Category: Strategic Planning

Injuries caused by falls are a common and serious problem, but there are multifactorial fall prevention programs that help to minimize the number of falls. The purpose of this essay is to define the strategy of implementing the nursing practice intervention in the “South Florida Doctors Group” to prevent falls. The strategy contains three important steps for the clinic in order to reduce the risks of falls: education, the change of environment, and increasing physical activity.

The first step for implementing the nursing practice intervention is an informational campaign that includes distributing written material and organizing lectures for medical staff and patients. Staff training is also an important part of this strategy as it implies not only gaining theoretical knowledge but applying the new approach in the everyday life of the clinic (Hopewell et al., 2018). Raising awareness of the problem is important as it encourages the patients and the staff to treat the issue of fall prevention more responsibly.

The second part is adapting the clinic’s environment, decreasing the risks of falls. To do this, mechanisms that support personal mobility, such as walking aids and anti-slip devices, should be used. It is essential to use video monitoring and communication devices that allow patients to ask for help in an emergency. The important part is the regulation of urinary incontinence, including assisted toileting (Hopewell et al., 2018). Changing the environment will help make the clinic safer for patients who struggle with mobility.

The third step is to support the patient’s health on a level that makes physical activity easier. It includes providing patients with exercises that help to train their sense of balance and increase strength and flexibility. It is possible to combine this method with medication and vitamin supplementations (Hopewell et al., 2018). Providing physical activity will serve to improve patients’ mobility and prevent many cases of falls.

In conclusion, the risk of fall injuries should be treated as a safety issue. The clinic should implement the fall prevention program on three different levels: educational, environmental, and physical therapy. It is important not just to describe the problem but to provide the changes in the service model. Combining these three approaches will help to lessen the risk of trauma caused by falls.

Reference

Hopewell, S., Adedire, O., Copsey, B.J., Boniface, G.J., Sherrington, C., Clemson, L., Close, J., & Lamb, S.E. (2018). Multifactorial and multiple component interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (7), 1-261. Web.

Introduction

Many people can consent to the fact that setting goals and achieving them are two different things that are, hypothetically, two poles apart. Setting goals touches on almost every aspect of human life. No person envisions failure in his/her endeavors, rather, they seek success using all available means. The aspect of time management is especially important in personal or group goal-setting. Continuous and often time-oriented decision-making and choice selection characterize human life. Goal setting relies heavily on the wisdom that helps people make sense out of the various practical experiences they go through to make conscious and subconscious decisions in the build-up of motivation that is necessary for the achievement of personal goals.

According to Piotrowski (2009), achieving goals takes a great deal of hard work, determination focus, and effective planning. However, not all personal and group goals are met within the set time and context. Piotrowski (2009) says that many factors sometimes hinder and/or delay people from achieving goals they have set. Piotrowski (2009) further says that failure to achieve the goals set is mainly due to the inability to do proper planning and/or setting the wrong goals. The aftermath of such scenarios requires a reflection on the part of the planer to evaluate the extent of success, as well as the needed corrective measures, as defined by a set benchmark. It is important to note that the benchmark, in this case, includes established theories, facts, and literature that help with the reflection exercise.

Taking the above factors into account, this essay will mainly be an individual reflection on the elements of the group plan that the members formulated. There will be an emphasis on a basic description of what the role of the author was, analysis of the experience, generalization of the experience, analysis of the assumptions, and linking theory and practice. The above will help the individual gain an in-depth insight into the success and failure, as well as into the successes of the above-said plan.

Plan Development and underlying assumptions

The development of the plan was long overdue. Our group needed a comprehensive plan that would act as a guide to our study habits to achieve academic, as well as extracurricular excellence. We met as a group and brainstormed on the best way forward for the group while taking into consideration various factors, such as the personal schedules of the members, and the objectives and needs of our courses.

The group came up with four goals and strategies to achieve them. The goals included achievement of high distinction marks on group assignments, maximizing our learning experiences, making the subject of study as fascinating and enjoyable as possible, as well as meeting and making new friends. Perhaps the best way to describe the approach to making a plan is to apply the economic principle of Ceteris Paribas. We assumed that many actions would be held constantly, and I must admit that our plan was more or less ideal, but its successful implementation was likely to run into some problems. According to Brott (2009), plans can only succeed if the goals are clear and realistic. The goals of our plan were clear, they reflected little realism and incorporated too many assumptions that overlooked many members’ shortcomings. On my part, I had assumed a smooth sailing development and implementation of the plan based on numerous other planning ventures I took part in. The difference, however, with my other planning experiences was that I worked with a smaller group of people than this one. Coming up with the plan was a difficult experience since many members had varied opinions on what is best for the group, and what strategies were best suited to help us in achieving the laid sown goals. There were also clashes on the strategies we would adopt.

Implementation

Many group members followed and adhered to the laid down strategies, though, in my opinion, they could have been done better. While drafting the plan, we had assumed uniform compliance and undivided commitment from members. This assumption, especially, did little to help in drafting a smooth implementation plan. According to Pillkahn (2008), general assumption dictates that strategy development and its implementation take place from the top down. The above was missing in our group. I agree with Pillkahn (2008) because any failures we experienced as a group could partly be blamed on the unclear implementation procedures we had in place.

