay based on performance against negotiated objectives, employee satisfaction playing a significant role. Hourly workers were also eligible for bonuses. o International Ventures 1985, Fred Smith’s vision of global delivery of express mail. However, expensive. 1992, overseas operating losses topped $600 million, so company scaled back. Relied on partner companies to complete deliveries. †¢ United Parcel Service (UPS) o Largest package delivery company in the world, but most volume not express mail, traveled via ground network. History Founded in 1907 as a messenger service. Repositioned itself as the delivery arm of major department stores. 1950s: automobile ownership widespread, retail stores moved to suburbs. Repositioned again around â€Å"common carrier† service to deliver parcels in general, not just department store deliverie s, by truck. Only reached goal of complete national coverage in 1980s, due to legal and regulatory battles to deliver within and between states. 1953, coupled ground network with cargo services of major airlines to offer two-day delivery service. 1981, purchases first aircrafts. 987, took direct control of all air operations. USPS viewed as main rival. Focused on reducing costs since rates were highly regulated. Charged single price to all customers. Saved money by picking up at company’s convenience and not investing in collecting info (could not track packages easily). Late 1980s/early 1990s, refocused around customer service and invested in aircrafts, sorting infrastructure, and technology, in order to compete with Fed Ex. Radically and successfully restructured. o Operations: Hub in Louisville, KY, with 5 regional air hubs around the US.Speculated that UPS’ sorting and routing facilities were highly automated and employed the latest technology. Single fleet of truc ks handled pickup and delivery of all UPS shipments. o Technology: determined to match Fed Ex’s information collection capabilities, invested $3 billion in advanced technology between 1990 and 1995. Resulted in ability to track packages efficiently, deliver electronic proof of delivery, and offer money-back guarantee of on-time delivery. Internet site rivaled Fed Ex’s o Marketing ; Sales: No marketing department before 1980, with little to no advertising 1996, spent 80% more on media than Fed Ex People ; Culture: â€Å"owned by managers and managed by owners;† privately owned, with stock issued to company managers, and, as of 1995, nonmanagement employees as well. Promote from within The Policy Book, emphasized management by consensus and an ethic of humility High wages kept labor-management relationships good. †¢ 1997, drivers among best paid, largely in part to union involvement. 16-day labor strike flooded competitors business. Resolution favored labor, with an increase in full-time positions, as well as full-time and part-time wages over a five-year period.Ramifications of strike included $700 million in lost revenue and poor reputation for absolute reliable delivery. o International Operations: Invested heavily in developing global distribution network, and, even with high operating losses, seemed committed. Airborne Express: †¢ Often overlooked, but growing faster than competitors in mid-1990s, with 16% of domestic express mail market in 1997. †¢ History: o 1968, The Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California (shipped fresh flowers from Hawaii to mainland) and Pacific Air Freight (delivered perishables to/from Alaska) merged to form Airborne Freight Corporation.Prior to Fed Ex, most successful in express mail industry. o Target: business customer that regularly shipped a large volume of urgent items, primarily to other business locations. Example: Xerox †¢ Operations: o Owned airport that served a major hub . Did not pay landing fees and no obstacles to tailoring the facility to its needs. However, did need to maintain airport itself, and did not share expenses with other airlines. o Leased warehouse space on airport property (Fed Ex and UPS offered warehousing options as well, bot not onsite at airport) o Sorting operations less automated, more human labor-intensive.Unions represented app. Half of workforce, including all pilots. o Fleets consisted primarily of used aircraft, built in 1960s and 1970s. Patented cargo containers did not require cargo door. Aircraft run app. 80% full (vs. competitors 65-70%). Costs of flight did not vary by amount of cargo carried. o Shippers and recipients concentrated in metropolitan areas. o Greater portion of volume = afternoon and second-day deliveries, so could use trucks more than competitors (30% volume never on plane, vs Fed Ex’s 15%).. Cost of a truck 1/3 that of aircraft. Unlike competitors, did not maintain retail service centers and o wned/operated only a portion of its delivery vans. Independent contractors 60-65% volume, and 10% less expensive than company-owned pick up and delivery. †¢ Technology: o Invested selectively. Let competitors test innovations and introduced themselves if clear benefit derived. o Freight On-Line Control and Update System (FOCUS) comparable to Fed Ex’s COSMOS o Offered high-volume shippers software which tied directly into FOCUS, allowing customers to track packages and to submit shipping info themselves as opposed to engaging service agents. Website not as comprehensive as competitors †¢ Marketing ; Sales: o Did not advertise in mass media. Targeted logistics managers of major shippers via sales force. o Known for low prices o Mid-1990s, â€Å"the flexible, solution-oriented express carrier† with an ability to tailor its services to needs of large business customers. However, Fed Ex and UPS offered 8 am service to any customer for a surcharge, as well as claim ed to be able to tailor services to customer needs too. †¢ People ; Culture: o Humility †¢ International Operations: o More modest than Fed Ex and UPS. Used commercial airlines and local partners to complete shipments †¢ RPS Relationship o RPS targeted the ground transport needs of large-volume business customers, whittling at UPS customer base. Offered low prices, superior info and tracking capabilities. Tried to intro air operations, but folded after large losses. o Companies’ physical distribution systems remained separate. Cooperation in marketing process and sharing of shipment info. However, hinted at a closer alliance. Airborne’s Future: †¢ Postal Service had performed well during UPS strike and success seemed to reawaken its ambitions.Planned major advertising blitz to promote express services. Petitioning government to grant volume discounts. †¢ UPS was expected to make play to recoup volume. †¢ UPS strike had shaken customers loy alty to a single company for shipping needs. ————————————————- Case Analysis  of Airborne Express 1. How and why has the structure of the express mail industry evolved in recent years? How have the changes affected small competitors? How has the rivalry between FedEx and UPS impacted them and the rest of the industry? Business and individuals spent $16-17 billion on express mail within the US in 1996.Shipment volumes had risen 15-20% per year for a decade. Services had proliferated by delivery time. Service is not limited to physical delivery. It also includes warehouseing services and logistics consulting services. Express Mail Industry: 1. 16-17 billion on expedited shipments in US in 1996. 2. Shipment volumes had risen 15-20% per year for a decade. 3. Services had proliferated by delivery time. 4. Service is not limited to physical delivery. It also includes tracking services, warehouseing services, logistics consulting services and expedited customs clearance for international shipments. . Shipping companies competed on the basis of time-to-market, eg. Increased volume shipped by and to each customer. 6. Customers’ concern when choose a shipping service includes price, reliability, brand name, access to tracking, customer service, convenience of drop-off, and sheer habit. 7. Shipping companies owns vans, drivers, and aircrafts. They have hub airports. They employ the advanced logistic technology. 8. FedEx, UPS and Airborne were the Big Three in the industry, together served more than 85% of the market. 9. Invested in global distribution system. 10.Originally set one price for every customer, evolved into distance pricing (ie. Lower prices for shorter distance deliveries) Different company target different markets. To survive, small company must find their differentiation in the industry (ie. DHL specialized in international shipping; RPS specialized in ground transport 2 day deliveries). FedEx: overnight delivery; cutting-edge information and logistic technology; Hubs; customer self help; aggressive marketing strategy; no layoff policy; great customer services; employee’s wide latitude of decision making; incentive pay; employ both part time and full time; international expansion.UPS: ground services; largest delivery company in the world; followed FedEx to purchase their own aircraft; started to advertising; stock owned by managers and not for public trade; employ both part time and full time; international operation. â€Å"Parcel Wars† – Fedex and UPS copied and tried to beat each other in pricing, products and services. When one lowered prices, the other followed and created some other promotion to outdo the offer. As a result, small companies need to find their specialty in the market. They will also have employ advanced technology and logistic system and provide great/special customer serv ices. . How has Airborne survived, and recently prospered, in this industry? Airborne targeted the business customer that regularly shipped a large volume of urgent items, primarily to other business locations (mainly 50 metroplitans). They were known for their low prices. They cut cost in many ways: having their own airport; leasing warehouse space to customers; hiring part-time employee; purchasing used aircrafts; load more per flight than rivals; no retail service center; using independent contractors; a little bit late delivery time; no advertising; picking the technology after FedEx and UPS tested.They provided flexible, solution oriented service to customers. 3. Quantify Airborne’s sources of advantage. †¢ Part-time salary is 7/hour, compared to FedEx’s 8/hour. †¢ Run aircraft 80% full, compared to typically 65-70%. †¢ 80-85% of the volume was shipped to 50 metropolitan, compared to FedEx’s 60% †¢ 30% of the volume was not shipped by ai rplanes, compared to FedEx’s 15%. †¢ The cost of a running a truck is 1/3 of the cost of owning and operating a similar amount of aircraft capacity. Use of independent contractors accounted for 60-65% of volume – using contractors cost them 10% less than doing work themselves. †¢ No advertising cost. †¢ Drivers picked up more parcels than Fedex resulting in lower labor costs per unit by 20% for pickup and 10% for delivery. †¢ Besides, owning their own airport would a big advantage in control and operating cost. 4. What must Robert Brazier, Airborne’s President and COO, do in order to strengthen the company’s position? Provider recommendations that will strengthen Airborne’s position in this industry.Evidently, Airborne needs to employee advanced technology and explore the global business. Robert Brazier needs to make sure that Airborne will still hold their advantages in the global business. 5. In retrospect, we know that Airbor ne’s position was not sustainable and the company was acquired by DHL. What were early clues about the lack of Airborne’s sustainability? Will the DHL/Airborne combination be an effective competitior against FedEx and UPS? One early clue – less efficient that Fedex/UPS in on-time deliveries. Should have invested more in technology. Lack of global vision/awareness.Inability to adapt to market – 80% of volume delivered to major metropolitan areas, not servicing ALL customers. Did not take full advantage of opportunity with RPS deal – kept arms length deal. Should have leveraged relationship to increase technology and cust base to gain market share. The DHL/Airborne combination could be an effective competitor again FedEx and UPS, although they have their own specialty and targeting markets. DHL does well in the international market, but its domestic business is not strong. Airborne and DHL could be a strong plus to each other.

