Category: Business 11471

Articles Topic: Importance and Relevance

The targeted Harvard Business Review article for this exercise is The Truth About CSR by Kasturi Rangan, Lisa Chase, and Sohel Karim. The authors treat corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a critical aspect of business culture and organizational behavior (OB). The article encourages organizations to ensure their CSR strategies are embedded in their business models. The authors indicate clearly that the CSR agenda and OB should be aligned.

This topic is important because it explores an agenda that has been taken lightly by many organizational leaders. According to this article, corporations should use their OB aspects to design desirable CSR approaches. The strategies should be aligned with the companys culture, organizational behavior, and business objectives. Companies that fail to align their CSR initiatives with their organizational behaviors will find it hard to realize their potentials.

The concept of CSR is critical towards promoting shared values, behaviors, and goals. When the CSR portfolios of an organization are aligned with its business culture, the managers will attract the best talent and eventually address the needs of their stakeholders.

This topic is relevant to organizational behavior because CSR portfolios tend to trigger specific attitudes and values in an organization. The employees perception of their companys CSR initiatives dictates their organizational behaviors. Effective CSR portfolios tend to influence social and organizational behaviors. Corporations should, therefore, ensure their CSR initiatives support their overall business models. By so doing, the best behaviors will emerge thus supporting environmental and financial performance.

Critique

The Targeted Story

This article presents an important story that can make a huge difference in the world of business. Firms should consider the OB concept to develop new CSR approaches that support their missions and visions. The authors indicate clearly that many companies have failed to embrace this strategy. Consequently, such corporations have failed to achieve their business potentials. The ideas presented in the article explain how companies can use their CSR models to empower every employee.

The strategy will catalyze admirable organizational attitudes and behaviors. The workers will form new teams and eventually deliver desirable results. This new practice will ensure the values and goals of the organization support sustainable CSR practices. New organizational behaviors characterized by positive cultural orientations will deliver positive results.

Evidence

The article uses the stories of successful companies to deliver the targeted message. Within the past three decades, many companies have used different CSR approaches to support the welfare of different stakeholders and communities. However, such firms have failed to promote the best OB practices in an attempt to make CSR a critical aspect of their business models. The inclusion of CSR in a companys business model promotes new behaviors and attitudes. The CSR concept becomes an integral attribute of a firms OB. This approach makes it easier for more workers and stakeholders to support the strategy. A company that is guided by effective CSR initiatives will ensure its workers embrace the best organizational behaviors.

Takeaway Messages

The article presents meaningful ideas that can be implemented in different business organizations. The authors encourage business leaders to promote the best organizational behaviors (OBs) whenever focusing on the best results. Organizational behavior (OB) should be used to guide every companys CSR goals. The strategy will empower and equip the employees with the best attitudes and core values.

The article encourages business leaders to ensure CSR is a critical attribute of their respective business strategies. The authors inform the reader about the benefits of making CSR portfolio a priority. The approach will ensure the CSR agenda will trigger positive behaviors and attitudes in the workplace. Consequently, every organization will record positive environmental, social, and organizational performance. Individuals who embrace and implement these ideas in their businesses will eventually record positive results.

Further Questions and Opinions

This article encourages more readers to reexamine the role of OB towards supporting CSR. According to the article, organizations should ensure their CSR portfolios are guided by their business values and objectives. The reader is allowed to consider new strategies that can be embraced to ensure the CSR portfolio of an organization produces positive results. The article raises several questions that must be taken seriously by future researchers. For example, the topic encourages researchers to examine how social responsibility can be used to reshape the behaviors, values, and attitudes of many employees.

This knowledge will make it easier for more managers to implement new behaviors and attitudes that can improve the level of organizational performance. The topic is relevant because it addresses a critical issue that has been underestimated by many scholars and business managers. I believe that the topic is relevant for companies that want to design effective business strategies and behaviors. Such strategies will bring together more stakeholders, reshape internal behaviors, create positive cultural practices, and eventually deliver positive results. I will read more articles to understand how CSR can be used to support a companys organizational behavior. This knowledge will make it easier for me to manage my future businesses successfully.

Promotional strategies of Maruti Suzuki India

Every organization needs promotional strategies and approaches as they have a huge impact on the reception of the product. In this case, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has unique products that must be aggressively promoted in order to beat the tough competition in the automobile industry (Roy, 2013). Given that the Indian customer is sensitive when it comes to prices, in times of declines in the economy, the company usually reduces the prices of its major brands such as Wagon R, Maruti 800 and Omni in order to avoid disfranchising its prospective clients (Srivastava, Negi, Mishra, & Pandey, 2012). In order to attract more customers, the company uses a number of customer-centered promotional strategies such as offering insurance at only one Indian rupee, attractive campaigns such as change your life and promotion of road safety and efficient driving both in towns and rural areas.

Tata motors limited is also one of the leading automobile companies in India. Its promotional strategies are somewhat different from those adopted by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Tata motors mainly uses corporate social responsibility programs to promote its brands (Srivastava, Negi, Mishra, & Pandey, 2012). In fact, Tata motors Ltd. uses on average between eight to fourteen percent of its returns for various social causes every year. Some of these welfare programs include Self-Help Groups, immunization and childcare, facilitation of child education, plantation activities, and facilitation of AIDS awareness.

How Maruti Suzuki can differentiate from competitors using marketing information

There are two ways that Maruti Suzuki Ltd can use marketing information to differentiate itself in market and gain competitive advantage: knowing how to position itself relative to positional approaches of competitors and second, enhancing the turnaround strategies (Freiberg, Freiberg, & Dunston, 2011). In the case of positioning, marketing information will help Maruti Suzuki Ltd to know how its major competitors are positioned in order to strategize how tackle them. For instance, it would know that Tata Motors has many brands which offer clients a wide range of options (Freiberg, Freiberg, & Dunston, 2011). In addition, most potential clients like to be identified with Tata motors because it emphasizes the delivery of unique, world class quality.

For instance, they have managed to redefine the market for small cars not just in India, but also globally. In addition, since the time of price wars, today pricing is based on value perceptions of customers. With this, prices of automobiles in the Indian market are not determined by price points but price bands. In other words, the better the product, the higher the end-user demand which translates into the wider price band (Roy, 2013). Therefore, knowing this would help Maruti to come up with models that beat competitors market hype. Some of these would include producing cars that are unique and tailored to satisfy specific needs of consumers.

In terms of enhancing the turnaround strategies, the marketplace is volatile and bound to change anytime for better or worse. Therefore, a company that is prepared in advance is likely to stay ahead of competition (Freiberg, Freiberg, & Dunston, 2011). For instance, since the 1980s-1990s, Maruti was the leading automobile company in India controlling more than eighty percent of the market. However, in the last decade, the industry has changed with the emergence of other players both local and international. This resulted in reduced profits for the company. In the wake of reducing returns as well as loss of market share, the company would have used market information to initiated strategic responses in order to deal with the process of liberalization in India and start to redesign and differentiate to confront competition in the market (Srivastava, Negi, Mishra, & Pandey, 2012). For instance, its earlier approach was majorly to produce and sell what they produced, with understanding of the market trends, the focus of the company would shift to the end user.

Consumer oriented Promotions

Maruti Suzuki Ltd could use value-added promotions. Some of the examples of these are a free instructional course mainly with every vehicle purchase, free trials and complementary training (Baye & Nelson, 2001). These practices are known to build consumer retention as end users value the effort made by the company. Unlike short term undertakings such as discounts and coupons, with training and even free trails, the company can easily build a strong bond with prospective clients that have long-term impacts with promotional aspects that inject value to the end user purchase (Kurtz & Boone, 2011). In short, these aspects can help the company to develop a long-term strategy that creates customer confidence and boost the identity of the brand.

Another customer oriented promotion is offering regular discounts (Roy, 2013). Marketing promotions and regular sales can impact the bottom line of a company in both the short term and the long term. Discounts in the case of Maruti could comprise things such as additional spare parts or after sale service and insurance cover. Therefore, when planning or drafting an annual budget, Maruti should always factor in planned promotions as a way of attracting extra sales (Shimp, 2010). In short, customer-oriented promotions, in both short and long term, can play a vital role in enhancing company returns.

Pricing strategies of Maruti Suzuki Ltd

The main pricing objective of Maruti is catering to all segments. To fulfill this objective, the company has offered its products at nearly price points. For instance, it has a car selling at the lowest price in industry which is about 1.88 million rupees. This is the lowest price or offer on the Indian road (Baye & Nelson, 2001). Their pricing objective is to give an alternative to end users who are looking up for a good car but a cost effective price. In fact, the reason why they have so many products on offer is to cater to every segment or different end user demand in India. Furthermore, some brands are offered in different variants and prices just to ensure that clients, who want a certain brand but cannot afford the price, can still get it but in a different variant. The table below shows how Maruti prices its brands.

Source: Author

The main reason for introducing variants is that they are based on consumer perception and competitiveness in the industry. For instance, Tata motors offer some of its cars in a range of 2, 50,000 to 3, 80,000 rupees with different variants (Freiberg, Freiberg, & Dunston, 2011). Therefore, offering something outside this range would have been suicidal for Maruti.

The best advertising Medium

In the automobile industry, magazines are a better platform to catch the attention of readers or prospective clients (OGuinn, Allen, & Semen, 2012). Auto magazines are usually attractive and appeal more to auto lovers than news papers and other advertising platforms. The style used by readers of auto magazines is very different from the styled used to read general news papers. They usually read through them in a more careful and keen way. The added advantage with auto magazines is that they are not loaded with adverts so readers do not have any difficulty spotting fine details of adverts.

