Research Topics

Bibliography

Bibliography   Books   Blatazar, Lina C.  (1990). Modules: A Strategy in Teaching Home Economics – A Handbook.  Sta Mesa Hts. Q.C.: Rex Bookstore. Calmorin, Jose. (1985).  Methods of Research.  Phoenix Publishing Garcia, Manuel B.  (1995).  Focus on Teaching:  Approaches, Methods, Rechniques. Q.C. Rex Prinitng Co. Inc.   Harunobu, Suzuki. (1986). The History of Massage.  Dell Publications: New York. Lardizabal, Amparo S. et. al. (1995).  Principles and Methods of Teaching.  3rd Edition. Q.C.: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Thesis Maraña, Ma. Rebecca. (1983).  A Comparison of the Hilots’ Pressure Points and Acupuncture Points.  College of Nursing.  University of the Philippines – Manila.   Internet Fakouri, C., and P. Jones. 1987. Relaxation Rx: slow stroke back rub. J. Gerontological Nursing 13:32-35. Field, T. 1993. Personal communication to Elliott Greene, president, American Massage Therapy Association. Field, T., C. Morrow, C. Valdeon, et al. 1992. Massage reduces anxiety in child and adolescent psychiatric patients. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 31:125-131. Field, T., S. Schanberg, F. Scafidi, et al. 1986. Tactile/kinesthetic stimulation effects on preterm neonates. Pediatrics 77:654-658. Joachim, G. 1983. The effects of two stress management techniques on feelings of well-being in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Nursing Papers 15:5-18. Kaarda, B., and O. Tosteinbo. 1989. Increase of plasma beta-endorphins in connective tissue massage. Gen. pharmacol. 20:487-489. Kerlinger, Fred (1974).  Foundations of Behavioral Research.  2nd e. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.     McBride, Melen. (1999).  Health and Health Care of Filipino American Elders.               Stanford Geriatric Education Center.  Stanford University, Stanford, California. McKechnie, A., F. Wilson, N. Watson, et al. 1983. Anxiety states: a preliminary report on the value of connective tissue massage. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 27(2):125-129. Solivas, John L.  (2001). Traditional Medicine in the Modern World.  Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Weintraub, M. 1992a. Alternative medical care: Shiatsu, Swedish muscle massage, and trigger point suppression in spinal pain syndrome. Am. J. Pain Mgmt. 2(2):74-78. Weintraub, M. 1992b. Shiatsu, Swedish muscle massage, and trigger point suppression in spinal pain syndrome. Am. Massage Therapy J. 31(3):99-109.     Websites   http://www.bucklandmassage.com. (2000).  Buckland Massage and Neuromuscular Center.   http://www.amtnsw.asn.au. (2000).  The Association of Massage Therapists in Australia. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Bibliography

Bibliography Books Blatazar, Lina C. (1990). Modules: A Strategy in Teaching Home Economics – A Handbook. Sta Mesa Hts. Q.C.: Rex...

A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM ) APPROACH TO GROWTH AND SUSTAINED: ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

I would like to engage your service to complete my MBA project work. My project topic is on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It is a case study of a company operation in the Asia Pacific region with the focus on how CRM could improve and sustain its competitive advantage. The project should analyse what influences the diverse cultural differences in the region have on the process of implementing a CRM strategy and what need to be customized in the CRM program in order to suit the local context / objectives of the company to increase its market share and maintain competitiveness in this region. I have proposed the project to be made up of 4 main parts (refer to project proposal) The intended length of the project is 12,000 words, in total. I have already started / completed the literature review (Part I) but needs revision to include a summary and references, as commented by the project supervisor. (Refer to attached supervisor’s comments) Part II is partially completed. Please find below, list of document attached ; 1) Approved Project Proposal 2) Writing Part I (need revision) 3) Writing Part II (Partial) 4) Comments from project supervisor (1) 5) Comments from project supervisor (2) 6) Reference articles (1) 7) Reference articles (2) 8)         corporate information/ presentation. 9) Company brochure of                   Ltd.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM ) APPROACH TO GROWTH AND SUSTAINED: ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

I would like to engage your service to complete my MBA project work. My project topic is on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It is...