Hospital Automation System Essay

The team has planned to develop a Hospital Automation System for the well knownhospital called Pannipitiya Nursing Home. Currently the client company depends on an error   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ prone software system and a large amount of manual work. Development of a new systemwill help the client company to minimize the work load they handle manually and to eliminatethe faults and errors of the existing software system.This proposed system handles the entire hospital work load under seven major functions namely; OPD, IPD, Medical laboratory, Pharmacy and stores, Doctor services, Alertsystem and report generation and Billing system. The new system will be having key benefitsover existing system such as; high performance due to the immediate updating service provided by the system, reduce errors of putting unnecessary purchase orders, access to fullydetailed description about the patient regarding their medical reports, doctors will be pre -alerted about the appointment details of the day and th us the doctor can manage visiting time,reduce human effort and the cost spends to train new employees etc.

English Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English Literature - Essay Example Antigone tells Ismene that she wants her brother given a proper burial despite Creon’s decree. For Antigone family honor and the responsibilities that go along with it are much more important than the order of the ruler, Creon. Ismene, upon hearing her sister’s plans, tells Antigone that she would not go against the edict of Creon. For Ismene family considerations are not so important, rather it is the edict of the ruler that she would rather obey. As she puts it, both of them are women and are required not only to be subservient to the ruler, but also to men; they should not try to hold their own against these two authorities. Ismene states that it is their duty as women not only to obey Creon’s edict regarding their brother, but also any other decree that might be even more oppressive. Hearing this distresses Antigone a great deal. She feels it is her responsibility, as a sister to Polyneices, to afford him a burial at least. Antigone feels that Ismene is not t rue to her familial calling, and she feels disgust at the latter’s opinion on the matter. Antigone does not believe that her status as a woman, or as a subject of Creon, should stop her from fulfilling the duty that she owes her brother. She is so repulsed upon hearing her sister’s views on this matter that she tells her that after hearing her views on the matter, she would not want Ismene to come and help her bury their brother, Polyneices, even if Ismene wanted to do it. This plainly shows how deeply ingrained the idea of familial obligation is in Antigone, and how appalled she is that her own sister would rather obey the law than fulfill the duty she owes her