Magazines have a number of advantages in terms of direct response advertising. They work well particularly in the context where companies are targeting a specific audience (Baye & Nelson, 2001). Magazine adverts can also be used in business to business advertising. This is particularly in trade-specific issues or publications that cater to specific industries (Baye & Nelson, 2001). However, just like any other advertising medium, Maruti should not be fast on buying an extensive advertising space in a general business magazine. Because the company needs to select a magazine that enables them to specifically reach their target audience without any extra cost.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd started its operation in the 1980s and rose to become a leader in the Indian automobile industry. Maruti succeeded because of its unique style of marketing and promoting business. Tata motors ltd on the other hand, is an Indian based company that uses CSR to position its offerings. This strategy is different from what Maruti uses-customer-oriented promotional approaches.

References

Baye, M., & Nelson, J. (2001). Advertising and differentiated products. Amsterdam, Netherlands: JAI Press.

Freiberg, K., Freiberg, J., & Dunston, D. (2011). Nanovation: how a little car can teach the world to think big and act bold. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

OGuinn, T., Allen, C., & Semen, R. (2012). Advertising and integrated brand promotion. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Roy, S. (2013). Small and Medium Enterprises in India. New York, NY: Routledge.

Shimp, T. (2010). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Srivastava, A., Negi, G., Mishra, V., & Pandey, S. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Tata Group. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 3 (5), 17-27.

Leadership is one of the key factors that contribute favorably to the success of any organization. In organizations where leadership is lacking, there is always confusion since there are no well-structured organizational goals. Leadership can be described as the ability of an individual to use emotional and personality skills to influence the achievement of organizational goals. The efficiency of management will only be enhanced through the utilization of leadership qualities in the course of running the business. There is always a disparity between management and leadership in that, one can be a good manager but be a bad leader. While a manager will primarily focus on increasing the output through management functions, a leader will seek to create unity in pursuit of the organizational goal. In addition, Rothwell and Kazanas (1999) have described management as a function of position in the organizations chain of command while leadership is a function of the ability to influence others. In Mattel, before the company strategy was drawn, the form of management practiced was unstructured and focused mainly on the output and profitability but did not have the future of the organizations insight. It was a case of everyone for himself in trying to achieve the targets set but all the employees had no sense of direction. The managers focused on profitability of the company but failed to address unity/cohesion, staff motivation, communication systems, as well as succession plan in the organization.

Various theories have tried to address the issue of leadership in organizations in order to boost operations efficiency. To be successful, an organization should have competent leaders. Mattel might have had a competent manager/CEO, Barad, who managed to expand the company while at the same time increasing sales and bottom-line profits, but lacked leadership, which was the contributing factor to the lack of diversity efficiency and poor corporate strategies. Although some theorists claim leaders are born, there are some distinct skills that a leader can acquire through training and situational exposure. For instance, a leader should have social qualities that will enable him unite the workforce and give them direction. This involves formulating strategies that can bring coordination, a discipline that can only be achieved through training.

Mattels future strategy or direction had to be communicated to all the employees in order to have unity of purpose. For Mattel to be successful, all the staff had to be subjected to leadership programs to acquaint them with the relevant leadership skills. However, this had to be directed towards the common organization goal as well as the companys mission and vision. Leadership skills include such elements as communication, motivation, conflict resolution and feedback systems all of which should enhance the creation of an effective balanced scorecard in the organization. One positive thing that Mattel did was to involve employees in developing Mattels corporate values and applying the Bottom-up learning approach to create corporate strategy and vision (Mattel Workforce Strategy, 2007). This action was aimed at unifying the workforce towards the common Mattel organization goal.

Effective leadership should run all through the organization. The leadership training programs would become productive when all employees went through them to acquire relevant skills. Apart from playing part as a forum for sharing ideas across Mattels network, the program was vital in motivating employees as it allowed teamwork  an influential tool in social fulfillment and morale-boosting. Leadership can be acquired through teaching and observation with the belief that leaders are made as per the behavioral theory of leadership (Wagner, n.d). Motivation plays a key role in the performance of employees, especially where the HR policies include procedures for rewarding good performance and correctional procedures for below-par performance.

Training managers to become leaders is a benefit to the organization. This is due to the fact that a successful manager is the one who is able to influence the subordinates by standing out as a guidance of the direction the organization should take. Mattel ensured this through instituting a single performance management system whose target was to ensure every employee; beginning with the managers worked towards contributing to the overall strategic goals, enhanced all-around feedback system and customized coaching where special attention was needed. The impact was to have complete organizational culture that had focus.

The success of Mattels training program is the identification of talent within the organization. Talent can never be unearthed without leadership as had been noticed in Mattel before the leadership training program. Although there was innovation and surge in sales before, the real people behind such success were never identified or even motivated. The realization that the strength of the company lies with talent within, was a viable move to train employees on leadership skills in order to instill confidence in the employees to assume leadership roles in their areas of the endowment. This training program was successful in boosting employees with new ideas and creating an atmosphere where diverse ideas could be implemented, the result of which was the improved performance and active decision making by the employees. This diverted the attention of employees from their immediate unit requirements to incorporating their thinking with corporate strategy and vision.

The establishment of the training program also led to elaborate and efficient succession plans within Mattel. According to Rothwell and Kazanas (1999), a well-designed leadership training program can be useful to individual job mastery, teamwork and organizational performance especially when employees are given the sufficient leadership skills to make sound economic decisions that can propel the company in achieving competitive advantage. The rationale behind leadership training is to equip employees with adequate skills which will be very important in succession planning. This has born fruit in Mattel through career diversity thus increasing internal promotions and reduced employee turnover. Armed with better trained and skillful workforce, Mattel had no reason to seek outside talent to fill vacant positions in the company.

The importance of leadership training can not be ignored. A company may be doing well financially but fail to hold ground during turbulent times due to a lack of leadership. It is therefore important that all managers, as well as other staff, seek to acquire sufficient leadership skills, not only for the organizations good but also for personal development. One important aspect of leadership is that it has no boundary anybody can be a leader- and the use of passion and emotional intelligence to achieve results.

Reference

Duke Corporate Education (2005) Building Effective Teams: Leading from the Center. NY, Kaplan Publishing.

Mattels Workforce Strategy (2007) Mattels Workforce Strategy: Case Study. ICFAI Business School.

Rothwell, William J. and Kazanas, H. C. (1999) Building in-house leadership and management development programs: their creation, management, and continuous improvement. CA, Greenwood Publishing Group.

Wagner, K. V. (N.d) Leadership Theories  8 Major Leadership Theories. (Online). 2009. Web.

Introduction

International trade has transformed the lifestyles of many people in the world. Human beings are using different services, goods, and foods produced over a thousand miles away. However, this scenario presents both negative and positive consequences. Many scholars have been examining the issues associated with international trade. This form of trade can support the economies of many societies. On the other hand, international trade can encourage more people to consume goods that have been produced using unsustainable practices. This essay describes the issues associated Tysons boneless chicken breast.

Analyzing Tysons Boneless Chicken Breast

Tyson Foods is one of the leading marketers and processors of meat. The major foods marketed by Tyson include beef, pork, and chicken. The company has been marketing its products to many customers in over 90 countries. The targeted meal for this assignment is Tysons boneless chicken breast. Tysons chickens are raised locally in the United States. The company obtains its chickens from different farmers in the country (You Need to Know this if You Eat Tyson Chicken, 2009). Such farmers receive technical ideas from the firms specialists in order to raise quality chickens. The farmers use specific farming methods in order to achieve their goals.

Tyson supplies many chicks to the targeted farmers. Every farmer receives technical advice from the company. The farmers are required to raise their chickens in a proper manner. However, studies have indicated that such farmers use different inorganic compounds. The eggs are usually injected with antibiotics. The feeds given to the hatchlings also contain various antibiotics (You Need to Know this if You Eat Tyson Chicken, 2009). However, the firm indicates that its chickens do not contain antibiotics. Most of the employees working within these establishments do not get the required support. Such employees also lack the best resources in order to take care of the chickens.

Tyson also exports its packed chicken to other countries across the globe. This practice requires proper packaging and transportation. Shipping is the commonly used method of transportation. This practice can contaminate the natural environment. The packaging materials are not recycled in the targeted nations. People should therefore use substitute products instead of purchasing different foreign meals (Roosevelt, 2006). For instance, people can raise their own chickens instead of purchasing meat from Tyson Foods. This practice will minimize the environmental challenges associated with shipping.

Locally Sourced Versus Shipped Products

Most of local products are easily available to many consumers. Such products do not require shipping. This practice can promote the idea of environmental conservation. Local products cannot cause foreign diseases. Local farmers can outline the agricultural methods used for production. This practice will eventually produce the best economic benefits (Trefil & Hazen, 2012). Such farmers will market their products to more consumers. The local economy of the targeted society will increase significantly. However, this practice will ensure more people do not benefit from such foreign products. Some of these products are usually nutritious. The practice will also discourage international trade.

On the other hand, foreign products can present numerous problems. The shipping process will result in pollution. Consumers cannot account for the agricultural methods and chemicals used to produce such foreign products. The practice threatens local producers. Such products can also expose many people to foreign diseases. Some malpractices such as corruption might also arise. Such foreign meals can make it impossible for local producers to achieve their economic potentials (Trefil & Hazen, 2012). These foreign products will also foster international trade. More people will be able to get the best nutrients from such foreign products. The consumption of foreign meals will also result in multiculturalism. More people will share similar products.

Analyzing the Phrase Think Globally, Act Locally

This phrase encourages more people to focus on the best practices. Such practices will safeguard the natural environment. The first step towards achieving this goal is by purchasing the right meals. For instance, consumers should analyze the disadvantages and benefits of locally-produced products. The next approach is comparing the benefits and limitations of imported foods. This knowledge will encourage more people to embrace the best practices. Such practices will ensure the world becomes more sustainable (Roosevelt, 2006). A person who acts locally by consuming the best products will eventually make the world more sustainable (Trefil & Hazen, 2012, p. 63).