Drug Prevention

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS               Alcohol use disorders are a problem of millions nationwide. It represents a major public health problem in the United States. Approximately 7.4% of the U.S. population meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence, a proportion that results in substantial costs to the individual and society, among them elevated morbidity and mortality rates, traffic accidents, injuries, crime, broken families, domestic violence and fetal alcohol syndrome (2004). It is also already considered a disease. The disease model of alcoholism has a history dating back more than two hundred years, and is considered by many to be the dominant paradigm guiding scientific inquiry and treatment approaches for much of the 20th century ( 2002). The concept gained popularity through its promotion by Alcoholics Anonymous.             The disease model of alcohol dependence, or “alcoholism”, remains the dominant conceptual model or paradigm of both alcohol and drug treatment, especially in the USA. However, this situation is changing in response to empirical evidence, managed care cost containment policies and greater pressures to demonstrate treatment efficacy and effectiveness (2004).             Today, a treatment industry based on the disease theory generates more than billion a year in revenues, and both supports and serves hundreds of thousands of individuals who have an emotional commitment (in the case of alcoholics) or an economic commitment (on the part of treatment providers) to the medical model of alcoholism (1995). Alcoholics Anonymous was developed by  and , both late-stage alcoholics and desperate for an alternative, in the late 1930s. According to various literatures and also what is written on their website, Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for Alcoholics Anonymous membership; the group is self-supporting through their own contributions. Alcoholics Anonymous is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. The primary purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous and its members is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety (1986).             This description also appears in most other literature published by Alcoholics Anonymous and is read at the start of nearly every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Accordingly, it depicts the essentials of the Alcoholics Anonymous program that its members wish to convey to outsiders as well as to newcomers. The essentials of the Alcoholics Anonymous program are also represented by the twelve suggested steps Alcoholics Anonymous. All Alcoholics Anonymous members are strongly encouraged to use the “Twelve Steps” in dealing with their alcoholism and with life in general (1986).             Members of Alcoholics Anonymous believe alcoholism to be a progressive and eventually fatal disease that follows a progressive series of stages that lead to institutionalization in a mental hospital, jail, or death. While cultural variations (as well as the assumption that “alcoholism” is a social construction that emerged during a specific historical period) should be acknowledged, it should also be pointed out that the “disease” model of Alcoholics Anonymous has been applied cross-culturally. One might argue that the “disease” model must have some material validity for so many members in so many different cultures to find it descriptive of their own experiences ( 2000). An important activity that Alcoholics Anonymous promotes is alcoholics helping other alcoholics to stay sober through involvement in service work. Although the benefits of having a sponsor are apparent to the recipient, the Alcoholics Anonymous literature encourages alcoholics to help other alcoholics primarily as a method of strengthening their own sobriety. A continuing theme throughout Alcoholics Anonymous principles is the critical importance of recovering alcoholics shifting their focus from self to others. Through sponsorship and twelfth-step work, service involvement comprises a broad range of activities that involve directly helping other struggling alcoholics (2004). Although there is no formal definition of sponsorship, sponsors typically have some regular contact with their sponsees to provide guidance and encouragement, to discuss what challenges sponsees may be facing and to reinforce the Alcoholics Anonymous teachings and principles. Twelfth-step work also involves helping alcoholics more generally, although the manner of help is not concretely defined. It is described as taking on “the unspectacular but important tasks that make good twelfth-step work possible, perhaps arranging for the coffee and cake after the meeting, where so many skeptical, suspicious newcomers have found confidence and comfort in the laugher and talk. This is twelfth-step work in the best sense of the word (2004).” Alcoholics Anonymous is often criticized for being just another substitute addiction, emphasizing “powerlessness” to already disenfranchised groups, being a religion or cult, adhering to a medical model of disease instead of a strengths perspective, and other such areas of concern to social workers. Many of these interpretations are based on viewing Alcoholics Anonymous as an alternative treatment model or a rational service delivery model ( 1998). In spite of methodological problems aggravated by the anonymous, voluntary, self-selection of Alcoholics Anonymous membership, there is evidence to indicate that Alcoholics Anonymous is a very useful approach for alcoholics who are trying to stop drinking. Previously published studies found that greater involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous could modestly predict reduced alcohol consumption. Involvement or active participation in Alcoholics Anonymous processes (such as “working the 12 Steps”), rather than just attendance at their meetings, was related to positive outcomes in these findings and supported in other studies (1998).             The utilization of Alcoholics Anonymous services varies from individual to individual but research suggests that certain patterns occur in racial and ethnic perspectives. Racial differences in Alcoholics Anonymous affiliation may be influenced by many variables such as type and severity of alcohol problems. Research indicates that Hispanic clients are less likely than non-Hispanic white clients to attend Alcoholics Anonymous after treatment. Hispanic and non-Hispanic clients responded differently to encouragement to attend AA. Contrary to what many believed, differential rates of attendance in Alcoholics Anonymous by ethnicity were not related to ethnic differences in the practicing of prescribed Alcoholics Anonymous-related behaviors. As the principles of the group become internalized, Hispanics become less reliant upon continued attendance, much as one can learn to learn, through education, and thereby continue to grow in knowledge without continued attendance at formal classes ( 2002).             Black Americans are also found to be overrepresented in the public alcohol treatment system, but may be less likely to use Alcoholics Anonymous and other informal services. Ethnographic, clinical and epidemiological research has documented that at least some blacks participate in Alcoholics Anonymous ( 1999).             Alcoholics Anonymous has grown to become the largest and most popular mutual-help program in the U.S. for individuals with alcohol problems (2004). The frequency at which AA meetings occur on any given day in the majority of American cities and the absence of membership fees contribute to the popularity of this community-based resource.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Drug Prevention

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Alcohol use disorders are a problem of millions nationwide. It represents a major public health probl...

