Category: Performance

Abstract

The main aim of this research study is to analyze the use of performance management tools in FMCG Companies in Saudi organizations. In line with this objective, the paper identifies some variables as explanatory variables. These variables are effective management performance, creating empowerment and authority, increasing leadership capability, customer-centric strategy, increasing communication and collaboration, enhancing training and development, and sustainable performance.

The study relied on primary data using structured questions to explain the main objective. This research study attempts to explain the various theories related to the relationship between sustainable performance culture and business success. The study used a cross-sectional research design to meet the objectives. The data of the survey were analyzed using statistical techniques such as SPSS, ANOVA, regression, and correlation analysis. The variables in the study explained the dependent variable and the study found that developing a sustainable performance culture enhances business success.

Introduction

This part covers the foundation of the study, issue articulation, Study goals, speculations, and the hugeness of the study.

Background to the study

Now that data, information, individuals, abilities, and cash move uninhibitedly and quickly over the globe, the current strategy is the key to business sustainability. So if a strategy cannot help an establishment gain a competitive advantage in the industry, what can it do to separate itself from the rest? According to Rodger et al. (2006, p. 15), a weak strategy can only be countered by a solid performance culture  something that contenders will not be able to reproduce very fast. By embracing a methodology that integrates even-minded business sense with critical thinking and behavioral understanding, organizations can bring about change that conveys results, as well as makes an additionally satisfying workplace for workers at all levels (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 15).

A performance culture is key to achieving an upper hand in the current era. In the past, having an upper edge implied having more brilliant methodologies and prevalent resources. Even though they are still vital, they are not enough. On account of globalization, in most cases free exchange of information, rivals can replicate another companys strategy within a short period. What they cannot replicate very fast, in any case, is an excellent performance culture (Phillips, 2005, p. 102).

While a solid performance culture-one where each employee gives their best- can be a manageable wellspring of the upper hand, the absence of it is a noteworthy aggressive burden since it acts as an obstacle to the implementation of change. Nearly three-quarters of change initiatives fail as a result of cultural aspects. Truth be told, change endeavors regularly fail as a result of things they are trying to change, that is, workers dispositions and administrative conduct (Phillips, 2005, p. 104).

Studies have shown that less than 10 percent of companies have succeeded in developing a high-performance culture. According to the study carried out by Bain and Company, Inc., even those companies that succeed in fostering high-performance culture usually find it very difficult to sustain it (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 4). The study also found that companies that succeed in sustaining high-performance culture do so based on the following: first, they have an exceptional identity, tradition, and core values that are neither devised nor prescribed; second, they exemplify six high-performance values and conduct.

The six high-performance values and conduct are thirst and energy, greater ambitions and need to win, external focus, thinking like proprietors, a disposition to action, and teamwork (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 5).

Problem statement

Most studies on performance management have always focused on ways on how to measure and enhance organizational performance. The same studies have also shown that enhancing organizational performance is not a hard task; the hardest task is sustaining that level of performance (Phillips, 2005, p. 104). However, a high level of performance in the long-run requires a sustainable performance culture.

As mentioned above, only less than 10 percent of companies have succeeded in developing a high-performance culture. On the other hand, companies that have succeeded in fostering high-performance culture usually find it very difficult to sustain it (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 4). For this reason, this study is aimed at exploring ways through which companies can develop a sustainable performance culture with the principle focus on organizations in Saudi Arabia.

Research purpose and rationale

This study is fundamental as a result of the way that it fabricates onto the available collection of data regarding the development of a sustainable performance culture in Saudi organizations. The eventual outcomes of this study are extraordinarily critical to the business proprietors in light of the way that they can use it for sorting out purposes, so they can consider evident destinations to draw in and hold a broad customer base.

Research Objectives

The general objective of this paper was to investigate the development of a sustainable performance culture in Saudi organizations. This paper intends to achieve some number of goals, which include:

1. To evaluate the relationship between performance management and the organizations sustainability, and
2. To assess the impact of employees qualities on overall business success.

Research Question

The above research objectives will be assessed by taking into consideration the following research question.

• What is the role of a sustainable performance management culture in Saudi organizations?

Research Hypothesis

The paper is based on the following null (H₀) and alternate (H₁) research hypotheses to achieve the research objective.

1. H₀: High-quality performance correlates with the organizations sustainability.
2. H₁: There is no correlation between employees qualities and overall business success.

Literature review

Introduction

The study is set to carry out a case study analysis of how the FMCG Companies in Saudi Arabia are utilizing performance management tools. This chapter highlights the work that other scholars and researchers have done and will include a theoretical and empirical literature review.

The theoretical review will focus on key theories that explain sustainable performance culture and how it is created. On the other hand, the empirical review will entail a review of studies that have been carried out on the subject under study. It explores previous studies concerning sustainable performance culture. The literature reviews heavily relied on online academic databases, making use of search phrases and terms, including, but not restricted to, sustainable performance, performance culture, and performance management.

A Shift in Emphasis in Performance Appraisals

Much writing has indicated the issues with performance appraisal, which has driven a few observers to call for the abrogation of the procedure or a reestablished focus on the center components of performance evaluation. For instance, Coens and Jenkins (2000) given their involvement in North America prescribed annulling performance evaluations referring to general failings in developed planning, target setting, and 360-degree input.

They advocate rather more extensive performance administration approaches concentrated on client results and decoupling the mind-boggling blend of procedures involved with performance appraisal. They refer to an FMCG company that supplanted conventional appraisal with an arrangement of individual objective setting, leadership preparing, and worker association that gives officers a chance to pick who they needed to work with and who managed them.

Barney and Hesterly (2006) contend that at all stages, the accentuation ought to be at the center of the performance and advancement process, that is enhancing the nature of discussions as opposed to experiencing dried out ceremonies, with transparent pioneers setting the case for a society of inquisitive, innovative learning associations (p. 43). Baker (2002) additionally highlights the issue of directors and workers just making a halfhearted effort of the procedure when he expressed that not just do directors loathe doing performance appraisal yet numerous concede that it is the most feared errand in their schedule.

Again and again, it prompts a shallow talk, with both sides conniving to meet the associations endorsed regulatory strategy and, in doing as such, staying away from the most central issue of execution change (p. 26). These failings of examination have prompted new ways to deal with performance administration.

Barney (1991) observes two elements in performance management writing. This is an exceptionally organized and controlled reverse-looking survey approach which is done to the workers, and a great deal more comprehensive, forward-looking methodology including the individual, supporting their improvement and connecting into the associations needs and values. In any case, as Holbeche (2005) calls attention to, there is still the requirement for a discussion to both think about past execution and to anticipate.

The last is what is to a great extent in the brain of those that backed a more attached change to performance appraisal: a change to a performance administration theory that draws in representatives more all the while and pushes performance towards key association objectives. The simultaneous disentanglement of procedures that is in progress switches the emphasis on individual plan points of interest and towards the substance of the performance administration process.

In their book on performance management, Berger and Berger (2004) note the movement in phrasing from performance appraisal to performance administration, which they accept demonstrates a more extensive movement in the theory and substance of the procedure. Performance evaluation has a notoriety for being a reformatory, top-down control gadget, a disliked framework. Performance management is a comprehensive, all-out way to deal with drawing in everybody in the association in a persistent procedure, to enhance everybody and their execution, and consequently the execution of the entire association.

Despite the move to receive a comprehensive approach, a late pattern towards disentanglement is likewise obvious from the current research, with better provision and drill being given as more noteworthy center is being put on how these frameworks function in the realism of the association, instead of in respect of the numerous planned strategy expectation and results.

Critiques of Performance Appraisal

Reactions of performance appraisal procedures are not new. Performance audit interviews when in doubt are genuinely deflating to representatives feelings of significance and self-esteem. Not just is the ordinary survey neglecting to contribute, in numerous officials feeling it can do unsalvageable harm. Once in awhile in the historical backdrop of management can a framework have guaranteed so much and conveyed so little. Notwithstanding Berger and Baron (2004), we discover a lot of reactions in other standard performance management writings, for example, Barney and Hesterly (2006) and Phillips (2005). The key reactions of these journalists and others concentrate on the procedure outline; the performance of the procedure; and the chiefs who lead the procedure.

Process outline

Appraisals are required to meet an excessive number of and clashing goals. Specifically, the evaluative employments of appraisal drive out genuine discussion and in this manner diminish its potential formative and motivational effect. Various studies in Saudi Arabia focus on the issue with performance evaluations with their various destinations of setting targets, giving performance input, surveying potential, talking about advancement needs, and deciding performance-related boosts in salary.

These plans, accordingly, frequently require an extensive duty as far as hierarchical assets to be executed. Holbeche (2005) similarly perceives that in numerous associations performance appraisals are relied upon to satisfy various capacities including input, drilling, objective setting, expertise improvement, pay determination, lawful documentation, worker correlation, and cutback choice and no execution evaluation framework can meet all these ends (p. 20). The procedure is additionally thought to be excessively mind-boggling, tedious, and bureaucratic.

Process execution

An appraisal is undertaken to the workers and in this manner does not have the anticipated effect on them. It has minimal perceived quality or importance for workers. Holbeche (2005) developed a criterion for performance examination to be participative from the representatives perspective. He appeared in a meta-examination of 27 studies that involved the candidate in the performance evaluation is connected with more elevated amounts of acknowledgment of the evaluation and fulfillment with the procedure.

Managers part

Line directors are not dedicated, somewhat due to this system of administration, but rather additionally because the framework is not sold all around, or bolstered by more extensive administration culture. They make a halfhearted effort. Managers dont have the right stuff to work appraisal adequately, either in judging execution or taking care of troublesome discussions, particularly with poor performers.

Employees relative execution can never be measured dispassionately or decently. Even though the administrators judgment is watchful and proof-based, the objectives are not similarly difficult to accomplish and dont cover all parts of the employment. Putting more exertion into precise execution estimation is a dream.

The supervisors impression of a representatives performance may not be exceptionally substantial, just because they dont have enough data and dont see all parts of their performance. They may likewise be one-sided by enjoying or loathing the individual or by bias. The managers may not generally be the best individual to bolster a worker in investigating their performance and improvement.

Performance evaluations have turned out to be progressively hard to regulate as a result of administration delayering. If a supervisor has different subordinates, it gets to be unthinkable for them to personally know the execution and advancement needs of all their immediate reports.

Improving the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisals

The E-reward overview of 2005 highlights various conditions for accomplishment in performance examination, demonstrating that disentanglement and the utilization of capabilities are among the most widely recognized measures connected to enhance the existing frameworks (Gretchen & Porath, 2012). Further circumstances for achievement stem from these, for instance, rearrangements of frameworks can be upheld by building up more normal survey groups; however, to guarantee these groupings are important and give a discussion to quality discourse, supervisors should be equipped for directing helpful examinations and be focused on the procedure. It could be contended this capacity and responsibility ought to be driven by the senior initiative.

Incomparable to this is the need to coordinate the performance administration process with the way of life of an association and similarly tailor the procedure to the changing needs of various representatives. One way associations are endeavoring to connect with workers with the performance administration procedure is to utilize innovation to make the procedure more agreeable and open. These components require harmonization and the procedure should be checked to guarantee it is fit for reacting to changing business circumstances.

Simplification

As depicted before, performance appraisal inside associations can endeavor to satisfy a wide range of purposes. Whilst there has been a more prominent utilization of information measures, for example, abilities and more selection of self-improvement, there is still more advance to be made as for procedure rearrangements. A survey done on performance management found that over a fourth of respondents thought performance administration kept on being bureaucratic and tedious. One could contend that the very augmentation of the reason for execution evaluation to incorporate a more extensive based appraisal has added to its multifaceted nature.

Viable evaluation frameworks are inseparably connected to the control over the multifaceted nature of the plan. Holbeche (2005) explains the expanding unpredictability of a portion of the frameworks may be a hindrance; to make the procedure work, chiefs themselves must be spurred to need to utilize it (p. 47). The report recommends that an imperative component of compelling performance administration is easy to use.

Clients fulfilled by their performance survey framework trusted it didnt cover excessively numerous reasons to be viable, independent of what number of destinations it was attempting to accomplish, and whether it was isolated from evaluation for pay or not. While over-burdening showed up a valuable idea, it is an impression of over-burdening that matters.

Great practice in performance examination frameworks is that they ought to have clear points and be easy to comprehend and work. They ought to likewise have their primary center to all chiefs execution objectives and be firmly united to a reasonable and resourced preparation and advancement base. Planning a framework that fulfills clients may urge them to utilize it adequately. Gretchen and Porath (2012) proposed that de-messing execution evaluation could best be accomplished by going further still by concentrating on definite client results.

They contend that mind-boggling performance administration frameworks will regularly confound instead of illuminate chiefs and representatives because of the mix of complex procedures, contend the frameworks, and various dashboards which frequently dont give the data that is significant and accordingly makes the measures of execution unessential. Holbeche (2005) additionally expresses that characterizing and comprehension the performance administration process and also building up the establishments of execution administration are key strides in the establishments for effective execution administration (p. 81).

Simplification of the competency link

Abilities are the descriptors of aptitudes, learning, and practices that representatives are relied upon to need to perform their parts viable in business. A review of 100 of the Saudis biggest managers demonstrated that appraisal frameworks are broadly utilized, with seven in ten associations evaluating representatives once every year, and abilities were a typical part (Holbeche, 2005). Performance and improvement needs were observed to be measured against abilities in 58% of these associations and most by far of associations studied an expected set of responsibilities was accommodated the employments being appraised.

