Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) is defined as an efficient and practical technique used in assessing different features of a given system. Moreover, the assessment is majorly done to establish and eliminate or reduce possible prevailing tragedies and dangerous failures within the system.
Through design correction, the existing tragedies and dangerous failures can be eliminated within the shortest time possible. The analysis is able to highlight consequences of detected failures hence it becomes important during the establishment of legal actions (Smith par. 1). The assessment starts with the essential parts of the system to establish their result into the system malfunction. After recognizing the possible malfunctions, they are categorized and allocated a Risk Priority Number (RPN). Finally, a viable corrective action is proposed.
When to use Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is used during the creation or redesigning of a particular product or service. It can also be applied when a certain procedure is being established or when development goals are designed for an already operational process or existing goods and services. In addition, it can also be implemented when the available procedures, goods, or services are being applied in different ways. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is used when evaluating various malfunctions of an existing process, goods, or services.
How FMEA is used
The first step is to determine the necessary requirements for the system to execute its duty. This is followed by the provision of all the hypotheses and rules required during the actual analysis (Stephans and Joe 91). The third stage does not only include the design of the systems block diagram, but also establishment of possible malfunction modes.
For instance, possible system failures like breakages and leakages can be identified early enough and amicable solutions provided. The major cause of each malfunction mode and their impact on the system is then established. After recognizing all possible malfunctions, they are assigned a severity and occurrence ranking. Then, critical evaluation is conducted on each of the potential malfunction modes. The last step in FMEA is the assessment and suggestion of any viable corrective measures and perfections to the design.
Advantages and disadvantages of FMEA
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis has a number of advantages. The technology does not only eradicate possible problems that might arise in a process, but also helps in establishing the areas with higher risks (Loiselle par. 1).
Additionally, it creates a stage for exchanging information, which hence improves product awareness within core teams. This technique is helpful in obtaining relevant historical information about various changes in the process. It also assists in the provision of accurate technical requirements during the construction of workstations.
In addition, FMEA helps in the provision of corrective measures during sessions. Moreover, the technology is important because it takes part in identification and management of various malfunctions. Conversely, a malfunction must occur in the system if a single failure mode is omitted. Products made during this process are not exactly similar. The other disadvantage is that a number of the detection controls are of low quality.
Examples of FMEA
A viable example of FMEA is where a single malfunction of the hardware item leads to death or loss of property. Another example that could be considered is where the system under evaluation has a redundancy hence causing death or loss of mission.
Works Cited
Loiselle, Joshua. Improving the Efficiency of FMEAs. 2013. Web.
Stephans, Richard, and J. Stephenson. System Safety for the 21st Century: The Updated and Revised Edition of System Safety 2000, Hoboken: Wiley-Interscience, 2004. Print.
EatNGas is an organization on the verge of collapse. Urgent is the need to identify de-motivating factors by identifying employee activities and carrying out performance improvement initiatives based on motivation (Cashier Responsibilities: Duties of a Cashier, 2000). Organizational establishments flourish on success when the human resources within such settings embrace quality improvement issues.
In addition to the tasks and sub tasks carried out by cashiers of receiving payments, maintaining clean and orderly checkout areas among others call upon pragmatic leadership to make things better. Maintaining and improving store cleanliness and housekeeping is one of the incentive plans in such a business setting. This included participatory motivation.
Motivation is fundamental component in retaining employees in the work place besides improving on productivity and employee efficiency in achieving organizational goals and objectives. Motivation can be induced but in essence rests on an individuals drive to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
According to the case study, of fundamental importance is the inspiration from the organizations management to bring about a new perspective in employee thinking, a key component for the organization. Even if employees are rained with incentives such as money, the organization may not realize any benefits if their thinking style is consumed in poor perspectives of the organization.
Therefore, deducing from the case study, the business executives have to motivate the employees based on various motivation theories. According to shah and shah (2000), the organization faces an urgent need to incorporate achievement motivation.
Once a cleaner has done excellent work by paying attention to detail in carrying out tasks and sub tasks, motivation will reinvigorate work values in a non competitive environment ultimately leading to embracing moral values in the job environment. In addition, motivated employees feel supported by the management in place. This has the impact of making employees work harder in pursuing organizations goals and objectives. Other motivational component to incorporate is affiliation motivation.
This will instill the need for employees to associate with others in the work place. According to Shah and Shah (2000), competence motivation makes employees performances improve in addition to power motivation that instills the need for other employees to influence others in performance improvement in the work place. Employee attitude determined work force productivity in the process of a cashier handling customers in the workplace and maintaining a clean environment (Shah & Shah, 2000).
The situation needs individual and urgent attention in improving on the integrity, co-operation, self-control, stress tolerance, and improved social interaction in the work place. This furthermore impact positively on the abilities of employees in the context of their work.
These could provide individual motivation and provides an environment where individuals can grow. In addition, it is incumbent upon the management to identify motivational goals by recognizing employees by embracing contemporary theories of motivation as another vital component.
Chapman (2001) identifies different factors leading to employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction. High and low attitude factors, first and second level factors, and interrelationship factors were core in determining an individuals motivation (Chapman, 2000). These theory concerns peoples well being in the workplace by factoring humanity and care for an employee in the workplace (Chapman, 2000). These could result in improved performance as an additional component.
Chapman (2000) identifies hygiene needs or maintenance factors in the work place based to Herzbergs theory of motivation as job security, good working relationships, and personal life, appropriate compensation plans in wages and salaries, and improved work conditions among others.
Chapman (2000) contends that money is not a motivation like other motivating factors in itself based on. These key components and other supporting factors based could see a drastic change in employee attitude in performing improving on store cleanliness and housekeeping within EatNGas incl. organization (Cashier Responsibilities: Duties of a Cashier, 2000).