Career Management

Career Management             Currently, the labor market has becoming more and more competitive. Job seekers should have the intelligence to manage their career in order for them to have their goals achieved. In addition, with today’s actively changing business landscape, businesses are also becoming more complex with the advancing of technology. In the current economic environment, education is becoming increasingly critical to career success. Therefore, the emphasis on life-long learning and personal development, whether formal through organized seminars, or informal through reading and self-learning, is vital to promote a learning attitude that will continually develop new skills and acquire new knowledge.             In this more competitive labor market, employees have to have also the competitive edge to cope with the dynamic change in the market. Businesses today seek for more flexible staff and with more technical knowledge. Employees have no choice but to constantly increase their technical knowledge to be more flexible. In connection with is, employees must also be able to apply these technical knowledge and skills to handle an increasingly diverse, non-routine set of situation and events to be more effective in the workplace and to satisfy customer and organizational needs. According to  (2000), employees must continually commit themselves to learning to enhance their knowledge and to increase their skills. Moreover, he enumerated some real challenges for today’s employees. These include the following: 1.                          Responding and coping with new and rapidly changing business environment and organizational structures. 2.                          Gathering and digesting more timely and relevant information. 3.                          Handling technology and e-commerce. 4.                          Quality – getting it right first time.   According to  (2000), job skills will continue to increase exponentially and not in a linear pattern, leaving those individuals who fail to adequately prepare and develop themselves continually out-of-work or with no opportunities for growth and professional development. With these challenges, career management becomes more critical in today’s world for everyone at all levels in the organization. In the past it was important however in today’s dynamic market, career management become more an essential. Career management is drastically different today than in the last decade. Career management is changing due to the change in the nature of career. The nature of careers is being affected radically by: 1.      Economic changes displacing large numbers of employees from old to new forms of employment, and frequently leading to reduced employment status for those whose skills are obsolete and who are unable to adapt to new businesses 2.      New technology resulting in the automation of formerly labor intensive processes, improved communication and information, and the growth of new kinds of organizations, occupations and jobs 3.      Changes in business culture ranging from privatization, with resultant pressures for new forms of regulation, to changes in organizational practices (such as refocusing around core business activities) have raised awareness of corporate culture as a source of strength, resourcefulness and flexibility In addition, according to  (1997), much of these changes can be attributed to the new contract between employer and employee. Part of this paradigm shift affects careers. It is no longer the company’s responsibility to manage our careers. This responsibility falls to each of you. Career management has been complicated by the current trends in restructuring, downsizing, rightsizing and outsourcing. Traditional upward mobility is no longer available and gone is the fast track. Today’s career progression is a complex maze of crisscrosses and lateral moves. The traditional, vertical career path was straightforward with little guess work. Today’s career paths are not so straightforward. Some are known as the network career path (with horizontal and vertical movement), the lateral skill path (with horizontal movement), and the dual career path (with movement for experts on the technical side of the business not desiring managerial positions). With the loss of the traditional, upward career path, organizations have developed alternatives to help employees. Two such alternatives are formal job revitalization and broad banding. Companies are attempting to “spice up” employees’ jobs where promotions are not possible with job revitalization. Broad banding gives organizations an opportunity to increase an employee’s compensation without an upward move. Both of these methods, however, require that the employee contribute more to the organization and acquire new skills. The key is to recognize the need for transferable skills as well as the imperative to continually be adding value to your position and to your organization. According to  (1997), career management does not just happen. Careers must be carefully managed. Determining where you are going and outlining a strategy whereby you can get there are some of the certain steps to manage careers. Career management is the process by which career goals are met. This requires, then, that you set career goals and objectives. You need to know where you are going to know how to set your course.             This paper focuses its discussion on the career management of top executives. This paper attempts to analyze the labor market of top executives and identifying their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats they face in pursue of their careers. Included also is an updated personal development plan or CV.   Career Management Portfolio Labor Market Analysis             Top executives are expected to have keen competition because of the prestige and high pay attract a large number of qualified applicants. Top executives are among the highest paid workers; however, part of their job is working long hours, considerable travel, and intense pressure to succeed. The nature of their work is to strive to meet their organizations goals and objectives. Top executives devise strategies and formulate policies to ensure that these objectives are met. Long hours including evenings and weekends are standard for most top executives although their schedules are flexible. Substantial travel between international, national, regional, and local offices to monitor operations and meet with customers, staff, and other executives often is required of managers and executives. Many managers and executives also attend meetings and conferences sponsored by various associations. The conferences provide an opportunity to meet with prospective donors, customers, contractors, or government officials and allow managers and executives to keep abreast of technological and managerial innovations. Top executives are under intense pressure to succeed; depending on the organization, this may mean earning higher profits, providing better service, or attaining fundraising and charitable goals. Executives in charge of poorly performing organizations