Work has a typical meaning of assignments that are the same to whoever completes them, while a role is a more extensive meaning of necessities covering the commitment individuals make in accomplishing goals, mirroring the diverse commitment people make, and also the motivation behind what they are doing. This move has bolstered the incorporation of skills in appraisal and advancement forms. It has additionally urged a few businesses to connect work errands and competency improvement in a solitary part profile record.

A simplified case of this incorporated part profile design from an FMCG company is in Figure 2.1 underneath. The single record is utilized for the expected set of responsibilities and employment assessment purposes, and also to distinguish competency necessities and aptitudes advancement planning. An examination structure is shot onto it concentrating on yearly destinations and execution against them. The spread of more viable human resources data frameworks has implied that these diverse frameworks  of evaluation, improvement, pay, enrollment, and so forth  are less demanding to interface up and frequently can empower directors and workers to manage them all the more adequately.

Performance management tools in FMCG Companies in Saudi Arabia

To enhance organization culture, systems, and processes and to lay down performance objects in addition to assistance in the prioritization of resources, performance management refers to the overseeing performance appraisal to make precise use of the received information (Neely, Gregory & Platts, 2005, p. 1227).

Performance management systems must give employees autonomy within their control area, manifest cause and effect relationships, give more authority to the employees, and develop a basis for dialogue, thus enhancing steady progress and support decision-making process. Therefore, performance appraisal and performance management have a mutual relationship and cannot be disconnected, heightening the responsibility of the manager in charge of talent relationships. Nonetheless, Rodger et al. (2006, p. 15) explain that the diverse environments in different organizations and human complication tally up to a volatile blend that is very hard to predict.

According to Neely et al. (2005, p. 1229), performance appraisal is the process of computing the efficiency and effectiveness of the precedent achievements through acquisition, composition, cataloging, examination, interpretation, and diffusion of suitable data. Phillips (2005, p. 10) provides a list of some of the measures used by some of the leading organizations and this is shown in the table below. Although these measures are not easy to grasp, they reflect the prospective success factors and challenges facing many organizations at the moment.

These measures, or the core HR issues touching on individual employees, is capable of contributing to growth, development and the sustainability of the companies at all level by providing better information about the employees which helps in making improved decisions. Also, Phillips (2005, p. 12) also observed that, even though a number of these measures are relatively old and obsolete, they all represent significant measures that can steer actions that generate new prospects and resolve problems.

Some experts have criticized performance appraisal as lacking connection to strategy, hence giving too much emphasis on internal processes (Neely et al., 2005, p. 1229). Phillips (2005, p. 16) commented on the development of talent and noted that it is becoming a more strategic decision when examining the cost to be incurred in training and development. He further argues that the most useful talent should be allocated the largest share of the training budget. Also, he recognizes the insignificance of these statements if the company has no means of gauging their workers, and suggests a scorecard approach.

Scorecard approach offers both, qualitative and quantitative measurements of contribution, and supply very important information (Phillips, 2005, p. 22). Scorecards can take different shapes and forms, yet they have attracted a wide range of users across the board. This is because they allow for an immediate evaluation of key measures and the appraisal of individual status in an organization. Thus, the scorecard has become a significant component in shaping the direction of the HR investment, performance enhancement, or making use of preventative programs to sustain good results (Phillips, 2005, p. 25).

According to Neely et al. (2005, p. 1230), employees scorecard has three aspects leading to employee success; attitude and culture, the abilities and the leadership, and employees behavior. The success statement, in this case, is based on the three elements and is directly correlated to the implementation of the companys strategy and employees skills and efforts. The important point is identifying the measures that drive the strategy, which also results in a better understanding of the principle components of the most crucial positions in the organization.

Phillips (2005, p. 26) highlights the significance of differentiating job positions and human capital and term it as one of the significant characteristics in workforce management. This is the same as workers segmentation of talent fronted by Berger and Berger (2004, p. 25). Organizations can use position A to refer to the right position in terms of employees performance and should encourage all its workers to aim at this position. However, one of the difficulties in the implementation of talent management is the evaluation and differentiation that cause conflicts among employees especially in a socially democratic or a liberal environment.

Employees assessment has proved to be an immense and extensively researched area. However, the face value of practices, for instance, linking individual performance to several measurable variables, may seem out-of-date; practices such as developing scorecards have once more caught the attention of analysts and professionals alike. Therefore, it is more significant to ask: How do companies in Saudi Arabia assess key talent?

Organizational Culture and Performance

According to Baker (2002, p. 16), organizational culture is an array of collective fundamental presumptions that have been inculcated in a group to resolve problems of peripheral adjustment and in-house assimilation. The presumptions are sustained by a constant process of human relations. Chatman and Cha (2003, p. 25) also define organizational culture as a style, comprising of several fundamental presumptions, and the presumptions are established and developed progressively by a particular team in the process of discovering a way of adjusting to the internal and external surrounding. They add that companies are considered as cultures or entities having specific cultures. Therefore, culture can either be a component belonging to an organization or a representative of an entire organization.

Organizational culture has gained more backing as an extrapolative and expounding concept in the organizational discipline, where if well-organized and regulated is helpful as an administration instrument for organizational efficiency and performance (Baker, 2002, p. 18). Culture entails beliefs, ideals, and conducts which are present in different echelons and manifest in a broad range of features of organizational existence. One of the ways through which culture can be evident is through performance (Chatman & Cha, 2003, p. 29).

Kotter and Heskett (1992, p. 89) explain that organizational culture is a significant element in the success of any organization with a specific focus on ingenuity and novelty. This shows that organizational culture impacts how ingenious and groundbreaking solutions are promoted. In their study of the impact of organizational culture on service quality, Trivellas & Dargenidou (2009) found that different aspects of service quality were connected to a given cultural model.

They also established that organizational culture affects implicit knowledge sharing conduct productively or unproductively depending, and this depends on the type of culture. The undesirable effect is a sign that the impact of culture is not always constructive, for instance, a solid culture may be an obstacle to organizational change.

The top corporations in the world, for instance, Microsoft Corporation and Apple Inc. have been using culture to propel and maintain their upper hand in the industry. To be specific, Microsoft Corporation is well-known for its strong and competitive, which has enabled it to sustain its competitive advantage in the international market (Chatman & Cha, 2003, p. 35).

This information is corroborated by a study carried out by Abdul Rashid among Malaysian Companies, which established that organizational culture has a great influence on organizational performance (Trivellas & Dargenidou, 2009, p. 385). When asked about his companys key to success, Dell Corporations founder Michael Dell explained that the company has an excellent business model that is propelled and sustained by its strong corporate culture (Rodger, Meehan & Tanner, 2006, p. 3).

Rodger et al. (2006, p. 3) believe that culture is the core of competitive advantage, especially when it is linked to sustainable high performance. A study conducted by Bain and Company, Inc. established that almost 80 percent of the company executives concur that culture offers the utmost competitive advantage. Nearly all of them believe that a company that does not have a performance culture is destined to fail (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 4).

At this point where organizations have branches all over the world, culture is the adhesive that fastens a multifaceted business together. It instigates devotion among workers and inspires teamwork. It influences individuals to do the right thing, not merely the simple stuff. At organizations with a winning culture, employees not only recognize their duties and responsibilities but also why it is important to carry out those duties and responsibilities (Trivellas & Dargenidou, 2009, p. 387).

Sustainable Performance

Sustainability is an idea that had been all over the place for nearly two decades, and although everyone has been interpreting it differently, it appears that a common definition has been reached. Baets and Oldenboom (2008, p. 5) define sustainability as any form of development that strives to fulfill the basic necessity of the current generation without affecting the capability of the forthcoming generation to fulfill their basic necessity.

This definition touches on three fundamental aspects, that is, the economic aspect, environmental aspect, and societal aspect. It also incorporates the time and interval aspect, and statutory aspect. As a result, this definition presents a provisional and durable feature. Companies need short-term efficacy to continue being attractive to stakeholders, and all together need long-term efficiency to attract prospective investors (Baets & Oldenboom, 2008, p. 6).

Sustainability demands a comprehensive change in all facets of human activities, for instance, global view, social values, technical knowhow, and authority among others. On the other hand, sustainable performance refers to a performance that strives for a balance in the course of relations between the organization and the holding capability of the shareholders and the surrounding so that the organization is capable of expressing its full prospects without badly and irrevocably impacting the holding capability of the shareholders and the surroundings on which it hinges on. Sustainable performance is a concept that simply finds an ideological foundation in a rounded understanding of management.

From a classical viewpoint, there is no need for a time interval for an organization to be maintainable, save for individual (or business) inspiration.

Generally, businesses are run and directed by individuals. It is through these individuals that targets are set and objectives attained. Therefore, the performance of any business entity depends on the aggregate performance of its workforce. The success of a business entity will thus depend on its ability to accurately measure the performance of each personnel and apply it without prejudice to optimize their contribution. Individual performance can be described as an account of results produced by an individual in a given task.

The assessment of a member of staffs performance shows his/her contribution towards the organizations goals or objectives. In the last decade, a massive change in approaches to performance measurement has been witnessed. There has been an immense realization that is more significant to emphasize describing, strategizing, and managing performance than simply evaluating or appraising performance.

The capacity of an organization to maintain the conveyance of excellence goods and services is critical for its long-run survival. Many experts believe that this capability is acquirable competence. If the capability to sustain organizational performance is an acquirable competence, then why do various businesses fail to acquire these competencies? According to Holbeche (2005, p. 21), there are an array of fundamental elements that propel the companys capability to sustain high performance, which include the executives discernment of the marketplace, collective dream, values, and approaches that are in line with the actualities of the marketplace, congruent leadership, supportive infrastructure, and workers conduct that fulfills clients needs. Figure 2 shows the elements of a sustainable performance culture.

To succeed, business structures, procedures, and interactive arrangements should constantly and completely be in line with the sort of market the company is supposed to serve. Who are the prospective clients and what do they want? What type of business does the company need to develop to preserve lucrative clients? These are the types of queries that the executive should be ready to respond to. By Kotter & Heskett (1992), a high performing business demands that organizational structures and systems must be in line with the market necessities. The companys foresight, idea statement, values, and policies are the basis on which the structures and systems are established. Numerous messages are embedded in the above statements. They convey to individuals what is expected from them by the organization.

More significantly, they convey to the company executives what are expected to be achieved and means of achieving a given task. It is very easy to underestimate the concepts of idea statements and values, but studies conducted by Baum, Locke, and Kirkpactrick (1998) demonstrated that the path in which the idea statement and values of the association are outlined and conveyed affects the bottom-line. Organizations vision articulations that were particularly focused toward a particular end and underscored development and learning, outdid those that were less prudently made and conveyed (Baum, Locke & Kirkpactrick, 1998, p. 49).

Sustainable performance culture also demands leaders who are more change centered. These types of leaders place more emphasis on the development of clear visions and motivate others to follow the vision. Therefore, change-centered leaders act as an inspiration for change for general employees (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 8). According to Rodger et al. (2006, p. 4), besides the participative style of leadership, clear mission and vision are likely to promote innovative responses, creativity, willingness to take risks, and streamlining of the organizational processes. As a result, a paradigm shift in leadership took place and this led to the emergence of new leadership theories such as transformational and charismatic leadership.

Even though the terms charismatic and transformational leadership are normally used interchangeably, some studies have tried to make a distinction between them, with charismatic leadership being a subset of transformational leadership. As an inspiration for change, transformational leaders bring performance beyond expectancy by inculcating pride, facilitating creativity, offering inspiration, and communicating individual respect (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 8).

Charismatic and transformational leadership view innovation as one of their topmost agenda toward the realization of a perfect business model. Many studies have found out that training and development is the main instrument for breaking new ground and sustaining performance culture. The best design and strategy in professional training must be all-inclusive, continuous, and should integrate training with other elements of the organizations (Rodger et al., 2006, p. 9).

Methodology

Introduction

As the previous chapters have outlined, it is evident at this point that the major purpose of this research is to: one, gather the statistics on the depiction of domestic violence against women versus the depiction of domestic violence against women and two, to establish the reason for this phenomenon. It is, therefore, imperative to outline the step-by-step approach followed by the research process in answering these questions and that is the major theme of this chapter.

Considering the term methodology, provides the method for seeking or taking care of the problem in research. Noting unanswered inquiries or investigating which, as of now, does not exist, is considered to research. The chapter is divided into sections that layout the paradigm around which the studies have been conducted, the research design, the methods of data collection and collation, and the validity of the findings.

Based on the nature of the research, two paradigms complement each other in the pursuit of answers to the problem statements. First and foremost, there is a need to establish the statistics on media depiction of domestic violence in the British news media, and this can be best established through the positivistic paradigm. It is important to realize that the method of data collection, which will be discussed later in the chapter, was exclusively through content analysis.

The positivistic paradigm, therefore, was the best approach in gathering quantitative data with regards to the relative numbers of the two dependent variables. By coding the data on the incidence of the nature of articles in online archives of the selected news organizations, it would be easy to get the ratios just by counting. The paradigms approach that emphasizes observation rather than ideological stance is the reason why it proves indispensable for this phase of the research.

Research Methodology is an approach to discover the aftereffect of a given issue on a particular matter or issue that likewise alludes as a problem in research. In Methodology, analyst utilizes diverse methods for comprehending and looking at the given problem in research. Diverse sources use a distinctive sort of strategies for taking care of the issue. The research methodology is a cautious examination or requests particularly through the quest for new realities in any branch of learning (Zikmund, 2003).