If I was to carry out a candid and objective assessment of the group performance concerning the plan, I would describe it as average. We smoothly implemented most of the plan’s elements except when it came to time management among members. Compared to the corporate world where I had worked for a while, this group plan implementation was a bit below par. I think the prospect of making a profit at the end of everything and the security of jobs for the people involved pushes corporate technocrats to ensure full implementation of plans with little room for failure. There may be bias in my view, but, I think that my attitude towards the overall success concurs with the assertion that strategy development and implementation is a less structured and internal process that involves incremental evolution through continuous learning (Cox & Schleier, 2010). (Cox & Schleier, 2010) further add that when formulation and implementation merge, there is a likelihood of creating something discontinuous and unexpected.

Members are likely to meet their goals but not as precise as we had expected. We had expected the success of the last two goals of the meeting and making new friends meet expectations. However, it turned out to be wildly successful to a point that it threatened to overshadow the rest of the goals. To some extent, I felt it threatened the achievement of the rest of the goals given the excessive socialization that resulted from the goals at the expense of the rest. According to Grenfell & Harris (1999), some parts of the strategy are more successful than others. Some strategies under the goals set were particularly hard to achieve, especially, when it came to personal participation in class and discussion boards and also attending meetings. There was poor implementation, particularly on the first goal aiming at high distinction marks on group assignments. Some strategies under this goal proved a bit too much for the group members to follow. I must add though that the rest of the goals, especially on making the subject lively and making new friends were thoroughly met.

Leadership and decision-making

Daft & Lane (2007), assert that strong leadership is a crucial tool in the successful formulation and implementation of the strategy. We had a group leader whose leadership qualities I must commend. He was especially tough and softly pushed members to adhere to the laid down strategies in the quest to meet the overall goals. The group members understood that collective effort was needed to achieve the goals. Most of the time, decision-making was collective and in the case of group work, we allocated assignments according to individual strength, while taking care to balance the allocation of tasks among ourselves. Ability to make fast and popular decision-making that is consistent with group beliefs and aspirations determines innovative group decision-making (Daft & Marcic, 2010). However, I must fault the above assertion on the part of the popularity. In my opinion, it is important to make tough choices and decisions despite their unpopularity, as long as they are consistent with group beliefs and aspirations. In this case, the combined abilities of group members come in hand when making group decisions during planning and implementation. Additionally, it confirms the assertion by Matheson & Matheson (1998), that good decision-making must involve both decision-makers and implementers. Group members played both roles in this case. The group leader found my moderation skill useful especially during brainstorming sessions when once in a while emotions ran high.

Comparison with real-life situations

Overall, I felt that the team’s performance was averagely good and it provided a solid ground for better performance after carrying out evaluation and implementing recommendations on the areas that need improvement. According to Willauer (2005), motivation and commitment are crucial to strategy implementation. Perhaps lack of monetary motivation at the end of the implementation may have influenced the outcome as it was. The pattern that the group displayed is typical in situations where motivation is nonmonetary. Additionally, I felt that the group leader was not tough enough, perhaps due to a lack of effective punitive mechanisms. In many of the corporate plan implementation situations I have been in, leaders exercise various executive powers, and push can easily become shoving, unlike the situation described here.

Concerning planning and implementation of a plan, I have always assumed that motivation or lack of it is the key to success or failure. Furthermore, I have always assumed that planning and implementation in amorphous groups, like the one I was in, was far more difficult than doing the same in more established outfits. Both assumptions above were true considering the events characterizing the implementation of our plan.

Conclusion

This reflection focuses on both, successes and failures of the strategic plan as developed by members of the group. It is important to note that this discussion is largely based on my reflection. There is a concerted effort to describe the events and relate them to the real-life situations the author may have taken part in. Additionally, there is a sustained analysis of the theories that link group planning and implementation to the events that characterize the actual implementation of the actual strategy. Certainly, there are bound to be variations in other accounts as narrated by other group members. In a nutshell, it is worth noting that the planning and implementation of a group strategic plan entail many elements. Given that there are many interested parties, varying opinions on the course of action and the quality of the outcomes is a norm.

Bibliography

1. Brott, R. R. 2009. Developing a Successful Personal & Business Vision: Shaping Your Future, Today. London: ABC Publishing.
2. Cox, F.J. & Schleier, J. 2010. Theory of Constraints Handbook. London: McGraw-Hill.
3. Daft, L.R & Lane, G. P. 2007. The leadership experience. New Jersey: Cengage Learning.
4. Daft, L.R. & Marcic, D. 2010. Understanding Management. New Jersey: Cengage Learning.
5. Grenfell, M. & Harris, V. 1999. Modern languages and learning strategies: in theory and practice. New York: Routledge.
6. Matheson, E.J. & Matheson, D. 1998. The smart organization: creating value through strategic R&D.New York: Harvard Business Press.
7. Pillkahn, U. 2008. Using Trends and Scenarios as Tools for Strategy Development: Shaping the Future of Your Enterprise. Berlin: Wiley-VCH.
8. Piotrowski, C.M. 2009. Professional Practice for Interior Designers. Montreal: Willey- Interscience
9. Willauer, B. 2005. Consensus as key success factor in strategy making. Berlin: DUV.

The problem of developing strategy in education is that there is often a feeling of being unable to control, at the school level, what is happening because of externally imposed changes but this is, perhaps, an inappropriate excuse for not developing relevant strategies for the school. Some schools already have a strategic plan in order to realize their intended strategy. In spite of the fact that it is difficult to predict future changes, some aspects of a school’s activities are quite predictable or determinable while other aspects are less so but still need consideration. Q-sort technique will help to educate the leadership in school and determine the main areas of improvement and evaluation that require careful consideration.