Cisco Systems Company refers to a United States multinational business with its headquarters in California that engages in designing, manufacturing and selling networking devices. At the close of 2011, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, John Chambers, was trying to restructure and streamline the company after a year of stumbles that had resulted in the company facing a financial hardship.
In April, the company had announced a change in its consumer products business that made Flip, business unit dealing with video cameras, to collapse. In 2011, the sales of the company had continued to decline and had dropped by about 40% in its fourth quarter. The net income of the company in the fourth quarter, ending on July 2011, had dropped to 1.2 billion dollars from 1.9 billion dollars in the same quarter in 2010.
Following the decline, Cisco began an overhaul of its functions by cutting $1 billion from its yearly operating costs to cater for the declining sales. Moreover, Cisco made an untimely retirement offer to more than five-thousand of its older workers and anticipated that around 3,000 workers would leave as a result (Waters, 2011, para. 2-5). Following the restructuring of its management, the company reduced its huge number of executives to just three.
General Motors
Around mid 2008, an international-scale decline distressed the economy of the US and the stock price of General Motors (one of the Big Three automakers in the United States) dropped by about 30%. Because of the fall in automobile sales, General Motors borrowed emergency loans from the government to assist in handling its financial shortages.
By mid 2009, the condition had turned from bad to worse in such a manner that General Motors was facing bankruptcy and liquidation. To avoid the loss of jobs and in an attempt to stabilize the industry, the governments of both US and Canada offered an 85 billion dollars worth of bail out to the Big Three (General Motors (GM), Chrysler and Ford Motor Company). GM rose from bankruptcy as a new company with a great part of it under the ownership of the US Treasury (Ikenson, 2012, para. 4-7).
General Motors terminated some of its brands (reduced its brands from 8 to 3) in trying to address bankruptcy, by intending to save 5 billion dollars per year. Nevertheless, this turned out to be very expensive because of franchise laws; for instance, General Motors had to spend approximately 2.1 billion dollars for the withdrawal of Oldsmobile (Ikenson, 2012, para. 5-6). By 2012, General Motors had considerably recovered and made sales of more than 9 million vehicles in that financial year.
Avon
Avon is an American multinational company that deals in manufacturing and distributing of beauty and household products in more than 150 nations across the globe. The ousting of the companys CEO, Andrea Jung, in 2012 almost wrecked the company. In spite of the restructuring schemes that cost Avon almost $1 billion through the financial year 2011, it was apparent that the company was consistently trying to put out fires in 2012 instead of making progress.
In Mid 2012, Coty (a perfume corporation) gave $25 per share to Avon, almost 19 percent of its stock price then. Nonetheless, after witnessing the slow pace of Avon, Coty withdrew its assistance (Rushe, 2012, para. 4-9). This resulted in the decline of the shares of Avon below $15 from over $43. Avon was eventually able to triumph over its financial hardships as by the close of 2012 it had made a yearly sale of $11 billion internationally.
EBay is an online organization which deals with the auctions on the Internet. Everybody is given an opportunity to offer a thing he/she wants to sell and to set an opening bid and wait till the thing is bought. There are a lot of different items which may be bought from eBay, it may be a disk or a book which may cost $1 or it may be antique furniture which costs several thousand dollars.
There are a number of lessons eBay can teach us. First, eBay supports multi-language platforms, so that people from all over the world have an opportunity to buy things they like. Second, the auction lasts for several days, so that more people have an opportunity to take part in the auction.
They also have an opportunity to search for the similar products to compare and contrast and bid for price. Third, the company follows the tendencies in the world and using those advertises its products and the services they offer. The information mentioned above may be considered as the lessons people may learn.
It is obvious that these three lessons may be considered as the company strengths. Having provided the multi-language platforms, the company has entered the international market. The products are delivered to different countries and people from all over the world can buy things as almost each item predetermines shipping.
All real auctions last for several hours. People come there and should provide their bid at once. EBay offers some time to think and to make a choice, whether to buy a product or not. The software and other innovative technologies the organization uses help the company function in the way it does. The lessons are really helpful for us and they are considered as the strengths for eBay.
Skype
Skype is a world known company which provides people with video online communication. The application free of charge, so people from different countries are given an opportunity to communicate either vie chart or by means of the headphones and web-camera. Moreover, there is a number of other additional opportunities Skype provides its customers with.
Having considered some specific strategies the company uses, it may be concluded that there are a lot of lessons one may learn. Here are some of them. First, Skype offers its clients video-calling between the users who have installed Skype application for free. This invites great many people to the service. Second, the company also offers additional services for additional payment.
People are given an opportunity to be reached by a traditional telephone with the help of the regular number. The price for such calls is cheap. There are some other opportunities which help Skype earn money. Third, the company offers additional services for its customers. The creation of premium numbers offer Skype customers additional opportunities. This shows that providing people with free options they attract more clients who are going to use additional services in the future for extra payment.
Thus, on the basis of the lessons provided above, it may be completed that these strategies are the company strengths. Is there any company which provides its customers with free of charge communication? Are there companies which allow free video calls? All the information mentioned above makes it possible for the company to be the leader in the field of online communication. The services provided by Skype are used by millions people all over the world.
Wotif.com
Wotif.com is the online company which offers customers to book any type of accommodation in many countries online. Being established in 2000, the company has become a leader in the industry very soon.
Having considered the main idea of the business led by the company, the following lessons may be identified. First, the company has offices in different countries of the world that helps it provide the quality support for its customers. Moreover, the offices in different countries show that the company is international. Second, the company offers the accommodation services in different countries and in different hotels.
