Psychiatric Nursing Reflective Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychiatric Nursing Reflective Journals - Essay Example She appeared inattentive to my instructions and needed three repetitions of what I had said for her to understand me. When she had obeyed my instructions, I admired volubly her pretty appearance and hugged her. To my queries, she had just stared at me as if she was scared but today she called me up. Seizing the opportunity, I moved up. Nervously pulling me to her side and looking around to ensure that nobody was within hearing distance, she whispered in my ear. Her neighbor was plotting to kill her and her husband, it seemed. She had heard noises from her backyard which sounded like gunshots when she had been in the kitchen at home. Her movements appeared jerky and speech was not incoherent but appeared monotonous. Realizing that her suspicious and guarded nature was characteristic of her condition, paranoid schizophrenia, I pretended to be a good listener to gain her confidence. She claimed that the neighbor of around her age was attracted to her and was eyeing her sexually. Several times he had approached her for sexual favors. She had told her husband about this but he did not believe her. At times the neighbor had thrown stones at her house when she was alone and had rung the doorbell several times. Each time she went to the door, there would be no one. Saying all of this at one go, she quickly pushed me aside when she noticed the nursing supervisor arriving. When the supervisor had left, Mrs. Jones again strode up to me and caught my attention. She told me that her husband was a good man but he did not believe her stories and told me to keep what she told a secret. Half an hour later, Mrs. Jones did not appear to want to talk with me. When I smiled at her, she seemed to have no recognition. I was a little taken back by the stony look on her face. Her husband had told me that she was a receptionist in a hotel and very much appreciated by the others and customers. Believing that she was then well, she had stopped her treatment. He had not noticed the medicin es not being taken. This had triggered this episode. She had also not kept her appointments with the psychotherapist. Anyone would have believed this lady the way she told the stories. They would have been credible had they come from a normal person. The fact that she was admitted for paranoid schizophrenia reminded me that the stories could be delusions. Though I had studied about schizophrenia and its various forms and symptoms, this was the first time that I was in close contact with a person with schizophrenia. Having no physical deficiencies, Mrs. Jones could easily pass on the road without anyone realizing the depth of mental illness that she had, the extent of trouble that she could create and the magnitude of suffering that she went through. What she needed was sympathetic people around her and proper pharmacological and psychological treatment. A person who did not know her to be a patient could even irritate her unknowingly. This was the situation for most psychiatric diso rders. When we were taught psychiatry, we never realized that most psychiatric patients became ill only occasionally and that most of their lives; they were presumably fine and able to work like Mrs. Jones. Treatment allowed them to be a part of normal society. However the treatment schedules should never be missed. I also noted that psychiatric patients should never be allowed to consume drugs without supervision. A family member had to take responsibility. This was another of my new learning. It would serve

Management, Organisations and People Module Report Essay Example for Free

Management, Organisations and People Module Report Essay Introduction: The aim of this report is to provide an explanation to ‘Mimi Vasquez Hair and Beauty’ managers’ approach to leadership and go on to explore his relationship to his work group and how they have developed over time. It will first outline the methodology used to conduct this report and then go on to introduce the managers and workers and explain how their current work roles have developed over time. Subsequently, the report will provide an explanation to ‘Mimi Vasquez Hair and Beauty’ managers’ approach to leadership and go on to explore his relationship to his work group. To conclude the report, there will be a quick summary of what has already been mentioned and some limitations of the findings, methodology and related theories used in the report. The beauty salon which was named after its manager is privately owned and located in Chiswick in West London. In addition, it has two other branches located in Ealing and Hammersmith, both also within the West London area and owned by the same manager. All three of the beauty salons are relatively small in size making satisfactory profits and located just off the high streets in quieter areas. The first branch was opened in 1999 in Chiswick and the others followed on 5 years later, the Hammersmith branch being the newest. Method This report was conducted using both primary and secondary research. The primary research was collected directly from the manager and team members by interviewing them. By so doing, the research collected was new and wasn’t research that had already existed. Secondary research was collected through the use of books, the internet and articles and hence looking at existing data. Findings and discussion Behavioural theory As the manager, Mimi Vasquez, supervises and manages the overall performance of his staff and the business. His current work role is to analyse and recommend developing strategies on how to improve the quality of their services e.g. more speed and efficiency in cutting hair and accuracy with mixing colours of hair dye. These two examples are some of Mimi’s main targets and he wishes to have met these goals by July 2011. Mimi also examines ways to achieve his business goals of maximising profits and acknowledges that compensations and rewards have worked well in the past as they motivate and encourage staff to work better: Every year he elects 2 people as the most improved and most enthusiastic team members and rewards them in the form of bonuses and HMV vouchers. His work role also involves instructing his team members and allocating them to different parts of the salon when the day gets busy Moreover, this has played a great role in the development of Mimi’s leadership within the business. Yukl (2006, p5) defines leadership as- Leadership is the process wherein an individual member of a group or organization influences the interpretation of events, the choice of objectives and strategies, the organization of work activities, the motivation of people to achieve the objectives, the maintenance of cooperative relationships, the development of skills and confidence by member, and the enlistment of support and cooperation from people outside the group or organisation. Yukl’s definition very closely matches Mimi’s approach to leadership in the sense that it emphasizes the importance of ‘people skills’ and the social influence that leadership can have. One theory to provide evidence for this is the behaviour perspective. This theory claims that people become leaders because of what they do and this can be split into two different categories: task behaviour and relationship behaviour. Task behaviour places the main focus on the degree to which a leader emphasises productivity targets, goal accomplishments and maintaining standards. These behaviours can also be called ‘production-centred’ and it can be seen in Mimi’s leadership style when he uses HMV vouchers to motivate his staff to work harder and faster. Mimi has also said that rewards gave his staff an incentive to work and this played a crucial part in keeping them happy and full of energy, even towards the end of the day. Furthermore, relationship behaviour focuses on manager’s actions that show concern for their staff and their welfare as opposed to behaviours that concentrate on completing tasks. Although this contrasts to task behaviour, this can also be seen in Mimi’s leadership approach in the sense that he aims to improve his staff’s skills and help them gain more confidence in their job role. Trait perspective The controversy in defining leadership has enabled many different theories to be developed in an attempt to explain the meaning of a leader within a business or an organisation. Bratton (2010, p363) cited that ‘individuals who occupy leadership positions possess superior qualities or attributes compared with the traits possessed by non- leaders’. This view is known as the trait perspective and its’ theories such as the ‘great man theories’ focus mostly on positive characteristics such as stamina, intelligence and fluency in speech. Research in 1974 by Stogdill showed that socioeconomic factors also played a great role for example, very few corporate leaders had fathers who held a low class position or who were paid quite poorly. Stogdill also found that intelligence and fluency in speech were very closely related to leadership and used these traits to differentiate leaders from followers. He then concluded that there were ‘specific patterns’ of traits that occurred in some people which gave them an advantage when seeking a leadership position. Shabina and Mario also described their manager to hold very positive characteristics such as friendly, talkative, enthusiastic and organised and wasn’t like the other staff members at ‘Mimi Vasquez hair and beauty’ in the sense that he was much more determined. This therefore justifies why Mimi is a leader. In addition, research into ‘substitute’s for leadership’ claim that there should be a distinct difference between the leader and the followers in a business and there should be inflexible rules and formalized areas of responsibility in order to prevent the followers from being guided by their peers and replacing their existing leader. This would occur if the followers realized that their peers had the skills equivalent to their leader and they decided to follow them instead. Keith Grint (2005) also argues that successful leadership- Is not a list of innate skills and competences, or how much charisma you have, or whether you have a vision or a strategy for achieving that vision, but whether you have a capacity to learn from your followers. This again, provides evidence against the trait perspective stating that this is not what makes an effective leader. The shared/super leadership theory The founding of Mimi’s other branches, helped him gain experience which developed his role even further as he had to identify problems, make choices and provide alternatives actions to his initial plans. His role development throughout the years has been quite significant and his responsibilities have duplicated allowing him to improve his time management and organisation. Mario and Shabina are two team members of the salon who were also interviewed. Mario is a professional hair stylist whose work role involves restyling and cutting clients’ hair, dying, permanent hair straightening, Brazilian hair blow drying etc. His work role is crucial to the business as he has qualities and skills that require a lot of training and experience in order to gain. Mario’s work role has developed over the years as his experience has allowed him to move up the ladder in regards to the styles and haircuts he can confidently perform. The number of clients he reserves on a daily basis has also increased over the past 6 years of working at the salon showing an improvement in his abilities. He is now responsible for his own clients as before he would only deal with Mimi’s clients and help around. However, he is still in a lower position to Mimi and is usually responsible for making sure that Mimi’s clients are booked in for the dates and times they requested, making sure none of the time slots clash with one another. The Shared/super leadership theory suggests that excellent leaders are those who help their followers develop by acting as their teacher rather than keeping all of their knowledge to themselves. To add, Peter Senge(1990) also stated that ‘leaders are designers, stewards and teachers’ which supports the view. Mimi has constantly trained his team members, in particularly Mario and this also adds towards the statement that Mimi is an effective leadership. Fiedler’s leadership contingency theory Shabina is the only beautician at ‘Mimi Vasquez Hair and Beauty’ and her role involves taking care of her own customers and making her own bookings as well as offering all of the services; waxing, laser hair removal, threading, massages etc. Her role doesn’t involve anything to do with hair, and she works in her own room downstairs. However, Mimi is her manager also and so it is her responsibility to follow all of his guidelines and instructions. Her role has developed over the past 3 years as she first started out as an assistant, cleaning around and helping the beautician. She then worked her way up by gaining experience and qualifications and developed her role into a full-time professional beautician. Fiedler’s leadership contingency theory proposes that the effectiveness of the leader depends on whether the leadership style is matched with the followers and the environment. It is based on 3 main assumptions: 1) leader-member relations, which relate to whether the leader receives support, respect and trust of the followers; 2) task structure, which relates to how structured the tasks performed by followers are; 3) position power, which relates to the formal authority that the leader can exert through the use of punishment and rewards. This theory can explain Mimi’s leadership style as it explains why Mimi’s leadership is effective and hence how he has been able to successfully run the business for so many years. In relation to this theory, Mimi is placed to be known as a relationship-orientated leader and so it explains that his team members have been able to develop throughout the years because of his concern for them. The situational leadership theory Mimi’s relationship to his group is fairly hierarchical where he would force influence upon others to do something that they otherwise wouldn’t. This hair and beauty business is a good example as it shows how Mario takes responsibility for making bookings for both, his and Mimi’s clients. The group itself had developed over the years as they have slowly started to work as a team, helping each other and finishing each other’s jobs off when the salon gets busy. In 1999, manager Mimi’s Vasquez’s main roles were to simply open and close the salon, receive payments for the service provided and order raw materials such as; hair dye, scissors, wax etc. Now, with the growth of the business, all of the team members in the salon have developed their roles as they have had to cover for each other and enhance coordination skills. The situational leadership model is where the leaders’ leadership style depends on the maturity of the followers; it can explain that why Mimi trusts his staff to look after his salon whilst he is in a different branch. The friendly nature of the business also allows Mimi to be less formal and more flexible with rules and procedures. Bratton (2010, p.370) states that ‘Follower maturity is determined by the ability and willingness of the followers to accept responsibility for completing their work’. The fact that each team member has their own set of responsibilities proves that their levels of maturity are very high and hence can explain why Mimi’s rules are quite flexible, according to Mario and Shabina. Conclusion The report has explored Mimi’s approach to leadership using the behavioural, trait, shared/super leadership, contingency and situational theories and it can clearly be seen that leadership is not easily defined and its effectiveness isn’t easily measured. It has also outlined the work roles of the manager as well as the team members and explained how their roles have developed. To conclude, although the report gives a sense of idea of what Mimi’s leadership approach may be, in reality it is very hard to accurately describe using only one theory. Appendix Bratton, J. (2010) Work and organisational behaviour. 2nd edn, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Grint,K.(2005) Leadership: limits and possibilities, Basingstoke: Palgrave Senge, P.M.(1990) The Fifth Discipline. New York: Currency/Doubleday Yukl, G.(2006) Leadership in organizations.6th edn, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Opportunities in America :: Essays Papers