Research philosophy

The second phase of the research is grounded upon the evaluation of the data gathered from the first phase of the research. The use of the critical theory for this phase and more specifically ideological critique suffices, and this is due to the practical interest warranted by an understanding of the meaning behind the resultant situation. Unlike in the previous phase, many approaches would have been used in interpreting the data. However, the critical theory presents a succinct method of research that is necessitated by the already vast diversity of opinion by previous scholars on media behavior. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews which lie under the naturalistic paradigm would have been alternate methods of research but presumptively would not be as comprehensive as ideological critique.

Secondly, the limited time frame of this research and the nature of the work of the supposed population would have limited the efficiency of the research. Paradigm is a particular state of mind about directing an exploration. It is not entirely a procedure, but rather all the more a logic that aides how the exploration is to be led (Wagner, 2009). Research philosophy and logic contains different variables, for example, the state of mind of an individual, his point of view, the assortment of convictions towards reality, and so on.

The second phase, therefore, evaluates the existing theories and opinions from the already existing paradigms. Research philosophy refers to the improvement of the research foundation, research information, and its tendency. It is additionally characterized by the assistance of the research paradigm.

Positivism

This idea is specifically connected with objectivism. With this philosophical methodology, researchers give their perspective to assess the social world with the offer of objectivity set up of subjectivity. This implies the analysts are intrigued to gather general data and information from a substantial social example as opposed to assessing subtle elements of the examination. As indicated by this position, the analysts particular convictions have no worth to impact the exploration study. The positivist philosophical methodology is for the most part connected with the perceptions and analysis to gather numeric information (Wagner, 2009).

Interpretivism

This can allude to the social constructionism when focusing on research management. As per this philosophical methodology, examination offer significance to their convictions and worth to give a satisfactory defense for a problem in research (Wagner, 2009). With the assistance of interpretivism, scientists center to emphasize the genuine statistical data points as indicated by the problem in research. Interpretivism comprehends particular business circumstances. In this methodology, analysts utilize a sample and assess them in point of interest to comprehend the perspectives of the population.

Authenticity

Realism (or authenticity) predominantly gathers in the truth and convictions in nature. Two primary methodologies are immediate and basic authenticity. Immediate reality implies the tangible attributes that a person can see, touch, or feel. Then again, in basic authenticity, people contend about their encounters for a specific circumstance (Wagner, 2009). This is connected with the circumstance of social constructivism because a person tries to demonstrate his convictions and qualities.

Quantitative and Qualitative Approach

Qualitative research, commonly known as subjective research is a form of exploratory examination (Zikmund, 2003). It is utilized to pick up a comprehension of hidden reasons, sentiments, and inspirations. It gives bits of knowledge into the issue or creates thoughts or speculations for potential quantitative examination. Subjective research is additionally used to reveal patterns in thought and sentiments and plunge more profound into the issue. The subjective information accumulation systems vary utilizing unstructured or semi-organized methods. Some regular routines incorporate focus groups, individual meetings, and cooperation or perceptions. The sample size is ordinarily little, and respondents are chosen to satisfy a given share (Zikmund, 2003).

Quantitative research is utilized to evaluate the issue by a method for producing numerical information or information that can be changed into usable insights. It is utilized to evaluate states of mind, suppositions, practices, and other characterized variables  and sum up results from a bigger sample of the population. Quantitative Research utilizes quantifiable information to plan actualities and reveal designs in the examination. Quantitative information accumulation routines are considerably more organized than qualitative information gathering strategies. Quantitative information gathering techniques incorporate different types of overviews  online studies, paper reviews, phone interviews, longitudinal studies, site interceptors, online surveys, and orderly perceptions.

Criteria for research design

Primary exploration addresses objective issues. The association requesting the examination has the overall control of the procedure and the exploration is shaped similarly as its destinations and degree are concerned. The organization taking the research can be requested to focus their attempts to discover information concerning a particular market instead of fixation on the mass business sector. The elucidation of information is better in primary exploration.

The gathered information can be analyzed and translated by the advertisers relying upon their needs as opposed to depending on the elucidation made by authorities of optional information. Normally auxiliary information is not all that late and it may not be particular to the spot or circumstance that the advertiser is focusing on. Primary research turns into a more precise device since the researcher can utilize the information that is helpful for him. The data collector in primary research is the proprietor of that data and he need not impart it to different organizations and contenders. This gives an advantage over contenders answering optional information (Zikmund, 2003).

Gathering information utilizing primary exploration is an expensive affair as the advertiser must be included all through and needs to outline everything. Due to the comprehensive nature of the activity, the period needed to do research precisely is long when contrasted with secondary information, which can be gathered in much lesser time length. If the exploration includes taking feedback, there are high risks that the input given is not right. Criticisms by their essential nature are normally one-sided or given only for it. Apart from cost and time, different assets like HR and materials too are required in a bigger amount to do studies and information accumulation (Zikmund, 2003).

Research Design

The research design is the output of a progression of choices of the researcher in regards to how the study will be directed. The research design is nearly connected with the system of the study and aides making arrangements for executing the study (Zikmund, 2003). It is an outline for directing the study that emphasizes control over variables that could meddle with the legitimacy of the discoveries. The research designs differ as to the amount of structure the analyst forces on the examination circumstance and the amount of adaptability is permitted once the study is ongoing. Many quantitative studies have more structured research designs than qualitative studies, which have more fluid research designs.

In line with the main objective of this study which is to analyze the use of performance management tools in FMCG Companies in Saudi Arabia: A case study of applying key performance indicators, this study employed a cross-sectional research design. Under this design, 400 respondents were targeted. They were issued with questionnaires to assist with data collection. The respondents were assured of the confidentiality of their participation.

Descriptive exploratory design

Many studies of a survey can adopt a descriptive research design or an exploratory research design. Depiction can be a noteworthy motivation behind both subjective and quantitative explorations. The descriptive research design enables the specialist to acquire data regarding any phenomenon. Exploratory studies give an inside and out an investigation of a solitary procedure. On the other hand, the descriptive research design analyses the attributes of a particular populace. Both exploratory research design and descriptive research design start with the problem statement.

Detailed analysis approach

Questionnaires were used to collect the data. The questionnaires were issued to 600 respondents who were mainly elderly tourists. The questionnaire was composed of five parts. Part one purposed to obtain information regarding the personal attributes of the respondents. Part two purposed to obtain information relating to the travel behavior of the tourists and the characteristics of the trip. Part three purposed to obtain information regarding the opinions of the elderly tourists concerning their travel motivations. A five-point Likert scale (1  strongly disagree to 5  strongly agree) was utilized to measure the tourists opinions regarding their travel motivation.

Part four purposed to capture information relating to 17 characteristics of the travel requirements. The elderly tourists were asked to give a rating concerning the relevance of each characteristic of travel, paying attention to their desired destination. A five-point Likert scale (1  strongly disagree to 5  strongly agree) was utilized to measure the important variable. Part five purposed to obtain information concerning satisfaction that the elderly tourists derived from the 17 characteristics of travel requirements that were touched on by part four. After collecting the data, the validity of the questionnaires was analyzed by two tourist professionals and two qualified lecturers from a tourism business school.

A pre-test or a pilot test of the questionnaires was conducted and it involved a sample of 150 respondents. The pre-test of the questionnaires was very beneficial in enhancing the validity and the reliability of the questionnaires. The questionnaires reliability was evaluated by estimating the Cronbachs alpha coefficient, which was found to be 0.9354, suggesting that the questionnaires were very reliable to be used as the preferred instrument for collecting data.

There were; however, minor corrections that were done after the pre-test to prevent future errors (Wagner, 2009). The subsequent assortment of contextual investigation exploration has long had an unmistakable spot in numerous orders and callings, extending from science, humanities, human science, and political science to training, medical science, social administration, and managerial science.

In doing contextual analysis, the case being concentrated on may be an individual, association, occasion, or activity, existing at a particular point (Zikmund, 2003). A contextual (or a case study) analysis includes a very close and point by point analysis of a subject (the case), and also its related logical conditions. Contextual investigations show up with incredible recurrence all through well-known works. Almost anybody with training can make a case for having done a contextual investigation sooner or later in their life. Contextual analyses additionally can be delivered by taking after a formal exploration technique (Zikmund, 2003).

Population and Sampling

The aggregate gathering of subjects that meet an assigned arrangement of criteria is called a population. There is a refinement between the target populace and the available populace. The target populace incorporates every one of the cases about which the scientist might want to make speculations. The available populace involves every one of the cases that fit in with the assigned criteria and are open to the scientist as available literature.

The procedure for selecting a bit of the populace to reflect the whole populace is a sampling (Wagner, 2009). Exploratory outline requires little examples that are picked through a deliberative procedure to reflect the wanted populace. In subjective exploration, people are chosen to partake in the examination given their direct experience of the problem statement (Wagner, 2009). In line with this survey, the population comprised of the employees of the organization under investigation. They were an excellent choice because their profiles fit the setting of this research, and also they had enough experience in the organization.

Not at all like quantitative examination, there is no compelling reason to haphazardly select people, because control and speculation of discoveries are not the expectations of the study (Wagner, 2009). Purposive inspecting, a technique that includes the choice of persons who speak to the population of interest was, therefore, utilized in this study. This is a non-likelihood testing technique which includes the choice of specific subjects to be incorporated into the. With the end goal of this period of the study, respondents were chosen because they were workers of the association under study. The study had a sum of 169 members.

Even though this methodology expands the likelihood of population samples that do not represent the whole population, it gave the main method for reaching all the respondents. Since no official registers or records were containing the names of the workers, the specialist chose to utilize snowball testing to distinguish the respondents. Purposive testing and snowball inspecting are connected and have one shared factor: the general population most suitable to interact with on the examination trip is chosen at the time they are required. Snowball testing is important in the subjective examination because it is coordinated by people that are hard to distinguish (Wagner, 2009).

Data Collection and Instrumentation

The researcher used questionnaires for data collection. A total of 169 questionnaires were completed by the target respondents. Adopting this method of administration validates the need to minimize the cost of the study. This is because respondents are geographically separated (Wagner, 2009).

Questionnaire Survey

Questionnaires are pre-arranged courses of action on a request that require the respondents to record their reactions as a general rule in solidly portrayed alternatives. Questionnaires can be used to contact the respondents either through the mail or by face to face meeting. Before delineating a survey, there are three standards to pay thought on, these models, consolidate benchmarks of wording, principles of estimation, and the general set-up of the study. The rule of the substance includes the substance and purpose of the request, for instance, the pro needs to fathom the method for variables to be tapped.

On the off chance that a variable is subjective, for instance, customer support where a respondents conviction, perceptions, and perspectives are to be measured, the request should draw the estimations and parts of the thoughts. Also, where target variables, for instance, age and pay are tapped, a single direct question would be legitimate. The wording and vernacular are distinctive segments of the guideline of substance, for instance, the tongue of the overview should estimate the level of perception of respondents. Therefore, the choice of words should depend on the level of guidelines of the respondents.

The rule of estimation encompasses the models to be taken over to ensure that the data accumulated is fitting to test the theories. These norms consolidate request, which includes the similarity of negative request to wind up positive issues, coding, using scales and scaling strategies, and steadfastness and authenticity. Constancy exhibits how relentless and solid the instrument taps the variable. The general set up of the study conceals the preface to respondents, the length of the survey, headings for completing, and the general appearance of the study (Wagner, 2009).

Data Analysis and Presentation

Out of the population of one hundred articles chosen by simple random sampling, data on the article will be collected and classified into the six facets outlined in the research design. The prominence of the news story will be examined based on the number of words used and the characters involved. Articles about celebrities and politicians, for example, were deemed more prominent than the others.

This data would be coded through Excel to get the statistics. The second phase of the research warrants a literary scan of the theories on domestic violence and its relationship to journalistic depiction, and this was done through literature and video analyses of the theoretical frameworks of the resultant phenomenon. The collected data were entered into an excel sheet before further analysis by SPSS. Statistical techniques of analysis were utilized (Wagner, 2009).

Ethical considerations

The validity of the data represents the data integrity and it connotes that the data is accurate and much consistent. Validity has been explained as a descriptive evaluation of the association between actions and interpretations and empirical evidence deduced from the data. More precaution was taken especially when a comparison was made between the tourists commitment and attitude. The reliability of the data is the outcome of a series of actions that commences with the proper explanation of the issues to be resolved. This may push on to a clear recognition of the yardsticks concerned.

It contains the target samples to be chosen, the proper sampling strategy and the sampling methods to be employed. Just before the study was conducted, the researcher first developed a proposal and submitted it for approval. The proposal entailed the overview and the aims of the study. Also, the proposal entailed how the respondents of the research would be recruited and handled. The responses of the participants will be treated with confidentiality to respect and uphold the welfare and the right to privacy of the participants. Once the approval was given, the researcher went ahead to research while adhering to the stipulated guidelines (Wagner, 2009).

Limitation of data collection methods

There have been a lot of concerns on additional budgetary expenses for the collection of the data, regardless of whether the gathered data is genuine or not and whether there may be an explicit conclusion when interpreting and analyzing the data. Also, some tourists were reluctant to offer some information they deemed confidential and unsafe in the hands of their competitors. This posed a great challenge to the research as the researcher had to take a longer time to find other tourists who were willing to give out adequate information.

Findings, data analysis, and interpretation

Introduction

As has been outlined in the previous chapters, this section provides data on the actual figures about the depiction of domestic violence against men. The two-pronged approach presents the findings on the frequency of stories on male battering in the selected British media before proceeding to conduct an evaluative interpretation of these figures through the lens of existing paradigms.