Thus, customers should not visit different sites of hotels to find what they need. They should just choose a country and the city they want and they will find the options for accommodations. Convenience and time saving are the qualities customers value in the organization and services it provides. Third, the use of Google services is really profitable. Wotif.com proved that spending money on the services provided by Google, the company earns more, covering expenses and earning more profit.
The lessons we learned from the services provided by Wotif.com may be considered as the organization strengths. Thus, the company provides its customers with the complex services devoted to the booking rooms in the hotels worldwide. It is obvious that a customer would better use this site rather than would search for the hotels and compare and contrast prices there.
All those operations may be made online on one site. Moreover, not each company has the representatives in different countries. This allows Wotif.com to solve problems, if any, faster.
The mens store will have a rectangular shape divided into various sections that display different items. Many shoppers always look left first before turning right as they search for items they want to purchase. The right side of the store will have products that entice consumers to explore other items being displayed in the store. The stores design will be made more inviting to encourage customers to sample items that are displayed in different sections.
Many shoppers prefer moving in an anti-clockwise direction when they are sampling items they intend to purchase in shopping stores. The aisles around the store need to be about one and a half meters wide to make it easy for customers to move around the store (Andersen, 1997, p. 123). All sections will be labeled and segmented to make it possible for customers to identify products they intend to purchase quickly. These sections will be partitioned with glass to make it easy for managers to monitor sales staff.
The store will divided into several sections each offering different types of apparel. The first section needs to cater for general shopping interests and it will display casual wear targeting different types of customers. This section will display denim jeans, shirts, t-shirts and other items which men wear whenever they perform different outdoor activities or when they are relaxing.
The next section will display a wide range of sportswear for men who are actively involved in sports (Pride, 2008, p. 67). This section will also display other items such as tennis balls, footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, baseball equipment and other items.
The third display section of the store will have mens attire for that men can wear when attending different official occasions. This section needs to be segmented into different areas to cater for unique customer tastes and preferences (Pride, 2008, p 74). The business attire section will have ties, jackets and suits for male clients searching for official work attire.
The other segment will display tuxedos, hats and other apparel men wear when they attend high profile red carpet events. The last merchandise section will display different types of shoes, belts, wallets and other accessories. These items will be kept in locked transparent cabinets to safeguard them from shoplifters.
The office needs to be allocated space at the end of the store to make it possible for managers to monitor different activities being done in the store. Office space of about 100 square feet (10 x 10) will be adequate for three managers. The office will also have a separate section to accommodate three IT professionals who will monitor security in the store.
They will use CCTV cameras placed in strategic locations to monitor all business activities done in the store to minimize theft. The storage area will be adjacent to the office and only the operations manager will have entry codes. The area will be used to store different types of merchandise to ensure all items on sale do not run out of stock (Piotrowski & Rogers, 2013, p. 54). The storage area needs to be about 250 square feet (10x 25) to make it possible for large quantities of merchandise to be stored there.
All sections will have their own counters to make it possible for customers to pay at the point of purchase. All employees will be expected to be accountable for what happens in their workstations to make it easy for managers to compare the performance of each section. Counters will be manned by accountants who will make entries of every item purchased into automated payment records.
They will be required to give customers receipts which will be used to prove the transaction has taken place. Electronic sensors will be placed at the exit to nab any customers that try to leave the store without paying for items purchased (Pycraft, Singh & Phihlela, 2000, p. 76). All apparel will have electronic chips that will only become inactive after payments have been made. These electronic chips will notify the system about any act of theft in the store to ensure all items are paid for.
Conclusion
The layout needs also to leave a space for washrooms to ensure all customers who visit the store have an area they can relieve themselves. It will have male and female toilet facilities to enable them transact in the store comfortably. The store will also need a dressing room (Zentes, Morschett & Schramm Klein, 2011, p. 93).
This will make it possible for customers to try out different types of apparel displayed in the store to see how they fit. The last merchandise section will have glass cabinets which will display different items. These cabinets will contain watches, wallets, wrist bands, rings, chains and belts. The store will also have surveillance cameras which will be used to monitor and record any insecurity acts in the store. All display sections will have seats to allow customers to rest as they wait to be served.
References
Andersen, A. (1997). Small store survival: Success strategies for retailers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Piotrowski, C. M., & Rogers, E.A. (2013). Designing commercial interiors. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Pride, W.M. (2008). Foundations of marketing. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Pycraft, M., Singh, H., & Phihlela, K. (2000).Operations management. Johannesburg: Pearson South Africa.
Zentes, J. Morschett, D., & Schramm Klein, H. (2011).Strategic retail management: Text and international cases. London: Springer.
There is a case of sexual harassment at Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. At a workplace, sexual harassment usually comes from colleagues and supervisors. In the case study, Rosettas colleagues are the source of sexual harassment to her. Stereotyping, norms, behaviors, poor communications, and inconsequential responses are the main factors that encourage sexual harassment at the workplace. The behavior may persist if no one intervenes or take any meaningful action.
Workplace sexual harassment can assume several forms. In the case study, Rosettas sexual harassment includes unwelcome jokes, explicit sexual comments, displaying centerfolds, sexist comments, innuendoes, derogatory comments about her Italian background and Italian men.
There are other forms, which include sexual assault, rape, fondling, demands for sexual favors, inappropriate touching, catcalls, leering, and unwanted flirting among others. Although Rosetta did not experience the latter group, it is important to point out that uncontrolled sexual harassment usually gets worse as the behavior gains momentum.
