Corporate social responsiveness analysis

Corporate social responsiveness analysis Corporate social responsiveness refers to how business organizations and their agents actively interact with and manage their environments. In contrast, corporate social responsibility accentuates the moral obligations that business has to society. Responsiveness and responsibility can be viewed as a balance in that responsiveness can be shaped or triggered by public expectations of business responsibilities. Generally speaking, these responsibilities implied by the term of the social contract, which legitimises business as an institution with the expectation that it provides a service whilst adhering to societys laws and ethical norms. From this perspective, businesses are in a dynamic relationship with society of which responsiveness is a key aspect. More broadly, there is the issue of why business should bother. After all, as neoclassical economists have long argued, business owes abstractions such as society nothing-shareholders are the owners of business and it is the organizations obligation to do everything legal and legitimate to advance shareholder value, not waste it on well-meaning but irrelevant CSR projects. On the other hand, the stakeholder model of the firm would insist that shareholders are only one set of stakeholders and that there are plenty of other significant stakeholders, including customers; non-governmental organisations (NGOs); and communities more generally; as well as activist groups claiming to articulate the interests of the environment and climate change and other silent stakeholders. If businesses serve only shareholder value interests in the short term and do so in such a way that jeopardises other stakeholder interests, this can have an adverse impact on the business by attacking its legitimacy or reputation. It may well be that in standard business practice that the primary responsibility of companies is to create wealth for their shareholders. The emergence of CSR and activists associated with it however adds another dimension, in order for companies to do well financially; they must also be good, ethically, by acting virtuously. Civil society organisations have increased the energy they devote to directly lobbying and exposing the malpractice of companies, which has helped to change consumer preferences and citizens attitudes towards human rights, the environment, and exploitative relationships. This paper has been divided into several headings. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the state of corporate social responsibility at multinational corporations (MNCs), using the examples of Shell and Emirates Airlines. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility at MNCs There have been increasing demands on multinational enterprises (MNCs) to provide community development programmes and assistance to their host communities, particularly, in developing countries. In other words, meeting locally defined social and economic goals. This is mainly because developmental projects and other social infrastructures are lacking in most of these countries and most of all the time that are not provided by the government. For example, oil companies, particularly, those operating in developing countries are now constantly under pressure to be more open and accountable for a wide range of actions, and to report publicly on their performance in the social and environmental arenas. Because of their impact on politics, economics and society in host nations, they must be more attentive that others in demonstrating social responsibility through initiatives to reduce their negative impact. Blowfield and Frynas (2005) mention that MNEs need to take account of the social, ethical and environmental perceptions of their operations and how these are likely to shape the future attitudes and actions of stakeholders. Following this argument, oil companies attach greater importance to their social and environmental impact and they engage more with local communities that they used to do in the past. Various community and environmental initiatives may be seen as a response to the threat of stakeholder sanctions (Blowfield and Frynas, 2005). The purpose of the report is top discuss the state of corporate social responsibility at multinational corporations (MNCs) using the examples of Shell and Emirates Airlines in a comprehensive way. First the paper will start with a brief on each of these companies. Secondly it will go on to the Stakeholder Salience model and the Stakeholder Power Interest matrix followed by a basic chart illustrating stakeholder dynamics for both companies. The third section will focus on Corporate Social Responsibility at Shell and Emirates Airlines and Shell Oil and Emirates Airlines Launched in 1985 in Dubai with just two leased planes, the global air giant Emirates Airlines now consists of a fleet of over 120 planes and approximately 44,000 employees. The privately owned Emirates Airlines group consists of Emirates Airlines and a number of subsidiary companies including Emirates Airlines Holidays Limited. Emirates Airlines is one of the worlds leading airlines with a network that provides passenger and freight services to 149 destinations in 72 countries. Shells head office is based in The Hague, Netherlands and the parent company of the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, incorporated in England and Wales. Shell currently operates in over 100 countries and employs 102,000 staff worldwide. Shell produces 2% of the worlds oil supplies and 3% of the worlds gas supplies. Shell Stakeholder Power Interest Matrix LOW INTEREST / LOW POWER Sub-contractors HIGH INTEREST / LOW POWER Country Leaders (if corrupt) Employees Proximate Communities Future Generations Community Initiatives LOW INTEREST / HIGH POWER Government Suppliers / Supply Chain Customers Shipping Industries Oil Reserve Companies HIGH INTEREST / HIGH POWER Price Governing Bodies Shareholders Competitors Petrol Price Governance Environment Lobbying Groups Legal Representation Companies Marketing Web Design Emirates Stakeholder Power Interest Matrix LOW INTEREST / LOW POWER Government (as privately owned) Future Generations Price Governing Bodies Sub-contractors Community Initiatives HIGH INTEREST / LOW POWER