Research Topics: Labor Cost

Hotel Business of Sheffield

INTRODUCTION The hotel business is among the fastest growing economic sectors in the United Kingdom. In fact, the hotel business by itself is recognized as multi-million dollar and still a progressing business in Sheffield. The hotel business is among the major economic forces in the country as its enables growth and creation of job opportunities. The hotel business has employed over a million workers who were distributed within various hotel establishments, totaling to revenue generation of billions of dollars. From these records, the hotel business has indeed become one of the most competitive businesses in the world. Important changes in the understanding and management of the service quality of most hotel restaurants have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that service quality can be conceptualized from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive restaurant environment for tourists to enjoy and relax have served effectively in lowering the prevalence of un-satisfaction among tourists. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings, including the city of Sheffield in UK. Hotel owners and entrepreneurs here have recognized that some tourists do not appreciate so much the quality of service that their hotels and restaurants offer. Hence, these tourists may have the tendency to shy away from visiting Sheffield and other great cities in England because of this bad impression they have.             For decades, researchers have tried to discover the elements of service quality among tourist establishments such as hotels and restaurants. And while they might have been able to identify certain essential elements of service quality, they have yet to determine the elements that common tourists pay particular attention to. However, it has been shown that negligence of service quality produces consequences that foster bad impressions from tourists. Strong evidence suggests that service quality and its negligence engage in a reciprocal relationship that has a short and long term effect on the tourist’s future opinion regarding the service quality of tourist establishments. One of the criteria for identifying if a tourist establishment such as hotels is of high service quality is whether it has an impressive restaurant with fully operational facilities meant for the relaxation and enjoyment of the tourists and visitors. A deficit in basic services, as well as skills related to making the tourists and guests fully accommodated, significantly impairs a hotel’s ability to encourage more and more tourists to come over to their place. When compared to high quality serviced hotels, low quality serviced hotels have lower performance rates, lower income and are less likely to be known all over the place. As a consequence, low quality serviced hotels often experience a lifetime of problems in employment and publicity, and they are likely to become bankrupted even at a developmental stage.             Take for instance the various hotel establishments in Ireland having difficulty in adapting to the modern standards of service quality. At present, hotel owners in Ireland are facing an alarming acceleration in the occurrence of disruptive and challenging behaviors among tourists that seriously impede the performance and credibility of their hotels. Also, there has been a rapid increase in percentage of tourists who have failed to be impressed by the hotel and restaurant services of some Irish hotels. Unfortunately, many of today’s hotels all over the world have both problems. Behaviors and tourist impressions such as lack of sanitation, boring environment and unfair tourist price accommodation rates have all been rampant nowadays. True enough, these problems are counterproductive towards the effective performance of hotels. Serious impressions of tourists such as aggression, argumentativeness, and defiance are even more of a threat to these poorly serviced hotels, yet common in countries which cannot afford to establish 5 star quality hotels. Impressions and evaluations of tourists, both positive and negative, affect performance outcomes of hotels at the employee and management level. From a tourist perspective, tourists who displayed their un-satisfaction remarks in staying in poorly serviced hotels had a 90% chance of not going back or staying again to the same hotel. They reported that such tourists begin to actively dislike the place itself and actually visit less that particular place. Continuing over years, these tourists are not likely to change their minds after a terrible experience staying on a poorly serviced hotel. Similarly, tourists exhibiting ongoing, serious bad impressions well even after so many years of that terrible experience are increasing. Background of the Problem              In the United Kingdom, specifically in Sheffield, hotels are one the state’s important economic source. People from all parts of the world visit Sheffield in order to see its famous hotels and dine in its fine restaurants. Most of the population in Sheffield is students and there are less tourist places near about. The percentage of people who stay in hotels “related to the university” is (25 %), while Business related cases (50 %) and tourists (25%) complete the statistics.             In spite of the decreasing popularity of Sheffield as an urban tourist destination, certain hotel business issues affect the influx of tourist and the revenue acquired from this business. The problem on competition for example, is one of the growing concerns of the hotel business in Sheffield. In addition, customer satisfaction is one of the highly significant priorities in the business. Being the major source of tourism revenue, hotel business owners in Sheffield are applying various strategies that will enhance the experience of visitors coming to the city.             