One must also point out that consensual sex, physical attraction, affection, and mutually encouraged flirting do not qualify to be acts of workplace sexual harassment. Although workplace harassment persists, it is illegal. The Criminal Code of Conduct, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Canadian Labor Code have all outlawed workplace sexual harassment.
Given the legal position of Canada on workplace sexual harassment, Rosettas male colleagues should face charges or warnings from the supervisor, Al. However, Al assumed that the complaints were matters of casual jokes rather than sexual harassment. Al has also concluded that Rosetta left the job on her own freewill and that the complaint was not justified because the work was stressful.
Problem Statement
Obviously, Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd lacks a code of conduct for employees on workplace sexual harassment, diversity, and inclusion. As a result, Al lacks any ground of investigating the matter and presenting a solution to any sexually harassed female employees. In addition, Rosetta has failed to report her case to the supervisor.
Analysis of Alternatives
One major challenge, which is clear in the case study, is hesitancy to inform the supervisor about sexual harassment. In fact, the issue is emotional and personal. As a result, many employees fail to report cases of sexual harassment. Rosetta informed Eva White, a colleague about her experiences.
However, she failed to report to the supervisor and opted to leave the job. One can attribute failure to report such cases to different factors. First, victims have personal risks and fear of losing the job. Second, the companys policies on sexual harassment are not clear. In addition, there are no reporting lines and subsequent actions against the perpetrators.
Rosetta is skeptical about the issue of reporting the case because she knows Al will not consider it as a serious issue. She also shows that Al would not take any action against male workers. Clearly, Rosetta does not know how to handle the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace. This may suggest that the company lacks any policy on sexual harassment.
The best approach of overcoming workplace sexual harassment is prevention. In addition, the company should also take corrective measures in order to eradicate workplace sexual harassment.
Prevention is the best approach of controlling sexual harassment and other acts of discrimination at the workplace. The approach should involve the introduction of sexual harassment policy, employee training, and formal ways of reporting all forms of sexual harassment at the workplace.
Sexual harassment policy can protect employees from sexual harassment. It also protects the organization from potential lawsuits because of the damages from the act. Maple Leaf lacks any sexual harassment policy. Male employees have centerfolds on the walls behind their machines. The lack of sexual harassment policy at Maple Leaf has encouraged such behaviors in the company. While male employees might consider such behavior as normal, Rosetta finds them to be discriminatory and forms of harassment and discrimination.
Maple Leaf should introduce a code of conducts on sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination at the workplace. The company must define all forms of sexual harassment with reference to different laws of Canada on the issue. It should also indicate reporting procedures, investigation procedures, subsequent actions, and policy on any attempted retaliation. At the same time, Maple Leaf should insist on confidentiality, the role of supervisors, and harassment by other stakeholders rather than colleagues.
Supervisors and HR manager must enforce the written policy on sexual harassment. Otherwise, the policy will not serve its purpose. Maple Leaf can achieve this by observing some simple procedures. The company should include the code of conducts for all employees in the employees handbook.
In addition, there should be constant reminders for other employees about the Maple Leaf code of conduct. Maple Leaf must also ensure that all employees acknowledge and adhere to the code of conduct. In this regard, they will understand the consequences of failing to follow the code. Any case of sexual harassment should have clearly defined actions. Once Maple Leaf has adopted sexual harassment policy, it would be necessary to conduct an audit and improve it based on emerging definitions of workplace sexual harassment.
Training is mandatory on workplace sexual harassment. While Al and other male colleagues consider sexual harassment as casual and old jokes, Rosetta and Eva White do not think so. Majorities of Maple Leaf employees, including supervisors lack training on workplace sexual harassment. Maple Leaf can enhance prevention of sexual harassment through effective training of employees from different regions.
Training must inform employees about sexual harassment, its forms, effects on the victim, and consequences on the perpetrators and the company. Training can take any form. Employees must recognize the importance of training on sexual harassment. All training approaches must also focus on the hostile environment, which may result from sexual harassment.
The company should also create functional channels for sexual harassment complaints. Rosetta could have reported sexual harassment if the company had a formal reporting system. A lack of a formal reporting channel for sexual harassment leads to several unreported cases. Reporting a sexual harassment case is a way of discouraging such behaviors in an organization.
Senior executives must support sexual harassment claims by ensuring all supervisors implement the policy as stated in the code of conduct. They must also ensure fairness during investigation processes. The HR department must provide different alternatives of reporting claims of sexual harassment at the workplace.
Once an employee has reported a case of sexual harassment, the employer must take the necessary action in order to prevent a similar misconduct again. Al failed in his responsibility as a supervisor. Sexual harassment has negative consequences on employees as Rosetta indicates. Thus, Maple Leaf must stop it before it takes place. Nevertheless, any reported case of sexual harassment requires investigation, discipline, counseling, and adhere to policy on non-retaliation.
Recommendation
Employees should not act in a manner, which cause sexual harassment to colleagues or cause uncomfortable situation. This is what Rosetta experienced among her male co-workers. However, one must remember that actions and effects of such behaviors on others may determine harassment regardless of intentions.
Maple Leaf should provide a work environment, which is free of sexual harassment and any other form of discrimination against all employees. In this regard, the company must formulate and adopt a code of conduct with clearly defined sexual harassment policies and consequences of such behaviors. The policy must aim at preventing and addressing issues of sexual harassment among all employees. The policy must clarify sexual harassment, common harassment, investigation procedures, and a policy on employee dating and relationships.
The company must conduct training and inform all employees about the importance of the sexual harassment policy and other policies.
The role of the supervisor in sexual harassment, prevention, investigation, and correction should be clear. Al is unable to act on the case of Rosetta because he lacks guidance, does not know what sexual harassment is, and provides a casual approach to the whole issue. Supervisors must take an active role in protecting employees and ensuring a favorable work environment for all members of the company.