Opportunities in America Amy Tan’s â€Å"Two Kinds† is a story based on the account of a young Chinese girl living in the United States with her overly pushy mother. Two kinds is about opportunity, perseverance, and accomplishment. These are the things Jing-mei learns as she grows up in what many people call â€Å"The Land of Opportunity†. In America, it is believed that you have the opportunity to become anything you would like to be. For immigrants it is believed that â€Å"you can be best anything† (553). It is the same for the mother in this story. She believes that her daughter, Jing-mei, can be anything she wishes, even a prodigy. Though this idea of Jing-mei becoming a prodigy sounds far fetched, the mother is determined to turn her daughter into something, or someone who will make the family proud. The idea of Jing-mei becoming someone is not far fetched though. The only thing she needs to have is perseverance. Many people in America have the opportunity to advance themselves in their field of work, but they do not push themselves toward their limits. Jing-mei had decided not to push herself. She was continually saying â€Å" I won’t be what I’m not† (555). This is the attitude of many people today. They do not want to be changed. They just assume to assert their own will. Many people, in the end, come to realize that with perseverance comes accomplishment. Sometimes that is enough to get them on the right track. It took Jing-mei a lot of time to really experience the realm of accomplishment. It wasn’t until after she failed so many times that she realized she must persevere to become something in life. Jing-mei finally felt the realm of accomplishment when she realized that the piano lessons her mother forced upon her so many years ago had actually stayed with her through all the years. She was surprised to find â€Å"how easily the notes came back† (562). She now understood why it was so important to her mother for her to succeed. The mother did not want all of the glory for herself. She wanted Jing-mei to experience some of it. She wanted her to be happy. Jing-mei discovered the wonderful world of opportunity, the need for perseverance and the glory of accomplishment when she sat down at the piano and played the song she had failed to play so many years ago.

Effects of Migration Into Cities

The effects of moving into a new city or town Today everybody is going in the glamorous world of cities where one can progress and make the best use of his or her life. Parents†¦.. Listen to their talks with their children. They say that my son or daughter will settle or go to abroad one day. And with this they start imagining and forcing their child to get highest degree and run away from where they are. Each parent today has this mentality that there is heaven like something in abroad and much else. There are many such examples to discuss. But for now one is enough I think.In terms of living a life in a new city there are many possibilities of advantages as well as disadvantages as can be seen in education, employment and settlement point of view. These three things can be much better improved in a city where there is much scope to put a step forward towards his or her aim. In a city each one who is settled there has only one intention to earn a gallon of paper notes and coins and live a luxurious and easy way of life. This luxurious life is expected by all people. But there is something called feeling of attachment.There is an attachment towards his or her native place. One cannot forget his or her childhood days or their neighbours and the love between them. Emotions are not allowed in a city or the town. Today since all the places are becoming industrialized there is no space for emotions but only profit. And because of this all the people are running after them. There is a great effect on especially the country. Since all the citizens are settled in abroad and the income they earn is of no use to the country, the country’s economic status lowers as compared to other countries.The newer generation is no longer staying in their native country specially India. India is full of corruption, they say. But it is not so. If the abroad based thinkers try, the situation can be changed. The major disadvantage of moving to a new city is the loss of attach ment to the native place and their neighbours. From birth we are attached to our villages or town, its nature, its culture and its people. But as we move to a new area, far from ours, we cannot accept its culture and people very easily. We cannot adjust there due to our unforgettable habits with our ulture. As we move to a new city, we have to accept the people, the culture, and their behaviors and accordingly we have to adjust. But it is not so easy. Since the people are keenly interested in earning money and luxurious life they are ready to do anything for this. According to me, I can’t accept the concept of moving to a new place permanently. Because it affects our native place or country. Earlier during the British rule all the intelligent brains of India were sent out to England or the other countries out of India.So that the foreign countries would progress better in terms of technology. But with this, India had to suffer in its progression. Today after British rule is n o longer still their mentality always exists in each Indian that to go to abroad but not to stay here in India. The aim of writing this article is to aware the people of not to go to abroad but it is better and much better to stay in your own country and sacrifice your talents to your people and their future. – Prachiti Ganpule SYBA, St. Xavier’s college, Mapusa Goa

Motorcycles are dangerous Essay

The road is filled with cars and motorcycles but what makes motorcycles seem dangerous, is it the motorcycle itself, is it the drivers who are driving side by side with motorcycles or is it the dare devils riding motorcycles? There is a saying for motorcycles, â€Å"Its not if one fall, its when one falls. † This is said because beginners are notorious for dropping their motorcycles. Motorcycles themselves are not dangerous. It’s the non-experienced drivers and the drivers around them, that pose a threat to motorcycle riders all over the world. The thing with both motorcycles and cars, is if one were to take all the safety classes and course, they would then be less likely to come across accidents on the road. It’s also surprisingly important to know about the vehicle that you drive. Whether that be a car or a motorcycle, because if you know about the mechanics behind it, there is less of a chance that one would get into an accident caused by a mechanical error. Riders who peacock (the act of dressing in color, very noticeable) and wear proper gear are less likely to be in an accident or be hurt in one. Drinking and riding is a big no-no, on a motorcycle the rider need to have full control of the motorcycle and surroundings, drinking even the legal limit will impair a rider far more than in a car. The standard thought is motorcycles are dangerous, but the truth is they are as dangerous as drivers make them or can be even safer than cars if the driver takes the proper initiative and audited. A motorcycle is a tool of transportation, the way it is used determines whether it is dangerous or safe. If an inexperienced person gets on a motorcycle and expects to go on a ride, most likely that person will end up in an accident and in the hospital. It is important to learn to use the tool, what it can do and how knowing all the right steps to staying safe. Motorcycleminds. org recommends that every rider take the beginning rider education class and advanced education rider class to protect oneself and others on the road. These educational classes teach one everything from tire pressure to lane sharing properly. One of the acronyms taught in these classes that beginning to expert cyclist use every time they hop on a motorcycle is T-CLOCS and it stands for tires and wheels, controls, lights, oil, chassis, stands. T-CLOCS is a MSC (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) checklist to keep siders alert and safe. The full in depth checklist can be found on http://www. msf-usa. org/downloads/t-clocsinspectionchecklist. pdf . Without T-CLOCS riders might be going out on and unsafe motorcycle asking for an accident to happen. Knowing how a motorcycle works is just half the game, practice allows for one to perfect the technique of riding making safer and safer every day but still realizing that one always need to be in control but the same can be said for drivers of cars even pedestrians on bicycles. All a motorcycle is a tool and like any other tool it can be classified as dangerous only if miss used and abused. A nail gun can be very dangerous if used improperly but when used properly it can do a professional clean job without any accidents. Broken, worn out parts can be replaced, a human life can’t, safety is only as safe as the driver makes it motorcycles are not dangerous. Choosing proper riding gear will increase minimizing damage in an accident and will maximize how visible the rider is to others on the road. This is where Peacocking and safety should unite to minimize falling in blind spots of other drivers. Covering oneself in riding gear may not seem very stylish but it beats being cheese in a cheese grinder. When driving a car the people in it use seat belts and like to have airbags with outstanding crash ratings. To provide the same level of protection as a car, motorcycle riders should consider wearing proper DOT (Department Of Transportation) approved gear to ensure crash test ratings. When it comes to gear and its expenses it is important to think that the gear is the only thing between the rider and asphalt in an accident. Starting out from ground up with gear, proper boots that have ankle support and have close toes is very important. Having proper boots will prevent skin burns and many accidental rolled ankles. Depending on the kind of riding being done leg and knee pads can be bought but thick jeans or protective riding pants suffice in most cases. Hands that are not protected in an accident can be badly damaged but it is easy to prevent this by having sturdy gloves deigned for the type of riding going on. Jackets can be safe, flashy and fashionable, why not have all three working together? Most motorcycles jackets do, they will provide protective padding, materials that are comfortable but can handle road rash so that skin doesn’t, and while being fashionable usually they make riders more visible to others. As Basem Wasef Writer of Motorcycle Gear 101 on about. com said,â€Å"An old saying goes something like this: If you’ve got a $20 head, buy yourself a $20 helmet. † DOT approved helmets that provide three quarters to full face helmets are crucial in providing proper protections. Having all the appropriate riding gear makes falls that will happen, be less harsh and cuts the dangers of riding by a great deal. People wearing gear properly will be safe like a driver driving in a car with good crash ratings. Accidents happen in cars and motorcycles, being ready for them take many of the danger out of riding motorcycles. The most dangerous thing on a motorcycle is a fatal crash. Most people don’t realize is that a majority of fatal motorcycle accidents are caused by the misuse of motorcycle or riding under the influence. â€Å"One out of three motorcycle accidents involves a rider who is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Thirty-five percent of fatal motorcycle accidents involve a speeding motorcycle rider. † Keller and Keller law firm. Sixty-eight percent that leaves about thirty-two percent for other fatalities to be cause by things cars, trucks and motorcycles fault accidents. Following the law will prevent most motorcycle accidents. All vehicles on the road can be dangerous, if misused, not just motorcycles. Falling on a motorcycle happens but riders keep their head held high just like a teen that crashes their first car. Remembering T-CLOCS can save a riders life and the life of the surrounding people. Dressing to what, a peacock-cock-cock peacock allows on to standout and stay safe on the road. Motorcycles are not dangerous vehicles used properly, skateboards and BMX bikes can be more dangerous. As a avid motorcycle rider of four years I strongly urge anyone interested in riding in MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). Keep the roads safe for future generations. Works Cited http://www. msf-usa. org/downloads/t-clocsinspectionchecklist. pdf http://dsc. discovery. com/cars-bikes/top-10-ways-to-stay-safe-on-your-motorcycle-2. html http://motorcycleminds. org/? p=847 http://ridingsafely. com/ridingsafely1. html http://motorcycles. about. com/od/gearreviews/tp/Motorcycle-Safety-Gear-101. htm http://www. 2keller. com/library/motorcycle-accident-statistics-motorcycle-acci View as multi-pages.

