Marketing Case Study: Accenture

Byron Hernandez Marketing September 5, 2012, 2012 Module 5 – Activity 5. 6 CASE STUDY: Accenture 1. How did Accenture transfer the brand equity from its original name, Andersen Consulting, to the new company name? The way that Accenture transferred brand equity from its original name to the new company name was by specially branding the new one, and looking at a new name as a fresh start, re-introducing itself to its customers, and the world.With a new name, this allows them to start fresh without the backdrop of a history, and especially since the name was created by one of its employee’s, they took a big risk in going with a ‘made-up’ name, which after extensive research and implementing important decisions, seems to have paid off very well for the company, both literally and figuratively. What they did was effectively transfer their new idea to customers, all the same time implanting their marketing strategy.An example of this was while advertising in th e newspaper, and an anticipated ‘new’ beginning at the start of the following year with a clipping on the bottom corner of their pages. Accenture used advertisement wisely as well as carefully identified the four characteristics that have an affect the marketing service. The divorce from Anderson ended up being a good thing for Accenture. 2. Evaluate the Accenture brand name using the six criteria detailed in the chapter.There are six different criteria that are detailed in this chapter that can be used to evaluate the Accenture brand. The first one says that it should suggest something about the product’s benefits and qualities. For this particular example, Accenture is clear on that. The word is a combination of accent and future. They wanted to re-invent themselves, market a new name, while keeping the companies values for what they really were, and what separated themselves from their parent company.Having an accented future, or perhaps having an accent and a future easily distinguished this firm from its parent company and not only was a new innovator born, but not much was lost in the transferring and separation. The second one is that it should be easy to pronounce, recognize, and remember. It could be debatable on how to pronounce Accenture, depending on your grammatical education, yet it does have a flow, it is recognizable, and can be remembered. It has a futuristic feel to it, and incredibly is a made up word.Third, the brand name should be distinctive. Clearly, Accenture wins a gold medal for this one. You can’t get more creative than coming up with your very own name for a company, and making up a word that puts a label on a $15 billion dollar company, isn’t the easiest task to do. The fourth criteria; says that the name should be extendable. For Accenture it could have a million possibilities, unless you knew the history of the company, or how they were formed, you could potentially guess that Accenture was a car company.Fifth, the name should translate easily into foreign languages. I’m not so sure about this one, given that Accenture is combination of two words in the English language, but it could have a French origin feel to it. The last criteria, mentioned in this chapter say that the name should be capable of registration and legal protection. Clearly with a word that is made up, I think the legal infringes become significantly low and can easily be registered. 3. How did Accenture use the requirement to rename the company as an opportunity to reposition itself?Accenture used these requirements to rename the company and as an opportunity to reposition itself by giving new definition to the company. With a new name, and a made up name, it allowed for the company to start with a name that didn’t have any history which allows them to put themselves in the market with new explanations of who they are, and what exactly they do. This ‘divorce’ from the parent comp any, essentially not only opened new market opportunities with their customer base, but allowed room for new customers as it being a company they had never heard of.

Globalization and Transnational Terrorism Defined Essay

The world nowadays is facing what is terrorism. Terrorism can be defined as the threat or use of violence with the intent of causing fear in a target group, in order to achieve some objectives e. g. political , where as Globalization is a process rather than an outcome. It is best defined as â€Å"the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and deepening impact of interregional flows and patterns of interaction†. 4 Today’s â€Å"globalization† is a product of the 1990s. Globalization is a critical feature of the context in which transnational terrorism has grown. Despite the tendency to view the current transnational terrorist threat as having religious inspiration, it is more accurate to see it as being motivated, at least in part, by the inequalities between nations as well as within them. It was after Sept. 11th when the US was attacked by the terrorists , the very discourse of international relations and global politics has been transformed. Before the event of Sept. 11th, the important and most talked about issues were geo-economics in nature. International Submits and organization had agendas of Globalization and humanitarian. But now geopolitics and security concerns have once again become the central issue . There were many improvements regarding politically front where there became a consensus that democracy was not only the best but also the only legitimate way of organizing modern polities. the globalization of the economy was a foregone conclusion as nations scrambled to liberalize their economies in order to live up to the new standards set by the World Trade Organization whereas In the social arena, lifestyle and tastes shaped by multinational consumer corporations were well on the way to change the global popular culture. But just after the Sept. 11th event there was great sense of insecurity that because of terrorism inspired the US economy and the government, the two most important forces behind globalization, and that has resulted in a reassertion of sovereignty by the US and other nations. The fear that liberal standards are facilitating terrorism is causing the US and other European Union members to control transborder transactions. There are efforts to stop the resources moving from one place to another and this has lead to greater scrutiny of banks and setting up of strict measures that will prevent the flow of capital. There is a trend today’s more VISA restriction , keeping an eye on the foreigners just because to prevent any mishap. Governments are engaged in international cooperation in order to monitor the flow of information, people and monies across countries. These measures have resulted in the change of priorities in which means that cost is now second to security. If this state of affairs persists, globalization be retarded and the very instruments that facilitate and accelerate globalization will be blunted. Globalization and Transnational Terrorism Defined Before exploring the relationship between globalization and transnational terrorism, it is very necessary to understand what often politicized and misinterpreted terms. Globalization is a process rather than an outcome. It is best defined as â€Å"the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and deepening impact of interregional flows and patterns of interaction†. Modern globalization has taken place in three forms: economic, cultural and political, each with its distinct features and effects. Transnational terrorism is terrorism that has transcended the confines of the territorially defined nation-state in terms of both its objectives and operations. Transnational terrorist groups are usually characterized by a universals ideology, enhanced mobility and communication networks, multinational sources of recruitment and funding, and cross-border operations. Kegley, (2002) Globalization as a Motivation for Terror Globalization is a critical feature of the context in which transnational terrorism has grown. Despite the tendency to view the current transnational terrorist threat as having religious inspiration, it be of no doubt that a part of transnational terrorism is motivated by the inequalities between nations as well as within them . Globalization has its fair share of â€Å"discontents†, while terrorists have always â€Å"aimed to exploit the frustrations of the common people†. Stapley , (2006). Globalization, in its various penetrative forms of westernization, secularization, democratization, consumerism and the growth of market capitalism, represents an onslaught to less privileged people in conservative cultures. It is certain through globalization U. S threaten traditions, religion and way of life, while bringing unfair distributions of wealth and power. This way, the growth of disgruntled communities has proven to be the primary source of recruitment and support for transnational terrorists globally. Nassar(2004) Through Cultural globalization western life and values are projected throughout the world via media and internet. Because of this some Countries feels this has an attack on their religious teachings and cultural traditions, and is generating movements of resistance, including support for transnational terrorism. Finally, terrorism can most importantly be traced to a fundamental motivation – the struggle for power. US has been very much benefited by the Political globalization where they formed strong alliances with national governments, including undemocratic and oppressive ones. US in order to protect its strategies interests extents its military might internationally, it also supports oppressive regimes and its the presence of US forces in Saudi Arabia, are some of the things that is not accepted by many countries. Therefore, to the extent that the economic, cultural and political dimensions of the US-led global order impinge upon and undermine Middle Eastern and/or Muslim ways of life, or at least are seen to do so, it elicits from militant Islamists and their supporters violent responses framed in the idiom. Nassar (2004) Globalization as an Enabler of Terror While terrorism aims to repel US-led globalization, it has concurrently harnessed globalization’s features in three primary ways, †¢ Through the exploitation of: new technologies. †¢ Global financial networks. †¢ reduced barriers to cross-border interactions Because of the above points modern transnational terrorism is and can be very dangerous. Globalization has enabled transnational terrorism through the exploitation of new technologies . Globalization age is known as the Information Revolution age , where revolution of computing , telecommunications and data – transfer took place . Making a proper use of these technological advancements such has internet , mobile phones and satellite telecommunications terrorist –related activities have increased their efficiency , coordination in operations , and communication between national and international borders. And it is only because of globalization features that terrorist activities or terrorism is no longer confined to a single nation or boundary but it now enjoys expanded range. It is also with the help of advance telecommunications network hat now transnational terrorist groups have defined there organizational structures , sharing principles of horizontal rather than vertical organizational structures. Transnational terrorists organizations are broadening their reach in financial resources too. They have global financing networks that include legal non-profit charities and businesses, as well as illegal activities such as drug smuggling and kidnapping. Kesselman , (2006) Globalization as an Obstacle to Counter-Terrorism Globalization have contributed a lot in the transnational terrorism with its new capabilities in all sectors , and this impedes the ability of nation-states to fight against terrorism effectively . The Existence of electronic commerce has weaken the abilities of the states to track , locate and prosecute the illegal activities in the cyber space and this has also played an important role in the effectiveness of the transnational terrorism. Even International institutions have not been up to the mark to promote international law and this has led to an increase in activities by transnational terrorist groups such as money laundering and arms trafficking which are considered as a criminal acts under international law.. In short , global law enforcement instruments have played little if any role in the fight against global terrorism Conclusion The relationship between globalization and transnational terrorism is one that has not been under consideration in current counter-terrorism efforts. When the characteristic of globalization can facilitates transnational terrorism, globalization can be used as a weapon against it. Therefore , its very necessary to first find out the relationship between globalization and terrorism before its too late . References : †¢ Nassar ,Jamal R. (2004). Globalization and Terrorism: The Migration of Dreams and Nightmares (Globalization (Lanham, MD. ). ). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. †¢ Mazru , Ali Alamin i , Kafrawi , Shalahudin and Sebuharara ,Ruzima (2004). Islam: Between Globalization & Counter-terrorism. Africa World Press. †¢ Stapley , Lionel (2006). Globalization and Terrorism: Death of a Way of Life. Karnac Books †¢ Combs , Cynthia C. (2005). Terrorism in the 21st Century (4th Edition). Prentice Hall. †¢ Kegley,Charles W. (2002). The New Global Terrorism: Characteristics, Causes, Controls. Prentice Hall. †¢ Baylis , John B,Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (2008). The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford University Press. †¢ Kesselman , Mark (2006). The Politics of Globalization: A Reader. Houghton Mifflin.