The company should encourage whistleblowers like Eva White. Eva must pursue the case and ensure that the company takes the required procedures to address the alleged sexual harassment. In a lawsuit, Maple Leaf must demonstrate that it took the right step to address the issue. Moreover, the company must all prove that consequences, which perpetrators received, were equally severe. Rosetta worked in a hostile environment because of sexual harassment and derogatory statements about her background.
Implementation
The company must adopt a policy on sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, which create hostile work environments for workers. Implementation of the policy should aim at preventing any potential future behaviors.
Employees must undergo training about sexual harassment policy. This would create awareness among employees about the outcomes of such behaviors.
Supervisors must investigate all reported cases of sexual harassment in order to ascertain the truth. Failure to investigate the issue could lead to a lawsuit.
It is difficult for workers to report cases of sexual harassment. Supervisors must not dismiss employees who report their cases because they might seek for outside help, which could be detrimental to the entire firm. In addition, the company must implement policies to protect whistleblowers.
During training, employees must recognize that the companys policy does not support retaliation because it is illegal.
All supervisors and employees should follow procedures provided in the employee handbook when reporting cases of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination. The supervisor must not attempt to favor any party and not dismiss the normal reporting procedures.
The supervisor should review the case by initiating interviews with the complainant and perpetrators. Details are critical in this stage. The process should remain confidential because such issues of harassment and discrimination can create a hostile work environment.
After establishing all the facts on the case, the employer or supervisor must take an appropriate action against perpetrators of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination. Actions could be dismissal for serious cases while other forms of sexual harassment may require warnings or counseling.
In some cases, the company may also consider assistance from external experts.
In considering the core values of Alpha Kappa Psi, I am struck by how simple and practical they are. They are written to provide guidance and inspiration, while avoiding preaching at members. If the pledge class pays attention to and abides by these principles, our experience in college and beyond is likely to be a positive one.
The first Alpha Kappa Psi value is BROTHERHOOD. This is clearly not simply the sibling relationship that many of us are familiar with from our own homes. We are not called on merely to avoid hurting each other, or to take turns, or to share nicely, as we are expected to do with our biological siblings. This is meant to be a different sort of relationship, representing the best way we treat our blood brothers and sisters, plus something more, something not necessarily found in a family.
After all, we cannot choose our siblings, but we have, ourselves, chosen, and been chosen, reciprocally, to affiliate with this Alpha Kappa Psi brotherhood. This means that we should appreciate and value each other, no matter whether we think we are likely to become buddies or close friends, rather than merely accepting each others right to exist grudgingly.
The words duty and respect appear in the PEP manual, and these are important. If we treat each other respectfully, as a welcome duty, the fondness will probably follow. We should be prepared to support each other and work for each others success in all things associated with our college life, and afterwards as well. We should be able to depend on each other, in the same way that blood brothers and sisters can, under the best of circumstances.
The exercise of behaving in a respectful and caring way towards another person, just because they are in the same organization, is a very useful one. I expect that it will help me immensely when I am working in any corporate setting. I will need to cooperate productively with a variety of other people, even if I might not have selected them out of a crowd to share a beer or a pizza.
The PEP manual also mentions stewardship; this means taking care of something that may benefit others whom we may not even know. In pledging Alpha Kappa Psi, we are becoming part of something that has been around for decades, and goes beyond just the members of the chapter where we pledged, or the brothers and sisters we hang out with.
We have the same responsibility to take care of members from other years, and other chapters of the fraternity as we do to our own pledge class. I look forward to depending, myself, on this national network of people who will be more likely than strangers would be to take my phone call or respond to a request for help or information.
A second value is KNOWLEDGE, and the goal of lifelong learning . This is a really appealing goal, and sounds like it will be fairly easy to honor. We are asked to invest effort in learning as much as we can now, when we are in college, which means concentrating on our coursework to get the most out of this experience.
This value also directs us to continue that process throughout our professional lives. This implies, to me, among other things, maintaining a flexible mental attitude that allows for absorption of new ideas. In both my subject areas of management information science and finance, this skill is critical. I hope, as a pledge, brother, and graduate, to develop and apply the ability to remain nimble mentally, so that I can keep up with developments in these swiftly changing fields.
This core value also encourages us to share our experience and expertise with our brothers and sisters. The founding members undoubtedly did not intend for this to mean sharing exam questions!
On the other hand, it would certainly include helping a brother or sister prepare for a test, or practice an oral presentation, or proof-read a resume. To fulfill this part of the fraternitys goals as a graduate, I would expect to make myself available to talk with younger fraternity members about my company or the fields of finance or management information systems generally.
I look forward to being a mentor to new members in future years, and to helping fellow members in any way I can. I also hope to benefit from the help and advice of alumni/ae, myself, as I look for internships, summer jobs, and positions after graduation. We are also called on to share our expertise with people outside the fraternity; everyone whom we work with and interact with out in the business world.
The third value is INTEGRITY. This is a word and concept which many people may have begun to believe no longer belongs with the word business . My cohort of business graduates will enter the workplace just when the reputations of some major elements in the world economy (for example, the banking and mortgage sector, Toyota, adulterated Chinese food products) are worthless. This will be both a challenge and an opportunity for us, as members of Alpha Kappa Psi.
Our fraternity membership imposes on us a constant reminder of the expected Alpha Kappa Psi standard of behavior. The honesty, ethics, and fairness of our behavior can be an example to each other and to those outside Alpha Kappa Psi. How does this translate into how we act while we are in college? Several easy examples come to mind. We can refrain from cheating, and we can choose to act straightforwardly in our social relations.