or departments usually find their jobs in jeopardy. Top executives must have highly developed personal skills. An analytical mind able to quickly assess large amounts of information and data is very important, as is the ability to consider and evaluate the relationships between numerous factors. Top executives also must be able to communicate clearly and persuasively. Other qualities critical for managerial success include leadership, self-confidence, motivation, decisiveness, flexibility, sound business judgment, and determination. Advancement may be accelerated by participation in company training programs that impart a broader knowledge of company policy and operations. It is expected that the position of the top executives are of the most competition due to its prestige and high salary. It is expected that many applicants who are qualified are attracted with the offer especially on the large companies. Because this is a large occupation, numerous openings will occur each year as executives transfer to other positions, start their own businesses, or retire. However, many executives who leave their jobs transfer to other executive positions, a pattern that tends to limit the number of job openings for new entrants. According to a survey by independent Remuneration Solutions and Manifest, although rises in total pay for top executives slowed sharply, it is still rising faster than average earnings and three times the rate of inflation (2006). Total pay, including base salaries, bonuses and the expected value of long-term incentive plans, rose 9 per cent to a median of £2.1m for chief executives of large companies last year. This compares with compound growth of 19 per cent a year for eight years or a total rise of 230 per cent since 1998. Over the same period, average earnings rose 38 per cent and the FTSE100 grew 4 per cent ( 2006). Use of bonuses, options and particularly long-term incentive plans have risen faster than base salaries. Performance-based awards now make up more than three-quarters of total remuneration for the average FTSE 100 CEO. Total pay at smaller companies rose just 6 per cent, according to a survey of 235 companies who have reported since January 1 ( 2006).             In connection, according to Rick Slayton, there is a rising demand for top executives. He notes that “The supply and demand dynamics have given high performing executives more career options than they’ve had in years.” There have been challenges in which top executives faces with the changes in the current economic environment. Technological advances, changes in social behavior, demographic shifts and economic conditions are driving fundamental changes in the structure of the labor market and the playing field on which we compete for labor. Our competitiveness with other employers is affected by general labor market forces.   However, according to  (2006), the supply and demand dynamics have given high performing executives more career options. Slayton points out that there is a rising demand for top executives. Slayton also points out recent studies documenting an increase in executive job transition and moves by employers to change their pay practices to match a more competitive job market.  (2006) commented that candidates as a general rule have more power today. For much of the past five years, employers were holding the cards in the executive employment market, because new opportunities were scarce. But today, it’s clear that the pendulum of the executive employment market has moved way over to the candidate or seller side. The bargaining advantage has shifted substantially beyond equilibrium in favor of the top candidates. Slayton suggested that recruiting season will keep corporate recruiters and executive search firms busy trying to market compelling opportunities to top management talent. According to him corporate employers will continue to  place a premium on the right mix of professional experience, advanced education, a track record of consistent performance and successive promotions and executive presence. Slayton notes an increasing number of executive job candidates are rejecting any company rumored to have a tyrannical CEO, high executive turnover, and/or business practices that might remotely evolve into corporate scandal. He advises employers not to underestimate the importance of their reputation, their brand, and their overall workplace experience and corporate mission, because top caliber management candidates are usually motivated by the challenge of a new job with a growth-oriented employer. Slayton concluded that “any company that can’t effectively articulate its vision for the future and a compelling employment proposition for world-class management executives will find its ability to recruit diminished or hampered until that changes.” Executives are increasingly opting to transfer to another company if the offer there is better. Executives have to learn how to manage their career well because they have become as vulnerable to unemployment as lower-ranking individuals. Executives preparing to be interviewed for a new job should make sure that they have certain qualities that will increase their chances of being selected for the position. Executives today face a different playing field than their predecessors. Before downsizing and restructuring, corporations sought lifetime employees whose commitment to the company was paramount. In turn, executives trusted their employers to develop their careers and protect their tenures. However, as change has become an accepted fact of life and re-engineering is no longer an emergency exercise, top executives are ever more likely to be blasted into the ranks of the unemployed with no safety net. It could happen more than once. Effective executive should executive presence, stature or social poise, ability to focus, charisma, ability to articulate, and hands-on management capabilities. Executive presence is hard to define but clients “know it when they see it.” Managers with executive presence speak without a significant regional accent and use strategic silences to appear thoughtful. Grooming such as men with dark, expensive suit, white shirt with French cuffs, Hermes-type tie, manicured fingernails; and women with dark suit or dress, high-quality accessories and jewelry is an important aspect of executive presence. An executive should be a top communicator. A top communicator must have stature, or social poise. Executives who have it are always onstage but never pretentious. They arrive on time and move crisply, but gracefully. They make the first move to shake hands The ability to focus is a key element of stature. Top communication executives are always balancing scores of issues, projects, personalities and outcomes. But when they handle one, they give it 100 percent of their attention. They lean forward slightly when they sit – a mark of attentiveness – and they listen carefully. In addition, executive should be articulate. Communication professionals know that how you say it is often more important than what you say. Articulate executives don’t simply speak clearly. They also respond with a framework for an answer rather than answering questions directly. Articulate executives speak in bullet points and avoid larding their conversations with jargon. The ability to explain a complex issue in simple language is something clients always look for in personal interviews. An executive’s charisma refers mainly to his or her ability to appear interested, caring and concerned.  