1963 March on Washington Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

1963 March on Washington - Essay Example It is estimated that approximately 250000 people participated in this demonstration, which was organized and executed by a group of civil rights organizations represented by individuals, who had a common objective of liberating the African Americans from racial and economic discrimination (Haskins 22). These organizations included and not limited to; the congress of racial equality, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as well as the National Urban League, which were represented by individuals who included James Farmer, Martin Luther King Junior, John Lewis, Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young respectively (Haskins 43). It is important to note that despite the US declaration of independence in 1776, it had become apparent that the white Americans were not willing to co-exist with citizens of other races, such as the African Americans, Hispanics, Asians among others, who were forced to live under inhumane conditions especially due to the fact that they could not be allowed to compete fairly in the job market (Euchner 31). It is due to this that these groups went ahead to form civil rights organizations so as to try and pressure the government to accommodate them in the system without discrimination. However, up to 1963, not much progress had been made in this respect and indeed the government had continued to apply force and detention to counter any actions such as mass protests. Several sources indicate that the police and other security organs used means such as clubbing, releasing dogs to attack demonstrators as well as other overt and covert actions such as conniving with white citizens to attac k the demonstrators at strategic points under the watch of the security officers. It is under these circumstances that people such as Martin Luther King junior found themselves in prison, for example at the time he authored the famous letter from Birmingham jail (Haskins 16). It may be necessary to note that the 1963 march to Washington was not only an African American affair as it is reported that approximately 25% of those in attendance were white Americans, who were there to support their fellow country men and women in their fight for justice (Euchner 18). The demonstration was not without opposition as people such as the then president Kennedy opposed it at first though he later changed his mind after realizing that nothing could have stopped it. Human rights activists for example Malcolm X also did not agree with the idea and indeed, he is quoted as referring to the proposed demonstration as, â€Å"Farce on Washington,† though he is noted as being one of the people who attended (Euchner 28). The opposition felt that the issues that were to be the subject of the march were not accurate while others such as the Ku Klux Klan were known to be against the idea of a society which accorded the blacks equal rights as those of the whites. In fact, they were always violent towards the blacks as well as their sympathizers especially in cities such as Birmingham and Jacksonville among others. The major goals of the march to Washington included and not limited to having the congress pass a comprehensive bill aimed at abolishing segregation in public facilities so as to allow all citizens have unrestricted access regardless of their race. The participants also wanted their right to vote guaranteed and protected as well as be allowed to compete fairly in the job market through facilitation of training opportunities and fair recruitment procedures (Haskins 60). According to plans, the march was to start at the Washington monument all way through to the Lincoln

Assess the dangers for European TNCS wishing to focus entirely on Essay

Assess the dangers for European TNCS wishing to focus entirely on emerging markets for future business success - Essay Example In one way of saying, corporations are right in having such a perception. For example, in case of gambling, those who get straight into the game without paying adequate attention to rules and regulations as well as without studying tactics of other key players are more likely to incur huge losses. This theory holds true for transnational corporations as well. Nonetheless, investors who adopt proper measures to identify macroeconomic factors inherent to the emerging markets attain the capability to reach out to millions of customers and widen target customer base. A number of European transnational companies, such as, Vodafone and HSBC, have increased their stronghold in emerging countries such as, India and China, by simultaneously gaining access to cheap labour as well as a larger customer base. On the other hand, companies, such as, Ericson had failed to establish its presence due to strategic dysfunctions. Majority of these dysfunctions are consequences of various internal and external factors associated with emerging countries, which can prove to be immensely dangerous for European organizations, considering an expansion into these countries in order to achieve business growth (Henisz and Zelner, 2010). The relevance of this study lies in the fact that it highlights the relative risks and challenges in face of European transnational companies while considering an expansion into emerging economies. The most commonly understood definition of an emerging country is a low income economy with rapid growth, which utilizes economic liberalization as the primary stimulator for achieving further growth. Macroeconomic stabilization, revelation of administration monopolies to domestic and foreign competition and trade liberalization has in a combined way led to evolution of a new community in these countries, known as the middle

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Operation management - Essay Example By the end of 2013, Apple has successfully launched seventh generation iPhones, namely iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S (â€Å"Q1 2014 Unaudited Summary Data†). iPhones have been extremely popular since its inception mainly owing to the unparalleled design and exclusive features as well as numerous software and applications to use. Since its launch, Apple has been able to create a niche set of loyal customers, which is continuously increasing in numbers. The net sales of Apple iPhones increased 9 percent from 156.5 dollars in 2012 to 170.9 billion dollars in 2013 (â€Å"Q1 2013 Unaudited Summary Data†). Overall units of iPhone sold were almost 150 millions in 2013 compared to 125 million in 2012 (â€Å"Q1 2013 Unaudited Summary Data†). Marketers and analysts have argued that increase in the sale of iPhone 5 is majorly due to its advanced software and greater facilities in terms of applications as well as attractive design. A survey including 4000 consumers from the US revealed that anticipation and rumours related to iPhone 6 has surpassed all other previously launched iPhones. Also, the number of consumers waiting to pre-order iPhone 6 is higher compared to that of iPhone 5 (â€Å"iPhone 5 Release Could Push Apple to 170 Million Units Sold Annually†). The release date of iPhone 6 is expected around September 2014, which is similar to other iPhone launches. Also, the new iPhone 6 will be available in two different sizes, along with a whole new design and advanced operating system. On the whole, Apple management is anticipating a huge revenue turnover following the launch of iPhone 6. In order to understand the sales forecast and trend for iPhone 6, the average global sales of iPhone after one month of its launch can be calculated. It is observed that a majority of the iPhone launches take place in August or September of a financial year. Furthermore, during these months, the festive season

Marijuanna as a Gateway Drug Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marijuanna as a Gateway Drug - Research Paper Example In a report presented by the National Institute on Drug Abuse concludes that any person smoking marijuana is 104 times more likely to use cocaine as compared to any other person that has never tried marijuana. In fact, one commonly come across stories about drug addicts who start their stories with marijuana and then end up trying every drug known to humankind (Iversen, 2001). There are no doubts in the fact that there is strong correlation between the use of marijuana and use of other drugs; however, this correlation does not represent causation. In other words, the statement that use of marijuana leads to other drugs is incorrect because scientists and researchers of â€Å"National Institute of Medical Marijuana discarded this idea as far back in 1999† (Earleywine, 2002). The researchers concluded that the patterns of drug use amongst the lifetime of people share striking similarities and use the marijuana precedes the use of many other drugs but that is primarily because of the fact marijuana is the most widely available illicit drug. In fact, these patterns also indicate that even before using marijuana these people use nicotine and alcohol usually long before they of the legal age to do the same (Hanson, Venturelli & Fleckenstein, 2011). In that way, alcohol and nicotine would have to be labeled as gateway drugs but the same is not true because these drugs or their effects have failed to show elements or tendencies of attracting people to other drugs (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). Every year the federal government conducts two huge surveys in order to explore the changing trends of drug use in the population. Over the past decade, year after year, the number of people who tried marijuana has been greater than that of people who have tried cocaine and heroin. In the year 2009, over 2.3 million tried marijuana and the same number of heroin and cocaine remained at 0.18 and 0.6 million respectively. If marijuana was such a strong gateway drug then this should have increased the number of cocaine and heroin consumers as well (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). One possible explanation of marijuana leading to other drugs could be understood by the example of music. A person who likes music, or listens to a genre of music for the first time and likes it, is likely to look for new bands and singers in that genre. This is because people have the general tendency to look for change and new ways to impress themselves. Sticking to one song, band, or genre is most likely to feel boring within a short time. The same is true for marijuana. When marijuana starts appealing to certain people, they like to diversify their taste and look for new drugs, which could give them the same or even better feeling (Hanson, Venturelli & Fleckenstein, 2011). Another reason behind the correlation of marijuana and other drugs relates to the supply chain of these drugs. You can only find a heroin dealer if you have an expert consumer of weed. Heroin and c ocaine dealers face greater penalties and their limited supply makes it hard for the suppliers of these hard drugs to trust customers easily.