The first might translate into learning how to do honest individual research efficiently and swiftly for our papers and projects so that we are not tempted to copy and paste or take other academic shortcuts where we should not. The second might take the form of not promising to call someone we know socially when, in fact, we have no intention of doing so.
It could also take the form of not undercutting another member in an officer election contest. It certainly would include following the Alpha Kappa Psi guidelines about alcohol, drugs, hazing, and so forth. The experience of adhering to Alpha Kappa Psi standards of ethical behavior in college will prepare and inform me to face tough ethical decisions, and choose wisely once we are in the workplace fulltime.
SERVICEA is another Alpha Kappa Psi value. This value is important as a healthy balance to the profit goals that we are being taught to pursue in business. Service can mean volunteering in the community, or on campus, while we are still students. Having a service oriented mindset means that we make time routinely in our lives for charitable events, and try to support them whenever we can, especially if Alpha Kappa Psi is sponsoring them.
When we are in the business world, we can try to find ways to serve the community by making choices such as sourcing supplies locally, hiring locally, choosing to site a business where it will build up the community rather than eviscerate a downtown, ensuring that there is a career ladder for people with minimal starting qualifications, and of course the obvious option of partnering with charities to help them raise money. I look forward to finding creative ways to serve, and expect to learn new skills from the experience.
UNITY is the last core value, and it is also the least specific. I see it as calling on Alpha Kappa Psi members to be willing to help the chapter and the fraternity survive and thrive over time. This might translate into being willing to serve as officer in the chapter, train new members, take training myself, if available, and help in colonizing other campuses, if needed.
Unity also means being an active and supportive graduate. It certainly means donating generously to support the organizations programs once I have an income stream. The value of unity might also involve volunteering to be an alumni chapter advisor, recommending incoming freshmen to the chapter, or finding some other way to use my personal gifts to serve Alpha Kappa Psi and its goals.
As I see it, one of the great benefits of a fraternity membership is the chance to become comfortable with people of a variety of ages, from freshmen to the old guard . Learning to work cooperatively and gracefully on fraternity business with people of many different ages cannot help but be an asset later on in the workplace.
Brotherhood, knowledge, integrity, service, unity: these are the values that pledging Alpha Kappa Psi will commit me to support and live out creatively in my college years and beyond. I look forward to growing as a person over the rest of my undergraduate years. I feel sure that this growth will be enhanced by spending time and effort in the company of Alpha Kappa Psi brothers and the values we share and try to put into practice in the course of our daily lives and work.
Managing business in the international business environment is quite daunting. The explanation for this observation is that there is a variation in factors of management in diverse business environments.
Different business environments have diverse business cultures that must be mastered and adhered to by any manager who wants to manage a business successfully in the environment (Luthans, Doh & Hodgetts, 2012). Several points can be attributed to the failure of Justin to sustain the performance of the company in the Asian Pacific region, in spite of having successfully steered the performance of the company in the United States.
One thing that comes out is that Justin has worked in the United States in his entire carrier and his appointment as the vice president of one of the divisions of the company in the Asian Pacific region was one of his international tasks in business management. This task involved managing in a different business culture from the business culture that he was used to. It should be noted that the United States business culture in which Justin came from is quite different from the business culture in the Asia Pacific region where Justin was posted.
Heading a new business venture in a new business environment is a comprehensive task. It entails the study and understanding of the models and attributes of management that are embraced in the new environment (Steers, Sanchez-Runde & Nardon, 2010). As soon as he entered the region, Justin implemented radical measures to turn around the performance of the companys division in the region, just as he had done with the companys division in the United States.
This was a radical action that only paid off in the short run as the company recorded an improvement in its performance in the first and second quarters under his tenure. The radical changes that were implemented by Justin did not match with the culture of management in the Asian Pacific region as it is later manifested in the dissatisfaction and demotivation of the employees of the company, resulting in an increased rate of employee turnover in the company.
The changes, which imply new strategies of management, can be termed as unsustainable due to their incompatibility with the managerial culture of the Asian Pacific region. Justin did not take time to learn and adjust to the new culture of management after he was appointed as the new vice president in charge of Compcorps division in the Asian Pacific region (Luthans, Doh & Hodgetts, 2012).
The changes in the management strategy, which implied the change in the culture and attributes of management in the new environment, could only work for a limited period of time. However, the employees later fell out with the strategy of management later after learning the difference in the style of leadership that was introduced by Justin and what they were used to.
This explains why the top managers in the organizations division in the Asian Pacific region left, thereby creating a managerial vacuum in the company. The performance of the company could not be sustained.
What Compcorp ought to have done to enhance prospects for Justins successful performance
The failure of Justin in managing the companys division can be partly blamed on the management of the mother company in the United States. The realization of the fact that managing in the international environment is complex warrants the attention of executives who seek to use expatriates in managing business. Companies are, thus, required to establish and enhance training programs on international management prior to the discharge of expatriates for foreign assignments (Luthans, Doh & Hodgetts, 2012).
The case of Justin and his appointment to head the companys division in the Asian Pacific region is an example of the mistakes that are done by executives, which make it quite daunting for companies to thrive in foreign business environments. The management of the company was well aware that Justin had no experience of managing in a foreign business culture, despite having excelled in managing one of the companys divisions in the United States.
Marx (2001) observed that most companies launch expatriate programs as part of the initiatives of dealing with the problem of cross-cultural management. Cross-cultural programs entail offering training and guiding employees or expatriates on how to approach and deal with the variations in the attributes of management in a foreign business culture.