Charismatic executives usually like to have people around them and mention others in conversation. They walk the halls of their companies and they chat easily with employees at all levels. While it’s difficult to assess charisma in a one-on-one interview, recruiters look for subtle cues like giving credit to team members or subordinates. Optimism is also a strong predictor of charisma. When one of our top candidates spent more than half an interview complaining about her current boss and her company’s misguided strategy, she fell to the bottom of the list. Finally, hands-on executives can do the job that they are managing other people to do. Thriving in a team-oriented environment, they avoid excessive delegation. To be “close to the action,” they meet with customers regularly, use computers extensively, place their own phone calls and sometimes fly coach. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a hands-on executive who has executive presence, but they do exist. In an age of constant change and declining corporate loyalty, communication professionals can build and strengthen their career clout by taking responsibility for their own job progressions, planning to change jobs every two to four years, and honing their interpersonal skills. If your current employer can’t or won’t help you polish your knowledge base and experience, find one that will. Survival is up to you – not the company.   Personal Development Plan Strengths and Weaknesses 1. Areas which needs development   2. Strengths Area of Focus             The area of focus is mainly on the area which needs development. <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Encourage innovation</li> Excellent performance in this area results in being able to: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Ensure that there is a well communicated innovation strategy that fits with the overall vision of the business</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Motivate people across the business to identify areas for new products or services. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Ensure the resources, particularly the time, and made available for idea generation, development and testing of ideas</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Evaluate business cases and plans, approve those that appear viable and monitor their progress</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> ensure that the originators and developers of any ideas receive recognition for their achievement</li> </ul>   <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Plan change</li> Excellent performance in this area results in being able to: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> assess the gap between the current and required future state of procedures, systems, structures and roles</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> assess the risks and benefits associated with your strategies and plans and develop contingency arrangements</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> make sure your plans include short-term “wins” as well as longer-term deliverables</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> develop systems for monitoring and assessing progress</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> develop a communication strategy that allows people to give feedback</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> identify training and support needs and plan how to meet these</li> </ul>     <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Lead Change</li> Excellent performance in this area results in being able to: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Communicate vision for the future, the reason for change and the benefits to everyone</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Make sure people responsible for planning and implementing change understand their responsibilities</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Set and prioritize objectives for the change</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Identify strategies for achieving the vision and communicate them clearly to everyone involved</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Communicate progress to everyone involve and celebrate achievement</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Identify and deal with obstacles to change</li> </ul>   <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Make a program of projects</li> Excellent performance in this area will result to: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Make sure everyone involved is clear about how the program links to strategic targets</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Take account of all essential needs and translate strategic targets into practical, efficient and effective actions</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Make sure everyone involved understands the critical aspects of the program and arrangement for dealing with contingencies</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Monitor and control the program so that it achieves the stated objectives on time and within budget</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Make recommendations </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Tell the important issues and the results of putting the program into practice</li> </ul>   <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Implement Change</li> Excellent performance of this area will result to: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Create a vision of where you area is going</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Communicate regularly</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Create a range of leadership styles and apply them to appropriate situation and people</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Give people support and advice</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; text-autospace: none"> Encourage people to take a lead in their own area of expertise</li> </ul>                         Action Plan             The following plan includes the actions selected and the suggested resources and time frame.   Action Resources Time Frame 1 Encourage innovation Find local courses about encouraging innovation Complete within 3 months   2 Plan Change Find local courses about planning change Complete in 3 months 3 Lead change Find local courses of planning change Complete within 6 months 4 Manage program of projects Find local courses about managing program of projects Complete within 9 months 5 Implement change Find local courses about implementing change Complete within 12 months               Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Career Management