Key Issues in the Development E-Business Strategies Relating To the Essay

Key Issues in the Development E-Business Strategies Relating To the Education Sector in UK - Essay Example The researcher states that an internal audit and competitor analysis would help evaluate the stand that Conde Nast has taken. This can be through SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis. SWOT analysis reveals the internal strengths and weakness which helps the organization evaluate the opportunities that the market presents. It also makes the organization cognizant of its weaknesses which can help it revise its strategy. Enjoys excellent reputation and authority of the brand which puts them in a strong position to teach and inspire the fashion and decorating talent of the future. The college principal designate is the editor of Easy Living and has been the deputy editor of Vogue for five years. The editor-turned teacher would be a valuable connection for the students as they would receive practical knowledge of the industry. Because of their links with the fashion world, they would be able to offer unique insights into the industry. The group creates and develops lifes tyle and business brands online. They have a stronghold in the fashion industry. They also have online and e-commerce experience because of their base unit – publishing. Conde Nast has no prior experience in the field of education. A major lifestyle and publishing house getting into education is something that may not be very attractive to the prospective students/fashion designers. The editor, named as the Principal, has no teaching experience. They may have problems securing internships for their students because of lack of educational background and especially in the field of fashion. They have yet to find a director with experience in the field to run the school. They have been losing revenue in their publishing as there has been a shift from traditional advertising to digital advertising. They need to have collaboration with a University of repute to be able to award degrees. They intend to offer a ten-week intensive course as well as a one-year fashion foundation course . By using the editors as teachers the Group also ensures they get the designs they want to feature in their magazine.

Drivers for adopting public-private construction partnerships in the Term Paper

Drivers for adopting public-private construction partnerships in the US, UK and Australia - Term Paper Example This study also narrows the gap in the literature by collecting primary empirical data from interviews with construction company managers and owners in the US with a view to understanding their perspectives on the drivers for adopting PPPs. The results of this study are discussed and implications for practice and areas for further research are identified. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Study Scope and Objectives 5 Research Methodology 5 Organization of the Research Report 6 A Review of Literature 6 Conceptualization of Public-Private Construction Partnerships 6 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in the US, UK and Australia 9 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in the US 9 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in the UK 11 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in Australia 13 Summary of Findings in the Literature 14 Empirical Evidence 14 Secondary Data: Australia 14 Secondary Data: The UK 17 Primary Empirical Evidence 19 Analysis 22 Implications for Pract ice 23 Areas for Further Research 23 Bibliography 25 Introduction Public-private partnerships (PPP), also known as P3s are contractual arrangements between governments and private entities/concessionaires for the construction of facilities. Under the P3 contract, the private investor typically funds the construction phase of the facility and is usually entitled to share revenues associated with the facilities (Rowlson, 2012). In addition to sharing revenues, the private entity involved in a PPP also assumes some of the risks associated with the construction project (Hodge, 2004). As a part of a trend toward more privatization of public services, the UK has increasingly adopted PPPs for the construction of government infrastructure (Spackman, 2002). A similar trend can be observed in the US with 23 states legislating for PPPs (Rowlson, 2012). PPPs have also become a part of government public management systems in Australia (English, 2006). Ke, et al. (2009) conducted a review of lite rature on PPPs and examined peer-reviewed articles published between 1998 and 2008. Findings indicate that research into PPPs have steadily increased from 1998 to 2008 revealing an increasing importance to the construction industry. The most popularly researched areas was the â€Å"build-operate-transfer† form of the PPP with some interest in investment conditions, governance and other areas that tend to compliment PPPs (Ke, et al., 2009, p. 1076). It would therefore appear that the drivers of PPPs is under-researched. As, Hodge and Greve (2007) note, although there is intensive interest in the popularity of PPPs, little is understood about these new partnerships in the context of traditional partnerships. Bovaird (2004) argue that although PPPs have become increasingly popular globally over the last 25 years, the definition of PPPs is difficult to conceptualize as it means different things, depending on the country involved and the project to which it applies. Thus further r esearch is necessary for gaining a more profound understanding of PPPs, what the future of PPPs are and how best to model PPPs. This research will therefore add to current knowledge on PPPs by comparing the drivers of PPPs in the UK, the US and Australia. The UK, US and Australia are selected for this study because empirical and

CEO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CEO - Essay Example The existence of defective products put the company at risk of defective product liability. â€Å"When a person is injured by a defective product, they may be able to sue the manufacturer or seller of that product in a defective product lawsuit† (Freeadvice, 2012). The company must take immediate action to eliminate any defective product units in the marketplace. A move that can ensure that the general public is protected is by issuing a product recall. The product recall idea will be verbally presented to the CEO and the directors during the upcoming meeting. Due to the urgency of the matter the directors will vote on the matter at the end of the meeting to implement the recall procedure immediately after the action is voted on. Allowing customers to get injured without warning them about the defects would be a socially irresponsible move. The CEO of the company should vote in favor or the recall because this measure legally protects the company against potential customer law suits. The measure also positively impacts the corporate image of the company. The recall measure is a reactive policy that serves as a quick fix to the situation. The company has a greater problem they must deal with. The company has a quality control problem. ... The company will develop a new manufacturing procedure that complies with all safety requirements to ensure the optimal quality control of the product. The customers will be notified about the product recall by notifying local news stations about the recall so that they make a public notification during their newscasts. All the customers will be called to their homes and a letter will be send as well. It is imperative for the company to properly notify the customers about defective product units. The company has to take measures to ratify the problem. The internal control audit will provide management with a serious of ideas on how to fix the problem based on properly identifying its roots. If the firm is not able to determine how to fix the problem based on the results of the internal audit the company should hire an external consultant to intervene. Assuming that the firm can develop a new manufacturing procedure on its own the firm should be able to solve their quality control pro blem internally. A control mechanism that the company will start implementing is performing a physical check of the unit prior to packaging the merchandise. The company will also extend a one year warranty on its products. The new warranty offering will be mailed to all the customers. Quality control problems are important issues that need the immediate attention of the corporate directors of an enterprise. Bad quality can tarnish the reputation of a company and it can hurt its brand value. Branding is a technique that allows companies to charge a premium price for its products and services (Kotler, 2003). The production and engineering

Comments on BP 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comments on BP 3 - Essay Example The company will outsource some of its operations and will enter into a contract with the website development company in order to come up with attractive website. The team has effectively defined and elaborated all important elements and processed involved in the operation and transaction. The team has also included the elements of customer service and customer relationship management in order to make sure that the high customer value is provided to all customers. The company will also use social media techniques in order to market and promote the website and attract more traffic. The business model of the company is bit complicated as it involves several virtual links and partners. But the business model canvas provided by the team in the appendix has made it easier to comprehend the complete links and connections among all important partners and also has explained clearly how the business will operate. Lastly, the team has been able to calculate the cost behind the whole business model and has included all important costs and expenses in order to come up with more realistic figures. The major strength of this business plan is the testing of the product at the target market before launching it. This will allow the company to come up with the final product which accords with the needs and demands of the customers and there will be relatively less chances of rejection or failure. All the feedbacks and comments generated as a result of this pre-launch testing will be used by the company in order to improve the final product. This testing also allowed the company to identify the most profitable target segment. The company relies on heavy input from the customers and devises strategies accordingly. This, in turn, will allow increasing the customers’ satisfaction and attracting more customers. The main idea behind the whole business is to provide the eating products to the customers on mobile trucks and vehicles. This will allow the company

Brand management, Managing price discounting and its possible impact Assignment

Brand management, Managing price discounting and its possible impact on Brand equity - Assignment Example 11 Kotler, P & Caslione, J.A. (2009). Chaotics: the business of managing and marketing in the age of turbulence. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. 11 Saxena, R. (2005). Marketing Management. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. 11 Schultz, D.E. et.al. (1998). Sales promotion essentials: the 10 basic sales promotion techniques-- and how to use them. McGraw-Hill Professional. 11 Introduction Price promotions are also known as price discounting. Most companies adjust the list price of the products and allow discounts to get early payments, purchase at a high volume and off season buying. Price discounting has become the mode of operation for almost all the companies. Some of the products tend to be always on sale. Companies having overcapacity of products gives more discounts. The manufacturer should stop the discounting rate at which they offer to the retailers. This practice may results in losing the long term profits. Kevin Clancy had found that about 15% to 35% of the buyers are price sensitive . People with higher level of income are willing to pay more for better products, quality customer service and for the brand name. Thus this can prove to be harmful for strong and distinctive brands. On the other hand price discounting can also prove to be useful only if the company gains a concession (Kotler, 1972, p.390). Brand equity is defined as the brands perception in the minds of the consumers. It is about how the employees, customers, the stakeholders and the consumers feel for a particular brand. Brand equity is driven by four factors such as perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association and brand loyalty (Knapp, 2000, p.2). Price discounting Price discounting is used to accomplish different goals. One of the primary reasons for price discounting is to dispose of the remaining inventory from the previous seasons and stocking in with new merchandise in the stores and the warehouse. This practice is usually preferred by those companies who tend to change their select ions of merchandise. Another reason of price discounting is to encourage the consumers to visit the retail outlet. Such strategies are widely used by grocery stores, drug and discount stores where the consumer buys in a bulk. The use of price discounting is known as bait and switch. Price discounting is also done by retailers in order to create price discrimination between different consumers. This is a process which targets both the price sensitive and price insensitive consumers. The other set of consumers prefers buying when products are put up on sale rather than from competitive retailers. Sometimes retailers offers product at a discounting rate so that the company can have an upper hand from new competitors as well as from the existing ones (Schultz, et.al, 1998, p.188). Objectives for Price Discounting Pricing is one of the biggest pitfalls that a management deals during optimal economy. But pricing involves a lot of risk when the economy is not stable. Price discounting does work well to achieve the objectives of the company. A retailer prefers price discounting in order to meet their targets and objectives. Price discounting always involves risk, especially when it is not done correctly. It can hamper the business (Kotler & Caslione, 2009, p.58). Therefore there are certain objectives which are well suited for price discounting whereas other is not preferred. The objectives are set by the retailers, in order to achieve the set goals they offer

Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Tort Law - Essay Example This additional amount is known as punitive damages. Similarly, there may be situations whereby the plaintiff may file an injunction which prevents the defendant from injuring him or her or from invading one of his or her property. Tort laws are laws instituted to offer compensation to persons who have been harmed due to the irrational actions of a second or third party. The claims in tort generally involve state law, and are based on the postulation that individuals are at all times liable for their own actions, if it either directly or indirectly results in the injury of others. Tort law constitutes a branch of private law that is also characterized by contract law, property law and restitution. A tort law has a distinctive capability of transferring the problems of a victim plaintiff, to another person, the defendant2. In the tort law, the duty of care is that legal obligation that is imposed upon a person requiring that the individual stick to the standard of reasonable care in c ourse of executing any acts that can foreseeable harm other individuals. In order to establish whether there was an act of negligence in this case or not, there is need to first consider if the Healthy Organics Ltd, Maahir, Harry, the paramedics, Fred as well as the Surgeon who used a \ new non-invasive technique who can be regarded as defendants in this case, owed the plaintiffs (the affected individuals) a duty of care. In other words, are the five reasonably responsible for the injuries sustained by Syed, Maisy, Tom, Gerry, and Robert? As it is in this case, it is certain that there was a duty of care that is imposed by law that the defendants in this case breached and as provided by law such individuals are subject to liability. Exploration The article under analysis comprises of a number of cases that lie within the context of tort. The first is a scenario whereby a tort suit is applicable is in the case against Maahir, who is in possession of work man tools that aid him in eff ectively undertaking his work. As such, he is tasked with the obligation of ensuring the tools he uses are kept away safely, lest they inflict injury on any second or third party. Regrettably this is what unerringly materialized. Via a series of events made probable by laxity on the part of Maahir, Syed, an innocent child, is hurt. Explicitly, this set-up is characterized by elements of strict liability. Strict liability entails the plaintiff ascertaining, beyond a doubt, the defendant had an obligation to guarantee something was kept safe. Subsequently, the defendant failed to perform this duty, thus, leading to injury of the plaintiff. In this case, there was foreseeability as the random and careless placing of tools in an environment characterized by children was bound to eventuate in injury. In this occasion, Maahir had a liability on the injury sustained by Syed. When this case is looked into closely, there exists negligence on the part of Maahir. However, Syed must prove that he was a primary victim of negligence. In the ruling Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire3, it was ruled that primary victims only have to prove that the injury was foreseeable. Furthermore, there is no need to establish that psychiatric injury was indeed foreseeable4. As such, under this criterion then Maahir is liable for the injury sustai

The Relationship Between Individuals and Government Research Paper

The Relationship Between Individuals and Government - Research Paper Example The primary question when understanding social contracts is to determine how society governs itself. Locke attributes this to the notion of natural law and says that social norms turn artificial in the midst of a contract. He believes that individuals are guided mainly by natural reasoning and must adhere to certain limitations under the law. However, people are often misguided by their own selfish interests and may break this protocol. Thus, Locke reasons that people require a social contract that is governed by natural law. Social contract and harmony are enforced through a set of public institutions, which enforce law and order according to predefined doctrines besides taking corrective actions in case of aberrations on the part of people or institutions (Morris, 2009). On the other hand, Rousseau adopts a more philosophical approach by including political factors into the social phenomenon. Using concepts like the sovereign state and the rights of people, Rousseau explains that a social contract allows people to place their power and trust with the common will of the state and motivates them to contribute to the latter’s progress as an indivisible component. Thus, the precondition for a social contract is a collective entity that caters to the human, societal and political ambitions of the state (Winfield, 2008). The elements constituting this collective body are the individuals themselves, who exist and thrive under a set of laws proclaimed by the ‘collective’ state.

Demonstrate Enhanced Self Awerness, Interpersonal and Self-Managment Essay

Demonstrate Enhanced Self Awerness, Interpersonal and Self-Managment Skills When Establishing and Maintaining Professional and T - Essay Example Prior to conclusion, the student will reflect on his/her personal skills and highlight one action point for each that will benefit you in maintaining professional and therapeutic relationship. Literature Review The process of establishing a strong nurse-patient relationship could result from a constant or regular interplay or covert negotiation between the nurse and the patients until both parties are able to reach a mutual and satisfying relationship (Morse, 1991). Depending on the time spent between the nurses and the patients, nurses are expected to build trust and meet the individual needs of each patient. According to Morse (1991), nurses who are not willing or failed to commit themselves to the patients would end up forming a unilateral relationship rather than a nurse-patient relationship. ... Caring is the central force when developing nurse-patient relationship that aims to protect the patient’s dignity (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 72; Astedt-Kurki et al., 2007). Therefore, developing trust between the nurse and the patient is important (Yamashita and Mound, 2005). For nurses to be able to successfully perform the seven nursing roles (i.e. the stranger role, resource role, teaching role, counselling role, surrogate role, leadership role, and technical expert role) in caring for the patients, Peplau emphasizes the need for nurses to communicate and be a good listener to the patient (Courey et al., 2008). For example, by listening to the specific needs and personal experiences of the patients, the nurses will be able to have a better understanding on how they should provide caring and treatment to the patients without causing any unnecessary internal conflict between the two parties involved (Di Joseph and Cavendish, 2005). Communication skills can affect the success or failure of a nurse-patient relationship. Therefore, nurses should be aware of their choices of words, sentence structure, and tone of voice (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 427). In most cases, patients who are emotionally happy and satisfied with the development of nurse-patient relationship are more open in revealing their emotions with the nurses (Astedt-Kurki et al., 2007). Once the patient is able to share his personal experiences with the nurses, the nurses will have more opportunity to communicate with the patients and be able to provide them with the comfort they need to be able to cope with their health status. As part of strengthening the relationship between the nurses and patients, Tveiten and Severinsson (2006) revealed that a

Fast food restauran Essay Example for Free

Fast food restauran Essay For each category I analyse I will show the male and female results in comparison then summarise what I interpret from the results below. Due to the fact that there are more females in Stotfold than there are males. The females preferences will have a larger bearing on any possible fast food restaurant to be developed. As there are unequal results from both genders I have converted my results to percentages before showing them on the graph. Visit Frequency Below is a bar chart comparing the visit frequency of male and female. I have shown the data on a bar chart because it is easier to compare. Male and female do not differ significantly as far as visit frequency is concerned. Most customers visit a fast food restaurant every two weeks, which, if there are enough customers, is sufficient to keep a fast food business afloat. Most Important Feature The bar chart below shows what both male and female consider to be the most important feature of a fast food restaurant. This just confirms what the general analysis stated: that if a business is to succeed its customers must have confidence in its hygiene. The bar chart below shows a comparison between male and female fast food type preferences. The females main preferences are already well catered for in Stotfold. Kebab shops are, however , hard to find in this area and are highly popular among males. If a Kebab restaurant opened in Stotfold it could target male customers, although I have noticed that it is not just younger males that enjoy kebabs as one might have expected. Cost The chart below shows what male and females expect to pay for a fast food meal for one. This chart shows that more men are prepared to pay more for their meal than women. I think this can be shown more clearly so here is another chart showing the same information but with different price categories. This shows that the majority of males expect to pay over i 4 whereas females expect to pay below. This shows the male market is more profitable providing production and retail costs are kept to a minimum, 4) Place Information about Stotfold Stotfold is a growing town. The development of new houses in the area means that by 2004 the population will have risen by nearly 25%. The population of Stotfold in 2000 was 6680. In 2004 it is estimated that it will rise to 8180. There are also plans to develop a leisure centre in Stotfold, which may attract even more people to the area. Stotfold is on the border between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire; there are many fast food restaurants in Hertfordshire, including large franchises, which would pose a threat to small companies opening up in the area. In my research I have collected information from Bedfordshire but the well-established businesses in Hertfordshire should be taken into account when deciding to start a new company in the area. There is an area of land on the outskirts of Stotfold by the old doctors surgery. It has planning permission and there is a possibility of a Sports facility being put up there. It is on a main road so has good access and a cycle path leading past the area. It would be extremely expensive to develop this land but if a new Sports facility were to be opened there it may be possible to incorporate a new restaurant on the complex. Below is a map showing the location I referred to. The area is within the shaded rectangle.

Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic Human Resource Management INTRODUCTION: Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a subject that is in continues phase of transition, from its first emergence in the mid-1980s. In past two decades many authors, theorists and consultants suggested variety of theories and models which can be practically applied in the organization to manage people more effectively. However, according to Legge (1995) and Grantton et al (1999) cited by (Michael Armstrong 2004: 1) there is often a gap between rhetoric of SHRM and reality. Therefore, the main emphasis of this assignment is on the practical execution of these theories and models with the particular reference to Telenor Pakistan (Subsidiary of Telenor ASA, Norway). For the better understanding of the Strategic HRM it is essential to know the basic concept of HRM: it can be defined as strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valuable assets the people working there who collectively and individually contributes to the achievement of its objectives. (Armstrong and Baron 2003: 3). Development of SHRM: In the last 15 years SHRM has grown considerably. According to Schuler et al. (2001) the development of SHRM is two phased transformation: from personnel management to traditional human resource management (THRM), and then from THRM to SHRM. To survive in the cut-throat competition, organization HR must focus on a new set of priorities, which are more business and strategic oriented such as flexible workforces, quality improvement, team-based job designs, employee empowerment and incentive compensation. Definition of SHRM: Strategy is derived from the Greek word strategia, which means Generalship. The term strategic has been borrowed from the military and modified for the use in business. In business, as in the military, strategy bridges the gap between policy and tactics. Together, strategy and tactics bridge the gap between ends and means. (http://home.att.net/~nickols/strategy_definition.htm) In spite of high focus paid by different scholars the term SHRM still remains unclear. Some theorists have suggested SHRM as an outcome, others have suggested it as a process, and other scholars have recommended it as a combination of both: outcome and process. As an outcome, (Wright and McMahan 1992) cited by (Armstrong 2004: 41) defined SHRM as the pattern of planned HR deployments and activities intended to enable a firm to achieve its goals. Likewise, (Snell et al 1996: 62) described SHRM to be organizational systems designed to achieve sustainable competitive advantages through people. As a process, (Ulrich and Lake 1991) defined SHRM a process of linking HR practices to business strategy. Furthermore, (Bamberger and Meshoulam 2000) suggest that SHRM is a competency-based approach to personnel management that focuses on the development of durable, imperfectly imitable, and non-tradable people resources. Cited by (Chang and Huang 2005: 436) Truss and Gratton (1994) Considered SHRM both: process and outcome, and defined SHRM as the linkage of HR functions with strategic goals and organizational objectives to improve business performance and cultivate an organizational culture that fosters innovation and flexibility. Cited by (Chang and Huang 2005: 436) Michael Armstrong ultimately defines strategic HRM as an approach to making decisions on the intentions and plans of the organisation in the shape of the policies, programmes and practices concerning the employment relationship, resourcing, learning and development, performance management, reward and employee relations. (Armstrong, 2006: 115). In the absence of a common definition, broadly theorists and Authors have been reached to an agreement on its basic function of SHRM, which encompasses designing and implementing a set of internally consistent policies and practices that ensure the human capital of a firm contributes to the achievement of its business objectives (Schuler MacMillan 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Jackson Schuler 1995) cited by (Wei, L. 2006: 49). APPLICATION OF MODELS AND THEORIES: The chosen organisation is Telenor Pakistan (100% owned subsidiary of Telenor ASA, Norway). The Human Resource department is known as Human Capital Division at Telenor; Company regards employees as human capital from which a return can be attained by investing prudently in their development. This concept of managing people is also supported by authors like Fomburn at el 1984 and Guest 1999 cited by (Armstrong 2004: 7) Background of Telenor Pakistan: Telenor Pakistan is one of the leading mobile networks in the country, 100% owned by Telenor ASA-(Norway) and adds on to its operations in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Telenor launched its operations in March 2005 headed by the CEO Tore Johnson as the single largest direct European investment in Pakistan. Telenor spread across Pakistan, creating 2,200 direct and 20,000-plus indirect employment opportunities. (www.telenor.com.pk) Key facts about Telenor-ASA Group: Employs more than 34,000 people worldwide. Ranked as 7th largest mobile operators in the world. Ranked 5th in Business Weeks 2007 global ranking of the top 100 performers in the technology industry, beating Microsoft, Apple and Nokia Recorded revenues of NOK 91.1 billion (USD 15.9 billion) at the end of 2006 a 37% increase compared to 2005 (www.telenor.com) Telenor PK has been consistently profitable with highest customer satisfaction. This success is reflected in the Revenues increased by 31% and estimated market share increased by 4%. In the year 2007 Telenor has won many prestigious awards like PSHRM (Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management) Preferred Graduate Employer Award 2007, the best brand award, and the most Innovative Mobile Operator at the 6th SAARC Communication Industry Conference 2007, The above landmarks are the true reflection of motivated and well developed human recourse. This can be associated with the dedication and professional excellence of Telenor employees towards the ultimate goal customer delight! (www.telenor.com.pk) Practical Application of Valuing HR: To get the insight of how Telenor Pakistan practices Strategic HRM, first it would be appropriate to know the meaning of SHRM. In 1986 Hendry and Pettigrew suggested that strategic HRM has four meanings: The use of planning; A coherent approach to the design and management of personnel systems based on an employee policy and manpower strategy with underlying philosophy; Matching HRM activities and policies to some explicit business strategy; and Seeing the employees as a strategic resource for the achievement of competitive advantage (Cited by Armstrong, 2006: 114). As the test of fire can only produce the fine steel the application of Hendry and Pettigrew can be reflected by the real example when implementation of planning, good management of human resource brought the Telenor back on track: right after the cartoon controversy of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Jan-06, things got worse for Telenor Pakistan. This incident caused outrage in the Islamic world resulting in consumer boycott for weeks, numerous demonstrations and other protests. In Pakistan due to the western image of Telenor, it became one of the earliest victims of this incidence, resulting drastic slump in sales, and complete abandon of all marketing campaigns. The situation was so critical that Telenor has to make some important decisions as the company had to announce annual salary increments and yearly bonus due after the performance appraisal of past year. Due to the heavy losses and limited funds, it was tough for thee management to pay out the annual bonus to staff. However, analysing the situation closely company decided to pay it out, since it was the right of employee who worked hard in past year. This action of Telenor really standout as other companies has decided otherwise. This made the employee more faithful and loyal towards the company. Furthermore, company was in big dilemma to go for downsizing or not. Lay off would be the common way for other but Telenor decided to retain all the employees; this was even against the employees expectation, as most of the sales people has nothing to do at that time. Yet again to encourage the employees moral and develop their faith in the organization took this bold step. These practical examples can be seen as true picture of how Human capital division regard the people as the most valuable assets for the organisation. Creating Conducive Environment: McGregor in 1960 at the MIT Sloan School of Management came up with two sets of assumptions about human nature (see the Table below). McGregor called these two contrary sets Theory X and Theory Y: with the assumptions underlying that people at work are negative for theory X and people at work are positive and progressive for theory Y. Table of Assumptions Theory X and Theory Y Outdated (Theory X) Modern ( Theory y) Assumptions about people are: Assumptions about people at work: Most people dislike work; they do avoid it when they can. Work is natural activity, like play or rest. Most people must be coerced and threatened with punishment before they will work. People require close direction when they are working. People are capable of self-direction and self-control if they are committed to objectives. Most people actually prefer to be directed. They tend to avoid responsibility and exhibit little ambition. They are interested only in security. People generally become committed to organisational objectives if they are rewarded for doing so. The typical employee can learn to accept and seek responsibility. The typical member of the general population has imagination, ingenuity and creativity . Source: http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcgregor/ Being one of the modern organizations Telenor PK human capital division operates with the norms of theory Y. In one of the interviews, CEO Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen said: At Telenor Pakistan our philosophy is to unlock the hidden human potential by building expertise and by providing an energizing environment. Telenor is a young organization with an average employee age of 27 years which means that we are interested in finding young talent and equipping it with the competencies that the fastest growing network requires in one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. (http://www.telenor.com.pk/pressCenter/pressrelease.php?release=97lang=en) Telenor HR managers always put high emphasis on incessant customer-centred and employee-driven expansion; such kind of encouraging atmosphere makes employees more confident and allowed them to work freely, whereby they can take their own initiatives to set future direction for the organization which attains competitive advantage. Benefiting Employees to Create Competitive Edge: SRHM is developed in three important phases. All of them hold vital importance to understand the subject and these three phases were: the human relations movement, the total quality management movement, and the contingency approach to management. Theories forwarded by Elton Mayo, Douglas McGregor and Mary Parker Follett were most influential in the human relations movement. Mayo suggested managers to look deep into the emotional side of the employees. On the other hand Follett argued that managers should inspire and stimulate job performance instead of simply demanding it. She also emphasised on quality circles employee empowerment. (http://books.google.com/books?id=AiIPAAAACAAJdq=Mary+Parker+Follettei=2U0qSMj6GJXEyQTUyYmnCg) These viewpoints instigate new way of thinking about human nature behaviour. HR managers in Telenor Pakistan hold tight to these views by providing flexible working environment to staff and hiring only those employees who can understand the companys strategy. Staffs are benefited by profit sharing and incentive schemes which can keep them focused to work more efficiently. Taking the high care of emotional side of employees, one of the benefits that company provides is the free medical treatment policy which is exactly the same for all the staff e.g. from president to junior officer all are entitled for same health benefits. Talking to the local press Nayab Baig (VP HCD) said: we believe in continuous improvement of employees and taking the standards of service to the utmost levels of excellence. (www.telenor.com.pk) Management skills: According to (Kreitner and Kinicki 2004: 6) there are 11 skills exhibited by effective managers, as shown below: In Telenor above mentioned skills are often displayed by the HR managers to deal with the employees in order to induce high performance and employee morale. Moreover these skills also play a vital role in building the climate of trust and motivation among the team members. Lower turnover rate from all the departments of the company as compared with other telecom operators and consistency with higher employees satisfaction, are the factors that exhibit the high involvement and administrative expertise of HR managers in Telenor. To set every staff member in the same direction Human capital Division uses the technique known as Hochin which means compass to check the direction. To enhance the communication level Telenor operates Open environment in offices, whereby there are no cabin for senior staff and every employee from president to junior officer need to work on the same floor. This also inculcates fun and informal culture in the company. With the help of clear communication managers make sure that companys vision and mission, as well as job description are clear to the employees. To provide the feedback on employees performance there is automated IT-system known as TDP (Telenor Development process). This helps company to use performance relationships that can achieve the purpose SHRM to create competitive advantage. Employee Motivation: Terence Mitchell in 1972 proposed a model that provides the basis for how motivation among staffs influences job behaviours and performance. Following is the model which combines the elements from different motivational theories to explain the relationship between motivation and job performance. As mentioned in the below diagram, employees bring set of unique characteristics to the work place, such as their ability, emotions, moods, job knowledge, traits and values, these individual set of skills are then enhanced by the motivational process and transformed into the job performance. Individual inputs Ability, job knowledge Dispositions and traits Emotions, moods, and affect beliefs n value Skills Motivated behaviour Focus: direction, what we do. Intensity: effort, how hard we try Quality: task strategies, the way we do it. Duration: persistence, how long we stick to it. Performance Motivational Process Arousal Attention Intensity and Direction persistence Job context Physical environment Task design Rewards and reinforcement Supervisory support ancoaching Social norms and organisation culture Enable, limit Source: TR Mitchell, Matching Motivational Strategies with Organisational Contexts, in Research in Organisational Behaviour, Vol19, ends LL Cummings and BM Staw (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1997) P 63. To motivate the employees at all levels Telenor offers competitive pay, excellent benefits and exceptional advancement opportunities. With the caring atmosphere Telenor provides relaxed and enriching working