The best decision is made when a person purchases the right products. My personal actions can eventually address the above problems. I will always purchase specific food materials produced using sustainable methods. Such practices will encourage more producers to safeguard their natural environments. The consumption of local products will minimize most of the challenges affecting our natural environment (Cosier, 2007). Tysons boneless chicken breast contains antibiotics that can affect the lives of many people. Such production methods can also contaminate the natural environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I will use substitute products such as vegetables. People should also raise their own chickens for meat. Human beings should therefore act locally in order to get global goals (Trefil & Hazen, 2012, P. 62). Every family should make appropriate decisions before purchasing Tysons boneless chicken breast. The above practices will eventually make the universe more sustainable.

Reference List

Cosier, S. (2007). The 100-Mile Diet. The Environmental Magazine, 18(5), 42. Web.

Roosevelt, M. (2006). The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet. Time, 167(24), 78. Web.

Trefil, J., & Hazen, R. (2012). The Sciences: An Integrated Approach. New York, NY: Wiley. Web.

You Need to Know this if You Eat Tyson Chicken. (2009). Web.

Introduction

Strategy is a long-term plan whose aim is to ensure that the organization achieves its objectives. The major objectives of a business are to offer high-quality services and goods to the customers, make profit and grow. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

Strategic plan tries to relate the business with environmental factors that affect business growth.

There are several strategies that when well implemented ensure a positive growth of the business. These are strategy that ensures that the business becomes highly profitable, becomes highly efficient which involve well utilization of resources, becomes highly competitive compared to other organization as this ensures its survival , to gain a larger market share compared to other businesses and to expand internationally as the world has become more of a global village. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

These strategies formulation and implementation are highly influenced by the corporate culture and the organizations identity. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

Body

• Influence of culture and organization identity in formulation and implementation of organization strategy
• Influence of culture in formulation and implementation of organizational strategies

Organizational culture refers to the norms and values which people within the organization share and influence the way in which people interact with each other within the organization and those outside the organization. Organization value involves beliefs and specific ideas in relation to the behavior of the members of the organization toward achieving of the organizational goals. Top organization leadership plays a major role in ensuring that a certain corporate culture is adopted. The leadership imposes values and standard behavioral aspects within the organization which mirrors the objectives within the business. (Abbas Alkhafahi 2002)

Behavior of the workforce within the organization may influence in the way strategies within the organization are achieved.For example constant blame games by the employees in case of any mistake may not solve any problem and due to this, objectives of organization promoting teamwork may not be achieved.

Organizational culture can be imported by employees from certain organizations. For example, an organization may poach a certain manager from another organization with a strong organizational culture to ensure that they bring in fresh culture such as creativity.

Culture can be strong or weak. (Abbas Alkhafahi 2002)

Strong culture is whereby the staff within the organization responds to the stimuli because they are easily likely and willing to align themselves to organizational values. People do things they feel is best in achieving the organizational goal.

Weak culture involves little alignment with the organizational values and involves extensive procedures and bureaucracy to achieve control and implement of organizational strategies. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Groupthink also plays an important role in influencing the organization culture. Here it involves people with different ideas but the do not offer any challenge to the organizational system of thinking and this discourages innovative ideas which could be suicidal to the organization implementing its strategy or could be helpful in the organization achieving its goals. For example in a case of a charismatic leader within the organization who influence the behavior of others. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

For an organization which needs to achieve fully its strategy needs people who are ready to offer a great challenge to the status quo in order to implement new ideas efficiently.

There are different ways which classify culture in relation to formulation and implementation of organizational strategies. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

National and regional cultural grouping is one of the ways in which organizational cultures can be described. This is according to Greet Hofstede who in his study of national influences came up with five dimensions of culture. These include uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism against collectiveness, masculinity against feminity and short term against long term course. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Uncertainty avoidance shows the extent in which the society and organization accept a certain risk.For any business to achieve its strategy, it must accept some elements of risk. The organization which avoids risk becomes difficult in implementing its strategy.

Power distance refers to the way the society both outside and within the organization there to be a difference in the level of power. For any organization to achieve its objective there must be a hierarchy in which power is distributed from the top management and to the bottom level. There are those who formulate the strategies and those who implement the strategies. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Individualism versus collectiveness refers to which people are able and ready to stand by their individual roles or by collective responsibility. This aspect though unrelated but can be integrated whereby one is given a chance to contribute in his/ her group and to work as an individual to achieve self-sufficiency and to achieve personal freedom.

Masculinity versus feminity refers to the values and roles played by the different gender toward achieving the organizational goals. Males are believed to be ambitious, tough, and competitive while female values are caring, tenderness and soft. But the current trends show that the both the male and the females can achieve equally in corporate circles.

Long versus short term course. It describes the societys view concerning future, present and the past. In long-term corse, perseverance and thrift are highly regarded compared to short-term courses where there is respect for tradition and favors are valued more.

Leadership affects organizational culture even more than what the management can. Cultural change in an organization puts into consideration the long-term goals of the organization. Actually changing the corporate culture is a very difficult task and needs more time to enable the employees get used to new ways of organizing and implementing new strategies. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

There are several ways in which the leadership in the organization can influence culture in order for the organization to implement its strategies.

The leadership should make sure that they formulate a clear strategic vision.Cultural change within the organization if a clear vision of the organization strategies is upheld, if there is shared value and behavioral aspect between different stakeholders within the organization and out of the organization.For culture to effectively influence the implementation of new strategies, cultural change must be managed from the top as they are the ones who can influence the rest of the team.The top management should show that they favor the cultural change for the members of the company to adopt these changes. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Cultural change is important in ensuring that new strategies are formed and implemented within the organization and so people should be made aware that the cultural change is important when new strategies are to be used in achieving organizational goals. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Organizational identity in influence of organization formulation and implementation of strategies

Corporate identity is the ways in which the organization ,businesses and manufacturers are recognized and distinguished from each other through visual means.It shows the ways in which the organizational activities are carried out and the values attached to the activities. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Some of the aspects linked with the organizational identity are its publicity, physical structure like architecture, furnishing and codes of conduct exhibited by the company.

Corporate identity schemes may be used by the organization to appear less dominant by creating positive individual identity for their subsidiary company.

When in marketing strategy, corporate identity can be shown in the way the organization brands its products and in the type of trademark that the company uses to differentiate it with other organizations. (Abbas Alkhafahi 2002)

Corporate identity is vividly exhibited when there is a common possession of an organizational philosophy which is manifest in a discrete corporate culture referred to as corporate personality. Due to this, organizations come up with signs and supporting strategies within set standards of guidelines. These guiding principles preside over how identity is applied, any method of sustaining visual continuity and brand identification across all physical manifestation of the brand.These identity are aimed at helping the customer identify the company in which they would prefer. (Abbas Alkhafahi 2002)

Corporate identity includes corporate design such as logos, corporate communication such as commercials and corporate behavior such as norms.

Social identity plays an important role global promotion of organizations and improving of the corporate culture. (Abbas Alkhafahi 2002)

Corporate identity plays a great role in sociological sphere. When there are minorities in a given society, they tend to form a social bond which cushions them against other members of the society. This really affect the strategy of the organization especially without the presence of the minority group. The organization should play a great role in ensuring that they absorb the members of minority groups in order to ensure that the organization access the market of the minority group. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Corporate visual identity

Visual social identity has a big role that it plays in an organization in the way it presents itself to internal and external stakeholders. It presents the values and how ambitious the organization is, its business and its characteristics. The visual identity of the organization has much importance which plays a major role in ensuring that the organization achieves its goals. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Corporate identity provides an organization with ways in which it can be recognized and ways in which it can become visible. For all organizations, it is of utmost importance that people recognize its existence, know its name and the type of business it gets involved in at the right time. This will promote its awareness to the current customers and potential customers in the right time. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Visual identity symbolizes an organization for external stakeholders and this is good at enhancing the image of the organization. This helps the organization in the strategy of becoming global because the good image it has will be important for it to be accepted in a global environment. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

Corporate visual identity is also important as it provides the organization with a chance in involving in mergers and acquisitions and this is good in expansion of the business, expansion of the market base and penetration of new markets. (Richard 2005)

Visual identity assists the employees to know the department they are working in and the whole organization in relation to the strategy the organization has. (Richard 2005)

The companys corporate identity demands proper leadership analysis as it starts from the management down the hierarchy to the employees. It needs to be managed in a structural foundation, to be understood and implemented by the employees and to make sure that its in harmony with future development within the organization. Managers should be responsible for the way they convey the identity of the organization and how it is going to affect the employees attitude in relation to achieving of the organizational structure. Employees also need to have a clear knowledge of the organizational identity and the reasons on why they should be implemented. (Richard 2005)

Coca-cola Company

Coca-cola is one of the largest soft drink companies that provide carbonated drinks. Coca-cola has a global perspective due to its core assets which are based around its people and its brand. These factors help the company to keep the world refreshed in mind ,body, spirit and to create value and difference in its products and the customers. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

To achieve its objective in being a business leader in the global market, it ensures that it embraces and works in multicultural world in both the work place and the market to ensure that it sustains its business. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

Organizational culture of Coca Cola Company

The coca cola company has an inclusive culture which is definite by its seven core values which include leadership, passion, integrity, collaboration, innovation, quality and accountability with an aim to ensure that it achieves its strategy in attracting, retaining and developing talent that is diversified, provision of support system for groups that is diversified and to offer training to all associates to master skills that enable the company to achieve growth. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

Organizational identity of Coca Cola Company

Coca Cola Company has identity that differentiates it from other company especially its rival Pepsi.

The products of the company are of high quality and are readily available and this gives the customer a chance to access the products without much struggle. This enables the company to further expand in the global market as it has a trust from the customers.