This segment covers the examination of the information, presentation, and understanding. The outcomes were dissected utilizing SPPS, ANOVA, relapse, and connection examination. As the previous chapters have outlined, it is evident at this point that the major purpose of this research is to: one, gather the statistics on the depiction of domestic violence against women versus the depiction of domestic violence against women and two, to establish the reason for this phenomenon.

It is, therefore, imperative to outline the step-by-step approach followed by the research process in answering these questions and that is the major theme of this chapter. The chapter is divided into sections that layout the paradigm around which the studies have been conducted, the research design, the methods of data collection and collation, and the validity of the findings.

The two-pronged approach

First and foremost, there is a need to establish the statistics on media depiction of domestic violence in the British news media, and this can be best established through the positivistic paradigm. It is important to realize that the method of data collection, which will be discussed later in the chapter, was exclusively through content analysis. The positivistic paradigm, therefore, was the best approach in gathering quantitative data with regards to the relative numbers of the two dependent variables.

By coding the data on the incidence of the nature of articles in online archives of the selected news organizations, it would be easy to get the ratios just by counting. The paradigms approach that emphasizes observation rather than ideological stance is the reason why it proves indispensable for this phase of the research.

The second phase of the research is grounded upon the evaluation of the data gathered from the first phase of the research. The use of the critical theory for this phase and more specifically ideological critique suffices, and this is due to the practical interest warranted by an understanding of the meaning behind the resultant situation. Unlike in the previous phase, many approaches would have been used in interpreting the data.

However, the critical theory presents a succinct method of research that is necessitated by the already vast diversity of opinion by previous scholars on media behavior. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews which lie under the naturalistic paradigm would have been alternate methods of research but presumptively would not be as comprehensive as ideological critique. Secondly, the limited time frame of this research and the nature of the work of the supposed population would have limited the efficiency of the research. The second phase, therefore, evaluates the existing theories and opinions from the already existing paradigms.

The research design

The study is conducted on four of the major news organizations: Daily Mail, Mirror, the Guardian, and The Telegraph. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations report on the national dailies (2008), Mirror was the tabloid with the highest circulation; Telegraph was the highest selling quality newspaper and was therefore selected due to their expansive reach. Guardian was chosen to incorporate broadsheets into the research and the Daily Mail because of its increasing popularity  from the report.

As mentioned earlier, the collection of data was carried out through content analysis using the conceptual analysis approach whereby all articles on domestic violence would be retrieved from online archives, and this would be regarded as the population. Consequently, random sampling would be conducted on the resultant population to collect five stories each from 2005-2015. This would be done for all of the four news organizations to obtain one hundred articles which would be coded (using Excel) as follows:

• Title of the article;
• The year;
• The victim (whether male or female);
• The perpetrator (whether male or female);
• The severity;
• Prominence.

For the second phase of the research, various theoretical frameworks and opinions would be cross-referenced against the obtained results to explain the phenomena.

Data collection and collation

Out of the population of one hundred articles chosen by simple random sampling, data on the article will be collected and classified into the six facets outlined in the research design. The prominence of the news story will be examined based on the number of words used and the characters involved. Articles about celebrities and politicians, for example, were deemed more prominent than the others.

This data would be coded through Excel to get the statistics. The second phase of the research warrants a literary scan of the theories on domestic violence and its relationship to journalistic depiction, and this was done through literature and video analyses of the theoretical frameworks of the resultant phenomenon. It might be worth noting that this method of data collection has been used successfully by Catherine Corrigall-Brown in her project about the media framing of protests (Corrigall-Brown, 2012).

Validity, reliability, and ethics

The findings of this research are based on the assumption that the online archives provide the entirety of the articles published by the various news organizations and that most of the informed opinions on the resultant findings are covered in theory and other outlooks that will be analyzed in the research. The study is therefore heavily reliant on secondary sources and their accuracy. Due to the nature of the research, there was no need for ethics approval.

Characteristics of the sample

To comprehend the demographic information of the participants, the distribution of gender, age, education level, income, and the number of years employed in the business are summarized in the following sections.

Gender

Age

Education level

Number of years employed

Reliability Analysis

Reliability analysis is often used to evaluate whether the multiple instrument items are measuring the same variable or concept. In SPSS, the Cronbachs Alpha value is normally used to measure the reliability of the various variables. The minimum requirement for the value of Cronbachs Alpha is 0.7 to ensure that the items are internally consistent and reliable. In an exploratory study, the Cronbachs Alpha value of 0.6 can also be accepted.

In this study, the various measurement items are adopted from previous studies, thus, the minimum value is set as 0.7. The corrected-item total correlation (CITC) is also included to evaluate the reliability of the individual item. If the CICT is below 0.5, then the item cannot reliably measure the corresponding variable and should be excluded from further analysis (Hair et al. 2006). The Cronbachs Alpha if item deleted indicate whether the Cronbachs Alpha value is decreased or increased after excluded this item. Thus, if this value is above the Cronbach Alpha value for the variable, the item should then be excluded from further analysis. The Cronbachs Alpha for variables is summarized in table 6 below.

Table 6 Reliability Analysis for Variables.

According to the results, the Cronbachs alpha value for effective management performance, creating empowerment and authority, increasing leadership capability, customer-centric strategy, increasing communication and collaboration, enhancing training and development, and sustainable performance culture are 0.836, 0.817, 0.761, 0.739, 0.898, 0.833, and 0.837, which are all above the minimum requirement of 0.7. Also, the CICT for individual items is all above the minimum requirement of 0.5, and the Cronbachs Alpha, if deleted for individual items, are all below the Cronbachs Alpha value. These results demonstrate that these items are internally consistent and reliable, and can be used for further analysis.

Frequency analysis

Effective management performance frequency analysis

Creating empowerment and authority frequency analysis

Table 8 creating empowerment and authority frequency analysis.

Increasing leadership capability frequency analysis

Table 9 increasing leadership capability frequency analysis.

Customer-centric strategy frequency analysis

Table 10 Customer-centric strategy frequency analysis.

Increasing communication and collaboration frequency analysis

Table 11 increasing communication and collaboration frequency analysis.

Enhancing training and development frequency analysis

Table 12 enhancing training and development frequency analysis.

Sustainable performance culture frequency analysis

Table 13 Sustainable performance culture frequency analysis.

Correlation analysis

Correlation between effective management performance and sustainable performance culture

In order to check the correlation between effective management performance and sustainable performance culture, a scatterplot was first created in order to ensure that there was not a violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity among the data. There is a strong, positive correlation between the variables of effective management performance and sustainable performance culture and the data is normally distributed.

After getting a positive correlation between effective management performance and sustainable performance culture, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was carried out to analyze the relationship between effective management performance and sustainable performance culture. The results are shown in Table 14 below. The correlation value below 0.3 indicates low-level correlation; the correlation value between 0.3 and 0.6 indicates a medium level correlation, while the correlation value above 0.6 indicates high-level correlation.

There was a medium positive correlation between effective management performance and sustainable performance culture, with a correlation value of 0. 543, which is significant at 0.01 levels, indicating that higher levels of effective management performance are associated with higher levels of sustainable performance culture.

Table 14 Correlation between effective management performance and sustainable performance culture.

Correlation between creating empowerment and authority and Sustainable performance culture

In order to check the correlation between creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture, a scatterplot was created. There is a strong, positive correlation between the variables of creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture and the data is normally distributed.

After getting a positive correlation between creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was carried out to analyze the relationship between creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture. The results are shown in Table 15 below. As can be seen in Table 15, there was a medium positive correlation between creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture, with a correlation value of 0. 421, which is significant at 0.01 levels, indicating that higher levels of creating empowerment and authority are associated with higher levels of sustainable performance culture.

Table 15 Correlation between creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture.

Correlation between increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture

In order to check the correlation between increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture, a scatterplot was created. There is a strong, positive correlation between the variables of increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture and the data is normally distributed.

After getting a positive correlation between increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was carried out to analyze the relationship between increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture. The results are shown in table 16 below. As can be seen from this table, there was a medium positive correlation between increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture, with a correlation value of 0. 576, which is significant at 0.01 levels, indicating that higher levels of increasing leadership capability are associated with higher levels of sustainable performance culture.

Table 16 Correlation between increasing leadership capability and sustainable performance culture.

Correlation between customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture

In order to check the correlation between customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture, a scatterplot was created. There is a strong, positive correlation between the variables of customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture and the data is normally distributed. After getting a positive correlation between customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was carried out to analyze the relationship between customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture. The results are shown in table 17 below.

As can be seen from this table, there was a medium positive correlation between customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture, with a correlation value of 0. 431, which is significant at 0.01 levels, indicating that higher levels of customer-centric strategy are associated with higher levels of sustainable performance culture.

Table 17 Correlation between customer-centric strategy and sustainable performance culture.

Correlation between increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture

In order to check the correlation between increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture, a scatterplot was created. There is a strong, positive correlation between the variables of increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture and the data is normally distributed. After inspected a positive correlation between increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was carried out to analyze the relationship between increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture.

The results are shown in table 18 below. As can be seen from this table, there was a medium positive correlation between increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture, with a correlation value of 0.397, which is significant at 0.01 levels, indicating that higher levels of increasing communication and collaboration are associated with higher levels of sustainable performance culture.

Table 18 Correlation between increasing communication and collaboration and sustainable performance culture.

Correlation between enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture

In order to check the correlation between enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture, a scatterplot was created. There is a strong, positive correlation between the variables of enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture and the data is normally distributed. After getting a positive correlation between enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was carried out to analyze the relationship between enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture. The results are shown in table 19 below.

As can be seen from this table, there was a strong positive correlation between enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture, with a correlation value of 0.654, which is significant at 0.01 levels, indicating that higher levels of enhancing training and development are associated with higher levels of sustainable performance culture.

Table 19 Correlation between enhancing training and development and sustainable performance culture.

Regression analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables (Wagner, 2009). More specifically, regression analysis is normally used to understand how the change of independent variable can affect the change of dependent variables (Wagner, 2009). The correlation analysis above indicated that there are relationships between enhancing training and development, increasing communication and collaboration, effective management performance, increasing leadership capability, customer-centric strategy, creating empowerment and authority and sustainable performance culture. In order to find out how these variables influence customer sustainable performance culture and which one has the biggest impact, the multiple linear regression analysis is used.

Table 20: Model Summary.

The Adjusted R Square is 0.654, which means that the independent variables of Enhancing training and development, Increasing communication and collaboration, effective management performance, increasing leadership capability, customer-centric strategy, and creating empowerment and authority can explain 65.4% of the variance of sustainable performance culture.

Table 21: ANOVA.

By summarizing the ANOVA table, it can be said that the independent variables of Enhancing training and development, Increasing communication and collaboration, effective management performance, increasing leadership capability, customer-centric strategy, and creating empowerment and authority can predict the dependent variable of sustainable performance culture at a significance of 0.01, by considering F=462.816.

Conclusion and recommendations

Introduction

This part demonstrates the outline of the revelations and examination of the results in the comprehension of the objectives of this study. Finally, the segment contains conclusions and recommendations. This study is fundamental as a result of the way that it fabricates onto the available collection of data regarding the development of a sustainable performance culture in Saudi organizations. The eventual outcomes of this study are extraordinarily critical to the business proprietors in light of the way that they can use it for sorting out purposes, so they can consider evident destinations to draw in and hold a broad customer base.

Conclusion

The execution of effective performance management is among the variables that have a great impact on sustainable performance in organizations, especially the Saudi Arabian organizations. Be that as it may, many organizations still focus on inflexible, old-fashioned management strategies. The top-performing organizations, however, focus on performance that uses a fair procedure to reward the top performers. They also convey the organizational goals appropriately to the employees. These elements promote equity and inclusivity in the organization.

Creating empowerment and authority enables the companies in Saudi Arabia to reinforce the empowerment levels in all the sections of the organizations hierarchy. In a company characterized by a lack of trust and accountability, there are low levels of empowerment and authority. A higher level of empowerment and accountability enables the organization to inculcate an innovative culture among the workforce and develop a strong relationship with the customers in order to promote product diversification and improve the customers experiences. Employees should be allowed to contribute to the decision-making process to improve the competitive nature of the organization.

In organizations where the employee engagement is higher through enhanced leadership capabilities, the mission is shared among all the employees regardless of their positions in the hierarchical level. The top management offers inspiration and motivation to the employees through constant communication. The top managers also inculcate a culture of trust and all the employees are included in the development of the business strategies and goals.

It is only through leadership capabilities that the organization will streamline its visions with the performance. Organizational culture is a significant element in the success of any organization with a specific focus on ingenuity and novelty. This shows that organizational culture impacts how ingenious and groundbreaking solutions are promoted. Culture is the core of competitive advantage, especially when it is linked to sustainable high performance.

Performance management demands a comprehensive change in all facets of human activities, for instance, global view, social values, technical knowhow, and authority among others. On the other hand, sustainable performance refers to a performance that strives for a balance in the course of relations between the organization and the holding capability of the shareholders and the surrounding so that the organization is capable of expressing its full prospects without badly and irrevocably impacting the holding capability of the shareholders and the surroundings on which it hinges on.

The assessment of a member of staffs performance shows his/her contribution towards the organizations goals or objectives. In the last decade, a massive change in approaches to performance measurement has been witnessed. There has been an immense realization that is more significant to emphasize describing, strategizing and managing performance than simply evaluating or appraising performance.