Career Management Currently, the labor market has becoming more and more competitive. Job seekers should have the intelligenc...

Effect of Laws, Regulations and Security Procedures on the Economic Performance of Saudi’s Portsn

Introduction             Saudi Arabia is the biggest country in the Arabian Peninsula comprising eighty percent of the geographic area. Bodies of water bound the country on the east and west and by neighboring countries to the north and south. Since the discovery of oil in the early 1930s, propelling the country as one of the significant suppliers of oil in the international market, the development of ports in the country’s waterfronts were instrumental in the trade of oil. The establishment of ports made it possible for Saudi Arabia to build industries required in trading oil particularly the shipping industry.             Since Saudi Arabia is the leading exporter of petroleum products, it played a significant role in establishing the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). As of 2003, Saudi Arabia reported control of twenty-four percent of the known world petroleum reserves or 260.1 billion barrels and its oil export capacity increases with the discovery of new oil fields. Petroleum industry accounts for around seventy-five percent of aggregate revenue, forty percent of gross domestic product and ninety percent of earnings derived from exports. The importance of the petroleum industry to Saudi Arabia necessitated the development of fully functional and efficient ports. At present, Saudi Arabia has established eight ports to cater to its massive trading activities.             Saudi Arabia became a member of the World Trade Organization in December 2005. Preparatory to free trade, the country commenced the privatization of different industries in the late 1990s including its ports. Although ownership of ports still remain with the government, the private sector is given investment options in different areas to upgrade port facilities and services to compete with other ports in the region and comply with international standards. In 1997, the Ports Authority offered the ports, six commercial and two industrial ports, to the private sector through public bidding and prior to its membership in the WTO all ports were already operated and managed by the private sector.             Competitiveness of Saudi’s ports in the world market requires compliance with international standards. Standards are provided by the agreements or contracts that the ports have entered into through membership in the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other regional economic cooperation and the laws, regulations and port control or security procedures applicable in the international, regional and domestic sphere. These legal factors influence the economic performance of the different ports in Saudi Arabia.             The paper will discuss the different international and national laws as well as the different port control regulations applicable to Saudi’s ports and determine the manner and extent that the various laws and regulations influence the economic performance of the different ports.     Background of the Study             It is recognized that law plays a significant role in the economic performance of states. This is because the legal environment constitutes a factor that affects the operations of businesses. Several approaches measure the extent and quality of influence that laws have on economic development. One approach is to consider laws based on the books. This means that the key indicators of a law are determined and the presence of these indicators are observed in a given economy. The presence or absence of any or some of these indicators then explains the influence that the law has on economic performance. This also requires looking into the purpose of laws and determining whether the purpose has been fulfilled by the presence or absence of the legal elements in the economy.  In relation to port control, the elements and purpose of provisions of admiralty or maritime that relate to port operations are determined. After which an assessment will be made on the existence of these elements in the port industry in Saudi Arabia. Issues surrounding the implementation of the law are also considered. The impact of the legal provisions on the economic performance of the ports is determined by the manner that these laws support economic development in the port industry.             Another approach is to consider the extent that laws are effectively enforced. This is because the presence of laws does not necessarily translate to law enforcement.  This is done by obtaining data measuring the effectiveness of the rule of law and the judiciary, the presence or absence of corruption, low levels of contract repudiation, and efficiency of government expropriation.  In relation to port operations, applying this approach involves the consideration of the manner that key players in effectively implementing laws perform their functions so that the objectives of the law in supporting port operations are obtained. Information on the different measures of effectiveness should be obtained in order to assess the effect that these factors have on the economic performance of ports. In the case of corruption, the presence of a high level of corruption hampers the effective implementation of laws providing barriers to the achievement of economic development in the ports.             The study on the relationship of legality and economic development, used legality variables, which are rule of law, effectiveness of judiciary, non-existence of corruption, low risk of contract negation and low risk in state expropriation as measures of legality. The study also considered fluctuations in the gross national product in measuring the influence of legality variables on economic development in forty-nine states. The study showed that there is a strong association between legality and economic development. A linear regression coefficient showed that for every one percent increase in legality, there is a corresponding four and three quarters increase in gross national product. In substance, this means that in a state where the rule of law applies, there is an independent judicial system, there is no corruption, the government complies with binding agreements and utilizes revenue decisively; there is likely to be a higher GNP growth compared to other states.             The relationship between the implementation of laws and economic performance is cyclical. On one hand, a strong association between law and economic performance implies that wealthy states have the resources to afford better legal institutions. On the other hand, efficient legal institutions are prerequisites to long-term economic development. In actual economic conditions, economic resources and legal institutions are co-determinants and both elements should be present for law to influence economic performance.             In the course of history, law has always served to protect and regulate economic activities in consideration of private and public interests.  