Most of the shops around the world have huge adverts fronting the coca cola adverts which are identical thought the world. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

The company uses its name in one of its brands, logo and the tagline enjoy coca cola and the visual appearance which is white and red.

Due to good utilization of corporate culture and its identity, the company has managed to become one of global leading companies in provision of good services to its customers, ensuring that its quality is of high class and that it treats its employees to satisfactory level so that they can be motivated to work hard. The leadership of the company has ensured that its strategies are maintained to a high standard. (Peter and meshalam 2006)

Conclusion

Every business has a big role in ensuring that all its strategies are formulated and implemented to ensure that they are sustained in the market, achieve growth and make profit.Due to this, a well-organized organizational culture should be observed and a clear corporate identity set up. The management which plays a big role in implementing the organizational strategy, it should play a leading role in ensuring that organizational strategy is adopted by all the members of the organization. (Arthur, Strickland and Gamble 2005)

References

Abbas Alkhafahi. Strategic management: Formulation, Implementation and control in a dynamic environment. New York: routledge publisher, 2002.

Arthur A Thompson junior, A J Strickland 111, John E Gamble. Crafting and executing strategy.Boston: McGraw, 2005.

Richard L.Management. New York: Oxford University press, 2005.

Peter Alan Bamberger and Ilan Meshoulam.Human resource strategy: Formulation, implementation and impact.Chicago: Chicago University press, 2006.

Slater, SF; Hult, GTM; Olson, EM. On the importance of matching strategic behavior and target market selection to business strategy in high-tech markets: Journal of the academy of marketing science.35 (2007):5-17.

Slater, SF; Olson, EM. Marketings contribution to the implementation of business strategy: An empirical analysis. Strategic marketing journal.22 (2001):1055-1067.

Executive Summary

The concept of quality of life in the workplace environment specifies the conditions that ensure the optimum use of the human performance capacity. Organizations can enhance the quality of the workplace environment by assessing and improving the factors affecting organizational culture.

These initiatives involve empowering employees, advanced professional training, career advancement programs, executive and management development, the refinement of corporate safety, implementation of efficient communication and ethical behavior among the organizations associates. As a result of these strategic efforts, human resources receive maximum development and a sense of perceived comfort and security. In turn, the host organization gets the highest level of workforce productivity and maximum profitability (Colling & Terry, 2010).

The quality of workplace environment is verifiable through the members of an organization. They should be able to satisfy their personal needs, achieve personal goals, and realize their aspirations in the course of their employment with this organization. Creation and implementation of programs and methods that enhance the quality of workplace environment are some of the most important aspects of human resources management (Dubrin, 2013).

Unfortunately, in some cases, the satisfaction of personal needs and wants as well as sticking to egocentric behavior by members of an organization might take an extreme form and result in misbehavior (Colling & Terry, 2010). Misconduct can take numerous shapes and entail consequences that range in the degree of disruption. Recognizing, assessing, understanding the risks, and dealing with misbehavior in a timely manner is always a challenge for managers at all administrative levels (Brandon & Robertson, 2007).

The paper will discuss misbehavior, in general, and sexual harassment in particular. I will present this topic based on my personal experience within the United States Air Force. I will discuss the case problem and resolution measures, as well as address the current and forecasted trends.

Introduction

Successful organizations worldwide have become dedicated to the formation of the healthy operational and cultural environment. It requires the cooperation and compliance with all interested parties. It is evident because nowadays organizations have employees from different cultures. They enter international markets with various consumer preferences and behaviors, and employ multinational staff with their individual values, attitudes, and character peculiarities.

Organizational Behavior and Culture

Organizational culture nowadays is built on the pillars of constructive values (Dubrin, 2013). However, the majority of organizational culture and behavior studies narrow their focus to the formation of positive interaction and implementation of beneficial qualities, like trust, partnership, leadership, respect, proactiveness, ownership, fun, and creativity. These values are capable of mitigating and eliminating the risk of misbehavior and the associated conflicts on their own. If organizations exist to instill and influence such positive values, one would wonder why the society is not changing as fast as it should. It leads to the assumption that perhaps an organization is not doing enough. Perhaps the majority of teams are so focused on profitability and productivity that such matters have no value to them because they do not add money to their balance sheets. This attitude leads to the fact that when facing misbehavior, managers struggle with finding the right approach and decision-making (Colling & Terry, 2010).

Organizational Misbehavior

Efficient organizational behavior is grounded upon corporate values and their power to guide effective customer-oriented business strategies. Today, competitive organizational goals and customer-oriented policies are a top priority and are only achievable through the unified effort between the management and staff at all levels. There is no doubt that everyone understands the value of workplace productivity and professional performance. Organizational behavior and ethics are that unifying force that makes individuals in the workforce one entity. It creates the image perceived by an organizations present and potential customers (Pinder, 2014). Misbehavior occurs in environments where employees are not granted their dignified lives and autonomy (Karlsson, 2011). In other words, disrespectful and negligent treatment of employees at work entails grave consequences in the form of organizational and occupational crime.

Misbehavior at the Workplace

Misbehavior always takes advantage of structural and cultural weaknesses in the corporate environment. The organization exists to promote certain attributes in the society. If those misbehavior practices are detrimental, the society may end up following a suit. Individuals who work for organizations come from a larger community that they serve. Misbehavior may appear as embezzlement, vandalism, sabotage, restriction of output, and goldbricking (Karlsson, 2011, p. 230). Goldbricking or cyberslacking is the newest form of work misbehavior due to the flooding of computer technology.

Cyberslacking is the use of the Internet during office or work hours for personal reasons (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2014, pp. 219-220). All forms of misbehavior in the workplace, from arson and bribery to revenge and sexual harassment, should be targeted and prosecuted (Vardi & Weitz (2004, pp. 117-118). The three categories of misbehavior include deviance, aggression, and political behavior (Vardi & Weitz (2004, pp. 94).

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment belongs to the segment of interpersonal aggression. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2015). It encompasses unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individuals employment, unreasonably interferes with an individuals work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2015). In the fiscal year 2010, men and women filed 7,944 sexual harassment allegations within their workplace.

Both males and females are equally entitled to report and receive protection against sexual harassment. Neither position nor location can prevent the harasser from facing justice for his or her misbehavior. Anyone involved or witnessing sexual harassment can report to the proper authority. The law insists on proving the unwelcome nature of the sexual conduct. Therefore, victims are urged to confront their harassers, openly profess that the sexual advances are unwelcome and request to stop them. Also, employers are required to create a system for anonymous reporting and whistle-blowing to enable the victims to speak up (Shahira & Widad, 2009). The legal system classifies sexual harassment as follows: Quid pro quo (submission to unwanted sexual interaction in exchange for economic or career benefits), hostile work environment (when the power imbalances and abusive supervision open room to intimidation and sexual offences), and psychological (latent or concealed harassment) (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2015). The third form is the most difficult to address because it is hard to identify, prove or restrain it from the legal point of view (Jackson, Mathis, Meglich, & Valentine, 2015, p. 99). In addition to federal statutes, sexual harassment is also a violation of the Article 92 of the United States military (Uniform Code of Military Justice, 2015).

Sexual Harassment in the US Military

Like the civilian sector, the U.S military has been extremely productive to address this issue with a range of policies and training. In 1991, there was a Tailhook scandal in which more than 100 U.S Naval and Marine officers sexually assaulted 80 plus men and women in Las Vegas, Nevada (Myers, 2000). In 1996, there was the Aberdeen scandal in which 19 army female soldiers were sexually harassed and abused (Newsweek Staff, 1996). The U.S. Secretary of Defense, William J. Perry, established the Department of Defenses zero tolerance policy toward sexual harassment (Perry, 1996).

Specifically within the U.S. Air Force, a designated career field for social actions, 3S1X1-Military Equal Opportunity, was organizationally realigned to report directly to the base commander. It was to provide more visibility and emphasis on equal opportunity programs, as well as improve the leaderships ability to respond to issues affecting readiness and morale (Windall, 1997). Since then, the U.S. Air Force has instituted a consistent and tiered training strategy for airmen to receive training commensurate with their earned grade and scope of responsibility. The training is deliverable at the critical milestones within their career beginning with the initial training conducted at Basic Military Training (Windall, 1997).

Basic Military Training indoctrinates new recruits into the military norms and culture of the U.S Air Force. It is here that young airmen get the first introduction to the militarys zero tolerance policy which further goes to the development at their first base through the First Term Airmans Center. It targets how to report sexual harassment without fear of reprisal and how to respond as a bystander (Foster, 2013).

At the next stage, various social situations, including sexual harassment, are explored in the Leadership and Communication Studies blocks of Airman Leadership School. These blocks of instruction challenge new supervisors by teaching them not only to confront misbehavior but also to prevent it (2015, pp. 120-123). At the final career stage, international human relations subjects are critical in Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy. This professional military education serves as a capstone for seasoned airmen and encompasses big picture topics, including developing character traits, fostering teamwork and respect, and coping with dynamic changes. Organizations are challenged with mastering these abstract concepts to apply unity of effort and prevention of misbehaviors (2015, pp. 136-138).

Prevention Measures

Prevention is the most efficient mechanism tool to fight sexual harassment in the workplace (Tahmindjis, 2005). Establish a written policy which prohibits sexual harassment in consultation with staff and relevant unions. Frequent communication against the vice helps the team to know how serious the organization takes the matter.

The management should promote the policy at all levels of the organization. It should also ensure the system is readily available. The leadership should also review the policy periodically to ensure it is operational and up to date. Its effectiveness lies in the hands of the entire organizations workers. The leaders cannot use it as the tool to harm the junior members. The junior members should also abstain from any activity that would otherwise be interpreted to mean that they do not understand their role. If the document is up to date, then it is operational. Open forums are healthy places for expounding the matters in the document. The leadership should organize regular training for the managers and supervisors concerning the same. They also need to discuss and reinforce the policy openly.