Multi-cultural programs have become a common feature of management in multinational companies, most of which choose the hybrid system of management, just as was with Compcorp. Therefore, training was a critical element that could have been embraced by the management of Compcorp as part of embracing Justins knowledge on managing in the foreign business environment.
The other strategy that could have been used by the company is the embrace of indirect learning and adaptability by letting Justin to enter the Asian Pacific region on a lower rank so that he could learn the culture of management in the region before being promoted to the position of the vice president (Menipaz & Menipaz, 2011).
Managerial initiatives in international management
Prospects of management in a foreign business culture have to be captured by any person who wants to succeed in enhancing the performance of a company in a foreign business environment. The foreign business can present challenges, as well opportunities on which the management can rely on in enhancing the performance of a subsidiary firm in such an environment.
However, detecting and understanding the nature of challenges, as well as the opportunities that prevail in the foreign business environment requires deeper insight into the given business environment. Learning the trends of management and the culture that is embraced in the foreign business environment ought to be the first thing that should be given priority by an expatriate manager.
Expatriate managers have to establish workable relationships with the local staffs, who act as key resource persons in helping them learn about the desirable attributes of management in the foreign business environment (Marx, 2001). As it comes out in the case, Justin also stands to be blamed for his failure to succeed in managing the Compcorp division in the Asian Pacific region.
According to Menipaz and Menipaz (2011), expatriate managers under the hybrid strategy of managing in a foreign environment must learn from both the superior employees, as well as employees in the lower rank.
What is depicted in the case is that the employees of the company become dissatisfied with the style of management that was used by Justin. If Justin had taken time to consult from the managers on how to go about the managerial practices in the company, then he could not probably have faced the kind of problem that was witnessed in the organization.
References
Luthans, F., Doh, J. P., & Hodgetts, R. M. (2012). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Marx, E. (2001). Breaking through culture shock: What you need to succeed in international business. London: Nicholas Brealey.
Menipaz, E., & Menipaz, A. (2011). International business: Theory and Practice. London: SAGE.
Steers, R. M., Sanchez-Runde, C., & Nardon, L. (2010). Management across cultures: Challenges and strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
~Surveys, either formal or informal, can serve as effective means for evaluating the attitudes, feelings, values, beliefs, and expectations of a particular sample. By definition, a survey is basically a study undertaken to evaluate the feelings of a target audience or sample towards a particular area of interest (Cohen et al, 2007).
The responses can then be generalized to the whole population if appropriate measures are put in place to ensure data validity. It is imperative to note that every survey must have a well spelt out agenda, and details should be made available to respondents to give them the ability to respond to the questions posed
The main purpose of this particular survey was to critically evaluate how the employees felt towards workplace regulations that inevitably affect their privacy, and how such practices influence their performance and job satisfaction levels. Today, more than ever before, there exists glaring concerns about conflicts of interest between the employers role of safeguarding the safety and performance in the workplace on the one hand and the employees privacy interest on the other.
Newspapers and other media channels are filled with reports of senior managers who conduct routine checks on employees desks, monitor telephone conversations, and install software application programs to monitor computers and emails.
We only get to hear of such stories when an infuriated employee files a lawsuit against his or her employer for perceived infringement on privacy (Hubbartt, 1998). The survey targeted the private sector since the workers right to privacy in this particular sector is not essentially guaranteed by either the constitution or federal regulations
There are many design issues involved in preparing an effective survey. First, it was decided that the survey will utilize quantitative research design since the main objective was to evaluate the relationship between the independent variable, which was workplace regulations towards privacy, and the dependent variables, entailing a multiplicity of attitudes and values held by the employees concerning how the regulations affects their performance and job satisfaction (Hopkins, 2000).
Quantitative research designs can either be descriptive or experimental, and this particular survey opted for a descriptive study since it was interested in establishing associations between the above stated variables as opposed to establishing causality.
Having determined on the design to be used for the survey, it was also decided that the survey employ a cross-sectional approach since the respondents were measured once to determine the relationships (Hopkins, 2000). Afterwards, the desired sample size was established through both purposive and convenience sampling procedures.
Purposive sampling was used since the researcher needed respondents who had adequate knowledge and understanding on privacy issues in the workplace. After this was established, convenience sampling was used. The latter technique samples people based on the principle of being in the right place at the right time (Cohen et al, 2007).
Semi-structured questionnaires were also developed for the purposes of data collection. Questionnaires are advantageous in this type of survey due to their ease of application and tested ability to bring out salient information in the most objective manner possible (Cohen et al, 2007).
Since this was an attitude survey, the researcher used the unstructured questions to explore new levels of knowledge, not mentioning the fact that such questions gave the respondents the leeway to expound their innermost feelings towards the variables under investigation.
The above are some of the preliminary design issues that any researcher must be able to aptly solve in line with the key objectives of the study. The study design is particularly important as it determines the type of data that the researcher will receive from the field.
Decisions on whether the study will adopt a descriptive or experimental approach are fundamentally important, especially in attitude studies where the researcher is mainly interested in knowing how a particular attitude or behavior develops, and why it develops (Cohen et al, 2007). I
Issues of the actual data gathering tools are equally important since they are principally related with the validity and reliability of results. Validity can be basically described as the strength of our own conclusions, deductions, or propositions. Validity seeks to ask if certain inferences or conclusions made from a research study were right, and as such, it depends heavily on the degree to which a particular data collection instrument employed in the survey is able to evaluate or measure certain issues of interest (Handley, 2005).
Reliability can be simply described as the consistency of measurement. In this particular stud, reliability was described as the degree to which the semi-structured questionnaire was able to measure the variables or phenomena consistently each time the instrument was under similar conditions. This ensured outstanding levels of uniformity in responses given out by the subjects (Handley, 2005).