Industrialization was spurred by the development of law and law enforcements mechanisms that protects private business endeavors. This is because law and legal mechanisms provided a secure atmosphere conducive to the growth and expansion of businesses. Law and legal institutions are keys to sustained economic growth. The relationship implies that a state should allot resources to the development of laws and legal institutions in order to support economic activities. The development of laws and legal institutions imply recognition and compliance of international law.             Port operations and port related business ventures such as shipping involves complex activities on an international scale, which means that there is a need for laws that protects and regulated the various legal relations between the parties. Port operations involves the engagement in a plethora of contracts between the shipper and the shipping company, the loading and unloading of cargo with port services, the storage of goods in the port facilities, the insurance for the cargo being transported and other related contracts. As ports are flooded with the continuous entry and exit of goods as well as people from different states, there is an increasing demand to provide international standards for the safety and security of ports. The rationale for international standards is that deficiencies in port operations affect the business of a state’s trading partners. Unsafe ports discourage other states to trade with a country because of a high risk of loosing its cargo.             International law is a body of laws applicable and binding upon all states. International law “is a normative system”. It provides a system of performing conduct regarded as obligatory by the each member of the group and non-compliance involves a certain degree of punishment. Normative systems provide a mechanism for groups to realize order to achieve common good. International law is an “operational system for securing values that we all desire—security, freedom, the provision of sufficient material goods”. In the case of port operations, international law is the mechanism for meeting the common goals of states in relation to trade.                International law covering ports include shipping laws and laws of the sea and the conventions on port operations enforced by the United Nations, International Maritime Organization, World Trade Organization and other international bodies. Domestic law also governs port operations of a state. The aspects to be considered in studying the influence of domestic law on the economic performance of ports include domestic maritime laws, the existence of law enforcement institutions and the regulatory bodies. Statement of the Problem             In order to determine the effect of laws, regulations and security procedures on economic development of Saudi’s ports, the researcher should gather data guided through the following questions: 1.      How did the port operations in Saudi Arabia develop? 2.      What are the characteristics of the present operations of Saudi ports? 3.      What is the competitive position of Saudi Arabia’s ports in international trade? 4.      What international laws affect port operations in Saudi Arabia? 5.      What international bodies implement these international laws? 6.      What international agreements or conventions entered into by the government of Saudi Arabia are relevant to its ports? 7.      What bilateral and multilateral agreements have Saudi Arabia entered into that affects its ports? 8.      What domestic laws affect Saudi’s ports? 9.      What port state control regulations are in place in Saudi Arabia? 10. What is the purpose of recognizing these international laws? 11.  What objectives are met by entering into conventions, multilateral and   bilateral agreements? 12.  What is the rationale for the port state control system in place? 13.  What mechanisms are present to ensure the enforcement of these laws? 14.  What are Saudi Arabia’s short and long-term economic goals for its ports? 15.  Does the enforcement of international and domestic laws and regulations coincide with the economic goals of Saudi Arabia for its ports? 16. What are the different areas of port operations covered by law? 17. What issues or problems occur in the implementation of law on the different areas of port operations? 18. What are the conclusions and recommendations that can be derived from the experience of Saudi Arabia? Objectives of the Study             The general objective of the study is to determine the influence that law has on the economic performance of ports in Saudi Arabia. Specific objectives include the determination of the international and domestic laws and regulations affecting the economic performance of the ports, the determination of legal variables used to measure the influence of laws on economic performance of ports, and the determination of the economic measures to show the extent of influence that the legal variables have on the economic measures. Significance of the Study             The study is beneficial to the improvement of the port operations of Saudi Arabia because it provides an assessment of the role of law in the achievement of the economic goals of the state for its ports. The conclusions will show the nature and extent of influence that the different laws have on the economic performance of the ports and the recommendations provide suggestions on how Saudi Arabia can utilize the protection and regulation of different laws to optimize the realization of its economic goals in its ports. Methodology             The study will gather data through primary and secondary sources. Gathering primary data involves interviews of people with expertise, such as officials of the Saudi Port Authority, experts on the domestic and international laws governing port operation. The interview will be semi-structured to allow the researcher to obtain explanations or elaborations of answers to the interview questions to gain sufficient data on the different problem areas.  Collecting secondary data involves the research of books, journals, commentaries, papers and other studies on the performance of Saudi Arabian ports, international and domestic laws governing port operations and the influence of these laws on the economic performance of ports. Secondary data include raw data and published summaries, as well as both quantitative and qualitative data. Secondary data fall into three main subgroups, which are documentary data, interview-based data, and those compiled from different sources. Documentary secondary data refer to studies that use primary data collection methods with the information used on their own or combined with other secondary data. Interview-based secondary data are those data collected by questionnaires that have already been analyzed. Such data are available as compiled data tables or as a computer-readable matrix of raw data.             Data gathered will be presented through sub-topics to facilitate the organized flow of information. Data will be analyzed through a comparative law study method by comparing the similarities and differences in influence of the relevant laws, regulations, and security procedures affecting the economic performance of Saudi’s ports. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Effect of Laws, Regulations and Security Procedures on the Economic Performance of Saudi’s Portsn