Earned Value Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Earned Value Management - Essay Example It compares the work finished with the estimates made at the beginning of the project, which gives a measure of how far the project is from being finished. Inferring from the amount of work already put into the project, a project manager can get reasonable prediction as to how much resources the project will have used at completion. EVM was used in the 1800s as industrial engineers looked for ways to measure performance in factories. The United Stated Department of Defense (DOD), in the 1960s, employed the Cost/Schedule Control System Criteria (C/SCSC) which is now referred to as the Earned Value Management System (EVMS), a recognized function of program management, which ensures that technical, cost, schedule, and aspects of a contract are truly integrated. The DOD used the C/SCSC cost system simply because their contractors ran over budget, lag behind schedule, had no ability to guesstimate an acceptable cause-effect relationship of how cost, schedule or scope impacted multiple and simultaneous projects. As a result, the government requested that contractors were no longer permitted to forecast costs by subtracting project actual costs from the original budget. With the EVMS, which includes organized components of the project's schedule, budget estimate and scope of work, project's forecast costs at completio n of project are more accurately determined (Warhoe, 2004). However, after nearly four decades, EVM clearly has not achieved its actual or perceived potential. Of the innumerable projects, less than 1% use the EVM application. One reason suggested in literature for the low usage of EVM and procurement is the contract type selection bias toward cost-reimbursable (CR) contracts. Literature review addressing EVM and procurement, indicate that there are mixed beliefs on contract type selection (Marshall, 2005). Conventional use of EVM with CR contracts, were limited to large United States government departments such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Today NASA employs EVM to support President Bush's Management Agenda specifically to improve competitive sourcing by providing better historical performance data; to enhance financial performance by helping measurement of performance against the budget; and to advance NASA budget and performance integration by integrating management of technical requirements, schedule, and budget risks. In contrast, many project practitioners, experts and literature reviews argue in support of using fixed price (FP) contracts. Kelvin Yu described how EVM was effectively used with a FP contract to renovate a wind tunnel operated by NASA. For instance, Yu utilized EVM in defining the project scope, developing negotiating tools such as "should cost estimate", and directing and integrating the actual work of multiple contractors working on a project. Quentin Fleming and Joel Koppleman agree because both have noted the efficiency and effectiveness of EVM with FP contracts. Authors are suggesting the use EVM with FP contracts and provide sound rationale for their beliefs and claims. They made a good case for continuous use of FP (Marshall, 2005). For those such as Karen Evans, an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Administrator of e-government and Information Technology, who testified last spring before the House Government Reform Committee, EVM has not been of much service. Her complaint

Managerial interview (What you think to be a good manager) Essay

Managerial interview (What you think to be a good manager) - Essay Example When doing peer review in order to learn to praise and be appreciated, it is significant to be friendly and nice to the subordinate staff and employees. For instance, a manager can arrange for travel time to give some gifts to people that did not participate in the task. For the all team’s benefits, the collagens is working with you not work for you even your Secretary is working with you but not as a secretary. This will in turn encourage team, as people in the organization will be able to work together like a family. Harmony is very important as it makes the management, employees, and subordinate staff to respect each other. As a manager, always give people a second chance buy not third chances as this might cost the company. However, when the third time happens (mistakes) the manager (him) will write the report based on the truth and reasonable reason. The manager will write the following things to an employee who has committed mistakes; he will write nurture report based o n fact and send them to retrain before being absorbed again. The manager should respect different commons from the team members, but you have to make the decisions on time in order to enhance productivity. 4. management process Managers are usually engaged in motivating, planning, organizing, decision making and controlling. These managerial processes are very significant for the success of the company because they transcend individual ability of the manager and influence the entire company. A manager should realize that Organizing is very important because it makes a manager to understand everybody’s positions. Controlling give people second chance not third chance. It is significant that a manager to plan everything in time and ensure that everybody has the work structure (menu)... Managers are usually engaged in motivating, planning, organizing, decision making and controlling. These managerial processes are very significant for the success of the company because they transcend individual ability of the manager and influence the entire company. A manager should realize that Organizing is very important because it makes a manager to understand everybody’s positions. Controlling give people second chance not third chance. It is significant that a manager to plan everything in time and ensure that everybody has the work structure (menu) to avoid confusion. To be a good manager, it is good to go to the office every Sunday noon to prepare the working plan. For instance, at this company, every day the manager gives collagens time to relax and take some coffee. A good manager should have a plan B back up plan. I have to understand the team member’s thoughts and motivate them to attain the same goal. In addition, you have to listen to the opinions of emp loyees and other staff in order to improve personal relationship. The last, not least, when bad thing happens remember, you are the Capitan, take the responsibility, and learn from past mistakes because it encourages the collagen that mistakes do happens. Learn from the lesson in order to keep long-lasting success.

Keats- Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Keats- Poetry - Essay Example He is well-known for his ability to lift his readers beyond the mundane everyday aspects of life and bring them to a higher level of thought and existence. This ability is well-illustrated in his poem â€Å"To One who has been Long in City Pent.† In this poem, Keats argues that each day should be enjoyed, provides a means of doing so and reminds his readers that their time to enjoy their days on earth is limited by employing a heavy use of imagery, appealing to the senses, calming readers with a soothing varied Italian sonnet format and allowing the analogy to develop slowly. Keats begins the poem by addressing it to all individuals who have been stuck in the city for long periods of time and are beginning to feel trapped, â€Å"To one who has been long in city pent† (1). By doing this, he is calling attention to the idea that he may be able to offer some relief from their suffering by having them do nothing more difficult than looking up. Exhorting them to â€Å"look into the fair / And open face of heaven, - to breathe a prayer / Full in the smile of the blue firmament† (2-4), Keats directs the memory to happier times spent in the country while also reminding them of their more permanent eternal home in heaven with the use of the unusual phrase ‘blue firmament’ which typically suggests solid land. He calls forth rich images of a relaxing day spent in beautiful weather and blissful activity, â€Å"Fatigued he sinks into some pleasant lair, / Of wavy grass and reads a debonair / And gentle tale of love and languishment† (6-8). Not only has he presented the blue sky above, but with phrases such as â€Å"pleasant lair† and â€Å"wavy grass,† the reader instantly thinks of wild places with the suggestion of a lair, most commonly associated with the beasts of the field, and can almost smell the long grasses of a sweet country meadow untouched by interfering hands far from the factories and businesses of the city. Describing the book as ‘debonair’ and