Control Measures

As history has shown, the proactive methodology is easier said than done. Incidents can occur even if the organization explicitly prohibits sexual harassment, regularly conducts training discussing this topic, and institutes a system of anonymous reporting. More than 11 years after the debut of zero tolerance policies and following aggressive training programs designed to cease and prevent sexual harassment, the U.S. Air Force faltered with the Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal in 2003. Of the 579 female officer cadets enrolled, 19 percent claimed they had been victims of sexual harassment (McIntyre, 2003). In 2013, 59 male and female recruits alleged sexual harassment and other misbehaviors against 32 Military Training Instructors in the Air Force Basic Training scandal (Lardner, 2013). Overall, the problem is that perceived unfair employment treatment and low organizational morale provoke misbehavior.

In turn, unrestricted and unpunished misconduct creates a pattern to be followed by other employees. As a result, it can lead to the collapse of organizational ethics. The truth is that leaders are the real promoters of culture in organizations. If there is a need for change in this area, then the first people to toe the line are supposed to be the top leadership. Once the juniors see that their superiors do not encourage poor work concerning this issue, they will have to make amends for their motives. Culture must also be part of every individual. In this case, the zero tolerance for sexual abuse must be the priority for all the members of the team.

Even watching the news, I did not realize that this misbehavior was a reality in the workplace. The subject of sexual harassment surfaced when one of the female Airmen in my flight asked to terminate her enlistment early. She claimed her working conditions had become unbearable and she had no regard for the legally-binding commitment she made to the U.S Air Force. The request was so out of place that I was determined to discuss her situation in more detail.

In the course of this conversation, she confessed about experiencing frequent sexual harassment inflicted by a junior Noncommissioned Officer with whom she served in a volunteer committee. The NCO suffered a stressful divorce half a year before the reported incident. The cause of the divorce was his wifes affair with his best friend. He was a devoted family person before, so the NCO could not settle his mind and cope with the adverse change in his life. His personality changed and his values and attitudes now seemed morbid; his job lost its significance and satisfaction. He struggled to keep up his performance despite his growing depression.

His unresolved issues overwhelmed him and pushed him towards misbehavior that he could not control. He developed an apparent hostility and envy towards all married women; not only his direct subordinates but all his female acquaintances were among them. He did not suggest or request any sexual favors. He never made any substantial advances of sexual nature towards women. The only thing he did on numerous occasions was openly suggesting that each of the females was looking forward to having sex with him or other male Airmen. The lady friend explained that, at first, everyone excused his behavior on account of his stress, and even felt compassion for the poor guy. However, his behavior had overstepped all of the possible boundaries of grief and professionalism. The victim said that she did not believe anything could be done about the problem because the scenario was vaguely within the Air Forces definition of sexual harassment.

I reassured her that she did not have to tolerate his behavior, and together we reported the incidents immediately to the leadership chain. I am glad to say that the sexual harassment stopped at once as our management took decisive steps towards its solution. The offender was removed from the volunteer committee immediately and ultimately ceased serving in the organization. Before separation, he was mandated to attend counseling. He embraced the therapy provided and successfully changed his attitude upon completion of the required sessions. Now equipped with proper coping skills, he felt compelled to offer an apology to my colleagues at work. Having been on the verge of separating from active duty, she agreed to finish out her enlistment. It is possible to say that the strong organizational commitment against sexual harassment prevented any additional incidents from occurring.

Future Trends

The majority of the organizations and managers that I have worked for genuinely support official policies banning sexual harassment. During the 19 years of service, I have never experienced sexual harassment first-hand, and this was my first encounter with it as a supervisor. It is rare, and I am fortunate. However, it occurs on a regular basis without the victims possibility of efficiently reporting the incidents. Harassment is a rather common problem in the workplace environment and a serious threat to its quality. The legal regulation is efficient concerning physical or provable verbal harassment. It can prosecute and punish harassers and help victims. However, subtle psychological harassment flies below the legal radar. The case proves that it needs an appropriate management system to address it through the organization-wide exposure and suppression (Colling & Terry, 2010). Organization-wide monitoring of organizational behavior is supervised by the head of it and is the most efficient mechanism. It helps the firm to move from mere legal compliance to the genuine commitment of building a comfortable and productive working environment for internal stakeholders.

Teams have started bringing the matters to the fore. Previously, even some managers used to negotiate with the offenders and the victims on the possible settlement. Once they agreed, the case was closed and even if there was guilt, it was not visible. It kept the matters rising all the time. The offenders knew that even if they were guilty, they would privately negotiate terms and get away with it (Colling & Terry, 2010). Things have changed for the better. There is potential for improvement even further in the social sector.

Perhaps one cause for alarm should be the media. It has revolutionized the world by bringing different communities with vast differences together. However, it has gone forward to become the main culture teacher. There are various control measures taken by the governments of the world nations to ensure that media plays a role in societal growth. For instance, people watch movies, advertisements, news, and other programs on their television sets. Some channels have not applied measures to what they air. Therefore, they expose both children and adults to programs that portray sexual abuse. People watch this and learn that they can escape the justice system.

However, if the media personalities can use it to teach people the best way to prevent sexual harassment, the society will be on the right track. They are the ones at whom people look comfortably from homes, workplaces, and universal joints. They can play the critical role in ensuring that families are safe from sexual offenders through constant advertisements against the vice.

Society is made up of males, females, and children. Some families have various social setbacks that cause separations, others may lead to divorce. Some problems arise from spouses cheating on their partners. Society members coming from such backgrounds are most often psychologically disturbed. They need close contact with psychologists and sociologists to guide them. If they do not get help immediately, they end up abusing others as a way of retaliation. For instance, there is a case of my female friend who was about to quit her job because of the behavior of a junior officer. It is not a rare case among people who go through stress in relationships. The families of such people should quickly refer them to places where they can get psychological assistance.

Another important aspect that can help to solve this misbehavior is at school. The majority of students in high schools are already conscious of their environment. The syllabus should include teaching students about morals. The training can help to prevent future degradation of the said behaviors. If they learn this in high school and the topic continues right through college, students who undergo this will become the next generation of well-enlightened citizens. They will help fight to stop the problem among their peers and influence the society positively.

References

Brandon, M., & Robertson, L. (2007).Mediating in the workplace. In conflict and dispute resolution: A guide for practice (pp. 83-120). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.

Colling, M. & Terry, T. (2010). Industrial relations: theory and practice (3 ed.). Trenton, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Dubrin, A. (2013). Casebook of organizational behavior. Pergamon, Turkey: Pearson.

Foster, J. (2013). First term airman center helps with transition. Web.

Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. (2014). Organizational behavior & management (10th ed.). (pp. 219-220). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Jackson, J., Mathis, R., Meglich, P., & Valentine, S. (2015). Human resource management management (15th ed.). (pp. 99-101).Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Karlsson, J. (2011). Organizational misbehaviour in the workplace: Narratives of dignity and resistance. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lardner, R. (2013). Lackland air force base scandal: Hearing probes sexual misconduct at training headquarters. Web.

McIntyre, J. (2003). Survey: 20 percent of female cadets victims of sexual assault. Web.

Myers, S. (2000). 8 Years later, navy Restores official ties to tailhook. Web.

Newsweek Staff. (1996). Rape in the Ranks. Web.

Perry, W. (1996). Dod News Briefing. Web.

Pinder, C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior (2d ed.). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.

Shahira, A., & Widad, A. (2009). Sexual harassment in the workplace. Ahfad Journal, 26(1), 3-37.

Tahmindjis, R. (2005). Sexual harassment and Australian anti-discrimination law, International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 7 (3), 87-126.

Thomas, N. Barnes. (2015). Airman leadership school resident program. Web.

Uniform Code of Military Justice, (2015). Web.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (2015). Web.

Vardi, Y. & Weitz, E. (2004). Misbehavior in organizations: Theory, research, and management. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 94-1120.

Windall, S. (1997). Air forces approach to ending sexual harassment. Web.

Introduction

Higher levels of education are meant to prepare students by providing the knowledge, competency, and skills necessary to succeed in their industry. Business administration is one of the most complex fields, both academically and practically, commonly requiring completing a challenging masters in business administration (MBA) curriculum. While such academic rigor is useful and offers significant knowledge, one aspect that is disregarded in education is soft skills for students. As future managers and leaders, students in business administration must possess a range of soft skills that will contribute to their competency and the ability to apply the information learned. This paper will argue for the importance of the inclusion of soft skills in the education for business administration curriculum as they serve as key elements of success in the modern workplace.

Soft Skills

Soft skills can best be defined as character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a persons relationship with other people (Kenton, 2021). Soft skills are classified in a wide variety of ways such as life, interpersonal, social, leadership skills, transversal competences, key competences, and any other approach which refers to the emotional factors and quotient (EQ) of humans in comparison to IQ that is associated with hard technical skills. Soft skills can also be described as personality traits, motivations, preferences, and goals that are valued in the labor market or other aspects. Soft skills are a combination of cognitive and practical elements with interpersonal and intellectual components. These interpersonal and social competencies are necessary to aid individuals in adapting and behaving according to the context in order to effectively navigate professional and daily life situations, vital in all economical sectors and industries (Succi & Canovi, 2019).

Some of the most commonly emphasized soft skills include communication, teamwork, problem solving, critical and innovative thinking, creativity, self-confidence, ethical understanding, capacity of lifelong learning, the ability to cope with uncertainty, and willingness to accept responsibility (Succi & Canovi, 2019, p.3). These soft skills are deemed important because experts and research suggest that it allows individuals to better adapt in the professional world, particularly to organizational culture, taking on leadership roles, and being a contributing employee in organizational success. Soft skills are directly associated with emotional intelligence, which is linked to successful teamwork capabilities, understanding the consumer, and leadership potential in modern businesses. Interpersonal skills are likely to predict successful careers according to human resource expectations. Soft skills are associated with employability and opportunity, particularly for recent graduates.