One of the main issues relevant to the need of assessing visitor experience is the significant transitions that the hotel business in Sheffield must undergo. One of the recognized changes in the hotel business of Sheffield was its restaurants, where the conventional restaurants were converted into modernized ones. This transition implies the apparent increase of small firms providing tourism services at present, while the hotel business used to be dominated by a few producers. In other words, the hotel owners in Sheffield now have a number of accesses to strategies and factors that amplify business competition. While this tendency has in many ways improved the overall state of hotel business of the city, hotel owners also encounter difficulties to operate their businesses successfully, making the evaluation of visitor experience all the more essential. They have also stated that the competition in the hotel business in Sheffield is augmented by new strategies introduced and implemented by various hotels. With the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) as well as other technological facilities, tourists have more options and control over they type of hotels they want to stay. Hence, with the present advancements, hotel businesses in Sheffield are giving more importance to specialized and enhanced forms of services for tourists, especially the service quality of the restaurants in these hotels. Another issue that is related to the need for evaluating visitor experience is the tendency of consumer behavior to change drastically. This has been observed by several researchers. According to these researchers, the changes in the consumers’ cultural values are among the most influential factors that affect the hotel business in Sheffield. The difference on how consumer responds to products or services given to them is significantly dependent on their cultural origins and values, which naturally affects visitor experience. There are a number of interconnected issues that falls under hotel businesses in Sheffield. Competition, new strategies and changing consumer trends are among these issues. The main focus however, is on the service quality of the restaurants in Sheffield. One way of doing so is by means of assessing the visitors’ expectation and satisfaction. Enhancing the quality of the restaurant services given to the customer or tourists naturally leads to satisfaction. This essential business element is highly significant in combating the problems and issues cited. Hence, consumer studies in the hotel business of Sheffield are very important.             By means of evaluating visitor expectation and satisfaction, developing new strategies or tourist restaurant facilities that will augment customer satisfaction in Sheffield can be done. Sheffield is a popular tourist destination. Nonetheless, tourism issues affect this industry in one way or another. The local government should then adopt strategies and methods that will prepare the city for tourism. The evaluation of the city’s visitor expectation and satisfaction will facilitate the achievement of this objective. In this proposal, focus will be given on the tourists’ expectation and satisfaction upon dining in the restaurants of the hotels in Sheffield. Specifically, this proposed study will evaluate the different restaurant features offered by the hotels in Sheffield and determine the level of satisfaction among randomly selected tourists within the vicinity. In order to evaluate the visitors’ experience, the survey and interview method will be used. These instruments will be used to gather the necessary data, focusing on three main aspects: the restaurant’s facilities, available features and staff services. This particular study will be of significant value to the hotel businesses in Sheffield as it will provide an overview of the current status of hotel industry in Sheffield as well as ways on how its restaurants may be enhanced. Statement of the Problem The hotel industry in Sheffield is placed in a highly competitive business environment. Various strategies and marketing means must then be employed by entrepreneurs in order to enhance the services they provide, specifically their restaurant services. Sheffield is among the lesser popular tourist destinations in the United Kingdom. With the lack of historical tourist spots and archaeological sites, Sheffield is one of the cities in the United Kingdom with the lowest number of visitors. Nonetheless, considering the changing consumer trends as well other tourism-related issues, Sheffield must apply ways on how to enhance its hotel industry and increase tourists’ satisfactory experience. Studying visitor experience is then necessary for this issue. This study will then attempt to answer the following inquiries: <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">How did Sheffield respond to the changing trends in the hotel industry? </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">How do tourists describe their experience upon dining in the restaurants of the hotels in Sheffield in general? </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">What restaurant features do they find most satisfying? </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">What restaurant features in the hotels need improvement? </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">In what ways can the facilities, features and services of restaurants in the hotels of Sheffield be improved? </li> Objectives of the Study       The following statement will serve as the objectives of the study: <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">To describe the experiences visitors had in the restaurants of the hotels in Sheffield;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">To identify the different restaurant features in the hotels of Sheffield, including those that are satisfying as well as those that needs improvement; </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">To evaluate the level of customer satisfaction among the tourists that dined in the restaurants of the hotels in Sheffield; and</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: #333333; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">To emphasize the significant role of entrepreneurs in improving the hotel industry in Sheffield</li> Purpose of the Study Various challenges are affecting the hotel industry in Sheffield, particularly the restaurants sector. From competition to changing tourist trends, entrepreneurs must come up with various ways on how to overcome these challenges. Studies on visitor experience are then necessary in helping the hotel owners in Sheffield overcome competition and increase the level of customer satisfaction. Sheffield in UK is one of the lesser important tourist destinations in the country. The lack of historical and scenic spots is among the many reasons why