Black Nationalism Essay Example for Free

Black Nationalism Essay Black Nationalism is defined by Karenga, as the political belief and practice of African Americans as a distinct people with a distinct historical personality who politically should develop structures to define, defend, and develop the interests of Blacks as a people. Black Nationalism can be traced back to the 18th century, back to William Edward Burghardt DuBois, the most prominent black intellectual of all time. Black Nationalism is the response of African Americans to the continual racism and oppression they experience. It came about because of two reasons; the racism that they faced daily, and being exploited economically by white supremacy. Black Nationalism seeks a solution to the problems that African Americans face on a daily basis After the Civil War, the situation of the black people was not good; it was a semi-free, semi-slave situation. An example of this is tenancy, where the Blacks have control of the work process and work schedule but ultimately had to give up the fruits of their hard work because they were not the landowners. This kept the Blacks under White dominance, and living in poverty. Another factor in the economical status of the Black people was the introduction of mass production, new methods and machinery. This caused the loss of many of the jobs being held by the Black men, Negroes are now restricted more and more to common labor and domestic service of the lowest paid and worst kind. The already bad situation became worse when the Depression arrived. Although everyone was affected by the Depression, the Black people were hit the hardest, as DuBois states in the case of the Negro worker, everything has been worse? the loss has been greater and more permanent. ( DuBois, 564) In addition, Black people have always experienced racism. DuBois communicates this problem in the essay A Negro Nation within the Nation, Negro children are systematically denied education;? Once or twice a month Negroes convicted of no crime are openly and publicly lynched, and even burned?. When a man with every qualification is refused a position simply because his great-grandfather was black there is not a ripple of comment or protest( DuBois, 563) To survive these conditions, and defend themselves against racism, exploitation and oppression, Black people formed social relationships within their community, which centered mainly around the church. They fought back with Black unity, the belief that Blacks should come together to fight against their exploitation, oppression, and discrimination. DuBoiss nationalism circulates around three main ideas: First, the belief that all people of African descent shared common goals, and that they should work together in their struggle for equality. Second, he emphasized a cultural nationalism; being the editor of the crisis magazine he encouraged the development of black literature and art, publishing the work of many of the most talented black writers and poets, encouraging his readers to see the beauty in black. Finally, he believed that Blacks should develop a separate group economy of producers and consumers, and cooperate as a weapon for fighting economic discrimination and black poverty. DuBois created Talented Tenth, the idea of using the intellectual elite to fight against racism. He believed the only way to fight racism and oppression was to attack the economic power of the white people. The thinking colored people of the United States, he wrote, must stop being stampeded by the word segregation. . . . There should never be an opposition to segregation pure and simple unless that segregation does involve discrimination. (DuBois, 557. ) He believed that some forms of segregation were beneficial to the Black people. This statement from DuBois spurred a lot of controversy and resulted in his resignation form the NAACP, which was primarily made of integrationist, those who refused to see themselves as people of African descent and opposed any form of institutional segregation based on race. Nationalists, on the other hand such a DuBois, saw themselves as descendents of Africa, they emphasized that Black people should create their own economical, cultural and educational institutions. The Conclusion: Black Nationalism was created as a result of the struggles of the Black people in America, it was necessary for their cultural and economical survival. Some may say that being a nationalist is being a racist; this is true in some cases. Black Nationalism is similar to Kurdish Nationalism, or Armenian Nationalism, the nationalism of oppressed people, struggling for freedom and equality. On the other hand White Nationalism can be compared with Arab or Turkish Nationalism, which includes racism, race superiority, and oppression of minorities and different ethnic groups. I believe that Black Nationalism is pragmatic, Black people are now proud of their heritage and ancestors, aware of their rich cultural history, and not the image of a lower class, dark-skinned savage inferior to the white supremacy painted by White America. Works Citied DuBois, W. E. B. A Negro Nation within The Nation. W. E. B. DuBois A Reader. Ed. David Levering Lewis. New York, Ny: Henry Holt and Company 1995. 563-570. DuBois, W. E. B. Segregation. W. E. B. DuBois A Reader. Ed. David Levering Lewis. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company 1995. 557-558.