Using the Q-sort technique, it is possible to evaluate items in relation to each other. In order to establish a strategy, it is important to understand the factors which determine the most appropriate approach to strategy development. Q-sort technique could help to evaluate a strategy development in relation to levels of environmental turbulence and of organizational and individual understanding. Q-sort framework is based on four perspectives of strategy: strategic planning and strategic thinking. During the process of education, a strategic planner should use a rank-ordering system. This process will help the leadership to analyze their potential and identify the most and the least important factors in strategic planning (Cook, 1995).

For each concept, a strategic planner develops rank-ordering items: most important (+5) to least important (-5). For instance, strategic planning is effective in an environment in which there is a low to medium rate of change and the school can understand, react to and cope with that change. While schools exist in a turbulent environment, there are aspects of their work that are more predictable (Marx, 2006). In such a situation the school can have a clear strategic plan for these definable parts of its activities. An example of a definable area would be pupil progression. Many schools should find it reasonably straightforward to plan that their five-year-olds become six-year-olds and then seven-year-olds and so on.

Strategic thinking can best be understood as a reactive approach. It is a process of learning by doing, through trial and error. When faced with adapting to, or coping with, low to medium levels of change, if there is a low level of understanding of that change, the best way to proceed is to attempt a number of activities and reflect on which have been successful and which have been less successful. In this case, the strategic planner should show how to rate the successful activities and not repeat the unsuccessful ones. Q-sort framework will help to draw a strategic path used for strategy formulation in the future (Cook, 1995). Using the Q-sort technique, the strategic planner will demonstrate a model of strategy in which one of the strategic responses or approaches is particularly appropriate to a specific combination of turbulence and understanding. For instance, it is possible to sort items using the following schemes: most like to most unlike in strategic planning (Marx, 2006).

In sum, the advantage of the Q-sort technique is that it articulates the best path for strategic planning whereby leaders in an organization articulate a sense of direction by drawing together their knowledge of the internal nature of the school with the external influences to identify areas in which the school needs to build capability and capacity to move forward. To create this awareness and sense of direction, the leader develops understanding by sharing images and experiences and using metaphors to build a picture of what an alternative direction or state of the school could be. Once this picture is established, then the dialogue and a school conversation can take place between all those working in the organization. This dialogue establishes a mental or cognitive map leading to a shared understanding amongst those working in the school. Only then is it possible to move to establishing a strategic perspective and defining outcomes and formal plans.

References

Cook, William J. Jr. (1995). Strategic Planning for America’s Schools American Association of School Administrators.

Marx, G. (2006). Future-Focused Leadership. ASCD.

It should be noted that strategic planning is one of the measures that are particularly important for the successful accomplishment of educational goals. The current strategic plan centers on the need to clarify organizational purposes and ways to achieve effective and meaningful use of technology in the classroom to the main stakeholder groups. The purpose of this discussion is to explicate why evaluation is a critical part of the implementation of the strategic plan.

Aspects of Evaluation and Data

Various aspects of evaluation support strategic planning as applied to the use of technology in the classroom. In particular, the assessment allows understanding what agreements should be reached with the head of the department. Besides, the technological aspects may be reconsidered promptly if such a need arises in the course of the evaluation (Rossi, Lipsey, & Freeman, 2003). An assessment provides an opportunity to outline specific facets of student achievement and the instructor’s performance. Apart from that, data from evaluation may potentially prevent costly changes and inform other steps in the strategic planning process.

After collecting the baseline data, the evaluator will be able to set benchmarks and comprehend what alterations may be required regarding the professional development of teachers and so on (Quinones, Kirshstein, & Loy, 1998). Timely and accurate data should be used to form educational policies that will assist in implementing the plan effectively.

The distinction between Evaluation and Research and Concluding Points

Notably, evaluation is different from research since the goal of the first method is to provide data for decision-making as applied to specific programs. The purpose of the second approach is to expand the existing body of knowledge (Rossi et al., 2003). Therefore, evaluation is particularly important for strategic planning since the gathered information may be used to address the concerns and queries of school staff, policymakers, and that of other stakeholder groups.

References

Quinones, S., Kirshstein, R., & Loy, N. (1998). An educator’s guide to evaluating the use of technology in schools and classrooms. Darby, PA: Diane Publishing.

Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2003). Evaluation: A systematic approach (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Strategic planning is a key element for successful implementation of a learning process. For instance, when coming up with a design lesson for ELLs, one has to take into consideration a number of issues. These may include the title, objectives, timeline, content and the audience. Below is a detailed lesson outline on vocabulary

Teacher preparation

1. The teacher should construct sentences that explain the used word; these sentences should contain numbering, and follower a certain order. She/he should then draw a table that fits each word in a particular sequence.
2. The constructed sentences should lead to a certain word; for example, not doing anything and just sitting around means lazy. The student will fill this four-letter word into the table. One of the letters in the word should give a clue to the next word in any order.
3. The teacher should develop a simple task for learners and a more complex task for advanced students.

Material use

1. The dictionary is for the purposes of confirming the meaning of words used by students. It will also provide correctness and alternative words for student use after the exercise.
2. The computer and pointer will help the teacher present instructions and revise previous work with students.
3. Students will use the folder to store all their work. This will be required for future referencing.
4. All the students will receive their Mind gym handouts. These contain the assignment the teacher prepared for the students to do.