Reflection Upon Ebl and Ipl Essays

Reflection Upon Ebl and Ipl Essays Reflection Upon Ebl and Ipl Essay Reflection Upon Ebl and Ipl Essay Reflection on the experience of EBL and IPL, including discussion of group processes and my own personal contribution. Within term A of year one I have been introduced to the concepts of Evidence based and Inter-professional learning. These methods of learning are central to the work of a qualified nurse. One of the essential skills of Nursing is self awareness. Burnard 1992:25 tells us that self awareness is â€Å"the continuous and evolving process of getting to know who you are†. This practice is promoted by the interaction required when working in groups. I have found this to be one of the key concepts I have taken from the first term. Tuckman describes the five stages of group processes as forming, storming, norming, performing, and the latterly added adjourning. Having read Tuckman’s theory, I can recognise his theories in the experience I have undergone in EBL in particular. This may have been because IPL commenced after the initial stages of EBL had already occurred, and as such I recognised the same stages as I had already experienced in EBL, meaning that these were not such a learning curve in the latterly formed IPL group. Tuckman’s first stage of ‘Forming’ refers to the period directly following the creation of the group, in which the individuals are becoming acclimatised to the boundaries within the group, both on a professional and interpersonal basis, forming and testing relationships. This was an interesting stage within our EBL group formation as it almost regressed us back to our school days, the assigned group leader – or facilitator assuming the role of the teacher, the group choosing specific seats, and returning to these same seats for each meeting; politely raising hands in order to make a point to the group. At this stage the individual may be acutely self aware, in a way which limits their participation in the group, or lacking any self awareness in a way which potentially damages the aim of the group, distracts, and delays progress. Certainly I could identify both of these behaviours within my own EBL group. The second stage identified by Tuckman is that of ‘Storming’. This is conflict stemming from inter-personal issues that produces a resistance to group influence and requirements. I believe that this stage was certainly evident within EBL, and occurred very quickly. Personally I experienced agitation at the behaviour of others within the group who I felt were jeopardising our learning and progress by not producing work as required, while at the same time appearing non constructively critical of the opinions of others who were providing a full contribution to the group. I am aware that my own agitation at the behaviour of those I felt were jeopardising the aim of the group in turn probably contributed to the ‘Storming’ phase of the group, yet found this difficult to deal with. Perhaps I judged others in the group using my own values or ideology – that I had entered into this group to study Nursing and was extremely anxious to use this time in the most effective way to learn and share learning. Perhaps the very fact that we had entered this group through choice rather than instruction, and the nature of the career the group as a whole wished to pursue made it difficult to understand those that were not as focused on their studies. Interestingly, I am not sure whether the group as a whole emerged from the ‘Storming’ Phase of EBL. Certainly the group progressed and matured from the initial weeks, yet I am not sure whether this was as a whole, or rather with the acceptance that some group members would not make a valid contribution to the group and that the remainder would have to make up for this potential deficit in learning. As such, perhaps the group entered its ‘Norming’ stage without completely overcoming the storming stage, or becoming complicit to the shared set of values drawn up and agreed in the forming stage. Norming within this EBL group was the progression to accomplishing tasks with less involvement from the facilitator, and less internal group argument and criticism. The fourth stage outlined by Tuckman is that of Performing. The group should be highly skilled and working as a tight unit, requiring no input from a leader or facilitator. I certainly do not feel that our EBL group attained this level, yet interestingly I feel it was attained by our IPL group from the second meeting. Perhaps this is due to the fact that within IPL we have the added element of respecting each other’s professions, and the requirement to trust what we are told by other group members as we have not undergone the same experience or learning. Within EBL, as a group of student Nurses from the same cohort, there is an understanding that we have all experienced the same level of teaching thus far in our course and that we should all be capable to the same basic level. Unfortunately this did not seem to translate itself to our BL, where our very different opinions and understandings of what we were required to do both within our learning group and research means that while we were able to agree on learning outcomes and complete the research each week, we certainly required guidance from our facilitator, and there was a very apparent acceptance that some individuals did not participate in a satisfactory manner, and would continue to disrupt the group and its purpose. Perhaps the fact that our EBL group did not successfully complete the four stages of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing, gave me a slightly different outlook upon the fifth latterly added stage of adjourning. Adjourning is also referred to as the mourning period. A period Tuckman tells us we should prepare for from the formation of the group. Tuckman tells us this can be a stressful period, especially where unplanned. We were made aware from the initial group formation that the process would only be five weeks in length, however rather than holding this knowledge to use as acceptance once the group dissolved, I found myself and others in the group referring to it often to get us through the difficult and seemingly endless storming phase our group produced. Knowing that the group would adjourn helped me greatly in accepting the behaviour of others that I do not find appropriate or otherwise tolerable. I have found the entire process of EBL extremely useful if not always enjoyable. It has been interesting in that we drew up our shared values and acceptable behaviour on the very first meeting at the suggestion of our facilitator – something I have never done when involved in group work previously, yet this group turned out to be perhaps the least successful group I have been involved in, not abiding by the shared values set out at the point of creation, and storming throughout the entire process, at times jeopardising the very purpose of the group’s creation. Burnard, Philip. | Title    | Know yourself! :  self-awareness activities for nurses and other health professionals /  Philip Burnard. | Publisher    | London :  Whurr,  1997 |

Feminists Turn Miss America 1968 Into a Protest

Feminists Turn Miss America 1968 Into a Protest The Miss America Pageant that took place on September 7, 1968, was no ordinary pageant. Hundreds of feminist activists showed up on the Atlantic City Boardwalk to enact their â€Å"Miss America Protest.† They distributed publicity materials titled â€Å"No More Miss America!† Organizers The group behind the Miss America Protest was New York Radical Women. Prominent feminists who participated included Carol Hanisch, who originally had the idea to protest the pageant, as well as Robin Morgan, and Kathie Sarachild. What Was Wrong With Miss America? The women who came to the Miss America Protest had several complaints about the pageant: It judges women on impossible standards of beauty. The protesters called the standards â€Å"ludicrous.†The pageant objectifies women and thereby harms all women.The protesters disliked the hypocrisy of the pageant, specifically the double standard of the Madonna/whore fantasy, in which men irrationally demand that women be innocent and beautiful, while also satisfying the mens lust. The feminists had other political disagreements with the pageant as well: They considered the pageant racist, for never having had a black Miss America.The activists opposed the Vietnam War and felt the pageant supported it by sending the Miss America winner to Vietnam to entertain the troops.There was a blatant inequality in encouraging girls to grow up to become Miss America. The standard line in the United States to any boy was that he could grow up to be president. Why not women? Why was Miss America supposed to be their equivalent dream? Rampant Consumerism The women at the Miss America Protest also criticized the consumer aspect of the pageant and the sponsors who used the contestants to promote their products. At the protest, the feminists of New York Radical Women announced a boycott of the companies that sponsored the pageant.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Cattle Auction† The Miss America Protest began in the afternoon on the boardwalk. There at least 150 women marched with signs of protest. Some of their slogans called the pageant a cattle auction, for parading women around to judge them on their looks, the way men would judge cattle to decide the animals’ worth. The protesters nominated a sheep for Miss America and even crowned a live sheep on the boardwalk. Paying Attention to Liberation At the end of the evening, when the winner was crowned, several of the protesters who had sneaked inside unfurled a banner from the balcony that read â€Å"Women’s Liberation.† Miss America was a highly anticipated and widely watched event in 1968, so much of the nation tuned in to the live broadcast. The protest received media attention, which in turn attracted more women to the Women’s Liberation movement. The protesters asked the media to send female reporters to cover their demonstration and demanded that if there were any arrests that they only be made by women police officers.   Bras on Fire? The Miss America Protest apparently gave birth to one of the greatest myths of the women’s rights movement: the myth of bra burning.   The protesters at the Miss America Pageant threw items of their oppression into a â€Å"freedom trash can.† Among these items of oppression were girdles, high-heeled shoes, some bras, copies of Playboy magazine, and hair curlers. The women never lit these items on fire; throwing them out was the symbolism of the day. It has been reported that the women attempted to get a permit to burn the items but were denied because of the danger fire would pose to the wooden Atlantic City Boardwalk. The intent to set them on fire may have been what sparked the rumor that bras actually were burned. There is no documented instance where 1960s feminists burned their bras, although the legend persists. No More Miss America? Feminists protested Miss America again in 1969, although the second protest was smaller and did not receive much attention. The Womens Liberation Movement continued to grow and develop, with more protests occurring and more feminist groups being formed over the next few years. The Miss America Pageant still exists; the pageant moved from Atlantic City to Las Vegas in 2006.