tourists seldom visit the city for. But despite this, Sheffield offers a wide variety tourist features, hotel accommodations and restaurant facilities that will fit differing tastes. Although Sheffield is not a popular city for tourists to visit, it is not exempted from the mentioned challenges being encountered by most hotel businesses in the city. This is indeed an issue that needs resolution. Certain interventions must be implemented so as not to jeopardize the reputation of hotels all over the world, particularly in Sheffield. Thus, this study will be conducted in order to identify the causes of un-satisfaction and satisfaction among tourists and visitors staying at various hotels in Sheffield, with the goal of finding ways or measures to improve somehow their overall services and performances. It is necessary as well to have a better understanding and awareness of the problem regarding hotel restaurants in Sheffield and their quality of service provided to tourists. This study will be conducted to contribute to the many approaches being used in hotels and restaurants in handling similar problems. The purpose of this dissertation is then to assess whether the experience of the city’s visitors upon accessing the services of the restaurants in the hotels of Sheffield are good and satisfactory. Moreover, this study will be conducted for the purpose of identifying the restaurant features in the hotels of Sheffield that are satisfactory as well as those that need enhancement. This study also intends to emphasize the significance of visitor experience in the development of the hotel industry in Sheffield. In addition, this dissertation will be conducted so as to help in promoting the great hotels Sheffield has to offer. Significance This dissertation will generally benefit the hotel business entrepreneurs, particularly those in Sheffield. This study will be significant for the people as it will help them realize the importance of customer satisfaction and visitor experience in the improvement of hotel functions, specifically its restaurants. Furthermore, this study will be useful in encouraging other entrepreneurs in the hotel industry of Sheffield to be customer-oriented continuously. In addition, this will also be significant to restaurant operators in the hotels of Sheffield as it stresses on the significance of prioritizing the changing tourist trends. This study will also be significant in showing the important role of consumer studies in the hotel industry of Sheffield. The development in the hotel sector will in turn benefit the tourists not only in Sheffield but the entire UK as well. As there are limited available studies related to this topic at present, conducting a visitor experience study in Sheffield will add to current knowledge. Scope This study will be deductive in its approach. “[first], a deductive research can be quicker to complete; [second], data collection is often based on ‘one take’; and [third], this approach can be a lower-risk strategy”. Given the time restrictions resulting from the researcher’s other obligations outside of this study, as well as the financial limitations of this research work due to other expenses and projects outside the thesis, the researcher deemed the deductive approach as the most suitable research approach to be undertaken. Meanwhile, a number of respondents will be set, both male and female, and they will be surveyed so that essential data needed for this study will be acquired. The participants will be surveyed by administering questionnaires. The primary strength of this study is that it evaluates individual personnel perceptions and actual behaviors. However, the limitation is that this study is that they findings will be based only on participants’ stated judgments and intentions. The problem with such data is that since perceptions of the respondents “uncountable” and continuous, could be inaccurate. How? For instance, if we are to ask the respondents the question “Do you believe that the quality of service in most hotel restaurants in Sheffield is good?”, maybe out of 100 respondents, 75 will answer in the affirmative and the remaining 25 will answer in the negative. Such result will show that most of the respondents believe that the quality of service among hotel restaurants in Sheffield is excellent. However, there is the possibility that not all of the respondents have disclosed their true feelings (i.e. if they really agree that all hotel restaurants in Sheffield offer high quality services and facilities). More significantly, the researcher will not know if the respondents will behave accordingly to their choice, i.e. if they will really share information and knowledge in the actual practice. Nevertheless, organization members’ perceptions are meaningful in the sense that organizational life is in part based on members’ interpretations. Thus, although the present study is limited by its focus on the perceptions and opinions of most tourists and visitors in Sheffield, those opinions and perceptions are nonetheless important parts of everyday organizational life. Assumptions The research will be based on the following assumptions: (a) all participants will be utilizing the correct procedures as outlined in the guidelines for the specific methodology employed, and (b) all participants will answer questions honestly to the best of their ability. Limitations Time will be the greatest limitation to this research, which could hinder long-term outcome objectives. Environmental factors, such as socioeconomic status, will not be controlled, and this could create many variables within the research. As this study will utilize a small sample of respondents, the results may not effectively represent the general population.    Delimitations The study will involve a sample of 60 guests, 14 staff members and 3 managers staying at 3 different hotels in Sheffield. Because the study will be conducted in a single city using a small sample, the representation may not be superior and can affect the results of this study. Due to time, budget and effort constraints, this study will be conducted over the duration of 4 weeks, and data will be evaluated manually. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Hotel Business of Sheffield

INTRODUCTION The hotel business is among the fastest growing economic sectors in the United Kingdom. In fact, the hotel business by it...

Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data

This chapter presents the data gathered from the questionnaire; surveys conducted by the researcher from the manager and staff of Coca Cola Company in China. The objective of the study is to show how the market of China affected by the progress of the Coca Cola Company. This is the manner unto which the study accounts the factors and the perception on the criteria themselves. Of particular significance to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the study, which is to be an instrument of analysis of the institution to gauge where it is now and where it is heading, thus what changes are to be made- is to be able to answer the following questions: 1.      What are the factors affecting the promotional styles and strategies of Coca-cola in the market of China? 2.      What are the developments in the Coca-Cola Company in terms of cost, services, manner of selling and the benefits gathered from the China’s market? 3.      Is there any significant correlation between the satisfaction of consumer and Coca-cola marketing style? 4.      How effective and reliable is the promotional strategies employed by Coca-Cola Company and how does it address the needs of progress of the market in China? Demographic Profile             The profile of the respondents is looked upon in terms of age, gender, civil status and educational attainment. Accordingly, majority of the respondents were 25 to 31 years old, showing that most of them were already considered as young adult. On the other hand, there are 30% of the respondents who are in the age of 32 to 38 years old. It was noteworthy that none of the respondents that were under the age of 18 to 24 and 46 above.  The apparent diversity of the maturity of the respondents reflects several implications in the study’s findings. In relation of the age bracket of the respondents, the researcher could presume that in the said percentage, a considerable number could be among the young adult members of the population. It was illustrated that the study were dominated by the single respondents having a percentage distribution of 53% of the total respondents. On the contrary, there is 47% who are married from the respondents. The respondents were asked for their educational attainment and the most of the respondents are college graduate and are engage to the study. The diversity of the population is further asserted when the respondents were asked regarding their professional history. Perceptions of the Managers Regarding Total Quality Management             The respondents were asked which of the following words best describe quality, 75 percent of the respondents answered, “Satisfying external customers,” and 25 percent said “satisfying internal customers.” The respondents were also asked  TQM would be used to improve, 55 percent said increased competitive advantage while 30 percent said customer satisfaction and 15 percent answered customer satisfaction. Perceptions Managers Regarding Customer Relation Management             According to 65 percent of the respondents only key personnel are empowered in Coca Cola Company, while 30 percent said they are fully empowered in the company, 5 percent said they can’t seem to answer the question. Perceptions of the Managers Regarding Coca Cola’s Marketing Strategy             When it comes to marketing strategy, 80 percent of the respondents strongly agreed that Coca-Cola has an excellent marketing style. The remaining 20 percent just agreed with the statement. Perceptions of the Staffs Regarding Overall Management of Coca-Cola          Sixty two percent strongly agreed and twenty eight percent of the respondents agreed to the statement that Coca-Cola management is addressing the need to cope with business changes, while 10 percent disagreed with the statement. When it comes to the statement if the Coca-Cola management is addressing the issues on TQM, CRM and marketing strategies, forty eight percent of the respondents strongly agreed while forty two percent just agreed to the statement and ten percent disagreed. Eighty percent of the staffs agreed that Coca Cola is responding to the needs of their personnel and customers needs. In general, Coca Cola management is handling the current organization well according to 89 percent of the respondents. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data

This chapter presents the data gathered from the questionnaire; surveys conducted by the researcher from the manager and staff of Coca Co...