Current Standards

Business degrees peaked in popularity in the 1980s but have been declining since, particularly after the 2008 recession as the perceived effectiveness of MBA programs has declined. The biggest complaint is that the graduation requirements, either from a business college or an MBA, have significantly fallen. Success in these academia is based solely on passing sets of exams and courses, with barely any real-life skill or personal qualities to succeed in the professional training or performance. While many colleges argue that they prepare students comprehensively and adequately, employers say otherwise, suggesting that there is a significant divide between business in higher education and actual achievement, to the point where companies dismiss MBA employees and replace them with technical staff (Lawrence, 2012),

Arguably little change has occurred in university and masters curricula in the context of advanced business administration degrees. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business has reported that business schools do not provide students the tools and perspectives that are critical to build the foundations for successful contribution as employees and leaders in the business world. The traditional MBA programs are commonly criticized for excessive focusing on quantitative and technical skills while barely addressing soft skills. While managers need the tools and techniques learned in the MBA to succeed, in order to be effective, soft skills for negotiation, communication, and team building are needed. Without these skills, a manager cannot effectively navigate key elements of business administration such as managing technological change within an organization or overseeing corporate downsizing or rapid growth. The most desired soft skills are communication, interpersonal skills, and driving initiative, all of which are elements of emotional intelligence (Lawrence, 2012).

Experts and employers continuously note that business schools excel at theoretical components but fail to develop relevant soft skills such as self-awareness, communication, and integrity. However, intellect and theory are not enough in a rapidly changing and complex future. Employers even have negative perspectives on the process and outcomes of traditional modern business education. The most successful MBA programs have integrated real-world practice immersions where students can feel their strengths and weaknesses, keep emotions in check, and address challenges in realistic environments. Academic education cannot replace that experience, such as the stress of working on team projects or listening to critique from the boss while being in front of peers. Honest feedback helps assess ones strengths and weaknesses and prioritize the skills that should be developed (Lightfoot, 2014).

Application in Business Administration

A wide variety of soft skills are needed in business administration, below is a brief breakdown of skills and their applications in the field.

1. Communication  virtually the top demanded soft skill among all employers. Effective communication is extremely valued in the modern workplace, ranging from email to telephone to face-to-face enquiries, it is a skill to communicate in a manner that is appropriate for the context, type of conversation, and purpose. Good communicators often rapidly rise to leadership positions in organizations and have the attention of those around them.
2. Problem-solving  modern business environments are complex and oftentimes uncertain. Especially as a manager, one is faced with potentially all kinds of absurd or difficult situations. The ability to think outside the box, finding solutions both efficiently and effectively, and being able to adapt on the spot are key criteria for effective managers and administrators. Furthermore, these skills also demonstrate ones stress resistance to avoid issues when problems are at their peak.
3. Leadership  this is a very broad term, as leadership can take on many forms, strongly depends on the context and environment, and strongly depends on the individual themselves. Typically, those pursuing MBAs strive for management positions and hope to achieve high-level executive leadership positions. Leadership undoubtedly is both a natural trait and one that must be learned. With leadership comes responsibility and decision-making, but until one reaches those levels, it can be demonstrated by motivating co-workers or setting an example, communicating a vision, or taking leadership on small projects. Taking the initiative, which is a skill commonly mentioned by employers, implies the adoption of a leadership role in some form.
4. Adaptability/flexibility  this is a soft skill which has become part of a trend in recent years. That is due to the rapid changing of business environments, innovations in industries, and the accelerated pace of how companies operate and conduct business. The modern globalized world is unpredictable, so companies operate not on long-term plans but short bursts and making sharp turns. Therefore, cultivating the ability to make quick adjustments, adapt to new team dynamics, and remain confident and competent, holds a lot of value and contributes to being able to streamline operations in a firm.
5. Teambuilding and collaboration  a great team is not always the best minds gathered together, it is a team with individuals that share a similar vision and have the strengths to complement each other, a team that can work together efficiently and produce results. The key premise of team building is the ability to activate the talent within and bring the employees together towards one goal. That is where collaboration comes in, it is vital for modern teams or professionals to work together. Collaborative environments contribute to the exchange of ideas and developing projects. The collaborative process produces solutions and ideas, but a good leader sets the parameters and expectations for this process in order to maintain focus and inspire. As expected in modern organizations, teams will have to be created within departments, and then those teams will often collaborate interdepartmentally, sometimes across the world, and even among different organizations.

Discussion

Most modern MBAs are comprehensive and do offer a range of at least introductions to soft skills or attempt to develop them through projects. However, they are not at the level of competency that they should be at for someone with that degree of specialization in the field. A Bloomberg Businessweek survey found that employers seek the following five soft skills from MBA graduates, problem-solving, communication, collaborative teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurial mindset (University of Northern Colorado, 2021). While this may not be the case for all programs, but there has been a disconnect as of late regarding the soft skill level expectations held by employers hiring new graduates and the realities of their educational preparation in this context. Murti (2014) notes that firms in recent years have frequently complained about a lack of soft skills in graduates and emphasizes the demand by firms to have such professional competencies.

It can be argued that soft skills are both difficult to develop within the context of education and not the responsibility of MBA programs. Some argue that soft skills, while they can be learned, they cannot be easily taught in an academic setting, which focuses more on the technical and procedural disciplines. Meanwhile, soft skills are a practical application, they are learned over time and practice, applying certain techniques which an individual can then assess in effectiveness. Therefore, it is arguably much easier and potentially expected that soft skills are developed once in the workplace, with appropriate coaching and mentorship. In other words, education lays the foundation, but it is up to the managers to improve the employees soft skills, and MBA programs should not face the blame (EHL Insights, 2021). At the same time, the European Commission and various human rights experts have indicated that there is a need to provide opportunities to either educate or develop soft skills for young people to successfully transition from full education to entering the labor market. Skills such as entrepreneurial skills, coping strategies, learning strategies, ability to work in teams, communicate, and manage conflicts are necessary to demonstrate competency and endurance within the labor market.

However, this paper argues that educational improvements are needed to enhance soft skill development for business administration. Potentially, as commonly occurs in a variety of industries, education lags behind the practical realities of the real world. Education is slow to change, while the current business environment is rapidly changing and undergoing unprecedented levels of innovation (OECD, 2018). Therefore, it is suggested that changes in education to business administration are implemented in a more targeted and innovative fashion, as described in the next section.

Improving the Education

Unfortunately, the solution to improving higher education for business administration is not an easy fix that depends on introducing new curricula or courses. Bedwell et al. (2014) note that most programs lack the flexibility to integrate interpersonal skills courses into heavy and pre-planned course loads. Meanwhile, while some programs have begun integration into the existing curricula, they are not achieving intended outcomes. Massaro et al. (2016) call upon the need to review and improve business management and administration programs, specifically with the goal to update the old body of knowledge paradigm still prevailing and limiting the ability to introduce curricula change (p. 222). They argue that a holistic approach to education requires a comprehensive view that integrates multiple layers of both learning and experiences, which will help students recognize their mental models and implement a paradigm shift from a technical mechanistic mindset to a more dynamic perspective. They suggest five key areas/courses that should be focused on for soft skills in business administration education:

1. Ethical leadership and governance
2. Morality, self-interest, and the markets
3. Entrepreneurship, development, and collaboration
4. Dimensions of sustainable development
5. Social interaction, acts and rules of collaboration (Massaro et al., 2016).

Meanwhile, Bedwell et al. (2014) took on a more scientific concept of education. The authors argue that for training or education to be effective, it needs to have the components of information, demonstration, practice, and feedback. This way, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes will translate to the work environment. Teaching interpersonal skills in MBA classrooms should be based on instruction designed around a specific trainable competency. Soft and interpersonal skills can be separated into distinct competencies, aligning with those lacking in current business education (Bedwell et al., 2014). By specifically targeting these skills and competencies, educators can focus on the skill gaps and adequately prepare students for the workforce without compromising the existing knowledge and curriculum.

Conclusion

Higher education in business administration is undoubtedly challenging and provides students with much knowledge and tools to succeed. However, one critique that has been ongoing regarding business administration education is a lack of preparation in soft skills. This paper presents the current status quo of education, defines soft skills and describes their application in real-world business administration, and then discusses and offers solutions regarding potential improvements to educational programs. With relatively minor changes and a greater focus towards holistic and qualitative education, significant shifts can be made towards the improvement of soft skills in the curriculum of MBAs. This will lead to a better alignment between academia and employers and prepare students with a stronger foundation for the modern corporate world.

References

Bedwell, W. L., Fiore, S. M., & Salas, E. (2014). Developing the future workforce: An approach for integrating interpersonal skills into the MBA classroom. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13(2), 171186. 

EHL Insights. (2021). Can soft skills really be taught? 

Kenton, W. (2021). Soft skills. Web.

Massaro, M., Bardy, R., & Garlatti, A. (2016). A soft skills training model for executive education. In M. Lepeley, E. von Kimakowitz, and R. Bardy (Eds.) Human centered management in executive education, pp. 222-241.

Murti, A.B. (2014). Why soft skills matter? IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 8(3), 32-36. Web.

Lawrence, N.S. (2012). The case for soft-skills development in MBA programs. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings, 7(2), 28-67. Web.

Succi, C., & Canovi, M. (2019). Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: Comparing students and employers perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 45(9), 114. 

OECD. (2018). The future of education and skills. Web.

University of Northern Colorado. (2020). 5 soft skills employers seek in MBA graduates. Web.