Conjugating Servir in Spanish

Conjugating Servir in Spanish The Spanish verb servir has most of the meanings of to serve but is used more often than the English verb in describing how things are used. The cognates come from the Latin servire, which originally referred to being a servant or slave. Its meaning of being beneficial developed later. Servir is conjugated irregularly, using the same pattern as pedir and competir. The stem of serv- changes to sirv- when stressed in the indicative mood and always when used in a simple form of the subjunctive mood. The conjugations of the present-tense indicative (the most-used conjugation) are as follows: yo sirvo, tà º sirves, usted/à ©l/ella sirve, nosotros/nosotras servimos, vosotros servà ­s, ustedes/ellos/ellas sirven. Using Servir To Indicate Use or Suitability Although it can stand alone, servir is often followed by the preposition para to indicate how something is used and/or what it is used or useful for. Less common is using the reflexive form servirse followed by the preposition de. Examples with possible translations: Mi mà ³vil me sirve para estar en contacto en las redes sociales. (My cellphone is useful for me to stay in touch with the social networks.)Las vitaminas sirven para la adecuada funcià ³n del cuerpo humano. (Vitamins are used in the proper functioning of the human body.)No todos servimos para todo, pero todos servimos para algo. (Not all of us are good at everything, but all of us are good for something.)No sirve para nada. (Its not helpful for anything.)La jefa de la policà ­a quiere dos perros que sirvieron para detectar narcà ³ticos y explosivos. (The police chief wants two dogs that would be used to detect drugs and explosives.)Nuestro programa de seguridad puede servir como modelo para otras escuelas. (Our security system can be used as a model for other schools.)Esta clase sirve a alumnos con discapacidades graves. (This class serves students with severe disabilities.)Me servà ­ de la llave para abrir la puerta. (I used the key to open the door.)Muchos oradores se sirven h istorias humorà ­sticas para establecer una relacià ³n con la audiencia. (Many speakers use funny stories to make a connection with the audience.) Using Servir To Refer To Serving Someone Although servir often has a domestic connotation such as when it refers to serving food, it can be used in a wide variety of contexts involving helping someone or something. El mesero puso azà ºcar en las tazas e inmediatamente sirvià ³ el tà ©. (The waiter put sugar in the cups and immediately served the tea.)Hay varios mà ©todos de servir la mesa. (There are several ways of setting the table.)Mi abuelo sirvià ³ en el ejà ©rcito durante la guerra. (My grandfather served in the army during the war.)El gobernador dice que quiere servir al pueblo. (The governor says he wants to help the people.) ¿Dà ³nde se sirve el desayuno? (Where is breakfast served?)Me servà ­ la leche en el refrigerador. (I helped myself to the milk in the refrigerator.) ¿En quà © puedo servirte? (How can I help you?) Using Servir in Sports Sports where a ball is served in English typically use servir in Spanish: Si un jugador sirvià ³ fuera de su turno, ese juego queda anulado. (If a player serves out of order, that game wont count.)

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 36

Homework - Essay Example In the ensuing years, beginning 2010, the economy started to pick up, as the firms that had closed down during the financial crisis resumed and people were slowly but surely getting back their jobs. As early as 2013, the fight against the fiscal cliff was almost concluded and every other macroeconomic element looked to be back in their right shape. Since the end of the credit crunch, the US has enjoyed years of uninterrupted economic gains. Unemployment has significantly reduced, as well as the inflation rate. However, much as things have been improving, economists argue that the pace is a bit slower than the one that was witnessed in the wake of World War II. Statistically speaking, the US economic growth rate has averaged about 2.25% since it started bouncing back from the effects of the 2008/9 credit crunch. In 2014, the growth rate was thought to have gone below 1%, and unemployment hasn’t reduced to desired levels (Recession and Recovery, 2014). The dragging growth rather is mainly attributed to the budget problems. The fiscal cliff did not do enough to reduce the budget deficit which was almost $0.98 trillion in 2014. In the years preceding the global financial crisis, the United States economy was growing at a rate of about 3.25% and the budget deficit was as low as $0.5 trillion. As it stands currently, the budget deficit needs to be cut by about $0.3 trillion for the economy to be said to be recovering at a good pace. Unemployment: For four years since 2009, the unemployment statistics in the US had been coming down at a slow but a steady pace. For instance, by the start of 2014, about 160 jobs opportunities had been created and the unemployment rate stood at 7.7%. Taxes: The fiscal cliff debates were mostly about raising taxes for the rich, but it emerges that most of the middle-class Americans part with an additional $600-1200 annually. This is mainly attributable to the expiration of the payroll

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 13

Research Paper Example They are thus, very important as far as underground movements are concerned. We thus see how such networks are important from a political point of view as well. These websites also open up certain avenues for communication between people who are in conventionally inaccessible positions. Celebrities and politicians are thus, able to connect more directly with their fans and voters. They also help companies and firms to reach out to their clientele through advertisements that are cheaper than other media. Apart from this, it also leads to the creation of communities that would not be possible in the real world. The virtual reality that is created through such networks enables the dissolution of narrow parochial bonds. All of this has a negative side as well as social networks can be used by miscreants and anti-social elements as well. They can also be incorporated into the power structures of our society, thus blunting their revolutionary potential in a certain sense. The immense number of users of Facebook and Twitter bear testimony to the changing face of human relationships. People like Stuart Wooster feel that human relationships are being redefined in today’s world by such social networks. Such networks lead to the creation of a virtual reality that is capable of sustaining itself and people tend to feel connected with other people even without having seen them in a long time (Wooster). Such websites are able to provide one with a sense of being with a lot of friends even if one is not connected to those friends in any ostensible way at a certain point. One may have several ‘friends’ on Facebook whom one may never have met more than once. The conventions that Facebook gives rise to make it possible for several people to be contacted at once, leading to a fragile bond being created between those parties. This makes it possible for people to know about different people at the same

Entry of The American Clothing Company into China Essay

Entry of The American Clothing Company into China - Essay Example The company may also consider operating under a different name once it decides to enter China. While doing business, it is very important that the business bears a name that customers can associate with. For this reason, the company may consider adopting a name that reflects with the people of China. Operating under the same name in China would give competitors a higher edge in that other organizations may take pride in being home grown and purport understand the market and the needs of the customers better. The company must thus realize that it is a neck stiff competition that requires strategic planning at all stages.In making this decision, the company must also consider the right entry mode. It may consider going into a merger with a relatively smaller organization, or acquiring another company that is already established but perhaps not doing very well in the market. Further, the company would need to do some internal re-organization in order to find out the necessary personnel who may need to relocate to the other country for managerial purposes. As the new company, it would be in appropriate to rely on the labour force available in China to start up operations. In as a much as this labour would be instrumental in running the business, it would be important that individuals from the US work at the initial stages of establishing the company as this would help to instill the company’s core values, objectives and mission into the new market.

Longitudinal Strategic Development Study on easy Jet Essay

Longitudinal Strategic Development Study on easy Jet - Essay Example The first is termed as ‘dynamic packaging’ which includes selling the customers tour package which involves separate charges for flight and hotels. The next type is ‘Opaque Packaging’ where the customers pay a single price for both the flight and hotels. Easy jet provided multi language option for flights but not for the holiday packages though it wanted to make the concept of holiday packages internationalise and increase the market share. To enable this service IVIS group provided the airline with a team of technology consultant to assist the team of easy jet and work tighter to understand the online processes (IVIS Group, n.d). Strategic Development History The airline industry of Europe is regulated by the European Regions Airline Association which represents about 65 intra European airlines which carry 70.6 million passengers to about 426 destinations in 61 European countries (ERA, 2011). Some of leading airlines in Europe are Lufthansa, Ryanair’s and Air France-KLM which have the best starting position in Europe and Easy jet and British Airways are the potential followers (ESMT, 2008, p.10). The European airline industry has shown a steady growth in the past decades and had doubled in size since 1990. The growth of airline industry was mainly because of the growth of low cost carriers. The demand for air travels is still the same as it was in the year 2000, but with a dip in the market share. But the low cost carrier has grown widely with double digit rates and has captured a large part of the market share. From just merely 5% of market share in the year 2001 it has now come up to 32% in 2008. With a high market share these lo w cost airlines relay on the cost advantage and low ticket prices which helps them to access new and potential market and generate new traffic. Easy jet along with Ryanair respectively accounts for 43 and 65 million passengers and are larger than other established carriers. Despite the facts the European airline industry is fragmented (HHL, n.d, p.9). Easy jet airlines have experienced a strong growth in terms of revenue over the years. The passenger demand has increased on an average of about 59.5%. It has got a strong financial background as in the year 2002, easy jet balance sheet shown an excess balance of about 400 million pounds (Easy jet-a, 2002). Strategies Easy jet strategy is based on the six strengths that support the competitive, sustainable growth and scalability. Easy jet strategy, which it had been following from the past are the airlines commitment to safety and service to its customers, low fare structure, strong branding, low cost of unit, a strong corporate cultur e and its multi based network (Williamson, 2002). The company

Homeland Security Advisory System Research Paper

Homeland Security Advisory System - Research Paper Example In line with its’ key mandate, the Department of Homeland Security developed the Homeland Security Advisory System, which according to Walsh et al. (2011), is a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. This present research paper mainly seeks to explore and discuss the creation, evolution, and the current state of the Homeland Security Advisory System. Creation of the Homeland Security Advisory System The Homeland Security Advisory System was formally created on 12th March 2002 after a Presidential Directive for providing a â€Å"comprehensive and effective means to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities and to the American people.† According to Walsh et al. (2011), the Homeland Security Advisory System’s color-coded terrorism risk advisory scale used to inform the public as well as other concerned authorities on the level of terrorism threat for a particular place or region at any particular time . The indicators of threat were supposed to make the public alert at any time on the level of terrorism threat that is prevalent within their present environment or the nation at large. Therefore, in case of elevated, high, or sever level of threat, citizens are usually required to be extra cautious, report about any suspicious activity, and be prepared in case a disaster strikes. For example, in case the alert level is elevated, high, or sever citizens are usually asked to avoid crowded places and be on the lookout for suspicious characters. Moreover, after the creation of the system, all security procedures within government facilities were tied to the alert level issued by the Homeland Security Advisory System. Therefore, when the alert levels is elevated, high, or sever, the security checks at government facilities are usually heightened and there is extra patrol check on these facilities. It is vital to note that the adjustments made on the advisory scale are usually made based on intelligence reports that have been gathered by the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other relevant law enforcement agencies (Alperen, 2011). Evolution of the Homeland Security Advisory System After its creation, the Homeland Security Advisory System was headed by Mr. Tom Ridge, who was the then Assistant to the President for Homeland Security but the task of developing, implementing, and managing the system was vested to the office of the Attorney General. However, Alperen (2011) stated that exactly after nine months since the system was created it was merged with the White House Homeland Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security, which were both created after the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. This change was seemingly meant to ensure that these two bodies work in joint co-operation to increase their effectiveness and to ensure minimum conflict between the bodies as some of their tasks overlapped which each o ther. The merge that occurred also eliminated the office of the Attorney General from the task of administering the system and it was passed on to the Department of Homeland Security, which was in a better position to manage the system than a law office that was not even part of law enforcement a