Employees Proximate Communities LOW INTEREST / HIGH POWER Suppliers / Supply Chain Customers Air Space Control HIGH INTEREST / HIGH POWER Shareholders Competitors Petrol Price Governance Environment Lobbying Groups Legal Representation Companies Marketing Web Design Corporate Social Responsibility at Shell and Emirates Airlines Shell Canada attempts to make all levels of management and corporate governance aware of these guiding Business Principles through strong Lines of communication between all organizational levels for the management of health, safety, environmental and social responsibility and must also consider having regard to the legal industry and community standards in those areas (Cannon, 1992). In Shell Canadas reports are regarded as their commitment to SD, and SD is used as an overarching corporate goal, alongside growth and profitability, each essential to delivering long-term value to their shareholders. The companys reports are part of its commitment to two guiding principles, transparency and stakeholder engagement, which attempts to strengthen the linkages between its conduct, and societys expectations. (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). Furthermore, decline in economic and social development in host communities due to neglect and lack of development initiatives from host governments, has sparked a global debate about the social responsibility of corporations. According to experts, stakeholders increasingly are looking to the private sector for help with a myriad of complex and pressing social and economic issues (Blowfield and Frynas, 2005). Similarly, it has been argued that it is good business to actively engage all stakeholders in the development of sustainable strategies that reflect both economic and socially responsible outcomes (Eweje, 2001). Emirates mission is to deliver services that matter to people who value how they fly. To realise this, Emirates Airlines recognises the importance of working in partnership with its stakeholders. This has influenced its approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Its approach has also been influenced by the recognition that airlines generate major social and economic benefits, but also have significant impacts on the environment (for example, through noise and air quality) and on communities around airports. (needs referencing) There are several reasons why Emirates Airlines chose to engage in CSR. The first is because it is a tool to help achieve the companys long term strategic goals in providing growth opportunities around Heathrow airport. Secondly, improving business efficiency and reducing costs through waste and energy programmes provided a strong business case for CSR (Frynas, 2005). The company also thought CSR could help them with risk management by identifying risks to health, safety and environment that could hinder its opportunity to attract investors and grow the business. Lastly, it recognised that it needed to act to enhance its corporate reputation, and customer feedback (both corporate and from the general public) revealed that they expected Emirates Airlines to do the right thing. (Warhurst and Mitchell, 2000). Climate change is increasingly relevant to Emirates Airlines as aviation is a growing contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions, a main greenhouse gas, and consequently to climate change. The increase in emissions-stimulated by a rise in a passenger and freight travel-coincides with many politicians and civil society groups calling for industry to reduce carbon emissions. this presented a problem for Emirates Airlines, especially when it seeks to be a leading player in the industry for environmental issues (Eweje, 2001). In response to this Emirates Airlines board decided to develop a programme of work on climate change. The programme first sough to identify ways in which the company could reduce its own impacts. By auditing its emissions and energy use, targets for reduction in these areas were developed-for example, a fuel efficiency target of a 30% improvement between 1990 and 2010. To date this represents a saving of 50m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (Eweje, 2001). Emirates Airlines set a target of total reductions in annual emissions of 125,000 tonnes of CO2, to be achieved over five years (Culverwell, Lee and Koziell, 2003). One inhibiting factor has been the increase in fuel surcharges, which may have made passengers less interested in paying for other additional costs (Frynas, 2005). Emirates Airlines has attempted to deal with these challenges by improving understanding of the issues, proactively leading and stimulating the debate through direct advocacy with government and participation at various fora (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). Feedback from government and from experts on the environment has revealed that the climate change programme has positioned Emirates Airlines as a responsible airline. By becoming more involved in the debate, it has been able to steer that debate towards (in its view) the most sensible proposal of emission trading, rather than other interventions that could be expensive for the industry. In this way Emirates Airlines has been better able to manage its risks. The investment community has acknowledged this, and because of this it has enable Emirates Airlines to attract investment. A final benefit has been that, owing to its and other companies attitudes to environmental sustainability, there is a genuine prospect of expansion at Heathrow airport offering new opportunities for growth to Emirates Airlines (Warhust and Mitchell, 2000). The climate change programme is CSR because it is about taking actions to reduce its impact on the environment. Growing threat to the environment and to societies everywhere. Emirates Airlines actions on climate change go beyond compliance demonstrating that it is taking voluntary actions to reduce its contribution to carbon emissions and better understand its impact on climate change (Eweje, 2001). Emirates Airlines wishes to maintain its industry leadership position by continuing to develop policy and advocacy for cost effective instruments that benefit the environment. As part of this, it seeks to improve its customer engagement on climate change, to raise