Tescos Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Tescos Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) Strategic human resource management bridges business strategy and human resource management and focuses on the integration of HR with the business and its environment. The main rational for strategic HRM thinking is that by integrating HRM with the business strategy employees will be managed more effectively, organizational performance will improve and therefore business success will follow (Holbeche, 1999). Stroh and Caligiuri (1998) suggest that strategic HR departments are future-oriented and operate in a manner consistent with the overall business plan in their organizations. Such departments assess the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the future and institute staffing, appraisal and evaluation, incentives and compensation, training and development to meet those needs. According to this approach, people are a key resource and a critical element in a firms performance since they build organizational effectiveness (Holbeche, 1999). Now this report will make an attempt to explain the importance of strategic human resource management in organizations and then it will assess the purpose of SHRM and how it contributes to the achievement of Tescos organizational objectives. Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK and the third largest retailer all over the world. Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen and became Tesco plc in 1983. It has 4811 stores worldwide and 472,000 employees (Tesco annual report, 2010). Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic HRM adds value to organizational effectiveness by linking people, strategy, values and performance (Becker et al., 2001).Past research suggests that an organizations employees can be a source for sustained competitive advantage and can determine the ultimate success of their organizations (Pfeffer, 1994; Prahalad, 1983).Given the importance of people in organizations; most strategic human resource departments consider the management of the competencies and capabilities of these human assets the primary goal. SHRM tends to employ progressive human resource practices in which the emphasis is on assessing the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the future and to institute staffing, appraisal and evaluation, incentive and compensation, and training and development programs to meet those needs (Cascio, 1995). Huselid (1995) refers to these strategic HR practices collectively as high-performance work practices. Burack et al. (1994) suggests several ways that organizations can maintain high commitment and high performance among employees and ultimately organizational effectiveness: by promoting the organizations credibility with employees; encouraging the use of participative management and employee involvement programs; focusing on high achievement, mutual trust and commitment; and developing a combined group/entrepreneurial approach to management, thereby creating an organizational culture in which individual employees are encouraged to be adaptive, competitive and successful. Research by several scholars has shown a close association between these high performance work practices and organizational effectiveness. MacDuffie (1995), for example, found that the presence of integrated strategic HR practices was related to higher productivity and higher quality in automotive assembly plants. Terpstra and Rozell (1993), studying a variety of industries, found that the presence of strategic staffing practices was positively related to an organizations annual profit and its profit growth. Finally, in a study of more than 1,000 organizations, Huselid (1995) found that a relationship existed between high-performance work practices and such positive employee outcomes as lower tumover and higher productivity, as well as better corporate financial performance. Research has also shown that executives company-wide view strategic HR departments as more effective partners in directing their organizations larger business plans (Dyer, 1983). One could conclude, therefore, th at, when an organizations HR strategy is linked to its business strategy, organizational effectiveness should improve (Dyer, 1983; Stroh and Reilly, 1994). Purpose of Strategic Human Resource Management in Tesco One of the key goals of strategic human resource management is to link an organizations business strategy to its human resource strategy (Lundy and Cowling, 1996).Besides, the greater goal of strategic human resources is to support, manage and maintain high-commitment and high-performance employees (Burack et al., 1994). In addition, a strategic HR agenda is likely to have a number of key goals relating to the attraction, development and retention of talent. Further, the enabling of high performance is likely to be a key target for strategic HRM (Holbeche, 1999). However, In spite of economic down turn Tesco is expanding its business and increasing its profit year to year. The key issue behind this is its successful strategic HRM policy. Tesco has a well-established and consistent strategy for growth. The rationale for the strategy is to broaden the scope of the business to enable it to deliver strong, sustainable long-term growth by following customers into large expanding markets at home such as financial services, non-food and telecoms and new markets abroad, initially in Central Europe and Asia and more recently in the United States (Tesco, 2010). To materialize its growth strategy Tesco invests huge amount of money in its people which links its business strategy to HR strategy. Tesco has a five-year people strategy that it continually develops and update. Top management of Tesco asks its people every year whats important to them and they consistently reply the same four things: a manager who helps them, opportunities to get on, an interesting job and to be treated with respect. Tescos whole strategy is focused on how to get better at these (Pinkerfield, 2007). That means Tesco ensures a careful supervision of its employees, offers a good career prospect, provides motivational forces for performance improvement and values its employees. In a nutshell, the purpose of Tescos strategic human resource management is to get the full potential of its employees through its HR strategy for achieving its business growth strategy. 1.3 Evaluation of Tescos Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically with respect to its impact on organizational performance (Paauwe Boselie, 2003). As an International organization, Tesco has strategically integrated HR into its overall business plans. Managers have been to utilize aspects of HR in their decision making. This has shown high commitment to HR, attempting to gain acceptance from all employees, and offering to all employees basic and extended training (Beardwell, 2004).Tesco is committed to providing opportunities for people to get on and turn their jobs into careers. Last year it had more people on development programs than ever before. Tesco has continued to develop apprenticeship training in the UK. Tesco believes that even in difficult times it is essential to invest in future talent. Thats why this year, while many other businesses were cutting their graduate schemes, Tesco increased its graduate intake to 810, including 535 in Asia. As a l eading global company, Tesco aims to offer the very best training and development for all its employees. The Tesco Academy helps provide an opportunity to get on for its entire people. It develops thousands of world-class leaders through excellent training in leadership, managemental employee to understand their role and importance within the organization (Tesco, 2010). There is an increased need for a higher value to be placed on employees, and therefore get the best performance from the employees. Tesco views that No-one tries harder for customers and it treats people how they like to be treated. These values are interlinked and underpin everything going on at Tesco. Tesco realizes that by managing people well in a culture of trust and respect they will in turn try their hardest for customers. By offering competitive pay and benefits and an opportunity to develop a long-term varied career with good training, Tesco is able to keep its people motivated, committed and excited about working at Tesco (Tesco, 2010).   By todays standards, supermarkets are labour-intensive businesses, which mean that how they manage, develop and reward staff, really matters (Carrington, 2003).The successful strategic HRM of Tesco is one of the main reasons behind its success. Attracting, retaining and motivating staff is core to Tescos people strategy. One of the key developments in the way supermarkets do business has been the close correlation they now draw between employees and customers. As Clare Chapman, head of Tesco HR, points out, staff loyalty is directly related to customer loyalty. What she says she wants is not the functional loyalty whereby people turn up to work every day, but the emotional loyalty that means they bring their brains in which them. The way to get this she suggests is by constantly reviewing how you reward your staff and by listening to them (Carrington, 2003). From the above discussion of Tescos strategic HRM this report can conclude that the strategic HRM of Tesco plays a significant role in achieving its organizational objectives. In this age of economic down turn Tesco is increasing its customers, expanding its scope worldwide, and increasing its revenue because of mainly having its well-trained, valued and motivated workforce. The people of Tesco build a sustainable reputation for the organization through better customer service which in turn contributes in retaining its market share worldwide. Task 2 2.1 Business Factors that underpin Human Resource Planning at Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, a global automotive leader based in Dearborn, Michigan-USA, manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents with about 198,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide. Now this report will analyze the business factors that underpin the human resource planning at Ford Motor Company. Economic recession Now the world is facing economic downturn. The automotive industry is one of the main sectors to suffer from economic recession. As the financial crisis persist, both credit availability and consumers weakened confidence have contributed to a drastic decline in vehicle sales. So, the demand for vehicle sales goes down. Consequently, Ford Motor Company reduced its employees for reducing overhead cost and improving its balance sheet.So, the HR planning of ford is greatly affectedly by economic recession. Demographic Factors The changing characteristics of workforce or demographic projections have significant implications for managing human resources, thereby increasing the importance of human resource planning. The changing demographics mean there will be fewer entry-level employees, so competition among employers will increase. In addition, the changing demographics signal changes in the abilities, skills, interests, and values of tomorrows work force. From its inception Ford always emphasize on creating a diverse workforce which underpins its HR planning process. Customer preference and technology Consumer demand for more fuel-efficient and cleaner vehicles continues to grow. To accomplish fuel-economy goal, Ford is focused in the near term on implementing the most cost-effective fuel-efficiency technologies across a large volume of vehicles and on introducing new products that offer improved fuel efficiency without compromising style or performance. In 2009, for example, it began implementing the EcoBoost„ ¢ engine, a key technology in its fuel-efficiency strategy that uses gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology. EcoBoost will deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy, 15 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions and superior driving performance compared to larger-displacement engines.  