Longitudinal Strategic Development Study on easy Jet Essay

Longitudinal Strategic Development Study on easy Jet - Essay Example The first is termed as ‘dynamic packaging’ which includes selling the customers tour package which involves separate charges for flight and hotels. The next type is ‘Opaque Packaging’ where the customers pay a single price for both the flight and hotels. Easy jet provided multi language option for flights but not for the holiday packages though it wanted to make the concept of holiday packages internationalise and increase the market share. To enable this service IVIS group provided the airline with a team of technology consultant to assist the team of easy jet and work tighter to understand the online processes (IVIS Group, n.d). Strategic Development History The airline industry of Europe is regulated by the European Regions Airline Association which represents about 65 intra European airlines which carry 70.6 million passengers to about 426 destinations in 61 European countries (ERA, 2011). Some of leading airlines in Europe are Lufthansa, Ryanair’s and Air France-KLM which have the best starting position in Europe and Easy jet and British Airways are the potential followers (ESMT, 2008, p.10). The European airline industry has shown a steady growth in the past decades and had doubled in size since 1990. The growth of airline industry was mainly because of the growth of low cost carriers. The demand for air travels is still the same as it was in the year 2000, but with a dip in the market share. But the low cost carrier has grown widely with double digit rates and has captured a large part of the market share. From just merely 5% of market share in the year 2001 it has now come up to 32% in 2008. With a high market share these lo w cost airlines relay on the cost advantage and low ticket prices which helps them to access new and potential market and generate new traffic. Easy jet along with Ryanair respectively accounts for 43 and 65 million passengers and are larger than other established carriers. Despite the facts the European airline industry is fragmented (HHL, n.d, p.9). Easy jet airlines have experienced a strong growth in terms of revenue over the years. The passenger demand has increased on an average of about 59.5%. It has got a strong financial background as in the year 2002, easy jet balance sheet shown an excess balance of about 400 million pounds (Easy jet-a, 2002). Strategies Easy jet strategy is based on the six strengths that support the competitive, sustainable growth and scalability. Easy jet strategy, which it had been following from the past are the airlines commitment to safety and service to its customers, low fare structure, strong branding, low cost of unit, a strong corporate cultur e and its multi based network (Williamson, 2002). The company

Love in a Time of Cholera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Love in a Time of Cholera - Essay Example ts epidemics of cholera, and to the final riverboat scene where a flag warns that there are cholera victims on board when in fact two pensioners are enjoying their delayed honeymoon. The novel opens with a suicide. Jeremiah de Saint Amour could not bear the idea of ageing; he suffered from â€Å"gerontophobia† and had sworn â€Å"I will never grow old†. This hypnotic novel explores the dilemmas of ageing through a plot of unrequited love; a man, Florentino Ariza, waiting fifty-one years, nine months and four days for his rival to die in order to reaffirm his love for his sweetheart, Fermina Daza. The novelty of this theme is striking, almost implausible. Florentino Arizas head is filled with the illusions read of in sentimental poems. His patience is rewarded at the end when he finally beds his aged beloved in a riverboat. Due to the suggestive prose, the reader tends to read the novel as a romance, a tale of timeless love that transcends age and time, a love that emerges victorious in the end. â€Å"However, disguised beneath the surface of the melodramatic plot lies a critical, sometimes satiric examination of many of the elements that appear to contribute to the novels charm, but actually undercut much of its romanticism and sentimentality.† (Jeffrey M. Lilburn.  Love in the Time of Cholera: Deep Themes of the Popular Conceptions of Love.) Despite counterpointing of characters and themes, Garcia Marquez, a friend of Fidel Castro, refuses to judge his characters or condemn them. He is far more subtle, and generous. The way he situates his protagonist is exemplified when the patient Florentino Ariza finally climbs into a riverboat bed with his beloved and receives a telegram saying that his god-daughter has killed herself. He seduced America Vicufia as a child, and they became lovers. He then broke off the relationship without ever realizing how much in love with him, despite his age, the school-girl was. She had found his secret love letters to Fermina Daza, and

Case Study Wal-Mart Essay Example for Free

Case Study Wal-Mart Essay Evaluate the general environment of Wal-Mart using the framework in Chapter 2. What are the key opportunities and threats facing Wal-Mart? (This is the OT of a SWOT analysis)Wal-Marts builds its stores in towns with a population size of 5000-25,000 people. Wal-Mart has recently started to tap into the more populated city suburbs by building smaller less obtrusive stores in those regions. Wal-Mart targets every age group from infants to senior citizens. Wal-Marts geographically places its stores in rural less populated areas with very few employment opportunities. Wal-Mart tries to attract all income levels by selling brand name items along with generic brand items. Wal-Mart approaches its global market by evaluating market potential based on economic and political risk, growth potential, and availability of real estate for development. In countries that had became saturated Wal-Mart used acquisitions to acquire ownership. In markets that were not saturated and land was easily accessible Wal-Mart used organic growth. The technology that Wal-Mart uses to run their business is unmatched. They have a network of satellites that can track a person purchase and automatically refurbish those items from suppliers without any human intervention. Wal-Mart maximizes efficiency by using effective technology to gain a competitive advantage. Wal-Mart has grown into a global empire and has become the world largest private employer and the number one retailer in the world. Despite all of this success Wal-Mart still has a huge opportunity to grow. Wal-Mart continues to adapt to the ever-changing economy by remodeling their store and by placing the customer as their number one priority. Wal-Mart took advantage of its rural locations early on and gained a significant competitive advantage, now Wal-Mart is taking on the urban environment by placing stores in the outskirts of major metropolitan areas. At first local residents rejected the idea of having a Wal-Mart in their neighborhood for fear it would drive down property value and unwanted individuals to their suburbanite neighborhood. Wal-Mart quickly resolved this problem by changing the format and size of their stores located in these regions. The only threats to Wal-Mart faces are mostly from within (eg..) lawsuits employee disputes and the threat to become unionized. Use Porters Five Forces Model to analyze the global retailing industry. Given this analysis, is the industry attractive or unattractive? Support  your decision. Wal-Mart is a huge threat to new entrants. Wal-Mart has created huge barriers to new entries by offering one stop shopping. Wal-Marts Super Centers offer everything from prepared meals to sports gear. Grocery chains have taken a huge hit because of this, even Kmart is feeling the heat, there stock hit rock bottom in 2004. The discount clothing and apparels have also taken a bite from this retail giant. Wal-Mart has produced a very proficient economy of scale from incremental improvements that they have acquired since becoming so large. Manufactures scramble to try and keep up with the huge demand that Wal-Mart places on its suppliers, this further reduces the prices of goods and services for their customers. Small-scale entries are nearly impossible in a region where Wal-Mart is located. Large-scale entries face the retaliation factor when trying to tap into Wal-Marts market because suppliers are forced to do things the Wal-Mart way. Wal-Mart has successfully customized many of their products and forced manufactures have been forced to produce the Wal-Mart brand. Wal-Mart has taken total control of the bargaining power of suppliers. Wal-Mart has a small group of buyers based in Bentonville Arkansas thats in charge of managing the purchasing of all retail stores. Wal-Mart is responsible for selling 35% of all pet food, 24% of all toothpaste, the largest volume of jewelry, groceries, DVDs, CDs, toys, guns, diapers, sporting goods, bedding, and numerous other things. This has put the retail giant in a very favorable negotiating position with suppliers. Wal-Mart has generated a huge market of loyal buyers by supplying them with the lowest possible prices for quality products. With Wal-Mart having such a huge share of the market and good prices there is no need for buyers to seek deals elsewhere. Wal-Mart has proven to be a huge threat of substitute products in several industries for example the jewelry industry, Wal-Mart has become one of the leading jewelry dealers in the North America. Wal-Mart has also created its own brand name for several of its items that have been so successful that manufactures are forced to produce products bearing the Wal-Mart brand. Wal-Mart competitors have to be very calculated with their responses because Wal-Mart is so large it can really drive a business under ground (Kmart). What is Wal-Marts business-level strategy? Is the strategy appropriate to offset the forces in the industry? Do you recommend any changes? If not, support your decision why you would not recommend any changes. Wal-Mart uses Integrated Lost Leadership/Differentiation Strategy. Wal-Mart has offset the forces in the industry by creating the most efficient supply chain in the industry. Efficient production has allowed Wal-Mart to keep cost low and pass own saving to its customers. Wal-Mart has successfully used Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation Strategy by setting the pace in new technology and adapting quickly to new technologies in their external environment. Concentration on the needs of its core customers (discount retailers), Wal-Mart has created a friendly family environment thats economically smart and beneficial to its patrons. Flexibility is one of Wal-Marts strongest assets, which allows them to complete primary and support activities in ways that allow them to produce somewhat differentiated products at a low cost. I would not personally recommend any changes to this strategy because it has made Wal-Mart the worlds largest retailer. What is your evaluation of the leadership at Wal-Mart?Wal-Mart has become the most successful business in the world through its un-yielding leadership. Mr. Walton has laid the foundation for success for years to come. The leaders at Wal-Mart focus on providing the customer with the highest possible quality at the lowest possible cost. They have redefined the retail industry with their cutting edge technology and flexibility that is un-matched by any competitor. The fact that upper management travel in economy class shows a lot about the character within the organization. The leadership at Wal-Mart has made the world we live in much smaller through economic availability and convenience. The leaders at Wal-Mart are a true example of profit through customer satisfaction. Works Cited Hitt, M., Ireland, R., Hoskisson, R. (2007), Strategic Management, Competitiveness andGlobalization: Concepts and Cases. 7th ed. Mason: Thomson South-Western(August 21, 2006). Global Labor Strategies: Wal-Mart: The Homefront. RetrievedSeptember 18, 2007,