environment. Furthermore, training and further education programs ensure a high professional standard amongst all staffs. Such motivational tools create bunch of talented and loyal workforce which plays a crucial role in the organizations ongoing business success. Moreover, to get the 100% commitment from the employees Telenor uses following management criteria for all managers for annual evaluations. They are; (a) Passion for business (b) Change and constant renewal (c) Operational excellence (d) Empower people (e) Integrity. Source: http://www.telenor.com.pk/careers/whyTelenor.php Task 2: Role of the HR Function: According to (Armstrong 2003: 38) The role of HR function is to enable the organization to achieve its objectives by taking initiatives and providing guidance and support on all matters relating to its employees. Moving one step further Michael Armstrong emphases on basic aim of HR function which is to deal effectively with everything concerning the employment and development of people and the relationship that exist between management and workforce. As the personnel standards (Lead Body 1993) cited by (Armstrong 2003: 39) suggested that Personnel management is exercised as a part of full management process and cannot be viewed in isolation. Although a support activity it must be proactive. It must promote business solutions that take advantage of opportunities stemming from business issues just as it must find solutions to apparent constraints. Activities of HR functions: According to (Mithis and jackson 2006: 6) the HR function becoming transactional as organizations compete globally. Furthermore they have suggested seven key HR activities which ideally the every FR function should perform in the organization, those activities are as follows: Strategic HR management Equal employment opportunity Staffing HR development Compensation benefits Health, safety and security Employee and labour relations By combining the HRM function with business strategy, SHRM creates more efficient and effective arrangement and utilization of human resources to attain the organizational goals, and which helps organization to gain a competitive advantage. Telenor Pakistan has developed strong relationships among teams, which helps in creating high levels of coordination and therefore instigating high levels of quality and performance efficacy. This is only possible because of HR function is performing the required tasks within the organization. All the HR activities mentioned above are critical for the success of Telenor and theses activities are often displayed by the Telenor leadership at the top and the frontline managers, to create an environment in which employees can achieve the level of excellence, by not only performing their jobs effectively but also developing their skills and capabilities to the ever changing demands of contemporary organization. The main focus of SHRM is to develop the firms capability in order to deal with changes in an external environment through a better utilization of human resources. Telenor Pakistan has embedded this strategy in their core business, so the company can respond quickly to external changes. HR Function Models: There have been many attempts to categorize the work of the HR function in order to analyze its verity, diversity and complexity. One of the oldest and perhaps one of the best models was proposed by Karen Legge in 1978 cited by (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005: 131). In 1986 Tyson and Fell came up with their own building Site analogy in which they have identified three roles for the personal function. However, Tyson and Fell (1986, p24) rejected the assumption that HR assumes great maturity as it develops along the continuum. Storey (1992) forwarded another model which was updated by Caldwell (2003). This model proposes fourfold map based on two dimensions: the degree to which HR is strategic or operational, and the extent to which it intervenes and has a high profile. (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005: 131-132) Author (date) Categories for the HR roles Reasons for differentiation Legge (1978) Conformist innovator Deviant innovator Problem-solver Relating the work of HR to the values and norms of the organisation Looks for new innovation often based on social values not economic ones Identifying and resolving problems Ways to gain power and influence Tyson Fell (1986) Clerk of the works Contracts manager Architect Predominately administrative serving the needs of line managers Often where systems and procedures and heavily formalised involving industrial relations Greater integration into corporate strategy HR planning and development are important Time-span for decision-making Degree of discretion Involvement of HR Story (1992) Caldwell (2003) Handmaiden Regulator Adviser Change-market Provide a service to meet the demands of the line managers Mainly concerned with managing problems and discontent Operate at strategic level, provide support for line-managers and work to help shape policies and practices Internal consultant leaving much of HR practice to line managers Level-strategic or tactical Degree of interventionism Ulrich (1998) Administrative support Employee champion Change agent Business partner Improving efficiency within function and organisation Improving contribution commitment and engagement of workforce Improving the organizations ability to transform and change Implementing and developing the strategic plans of the organisation Level, focus and time-frame Managing processes for people (Armstrong, 2006, pp. 76-81) Ulrich in 1998 pointed out that there is sort of disconfirmation between the activities that HR perform and the real work of organization. He believes that HR should not be defined by what it does but by what it delivers. Furthermore he proposed that HR can deliver excellence in for in four different ways: (a) Business partner (b) Administrative support (c) Employee champion (d) change agent. Ulrich model for the HR function: Source: (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005: 135) Application of Models: All of the above stated models hold great value in present world, but the model that fits the Telenor Pakistan HR function is combination of these; Proposed Paradigm: Deviant Innovator Architect Regulator Change agent Employee champion Deviant innovator: Here the HR looks for new innovation driven from social values rather than economic ones. Telenor Human Capital Division plays this role by providing equal opportunities to all employees and providing flexibility in working hours where the staffs is studying or doing some other courses. Empowerment is the key in this role of HR, in Telenor Pakistan line managers are encouraged to delegate authority to their lower level, where by encouraging junior staff to gain confidence and develop their capabilities to cope the future demands. Architect: According to Tyson and Fell this is the most sophisticated role of Hr function it is concerned with grand designs at a senior level and the integration of HR into the broader business plans. Telenor HR managers display the quality of architect by creating the right culture in the organization e.g. open environment to promote speedy work and higher level of communication. Secondly operating as business managers rather than personnel professionals, those can proactively work to analyse the present and future needs of employees. Regulator: Telenor HR work as regulator by managing and resolving departmental conflicts, for example, different incentive plans for Sales and Customer services department can create discontentment among the employees, such issues are regulated by HR to compensate the staff equally. Moreover, HR develops policies practices, and level of hierarchy at which decisions are taken. Change Agent: This role of HR seeks to develop new processes culture and providing new vision to the company. Human Capital Division in HR work as change agent in a manner that it develops the organizations ability to sustain the change forces and transform vision into reality. For instance the service centres operations timings were increased from 9:00am to 9:00 pm to cater the changing demand of customers. However, to facilitate employees company has provided conveyance allowance with higher rate of pay to keep the workforce motivated. Employee Champion: HR in Telenor performs this role by working as a representative of employees by conveying the concerns of the employees to the higher management. Furthermore, as suggested by Ulrich, HR department keep regard of things by which employees are kept motivated and will to work beyond contract when needed. For example in Telenor there is IT regulated system know as service desk, if any employee has any issue he/she can log that complaint on the system and HR will take care of that issue. Source: (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005, pp 132-135) Horizontal vertical Integration: HRM Align: Alignment of Human resources simply means integrating people management decisions with a core business strategy of the organization. By align or integrating human resources management into the organisations planning process develops and promotes strong relationship between HR and management. By this action of management it ensures that the management of human resources contributes towards the achievement of desired goals of company and for any shortcomings managers are held answerable for their HRM decisions. In contemporary organization like Telenor Pakistan, in routine the work requires high level of coordination and most of the work is interdependent among the employee groups. To facilitate high level of coordination and to generate quick response all the Telenor employees are trained for multitasking with very little job description, which clearly mentions one thing at the end: Working for Telenor is better than working for department. This kind of HR structure prevents its not my job attitude and the absence of rigid work roles develops strong partnerships between different departments and create efficacy. Why to align? Study of (Miles Snow 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Wright McMahan 1992) related to SHRM put high emphasis on creating fit between HR practice and business strategy. Implementation and execution of effective HR policies and the design of a HR system align with the firms overall strategy, are vital for the successful implementation of business strategies which can gain competitive advantage.(Lengnick-Hall Lengnick-Hall 1988). HR alignment increases the firm capabilities to better serve and anticipate its customers needs, aggrandizes the organisations strength to implement strategic business goals, and provides decision-makers with vital information for resource provisioning. Finally, it is important for the firms accountability. By regularly defining, maintaining, assessing and communicating HR goals throughout the organisation ensures that the management of human resources contributes towards the mission accomplishment. For any shortcomings managers will be liable for their HR decisions. There are the other areas as well where HR office contributes to align with mission accomplishment, such as HR function working as a consultant, for instance Telenor Pakistans HR office provide consultation to the manager rather than telling manager what he/she can or cannot do. (Wei, L. 2006) Horizontal Integration: One of the vital roles of Strategic HRM is create horizontal integration which aims to ensure that the different elements of the HR strategy fit together and are mutually supportive. (Hendry C and Pettigrew A, 1986: 2), also cited by (Michael Armstrong, 2006, p156). (Walker, J. W. 1992), described strategic HRM as the means of aligning the management of human resources with the strategic content of the business. Vertical integration: Vertical integration focuses on developing a reciprocity or two-way communication between strategic planners and human resource planners in organisations (Milkovich et al., 1983). Walker, J. W. 1992 in his book Human resource strategy suggested that vertical integration is necessary to provide congruence between business and human resource strategy so that it supports the accomplishment of the business. Such two-way methods of communication results in meaningful information regarding human resource being fed into the strategic planning process. Following is the graphical presentation of how the Horizontal and vertical integration creates an overall fit for the organization. Determinants of Both Types of Fit: In Telenor Pakistan Integrative strategies are executed by involving the coordination of human resource planning and the personal functions such as recruitment, training, and career management. These strategies are also practiced to minimize the cost and to instigate efficient coordination of resources to obtain their maximum output. Telenor horizontal and vertical integration goes a long way in building a team that is vibrant and well coordinated for achieving the corporate objectives and long-term goals. Moreover, Telenor practice Vertical integration, to emphasise the congruence of a HR measures with the strategy the firm is pursuing. This in long term can gain a competitive advantage for the organization. Telenor HR exercise vertical and horizontal integration by the help of following Hr tools: Clarifies goals and objectives Encourages participation Planning and organises Facilitates work Provides feedback Empowering and delegates Recognises good performance In practice Telenor HR in many ways influence the achievement of horizontal fit and vertical fit, as achieving both kinds of fits are necessary for company to performance efficiently. More importantly the vision of Telenor is HR and customer oriented which embraces the theories and models discussed above: Our vision is simple: Were here to help. We exist to help our customers get the full benefit of communications services in their daily lives. The key to achieving this vision is a mindset where every one of us works together: Making it easy to buy and use our services. Delivering on our promises. Being respectful of differences. Inspiring people to find new ways. Source: www.telenor.com.pk. Recommendations: Follow are the recommendations to improve the vertical and horizontal integration: (a) There is nothing permanent except change; likewise the top management role in Telenor Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction This point of time when globalization become a natural phenomenon, bring human resource in a lime light. A large number of organizations viewed human resource as a source of competitive advantage. There is greater acceptance that distinctive competencies are obtained through highly developed employee skills, distinctive organizational cultures, management processes and systems. However, it is necessary to invest the concept with clear meaning. In todays highly competitive business environment, organizations cannot sustain excellent performance unless they develop a competence for rapid, continuous strategic change. According to Edward E. Lawler (2008) the source of competitive advantage has shifted in many organizations from reliability to innovation and flexibility. Further argue that it is a combination of the right structure and the right people that provides the foundation and tools for creating competitive and innovative organizations. Traditionally, human resource has been considered a factor only after the strategic business decisions are made. Human resource issues were not even discussed during the decision to purchase the business. One human resource executive put it succinctly when he said â€Å"the line job is to tell us where the business is going and then it is up to us to find the people to develop.