Introduction

It should be noted that researchers and theorists have been studying the problem of child labor and its impact on the childrens well-being for many years. In particular, they study how labor and economic activity affect the motivation and value orientations of adolescents and the way standards and working conditions impact the formation of attitudes toward work and its effectiveness. Experts in the field attribute the changes in the childs body to effects of harmful environment and unfavorable labor factors (International Labour Organization, 2013).

Despite the theoretical elaboration of the topic, it can be argued that the problem of child labor is far from being resolved and the developed tools for the protection of children are not sufficiently effective. The purpose of this paper is to reflect critically on the gained knowledge regarding this critical issue and provide insights into the aspects that remain underdeveloped.

Reflection

The contemporary approach to exploring child labor provides rather a comprehensive definition of the child labor domain. To be more precise, it is defined as peripheral work related to the secondary labor market, which is characterized by the presence of a large number of low-paid jobs, a lack of growth prospects, and instability of work. In this context, minors belong to a group of vulnerable populations such as women, ethnic minorities, elderly people, and foreigners residing in a country without the official documents (International Labour Organization, 2013). Therefore, despite the work carried out by local and international bodies, child labor does not fall under the rules protecting the workers of the primary market, which is the main contradiction in the policy pursued by states.

As researchers note, children often work in such areas as agriculture, family businesses, small-scale trade (mostly unauthorized), they also work in private workshops, in the textile industry, in the production of bricks, plantations, and so on. Importantly, this work is not always compulsory (International Labour Organization, 2013). Depending on the country and the nature of the activity, child labor can also be voluntary.

Rather frequently, children are forced to work because the family cannot survive without the income that only a child can bring. In addition, child labor is the only way to pay for the childs education. Despite this evidence, in many countries where child labor is particularly widespread, schools are in an improper condition, and the education received there does not correspond to the contemporary requirements; therefore, the prospects for educational or career growth are minimized (Kehily, 2009). Consequently, the parents who have been involved in child labor themselves, tend to engage their children in child labor as well due to the lack of better opportunities.

Aspects of Exploitation

The aspect of this problem, which bothers the global community, is the negative impact of child labor on the health of the younger generation. In particular, the majority of children involved in labor activities are engaged in hard, harmful or immoral work. Such activities often lead to severe psychological and physiological consequences, which means that such children cannot become full-fledged workforce in the future and the health of the nation will be undermined. It is worth noting that these factors prompted the world organizations to combat illegal child labor to expand the norms and ratify the conventions that will protect minors from exploitation and secure their direct rights (International Labour Organization, 2013).

In addition to the fact that child labor affects the healthy growth of children, ratification stressed that the work of children must be protected due to traumatism level, which is associated with the characteristics of childhood. Inexperience and natural curiosity of children and their rapid fatigability lead to increased traumatization during the completion of their duties (Kehily, 2009). Consequently, if the state control over the childrens labor does not function effectively, the risk of exploitation and traumatization will continue to increase.

Controversy

Despite the activities of world and state organizations, which have been discussed during the sessions, it became evident that there is no systematic approach to solving the issue of child labor. Law enforcement agencies, social workers, and guardianship services are keen to participate actively in resolving this problem; however, despite the quality legislation protecting children, laws cannot function effectively because of the parents attitude towards child labor (Kehily, 2009).

As the review of studies covered during classes has shown, many parents encourage the work of their children despite the possible consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to working with minors and their families to be able to combat the problem from different sides and persuade parents not to engage children in labor to an unreasonable extent.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that the danger of child labor is evident. Many working children do not have proper access to education and experience health consequences that will adversely affect their well-being in the future. Despite the active cooperation of world organizations and the international ratification of conventions, many parents are not aware of the dangers of child labor and encourage minors to work. Therefore, in order to change the situation, it is necessary to influence the mentality of society, which implies the interaction of legislative bodies with various social organizations at both the global and local levels.

References

International Labour Organization. (2013). World report on child labour. Web.

Kehily, M. J. (2009). An introduction to childhood studies (2nd ed.). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.

Introduction

Bulks of business entities employ the proposed Activity-Based Costing (ABC) approach to their distinctive pursuits of cost accounting (Vazakidis, Karagiannis & Tsialta 2010). Oseifuah defines ABC as an innovative cost accounting practice that cyphers and evaluates the cost and efficacy of activities, cost objects, and resources (2014, p. 585). As Agbejule explains, ABCs primary emphasis involves the notion that all activities exhaust resources to generate products (2006, p. 49).

As such, ABC singles out these production activities and apportions the cost of each venture to the prerequisite resources. The ABC model differs from Traditional Costing by way of how it aggregates supplementary overheads such as administrative expenses to direct costs (Szatmary 2011, p. 74). With reference to public universities, this paper appraises how a UK public domain establishment can suffice to cost needs by implementing ABC to produce product costs for services. Over and above that, the paper also sizes up the internal efficiency, quality, and profitability per service line.

Body

Background Description of ABC

According to Krishnan (2006), the ABC craft emerged when Alexander Hamilton Church set the idea in motion in 1901, by way of drafting overhead-themed manuscripts. William Bruns and Robert Kaplan succeeded him by incorporating the ABC proposal in their treatise, Accounting and Management: A Field Study Perspective, published in 1987 (Becker, Bergener & Räckers 2010). At the heart of their Handbook is a blueprint of the ABC procedure viable for enactment, to unravel the inadequacies of the traditional costing technique (Wegmann 2009, p. 11). A majority of accountants concur that the mid-1980s experienced the pioneer assimilation of the ABC model in companies, records Haider (2009). ABC is the ultimate approach to cost management as it seeks to account for all the integral activities in items production. Unlike Traditional Costing, ABC consolidates all the fiscal and non-fiscal variables in addition to the cost drivers as grounds for budget appropriation (Bolcher 2006).

How Can a Public University Use ABC to Produce Product Costs for Services?

Public universities are tutelage institutions owned and propelled by the state, existing to furnish particular communal needs (Vazakidis, Karagiannis & Tsialta 2010). Higher learning institutes are overhead-exhaustive service entities and should, therefore, engage the ABC stratagem to determine the financial worth of their final products (Krishnan 2006, p. 79). Oseifuah advocates for the assimilation of ABC in universities, highlighting that it can help provide competent services, all at reduced costs (2014). An exceptional costing system, as Szatmary forwards, is crucial in schools, as faculties are under duress to slash costs and revamp their operational activities in respect of their curricula (2011, p. 73). Discussed below are the ways by which universities can execute the ABC plan to generate product costs for their educational services.

Case Analysis

XYZ College has been in engagement for seven years now but has been facing financial hurdles with respect to the conventional costing scheme (Krishnan 2006, p. 80). The contemporary costing structure is faulty as it can neither identify the rocketing operational charges nor regulate the practical directive activities. In consequence, Aikens (2011) advises that XYZ should enforce a new costing apparatus- ABC- that will gauge department performance and help smother the overall tasks of the Academy. Currently, the organisations budgetary supervision carries inadequate cost information, given that it traces direct overheads only such as Salary & Wages, Telephone & Fax, and Freight & Courier expenditures. It excludes ancillary, yet necessary, costs such as Utility Expenses & Provisions, Depreciation Expenditures, and Equipment Leasing (Krishnan 2006, p. 81).

Research Design

The research design employed here features two research modules, namely the quantitative and descriptive analyses, as adapted from Hilton (2006). The descriptive studies highlight examinations of the XYZ College Annual Report, Department finances as well as the general ledger. On the other hand, the quantitative analyses estimate the overhead fees in conjunction with recommending implementation of the new ABC layout (Krishnan 2006, p. 80).

New ABC Costing Framework

Krishnan (2006) outlines a number of procedures, as discussed below that the XYZ institution can follow to achieve a successful integration of the new ABC costing framework. The overhaul from the traditional costing method to the new ABC will help the schools accountants compute definite product costs for XYZs services.

Analysis of Activities

From reading Wegmann (2009), the first phase in devising the new ABC framework is to dissect the present activities in XYZs Student Service Unit as demonstrated below in Table 1.

Table 1: Resource Complex (Student Service Unit).

Cost Distribution to Activities- Product Costs for Services

The next step is to spread the cost elements to the business subdivisions within the student service department, in alignment to the items in the general ledger, says Agbejule (2006, p. 68). With reference to Krishnan (2006), Tables 2 and 3 below enumerate the distribution of costs across the departments activities using ABCs resource drivers. The advantage of employing ABC resource drivers is that the drivers help on cost-saving by phasing out activities that do not append any real worth to the organisation (McChlery, McKendrick & Rolfe 2007). The ABC resource drivers disregard the graduation charges allotted under the Entry and Enrolment department, as this category executes other activities (Krishnan 2006).

Table 2: Nomination of Charges from the Registrars Office to the Student Service Unit.

Table 3: Costs Consignment from the Student Service Unit to the Entry and Enrolment Subdivision.

Cost Pool Rate Computation

The concluding step necessitates a summation of the cost pool rate, by designating the sum aggregate of the activity centres together with the number of students (Becker, Bergener & Räckers 2010). With guidance from Krishnan (2006), Table 4 beneath exhibits cost pool figures with respect to the Entry and Enrolment department.

Table 4: Entry and Enrolment Cost Pool Fee.

What are the Internal Efficiency, Quality, and Profitability per Service Line?

The profitability, internal efficiency, and quality of the ABC system exertion in public colleges are perceptible in numerous ways. The ABC structure aligns the forecasted revenue sources alongside the calculated expenses, hence increasing the organisations proceeds (Evans & Lindsay 2014). The ABC framework facilitates the institution to boost the profitability of its objectives by way of streamlining costs (Aikens 2011). The ABC tool gauges the quality and internal efficiency by use of service quality dimensions, including accessibility, timeliness, accuracy, consistency, and responsiveness (McChlery, McKendrick & Rolfe 2007, p. 321). As elaborated below, Wegmann (2009) outlines two service lines within the higher learning foundation, namely the administration and teaching categories. As regards profitability, ABC identifies the cost of quality to dispense cost-effective yet superior education (Evans & Lindsay 2014).