Organizational culture, and change management

Organizational culture, and change management Introduction This study is based on organizational culture, and change management This study provides an overall idea about the particular subject area and it provides very important knowledge base in both practical and theoretical manner. Accordingly in the first part of the study the concept of culture of an organization has been studies as a one learning outcome of the module. Under that a framework of analyzing organizational culture has been described. After that the internal and external factors which could influence organizational culture has been explained, accordingly as the final description of the first learning outcome the current organizational culture has been evaluated. After a comprehensive understanding on culture of the organizations a study has been expanded to study understand the impact of change that underpins individual and organizational performance. In that section the concept behind organisational values the values to an individual and as well the affect of mangers personal values in working with team members has been explained properly. As the third learning outcome the relationship between organizational culture and change management has been understood and accordingly it was identified how organizational culture can affect organizational change management process and then it was assessed how organizational culture and change management can affect individual behaviour. Also ultimately it is discussed how individual values can influence the behaviour of team. All together this study covered a vast area in the subject area of organizational behaviour and change management. Universal Supplier (Pvt) Ltd is UK based company, they import many food items from various Asian countries, and among that Sri Lanka is major country. Universal suppliers are newly established company, it is not alder than 10 years, but its progress is very successful. World is change every day, new technologies are emerge and customer anticipation and satisfactions are change day by day therefore every business has to upgrade their standard. Universal suppliers have understood change system, so they give more priority to change their management and products relative to market change. The Concept of Culture To achieve this learning objective there are three main areas which has to be address. First one is the to determine a framework for analyzing organizational culture and then Explanation on internal and external factors that influence organizational culture and at last of this section the consideration was given to evaluate the current Organizational culture. Determine a framework for analyzing organizational culture Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the way in which people behave and things get done. Norms are unwritten rules and behaviors. In a very simple way we can say the culture of an organization is the typical way of doing things in the organization. It particularly relates to the behavior pattern and the relationship. The culture of an organization develops as an evolution of long time. It is normally created by the people who work in the organization both the managers and the workforce. So this framework for analyzing organization should be developed in a manner considering on above said ideas of the organizational culture. There seems to be wide range of agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of shared meaning is, on closer examination, a set of key elements that in aggregate capture the essence of and organizations culture. These elements are the core of the framework which can use to analyze the organizational culture. Those are as follows. Innovations and risk tasking The degree to which employees are encourages to be innovative and take risk. Attention to detail The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. Result Orientation The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. People Orientation The degree to which management decisions take in to consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. Team Orientation The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easy going. Stability The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth Each of these elements exists on a continuum from low to high. Appraising the organization on these seven characteristics or the elements and then gives a composite picture of the organizations culture. Explanation on internal and external factors that influence organizational culture to Management Practices Internal Factors The actions of Top Management The actions of the top management also have major impact on the organizations culture. Through what they say and how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organizations as to whether risk taking is desirable, how much freedom managers should give their employees, what is appropriate dress, what action will pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions and other rewards. Human resources Practices Once culture is in place there are practices within the organization that act to maintain it by giving employees a set of experience. For example many of the human resources practices reinforce the organizations culture. The section process, performance evaluation criteria, training career development activities, the promotions procedures ensure that those hired people fit in with the culture. Socialization No matter how good a job the organization does in recruiting and selection, new employees are not fully indoctrinated in the organizations culture. May be most important, because they are unfamiliar with the organizations culture, new employees are potentially likely to disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. The organizations will therefore want to help new employees adapt to its culture. This adaptation process is called as Socialization. External Factors The context of Community The people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of the community. This matter have two sides one is community as a external factor how look at the organization and the other hand employees also come from that community that will effect to the internal factors also. Organizations that promotes a spiritual culture recognize that people have both a mind and a spirit seek to find meaning and purpose in their work, and desire to connect with other human being and be part of a community. Government Rules and Regulations This is also having another high effect on organizational culture. Especially in the areas like how to treat for the employees, regulations o customer relations and like that the government rules and regulations also may have a effect on organizations culture. National Culture it is needed to taken in to account if accurate predictions are to be made about organizational behavior in different countries. But does national culture override the organizations culture. Is an IBM facility in Germany, for example more likely to reflect German ethic culture or IBMs corporate culture? This example should be taken in to account to national culture override the organizations culture. Evaluate the current Organizational culture Here if we take the McDonalds organization the organizations culture can be identified as follows. Organizational culture to cope up with National culture McDonalds company adjusts to cooking differences in various cultures. In the case of India, McDonalds offered vegetarian burgers to practicing Buddhists. Asian countries preferring spicy taste saw the introduction of spicy burgers, chicken and seasoning. This provides options for customers to purchase food with either the American taste or the local taste. McDonalds achieves balance by maintaining standardization in products but adjusting to the local taste. Company operations Operations Customer Oriented Product and service delivery of McDonalds is customer cantered. This means that McDonalds primary concern is the satisfaction of its customers. This is ensured by applying a strict standard of food and service quality. Under direct Supervision of Mother Company Periodically, representatives from the mother company visit certain branches in order to ensure the maintenance of quality standards, to discover problems and issues, and to provide updates on operation, management and marketing techniques. Relationship with the Employees The company applies the employment policy of providing sufficient training to its workforce. Prior to starting work, newly hired employees are given a rundown of the rules and regulations, company practices and the goals of the company. After this, the employees are introduced to the different components of the menu, process of food preparation, food-packaging techniques, serving of food, handling the cash register, and establishing rapport with customers. New employees are given practical exercises for experience. Change Management Process The change management process is one of basic skill in that most Managers and larders need to be competent in there management process. There are very less working environments where change management is not important and not implemented. In here we are looking basic principles of change management, and provide some guideline on how these principles can be implemented. When leaders and managers are planning to manage changes, there are five main philosophies which need to be remember Various people respond various way to change Everybody has basic needs which have to be fulfil Changes regularly involves a loss, and people go through the loss curve Anticipation need to be managed rationally Fears have to be deal with changes The some techniques in the change management practitioners belt are well known in the business and trade press. The effective organizational change in their implementation and realization are required the introduction of lean manufacturing, 360 ° feedback, executive coaches,  six sigma, CRM, just-in-time supply and manufacturing processes such as kanban and kaizen, Total Quality Management, or enterprise applications such as SAP, and etc Importance (Objectives)of Change Management to the Organization 1. To allow changes while, at the same time, maintaining or improving service stability and availability. 2. To increase the probability of change process success. 3. To reduce and minimize the ratio of changes that needs to be backed out of due to inadequate preparation. 4. To ensure that all parties affected are informed of planned changes. 5. To provide a record of changes implemented to assist with and shorten problem determination time. 6. To ensure that technical and management accountability for all changes is identified. 7. To assist with the accuracy of predictions of impact, such as response time, utilization, etc. 8. To ensure that all affected parties are not only informed, but necessary documentation and training is in place prior to the implementation. Organization Culture and Change Management Process The organization culture and change management process are interrelated. There are many impact cultural impacts for change management process. Ever organization has unique culture, so management system also adapted surrounding that culture and if they implement any change process they have to adapt that change process with their culture, otherwise they have to change organization culture. Company motivation process is often to improve the effectiveness of this employee in order to improve the financial status of the company. Some organizational cultures are making barriers to implement changes, so they have to overcome those resistant against to change. Most of manager and leaders are not willing to do changes, because they have some fear about it success or failure. Cultural changes or changes adaptation to culture are required to success of changes, because these two cannot be separated. Good relationship between organization culture and change management process always bring succe ss of change. Model for the Changing Process Change is not conventional; it does not chase the particular order in change management models were suggested. So, when look at these models of change management, permit a lot of flexibility when referring a model rather than referring any model too rigidly, The way of implementation of changes are differ and depending on which model is used, but we can fallow basic steps those are essential to follow and those are common to any personal or organizational changes. Model for the Changing Process Kotters Eight Change Model John Kotters eight change model is so suitable compare with the other all models for Universal Supplier change process. It has eight steps to fallow for the appropriate change process that will be applied to Universal Supplier. (Source: http://www.google.co.uk/images?clien) Step One: Create Urgency This may help to Universal supplier spark the initial motivation to get things moving company has low distribution network so they want to expand it all over the UK, still it spread only within boundary of London. Company has threat from their market, because there are many competitors arising with new entrance. Company has opportunity to expand its other region in UK; because London is more competitive place many business organizations are located there, not only UK they have opportunity to penetrate other EU countries Like French. Company competences are enough for penetrate and expand the market network, but they should strengthen it further. Step Two: Form a Powerful Coalition The effective change leaders dont need to follow the traditional company hierarchy. To lead change, company management level need to bring all together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power comes from several of sources, including job title, status, expertise, and political importance Step Three: Create a Vision for Change The universal Supplier change process vision is to be a leading food supplier in UK and change objective is expansion of market network all over the UK and Penetrates to other EU countries such as French. When the first start thinking about change. There will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to an overall vision that people can grasp easily and remember. Step Four: Communicate the Vision Change vision is communicated all the stakeholders of Universal Supplier. There are various methods is implicated for success of vision communication. Step Five: Remove Obstacles Universal Supplier has some obstacles from importing process. There are many rules and regulation impose when importing of products, and employee knowledge and skills are not enough for achieve that change. Therefore company has to remove those obstacles by using various strategies Step Six: Create Short-term Wins Company should create short term wins like annual target coverage, 10% change coverage. Company should be given a taste of achievement early in the change process. It will be encourage employees to reach to final goal in changing process Step Seven: Build on the Change Company need to implement continuous improvement and change build on going changes. In here final goal is penetrate to other EU countries that should be achieved in the change process. Continuous improvement is very important for going to final target. Step Eight: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture The Cooperate culture regularly identifies what gets done, so the values behind the company or person vision must show in daily work. Required continuous commitment to ensure those changes are seen in every aspect of organization, this will help that change a solid place in Universal supplier (Pvt) Ltd Resistant to Change There are many reason to change, those are due to lack of understanding, poor communication process, cultural and belief barriers, norms, conflict, company structure, technological capabilities, Managerial attitudes and style. Therefore managers and other executives need recognise and identify different form of resistance: 1. Threat of power on an individual basis 2. Threat of power on an organization basis 3. Losing the control by employees 4. Increasing the control of employees 5. Economic factor and limitation 6. Fear for the Jobs security 7. Implication on personal objectives and plans 8. Misunderstanding about changes 9. Fear of unknown 10. Limited resources allocation There are many factors for create resistance again changes. Organization should identify those barriers (resistant) to changes and need to find out overcome those resistant otherwise changes are not implemented successfully. Successful Method of Implementation of Change There are several key parameters that need to be observed if change is to be successful, those are: 1. Idea and the need for the change: Idea generally should be serious, and otherwise there is not a perceived need for change. 2. Adaptation: Adaptation is occurred after key persons make decision chose to a head with planed objectives. Executives and general employees should help to success of change process, and major organizational changes should be sign on legal documents by the board of directors 3. Resources: Change is not happened without resources, it requires allocated resources within time frame, specially required adjustable budget, and proper human resource, technology and etc. 4. Implementation: Implementation is occurred after create change decision with organizational plan. Capital approval, employee training, arranging of materials and equipments are very important in implementation process. Conclusion This assignment analyses a broad area in organizational culture, and change management process. In the first part of the study the concept of culture of an organization has been studies in broad term under three main study areas. Which are organizational culture external internal factors affect for organizational culture and assessing a current organizational culture of an organization. In the second section a comprehensive understanding on culture of the organizations a study has been expanded to study understand the impact of changes that underpin individual and organizational performance. In that section the concept behind organisational culture and the changes to an individual and as well the affect of mangers personal values in working with team members has been explained properly. In the final section relationship between culture and changes has been understood and accordingly it was identified how organizational culture can affect organizational change process and then it was assessed how organizational culture can affect individual and organizational changes. Also ultimately it is discussed model of change process, resistant to changes and successful method to implementation of changes. Universal Supplier (Pvt) Ltd is UK based company, they import many food items from various Asian countries, and among that Sri Lanka is major country. Universal suppliers are newly established company, it is not alder than 10 years, but its progress is very successful. World is change every day, new technologies are emerge and customer anticipation and satisfactions are change day by day therefore every business has to upgrade their standard. Universal suppliers have understood change system, so they give more priority to change their management and products relative to market change.