† Companies like GM and AIG are some of the example when they sour large number of their stake because they had not considered the human resource implication of their purchase. However, companies such as IBM, GE, and Intel use of human resource management as an integral part of strategy formulation. Indeed, many companies have begun to require the human resource component in their strategic plan. Where they begun a great deal of experimentation and problem solving to decide what data are required, what issue should be considered, and how they can relate to the various aspect of the business. The major emphasis in strategic planning has doubtless been on formulation. This led to a conclusion up until 1980 that much time and thought had gone into analyzing and planning strategy yet very little into implementation. But after 1980 it changes to the effective implementation of the strategy. i.e getting people to do the right things to make strategies happen. In this respect, the human resource tools become central and focus. Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic human resource management is a multipart process which is frequently developing and being studied and discussed by academics and commentators. Its characterization and associations with other aspects of business setting up and strategy is not complete and estimation varies involving writers. It has been defined as: * All those activities affecting the actions of individuals in their efforts to put together and put into action the strategic needs of business. (Schuler, 1992) * The prototype of planned human resource deployments and activities anticipated to facilitate the forms to attain its goals (Wright, Macmahan, 1992) In general, Strategic human resources management is defined as the linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility. Boxall and Purcell (2003) argue that strategic HRM is apprehensive with explaining how HRM influences organizational performance. They also point out that strategy is not the identical as strategic plans. Strategic planning is the formal procedure that takes place, generally in larger organizations, defining how things will be done. However strategy exists in all organizations even though it may not be in black and white and expressed. It defines the organizations behavior and how it tries to cope with its environment. Strategic HRM is based on HRM philosophy incorporating the concept of strategy. So if HRM is a logical approach to the management of people, strategic HRM now implies that that is done on a planned way that integrates organizational goals with policies and action sequences. Coppers Lybrand (CL) consider HRM and its development as their top priority. The administration is determined in hiring and retaining skilled and competent workers. Each worker should meet the demands of the highly competitive and growing business industry worldwide. Chairman and CEO says that the attraction and retention of people, which they consider as the highest intellectual capital is the critical objectives of CL. The Basic Architecture of HR Source: Brian Becker et al. 2001 Implementing Strategy There are four generic human resource activities of all the organization 1. Selection/ promotion/ placement process Example of Chase Manhattan bank During the period between 1975and 1980 the bank underwent major managerial changes key to the bank s successful turnaround from a troubled bank in the mid -70s was a careful strategic level selection and placement of executive. Historically in banking in general and specifically at chase senior level positions were based on historical precedent with old-boy net works playing a major role. Also the tradition incident based on historical precedent with old-boy net works playing a major role. Also the tradition in banking was reward those with banker skills not those with managerial skills which were implicitly considered to be less importance .Under the stress of serious performance problems chase manhattan when the trust manager retired corporate management decide that the department whose operation had been essentially stable should focus on a more aggressive growth strategy instead of seeking a veteran banker chase hired a man whose experience had been with IBM because it was felt h e brought a strong marketing orientation to the trust department which the new strategy required. Similarly, when chase reorganized it retail banking business from a low margin operation in which the stress was keeping down costs of to a more expansionary business offering broader consumer financial services it hired because of his entrepreneurial skills an executive who had been a division chief of a small industrial firm and had a track record of entrepreneurial management experience. 2. Reward processes Good selection is the sine qua non of performance. Once people are in job and perform however they should also be rewarded for good performance. These incumbents should also be developed to improve performance and prepare them for a new position. The linkage to reward outcomes reduces or eliminates the developmental value of appraisals. Rather than an opportunity for constructive review and encouragement, the reward-linked process is perceived as judgmental, punitive and harrowing. For example, how many people would gladly admit their work problems if, at the same time, they knew that their next pay rise or a much-wanted promotion was riding on an appraisal result? Very likely, in that situation, many people would deny or downplay their weaknesses. Nor is the desire to distort or deny the truth confined to the person being appraised. Many appraisers feel uncomfortable with the combined role of judge and executioner. 3. Development process Ensuring that organization has an adequate supply of human resource talent at all levels is no easy task especially when organization is going to a rapid strategic changes. The key is to have a human resource planning system that make accurate forecast. In order to plan for the future, an accurate inventory of current human resource stock is important. This should include both the current individual performance and the future potential of an individual. 4. Appraisal process A basic human tendency to make judgments about those one is working with, as well as about oneself. The human inclination to judge can create serious motivational, ethical and legal problems in the workplace. Without a structured appraisal system, there is little chance of ensuring that the judgments made will be lawful, fair, defensible and accurate. Appraisal systems began as simple methods of income justification. That is, appraisal was used to decide whether or not the salary or wage of an individual employee was justified. In many organizations but not all appraisal results are used, either directly or indirectly, to help determine reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are used to identify the better performing employees who should get the majority of available merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions. Sue Peattie It has been seen that Food market continuous to grow rapidly since 1990 in UK. (Sue Peattie). In order to full fill the demand of the market, markets had to use all available marketing tools. Promotion is one of the major adapted tools to maintain or increase the sales. However, more focus remains on price base promotion. As more and more competition is coming into market. This tool needs more attention. Business tends to use different kinds of promotions to attract more and more sales. Buy one get free one free, buy three in price of one, bundle deal are good attraction for promotion. Example: â€Å"During 1972-82, US per capita consumption of variety meats (offal) reached a high of 5.66 lb in 1977 and then declined to 4.21 lb in 1982. The objective of this market test was to measure the effects of promotional and merchandising strategies on food store sales of selected beef/pigment variety meats. Promotion took place in 8 test stores of one food chain in three test markets (Salina, Topeka, and Wichita, Kansas) during three eight-week test periods (TP). Promotional and merchandising strategies tried were: (1) a special clearly designated display section for variety meats; (2) point of purchase (POP) price signs; (3) colored wall posters; (4) POP nutritional information and recipes; (5) newspaper advertising at two conventional supermarkets; (6) in-store advertising at all stores; (7) price specials; (8) personal salesmanship; and (9) product taste samples. Average weekly sales (lbs) of total variety meats increased in every test store from TP-1 to TP-2. Sales of 5 beef it ems (heart, liver, sweetbreads, tripe and oxtail) increased significantly. Retail sales increased 9.6% in the test stores compared to a 6.0% seasonal increase in purchases by all stores associated with a wholesale supplier (AWG). A seasonal decline in lbs of variety meats sold of 19.6% in test stores from TP-2 to TP-3 was matched by a 19.1% drop in wholesale purchases by all stores. Promotion in TP-2 increased retail sales over those of TP-1, but continued promotion in TP-3 did not lead to further sales increases.† (Source: http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=19901880256) Strategic HRM and human capital management Many writers have argued that strategic HRM and human capital management (HCM) is one and the same thing, and certainly the concept of strategic HRM matches that of the broader explanation of HCM relatively well as the following definition of the main features of strategic HRM by Dyer and Holder (1998) shows: * Organizational level because strategies involve decisions about key goals, major policies and the distribution of resources they be inclined to be formulated at the top. * Focus strategies are business-driven and focus on organizational effectiveness; thus in this perspective people are viewed first and foremost as capital to be managed in the direction of the achievement of strategic business goals. * Framework strategies by their extraordinarily nature provide unifying frameworks which are at once broad, contingency-based and integrative. They incorporate a full accompaniment of HR goals and activities planned specifically to fit extant environments and to be commonly reinforcing or synergistic. This argument has been based on the information that both HRM in its appropriate sense and HCM rest on the supposition that people are treated as assets rather than costs and both focus on the importance of adopting an integrated and strategic move toward to managing people which is the concern of all the stakeholders in an organization not just the people management role. However, the perception of human capital management complements and strengthens the idea of strategic HRM relatively replaces it. (Armstrong and Baron, 2002) Strategic HRM could consequently be viewed as the essential framework within which these estimation, reporting and management course of action take place and make sure that they are iterative and communally reinforcing. Human capital consequently informs and in turn is shaped by strategic HRM but it does not substitute it. Strategic HRM and business performance Since the mid 1990s, CIPD and others have been generating evidence for the impact of people management practices on business performance. Much emphasis has been put on the importance of ‘fit. In other words it is argued that HR strategies much fit both with each other and with other organizational strategies for maximum impact. The main areas of practice which all the researchers agreed have an impact on performance are around job design and skills development. However, CIPD work found that practices alone do not create business performance. They can create ‘human capital or a set of individuals who are highly skilled, highly motivated and have the opportunity to participate in organizational life by being given jobs to do. However, this will only feed through into higher levels of business performance if these individuals have positive management relationships with their superiors in a supportive environment with strong values. All these factors will promote ‘discretionary behavior, the willingness of the individual to perform above the minimum or give extra effort. It is this discretionary behavior that makes the difference to organizational performance. Conclusion The SHRM idea is a influential idea if function properly within an organization. HR groups are able to plan for potential growth and react to any changes that may take place. In addition, SHRM allows companies to completely make the most of their human assets to make real improvement over their competitors. This advantage comes from having the HR policies and strategies perfectly aligned with the corporate goals so that the organization has the right human capital, right remuneration packages and training methodologies to allow the employees to efficiently do their jobs. There may also be an remarkable view of HRM as an implicit part of the major strategic change Initiative, relatively as a critical stand alone component of reform. This view may now be Changing as more and more people realize the need to reform human resources management as an equal and necessary component of overall Government-wide reform and reinvention. In short, SHRM allows an organization to create a competitive advantage with their human capital by aligning their strategic goals with their HRM systems. Author Ronald Sims states it clearly when he writes: â€Å"Successful organizations in the prospect must strongly make parallel their HRM strategies and programs with the external opportunities, competitive strategies, and their only one of its characteristics and core capability. Organizations that fail to clearly define HRM strategy or competitive strategy that explicitly incorporates human resources will not be successful† (Sims, 2002, p. 30). Bibliography # ARMSTRONG, M and BARON, A. (2002) Strategic HRM: the key to improved business performance. Developing practice. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. # SCHULER, R.S. (1992) Strategic human resource management: linking people with the needs of the business. Organizational Dynamics. Vol 21, No 1. pp18-32. # WRIGHT, P.M. and MCMAHAN, G.C. (1992) Theoretical perspectives for SHRM. Journal of Management. March. pp215-247. # BOXALL, P. and PURCELL, J. (2003) Strategy and human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. # DYER, L. and HOLDER, G. Strategic human resource management and planning. In: DYER, L. (ed) (1998) Human resource management: evolving roles and responsibilities. Washington DC: Bureau of National Affairs. Cavusgil, T.S. and Zou, S. (1994), â€Å"Marketing strategy-Performance relationship: an investigation of the empirical link in export market Ventures†, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 58, January, pp. 1-21 Sims, R. R. (2002). Organizational success through effective human resources management (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Truss, C., Gratton, L. (1994, September 1994). Strategic human resource management: A conceptual approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 5(3), p. 663.