Procedure

1. The student should read the instructions on the Mind gym handout carefully. They should then form groups of three and brainstorm on how to go about it.
2. Student should attempt all the exercises provided in the mind gym. After completion, they should then forward to the teacher.
3. The teacher will provide the correct answers and go through the whole exercise with the students.

Teaching Process

1. The students will be in small groups and discuss in details about the song lyrics of the day.
2. They will look into several aspects such as the message of the song, the used words, targeted audience, and portrayed images.
3. The students will then re-group back into a class; through the guidance of the teacher, they will discuss from their own understanding of the song.
4. In the process, the students will write down new words that they have learnt in the song.
5. The teacher will explain the new words to the class, and give a deeper meaning of the words.

Teach for America is a nonprofit organization formed in Boston. This company’s main mission is to find worthy teachers and provide them with jobs in regions of low income. This allows them to make quality education accessible to all segments of the population. As a result, children can develop faster and more successfully and build a good career in the future. This also leads to a higher level of education of the country’s population as a whole. However, nonprofit organizations are not always successful in their operation (Haslam, Nesbit, & Christensen, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to create a sustainable strategic plan and follow it. The purpose of this paper is to develop a plan for the development of Teach for America and discuss the main details related to it.

The development of the plan is associated with the expansion of the organization in the states where its branches are not yet represented. Their list includes, for example, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Maine, and Iowa. Notably, this list is quite extensive, so there are broad opportunities for the expansion. However, actions aimed at developing Teach for America in these states are necessary. The more the educational system of the country is accessible, the higher is the positive effect that it will bring. There are many ways to achieve this goal and promote the company. For instance, according to Appleby (2016), “strategic utilization of social media channels can produce a variety of nonfinancial benefits for NPO’s” (p. 7). Thus, it is crucial to use all available channels to develop the organization.

The creation of new branches of Teach for America is one of the crucial aspects of the organization’s strategic planning. Several essential factors support its relevance to the company’s functioning. First, as mentioned earlier, accessible education should be present in every region of the country. This will allow the educational system to develop organically and give many new opportunities. Second, the development of branches in more states will lead to increased interest in this organization in the rest of the country. This will attract attention from the broad public and, in particular, sponsors, which will allow Teach for America to develop. Third, recruiting new teachers in other states of America can be useful for the development of educational materials. This will also have a beneficial effect on the company’s future, as it will create a high-quality general training system. Thus, the development of new branches of Teach for America is one of the most important aspects of the organization’s strategic activities.

During the work on the described expansion, some obstacles may arise. One of the most important among them is financing (Khallouk & Robert, 2018). Teach for America is a nonprofit organization; therefore, it cannot always provide enough funds for development. However, attracting new teachers and developing schools needs a large-scale investment. Therefore, this will require external funding from the state or sponsors. Another obstacle is attracting students to learning, as they are not always ready for this. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the value of full-fledged education, which is why the organization has already faced this obstacle in the past. However, in any case, as a rule, people are happy about the opportunity to work with Teach for America, so this problem is not the most critical.

Strategic planning is one of the key areas for the development of Teach for America. This organization has a clear and beneficial goal, the achievement of which will be useful to many people in America. An expansion strategy is one of the most essential features of the company, which will allow them to work on their main idea. Despite the obstacles, Teach for America has enough support to achieve its goals, as the country’s population supports their goals. Thus, it can be argued that the creation of new branches in different states of America is an achievable result in the future.

References

Appleby, M. (2016). Nonprofit organizations and the utilization of social media: Maximizing and measuring return of investment. SPNHA Review, 12(1), 5-26

Haslam, A., Nesbit, R., & Christensen, R. K. (2019). The dynamic impact of nonprofit organizations: Are health-related nonprofit organizations associated with improvements in obesity at the community level? Nonprofit Policy Forum, 10(3).

Khallouk, M., & Robert, M. (2018). Obstacles to management innovation in nonprofit organizations: The case of an international nongovernmental organization. Journal of Innovation Economics & Management, 25(1), 183-210.

The New York City Community Schools Strategic Plan gives an insight into the Mayor’s educational agenda for school-going children. The vision is to achieve an equitable educational system through the expansion of community schools as the main strategy. This was informed by the existing achievement gap, especially among young people. As such, the expansion of the community schools and the creation of an enabling environment by the Department of Education will give the young people unlimited opportunities to learn and establish themselves as respectable members of the community. The expansion initiative is an extension of the Department of Education’s framework for Great Schools. According to the strategic plan, the administration aims to develop the next generation of Community Schools and put in place systems and structures that will address the issue of inequality in education in ways that foster sustainability. An assessment of the strategic plan reveals the unique way of its delivery, although all the basic elements that make up a proper strategic plan are included in the document.

An analysis of the New York City Community Schools Strategic Plan shows that all the basic elements of a strategic plan are included. Through the community schools’ expansion program, the New York City Department of Education, in conjunction with the Mayor, envisions the creation of an equitable education system that will help close the achievement gap in the community. Under the program, students will receive strong induction during the initial stages of learning, coupled with robust engagement and continuous improvement. To enable this agenda the office of the Mayor has a target of building 100 community schools, implementing strategies to advance the goals, and offering support to the existing community schools for the next several years. However, the vision and mission statements in the strategic plan are not highlighted systematically. Instead, they are included in the executive summary section.