Besides, Ford is continuing to design and introduce advanced technologies that improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and lessen dependence on foreign oil (Ford Sustainability, 2008/09). Initiating new technology and new products require multi-skilled human resources wh ich affect the HR Planning of Ford. Growing or declining organization Human resource planning is greatly influenced by whether the organization is growing or declining position. In a growing organization human resource planners just look for needed skills and abilities. But in a declining organization they need to look at the cost associated with employees. During the third quarter of 2008, Ford reduced its salary-related costs by about 15 percent, which included the involuntary layoff of some salaried employees as it faced huge amount of loses at that time because of recession (Ford Sustainability, 2008/09). 2.2 Role of HR in Acquisition Now this report will assess the expansion of Ford Motor Company through acquisition of Land Rover, a British four-wheeler luxury brand, and how HR plays an important role in this expansion. During the end of 19th century the automobile industry was subject to serious macroeconomic pressures. The major trends of global consolidation and fragmenting consumer demand, fuelled by rising incomes and increasing development costs driven by tighter environmental legislation and increasing competition, provided the backcloth for strategic decision-making. Ford wanted to extend its market to include the growing and potentially profitable luxury car sector. The Ford brand itself was, and is, associated with mass-market vehicles rather than luxury vehicles. Its US-based luxury brands, Lincoln and Mercury, do not sell well outside the United States and were associated with an ageing buying population. The option of creating a new brand was rejected on the grounds of cost and the time needed to est ablish a new brand successfully in a highly competitive market (Scheele, 2004). The remaining option was external acquisition of existing luxury brands. In this situation ford acquired Land Rover in 2000 from BMW. Ford initiated a new HR plan for Land Rover to become successful because nine months earlier its then owners, BMW, had made some fairly far-reaching changes in Land Rovers management team. Most of the old directors had been removed and replaced with BMW nominees (Dover, 2004).This exceptional situation cleared the way for the introduction of an entirely new team responsible for integrating the company and enacting the necessary changes. Ford assembled a very strong team of Ford insiders from around the globe, and Bob Dover, from Aston Martin, was sent to run the company. To soften the impact of an international influx of new people and demonstrate opportunity, internal staffs were promoted into senior management roles (Lummis, 2004). Mergers will be more successful if companies have the ability to appoint an implementation team from both traditions who enjoy complementary functional backgrounds capable of enacting necessary change within the right timescale (Krishnan et al., 1997).Besides, it is essential to build a leadership team capable of implementing change and aligning businesses around common values in situations in which people from different national cultural backgrounds can work together (Testa and Morosini, 2001). The integration approach adopted by Ford for the Land Rover acquisition was a hands-on approach. Ford developed a multi-cultural leadership team for land Rover who were able to respond quickly to any macro and micro environmental changes. 2.3 Human Resource Plan for Ford Motor Company There are different types of human resource planning-short-term, intermediate-term and long-term, in different types of organization. Here this report will develop a short-term HRP for Ford Motor Company. Forecasting demand and supply The demand of jobs involves predicting which employees will leave the job and creates vacancies, which jobs will be eliminated and which new jobs will be created. For identifying job demand Ford will collect data about how many jobs created last year and will project it for the planning year. Besides, Ford will receive line managers Predictions about how many and what types of jobs will be eliminated or created in the short term. For supply side, Ford will determine the desired characteristics of employees who fill (or vacate) the jobs of interest. Then the availability of those characteristics in the organizations current work force and in the external labor market must be assessed. The particular characteristics of current and potential employees that is inventoried and tracked by human resource planners. Objectives of HRP at FORD Short-term human resource objectives at Ford include increasing the number of people who are attracted to the organization and apply for jobs (increase the applicant pool); attracting a different mix of applicants (with different skills, in different locations, etc.); improving the qualifications of new hires; increasing the length of time that desirable employees stay with the organization; decreasing the length of time that undesirable employees stay with the organization; and helping current and newly hired employees quickly develop the skills needed by the organization. Recruitment Selection For getting the right people Ford will advertise its requirement through different channels: website, newspaper, employee templates or notice board for internal recruitment. Ford normally practices ethnocentric staffing policy in its international operation. After getting applicants Ford selects the right person through different test: psychological test, personality test, technological skill test, aptitude test, etc.Diversity is the key priority in Fords recruitment planning. Training and Development To get better service from its newly recruited employees Ford will arrange huge range of training and development programs for employees. All employees are encouraged to invest in their own professional development by developing an Individual Development Plan, or IDP, to help them meet current and future goals. Ford will provide a comprehensive range of learning and development resources that align with ONE Ford. These include web-based and classroom training, special projects and task forces, as well as mentoring and coaching to foster functional and technical excellence, encourage teamwork, promote Ford values and enhance its ability to deliver results. Ford has created internal colleges that provide education and training in areas ranging from finance and information technology to product development and marketing. IT will also offer the Salaried Supervisor Institute/Program (SSI) for new or experienced leaders who want to enhance their ONE Ford skills. In conclusion it can be said that Ford Motor Company takes a defensive strategy in their human resource planning as the companys balance sheet was not enough well in last few years due to economic recession. As a result it downsizes its some plants to reduce employee cost and just recruited new people who are highly technically efficient. 2.4 Evaluation of Human Resource Plan The human resource plan of a company can evaluate to identify how well the objectives were achieved. Ford implemented its HRP in its business strategy. Most importantly, it established a number of Employee Resource Groups (ERG) as a part of HRP to support, outreach and develop employees who share ethnicity, race religion, life experiences, disabilities or backgrounds (Ford, 2008/09). In January 2008, it announced One Ford, which aligns its efforts toward a common definition of success. One Ford provides consistent goals and expectations for employees, whether they work in Michigan or Shanghai, with a clear focus on the skills and behaviors must demonstrate to accomplish One Team, One Plan, and One Goal. All members of the global team are held accountable for incorporating One Ford into their daily work (Ford, 2008-09). One Ford is designed to help every employee achieve his or her fullest potential as they work together to move the business forward. Over the last year, it has incorporated One Ford into its people processes, beginning with employee development. It revamped its employee leadership and professional development programs to align with One Ford, providing employees with Web-based and classroom training to foster functional and technical excellence, encourage teamwork, promote Ford values and enhance its ability to deliver results. Fords performance management processes ensure that employee objectives and behaviors align with One Ford. In the current economic environment, it is more important than ever to invest in employees, strengthen their leadership skills and recognize them for delivering results that cultivate success. Consequently, Ford became profitable in 2009 2010 and its successful HRP significantly contribute to this success. 