Types Of EC Transactions Used By Dell

Types Of EC Transactions Used By Dell B2B transaction is an e-commerce business between two businesses/companies such as manufacturers and suppliers or wholesalers. This is the type of e-commerce which takes care of relationships among businesses. This type of e-commerce is now recognized as the E-commerce segment with major /the biggest potential. The B2B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets. E-frastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of the following: Dell provides business to business (B2B) transactions which helps to low procurement costs of an organization. Within a B2B transaction, you can shop online from within your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) procurement application and return the contents of your shopping session back to your ERP system electronically. No longer are you required to enter duplicate information in order to purchase. The electronic requisition can now be routed through your standard ERP workflow where it can be approved electronically. Once this electronic requisition is approved, it can become an electronic purchase order and be transmitted instantly to Dell. These orders flow directly into Dells manufacturing system where your orders are built immediately, saving you hours or days in processing time. This brings you the latest technology at the quickest pace. Dell defines B2B Integration as server-to-server communication over the Internet integrating both systems and business processes to dramatically transform the way we conduct business with our partners, suppliers, and customers. By electronically integrating these processes, we not only benefit in process efficiency and information accuracy, we also increase our ability to respond and interact with each member of a business relationship. Dells has two objectives with its B2B integration initiative: To quickly integrate with customers who are capable today To help customers build a B2B solution for rapid deployment and connectivity Dell has built a solution that extends its existing Internet infrastructure and E-Commerce capability to easily integrate with any customer who supports open, industry document standards of XML (such as cXML based on Ariba, xCBL based on Commerce One) and EDI. This allows Dell to provide the same customized catalog most customers use today with Premier Pages, and integrate this dynamic commerce functionality into their internal procurement systems. If a customer is not currently capable of integrating their procurement systems and processes with their suppliers, Dell can provide the necessary hardware, software, and consultation to help build and deploy a solution that not only connects the customer to Dell, but one that can to connect to even other suppliers or customers. Benefits: Better align Dell with customer procurement processes Ease the purchasing process and reduce errors by eliminating duplicate data entry Reduce costs for clients by eliminating paper purchase order/fax processes Reduce customer cycle times for ordering approval and payment Process controls for shoppers versus buyers B2C: Business-to-consumer (B2C, sometimes also called Business-to-Customer) transaction is when businesses such as companies and retailers serve their products and services to individual consumers directly. This transaction can be done online by consumers using shopping carts in the website. It is the earliest form of electronic commerce and the largest after B2B transaction form. By enhancing customer access to information and make it easier to customers to find a competitive and economical price for some products and services, B2C can decrease transactions costs. Moreover, constructing and maintaining a website costs much less than installing a brick-and-mortar structure for a firm; therefore, B2C e-commerce also reduces market entry obstructions. Its origins can be traced to online retailing (or e-tailing).13 Thus, the more common B2C business models are the online retailing companies such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Beyond.com, Barnes and Noble and ToysRus. In the case of information goods, B2C e-commerce is even more attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution network. Moreover, for countries with a growing and robust Internet population, delivering information goods becomes increasingly feasible. B2B2C: Business-to-Business-to-Consumer e-commerce (B2B2C) : It is when a business sells products and services to client businesses. The business provides products and services to client businesses to maintain its own customers. This can be when a business provides products and services to agencies, which are considered as business partners, sell it to customers. (Efraim Turban, Electronic Commerce, 2006) Dell uses e-procurement services and offers it to its agents who purchase the products. Customers visiting the agents website will find a link which connects the user to Dells website. After that when the customer buys a product, the agent receives a commission which is a percentage of the price of the product bought by the customer. B2G: Short for business-to-government, B2G is the exchange of services and products from one company to a government agency. Business-to-government e-commerce is generally described as commerce between companies and parts of a countrys economy which is controlled or supported financially by the government. B2G e-commerce form indicates a large market potential since the public sector plays an important role in establishing e-commerce, also, to make the procurement system effective, the public sector need the public sector has the greatest need for making its procurement system more effective Business-to-Government e-commerce (B2G) is a type of transactions where the government buys information, products, or services from businesses. (Electronic Commerce, Efraim Turban, 2006) Dell sells its products and services to governments. It provides a separate section called public sector in its website which serves several divisions within a government. The company offers special products and services to government divisions and areas supported by government such as State government, Local government, Federal government, Higher education and Healthcare. Government agencies can buy the offered products and services from the companys website online and the delivery service is provided by Dell. http://www.dell.com/content/segmenter.aspx//pub?c=uscs=2684l=ens=pub~ck=mn B2E: E Collaboration: Collaborative commerce should help companies forge long-term relationships while reducing the costs of cooperation, says Lisa Williams, an analyst at The Yankee Group in Boston. For example, a Web server hub could substitute for distributed groupware for jointly managing projects such as constructing a building. Instead of all the partners buying the same groupware product, theyll all just sign on to the Web site, she says. But while collaborative commerce has the potential to be the next big trend in partneringits just beginning to take shape, says Stan Lepeak, an analyst at Meta Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/46547/Collaborative_Commerce Collaborative Commerce In todays global commerce environment, the need for accurate, standards-based information is critical for conducting business efficiently. By standardizing the way information is communicated, and by having all trading partners accessing the same information, the opportunity for errors decreases dramatically, costs are reduced, and supply chains operate more efficiently. http://barcodes.gs1us.org/dnn_bcec/Solutions/CollaborativeCommerce/tabid/195/Default.aspx Collaborative commerce is a technology that enhances a companys communications with its business partners electronically. It enables companies and organizations to share information between each other, including Coolaborative commerce helps/provides companies and organizations a variety of benefits and opportunities by reducing service costs, Key business issues: Decreased service costs Faster cycle times Increased customer satisfaction Streamlined operations Enhanced flexibility and responsiveness Rapid, reliable fulfillment Improved planning through better system visibility In a collaborative environment, organizations and individuals can work together, share sensitive information, protect their privacy, and collaborate on activities and projects efficiently and effectively. Dell provides support forums for users and customers to refer in order to gain information from experts who bought Dell products and services. In this way, customers will be able to know how to buy and which product or service they should choose. It will also avoid buying products and returning it to Dell if it was not suitable due to the lack of knowledge. (http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/default.aspx) Collaborative commerce (or c-commerce) can be regarded as the next evolutionary step beyond the more basic process of electronic commerce (or e-commerce). It is an emerging area that is based on interactions enabled by Internet technology. The business models used by Dell: EC business models can differ depending on the industry and the companys strategy. According to Weill and Vital methodology/framework (2001), there are eight elementary e-commerce business models combines to create Online Direct Marketing: online direct marketing is very inexpensive, especially as postage rates continue to raise. With a little effort, it can also generate enough responses to be equally successful. Generally, online direct marketing focuses on creating communication between you and your customers, giving you the opportunity to target specific customers with relevant promotions. Read more: How to Be Successful in Online Direct Marketing | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2103036_be-successful-online-direct-marketing.html#ixzz1AqFb2CsV 1- Online Direct Marketing: It means selling products and services online directly to customers. This E-business model reduces costs and makes the distribution/dispersion of procurements more efficient, where sales are direct from the manufacturer or retailers to customers without processing through/using agents and physical stores. Dell offers e-procurement service to customers and businesses willing to buy products or services from the company. It allows buyers to browse, buy and order stocks through the Dell website which offers to buyers a chance to contact their staff for any guide. In premier B2B; another more developed version of e-procurement; authorized users of British Airways staff are provided with e-procurement tools to be able to access the intranet service and request for a product or order stocks from Dell Company. (Electronic Commerce, Efraim Turban, 2006) Electronic Tendering Systems: E-tendering is used for large-value purchases which are usually made by large organizations or public organizations. Conducting such a tendering online through Dells website will consume less time and money. Government agencies use e-tendering in most of their procurement to buy products and services efficiently. E-tendering can be applied on B2C business transaction as well as B2B transaction. In this way, Dell can become more popular and gain more customers to the company. Also many government agencies recommend