awareness and communicate Emirates Airlines work in the area. It will further develop its ground energy strategy to include actions to further reduce its internal impacts, for example, improving energy efficiency in its maintenance hangers. Lastly, it is continuing to develop and seek improvements in meeting its fuel efficiency target with a view to settting a new target for 2010 onwards. In Nigeria today, the most critical issue that affects the oil and gas is the Niger Delta (oil-producing region). There has been enormous pressure on both the Nigerian government and the MNCs to double their efforts and develop the region that contributes more that 80 per cent of Nigeria foreign earnings. Experts such as Carson, 1993 argue that oil companies have initiated, and implemented significant community development schemes. For example, MNCs provide education, scholarships, and build roads in Nigeria. He also suggests that global spending by oil, gas and mining companies on community development programmes in 2001 was over 500 million dollars (Carson, 1993). It could be argued that in economic terms, these are not the functions of businesses, but in less developed countries these roles, or rather duties, are expected from MNCS. Indeed, there have been times when local people in oil-producing regions have turned against MNEs precisely because they feel, as Mitte the president of Movement of the survival of the Ogoni people. One of the communities in the Niger Delta put it: they were not getting enough social and economic infrastructures/assistance from the MNEs that operate in their communities (Carson, 1993). Regrettably, the lack of visible and positive impact of CSR initiatives in oil-producing communities has been questioned. Evidence suggests that there is a gap between the MNCs stated CSR objectives and the actual results on the ground. What follows is the criticism of the community development initiatives of the companies because the host communities believe that MNCs CSR initiatives are not addressing both the social and environmental problems they are intended to resolve (Cannon, 1992). This assertion is somewhat similar to the argument of experts who suggest that numerous claims have been made about the contribution CSR can make to poverty alleviation and other development goals (Culverwell, Lee and Koziell, 2003). They further argue that contributes to this issue have reached the conclusion that currect CSR approaches do not warrant such claims. MNCs CSR initiatives in the Niger Delta have many aspects which include employment issues, environmental issues and local community issues (Cannon, 1992). MNCs CSR Initiatives in the Niger Delta In Nigeria, Charges of unethical behaviours include: total neglect of the Niger Delta (oil-producing areas in Nigeria) and lack of educational facilities such as classroom, teachers, and scholarships which will enhance the literacy development of the indigenes of the communities (Culverwell, Lee and Koziell, 2003). Over the years, the oil exploration and producing companies witnessed endless communal agitation, as the host communities have looked up to them for support and assistance in the provision of social and economic infrastructure and employment The poorests parts of Nigeria are where these oil companies are, and this has heightened conflict (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). Recourse to violence has resulted in a lot of damage to property and casualties on both sides. In some instances, it has resulted in the withdrawal of operations by oil companies form some locations. While planned seismic and drilling activities have been abandoned in others (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). In the past, the oil companies approach was to help or appease the communities whenever the need arose. More recently, however, they have established a more proactive and thoughtful approach to community assistance. This has resulted in the emergence of a fully developed community relations department in each of the companies, solely set up to anticipate and plan the needs of the communities (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). The Nigerian Petroleum News, 1998, who understand better their own real needs and future aspirations. During interviews with senior managers of oil companies in Nigeria, it was confirmed that community relations departments were created solely to meet local needs and situational politics. The argument here supports the theoretical position of experts who argue that corporations tend to listen to the demand of powerful stakeholder groups. In this case, the MNCs listen carefully to the demands of host communities and changed their approach towards them. The host communities also demand social welfare projects from the MNCs. In many developing countries, national and local governments have taken a more hands- off approach (Frynas, 2005) to regulating business due to such things as changing policies, the globalisation of commerce and shrinking resources. Against this background, companies are relying less on government for guidance, and instead they are pursuing their own policies with regard to such matters as environmental performance, working conditions and ethical marketing practices. This approach can be problematic. The secretary of the chiefs council of the oil-producing village of Bonny in the Niger Delta accused the oil companies of: Apartheid in its residential areas where all the state of the art welfare facilities including good water, constant electricity, good roads, super markets, schools with high-tech equipment, swimming pools and other facilities were in existence while the people of Bonny, the host community suffer absolute squalor and neglect (Frynas, 2005). This is one example of a charge of double standard brought against multinationals in developing countries. The host communities believe they should have the same facilities that are on offer to the companies workers since the bulk of profits of the MNEs comes from their land. As one observer pointed out: Communities in the Delta area in particular, where most of the exploration and production activities take place, feel generally ill-treated in the entire process of oil prospecting and production and consider themselves as being at the end of