Another noticeable feature of the strategic plan under subject is that the key enablers to the vision and mission have distinct strategies. In other words, the larger New York City Community Schools Strategic Plan contains other mini-strategies including funding, capacity building, and system building strategies. Each of the mini-strategy is set to achieve specific objectives that contribute to the attainment of the expansion goal. Action plans for the highlighted objectives of the strategic plan are clearly stipulated, the party responsible for each action and a projected timeframe for implementation is also provided. From this, one could deduce that the organization’s strategic goals are clearly stipulated in the plan. In addition, the objectives to achieve these goals are specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic, and time-bound (Bryson, 2011), indicating a high level of preciseness and pragmatism.

Although the delivery structure of the New York City Community Schools Strategic Plan appears to go against the conventional approach of delivery, all basic elements of a strategic plan are included therein. These include the vision, objectives, action plans, and control and measure mechanisms. Notably, the language used to explain various components of the plan including the vision, goals, and objectives is not only friendly but also relatable in every aspect thus fostering inclusivity and harmony in itself. Therefore, for this reason, I feel confident that I could explain to any member of the general public about the New City’s Department in regards to its role in society, purpose, and future direction.

References

Bryson, John, M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and NPOs: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organization achievement. John Wiley and Sons.

New York City Department of Education. New York City community schools strategic plan.

Personal goals

• Joining the university to further my education to a degree
• Get a part-time job to save enough to support me through the schooling stage.
• After school, get a job to help save enough to start my own business.
• Join a saving scheme with a bank or a Sacco society to help me manage my limited finances during schooling and to acquire a loan after schooling.

Personal core competencies

I am competent in information communication technology solutions e.g. computer programming, system analysis, and design, repair, and maintenance. I am also competent in fashion and design in the clothing industry. Also, I am talented in sports and leadership. I gained experience during earlier schooling where I played games like basketball and table tennis, participated in scouting, and journalism clubs. This earned me a leadership post in the students’ leadership union in college, which led students’ grievances to be approached systematically.

Competitive advantages

I started my information technology course from a technical training institution earning me a diploma in the same area, which mainly deals with the technical part of every course, like maintenance. Exposure to this course has made me making me multitask in any organization where I have worked. This saves money for the employer.

Another advantage is the ability to work long hours, competently, and with minimal supervision. Also, I trained as a fashion designer without any area of specification making me fit to work in every area of production in that field.

Personal situational analysis (SWOT)

Opportunities

There is the availability of ultra-modern technology and facilities. It is possible to use this technology and integrate it with my other interest in the fashion industry to come up with a formidable product. This business will be located around an industrial or academic environment, where there is the availability of a wide range of customers. There is a large demand for services such as photocopying, scanning of documents among others. Another opportunity is the fast-growing trend of online services in almost every institution of education and business. For instance, applications for employment require the internet, thus the introduction of cyber cafes to serve this need is another opportunity

Threats

Several threats are emerging which might make my progress slow. These include the emergence of competitors who are more financially stable, and who can introduce better technology that pushes competition to higher heights. This might lead to a loss of customers as well as income. Moreover, a lot of investment is required to match the ever-changing preferences of consumers and especially the youth.

Strengths

Open-mindedness is the most important of my strengths. I can think through and examine opportunities from all angles. Also, I can master new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one’s own or formally. I am Kind and I do favors as well as good deeds for others. I also have an attitude of endurance even in harsh and non-productive seasons. My experience in both information technology and fashion design makes my chances of excelling very high.

Weaknesses

One of my shortcomings is that I have little regard for my capabilities. A second weakness is that I am easily intimidated. Moreover, I have a spirit of competitiveness that forces me to do even the wrong things. This is disastrous, especially when there is an urgent thing to be done. Fear of failure in the field of concentration. For instance, strength could be your intelligence, your kindness, and/or your educational background. A weakness could be limited experience in your chosen field, distractibility, a tendency to be blunt. However, I am working hard to overcome these challenges in the next six months to gain better positioning in the competitive arena.

Personal Strategies

Using the internet, I intend to learn how one can use computers in art and design to use it to create clothing designs for sale in two years. Another strategy is to create a strict schedule within the three years as I further my studies. Moreover, I intend to join a certificate class on weekends to learn more about selling and marketing.

Assessing the effectiveness of these strategies

The effectiveness of these strategies will be assessed after every year by looking at my performance in school. It will also be assessed after every small achievement between the learning processes, for instance, after achieving a certificate in sales and marketing certificate. However, the overall assessment will be after five years after saving enough to start my own strong business.

Introduction

Malaysia is a great country located to the south of Asia. It is separated by south Asia into two regions; the West and East Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo respectively). It borders countries like Indonesia, Brunei, and Thailand, has a population of about 28 million people, and has a landmass totaling to 329,847 square kilometers.

Malaysia is a monarchy headed by an elected king. The legislative powers divided into two chambers; the senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). The country is divided into 13 states and 3 territories. The prime minster is the leader of government and head of cabinet.

Malaysia has maintained a robust economy since independence over 50 years ago. It has withstood economic turmoil that literally brought down giant economies over the years. Her economic prowess comes round as a result of favorable equatorial climate that has allowed flourishing forest cover, rubber production, palm oil and other natural resources.

he economic strength is seen in the high gloss national savings, low unemployment rate, net exports, educated workforce, stable financial markets, and government’s strong commitment to industrialization and promotion of free trade.

Malaysia is a key to international trade by its geographical location; which makes it a prime shipping route. The government has maintained a steadfast process of privatizing inefficient government organizations. It has also entered into business agreements with major world markets and is an active member of the Association of South East Asian nations (ASEAN) which has greatly increased trading frontiers.