tendering in most of their e-procurements. (Electronic Commerce, Efraim Turban, 2006) Dell established an e-procurement model to share it with business partners, such as British Airways. Electronic Tendering help them in requesting for bids when buying from sellers. Dell uses e-tendering in buying large quantities of components for their products. In this case, Dell will be to save more money when buying products through tendering. (Electronic Commerce, Efraim Turban, 2006) Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing is an internet-based marketing where an arrangement is made between the company and a marketing partner which is refered/called affiliate , . The affiliate will place/display an online advertisement of the company on his website by placing a banner ad or the companys logo or its link. A commission will be given to the affiliate partner every time a customer visits/refers to the selling companys website or makes a transaction/purchase through the advertisement placed in the affiliate website. the publisher (also known as the affiliate) It is a pay-for-performance model which means if an affiliate does not generate sales, it represents no cost to the merchant Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner. Dell appoints affiliate partners to link their websites to Dell website (dell.com). This partner receives 2 to 4 percent of the price of the product sold, if the buyer used the link of Dell website at the partners website. (Electronic Commerce, Efraim Turban, 2006) Online Auctions: Online auctions are sales transactions conducted online where shoppers make bids for products and the highest bidder wins the auction and gets the product delivered to him. The participants could be consumers, retailers or companies. The functionality of buying and selling in an auction format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_auction_business_model Dell auction has renewed Dells computers and other products at dellauction.com. Whereas the online auction is important sales channel in 2006, Dell has opened physical stores, mostly in reaction to customer demands. (Electronic Commerce, Efrim Turban, 2006) Viral Marketing: Dell has support forums in its website where buyers and users can refer to gain knowledge and information about Dell products. Customers of Dell who bought products and services will be able to help those who do not know what to buy, as they can make use of their experience from what they bought. In this way, Dell can gain more customers by encouraging their customers to inform others about Dell products in the forum. Also loyalty can be gained from customers by Dell when they find specific and accurate information is provided. (http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/default.aspx) Supply Chain Management: E-supply chain management: e-supply chain management is a joint technology used- to improve the processes of B2B transaction along with improving agility, speed, real time control and customer satisfaction. Vi Dells Website Dells suppliers The customers E-customer service Mass customization Dell IT has successfully implemented this solution for Dells Americas, Brazil, Europe, and Asia Pacific/Japan regions. By using the same processes for disaster recovery, backup, and monitoring across all Dell operations, Dell IT has achieved a cost-effective and readily supported deployment model. January 2007 Page 5 Dell Enterprise Technology Center This article describes in depth how Dell IT made the transition from proprietary Unix-based servers to running mission critical supply chain management applications on Dells own hardware. The problem being solved by these database applications is described in detail in Section 3. The old solution and the Dell-on-Dell solution are described in Section 4 and Section 5. Finally, measured performance improvements are shown in Section 6. Dells Supply Chain Management The sheer number of transactions and pieces of information that the supply chain management system needs to handle is impressive. Each of the core components of the supply chain management (SCM) system are heavily used and relied on to keep Dells operations running smoothly. Configuration Management: The Configuration Management system manages over 1 million Dell part numbers across approximately 200 product families, and over 2 million Bills of Materials (BOMs) per year. BOMs listing component part numbers are created for manufacturing to build assemblies and sub-assemblies to produce Dells products. Procurement: The Procurement system manages nearly 1.8 million Purchase Order lines per year, from more than 5,000 suppliers worldwide. To streamline the procurement process Dell uses an automated application which includes workflow approvals and vendor communication, and provides for services such as defective part warranty replacement. Cost: The Cost component of the system runs mostly in batch mode to calculate the costs to Dell for all Bills of Materials. These batch jobs run weekly, monthly and quarterly, with each run rolling up total material costs. Inventory: Between all sites there are more than 3 million inventory movements daily from stock rooms to the factory floor. A corresponding 3 million messages are transmitted to various systems for reporting, analysis and factory scheduling. Accounts Payable: Accounts Payable handles approximately 15,000 items per day including payments to Dell suppliers, invoices and receipts. Vendor information includes number, location, negotiated terms and contact information. On top of these order-related transactions, there are several batch process jobs that need to be run to rollup data every week, month or quarter. The longest of these, the end-of-quarter (EOQ) rollup, took 31 hours under the Unix-based solution. In Dells Americas region the SCM Oracle database application consists of approximately 3,000 database objects (functions, packages, procedures, triggers, tables, and views). The same SCM system is also supported by 6 Dell PowerEdge 2650 application servers, 5 internally developed web-based applications, more than 50 system-to-system integrations, approximately 125 batch jobs, and about 500 user interfaces deployed to support the entire SCM application. Dells Supply Chain Management (SCM) System allows customers to make their own orders. This feature involves the customer directly and cuts down costs for Dell salesmen salaries at the same time. Furthermore, Dells SCM system allows customers to build up their own computer systems with all provided options. Thus, customers will be forced to review all the available options along with adding components and parts they might not have thought of adding initially. When customers can review all of the possible options at their own pace, without direct sales pressure from a salesperson, Dells can benefit from additional component sales. Dell is also striving on establishing good communication and better customer service. The company now is providing easy access to support through its web site. Customers can find answers to frequent/common problems without the need of Dells technical assistants which helps the company to reduce its payroll costs. Dell also provides other opportunities like online chat, email and phone to make it easier for customers to contact the companys customer service for enquiries and to solve problems that are not mentioned in the website. Dell uses chat groups and users groups to keep customers involved with the company, which help to retain customers for future components sales from satisfied customers. Dell has established a web site that provides wide information options for its customers. In order to make it easier to its customers, The company has splitted the home page into a number of main customer groups; 1- Home Home Office, 2- Small Business, 3- Medium and Large Business and 4- Government, Education Healthcare. (Dells Website Flowchart I made illustrates this perfectly.) In each group, customers will find particular products and services that are suitable to their usage. Classifying the website shows that Dell realizes each customer groups needs and saves consumers time by displaying the products and services that concern them only. Dell also devoted a particular division for customer service and support on its website, which shows the companys high priority to customer satisfaction. Dell has provided Service Support group and its duplicated in all customer group pages. Dell makes it possible for the customer to do a significant amount of research on their own. The website contains a large deal of information that will address their needs and answer most of their enquiries and questions. Dells customer support and service field is greater than its competition in comparison to other companies (Dell.com). Recommendation: Industry advisory firm, Technology Business Research (TBR), issued a report on support satisfaction among corporate buyers and has indicated that Dells satisfaction ratings have slipped to 80.98, down from 83.4 in the third quarter of 2003. TBR questions buyers on eight aspects of support, including their overall satisfaction with a companys support service, and assigns each one a weighted score for a total of 100 possible points. Although Dell still topped rivals HP and IBM in the TBR survey, its score was the lowest seen since the research firm began tracking Dells satisfaction levels in the first quarter of 2001. According to the TBR report, IBM outscored Dell in the fourth quarter of 2003 based on product design/features and long-term durability. From polling customers that have switched from Dell to IBM, customers stated that their reasons for changing companies were product performance, pricing and support. Although Dell has maintained its strong leadership posi tion in the fourth quarter of 2003, Dell needs to address their customer loyalty and keep customers from changing companies. As a result of these polls, Dell is working toward reversing the declining customer satisfaction trend and to return to the industry leader in the area of customer service. Dell is aware that the PC business is becoming increasingly commoditized, marked by similarly equipped machines and price erosion. By cutting out the middleman, Dell believes it has established a closer relationship with its customers. One way to stand out from the crowd is to appeal to existing and new customers by offering better service and support than competitors (4Q03). Although US consumers have condemned Dell in some fields, Dell is still doing extremely well in other countries. According to Technology Business Research (TBR) reports report in September 2003, the France Customer Satisfaction Study determined Dell is the No. 1 ranked desktop and notebook vendor in France and is tied No. 1 server vendor. Dell was significantly ranked higher than other vendors within most notebook categories in loyalty and satisfaction. Moreover, customers in France consider that Dell provides excellent long-term durability hardware. Dells General Manager in France, Thierry Labbe stated These results, and recent strong market share gains in France, show this is starting to pay off. We will however, constantly drive value up and prices down, and focus on providing a great customer experience, giving customers plenty of reason to continue choosing Dell (Customer Satisfaction in France).