Recommendations

A performance culture is key to achieving an upper hand in the current era. In the past, having an upper edge implied having more brilliant methodologies and prevalent resources. Even though they are still vital, they are not enough. On account of globalization, in most cases free exchange of information, rivals can replicate another companys strategy within a short period. What they cannot replicate very fast, in any case, is an excellent performance culture.

While a solid performance culture-one where each employee gives their best- can be a manageable wellspring of the upper hand, the absence of it is a noteworthy aggressive burden since it acts as an obstacle to the implementation of change.

This study provides information that is adequate for sustainable performance culture. Moreover, the ease of accessibility to the business sectors should be improved to give an easy time for the improvement of the performance. Enhancing training and development and other increasing leadership capability amenities should be upgraded so that they can be up to standard and fit the specifications and the requirements of the customers.

The top business managers make their decisions based on the available time. The business operators are striving to set up and keep up an environment that is greater for the fulfillment of consumers, who are making an effort towards the achievement of their desires. A few studies have been completed to scout the examples of the conduct of the consumers. The profiles of the consumers are different as to their likelihood to relate to a specific business.

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Summary of the article

The authors examine the methods of designing performance measurement systems. First, they analyze individual performance measures, which quantify levels of performance for different indicators. Second, they analyze a group of frameworks that have been proposed by different authors. The frameworks give guidelines on how to design and evaluate the performance measurement systems. In the final section, they give implications for practice and future research. They also enlist key learning points.

Individual performance measures quantify the actual activities and levels of output, such as the percentage of employees trained to perform more than one task (Neely, Gregory & Platts 1995, p. 83). One of the key challenges that organizations face is the high number of individual performance measures that can be targeted for data collection. Firms have to reduce the number to a manageable size by selecting a simple set of individual measures that match their strategies (Neely, Gregory & Platts 1995, p. 84).

When different individual measures are combined, from different categories, they form a performance measurement system. Different authors have formed various frameworks for forming a performance measurement system, such as the balanced scorecard by Kaplan & Norton, and Maskells seven principles for performance measurement systems design (Neely, Gregory & Platts 1995, p. 97). The main similarity among different frameworks is that they allow the individual performance measures to be selected by firms. Most frameworks suggest only areas that need to be assessed and the usefulness of data selected for evaluation. Some solve the weakness of frameworks developed prior to their conceptualization (Neely, Gregory & Platts 1995, p. 97).

Identification and analysis of key learning points

• Individual performance measures fall under two major categories. They include measuring efficiency and effectiveness (Neely, Gregory, & Platts, 1995, p. 80). In a different perspective, they may include the measures of the end results and measures of determinants of the end results. The broad categories enable academics to form different frameworks for designing performance measurement systems to address the needs of different stakeholders.
• Performance measurement design should take into consideration the strategies of the firm (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 83). Most firms use metrics that provide inadequate information to support the firms vision. Performance measurement systems should be reviewed as the internal and external environment change.
• Each of the four categories of individual performance measures can be divided into numerous individual measures. Firms have to select a few measures that have the greatest impact on influencing the right course of action. Firms have to select measures that are meaningful to those who should be stimulated by the metrics (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 101).
• Most of the existing design frameworks have a weakness (Neely, Gregory & Platts 1995, p. 97). A firm needs to design its own measurement system using a combination of existing frameworks. It will increase the suitability of the measurement system to the firms strategy.

Relevant statements that are not key points

• Consistency of action is what constitutes a firms strategic position.
• Quality, time, reliability, cost, and flexibility are considered generic terms because they cannot be accurately defined and described (Neely, Gregory & Platts 1995, p. 83). They have numerous aspects.
• The benefits of quality are offset by the cost of ensuring quality is maintained. It leads to the need to determine whether there is an optimal combination of costs and benefits that would optimize the benefits of quality, similar to the one used for holding inventory (EOQ model). It is a clear example of how firms leave out important measures that may help decision-making because firms usually focus on the benefits.
• Firms should learn to use ratios rather than absolute values when collecting individual performance measures (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 87).
• Firms should seek to measure total productivity relative to other factors in order to increase the cohesiveness of actions taken by different teams (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 92).

Analysis of ideas and concepts

One of the key points is that organizations should develop a performance measurement system that supports their strategy. The purpose of collecting data is to trigger some corrective action towards goals that have not been met (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 94). When goals are achieved, new goals are set. In relation to this point and in practice, the authors suggest that Japanese firms collect metrics that can be aligned with their strategy when firms in Western countries fail to put the theoretical framework into practice.

The difference may be upheld when one considers only long-term goals. Japanese firms and Western countries firms have aligned themselves with different goals. Managers in Western countries focused on financial performance. They selected metrics that would trigger better financial performance, especially higher profit margins and higher prices in the stock market. Japanese firms understood that financial performance would improve when the firm targets to improve production performance. They collected metrics to improve production effectiveness and efficiency. The key learning point is that firms should learn to evaluate the systemic impacts of their consistent actions. They should choose to collect data on individual measures that have a sustainable impact on efficiency and effectiveness.

Some managers choose metrics that focus only on short-term goals. The authors highlight a case where managers fail to invest in innovation to avoid creating a bad picture of their financial performance in the short-run (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 102). In the long run, the firm fails to have positive results in innovation when it had displayed an attractive financial performance in the short run. A key lesson is that firms should learn to include metrics that cover both the long-term and short-term goals when designing performance measurement systems.

Some key metrics may not be accessible because of confidentiality reasons. In competitive benchmarking, the authors highlight the challenge of obtaining data that can allow direct comparison of individual measures of performance (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 104). A direct comparison would allow firms to easily find areas that are lagging instead of relying on overall financial performance. Firms have to rely on technical publications that compare large firms. In 2012, an article ranked Apple at the top of the list in the rate of innovation, spending 2.2% of its revenues on R&D in 2011. Google occupied the second position, spending 13.6% on R&D in 2011 (Jaruzelski, Loehr, & Holman 2012, p. 11). The information shows that relatively higher expenditure on R&D does not translate into a higher rate of innovation. The information can be used for benchmarking the effectiveness of R&D expenditure.

The main weakness of the information is that it is based on the opinion of senior managers and analysts rather than the actual number of new products delivered to the market in the period under consideration. Another weakness is that the information may be outdated. Neely, Gregory, & Platts (1995, p. 106) explain that some information used in benchmarking are developed by analysts rather than the actual collection of data. A key lesson at this point is that the firm should assess other methods for benchmarking, such as functional benchmarking.

My opinion about the ideas

I agree with most of the ideas that are presented in the article. One of the reasons for agreeing with the authors is that they have presented their argument in a manner that builds from smaller and simpler parts to more complex theories. For example, in the case of individual performance measures, they show using quality that it has very many measurable aspects (Neely, Gregory, & Platts 1995, p. 83).

In the case of flexibility, they show that it can be described in many different ways, depending on the targeted area of operations. When they explain that firms have to select individual measures that match their strategy, it becomes easily visible. It is possible that firms may design performance measurement systems that target short-term goals, which may make them select performance measures that do not align with the firms strategy. The authors build from individual performance measures to the collective system. The authors compare different frameworks, showing similarities and differences.

Reflection on the practical implications

Most of the ideas can be applied to the routine activities of a firm, considering that a firm that uses an effective performance measurement system does not have to wait for the annual and quarterly financial statements. Kennerly & Neely (2003, p. 213) highlight that some firms have resolved to consider changes in the business environment when reviewing performance measurement systems. It has occurred in response to research studies. Aligning the designing process to the firms strategy is one of the concepts that can be practised for sustainable profitability. For example, a firm that seeks to grow through innovation has to include individual performance measures in its performance measurement system. It has to use ratios in its metrics. It has to use benchmarking to ensure that it does not overspend on and underperform in innovation. Another important point is that the reward system should encourage cohesiveness in pursuing the firms strategy. The article has many points that can be applied in practice.

List of references

Jaruzelski, B, Loehr, J & Holman, R 2012, The global innovation 1000: Making Ideas Work, Strategy+Business Magazine. Web.

Kennerly, M & Neely, A 2003, Measuring performance in a changing business environment, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 213-229. Web.

Neely, A, Gregory, M & Platts, K 1995, Performance measurement system design: A literature review and research agenda, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 80-116. Web.

The relationship between pay and performance is one of the most contentious considerations that contemporary HR managers and company CEOs have to deal address. Some schools of thought claim that employees should be compensated depending on an organizations present form, while others think the expected performance should be the basis for compensation. On one hand, it is argued that paying employees based on the current condition may demotivate them since if the pay is mediocre they might end up performing poorly resulting in organisational underperformance. However, the other side argues that projected performance may not be a very realistic basis for compensating staff since the firm would essentially be paying above its means. While both sides posit tenable arguments, it is ultimately more practical to establish a middle ground in which the employees salaries reflect the expectations of the firm, but not so much as to cause it to borrow so it can afford to pay.

Adjusting pay during transformation

In the process of implementing organisational changes in a firm, especially when responding to new strategies and transformation, it is normal for pressure on employees to mount. In most cases, they are taken out of their comfort zones and compelled to work under new conditions, which they may not be psychologically prepared for (Rynes, Gerhart & Parks, 2005). For this reason, it is critical that when implementing transformation, the organisation adapts a flexible and accommodating strategy concerning employee motivation. One of the main ways this can be achieved is by increasing their pay, which should be structured as part of the transformation budget. For example, in their endeavor to transform the Al Hammadi Hospitals into a hub of medical technology, the directors invested over 90 million dollars. Given the size of the budget, it is only natural that the employees who will be required to adapt to the new systems get some form of incentive or they may end up feeling exploited by the company.

Monitoring the impact of pay on performance

Ultimately, the onus of determining if the compensation is having a positive or negative impact on performance falls upon the department of Human resource management. HR managers should liaise with representatives of the employees and use various organisational performance metrics to determine the connection between performance and compensation (Rynes, Gerhart & Parks, 2005). Given that this is the same department that is charged with motivating employees through variety methods, not limited to financial incentive, they should advice the company on how the compensation policy is affecting motivation.

Impacts of linking pay to performance

In the Al Hammadi hospitals, compensation is based on a variety of factors among which performance prominently features. Aside from their educational qualifications and work experience, employees are compensated for their efforts and this is based on the results of their work rather than the number of hours worked (Alomari, 2015). The system has been very successful since most of the staff at the hospital go out of their way to do, not only extra, but also high quality work. Since the hospital rewards qualitatively, rather than quantitatively, employees are motivated to work harder. Therefore, Al Hammadi hospitals can be considered an example of an organisation where payment based on performance has been successful (Alomari, 2015). Another example is Netflix, which has successfully applied a performance based pay model that allows them to compensate their staff according to the amount of effort the put in (McCord, 2014).

Nevertheless, although this has been hugely successful in some organisations, the practice is often opposed on the basis that it pits employees against each other and increases the competition to unhealthy levels. Furthermore, pay based performance also creates situations where new employees are paid the same as those who have been on the job for years and this can demotivate the latter. Therefore, even as a company implements performance based pay, they should be careful to avoid antagonizing their staff. In my current organisation, the managers tried to set up such a system 2 years ago, however, after a few months, it failed because of employee apathy.

The main reason the move was opposed was that the basic pay was significantly reduced so the employees could determine how much they wanted to make according to their efforts. However, there were numerous challenges including the fact that people were not getting paid for sick days or even when on vacation and as a result, they petitioned to the HR department to terminate the practice.

Ultimately, even though this did not work out very well, if it had been strategically implemented there is a chance it would have resulted in increased employee motivation and by extension performance. Admittedly, many employees find the system oppressive, but this is only because of poor implementation by organisations. As demonstrated in the case of Al Hammadi hospitals, performance based pay should not be used to undercut employees by paying them below the market rates. Employers should use it to supplement their staffs fixed earnings and reward exceptional performance as opposed to punishing employees who do not hit certain targets since it may end up demotivating them.

References

Alomari, R. (2015). Performance management project. Web.

McCord, P. (2014). How netflix reinvented HR. Harvard Business Review, 92, 70-76. Web.

Rynes, S. L., Gerhart, B., & Parks, L. (2005). Personnel psychology: Performance evaluation and pay for performance. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 56, 571-600. Web.

Peer Interview and Reflection

The targeted peer student for this interview works in a manufacturing firm. The interviewee indicated that the firm was embracing the most appropriate human resource (HR) practices to achieve its business objectives. The leaders at the company focused on the best concepts to mentor and guide their followers. Teams and individuals in the company worked hard in order to achieve the best goals (Maddock, 2012). The lessons gained from the interview can be replicated elsewhere to deliver the best outcomes.

The Interview: Essence and Findings

The purpose of this interview was to explore the major aspects of high-performance organizations (HPOs). The implementation of appropriate Human Resource Development (HRD) practices is something that has the potential to promote the level of performance. The interview was critical towards analyzing the major approaches and practices that can be embraced by human resource (HR) departments to produce the best results. Different management theories support the importance of effective HR practices towards developing high-performance organizations (Akdemir, Erdem, & Polat, 2010).

Several findings were obtained from this interview. For instance, the interview indicated clearly that the firm believed in the business value of human resource development (HRD). The management used the best inputs and resources to empower the workers. The best thoughts and practices were also outlined for the employees. HRD remained a critical concept towards empowering and supporting the changing needs of different employees (Maddock, 2012).

The respondent also indicated that he was working in a high-performing company. According to the interviewee, the leaders presented their experiences, concepts, and creativities in order to transform the performance of the firm (Lawler, 2005). The ultimate goal was to improve the level of performance. The respondent believed that the approaches used by the firms HR department were critical towards achieving the best goals.