only the adverse effects of these activities (Frynas, 2005). They believe that they have not received an equitable share of the tremendous oil revenues which are being derived from their land and territories, especially in the light of disruptive consequences on their health and sources of livelihood. Nor have they been recognised as the inhabitants of oil-producing areas who should benefit from the natural resource that abounds in their ancestral lands. Trust and Discontent Issue It is argued in this paper that issue of trust plays a significant role in the relationship between the host communities in the Niger Delta and the MNCs. The past behaviour of MNCs for unfulfilling promises to the host communities has created a negative perception and mistrust. Hence, any CSR initiative no matter how laudable it is, does not always receive positive reaction in host communities. According to experts, managers can find a wealth of benefits from trust, including cost savings and enhanced organisational capacities. According to these researchers, what is evident is that the willingness of managers to create mutually trusting relationships is a matter of strategic choice. In other words, managers can, through their behaviour, help determine levels of trust in relationships between their firm and its various stakeholders. Trust is thus define as an integral part of the strategy formulation process (Warhust and Mitchell, 2000). High figures suggests that the Nigerian government rakes billions of US dollars in form of revenue from the oil industry. However, the host communities in the Niger Delta are neglected; corruption and mismanagement is rife amongst officials hence some projects earmarked for the development of the region are never completed (Warhurst and Mitchell, 2000). Charges of unethical behaviour include: total neglect of the Niger Delta and lack of educational facilities such as classrooms, teachers, and scholarships which will enhance the literacy development of the indigenes of the communities. Over the years, the oil exploration and producing companies have borne the brunt of endless communal agitation, as the host communities have looked up to them for support and assistance in the provision of social and economic and infrastructure and employment. The host communities believe they should have the same facilties that are on offer to the companies workers since the bulk of profits of the MNEs come from their land. On the issue of electrification of the communities, the companies are accused of neglecting the areas where they work by only providing electricity to their installations. The communities do not benefit from the same developments that the companies undertake for their installations and workers (Warhurst and Mitchell, 2000). Conclusion In short, the paper presents the examples of two multinational corporations and their responsiveness towards corporate social responsibility. The main points of the paper can be summarised that corporate social responsiveness, corporate social responsibility, and corporate social impacts are encapsulated in the phrase corporate social performance. Of these three concepts, responsiveness is the most forward looking, action-oriented, and malleable, since it is based on the precept that corporations have the capacity to anticipation and adapt to environmental factors. The potential is that corporate managers can learn to prevent or minimize the kind of unwelcome surprises that necessitate crisis management and government intervention while responding proactively to public expectations of how business can serve the greater good.

The war of the worlds Essay -- English Literature

The war of the worlds This essay will discuss how chapter four ‘the cylinder unscrews’ is important to the novel as a whole. ‘‘The war of the worlds’’ was written by Herbert George Wells, the novel was written in response to several historical events. The most important one was the unification and militirisation of Germany. ‘The war of the worlds’ was written in 1894 which later in 1983 was aired on radio broadcast by Orson Wells. The novel is about Martians invading earth because they can no longer survive on mars. The people try everything to get rid of the Martians but in the end nature wins against science. H.G. Wells has included a lot of science fiction in this story which makes this story effective. In the 1st chapter the narrator describes how Earth may be seen ‘by greater, more intelligent forces’ same as humans ‘with microscopes scrutinize the transient.’ This novel is still popular today for the wait of a big film coming out next year. The fundamental reason to why ‘the cylinder unscrews’ is important to the novel as a whole is because it’s the first time we seethe Martians, but there are also many other reasons to why this chapter is important to the novel as a whole. as we can see at the beginning of chapter four we see signs of unease and fear arising ‘the voices were raised †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the first real evidence of actual fear is in chapter four as well, when the narrator passes the young boy as he heads for home ‘I don’t like it.’ At this point the crowd is also getting more worried and closer to the danger. Further on in the chapter we come to the build up of suspense towards the cylinder being unscrewed ‘I had the sunset in my eyes’ revelation delayed by a description of what people expected to ... ...hing of the lungs in a strange atmosphere.’ The science fiction part is again where the author describes the breathing of the Martians the description of the Martians is part of science fiction but is more of a fantasy and is completely imagined ‘tentacles’. The historical fits in with the chapter because the story was most appealing to the Victorian reader Wells used his scientific knowledge to intrigue the reader. The social concept in the story is symbolic and shows cruse characterisation of the mob. In conclusion this chapter is important to the novel as a whole because it is the first time we meet the Martians base on the evidence in this essay. My views about ‘the war of the worlds’ is that although the writer used a lot of science fiction in the first tree chapters it was really effective when it came to the actual description of the Martians.