Introduction Saudi Arabia is the biggest country in the Arabian Peninsula comprising eighty percent of the geographic ar...

ORGANISATION THEORY

INTRODUCTION Decision making process is considered as the essential tool for keeping business organizations in its proper pacing in maintaining market success and increase in growth and stability as business managers must decide on better decision for the good of the company and that as a manager he need to use a set of framework in realizing his decisions and not to follow his gut feeling in times of critical situations that needs collaborative consideration from the management team and that he then needs to justify his interest in managerial decision making and focused on its distinct models and framework as it is the integral part of every business. Managers need to decide according to standards and principles being followed by the management and to respect its organization governance in which gut feeling approach is of no use because when managers make their decisions they should not be subjective in ways but objective and should adhere to the positive manner of the constructive approach of realizing the details of making decisions work effectively.           MAIN BODY The analysis of         provided a basic framework for investigating the general process of individual decision making that it comprises a few discrete stages: (1) what is the problem? (2) What are the alternatives? (3) Which alternative is best? as with regards to managerial decision making, the text emphasizes that such stages play out in a set of steps ranging from initial detection of a problem to implementation and monitoring of a chosen solution. The individual’s decision-making style is his natural, habitual (albeit learned) approach to effecting a choice and then acting on that choice.  In particular, a substantial amount of research has been done to investigate the impact of personal values on outcomes of the decision-making process. For example, values have been related to differences in behaviors ranging from preference ratings for automobile attributes, to mass media usage, to occupational choice.             Henceforth,           described managers as having to mediate decisions in response to a wide variety of pressures, as well as often having to put together a coalition of inside and outside groups to survive using instruments that characterizes managers as “feelers” rather than “thinkers,” and as “intuitive” rather than “sensing”: These managers are more interested in people and feelings than in analysis and is always waiting to know more before deciding, holding off decisions and judgments. They are open and flexible, able to see and appreciate all sides of issues, welcoming new perspectives and information about issues. Although private managers might demonstrate value preferences different from those of different decision-making styles, our research proposition is that the relationships between their values and decision-making styles should obtain. There was a decision-making framework for business managers who want to build their brands in a corporate advertising environment. The framework raises several questions that brand managers need to address and be able to show how questions pertaining to consumer characteristics and brand tactics form the basis of a useful conceptual model. There needs to investigate whether brand managers consider consumers’ corporate ad knowledge and how they use it in their brand planning for learning about actual brand decision-making processes in a corporate advertising environment.       It was believe that the decision making framework will facilitate conceptually based research on the management of brands in the modern business environment and limiting the gut feeling approach to be done to develop a meaningful theory of organization knowledge that can guide the managers. Decision-making processes related to choice of market, timing and mode of entry are therefore important to understand from both a research and managerial perspective ( 1999).  Moreover, (1989) challenged several of the accepted principles of decision making, her research demonstrated that more successful companies in a better environment could analyze more relevant data, consider multiple alternatives simultaneously, and make faster decisions than their less successful competitors practicing slower decision-making processes in the same market. For example, the “comprehensive” perspective posited that, due to human cognitive limitations (, 1955) faster decisions could be made by limiting alternatives considered and by constraining analysis ( 1984;  1973;  1976). It was also generally accepted that centralized decision-making would speed the decision making process because conflict and consensus are more time-consuming than an autocratic process.        (1989) stated that when decision makers immerse in real-time information, they acquire “a deep personal knowledge of the enterprise that allows them to access and interpret information rapidly when major decisions arise. The executives making fast decisions also use tactics to accelerate analysis of information and alternatives during the decision process (p. 570).       theory to faster decision making argues that two of the antecedent’s necessary for strategic decision speed are a two-tier advice process and consensus with qualification. Both of these antecedents call for a leadership type that inculcates others’ ideas and thoughts in the decision-making process. Therefore, decision-making theory requires a top management leadership that values participation of intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration, would allow a faster decision making process through       ‘s (1989) theory of decision making. Moreover, the business world has been able to adapt some of the thinking from the field management practice. Many concepts can be applied to how people interact and how to operate the business as one of the concept that plays a major role in decision is gut feel or intuition.           People generally agree that intuition refers to the brain’s process of interpreting and reaching conclusions about phenomena without resorting to conscious thought. Thus, the Boston Consulting Groups wrote “intuition is the subconscious integration of all experiences, conditioning, and knowledge of a lifetime including the cultural and emotional biases of that lifetime.” The debate raging in the business sector in the clinical world is whether you should trust your intuition in making decisions or ignore it because of its lack of critical analysis.        takes the view that intuition is extremely important and essential in decision making. He uses multiple examples of firefighters, intensive care nurses, marines and leaders who use their intuition to come to decisions in a rapid rammer because of their intuition skills. People have “gut feelings” when faced with making choices at work. For example, you may have evaluated a job candidate when your gut told you “something” seemed wrong because there is no way to quantify, these hunches you dismissed them as untrustworthy, only to discover later that your gut feeling was right all along.        demystifies the role intuition plays in the workplace and gives us permission to trust our instincts. He shows that gut feel, far from being an innate “sixth sense,” is an essential and learnable skill that anyone can use to improve job performance.       t is as important a tool in making a decision as interpreting numbers or analyzing data. Gut feeling or Intuition is an essential, powerful and practical tool.        discovered that the more experience people have in any particular field, the more they rely on gut feelings because it is a natural and direct outgrowth of experience. He defines gut feel/intuition as “the way people translate their experience into action.” In other words, people’s experience lets them recognize what is going on and make decisions. Most real-life decisions are simply not amenable to classic, analytical decision making as the experienced managers often make the mistake of assuming that their subordinates see the same patterns that are known to them. Then,        believes that a lot of us want to accept the transformative power of intuition as if it were magical. According to him, people want to believe in intuition but it unfortunately blinds us to the less romantic realities of business decision making. For every great example of a great “gut decision’’, there is an equal and opposite example of a terrible one.       refers to research studies of cognition that show a person’s thinking is subject to all sorts of biases and flaws, most of which operate at a subconscious level – the level of intuition.         The essence of business environment is to apply decision making structure in its process even if gut feeling in some ways can be good as indeed, the human drive to find decision patterns that will deal into the process of developing and shaping an appropriate organization structure amicably effective for modern business environment as the new decision support systems don’t eliminate human gut feel or intuition, as         asserts that people harness its power while remedying its most pernicious flaws. In fact, he believes computers will impose a left-brain discipline on right-brain hunches in a way that is well beyond the computational capacity of the human mind. He feels that gut feelings continues to play a key role, allowing people to make informed decisions without short-circuiting its power within the combination in a form of creative potential as it offers the true fulfillment of the promise of human intuition.               CONCLUSION Therefore, I agree that managers should use set of framework that will give basis and support in terms of deciding on something integrating to the decision making process on the other hand, the gut feeling approach could be used by the modern business environment depending upon which the need may arise and it is a sort of case to case situation as the purpose of making better decisions is to provide business success in the global market by means of depicting the general nature of relative components along with its aspects within exclusive domains and believe that in order for an organization to be more successful there should be a fit within its decision-making processes and organization context along its top management team. Furthermore, business managers can use gut feeling approach in some ways of realizing the decision framework respectively. Finally, in referring to decision-making, certain scale can be developed to determine if the decision making framework process at the managerial level of needed information and if the decision-making process is essential for the structure of the business as it provides evidence and making such study in research an important basis for future research p.           REFERENCES   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

ORGANISATION THEORY

INTRODUCTION Decision making process is considered as the essential tool for keeping business organizations in its proper pacing in ma...