Malaysia’s currency (Ringgit) has remained weaker than the American dollar with the government withdrawing it from the currency trading market and imposing strict surveillance which makes it hard to transfer more than 1,000 ringgits without approval from the government.

This has reduced the standing of her National bank (Negara Malaysia Bank) as an international financier. The government has continued to regulate key market operations such as the pricing of gasoline, rice, bread etc. a move meant to reduce the cost of living but weakening the economy as it denies competitive pricing and hence little profits.

Malaysia is has a unique blend of cultural and ethnic values with a vast majority of her people being the Malay who make 60 percent, Chinese who add up to 25 percent, and Indians who make 10 percent of the total Malaysian people. The elite Malays dominate the political spheres; however, Malaysia has huge gender discrimination.

The women are less empowered thus the economy is mostly male dominated. The education system is good; however, statistics indicate that Malaysians travel outside the country to pursue career in different fields; a phenomenon requiring some attention before hitting the ceiling. The health system has been maintained all time with most births occurring in hospitals and babies receiving great care; factors that have reduced child mortality rates.

There are however social downsides which are stemming up from the fast changing youth lifestyles; drug abuse cases being on the rise, poverty and now with unemployment quietly sneaking in, anguish and despair seems apparent among some Malaysians..

In her present economic state, and if it endeavors to attain and sustain a growth of 10% over the next 10 years, create a just and united society with equal access to development opportunities, secure and clean environment, and a democratic political system, Malaysia will attain a fully developed economy by the year 2020 as stipulated in her vision 2020. The crucial pillars to build a robust economy are divided into three; economic, social and political pillars.

The economic vision

To attain and maintain an economic growth of at least 10% percent starting from 2012 through 2020 while endeavoring to double the gross per capita income and enhancing full development of the ICT Industry.

Comparative advantage

The neo-classical economists state that a country has a comparative advantage when it engages in production of goods which use relatively large amount of input that are available in abundance in the country.

A developing country should create a sufficient domestic market to boost the production before it gains enough momentum to expand into the export sector. The key sector that would help Malaysia achieve greater comparative advantage is the economic sector which can be enhanced through value-addition by knowledge empowered people with highly advanced ICT industry.

Malaysia has maintained fairly impressive rates of unemployment and inflation at average 3.4 percent and 2.3 percent respectively over the last decade, figures that even well-to-do economies have so far struggled to attain.

On the other hand the economy has suffered quite a number of setbacks including constant deficits in the current account, unstable commodity prices and overdependence on electrical and electronic goods. Furthermore, it has remained susceptible to the negative global financial market effects due to over exposure through active trading in across the globe.

In addition the geographical location (middle south-east Asia) gives it absolute comparative advantage in that, it is a major shipping route and thus an important spot for international trade. Also the fact that it experiences the equatorial climate has greatly favored the production of rubber and palm oil.

By export, Malaysia is a leading exporter of electric and electronic goods. Higher comparative advantage can also be attained through trade engagement with countries such as the United States, Australia, Chile, European Union and India. This trade relationship is desirable because it will allow Malaysia to export goods that it posses high comparative advantage and import the goods that it boasts high comparative disadvantage.

Trade Barriers

Trade barriers are regulations by the government that aim at protecting and supporting infant economies from the global markets. Trade barriers can equally be detrimental to the economy because they limit trade within international markets. These trade restrictions would force people to increase consumption of locally produced goods, a fact if not moderated would eventually lead to increase in the cost of living. Malaysia imposes lower tariffs on raw material imports while increasing tariffs on value added goods.

These trade barriers can generally be classified into two categories; tariffs and non-tariffs. The former refers to direct taxation imposed on imports and the latter refers to subsidies, loans and aids, customs, quotas etc. The government has consistently remained alert to protect import sensitive sectors such as the construction, mining, automotive and agricultural industries through application of administrative strategies such as licensing designs.

Automotive industry trade barriers

Malaysia has for a long imposed protective tariffs to protect its automobile industry. Over the time, these trade barriers have declined in pursuit of fostering a free trade economy. The move to lift the trade barriers came as a result of forces from the world trade organization (WTO) and ASEAN with whom Malaysia had signed free trade agreements. The trend of lifting the protective tariffs in the motor industry declined from 40 percent to 20 percent in 2005 and further to 5 percent in 2008.

The government has however remained keen on regulating automotive imports. For instance, the ministry of international trade developed a system of approved permits to allow foreign automotive imports. This quota stands currently at 10 percent. Further there exist non- trade barriers in the automotive industry. These are standards and traffic regulations which aim at barring import of foreign vehicles that don’t comply with locally set standards.

Furthermore, the Malaysian government established industrial adjustment fund whose primary role is to promote local assembling of vehicles using local available resources. These incentives come in the form of tax deductions; however, this technique has failed to give a full impact as many of the small-scale operations are run by foreigners who cannot source their components locally and therefore do not benefit from this fund.

Standards, testing, labeling and certification

Malaysia has developed requirements that packaged foods sold in the Malaysian market must display the nutrition content information. These regulations are directed at filtering out foods that pose health hazards such as foods with high cholesterol and sodium levels. Compliance to these regulations requires importers to conduct a very labor intensive and costly exercise of testing and labeling packaged foods at the port of entry. Further, the government maintains tight regulations on imports of meat products, and poultry products.