Administration

The ABC costing apparatus helps ameliorate internal efficiency, quality, and profitability by way of registering the time spent on completing administrative duties to expose better quality curtailments (Bolcher 2006). The college workforce responsible for handling administrative functions engage in precautionary and detective activities to guarantee quality administrative services, suggests Szatmary (2011, p. 76).

As regards the preemptive measures, the faculties ought to fully comprehend and study their jobs description and policies, as suggested by Oseifuah (2014). Personnel should also develop goals and exemplary courses of action that will facilitate target achievement (Becker, Bergener & Räckers 2010). ABC calls for the development of functional feedback systems in the model of suggestion forms, departmental meetings, bi-annual surveys, and interviews. The purpose of this is to investigate comments from the staff, supervisors, and students to distinguish complaints and boost the flawed quality (Aikens 2011).

Teaching

The teaching service line necessitates an extensive sum of fiscal resources and calls for continuous efficacy improvement and ordering of funds (Vazakidis, Karagiannis & Tsialta 2010). In light of this view, ABC pegs the quantum of quality cost in the prevention and discernment of failures rather than in the external and internal missteps. Examples of preventive activities encompass class preparation, marking projects, examinations, quizzes, assignments, and reporting of grades (McChlery, McKendrick & Rolfe 2007, p. 319). Haider projects that detection and prevention tasks help deflect inadequacies that cause professors, lecturers, and other staff members furnish inadequate schedules, curricula, and syllabi (2009).

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of ABC Assimilation?

Bogdanoiu states that the integration of ABC is remarkably prudent for those enterprises that offer personalised services such as universities (2009, p. 7). The enactment process can, however, be daunting as it can implicate varied merits and demerits (Haider 2009).

Benefits of ABC Incorporation

Exercises Accuracy

ABC harnesses the principle of precision and certainty with respect to faculty wages, costing information, and budget values remark Bogdanoiu (2009). ABC also consigns legitimate costs to activity centres within student service branches, stock-keeping components, and the students in general. In addition, the ABC charging apparatus ensures an authentic flow of educational curricula from the faculties to the undergraduates, articulates Szatmary (2011, p. 81).

Enables Better Interpretation of Overhead Costs

Haider asserts that the ABC definition allows one to understand the notion of overhead charges in a much simpler way (2009). A prototype of the costing tool illuminates how ABC attributes costs to the resources that service or activity exhausts.

Eradicates Wasteful Products and Activities

The ABC method tags and helps avert uneconomical activities, services, and products in an effort to make the most of the feasible resources (Vazakidis, Karagiannis & Tsialta 2010, p. 379).

Cultivates Productivity and Quality

The ABC entity initiates phenomenal business performance and service quality by way of correcting product costs and assigning charges to indirect overheads (McChlery, McKendrick & Rolfe 2007). ABCs data, as Haider explains, delineate critical issues pertaining to production and costs to the management to dissect (2009). The University Directorate enlists the use of ABC to work out managerial decisions, reduce costs, improve internal competency and increase profitability for the entire institution (Krishnan 2006, p. 77).

Disadvantages of ABC Incorporation

Expensive Application

Hilton states that the chartering of the ABC technique is, to some degree, costly and time-wasting (2006). The practice includes a phase where it dismembers business activities, consuming pricey resources during data compilation and measurement. Furthermore, the assimilation of the costing tool demands for a vendor or consultant who will install the system in addition to training the staff on management (Oseifuah 2014, p. 584).

System Transparency

ABC, as Wegmann exclaims, conveys considerably sensitive information such as wages and commodity margins among others, which an executive may be unenthusiastic to disclose to the proprietors (2009).

GAAP Discordance

The ABC model fails to attune to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and thus confines accountants to use it only for internal cost management, and not in filing public financial statements (Evans & Lindsay 2014).

Conclusion

Overall, the Activity Based Costing Implement is a superior management accounting option. It is expendable across both service and product-oriented firms, as it is imperative for management cost accounting. As regards the UK public sector organisation, ABC is very instrumental in public universities and colleges (Szatmary 2011, p. 70). Accountants and auditors employ the ABC approach to assign planned costs to activity centres within student service modules (Krishnan 2006). Cost allocations in learning institutions help create reasonable budgets, as well as discard non-added value utilities. Additionally, managers of these institutes enlist the use of the ABC skill to devise regulative decisions for the organisation, in conjunction with improving the overall quality and productivity.

References

Agbejule, A 2006, Motivation for activity-based costing implementation: administrative and institutional influences, Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 42-73. Web.

Aikens, C 2011, Quality inspired management: the key to sustainability, Prentice Hall, Boston. Web.

Becker, J, Bergener, P & Räckers, M 2010, Activity based costing in public administrations: a business process modeling approach, International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 1-10. Web.

Bogdanoiu, C 2009, Activity based costing from the perspective of competitive advantage, Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, vol. 1, no. 7, pp. 5  11. Web.

Bolcher, E 2006, Cost management: a strategic approach, 5th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Web.

Evans, J & Lindsay, W 2014, Managing for quality and performance excellence, 9th edn, South-Western Cengage Learning, Australia. Web.

Haider, M 2009, Advantages and disadvantages of activity-based costing with reference to economic value addition. Web.

Hilton, R 2006, Cost management: strategies for business decisions, 3rd edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Web.

Krishnan, A 2006, An application of activity based costing in higher learning institution: a local case study, Contemporary Management Research, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 75-90. Web.

McChlery, S, McKendrick, J, Rolfe, T, 2007, Activity-based management systems in higher education, Public Money & Management, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 315-322. Web.

Oseifuah, E 2014, Activity-based costing (ABC) in the public sector: benefits and challenges, Problems and Perspectives in Management, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 581-586. Web.

Szatmary, D 2011, Activity-based budgeting in higher education: continuing education and the university funding crisis, Continuing Higher Education Review, vol. 75, pp. 69-85. Web.

Vazakidis, A, Karagiannis, I & Tsialta, A 2010, Activity-based costing in the public sector, Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 376-382. Web.

Wegmann, G 2009, The activity-based costing method developments: state-of-the-art and case study, The IUP Journal of Accounting Research and Audit Practices, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 7-22. Web.

In the present day, staff shortage may be regarded as a real issue experienced by a substantial number of companies. It goes without saying that this problem has a highly negative impact on the organizations performance and development in the future and should be solved in a time-sensitive manner. Thus, it is essential for management to develop an efficient implementation plan in order to reduce staff shortage. First of all, it is essential to conduct an in-depth research and workforce analysis of a current situation to define further actions. This investigation should include:

• Identification of staff shortages reason. In general, there may be both external (market situation, economic crisis) and internal (inappropriate organizational culture) factors that cause shortage, and they determine subsequent responsive measures (Buchan et al., 2019).
• Determination of current workforce. Employees should be grouped according to their age, gender, skill level and experience, length of service, and other categories to structure the current workforce. Moreover, workers may be surveyed to identify their specific needs and preferences This analysis will be also helpful for the retention of already working and new employees.
• Determination of future workforce. To know what kind of employees are required to minimize shortage is necessary for efficient organization of human resources attraction campaign.

Regardless of the sphere of its activity, any company has stakeholders in relation to its staff shortage that include general management, department administrators, educators, HR management, legislative regulators, labor unions or professional associations, employees, clients, and society in general. All of them may influence staff shortage and contribute to its reduction. While internal stakeholders will take actions within an organization to attract and keep employees, external stakeholders may be responsible for the change of external factors that cause shortage, such as education, laws, and economic situation (Buchan et al., 2019). In general, a workforce action plan dedicated to the minimization of staff shortage should include the following strategies:

• Attraction of potential employees. This strategy implies the use of all possible mass media sources and activities of the human resource department to attract the most suitable candidates and organize training for the development of a competent and culturally diverse workforce (Furnell et al., 2017).
• Analysis of current processes for its optimization. Existing staff shortage should not negatively impact the organizations performance  that is why it may be optimized. In other words, all non-essential tasks and procedures should be canceled to provide more skilled employees for significant and challenging activities.
• Focus on retention. It goes without saying that the fact that already working employees leave their job does not contribute to the reduction of staff shortage. That is why they should be motivated to stay in accordance with their individual demands and expectations and in relation to multiple social factors. Thus, a comfortable working atmosphere should be created to keep the workforce and increase productivity. In addition, those workers who work more due to shortage should be remunerated.

After the implementation of an action plan, it should be monitored, evaluated, and reviewed. For this, the general management should answer three main questions  Was the desired result achieved with the implementation plan? If no, what may be changed to improve results? In this case, how will the situation change? Thus, the successful implementation of an action plan is determined by the reduction of staff shortage in a company due to the attraction of new employees and the retention of working ones. However, plan implementation may face specific barriers, such as financial constraints and a lack of interest of potential candidates to the company (Quirk et al., 2018). In this case, it may address professional associations for support and provide appropriate working conditions.

References

Buchan, J., Charlesworth, A., Gershlick, B., & Seccombe, I. (2019). A critical moment: NHS staffing trends, retention and attrition. The Health Foundation.

Furnell, S., Fischer, P., & Finch, A. (2017). Cant get the staff? The growing need for cyber-security skills. Computer Fraud & Security, 2017(2), 5-10. Web.

Quirk, H., Crank, H., Carter, A., Leahy, H., & Copeland, R. J. (2018). Barriers and facilitators to implementing workplace health and wellbeing services in the NHS from the perspective of senior leaders and wellbeing practitioners: A qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 18(1362), 1-14. Web.