Product Lifecycle Management

Executive Summary The organization being chosen to carry out such change management process analysis is the computer industry and the organization company in focus is amicably regarding DELL Computers. Thus, change processes in business organizations involves the reality behind every process and is considered as a daily cycle in dealing to various issues and concerns of the organization as it depends on the managements actions and its respected change of nature in dealing with effective change management as directed at overcoming anger and resentment evolving into a program that supports acceptance and internalization. As a consultant commenting on the organizational change process choosing DELL organization as the focal point for discussion and analysis for this presentation, my role to the organization is to have a clear emphasis dealing to the external and internal change drivers and other essential points needed for the realization of purpose for this report presentation for the senior management of the DELL in providing factual information that will be able to give a better substantive spontaneity of understanding of such organizational state needed for selection and the application of the appropriate management models as well as concepts perse.    Introduction Background Information DELL was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell on a simple concept: that by selling computer systems directly to customers, DELL could best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. DELL is a premier provider of products and services required for customers worldwide to build their information-technology and Internet infrastructures and is by far the most renowned name in the computer industry for customers worldwide.  The mission of DELL is “to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve”, by means of meeting customer expectations of highest quality, leading technology and company accountability and support as well as flexible customization capability, and financial stability. General Issues DELL is enhancing and broadening the fundamental competitive advantages of the direct model by applying the efficiencies of the Internet to its entire business. Dell led commercial migration to the Internet, launching in 1994 and adding e-commerce capability in 1996. DELL became the first company to record million in online sales. DELL in the Chinese market is perceived to be a highly competitive environment by strict legislation and different cultural and social values. The Chinese government promotes national PC vendors to foreign companies and strict control of internet usage. The technological advancement is getting better at a quicker pace. The economy of the country is also doing well but the societal view of internet sales is rather blinkered and Dell does not have much success in its online sales.   DELL produces high quality PCs by using their Direct Business Model approach and sells them directly to the customers. DELL’s weaknesses are single sourcing, new product and reliance on corporate clients. DELL has opportunities like the potential growth in overseas markets as the industry is still in growth phase and the entering of the new product markets.   Henceforth, the threats are technological changes that are expected since technology can only get better. Global economy and increased competition in which DELL’s financial ratios identifies that the company is no match for their competitors. The one problem concern faced by DELL is the fierce competition in the industry. If DELL enters into a merge it would not have to spend so much money and time trying to develop a face to face communications, if the local business is already well known. DELL initiated ways to overcome its weaknesses and use its strengths to gain advantages over its competitors by careful analyzing of the factors that contribute to the company’s success in business strategies that had implemented created the path for the company’s  continued success.    Environment and Drivers of Change Environmental Analysis In general, DELL company is dynamic and complex organization because of its proven best quality services and being dedicated in serving the world with its management values that has kept them to be one of the best and most renowned in the computer industry business in relation to DELL’s climb in terms of market leadership which is the outcome of a consistent focus on delivering the best possible customer experience by means of standard based products and services in engaging the global market per se.    The external environment of a company consists of outside conditions that affect a firm’s performance. An analysis of this external environment allows a firm to identify key conditions that are beyond its direct control and those elements on which it can have an affect. Analyzing these areas of the external environment help DELL identify the opportunities and threats in the computer industry.    There are a lot of factors affecting DELL’s business from the external environment. DELL has tight competency with other big computer sellers like Compaq and HP. Thus. social factors also affect the business environment of DELL. Computer companies have to acknowledge that in the Chinese culture, people are still unsure about credit card sales because of the huge expense of computers in China.  Companies, then have to invest in door-to-door or face-to-face operations to gain consumers’ faith and consumers trust in the company and its product. PEST Analysis Political One of DELL’s biggest threats is involving the fourth element of the external environment, the political/legal environment. The Chinese government prefers to promote national PC vendors to foreign companies. There is a lot of red tape involved in securing government contracts. The Chinese government not only favors local firms but also local companies. Government control of internet usage in China is another threat to the growth of the internet. Economic The economic environment refers to the nature and direction of the economy in which a firm competes or may compete. A primary threat that computer companies encounter in China is the problem of software piracy. China has a shortage of skilled labor, even though the country has many economic opportunities. Computer companies have to acknowledge that the average consumer could not afford the investment and very few had a bank account. DELL is aware that Chinese customers go for the cheapest System. Social The socio-cultural segment is concerned with a society’s attitudes and cultural values. The potential for Internet growth is huge in China, giving foreign computer companies, DELL the opportunities to expand into a new market. Computer companies have to acknowledge that in the Chinese culture, people are still unsure about card sales because of the huge expense of computers in China. DELL have to invest in door-to-door or face-to-face operations to gain consumers’ faith and consumers’ trust in the company and product Technological The technological segment includes the institutions and activities involved with creating new knowledge into products, processes and