3.1 Purpose of Human Resource Management Policies It is universally acknowledged in the corporate world that HRM policies play a significant role in achieving the objectives of an organization. In this phase the report will analyze the purposes of HRM policies in Nokia telecommunications. With more than 100,000 employees in more than 100 countries, Finnish-based Nokia is the largest maker of mobile telephones in the world.Nokia has achieved 40 percent market share of the global handset market and industry-leading profit margin of 20-25 percent during the transition period of technological change and intense competition and its HRM policies played a pivotal role in this achievement. Motivate and engage employees are the key purposes in Nokias HRM policies.Nokia HRM policies comprises four elements to motivate and engage the employees and maintain his or her satisfaction and well-being at work. They are: The Nokia way and values; Performance-based rewards; Professional and personal growth; and Work-life balance. The Nokia way and values The company emphasizes the importance of: respect treating colleagues with trust and dignity, in order to help to build an open and honest spirit at the workplace, and also respecting customers, business partners, the environment and the community; achievement recognizing and celebrating individual and shared successes; renewal fostering change and development, and having the passion and courage to look for new ideas beyond existing products, services and ways of working; management and leadership creating commitment, passion and inspiration through collaboration and coaching, and ensuring focus and efficiency by setting targets, fulfilling goals and reviewing results; and employee participation encouraging open discussion and debate through, for example, the annual globally conducted Listening to You employee survey, and Ask HR feedback channel on the companys human-resources Intranet, where every employee can comment or ask questions about Nokias people practices and processes, even anonymously, and receive a prompt and openly published response. Performance-based rewards Nokias total-compensation package is tailored to each country and typically consists of elements such as annual base salary, incentives, bonuses, possible participation in equity-plan and other local benefits. Nokias total compensation is based on a pay-for-performance philosophy. Results through consistent performance and proven, relevant competencies are rewarded.Nokia aims to provide a competitive global reward structure that uses international and local market information, but also takes into account the employees overall position and any significant economic influencers. Professional and personal growth Nokia employees are encouraged to create their own development plans, take part in on-the-job learning, and take advantage of the various courses and other learning opportunities available. Through its global network of learning centers, Nokia aims to offer a consistent standard of training and development to all its employees. The Learning Market Place Intranet contains information on all Nokias learning opportunities, including e-learning and classroom training. The company also has a full suite of training programs for new and experienced managers. All Nokia vacancies, with the exception of very senior positions, are advertised internally. Employees are encouraged to improve their competencies through job rotation. Internal job opportunities, the possibility to register on the companys internal candidate pool and other services for job-seeking inside the company are available through the company Intranet. The Nokia performance-management system, named Investing in People (IIP), is closely aligned to the companys strategy and planning processes. It involves formalized discussions between employees and their managers, twice a year. Employees are encouraged to own their IIP, to understand what is expected of them and how their individual achievements support the companys overall strategy. Work-life balance Nokia offers various services, programs and guidelines to support employees efforts to achieve a healthy work-life balance that reflects their changing needs and life situations. The various aspects may alter by country according to local needs, legislation, employment market and common practices. Typically, they include teleworking, mobile working, flexible working hours, sabbaticals, study leave, health-care services and recreational activities (Pollitt, 2004). Finally it can be concluded that Nokias employees are satisfied working at Nokia as they are  respected, reasonably paid, and offered a sustainable career. The purpose of Nokias HRM policies is to value employees and achieve organizational objectives. 3.2 Impact of Regulatory Requirements Human resource policies of Nokia in different countries are influenced by the legal requirements of those countries. Now this report will analyze the impact of regularity requirements in UK on Nokias human resource policies.Nokia-Uk, develops its pay structure according to the Employment Act, 2008 and never pay below minimum wages to any hourly employee. According to Sec 19a (1) of this act, A notice of under-payment must, subject to this section, require the employer to pay a financial penalty specified in the notice to the Secretary of State within the 28 day period. In this case Nokia is trustworthy company to the UK authority. Some of the UK Acts which affect HRM policies of Nokia are mentioned as follows: Human Rights Act 1998: The Human Rights Act 1998 was brought into effect in Nokia.The Act provides among other issues, a right to fair trial and a right to respect family life. It provides for the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms under the European Convention of Human Rights without discrimination on specified grounds, including sex, race, color, language, religion, and national or social origin. According to this act, Nokia offers flexible working hours to its employees, allows paternity and maternity leave, different safety services, study leave, etc. Race Relations Act 1976: This makes both direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of race, color, nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origin unlawful. The law covers people from all racial groups, including white people.Nokia HRM policies strongly discourage any activity relating to racial discrimination. Equal Pay Act 1970: This deals with equal pay and prohibits different pay for men and women doing the same work, work rates as equivalent, or work of equal value.Nokia is always liable to this act and develops its payment structure accordingly. Trade Unions and Labor Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992: This legislation protects employees from discrimination on the grounds of trade union activities or membership, or of non trade union membership.Nokia encourages the voice of trade union as a part of its HRP policies. Employment Relations Act 1999: This Act includes a number of Family Friendly measures and includes legislation to cover the European Parental Leave Directive. The objective of the Parental Leave Directive is to provide a balance between work and home life. The Act provides employees with rights to parental leave, time off work in family emergencies as well as simplifying and improving maternity rights. In the previous section, HRM policies of Nokia have been covered and from the analysis of different regulatory requirements it can be concluded that a number of HRM policies of Nokia in UK has been derived from these regulatory acts and legal environment. Task 3 4.1 Impact of Organizational Structure on Human Resource Management Organizational structure means three things: the formal division of the organization into sub-units (horizontal differentiation), the location of decision-making responsibilities within that structure (vertical differentiation) and the establishment of integrating mechanisms (Hill, 2005). Organizational structure affects significantly on HRM of different organizations. Now this report will analyze the organizational structure of Unilever and its impact on HRM. Unilever is one of the worlds oldest multinational corporations with extensive product offerings in the food, detergent and personal care businesses. In 1996, Unilever introduced a new structure based on regional business groups instead of a decentralized structure. Within each business group are a number of divisions, each focusing on a specific category of products. Thus, within the European business group is a division focusing on detergents, another on ice cream and frozen foods and so on. These groups and divisions have been given the responsibility for coordinating the activities of national subsidiaries within their region to drive down costs and speed up the process of developing and introducing new products. The regional or divisional structure of Unilever has enabled the company to develop specialized workforce. Because of specialization Unilever offers handsome pay structure to the employees. For developing specialized skilled workforce Unilever develops a succession planning. Each division of Unilever has got autonomy and divisional manager reports to the regional manager. It allows the regional manager to analyze the performance of divisional managers and employees. As each group works as a team, there exists a good relationship among management and employees and ultimately employees are offered flexible working hours, different health and safety scheme, etc. 4.2 Impact of Organizational Culture on Human Resource Management Organizational culture is the norms and value systems that are shared among the employees of an organization. Just as societies have cultures, so do organizations (Hill, 2005). Unilevers success has been based on mainly high levels of employee productivity and product quality. The company attributes its productivity to a strong organizational culture and an incentive scheme based on performance.Unilever always practices a participative management culture where employees are encouraged in decision making process. There is an open door HR policy between workers and managers which boost employee morale and performance.Unilever believes that any gains in productivity should be shared with employees in the form of higher pay. In Unilever, production workers have been awarded a semiannual bonus based on an employees level and quality of product. That means the organizational culture of Unilever shapes its payment and reward structure. All the employees are considered equally to the company irrespective of gender