Lastly, it was decided that the questionnaire was to be self-administered, whereby the subjects were expected to fill in the answer either with or without the assistance of the researcher as situations would allow.
The distinct advantages of self-administering the questionnaires in an attitude survey is that not only does the respondent feel free to answer objectively, but also the whole process takes a little time to complete (Cohen et al, 2007). Here, instructions for administering included: who should complete the survey; who should administer the survey; what instructions should be made available to the participants; what is needed for administering the survey; among others (Instructions, n.d.).
As already mentioned, the questions were mostly structured to limit the subjects to the scales given. Some questions, however, were unstructured especially in areas where more explanations were needed. A five-point Lickert-type scale was used to scale and measure the responses.
In this type of scale, the instructions would be: 5 represents the most important or strongly agree while 1 represents the least important or strongly disagree. Performing descriptive statistics on such scores will reveal their means, standard deviations, maximum values, minimum values, among others. To achieve objectivity in interpretation of the results, the researcher may have to evaluate three or four questions simultaneously to establish valid relationship or run cross-tabulations (Manion et al, 2007).
The importance of attitude surveys in evaluating the behaviors and actions of individuals can not, therefore, be put into question. There attitude surveys are used in nearly every field, from education to psychology to marketing and management to evaluate the perceptions, priorities, values, and expectations held by individuals regarding a particular practice, product, strategy, or service (Manion et al, 2007).
In psychology, there are mostly used to come up with frameworks and theories as to how and why individuals behave the way they do when subjected to certain environmental incentives or negative rewards. Attitude informs the mindsets and behaviors of individuals the world over.
Reference List
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, R.B. (2007). Research methods in education, 6th Ed. New York, NY: Routledge.
Handley, C. (2005). Validity and Reliability in Research. Web.
Hubbartt, W.S. (1998). The new battle over workplace privacy: Safe practices to minimize to minimize conflict, confusion, and litigation, 1st Ed. New York, NY AMACOM.
Instructions for administering employee safety perception surveys. (n.d.). Web.
Rating of a product against various stages of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) depends on the characteristics and amount of revenue that a product generates over a specified monitory period. This essay forms an analysis of a universal charger as a product category that covers a wide range of brands such as the solar-powered charger, mobile/travel charger among others. People mainly use them in charging mobile devices like the cell phones, cameras, music players, lap and palm-top computers.
Currently, the world smartest and most portable devices are on the increase due to demand. They form part of everyday lifestyle. People want to be in a position where they are able to communicate from different locations. Their dependence on the portable gadgets becomes painful when the batteries power runs out. Currying various charger cords for each of these devices (mobile phones, cameras, music players, and computers) is cumbersome.
It becomes worse when one must have access to electric power. The universal charger mainly caters for a person who travels widely and has to curry along multiple power cords and connectors for all the gadgets. Sometimes one has to curry the power converters to cater for different voltage requirements and plugging configurations due to difference of standards among countries. The universal power supplier is in growth stage and is an all-in-one product that caters for voltage differences and the different types of connectors.
The universal charger is in the growth stage of the PLC. Globally, majority of people can afford and own the hand held or mobile devices. People prefer to have a main travel charger that can cater for various mobile appliances especially the mobile phones. When accessing remote areas the chargers are supportive due to the solar-powered choices.
Overall, current usage rate is an indication that the product enjoying a constant growth rate but has not reached the peak. Thus is because most potential users have not known how to operate or manage the product while majority are not aware of the product existence. There is prospective increase on sales if clients become aware of the benefits the product provides.
Marketers still face the challenge of bringing attention to the niche market, especially the constant travellers and those in rural setting especially in the developing countries. These additional market segments will cause increase of sales to catapult the product to maturity level of PLC. The product has already proven to be a success and new customers show interest of carrying along the trend.
The product faces little or no competitive challenges and thus has stable prices and low promotional costs. On the other hand, the marketers need extra promotion strategies to encourage customers and affirm the goodness of the product. The product manufacturers and marketers anticipate major competing products in the near future market. This calls for more growth-related strategies and resources to convince consumers on efficiency and quality in comparison to other upcoming products.
One of the key aspects that are a clear indication that the product is in the growth stage of the PLC is the objective to gain and maintain customers preferences during marketing. There is also the aim to boost sales through improvements on the packaging designs. Different packaging designs are mostly strategies meant to capture attention of the potential buyers.
The option also enhances the product quality and presents it as a new and advancing product in the market. The prices of the products are equally set at a low and affordable level to capture attention of willing customers and increase consumer base.
The products are in support of already existing electronic devices such as mobile phones or personal computers. This means that most of the electronic stores especially the major distributors have the discounting mechanisms, where they discount mobile devices with free universal chargers.
This is a strategy of enhancing sales of the electronic products, as well as making the new product known to the consumers. The marketing strategy also promotes growth of the product because retailers also bring out some interest on the product. Diverse promotional strategies such as increase in advertisements and various plans to augment preference provide support to products in the growth stage of the PLC.
The technology is new and the supplies have to provide additional pamphlets with extra instructions of usage, and in some cases, vendors need to give verbal explanations when selling the product as a marketing strategy.
The charger equally gets growth and support through new products launch campaigns in various consumer outlets and promotional drives for technological improvements. The product manufactures pose different designs and options to cater a variety of the cords and power supplier connectors that cater for the required voltage level, depending on the type of device.
The universal charger still faces probable transformations to cater for wider variety of devices and incorporate the new and advancing ones. These requirements mean that the products must develop further to cater for the specific clients needs.