Marketing Strategy In General Motors Essay

  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   General Motors Corporation was founded in the year 1908 with its head quarters based in the United States of America. It’s the world’s largest automaker manufacturing over 35 different brands and generally ranked the fifth largest company worldwide with a work force of over 280000 employees the world over. As part of corporate social responsibility G..M has given millions of dollars in computers to Engineering colleges. It has also created joint ventures dedicated to quality of life needs of employees through offering of medical care and other social services. In terms of marketing strategies, the company has embarked on large scale productions to minimize capital under utilization. Secondly, its diversity on automobile make also spreads the risks thus lowering chances of totally risky ventures. Branding has also been the secret behind their prosperous undertaking mostly with the introduction of trendy sports utility makes. Not to be left behind technologically, G.M has also kept up with the technological advancements with the manufacture of electric vehicles as well as the G.M auto racing models. INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketing strategy is when an organization designs the best combination or package of the traditional 4ps and extended 5ps in an attempt to influence the target market appropriately. There is need to review the current marketing strategy as the marketing environment is dynamic. An effective strategy requires a rich and current database.   An organization should therefore invest in continuous marketing research. General Motors has used various strategies in its growth. Among them are the generic strategies and grand strategies as discussed below.   DISCUSSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The General motors company has used the above strategies to maximize diversification. The company has used a strategy of using new technology in the market so that it can be competitive in market for better performance and facing new challenges coming up in the world market, like, before the 1970s the motor vehicle manufacturing companies in Europe regarded themselves as competing largely in a home market in which they were dominant. However, the subsequent changes in the motor vehicle industry were dramatic. The motor vehicle industry in general was faced with the problems of an increasingly competitive market in a changing business environment; the need was to match the organization’s activity to this environment in such a way as to   take advantage of such opportunities that might be provided and overcome the   many threats that could arise. Since the environment is continually changing the company makes strategic decisions for better growth of the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategic decisions often have major resource implications for an organization. These may be decisions to do with the disposal or acquisition of assets of substantial value. The company decides as part of the rationalization of its operations to close a plant that is not doing well. Also the company adopts strategy of using new technology so as to achieve economies of scale in production. In other words, strategic decisions may result in major changes in the resource base of the business. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions, to set off waves of lesser decisions. For example, if the firm decides to rationalize its operations and cut back on manufacturing capacity and the workforce, this may give rise to industrial relations problems. Similarly, strategic decisions about rationalization, which lead to a revised product or manufacturing plan, will inevitably mean that the sorts of day-to-day problems faced by a production manager, or a sales manager, in the company turn out to be different. Again, then, it is important to understand that strategic decisions have wide ramifications across the organization. The strategy of an organization will be affected not only by environmental forces and resource availability, but also by the values and  Ã‚   expectations of those who have power in the organization. According to M.E. Porter (1980) corporate strategy is concerned with impact of external environment on the firm. In some respects, strategy can be thought of as a reflection of the attitudes and beliefs of those who have most influence in the organization. Whether a company is expansionist or more concerned with consolidation, or where the boundaries are drawn for a company’s activities, may say such about the values and attitudes of those who most strongly influence strategy. Making organization mission clear to member, this will serve as strategy.   The company uses its mission statement as a strategy which states that it will stand the best in producing motor vehicles, standing against competition, in terms of technological advances and in terms of its role in society. The company uses this strategy with specific aims as to where the organization is conceived to be throughout. Strategic decisions are likely to be concerned with the scope of an organization’s activities: does the organization concentrate on one area of activity, or does it have many activities? For example, should the firm focus? On a small range of products or, as in the past, have a very diverse range? To what extent should it be integrated backwards into manufacturing or forward into distribution? And should it attempt to compete widely in international markets, indeed would it survive without a wider international role?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   General Motors uses a strategy of matching organization’s activities with its resource capability. It also uses a strategy of countering environmental threats and taking advantage of environmental opportunities; by matching organizational resources to threats and opportunities. Before the company takes any strategy it looks at the long term implication it will bring to the firm before implementation is done. The decisions taken now by the management of the company will have long-term implications on the health of the business in later decades, for instance, a decision to close a plant that is not doing well or to move into another area of activity. Strategic decisions therefore tend to have long term horizons and or implications, strategic decisions are often complex in nature. General Motors has managers who look cross-functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. This problem of integration exists in all management tasks but is particularly problematic for strategic decisions. Strategic decisions are likely to involve major changes in organizations. The company has a team of experts who make sure that before a strategy is implemented, it has to be developed, and that there should be a strategic vision. The strategic vision is a view of an organization’s future direction and business course. The task involves visualizing the firm’s future position in five to ten years. The task is to inject sense of purpose into a firm’s activities, provide long-term direction, give the firm a strong identity and decide, who we are, what we do, and where we are An example of a strategic vision of an airline business us â€Å"We want our airline to be the worldwide airline of choice.† The strategic vision of General motors is communicated and shared by all those working for the company. After strategy vision has been done, organization move to the next level that is developing organization’s mission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company mostly uses its mission statement so that it does not get out its main aim. An organization’s mission represents management’s customized answer to the question; â€Å"what is our business?