Rhetoric Description :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The blinding sun light spilled onto my exhausted underside from the window across the room as the unlaundered shirt was whisked away. The sight of the dank pullover was replaced with an anxious peering face. I knew that look in his face well. He had grown imaginative last night and was staring at my strained body, almost seemingly considering if what he had in mind might be too much for my experienced frame. Then as if he had made his decision a smile broke his expression and with the tip of his toe he flipped me into his eager hand and my torturous day was about to make its start. I knew what was in store for me and for a brief moment reminisced about the days when a simple coast down a crevice strewn alley was the extent of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He shoved me under his arm and flew down the stairs to the checkered floor of his kitchen. I gripped myself as I was tossed to clatter against the table and there I lay as he wrestled cabinets’ open and clattered silverware onto the table. The chair shrieked as it was pulled out, as if it was trying with all it’s might to stay rooted in its spot. The sound of slurping cereal was drowned out by the sneak attack of sound beckoning from the other room. He jumped up out of his seat spilling some of the contents of his bowl onto my nose as he sprinted to pacify the shrill wails of the phone. â€Å"Yeah man, it’s sick†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.probably will get me sponsored in no time flat†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦yah I’m gonna practice it today, bring your cameras†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  I’ve heard that conversation before. I knew what it meant. I was ready.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He rushed back into the room threw his meal into the sink with no remorse and flicked me back into his hands with little effort. I was actually starting to feel a bit antsy wondering what was in store for me. His body was throbbing as he pressed me against his ribs and his palms were clammy against my scarred underside. I knew that he was excited and my thoughts synchronized with his own filling me with exhilaration. We trudged to the doorway after he pounced into his chaotically laced shoes and wedged his ear phones on his head echoing the cacophony of an angst filled symphony.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He slammed the front door without looking back and carefully dragged his feet across the coarse surface of the driveway making sure there were no hindrances accumulated to the soles of his feet.