The ministry of Agriculture, the department of veterinary services is mandated to carry inspections and approve the organizations that can be allowed to export such goods to Malaysia. In addition the production of these products must meet the Islamic regulations, which are reinforced through the department of Islam development (JAKIM). The two organizations jointly upon visiting the site of operation issue certification to allow export of meat and poultry products.

Government procurement

Malaysia is not a signatory to the world trade organization’s government procurement agreement (GPA). It therefore has openly pursued policies that are explicitly discriminatory and geared to promote Malaysia’s public policy objectives.

These policies include, empowering local Malays, revamping the ICT in local industries, reducing outflow of foreign exchange, creating development opportunities for the domestic companies, and enhance the country’s export power. Therefore, foreign companies do not have a level playing field when competing for contract awards. The government has also received criticism more so from the U.S who claims that the contract awarding process for government projects and procurement lacks transparency.

Export subsidies

Malaysian government established a financing scheme, the export credit-refinancing scheme, which is operated by the central bank in collaboration with commercial banks and other financing agencies to promote export. In addition the government offers other incentives which include double deductions of expenses incurred in promotion activities such as advertisement, free product samples, travel, marinating sales offices, and research in the export markets.

Intellectual property and rights

Malaysia is a member of world intellectual property organization (WIPO). It is also a party to Berne convention for the protection of literally and artistic works. This has bestowed obligations under the WTO TRIP’s agreement to protect intellectual property. Efforts to deliver under these obligations have suffered several downsides which include optical medial piracy, pharmaceutical and trademarked consumer products.

The challenges inherent are high circulation of pirated materials such CDs, counterfeit medicine, unregistered generic medicine producers, and pirated consumer products. These are both pirated in Malaysia or smuggled from foreign markets such as china, Thailand and India. The government has not succeeded in curbing the vice of piracy due to lack of trained capacity in the country.

Service barriers

Malaysia disregarded the provisions in the WTO basic communication agreement and instead pursued discriminatory policies in to safeguard public interests.

In the communication sector, it partially adopted WTO guidelines but imposed restrictions that foreign companies cannot own more than 30 percent equity stake. These restrictions are to benefit the government controlled Telekom Malaysia. Other barriers exist in the distribution of services. Locally incorporated direct selling organizations must allow 30 percent Bumiputera equity.

Further, the licensing practice levy local distributers lowly as compared to foreign companies. There’s also express requirement that all departmental stores and supermarkets to reserve 30 percent of the shelf- space for local produced products. The service industry is further restricted to bar participation of foreigners in fields such as, banking accounting and taxation, architectural, engineering and legal services. On the other hand, sectors such as insurance, security and broadcasting have allowed penetration of foreign participants.

Investment barriers

Malaysia encourages direct investment in export oriented and ICT industries; however restrictions remain high for the other sectors. For instance, the ownership of local companies by foreigners is set at 30 percent and foreign companies can be allowed to operate through joint ventures with local companies. The major challenge being experienced by Malaysia is acute shortage of trained and skilled technical employees for the electronic sector. On the other hand, there exist no barriers in the electronic commerce.

Balance of payments and exchange rate system

Malaysia has for a long time sustained a favorable surplus of balance of payments. This trend started in the 1960 through 1970s but was disrupted in 1981 when it first recorded deficits in BOP due to weakening of world prices of tin, crude oil, rubber, palm oil, and other major exports.

Later after the recession, the economy picked recording surpluses once again due to increased exports. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “Malaysia is currently using a managed floating exchange rate regime with no predetermined path for the exchange rate”.

The central bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia) administers the exchange control system. It’s often seen making market interventions through open market operations. In my view this exchange rate should be adjusted because Malaysia is fast developing and a fully developed and stable finance market would benefit more in a floating regime.

The way forward

To achieve the stipulated economic goals, the following strategies should be implemented and continuously evaluated through a five year span beginning in 2012. The first phase should be to change of the trade policies to foster macroeconomic stability for a long term economic developments.

The policies should also encourage free trade and reduce government barriers. For instance, the government has continuously regulated pricing of fuel and food; a strategy that has hindered competitive pricing and thus limited profits. The public sectors have for long failed to utilize resources in an efficient manner to offer value added services to the public. This can be reversed through enhancing the education system to ensure a motivated and trained staff in the government organizations.

The second strategy involves initiations by the government to stimulate innovation and sustainability. The government should structure policies to encourage investments in research and developments. Research and development can be directly initiated by government through grants, incentives and rewards for inventions and creativity.

In addition the government should support innovations of new manufacturing technologies and revamping of the education curriculum to train ICT and other relevant skills to drive various sectors in the economy. To achieve these major developments in the economy and to enable Malaysia to participate competitively in the global arena, all parties need to unite and pursue this goal as one entity.

Neo-classical theories hold that, for a country to gain comparative advantage over the rest with similar resource endowment, it should employ technology; a vehicle that will catapult it to the finishing line. Technology cannot occur naturally; therefore, there is need to pursue it with a strong commitment, hard work and political will. The training institutions should aggressively pursue science and encourage research and development to nurture the technological pillar as one of the economical strengths.

Trade barriers have increasingly denied Malaysia opportunities to attain her full potential in comparative advantage. Malaysia’s trade policies compel the locals to consume locally manufactured goods has made the counterfeit products to gain popularity. Therefore, the measures that would boost the growth of the economy would include outsourcing trained personnel to run the key sectors which are export oriented.