† A mission statement broadly outlines the organization’s future direction and serves as a guiding concept to what the organization is to do and become. (Cole, 1996). It reflects management’s vision of what the firm seeks to do and become, provides a clear view of what the firm is trying to accomplish for its customers, indicate the intent to stake out a particular business position.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Developing an organization’s mission as the strategy which will involve defining: who, what and where.   According to Thompson and Strickland (1990) who suggested that there are tasks of strategic management which they see as bringing together: setting of the overall mission or goals of organization, the establishing of business objectives and the strategy required to achieve the two above. It helps managers avoid losing focus on the firm’s direction to achieve what its aim that to expand and to grow in the market. Another strategy is setting objectiveness of the organization. The purpose of setting objectives is to convert the mission into performance targets, create yardsticks to track performance, establish performance goals and push the firm to be inventive, intentional and focused. Setting challenging but achievable objectives guards against the following: complacency, drift, internal confusion and status quo performance. Objectives provide a direction to the firm in its quest for realizing the vision and mission and benchmarks for judging organizational performance. The company employs qualified staff as strategy since qualified staff can be able to increase production and high quality hence making the firm to grow and increase its market share. It uses lower costs than its rivals as a cost leadership which will assist to reduce expenses charged against profit, making a firm to have high profit comparing with other firm, by increasing profit the company grow and increase the market share. The company does a thorough research as strategy that is becoming the leader in new product introduction to the market, this will assist to increase sales since no other firms will be selling such new product in the market. When one firm is selling a product in the market and no competitor, this means the firm will be selling at abnormal price hence making super profit and this will lead the firm to grow and increase market share. Overtaking rival firms on quality or customer services strategy will make business to grow. Customer service as strategy involves treating customer with very high respect and integrity, making customer to feel cared for and given good service, this will make the firm to increase the number of customers comparing with other firms and retaining those who have visited the firm, this will increase sales hence organization growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company uses the satisfaction of customer needs as its main strategy. Total Quality Management is used as strategy for organizational growth and increase of the market share to achieve this. Once customer requirements have been identified, they need to be translated into standards which can be interpreted and understood easily by employees and clients. One of the major quality difficulties facing service organizations is the defining of service quality standards. According to Ansoff (1984) redefined strategic management as a systematic approach for managing change which consists of positioning of the firm through strategy and capability planning, real time strategic response through issue management and a systematic management of resistance during strategic implementation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once client requirements have been identified and standards of service defined, it is necessary to define systems which will enable the standards to be translated into achievable processes. To provide a service which satisfies and even delights clients, professional firms need to recruit and train their staff to achieve the required standards throughout the service process. The recruitment and selection of appropriate staff can be used has strategy by organization, as these are the foundation of any quality-conscious firm. The client-centered firm should take into account all relevant criteria and consider recruitment as the first stage in retaining loyal, well-motivated and happy employees. Proper training can also be a good strategy to organization. A professional employee, like any other member of staff, has a limited set of skills which require continual updating in the face of changing market demands and technology. Only by updating these skills using well-developed programs, can professional firms ensure that they equip their staff with the skills needed to respond to future client expectations. Internal communication methods is another important strategy organization can not do without. To ensure that staff members are aware of the importance of clients, it is essential that management communicates, on a regular basis, the need for continuous and organization-wide quality improvement to their staff. To achieve this, there are various internal communication methods available, which include: newsletters; team briefings; meetings; internal customer-supplier workshops; and training key interfacing departments in the main processes and procedures of the supplier and customer activities. To modify client interaction behavior, professional firms can introduce performance-related rewards and recognition systems as strategy to beat their rivals, which encourage client-satisfying behavior, recognizing and praising employees for work well done is not superfluous, but rather confirmation of accomplishments and a reinforcement of commitment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company also uses financial objectives as strategy. Financial objective are those outcomes that relate to improving the firm’s financial performance such as: – a) Increase earnings growth from 10% to 15% per year.   b) Boost return on equity investment from 15% to 20%. For the objectives to have values as a management tool, they must be stated in quantifiable or measurable terms and specify a deadline for achievement. Objective-setting process should be a top-down process in order to achieve unity and cohesion throughout the organization. Because all managers need objectives the process should be top-down and should follow the following pattern: Start with organization-wide objectives, next, set business and product line objectives. Then, establish functional area and department objectives, individual objectives come last. Strategy-making concerns how to achieve desired strategic and financial, objectives out-compete rivals and win a competitive advantage, respond to changing industry and competitive conditions, defend against threats to the firm’s well-being, grow the business, among other things. A firm’s strategy will actually consist of making decisions about the following: How to satisfy customers, how to grow the business, how to respond to changing industry and market conditions, how to best capitalize on new opportunities, how to manage each functional piece of business and how to achieve strategic and financial objectives. Ansoff suggested a matrix of product market alternatives which has become widely used in basic terms the matrix offered the following alternatives: market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification any strategy to work it has to be implemented. Implementing strategies involves creating fits between the way things are done and what it takes for effective strategy execution, executing strategy proficiently and efficiently, and producing excellent results in a timely