The interviewee indicated that the organization focused on its performance and profitability. These aspects were used to measure its effectiveness. Value in the firm was created using various activities and functions that can satisfy the needs of different stakeholders (Akdemir et al., 2010). Different individuals were also required to present their views and opinions to implement the best practices. Such aspects made it possible for the company to achieve its business goals.

The company also uses a powerful approach to benchmark performance. The HRD team focuses on the approaches embraced by its immediate competitors. This benchmarking approach makes it possible for the organization to identify better practices that can improve the level of performance. As well, analyses from top-performing firms in the manufacturing industry are done frequently. The gathered information is then used to implement the most desirable changes. The interviewee also indicated that every HR practice supports the performance of different individuals and teams (Lawler, 2005). Such stakeholders work hard to improve the level of performance and produce the best results. HRD practices identify new strategies that can make the organization successful.

The information obtained from the interview also supports most of the ideas gained from our class. For instance, the works conducted in this course identified the most appropriate HR practices and activities that can improve the level of performance. The value of high-performance organizations and human resource development cannot be underestimated. HR managers should, therefore, empower their followers, promote the best working environments, and offer the required resources (Simons, 2011). Effective HR management also supports the best workplace culture. These aspects have the potential to improve the level of profitability.

Personal Reflection

This exercise has made it easier for me to identify the best practices that can support my future career goals. I have therefore decided to focus on four major activities. The first one is to gather adequate information about the relevance of effective HRD practices (Bell, 2012). I will also establish new teams that have the potential to deliver the required results. The third objective is to continue implementing the most appropriate leadership practices that can empower, mentor, support, and guide my followers. The first goal will be implemented immediately. I will form a new team within the next week. I will begin my leadership journey within the next one month.

These three commitments will make it easier for me to achieve my objectives. Within the next week, I will have acquired meaningful concepts and ideas that can transform many organizations. The main outcome expected after one month is the ability to lead a diverse team. Within one year, I will have acquired appropriate leadership traits and HR competencies that can develop a high-performance organization. I will embrace the best practices and ideas that have the potential to improve the level of performance (Akdemir et al., 2010). I will also study widely to acquire evidence-based leadership concepts that can support my future career objectives. These achievements will definitely make me a successful organizational leader.

Lessons Learned From My Peers

The completed interview has presented powerful lessons that can make many organizations successful. Various leadership theories and models outline several practices that can be used to improve the performance of many companies. Such models also promote appropriate strategies such as human resource development. This interview has therefore gone a step further to outline the benefits of high-performance organizations (HPOs). I have understood that the HPO concept can be implemented as a scientific structure.

Managers can use this structure to focus on the gaps and possibilities of defining their organizations. They can then use their competencies to offer powerful strategies that have the potential to improve the level of performance (Abbassi, Siddiqi, & Azim, 2011). As well, I have understood why leaders should begin by analyzing the situations associated with their firms. This understanding will make it easier for them to design appropriate HPO frameworks that can support the needs of their respective organizations. This is the case because the HPO framework can be applied uniformly in different businesses.

As well, businesses should always compare themselves with different competitors. The concept of benchmarking identifies the existing gaps and proposes better HR practices that can result in effective organizations (Abbassi et al., 2011). My peers have also educated me about the relevance of effective leadership. Every leader should be able to mentor his or her followers and avail of the best resources. Managers should also address the critical issues affecting their organizations (Akdemir et al., 2010). It is also appropriate to consider the needs of different stakeholders. This knowledge will make it easier for managers to design the best business models that can satisfy the targeted clients. I will always use these new lessons to improve my leadership philosophy. This approach will make me a successful leader who can develop high-performance organizations.

Reference List

Abbassi, M., Siddiqi, A., & Azim, R. (2011). Role of Effective Communications for Enhancing Leadership and Entrepreneurial Skills in University Students. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(10), 242-250. Web.

Akdemir, B., Erdem, O., & Polat, S. (2010). Characteristics of High Performance Organizations. The Journal of Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 15(1), 155-174. Web.

Bell, M. (2012). Charismatic Leadership Case Study with Ronald Reagan as an Exemplar. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 1(1), 66-74. Web.

Lawler, E. (2005). Creating high performance organizations. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 43(1), 10-17. Web.

Maddock, K. (2012). Ten ways managers can improve their employees work-life balance. Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology, 1(1), 360-362. Web.

Simons, R. (2011). Human Resource Management: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities. New York, NY: CRC Press. Web.

Purpose of the Supplier Performance Assessment

It is important to point out that in other business organizations, supplier performance assessment systems are also known as Vendor Evaluation Systems. A Vendor Evaluation system helps managers and business leaders to make decisions regarding key suppliers (Luzzini, Caniato, & Spina, 2014). The effective utilization of this particular management framework provides a quick overview of key business components, such as purchasing management, supply chain management, and performance management (Becker, Uhr, & Vering, 2013). The same thing can be said about APC Europes own version of the Vendor Evaluation System.

In the context of APC Europe, the companys suppliers performance assessment system was utilized to evaluate the performance of its suppliers. For example, the said system was used to evaluate the effectiveness of Branco, one of its key suppliers. These vendors were evaluated based on key performance criteria, such as

1. quality;
2. delivery;
3. continuous improvement (Johnson & Flynn, 2015).

APC Europe was able to get much from the current supplier performance assessment system because it was a well-designed framework. For example, one of the key features of the said system was to maintain a direct contact between plant personnel and sales representatives. Thus, if there was a problem that crop out in the manufacturing plant as a direct result of the suppliers product, there was a way to communicate that specific concern. There was a standardized format for the said response, and from the APC Europes end, the details of the problem encountered goes into Nonconformance Action Report (Johnson & Flynn, 2015).

On the other hand, the details of the suppliers response are made available through the Feedback Form (Johnson & Flynn, 2015). Due to the existence of the Feedback Form, APC Europes plant managers and purchasing managers receive information that the suppliers acknowledged the problem and at the same time provide pertinent information regarding how to solve the said problem.

Aside from the efficiency and quick response afforded by the Nonconformance Action Report and the Feedback Form a secondary feature of the said vendor evaluation system was the Supplier Performance Rating (Johnson & Flynn, 2015). The use of the said system enabled APC Europe to determine if the suppliers were able to meet certain standards in terms of the quality of the products and the timely delivery of the same. Furthermore, the grading system enabled the company to figure out if suppliers are no longer able to hit certain goals. Thus, it is much easier to figure out if the company needs to look for another supplier.

Brancos Performance as a Supplier

Maggie Agnelli, APC Europes packaging purchasing manager was concerned about the performance of Branco. She noted that the suppliers declining performance in the last three quarters reached a new low when Branco failed to get the passing grade of 3.0 (Johnson & Flynn, 2015). In other words, a significant portion of the delivered goods did not conform to the agreed-upon standards. There was also a problem when it comes to the timeliness of the delivery of the said packaging products.

Besides, Branco also struggled when it comes to responding to the Nonconformance Action Report because the said supplier was expected to respond within a particular timeline. Also, Branco was not only expected to acknowledge the receipt of the Nonconformance Action Report the said supplier was also expected to identify the steps that it will take in order to rectify the problem. Therefore, the failure to take care of the problem sends negative feedback regarding the commitment of Branco to create a culture of continuous improvement causing them to receive low scores in this area.

Maggie was between a rock and a hard place. APC Europe adhered to certain standards and authorized the use of the said supplier performance assessment system in order to detect problems and to help the corporate leaders decide if it is time to change suppliers. However, Maggie realized that the decision to change supplier is more difficult than the outcome of the evaluation process seem to indicate.

It is not easy to pull the trigger so-to-speak, just to send a message to the suppliers that if they are unwilling to improve their performance, then, they have to look for new customers. Maggie understood the complicated nature of the packaging business, especially when it comes to APC Europes needs. The company requires certain types of products, and suppliers are having a hard time trying to comply with these requirements. To meet certain standards, there is a need for greater collaboration between suppliers and customers.

In this particular context, the vendor evaluation system that was utilized to measure the performance of Branco revealed the shortcomings of the said supplier. However, it is not easy to replace Branco, because this particular supplier of packaging products demonstrated its willingness to work closely with the representatives from APC Europe. This type of relationship is valued in a business that calls for a great deal of customization on certain product designs.

Improving the Supplier Performance Assessment System

One way to improve APC Europes vendor evaluation system is to shorten the time needed to respond to certain critical issues. For example, in the case of Branco, Maggie already detected a pattern of declining performance levels. Nevertheless, due to the constraints of the protocol she had to wait for more than three quarters before she was able to sound the alarm that Branco needed to overhaul its performance.

In other words, more than half a year had gone by without causing a major improvement in Brancos manufacturing process. If there was a way to communicate the said shortcoming to the top leaders of APC Europe and Branco, then, it is possible to rectify the problem before it reached a critical level of nonconformity. For example, there is no need to wait for six months to sound the alarm; an upgraded system will enable the purchasing managers to fix a certain area of the manufacturing process every 30 days.

It has to be pointed out that APC Europes requirement to purchase cartons that require custom specification had taken its toll on Brancos capability to provide excellent service all year round. Corporate leaders from both sides of the fence must consider the impact of unique customer requirements. One can argue that this type of order is disruptive to the regular manufacturing process because there is a need to change certain settings and to change certain parameters within the manufacturing plants.

It is not hard to imagine the amount of time and resources needed every time APC Europe makes changes to the agreed-upon specifications because end-user clients are promoting a new type of product or manufacturing a certain product on a limited run. Without a doubt, continuous changes in the manufacturing settings because of the need to create products characterized by small lots and unique specifications are disruptive to Brancos normal operations process.

One way to solve this issue is for APC Europe to invest in Brancos manufacturing plants. Maggies dilemma should compel APCs corporate leaders to realize that the company cannot afford to sever its ties with Branco. Thus, if APC is unable to find another supplier, it is high time to strengthen the relationship between both companies. One way to handle the problem was to enable APC Europe to have greater control over the business operation of Branco.

If APC succeeds in forging an alliance with Branco, then, purchasing managers like Maggie can propose the creation of a dedicated factory that will focus only on special orders. In other words, Brancos manufacturing facilities must focus on the creation of regular packaging products. However, when it comes to special orders that require custom specifications this type of job is coursed through a special manufacturing facility designed with an agile system in mind.

Thus, there is no problem when the lot sizes are small because the said manufacturing facility was calibrated to handle this type of order (Wu, 2012). Also, the creation of a separate manufacturing facility to handle special orders will prevent other manufacturing plants from operating at full capacity. Thus, Branco can eliminate system breakdowns and other management issues caused by forcing people and equipment to work at a strenuous pace (Hill & Jones, 2008).

Reference List

Becker, J Uhr, W Vering, O 2013, Retail information systems based on SAP products, Springer, New York, NY. Web.

Hill, C & Jones, G 2008, Strategic management: an integrated approach, Springer, New York, NY. Web.

Johnson, P & Flynn, A 2015, Purchasing and supply management, 15^th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Web.

Luzzini, D Caniato, F & Spina G 2014, Designing vendor evaluation systems: an empirical analysis, Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 113-129. Web.

Wu, B 2012, Manufacturing and supply systems management, Springer, New York, NY. Web.

Individual performance is a real challenge in the monitoring process in several organizations (McShane & Von Glinow, 2010). Most people prefer being rewarded accordingly for their individual contributions in a business entity.

However, for an organization to function effectively and smoothly, each individual should contribute towards the success of the group as a functional business unit.

Therefore, evaluating individual performances in an organization is critical (Glew, 2009). It offers an opportunity for the organization to select the best team that can implement its projects.

This paper will carry out an audit on the individual performances of superhot football club players. This will offer a detailed analysis of the players and enable the club to be able to rate its team members. The procedure is important since it will enable the club to select the best talents for various international matches.

The club is made up of three groups of players namely the defenders, midfield players, and the strikers. This paper will concentrate on the analysis of the individual performances of the clubs defenders. The club has seven defenders. These defenders are so dynamic that they can play in any position.

Furthermore, they are almost of the same age group, ranging from 24 to 29 years. The football game requires individual talents as well as team work for a football club to succeed. The role of the defenders is to protect the team from conceding any goals.

This implies that the defenders are supposed to be very vigilant, accurate, and quick in generating and implementing a decision (Tannenbaum & Cerasoli, 2013).

As the captain of this team, I have spent valuable time with these players. I believe that the information I have on the players can enable the club make favorable decisions.

The first area that was analyzed is the efficiency of the individual players. I examined how each player is good at meeting obligation towards other players, keeping commitments, meeting the standards set by the team as well as personal development (Tannenbaum & Cerasoli, 2013).

I noticed that players in position one, three and seven were very skilful in ensuring that all the other players discharge their roles as expected especially when in the field. They were also very dedicated during competition matches.

The speed at which the three players had improved in their skills since they joined the club was indeed amazing.

The other four players have been in the club for over 6 years. They have been equally committed to the team. However, the main weakness of the four players is lack of commitment to improve their skills and competences during team work.

The second area of concern is the interpersonal skills required among team members in such a group. Players in position 4 and 8 were the best team players in the whole defense unit of the club. Team work has always proven to be cumbersome in the absence of these two players.

In addition, Players in position 12 and 16 have impressive management skills (Glew, 2009). They are usually directly involved in ensuring that everything runs smoothly while on the pitch. They are also instrumental in advising the team manager on the way forward when the team is facing hurdles.

The players in positions 4, 8, 12, and 16 have been the most influential team members in the group. They have been with the club for a long time and are also experienced on how the club handles its affairs. They participate in influencing other players to think positively.

The four players have always been referred by the team manager as the backbone of the clubs defense system. They are close to one another and have never alienated any individual in the team. The other three defenders are still new in the club. They are still adjusting to the new environment.