Dominos Case Analysis

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose Dominoes was found in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Domino’s Pizza Inc. is the market leader in the United States pizza delivery and second largest pizza company in the world based on number of units. The company offers a wide variety of pizza products as well as pasta, bread sticks, boneless chicken and wings, desserts and soft drinks. As of the beginning of this year, 2012, Domino’s had 394 company-owned stores and 4,513 franchised Domino’s units in the U. S. and 4,835 franchised stores internationally.Domino’s strategy is to use its superior supply-chain to provide its franchises with lost cost inputs so the franchises may focus on sales and service. Through the online world, Domino’s customers began to share their dissatisfaction with Domino’s products, such as pizza lacked taste and quality and poor quality delivery pizzas. Over the past 3-5 years Domino’s has made an ef fort to improve the palatability of their core products, and in 2009 introduced a new and redesigned crust recipe, fresh ingredients, a new sauce, and real shredded cheese.This effort, along the successive marketing campaigns has increased brand loyalty and customer preferences which has had a profound effect on increases in revenue and number of franchise openings. I believe that this strategy that is currently implemented is working, but for Domino’s to remain an industry leader and prolong the current trend of success, Domino’s needs to focus on the demographic and technological changes in the market. Focusing on the changes and reevaluating their current strategy will help Domino’s remain a leader within the industry. Situational AnalysisGeneral Environment Analysis: Demographic | -Pizza remains a very popular product appealing to a wide demographic of Americans that consider restaurants an essential part of their lifestyle. -According to Rasmussen Reports 4 0% of American eat pizza at least once per month w/adults ranging 30-49 yrs. of age; 21% of young adults (18-24) purchase pizza more than three times a week. Pizza is an integral part of American culture and shows no sign of exciting the market. | Economic | Domino’s is not immune to market trends; its revenues are directly affected by how the economy is doing.As the labor force progresses closer to full employment, consumer spending will increase and real GDP will be boosted. As a result, Domino’s Pizza will benefit from the increase of consumer spending as more consumers will likely spend more money at quick-service restaurants than dinging at home. To retain consumer’s quick-service restaurants should not worry as much about pricing but about expanding their menus. | Political/Legal| The political and legal conditions that could affect the business of Domino’s Pizza are the policies of the local and national government towards business.If the governmen t is more open to the establishment of numerous restaurants, then more restaurants will be established. Laws in favor of employees will be a factor for Domino’s. In each state/country they operate in they will have to provide proper employee training, as well as the minimum wage that are in compliance with state and federal regulations. Wages increasing can have a negative impact on revenues. | Sociocultural| Households are more likely to have a double income these days, resulting in families going out to eat more often. No time to cook at home) Media is growing at a fast pace means that Domino’s need to be part of this trend and keep up with the technological changes when comes to their online and app. options. Providing healthier options can be a potential competitive advantage for Domino’s. More people are concerned with their health and are becoming more aware of nutritional facts. Organic and gluten free products are gaining popularity. | Technological| The fast changes in technology nowadays have far-reaching effects.The factors that have a huge impact are: research and development, internet and e-commerce, and new technologies. The research and development has effects on Domino’s Pizza because through R&D new products are developed for the business, the internet and e-commerce also contributes to the technological factors because through them customers can give feedback regarding the products. Technology will assist in developing the firms’ strategies and strategic competiveness. | Global| More and more industrialized countries are emerging.Current and potential political events can affect the potential growth of Domino’s. | Physical| Creating and using products that are bio-gradable and promoting recycling can save Domino’s money, and differentiate themselves from their competitors. | Industry analysis: The restaurant industry was projected to have $604 Billion sales in 2011, which is approximately 4 per cent of the projected total GDP of the United States according to the estimate from National Restaurant Association. The industry has been expanding since the 1960s, mainly due to the boom of quick service restaurants such as Yum!Brands Inc. and McDonald’s. The long term expansion of the restaurant industry is expected to continue as the major players in this industry are focusing on providing healthier and less expensive food for both Americans and customers’ abroad. The restaurant industry provides two categories of services: fast food and full-service restaurant. The fast food restaurants mainly serve products including sandwiches, and pizza. Those restaurants attract customers by offering convenient, inexpensive and appealing foods.Fast food restaurants will still perform comparatively well during financial downturn (see graphs below) because customers will switch from full-service restaurant to the cheaper fast food restaurants. Threat of new entrants| ? Economies of Scale: The saturation of the pizza industry is a huge limiter of how much an advantage can be attained by economies of scale.? Product Differentiation: Differentiation is a necessary expense in the pizza industry but it is not difficult to overcome so we can say it is not a significant barrier to market entry.?Capital requirements will dominate the formation of new, national competitors, but is not a significant barrier to private startups.? Cost Disadvantages: The extreme saturation and similarity in product offering make convenient locations essential for quick service restaurants large and small. This is a significant barrier to entry.? Distribution Channels: Speedy and reliable channels are essential among all firms in the industry, they are not necessarily difficult for new comers to attain. Due to the lack of any of the barriers to entry being so significant, we feel the threat of new entrants is high. Power of suppliers| The bargaining power of suppliers shapes the restau rant industry by determining the food commodity costs. Restaurant operators usually negotiate on their purchases through future contracts; however instability in food goods costs can constrain the power to price their products. Suppliers for Domino’s pizza have low bargaining power, due to the high volume of products and the low differentiation level. There are also many substitutes for any particular input. | Power of buyers| Price is a key factor for customers in choosing restaurants.Consumers compare the values of food and what they pay for the food. Domino’s Pizza customers bargaining power and switching costs are low since a costumer can find a second option easily (frozen pizza or other pizza restaurants and chains). Differentiation levels are created by the consumers and include style of pizza, atmosphere, and location. | Threat of product substitutes| One reason for high competition in the restaurant industry is similar menus among the companies in the restaura nt industry. Few restaurants have successfully differentiated menus from others.The threat this poses on the industry’s’ profitability depend on the price-to-performance ratio, it is also affected by switching costs. Since there are so many firms offer the same basic need the consumer is looking for it results in low switching costs and a high threat of substitution. | Intensity of rivalry among competitors| The rivalry in the restaurant industry is high and gives firms more incentive to differentiate themselves form its competitors and meet customers’ needs. Firms in this industry are competing for the same market share.Since the customer base is not growing as fast the industry, the growth is slow. | Competitor analysis: With Domino’s Pizza competing in the domestic and global market, its main competitors globally are YUM! Brands, McDonalds, and Wendy’s. Many of these fast service chain restaurants are expanding internationally at a rapid rate. E ach competitor offers wide array of products to its consumers, so Domino’s has had to make many menu changes to help keep their loyal customers satisfied. Domino’s main U. S. competitors in the pizza delivery service market are Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars.Domino’s is in an industry where it must use its valued brand name as a way of competing with its competitors around the globe. Locally, Domino’s uses its trademark â€Å"Domino's Pizza: You Got 30 Minutes†20 to remind consumers that they are the number one pizza delivery company in the U. S. and use this as a competitive edge against its aggressive competitors. Pizza Hut The number one competitor for Domino’s is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut operates under Yum! Brands, which also includes four other restaurant chains. Pizza Hut is only two years older than Domino’s and has over 13,000 store locations in 95 different countries.The main focus of Pizza Hut is letting their customers customize their pizzas; each location is designed to tailor to local tastes and culture. They serve a variety of products ranging from specialty pizzas to pasta, sandwiches and chicken wings. In 2010 the brand reported a 4. 7 percent increase in revenues and sales for Pizza Hut increased by 8. 8 percent in the US. Though Domino’s remains the leader in the US delivery segment, Pizza Hut maintains the top spot in the US pizza segment with a 13. 78 market share as of late 2009.Pizza Hut’s goal is moving forward, they want to be known not as a pizza restaurant, but as a â€Å"pizza, pasta, and wings† brand. To complete their transformation Pizza Hut is working to make its menu items more competitively priced and improve their service times as well as focus on great customer service. Lastly, to help gain market share throughout the world, Pizza Hut is focusing its expansion plans on China, one of the world’s rapidly growing marketplaces. Papa Johnâ €™s Papa John’s is considered the world’s third ranked pizza delivery and carryout restaurant behind Pizza Hut and Domino’s.Currently it owns and franchises 3,646 restaurants in which 612 are company owned and 3,034 franchised in all of US and 32 countries worldwide. Papa John’s was founded on the premise that if you make the best pizza and price it competitively, you can sell it. Some of their major products include pizza, bread/cheese sticks, chicken strips, winds, dessert, and beverages. Papa John’s operates through six segments: domestic restaurants, domestic franchising, international operations, variable interest entities, and â€Å"all other† business units.In 1999 Papa John’s took over the number three spot in the US market from Little Caesars. But in the early 2000s, Papa Johns hit the wall and put a break on its expansions plans. The economic recession caused a dip in revenues for year-end 2009, and 2010. In effort to re -energize its brand during this period, Papa invested heavily in advertising, becoming the official sponsor for the NFL and the next three super bowls. In addition, Papa John’s launched a highly successfully promotion for consumers, these efforts helped Papa John’s maintain its market share.Little Caesars Family-owned Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc a subsidiary of Illitich Holdings owns and franchises over 2,600 units in the US and 11 other countries. As of 2010, it owned 4 percent of the US pizza locations and was a major competitor of Domino’s despite its lack of delivery service. It’s considered by Technomic Inc to be the fastest growing pizza restaurant chain in the US. Approximately 80 percent of Little Caesars locations are franchises with many stores located in strip malls or other popular shopping areas.Little Caesars offers pizzas, crazy bread and sauce, cheese bread, Caesar dips and churros as well as it offers party catering service. Littler C aesars has been following the same marketing campaign since the 70s and is known for its two-for-one â€Å"Pizza! Pizza! † Little Caesars has topped a host of â€Å"Best Pizza Value in America† lists for years and years in a row and, despite some setbacks in the 90s as Papa John’s climbed the ladder, continues to offer some hard- to- beat competition. Internal analysis Tangible resources:Domino’s low cost deliver-oriented store design is a tangible resource. Domino’s franchises approximately 90 percent of their 5,155 stores in the US. The stores are decided small with a focus on delivery, which allows them to cut the cost of having the typical large pizzeria type restaurant. Domino’s also uses their company owned stores as testing facilities for new products and technologies, this allows them to cut cost on having to rent out additional stores. Domino’s has its own supply chain for domestic and internationally franchised stores.This o peration consists 17 domestic facilities/6 international facilities that distribute food, equipment and supplies to the franchised stores nation and worldwide. Having their own supply chain gives Domino’s an advantage, it means automatic delivery of ingredients to stores which eliminates wait time and adds freshness, allowing the store team to focus on its sales and customer service. The vertically integrated supply chain allows Domino’s to leverage the purchasing power of thousands of privately owned and franchised stores nationwide to help food costs low.Domino’s new smart-phone â€Å"pizza tracker† application that is also available on their website, shows customers where the pizza is in the process, and how long it will take for the pizza to be ready and/or delivered. This allows customers be more involved in the process and allows instant communication between the two. In result this will help decrease the number of employees that Domino’s nee ds to hire, which will increase revenues as well as focus more on the food making process. Intangible resources: Domino’s has multiple intangible resources.Firstly, Domino’s focuses as a company on two core strengths: high quality pizzas at a competitive price and a fast delivery time, both that are intangible. Secondly, Domino’s strong brand image results in many loyal customers even with the new introductions made to the menu. Lastly, Domino’s has a worldwide presence and have pioneered the pizza delivery industry giving them a strong reputation. Capabilities: Domino’s has five capabilities that were discussed in the analysis. The first is their vertically integrated supply chain. Domino’s is able to drive sales up and costs down.Secondly, Domino’s focuses on adapting each location to its surrounding environment, such as changing menu options in other countries to adapt to the taste preferences of the population. Thirdly, the new sm art phone application, which allows customers order as they go and have more of a connection during the process. Having a strong brand image is another capability of Domino’s, its what allows them to be a direct competitor in the restaurant industry. Lastly, Domino’s is very cost effective, they pre-cut and pre-package all the ingredients, which allow them to be competitive in the market, and in the price they charge their customers.Core competencies: The last four decades Dominos has proven to be a top leader in the pizza industry, and has created several core competencies. Strong brand presence is what created brand loyalty with their customers and lead them to be one of the major competitors in the industry. Their focus on fast delivery is the foundation of their daily profit margins. Expanding internationally and incorporating online services as well as smart device application is another factor for them staying competitive. Also, Domino’s has a cost leaders hip business model which allows them to sell their products at a competitive rice. Sustainable competitive advantage: Domino’s has expanded their opportunities for more profit by opening over 3,000 locations internationally. They have built a strong brand image; by incorporating online technology they were able to stay competitive and ahead of some of their competitors. They have sustained their competitive advantage with the incorporation of Internet services as well as their strong brand image, as well as their expansion to over 70 countries. Since 2009, Domino’s stock has grown a remarkable 233 percent by 2011.SWOT Analysis Strengths| Weaknesses| -Delivery leader in the industry. -Has a strong and diversified franchising network around the world-Massive growth in its expansion across the globe; Dominos international network grew 48% from 2,987 stores to 4,442 stores-Strong brand equity. Known as the â€Å"Mega Brand† as defined by advertising brand magazine. Its positive brand image leads to dependable and trustworthy customers -Technology savvy: Online menus, as well as a Domino’s application for the iPhone and iPod.Helps customers order quickly and choose to have food delivered; pizza tracker allows the customer to the progress of their food being delivered. | -Compared to competitors it lacks menu options -Weak international presence as compared to peers-Lacks significant amount of profit it earns outs the US compared to its competitors-Weakening bottom line| Opportunities| Threats| -Expand its product outside of its stores and into the frozen food market can be quite profitable and beneficial (good for top line growth)-Introduce new healthier options: organic toppings, gluten free, etc. Entry into expanding markets will like boost revenue growth-Sales growth from online orders and smartphone application| -Faces high competition among other pizza companies domestically and globally. Constantly dealing with new product innovati on techniques and pricing pressure among the pizza delivery industry. -Strict govt. regulations poses threat to company’s development plans-Social media can result in a threat due to more people sharing their experiences-bad experiences can influence a prospect client to go elsewhere -Consumers growing more heath conscious| Strategy FormationDomino’s prides itself on its consistency and logistical operations that keep overhead costs down and provide less expensive pizza. Due to the current demographic changes and methods of communication changing, Dominoes must make changes to it s current cost leaderships strategy in order to gain more market share and stay a top competitor in the industry. Strategic alternatives: A strategic alternative for Domino’s to pursue would be a differentiation strategy. Domino’s could gain more customers from segments of the market that had not considered Domino’s as an adequate meal choice.If Domino’s chooses to focus on even a lower cost leadership strategy it would help them maintain its current customer base and possible gain more bargain shopper customers by exploiting its already known capabilities and core competencies, resulting in even more market share form this market segment. Pursuing an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy, Domino’s will still be able to maintain its competitive pricing while creating new products that will attract new segments of the market. Alternative evaluation: The first strategy that Domino’s could pursue is the differentiation strategy.Pursing this strategy would mean that Dominos would need to look for new suppliers to obtain higher quality ingredients. The finance support in the value chain would have to examine to see where capital could be found and allocated to make this strategy work. For Domino’s to change to the differentiation strategy, they would need to gain new tangible and intangible resources to achiev e this strategy as well as to create new capabilities that would lead to new core competencies, resulting in a competitive advantage in the market. Secondly, Domino’s could purse a even lower cost leadership strategy.To pursue an even lower cost leadership strategy, Domino’s would have to cut mores cost in areas such as food quality and choice of supplier. This could lead to fewer costs for them but may result going back to their â€Å"tastes like cardboard† negative image. Due to the taste aspect of their product, it would be safest for Domino’s to look to make cuts else where such as marketing and advertising in order to keep their even lower cost leadership strategy. Lastly, Domino’s could pursue the integrated cost leadership and differentiated strategy.This strategy would be the strongest strategy for Domino’s, it could allow them to be the first mover in the industry to use healthier, organic ingredients which would attract a new segme nt of the market as well as those who might have decided to go else where. Alternative choice: I would choose the integrated cost leadership and differentiated strategy from the three options I listed above. I believe that this strategy allows Domino’s to use its current core competencies and helps develop new capabilities that could lead to even stronger core competencies and a higher competitive advantage in the industry.Strategic Alternative Implementation Action items: In order for Domino’s to implement an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy and gain a competitive advantage in the industry it will need: suppliers that will sell quality ingredients at a reasonable cost, a new structure that is supported by the company, and lastly having the current leader initiate and encourage these changes, or put a new leader that will help implement these changes.Actions plan: In order for Domino’s to take on an integrated cost leadership and different iation strategy, they should use their existing connections with suppliers that will help them find new suppliers who can deliver organic, high quality ingredients at a reasonable price. This will assist with Domino’s becoming the first mover in the industry towards healthier, high quality pizzas.Though this may lead to an increase of price, I believe that because of the current organic foods sector recent growth sprit in our society, there won’t be much of a negative reaction to the price. The current hybrid functional/multidivisional structure may be able to hand the strategy change, but modifications to the value chain would need to take place. Less focus on cutting costs, more of a focus on differentiating the product.Last of all, the current leader or a new leader would need to me a transformational leader, that would implement and encourage the strategy switch from cost leadership to integrated cost leadership and differentiation. Pursuing this new strategy would lead to numerous opportunities, and benefits for Domino’s now and the future. It would allow Domino’s become a first mover in the industry, and create a new market for other fast food restaurants.