manner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proficient strategy execution will depend greatly on competent personnel, adequate skills and effect internal organization. There are three types of organization actions that are very important: Selecting able persons for key positions, making certain that the organization has the skills, core competencies, managerial talents, technical expertise, and competitive capabilities it needs and developing an organizational structure that is conducive to successful strategy executioner can be done by: allocating ample resources to strategy-critical activities. Organizational units need enough resources  Ã‚   to carry out their part of the strategic plan. This includes having enough of the right kinds of people and sufficient operating funds for them to do their work successfully, instituting best practices and programs for continuous improvement. A strong commitment to adopt best practices, especially for those activities where the potential for better quality performance or lower costs can translate into a sizable impact on the bottom line, is integral to effective strategy implementation, installing support systems that enable company personnel to carry out their strategy execution. Strategies cannot be executed without a number of support systems to carry on the business operations. For instance, an airline may not hope to provide a world class passenger service without a computerized reservation system, a system for accurate and expeditious handling of luggage and a strong aircraft maintenance program, tying reward structure to achievement of results: the company needs to enlist commitment, throughout the organization, to carrying out the strategic plan by motivating and rewarding people for good performance, creating a strategy-supportive corporate culture. The beliefs, goals and practices called for in a strategy may or may not be compatible with a firm’s culture. When they are not a company finds it difficult to implement strategy successfully. The management should stay focused as to what they are trying to achieve in the face of a changing environment and customer needs; otherwise they will not remain competitive in the industry, lowers management’s threshold to change. The management are made to understand that the environment is changing and thus the need to do things in a different way so as to have a competitive advantage in their area of operation, provides basis for evaluating competing budget requests and steering resources to strategy-supportive, results-producing areas, unites numerous strategy-related decisions of managers at all organizational levels. The managers are made to stay focused on one objective and not to make conflicting decisions, creates a proactive, rather than reactive, atmosphere; with the environmental scanning the organization is aware of changes in the environment and hence will take action to take advantage of the changes and prevent any adverse effects on itself, enhances long-range performance; the organization is always to plan for the long-term and its performance is focused on the achievement of long-term objectives and fewer resources and less time devoted to correcting erroneous or ad hoc decisions; this is because all the managers will be making decisions aimed at achieving the set objectives only and there will be enhanced coordination among them due to the existence of strategic management process. CONCLUSION The role of strategic management cannot be downplayed, given the need to align the organization with the changing environment with a view to realizing the long term objectives of the organization to the future with success. It is critical that all departments in the organization be involved in strategy formulation to ease the implementation process. Proper communication of the vision and mission serves to inspire challenge and motivate the workforce hence making organization grow and increase the market share. The General motor company as used the above strategies to grow by obtaining its objectives, increasing market share and market it to stay in the market. No company can grow or stay in the market if it does not use strategies to face challenges which face market industries RECOMMENDATIONS From the above we can say that due to changes in the environment it necessary to change ways of carrying out business. Any company to continue in business it has to change to new strategies, which will include ways of marketing, using latest technology, for example marketing using internet, having qualified staff in business that will be in appositions to employ new skills. It is very important for any company to look the welfare of employee since this will promote employees morale towards the work. Strategy should be seen as the continuous improvement of accompany so it should not forgotten at all costs, it should be seen as the backbone of the company. Since the company is seen as going concern it must be able to implement all strategies for it survive, this can be seen from the above company that General motors. Last but not least every company to compete in the industry must have clear vision and mission statement for its reference when doing business so that the company can stick to them. REFERENCES 1)Cole, G.A. (1994), Strategic Management, DP Publications. Chandler, Alfred D. (1962), Strategy & Structure, MIT press. Andrews, Kenneth R. (1987), The concept of corporate strategy, 3rd edition, Richard D. Irwin. Ansoff, H.I. (1965), Corporate Strategy, McGraw-Hill. Ansoff, H.I. (1964), Implanting Strategic Management, Prentice Hall International Porter, M.E. (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors, The Free Press. Thompson, Arthur & Strickland, A.J. (1990), Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, Richard D. Irwin.

Comparison between the essays

Comparison between the essays In Mirror by Sylvia Plath, the poem is about a mirror telling the reader about itself and its life. The woman has had the mirror all her life and so it has watched her grow up. Its mostly about the nature of reality and truth. Plath uses the mirror in the poem to open up a hidden view of her own reality that no one has ever seen before. The poem is written in first person, and because it is a mirror and has no idea of what things may be like, it shows things as they are without changing them in order to please or disappoint people. The mirror tells the reader about the loneliness it feels being separated from the outside world. The woman appears to be searching for more answers about her and her life. then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon... The candles and moon are described as liars in the poem, these are items of romance, the woman feels as though romance and love are lies. Every morning as the light comes, the mirror sees the woman, and every morning she grows older. The mirror can remember the woman as a young girl, and because she has now grown up, the image of the young girl is a mere memory that has died, and gradually the older version of the woman will do the same. ...drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman rises towards her day after day The woman in this story gives the reader a feeling of her being trapped by herself and of her aging, she cannot escape getting older. In My Grandmother by Elizabeth Jennings, the relationship between the granddaughter and her grandmother is very distant. She was afraid to get too close to her grandmother, as if she felt that if she did, she may get treated like one of her grandmothers antiques, used and named a possession. I remember how I once refused to go out with her, since I was afraid. In the shop, among all the Apostle Spoons (spoon in sets depicting the Twelve Apostles) and Bristo...