The third aspect of this analysis is the task skills. The new players namely those in positions one, three and seven have demonstrated shrewd time management skills (Wang, 2011). Since they joined the club, they have never been given any yellow cards due to poor time management.

When they are in the pitch, time is always their priority. Players in positions 8, 12 and 16 are the best team members when it comes to simulation of any new skills and approach adopted by the manager. They are also good in time management to an extent that they sometimes quarrel with other players over time wastage.

Player number four has proven to be the most dependable group member in the team. He has severally been used by the couch to demonstrate new approaches. He is also one of the most efficient players in the whole team.

The last part of this analysis deals with specialist skills. All the seven players possess the ability to quickly learn and apply new skills (Ahuja, Galletta & Carley, 2003). Their levels of creativity are also very impressive. The dynamism observed among the players is definitely above average.

The exceptional case in this area is player number four. He has the ability of perfectly matching skills with talent in order to ensure that the team is successful.This explains why he has been the player of the month in last three months.

References

Ahuja, M. K., Galletta, D. F., & Carley, K. M. (2003). Individual Centrality and Performance in Virtual R&D Groups: An Empirical Study. Management Science, 49(1), 21-38.

Glew, D. J. (2009). Personal Values and Performance in Teams: An Individual and Team-Level Analysis. Small Group Research, 40(6), 670-693.

McShane, S. & Von Glinow, M.A. (2010). Organizational behavior. (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Tannenbaum, S. I. & Cerasoli, C. P. (2013). Do Team and Individual Debriefs Enhance Performance? A Meta-Analysis. The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 53(4), 321-343.

Wang, G. (2011). Transformational Leadership and Performance Across Criteria and Levels: A Meta-Analytic Review of 25 Years of Research. Group Organization Management, 36(2), 223-270.

StopNShopToday Inc has to adopt a performance appraisal system which will objectively evaluate and allow continuous interaction between its employees and managers.

The Employee Performance Appraisal System should enable the managers provide objective descriptions and evaluations of the employees performance standards. There are several types of performance appraisal systems which can be adopted by StopNShopToday Inc.

StopNShopToday Inc can adopt 360-Degree or Full Circle Appraisal to evaluate the performance of its employees. In 360-Degree Appraisal, an employees performance will be evaluated by everyone within StopNShopToday Inc with whom he or she interacts (Eichinger, 2004).

This will include the managers, colleagues, customers as well as members of other departments. Hakala (2008) asserts that although this appraisal system is expensive, it can be used to comprehensively evaluate the performance of key employees of an organization.

StopNShopToday Inc can also adopt Management by Objectives (MBO) appraisal system. By implementing this appraisal system, each departmental manager will set objective goals with his or her subordinates so that at the end of the period, the manager evaluates the employees achievement of the set objective goals (Deming, 1994).

Action statements in the MBO process begins with statements like reduce rejected parts by 5% (Hakala, 2008). It involves continuous monitoring as well as review of objectives to enable the manager keep the employees focused on achieving the set goals. During the annual review, an assessment is conducted on progress towards objectives so that new goals are set.

Rating Scale is another important appraisal system which can be implemented by StopNShopToday Inc. The Rating Scale would require each manager or the management to develop an in-depth grading system which would be used to evaluate each employees success within a range of areas which could include technical skills, creativity, communication skills, and teamwork among others.

The management/manager sets a minimum required grade which an employee has to receive to enable the manager consider the performance appraisal as a success. This method allows the organization to put those who do not make the minimum required grade on a performance improvement plan (Henderson, 2011).

StopNShopToday Inc also needs to improve how it rates its performance assessment categories. Evaluating an employees procedural knowledge and skill as well as customer service Skills should involve rating performance standard by entering whole numbers on the Employee Performance Appraisal System Form to represent the managers perception/evaluation.

The numerical values should include 0 meaning unacceptable; 1 meaning development needed; 2 meaning fully competent; and 3 meaning Excelling. The manager has to document performance of each staff throughout the appraisal period by keeping written record of every staffs accomplishments. It is this information that the manager should use to rate the performance of every employee.

In situations where the manager assigns an employee value 0 or 1, he or she has to list all areas which need improvement as well as recommendations for improvement. The manager must also provide a narrative explanation for his or her evaluation of each performance assessment category to justify the overall score assigned.

It is important that each manager for every department keeps written record of every employees creative work examples and judgment examples. This would allow the manager to quantify every employees creativity and consistent good judgment.

As a result, the manager can use comparative rating scale to evaluate every employees creativity and consistency in good judgment by using words such as low, medium and high. The examples should be used to justify the employees creativity and consistency in good judgment as rated by the manager.

Evaluation of employee attendance should be more objective and accurate adopting rating scale which assigns numerical values to the employees average attendance.

This should involve calculating the number of days attended during the appraisal period as a percentage of the total number of days the employee is supposed to have attended, and assigning values 1-6 where 1represents less than 50%; 2 represents 50-60%; 3 represents 61-70%; 4 represents 71-80%; 5 represents 81-90%; and 6 represents 91-100%.

StopNShopToday Inc would be able to improve its performance appraisal system by adopting a combination of appraisal systems. Besides, it has to improve its performance assessment categories to make them more objective and accurate.

Reference List

Deming, W. E. (1994). Out of the crisis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Eichinger, R. (2004). Patterns of rater accuracy in 360-degree feedback, Perspectives, 27: 2325.

Hakala, D. (2008). 16 ways to measure employee performance. Web.

Henderson, K. J. (2011). What are the different types of performance appraisal. Web.

Introduction

Business organizations conventional goal is to realize good financial performance and sustain their solvency amid ever-increasing competition and various kinds of unforeseen risks of running a business (Barlow, 2005). This traditional business objective necessitates the use of informative business data in making strategies that can enable them to improve their financial performance by predicting or estimating future business patterns with reduced uncertainty (Hoshmand, 2009). This paper is a report on the uses of business forecasting.

Uses of Business Forecasting

Precise business forecasts are critical in the performance of business activities because of the dynamic characteristic of domestic and international markets. Business forecasting is used to provide the senior management with business decision alternatives that are derived from the use of a reliable statistical analysis (Hoshmand 2009; Barlow, 2005).

According to Hoshmand (2009), business forecasters or analysts develop authentic forecasts that form the foundation of production, marketing, and financial planning activities. In simple terms, business forecasting is used by business organizations and companies as an instrument in making sound and realistic business and economic decisions at a time when complexity arising partly from the globalization of business has increased risks related to business decisions (Barlow, 2005).

Quantitative Forecasting Models

Current business and economic forecasters have a variety of forecasting models that fall into three major categories including technological models, qualitative models and quantitative models (Hoshmand, 2009). Quantitative models which are also referred to as statistical models are the most dominant in the field of forecasting. They are essentially objective approaches to the process of estimation or prediction in business activities. Quantitative forecasting models comprise regression approaches and time series forecasting techniques. According to Hoshmand (2009), these approaches offer a logical sequence of steps that can be reproduced and used in various economic and business conditions.

Time series models anticipate about the future of a given variable entirely based on the variables history. Independent variable, in this case, is time (Hoshmand 2009). Time series models comprise moving averages, exponential smoothing, Box-Jenkins and time series decomposition. Moving average forecasting approach is a method where old observations are dropped and new observations are added to work out new averages (Hoshmand, 2009). Hoshmand (2009) contends that exponential smoothing is similar to moving average technique with the prime difference in that it needs less business data to move an average. It is used in estimating time series data with a linear trend.

Regression approaches or casual models are founded upon insight from economic assumptions (Hoshmand, 2009). In these approaches, hypothetical connections between variables are used as the signposts in forecasting. The assumption underlying regression approaches is that the value taken by a given independent variable has the potential to impact upon the value of another dependent variable (Hoshmand, 2009).

Qualitative Forecasting Models

Qualitative forecasting models are also known as judgmental or non-statistical approaches to economic and business forecasting. These models rely heavily upon experts understanding, opinion and intuitive judgment (Hoshmand, 2009). They are usually embraced when historical information is unavailable or scarce and unreliable. Qualitative forecasting models include sales force composite forecasts, focus group or panel consensus, the jury of executive opinion and the Delphi technique (Hoshmand, 2009).

Delphi decision-making approach is a process of the possibility that certain events will take place. It was developed in 1963 at the RAND Corporation. Hoshmand (2009) observes that it is founded upon the idea that well-informed stakeholders of a given organization understands their business better and can anticipate about the future of their business more reliably than theoretical models. Delphi decision-making approach uses a panel of experts who answers a sequence of questions that are not known to any one of them. The answers are then summed up before moving to another series of questions. Ultimately the group through a consensus process comes together towards the best response (Hoshmand, 2009).

Technological Forecasting Models

Technological Forecasting approaches are a combination of qualitative and quantitative forecasting models to facilitate long-term estimation. Technological Forecasting methodologies aim at responding to economic, political, social and technological changes in the markets to make a business prediction (Hoshmand 2009).

Reference List

Barlow, J. F. (2005). Excel models for business and operations management. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Hoshmand, A. R. (2009). Business Forecasting, Second Edition: A Practical Approach. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

ProExpress is a private package delivery organization with a specific and relatively unique niche in the market. The company has been experiencing steady revenue growth, and the owners want it to stay this way. The Marketing Director (MD) is concerned with the figures of the Customer Satisfaction Report (CSR) and, in particular, with the performance of one of its Regions. Given the importance of customer satisfaction for a companys performance, the concern of MD is understandable. The Regional Director (RD) of the Region 3 has not been interviewed; the MT states that he does not consider the decrease in figures to be an important issue. Most of the MT members agree with him.

The customer rating of the key aspects of delivery (timely delivery, the integrity of the package, friendliness of the employee) that has been termed as Customer Satisfaction with the Delivery Process (DP) is established with the help of service phone call. Customer Satisfaction with Phone-Based Representatives (PR) rating includes only two parameters: the meeting of the needs of the customer and the friendliness of the employee who has been performing the call. The copy of the latest annual CSR is provided.

From the CSR, it follows that the Region 3 is the biggest region of the company: it has five areas; its n amounts to almost the half of the total Ns for both DP and PR. This fact emphasizes any issues that the Region might have. During the past year, the overall DP of the company has not decreased while the PR has dropped by 0.1. At the same time, the DP has fallen for Region 2 and remained unchanged for Region 3 (with three separate areas improving their performance and two of them experiencing a 0.2 drop in customer satisfaction). Concerning PR, the Region 2 is the only region that shows improved performance.

All the representatives of the Region 1 team demonstrated a 0.2 drop in their PR. The Region 3 experienced a 0.5 drop in three of its representatives performance; the performance of employee E has not changed, and the last one demonstrated an improvement. The Region 3, however, has been underperforming for two years when compared to the rest of the Regions. To sum up, certain undesired fluctuations can be traced in every Region and especially in their service team performances.

However, these fluctuations can be considered a fluke, as an RD calls it. Still, the performance of the Region 3 and especially its PR team shows the tendency of underperforming with respect to other Regions.

Apart from that, the analysis of the ns of the Team 3 demonstrates that their standard deviation is unexpectedly large. While it appears to correspond to the associated ns of the DP, it is still rather confusing that the n of the representative D is more than twice lower than that of the rest of the agents. The standard deviation of the same employee is 2.1, which is the highest of the figures presented. These facts make it more difficult to offer assumptions concerning the performance of the team members.

Additional Data

From the information presented above, it logically follows that additional information is needed. First of all, while the CSR allows suggesting that the Region 3 has certain issues, which should be attended, other Regions also experience flukes. The easiest way to ensure that they do not demonstrate a negative tendency is to request the CSRs for the previous years. Apart from that, they might reveal additional trends in the performance of the Region 3.

The Region 3 becomes the focus of the future study in the company. That is why the involvement of its RD is vital: his extensive comments on the issue are necessary. Apart from that, given the performance problems of the Team 3, their interviews (and that of their Call Center Manager) would be extremely helpful: they could reveal the true reasons behind their deteriorating performance.

It is would also be nice to require the information that would provide the concrete explanation for the Region 3 Team ns discrepancy so that no false assumptions could be made.

Problems and Causes. Suggested Solutions

The problem of the Region 3 can be described as a relative underperforming (with respect to other Regions) that is demonstrated by the PR Team. The drop of performance by 0.5 points is unlikely to be just a fluctuation. As for the underperformance of the Regions DP, it is within the fluke definition and will not be mentioned before additional information concerning the previous years provides the evidence to a negative tendency. The same refers to the fluctuations in the other Regions performance.

As it has been highlighted by MT, the Region 3 has its specifics, and some of them could condition the worsening of the performance. In this case, the need for studying and mitigating the said issues becomes more urgent. The fact that almost all of the team appears to suffer a similar drop in performance suggests that the problems could lie in management issues. Most certainly, it is an aspect of performance management that is deficient: for example, inconsistent tasks, unclear goals, lack of feedback, lack of employee training and development, inadequate motivation and various subcategories of these issues (Smither, 2012; Riggio, 2015).

The Call Center Manager, as well as the employees themselves, could provide the necessary insights. Given the significance of the Region and the notable drop in performance, it appears logical to inform the MT about this issue and suggest that researching the problem is worth the trouble. The research would provide the specific information concerning the issue. Once the problem is defined, it will be possible to suggest concrete solutions.

It should be mentioned that the research could take the form of action research, which would facilitate the involvement of the employees and ensure their understanding of the issue, which would promote the process of the change (Coghlan & Brannick, 2014). If the explanation to the problem of the n discrepancy does not contradict the conclusion about the problem, the research proposal may be presented to the MT.