Balance of payment is admirable when it is a surplus. Malaysia needs to maintain a surplus balance of payments to continue strengthening her currency. This can be attained if the government pursues to gain competitive advantage through concentrating on production of goods that it are more favored. In addition, the country should endeavor to consume less of foreign products and services.

It should also be noted that the country’s economy will thrive better with advancement in and use of technological methods for manufacturing and production.

This will further foster and nurture innovation and research. The implementation of the afore-highlighted strategies will involve several government ministries and the private sectors to fully leap the fruits of a health and developed economy. Monitoring and evaluation processes will range between six months and one year for short-term strategies and five years for long term projects.

Conclusion

The findings of the paper posit several strengths and weaknesses in Malaysia’s economy. The robust economy that Malaysia had attained and maintained for over 50 years since it attained independence is attributable to several factors. The factors revolve around three pillars of development. Firstly, the cohesive society composed of the ethnical diversity of Malays, Chinese, Indians form a great population of the Malaysian people. Secondly, political will and democracy has nurtured a favorable ground for the economy to thrive in.

Similarly, the political system has created setbacks because it seemingly promotes social policies and objectives more than complying with international trade and economical agreements for example the WTO and the ESEAN, organizations which Malaysia holds membership. Finally, the geographical locations bestow on Malaysia major privileges. The benefits include favorable climatic conditions for agriculture, it’s a key shipping route hence a major player in international trade.

The setbacks and strong points are elucidated through the paper beginning with analysis of the trade barriers, comparative advantage, balance of payments and the exchange rate system. Further, the study presents an elaborate strategic improvement plan for the Malaysian economy over the next 10 years and it has been tailored to fit into the economic vision 2020 whose implementation is underway. If the proposed measures are implemented, Malaysia will be on its way to economic prosperity.

Works Cited

IMF. De Facto Classification of Exchange Rate Regimes and Monetary Policy Frameworks, 2008. Web.

Brief history

Barclays bank was founded in 1690 in the city of London, which has remained its headquarters to date (Berclays Bank PLC, 2011). From a meager start, the company has gradually but steadily grown to become a key player in the banking industry.

Through its parent company and a host of other subsidiary companies, the firm has diversified its services to investment and corporate banking, retail banking, credit cards, and wealth management.

Currently, the bank’s reputation is universally acclaimed, with a customer base of forty eight million customers in fifty countries.

According to Dr., James, the local branch Human Resource Manager, the journey to the top has been long fought, but staying on top against the prevailing market competition is the company’s primary objective (S. James, personal communication, April 7, 2012).

Strategic plans

As an international firm, Barclays Bank faces stiff competition on the international platform. Most of its competitors are firms well endowed with financial might such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and Lloyd Banking group.

Remaining profitable in such a market is a formidable challenge that requires excellent strategic measures. This far, the bank has been able to grow its customer base, thereby increasing its profitability through offering relatively lower interest rates on loans, and more personalized customer experience.

However, as globalization gains momentum, the already fierce competition is expected to intensify. As a result, the company intends to adopt many strategic options to gain a competitive edge.

1. Exploit the Middle East market
2. Launch massive marketing campaigns across the globe
3. Reduce social responsibility programmes, which already consume a lot of money
4. Seek funding through issuing of shares but not debts
5. Pursue mergers and acquisitions

Dr. James’ Roles as Human Resource Manager

As the branch human resource manager, Dr. James is responsible for many tasks relating to human capital. First, he is responsible for recruitment, selection, and placement of personnel. In liaison with the operations manager, they identify areas of shortage; establish the required qualifications for the position before organizing for interviews.

He is also responsible for organizing training and development of employees. Training needs are essential for employees to remain competitive. It also ensures that the quality of employees’ services is unrivaled. After identifying training needs, he contacts the executive manager for approval and then contacts the finance officer for funding.

Additionally, Dr. James is responsible for employees’ discipline. With over 152 employees holding different capacities in the bank, cases of indiscipline cannot be ruled out. He says, “Despite the gravity of the case, the approach of handling it can make a great difference.”

Manpower planning also falls under his docket. In liaison with all departmental heads, he finds out how many employees are required to complete departmental tasks and assign them.

He is, therefore, responsible for defining the scope of every job for employees. Finally, yet importantly, together with other managers, he is responsible for setting specific management policies for organizational leadership.

Applying Open Systems and Training Models to The Company

Describe any additions, alterations, or substitutes for the Models that you discover.

As a branch of an international bank, the bank adopts many strategic resolutions made at the headquarters. However, this is subject to the evaluation of the branch executive manager and other managers. This reevaluation is meant to ensure that any operational model adapted is in line with the banks local communities’ beliefs, values, and economic situation. As a result, the bank has been able to attract more customers and hence become highly profitable.

The bank’s management values training as a key component of growth. As such, their training process has been modeled to ensure little expenditure with high results. They call it “a high return less investment” programme (S. James, personal communication, April 7, 2012).

Instead of the traditional training process model involving analysis of the current situation and establishing training needs, designing of a training programme, developing training materials, implementing of training and carrying out an evaluation to establish the effectiveness of the training, which can take months, the company employs a daily evaluation and mini trainings.

After setting organizational goals, the goals are broken down into small tasks, which are then assigned to each employee. The goals are further broken into daily targets. Employees who meet their targets assist those who fail to through giving tips. This has proven remarkably effective and minimized frequent training needs.

Reference

Berclays Bank PLC. (2011). Annual Business Report. London: Barclays Bank.