How To Enable Readability Measures in Microsoft Word 2007

How To Enable Readability Measures in Microsoft Word 2007 The Readability Measures feature in Microsoft Word and Outlook are helpful tools to measure words per sentence, passive voice percentage, the Flesch Reading Ease, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level in your documents. Together, they offer a measure of the clarity in your business writing. Thanks to Corporate Geek for this clear explanation of how to configure Readability Measures in Microsoft Word 2007: First, click on the Office Button and then go to Word Options, as shown below. In the Word Options window, go to the Proofing section. In that section, check the option which says ‘Show readability statistics’ and click on OK. Once this option is enabled, you can check the readability of any text by pressing the F7 key. Microsoft Word 2007 will first make a spell check of the selected text and, at the end, it will show you the readability statistics. How To Enable Readability Measures in Microsoft Outlook 2007 In Microsoft Outlook 2007, the procedure is slightly different. First, go to Tools - Options. In the Options window, go to the Spelling tab. It is a good idea to check the two available options: ‘Always check spelling before sending’ and ‘Ignore original message text in reply or forward’. By enabling these options, Outlook will always check the correctness of your e-mails before sending them. Once you have done this, click on the ‘Spelling and AutoCorrection’ button. In the Editor Options window, go to the Proofing section. Check the option which says ‘Show readability statistics’ and click on OK. Now, before sending an e-mail message, Outlook will first make a spell check of your message and then will show you the readability statistics. If you did not check the ‘Always check spelling before sending’ option from the Spelling tab, Outlook will not check automatically the readability of your message. You can do this manually by pressing the F7 key before sending the message. NOTE: The readability statistics are not available for Powerpoint and Excel. You won’t find them in the configuration options. In Microsoft Office 2003, the readability statistics are available only in Word.

What do you understand by the phrase 'moral panic' Please Essay

Moral Panic - Essay Example This paper illustrates that yo perfectly understand a moral panic, it is essential to have efficient knowledge of what morals are and what panic is, with this, it shall be clear as to how and why the term moral panic came to being, therefore, the topics of discussion in this essay will be morals, panics, moral panic, and how the media is said to be responsible for creating moral panic. Butts explains that the concept of morality is borrowed from the Latin word, denoted as â€Å"moral†. He further goes on to denote that it means a message or lesson that is learned, through an outcome of a given event or a narration. It majorly concerns or relates to what is considered right or wrong in society. Morals are passed from one individual to another is society through socialization which is one of the key functions of the various institutions that exists in society namely the family, religion, the school and many more. These institutions majorly use literature among the very many medi a that exists to pass down morals from one generation to another. This is normally done through the use of literature that explains fictional stories such as Goosebumps. These stories served as an avenue of entertainment but also as a source of morals because they informed, improved, and instructed their readership or audience, for example, the novels by Dickens Charles, over the years have been a great source of morality. This is because Charles Dickens has extensively written on the various social and economic ills that face the society. Charles Dickens, in his book, David Copperfield talks extensively on the economic and social ills of the society. Panic, on the other hand, is the sudden feeling of fear that is usually very great at particular instances that it replaces reasonable thinking with overwhelming agitation as well as anxiety. Panic might be experienced by an individual or get experienced by a group of people all at once at times referred to as panic of the mass or mass panic.

Antibiotic Resistant Bactria Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antibiotic Resistant Bactria - Lab Report Example Through natural selection mechanism, the organisms that survive the killer antibiotic give rise to a new generation of resistant bacteria. This article analyzes various ways on how the menace of drug resistance can be curbed. To achieve the objectives, the article focuses on research done by experts on the issues and possibilities of mending any loopholes in the research so as to eliminate cases of drug resistance. Available data in the heath sector shows that some of the diseases that medical practitioners used to cure with ease are becoming more expensive and difficult to cure. Moreover, the WHO (world health organization) has a recently been announcing the rising trend in the demand of new types of antibiotic. In this, the global body claims that the existing antibiotics have consistently been failing to eliminate some microorganisms, Ochiai (2011). The data has clearly indicated that the cases of drug resistance by microbial is on a rising spree. Though the data is consistent with the many deaths resulting from formerly curable diseases, experts have not been able to provide sufficient evidence of new resistant mechanisms apart from the ancient rationale of gene resistance, p. 158. To close the information gap, Collins (2002) suggests that researchers have to find out a justification for the new resistance mechanism. Among the many techniques that used to eliminate cases of drug resistance, completion of antibiotic dosage has proved to be quite reliable. Shnayerson & Plotkin (2003) declare that when a patient successive undergoes a complete antibiotic therapy, microbial is given little time to mutate. In the circumstance that the treatment is not completed, a new generation of bacteria that cannot be eliminated with that particular drug would begin p.526. On the other hand, introduction of a mild form of bacteria in the form of vaccination has failed to curb resistance. Coates (2012) asserts that the immune