Perspectives: Management Team Discussion

The APA (2010) Code of Conduct is applicable to the work of an I/O psychologist (p. 2). Given the fact that the current situation appears to point at a person (Region 3 RD), it is necessary to maintain an objective stance and ethical behavior, following the APA (2010) guidelines. Apart from that, the RD is a key figure in the current situation. It is absolutely necessary to explain the discrepancy in figures and expectations to him as well as to his Call Center Manager. However, while the latter will be able to facilitate the PR research and change, only RD is capable of testifying whether there are other concerns, the signs of which he might have overlooked before.

Naturally, the issue should also be explained to the rest of the MT. Their insider knowledge and preunderstanding of the company can present most valuable insights, and the properly articulated problem will provide them with the impetus for action (Coghlan & Brannick, 2014).

References

APA. (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Web.

Coghlan, D., & Brannick, T. (2014). Doing action research in your own organization (4th ed.). London, UK: Sage Publications. Web.

Riggio, R. (2015). Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. London, UK: Routledge. Web.

Smither, J. W. (2012). Performance Management. In S. Kozlowski (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of organizational psychology (pp. 285-329). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Web.

Introduction

Performance measurement is one of the tools that managers use to evaluate and improve the output of their employees and the overall performance of their companies. The main philosophy that guides the workability of performance measurement is that companies that fail to engage in their results cannot adequately determine their success or prevent failure. As a result, such companies find it difficult to reward success and may even reward failure unintentionally (Wu & Liu, 2010).

Dulsco LLC is one of the companies in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) that apply performance measurement in their management systems. To understand how performance measurement is applied in the management of the Dulsco Company, this paper addresses a number of aspects within the company that are performance-related. The aspects that are addressed include: an overview of the company, the competition it faces from other players, its overall quality approach, its key resources and advantages, and the other issues it contends with. The paper also suggests a number of solutions.

An Overview of Dulsco

Dulsco has been in existence in the United Arab Emirates for over seventy years now (UAE). Dulsco is known for its significant contribution to the general growth of the UAE. The company played a great role in the transition of Dubai from a fishing village to an industrial state with a mega metropolis. The company has more than 6,000 experienced employees, who assist it to provide different services to all its customers within the region. The main businesses that the company engages in are waste management services and provision of HR solutions (Qasim & Ramaswamy, 2011).

The company together with its businesses fall under the human resources industry and works hand in hand with a number of firms to execute its services. Dulsco assists companies such as IKEA to outsource skilled labour including carpenters, electricians, and tailors. Dulsco also helps IT companies such as Alpha Data and Acer Computer Ltd to find the best IT specialists within the region. American Hospital is the main client of Dulsco with regard to waste management. Dulsco assists the hospital in chemical and radioactive disposal of medical wastes and incineration management. Apart from HR solutions and waste management, Dulsco also provides services such as tank and marine cleansing, industrial and warehousing, and property services (Qasim & Ramaswamy, 2011).

Dulscos success is accredited to the proper way it treats its employees, who comprise the professional, technical, and specialist, skilled and unskilled categories. Dulscos employees are drawn from around 20 nationalities within the UAE. The companys management values and retains the employees since it understands their contribution to the companys growth and expansion. As a result, the management has put in place effective performance measurement tools and talent management programs to help it assess the capabilities of the employees and the companys overall performance (Qasim & Ramaswamy, 2011).

Competition

Competition is one of the factors that affect how Dulsco carries out its operations in the UAE. Firstly, competition affects fluctuation in the supply and demand for the services of the company, which normally occur as a result of other firms that deal in the same line of services; this causes Dulsco to lower or increase the prices of its services. Before several similar companies sprang up, Dulsco enjoyed the advantage of being a monopoly in the region and made huge profits by setting good prices for its products. Secondly, competition results in added value on the products that Dulsco offers in the region. The company is at times forced to lower its prices accompanied with added value to the products to survive amidst the heavy competition. Generally, competition enhances economy, monetary value, human resources reward, and product variations (Behery, 2011).

There are a number of companies that offer stiff competition to Dulsco. Most of these companies are those that offer HR solutions and waste management services. JAMS FZE is one of the firms that offer HR solutions in the UAE. This company was founded in 2000 and is accredited as one of the best organisations that offer HR solutions in the region. It works closely with the Dubai Ports Authority, which greatly assists it in executing its businesses. JAMS FZE has about 2,500 employees, who admit receiving an unsurpassed treatment from the companys management. The company is known for offering HR services that are reliable, punctual, flexible, quality and above all, cost friendly. JAMS FZE offers a stiff competition to Dulsco given the lower prices it offers for its services (Nikookar, Safavi, Hakim, & Homayoun, 2010).

Innovative HR Solutions (IHS) is the second company that offers competition to Dulsco within the region. IHS assists its client companies to improve their overall performance by evaluating and developing a talented workforce for them. IHS helps the clients to develop effective organisational structures based on efficient HR strategies. The company also assists these clients to implement efficient HR frameworks within their management systems. Although IHSs prices are almost similar to Dulscos, it tends to offer more effective services, which creates heavy competition for the latter (Nikookar, Safavi, Hakim, & Homayoun, 2010).

Gulf HR is the third company that also creates a competitive environment for this sector in the UAE; this in turn influences the operations of Dulsco in the region. Gulf HR services are exclusively web-based and are flexible, localised and comprehensive. The main services offered by this company are HR solutions and Payroll Software services. The services are customisable and have technical back-ups that support their workability. The Gulf HRs HRIS software is user-friendly and does not require advance technological know-how to operate. The Gulf HR tends to beat Dulsco in competition especially in cases where the clients prefer online services. Dulsco offers most of its services off-line, which at times, makes it difficult for it to reach a large number of clients (Behery, 2011).

Apart from the HR companies, there are other companies that offer waste management services within the UAE. The firms that offer waste management services in the region provide heavy price-related competition to Dulsco. Trashco LLC is one of the companies that offer waste management services in the region at relatively lower prices. Trashco was established in 1977 and was the first private company in the region to offer waste management services. This company is a constituent of the SUEZ Environment Company, which is position 3 worldwide in waste management. This gives Trashco a good name and makes it renown on the region. As a result, Dulsco has to work harder to capture a bigger potion of the market for waste management (Nikookar, Safavi, Hakim, & Homayoun, 2010).

The last source of competition for Dulsco is the UEM Environment Company, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Kualiti Alam Environment Services (ADKA Enviro) LLC. ADKA Enviro has operated in UAE for more than two decades now. The prosperity of this company depends on the expertise of its management team. The team consists of individuals with diverse background in management and maintenance of property. It is this team and the connection that this company has with ADKA Enviro that sometimes give it a competitive advantage over Dulsco. UEM Environment, at times, offers very low prices for its services than Dulsco can afford. As a result, UEM Environment attracts more customers in the region (Kristianto, Ajmal, & Sandhu, 2012).

Dulscos Overall Quality Approach

Dulscos overall quality approach assists the companys management to assess continuous improvements made in the company as a long-term process as opposed to short-term objectives and goals. The management uses the approach to transform the company by improving employees attitudes, capabilities and practices. Dulscos total quality management (TQM) combines all the aspects of production such as distribution, communication, marketing, training, and planning in appropriate proportion to enable the management to achieve the goals and objectives that the firm is intended to fulfil (Wu & Liu, 2010).

Dulscos management tends to value the employees more than any other thing within the company. As a result, the management focuses most of its efforts and the companys resources on training, developing and motivating the employees. There are several schemes that the company develops that are supposed to be used to train the employees according to the specifications of the operations that the company engages in. These strategies include Dulscos E-learning Academy, E-ducate, video shows and tutorial books. All these are intended to be used in enhancing the knowledge and skills of the employees (Wu & Liu, 2010).

The management also relies on employee motivation to improve the quality of services rendered by the company. For instance, the company highly rewards the employees who exemplify good performance in their work. The management uses customers feedback to determine the employees who excel in their work. Some of the rewards that are used in the motivational process include cash awards and non-monetary awards such as certificates on sales recognition, best employee, and customer service. In addition to cash and non-monetary presents, the company also issues the best-performing employees with client appreciation awards and sport awards (Wu & Liu, 2010).

The management of Dulsco has also adopted another TQM policy that assists it to provide the most appropriate training to its employees. The policy is known as Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) and is carried out on a weekly basis. The employees of the company, through this policy, are trained on all the aspects outlined in the QHSE. This strategy helps the company to update its employees on the emerging issues in the market and to furnish them with any changes that may crop up within their line of production (Wu & Liu, 2010).

Lastly, the management and the employees closely observe Dulscos corporate social responsibility (CSR), which was established to ensure that the company gives back to the community where its operations are located. The company promotes the culture of CSR by raising funds for needy students and other people who are affected by natural calamities. The companys management believes that by relating will with the communities, a peaceful environment is created that helps to enhance the performance of the employees (Qasim & Ramaswamy, 2011).

Dulscos Key Resources, Capabilities and Competitive Advantages

Human resources outsourcing is the main resource for Dulsco LLC. Dulscos operations and prosperity depend on the companies that solicit its assistance in finding talented and performance-oriented employees. Dulsco handles almost all the HR issues for its client companies, which reward it for these services. The company, because of its name and the good work it does in the UAE, charges high prices for the HR services it offers its corporate clients. Another key resource of Dulsco is waste management services; since there are few companies in the UAE that offer waste management services, Dulsco enjoys the less flooded market and can charge prices that reflect the quality of its services without worrying about competition (Kristianto, Ajmal, & Sandhu, 2012).

The companys capabilities revolve around the HR solutions, which are based on a long-term sustainability approach and supported by its team of dedicated and talented managers and employees. The company, through its management, has the capability of identifying and filling any gaps in the HR market. The company also has the capability of managing wastes from hospitals and other industries. Dulsco has also been accredited for offering the best accommodation services for people in the United Arabs Emirates (Behery, 2011).

Dulscos management is constituted by a team of talented individuals who know how to develop and maintain competitive advantage over other companies. Firstly, the team evaluates and sets competitive prices that put the company ahead of its competitors. This strategy has worked for the company for a long time. The team has been able to sustain this strategy by ensuring that its expenses are optimised to avoid imposing any negative effects onto the pricing process. Secondly, the management and the employees of Dulsco work together to ensure that its services are of the highest quality compared to those of its competitors. Dulsco has been able to attract and retain a number of companies as a result of this strategy (Behery, 2011).

Issues Affecting Dulsco

The management of Dulsco has been apt at identifying and correcting most of the internal problems before they adversely affect the operations of the company. However, it has been difficult for the management to take care of the problems caused by changes in the external environment. This is because most of these changes are difficult to predict and control before they take place. The main issues the company currently faces are the challenges brought by technological advancements and changes in prices of in-puts (Haverila, 2010).

The current changes being witnessed in information technology have great effects on the operations of Dulsco. The company has constantly relied on less advanced technology to dispense its HR services. This implies that most of the companys employees do not have adequate knowledge in IT; this is a serious problem that has resulted in loss of clients, especially those who embrace technological advancements (Haverila, 2010).

Another problem is the changes in prices of in-puts such as fuel and other facilities that the company uses to carry out most of the services related to waste management. Sometimes, the prices of fuel and other chemicals used in waste management go up; since the company cannot adjust its prices overnight, it is forced to suffer the losses. These losses greatly affect its profits, which in turn affects employee performance (Haverila, 2010).

Recommendations: Solutions to the Issues

There are strategies that the management of Dulsco can adopt to help the company deal with the current issues it faces. For the changes in IT, the management should ensure that all the employees are trained according to the new technological requirements. The management needs to employ IT specialists to train their employees on the current IT practices to enable them to offer services that conform to the modern practices. It is cheaper for Dulsco to employ its own IT experts than taking its employees to be trained in other institutions (Behery, 2011).

Secondly, the management should employ experts who can identify and evaluate risks before they occur. There are many business experts specialising in risk evaluation and who can foresee risks that are caused by natural calamities. These experts together with the management can work together to set prices that take into consideration all the eventualities that come afterwards. This can assist the company to avoid the losses that come with poor methods of price determination (Behery, 2011).

Conclusion

Performance measurement is one of the managerial tools that companies use to evaluate and improve the output of their employees and their overall performance. The performance measurement philosophy asserts that a company can only reward good performance if it is able to recognise success and failure. Dulsco LLC has been used in this paper to illustrate how performance measurement is used by companies to engage the output of their employees. Dulsco deals in HR and waste management services, and is one of the best companies in the UAE, which offer the best solutions to HR matters.

References

Behery, M. (2011). High involvement work practices that really count: Perspectives from the UAE. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 21(1), 21-45.

Haverila, M. (2010). Factors affecting new product success in technology companies: The case study of Finland. International Journal of Product Development, 12(2), 176-198.

Kristianto, Y., Ajmal, M. M., & Sandhu, M. (2012). Adopting TQM approach to achieve customer satisfaction: A flour milling company case study. The TQM Journal, 24(1), 29-46.

Nikookar, G., Safavi, S. Y., Hakim, A., & Homayoun, A. (2010). Competitive advantage of enterprise resource planning vendors in Iran. Information Systems, 35(3), 271- 277.

Qasim, Z., & Ramaswamy, G. (2011). Corporate social responsibility and impact of CSR in the United Arab Emirates. International Conference on Technology and Business Management, 28(1), 109-120.

Wu, S., & Liu, S. (2010). The performance measurement perspectives and casual relationships for ISO-certified companies: A case study of electronic industry. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 27(1), 27-47.