materials. In the computer industry, technology continues to be smaller and faster than ever. Providing access to technologies developed by institutions has proven a key government resource. It was observed that by the year 2000, mainland China’s annual PC production would reach 7.6 million making it the third largest in the world. The internet is a great opportunity for companies to get their name into the public domain as well as a fast way to tailor services to its customer segments. A threat in the technological segment to DELL’s business in China is that access to the Internet is costly. DELL’s product life cycle is very good and being the best among and top company selling PCs, it can be said that DELL is in maturation stage as they are dominatinf the computer world. The internal business environment of DELL is very good and has achieved the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System,    as the organization implemented goals where by the goal is to improve internal environment performance as used to share successes throughout the company. DELL’s direct customer business model is the key to the company’s dramatic growth and success and has focused on selling directly to customers. This helps eliminate the middleman and offers customers more powerful configured systems than most competitors.  The direct model enables DELL to develop a thorough understanding of customer expectations which strengthens customer relationships and increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Five Forces Model The five forces model of competition expands the arena for competitive analysis and include the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers, the threat of substitute products and the intensity of rivalry among competitors. Entry Barriers New entrants to a market can threaten the market share of competitors already in the market .New entrants, such as IBM, are interested in entering the Chinese market to try to gain a large market share from existing competitors in the market. DELL is using a different approach to catch the eye of Chinese consumers. DELL’s Just-In-Time (J-I-T) inventory keeps inventory costs to a minimum. A barrier to entry in China is dealing with the governments political and legal issues. Many foreign firms have to depend on Chinese resellers to make their product available to the public. China’s regulations state that if goods were not manufactured in China, they could not be sold directly to the mainland. Despite protectionist tariffs on foreign firms as DELL can still undermine Legend prices. Buyer Power The bargaining power of buyers is an important aspect in the computer industry. The buyer segment is especially powerful in China because computers are so expensive that consumers do everything they can to get the best deal for the cheapest price because of the cost savings derived from cutting out the middleman, DELL believes it can sell computers at lower prices that its competitors can. Supplier Power The bargaining power of suppliers is moderate in the computer industry. Dell Computers is a vertically integrated company. Substitute products are goods or services from outside a given industry that perform similar or the same functions as a product that the industry produces. Substitutes The computer industry has a low to medium threat of substitute products. Alternatives to the PC include written communication. Calculators can compute numbers. Books are an alternate source of knowledge but do not have the amount of information available at the touch of a button like the Internet. The computer is also a form of entertainment as substitutes for entertainment value includes radio, television and movies. Rivalry Competition is intense in the PC market. Legend, a government backed PC company is the market leader in China. Legend has a domineering presence in Mainland China. Other foreign firms include IBM Hewitt-Packard and Compaq. Success requires foreign companies to partner with Chinese companies to gain distribution-channel and market access while they also operate their own independent subsidiaries. Analysis of Issues People DELL has approximately 39,000 employees around the globe and has a large and diverse corporate organization. DELL company has lot of computer systems in many locations such as Austin, Texas and Nashville that could be of high staffing cost and value that has contributed in maintaining sales to over thirty four offices around and then serve as the front line in terms of selling its products and services worldwide.  In human resource side, DELL conducts training for all employees in order to reduce absenteeism and human errors as well because the high-quality staff is required in enhancing the best quality performance of the company. System DELL has positioned to extend its brand name beyond mainstream computer products by leveraging its reputation as an e-commerce leader. In the year 2000, Dell began to redefine itself as the company that knows how e-business works. It has shared its online sales expertise with a few large customers as they developed their E-commerce capabilities. DELL faces some forces from its competitors in terms of Information Technology as the EDI tool gives very effective opportunities in reducing costs and it can establish the tight linkage between DELL with its suppliers and DELL with its customer.  DELL started selling its own brand of handheld computers, called the Axim, at low price which can be considered as high potential and CEO, Mr. Michael Dell stressed how DELL’s success lay in making it as easy as possible for someone to buy a computer. There are some applications that are currently being used by DELL and they are critical to the core operations of DELL business and the DELL direct which are its operational factors for success. Some applications that are currently being used by DELL that are valuable but are not considered for certain critical success. Source: Internal Growth Model DELL’s internal growth model can be related to their profitability management as it intends to coordinate the company’s daily activities through great management at the core of DELL’s growth in critical period. Thus, DELL had created an aligned growth model that enabled it to manage within the need for its stages for their growth in the business. The stages of the growth model are as follows: Account selection DELL company developed a core competence in targeting customers and kept a massive database of DELL’s business from corporate relationship accounts, customers having predictable needs closely tied to their budget cycles. DELL developed powerful customer-specific intranet sites with predetermined custom specifications and has used higher price-points and the latest technology products to target buyers who had regular upgrade purchase patterns. Demand management DELL developed the crucial function of matching incoming demand to predetermined supply and that the functional department leaders balanced and agreed on internal product strategies and competitive factors. DELL’s pricing had reflected demand management that varies from week to week as the company modified its prices to push products beyond its prescribed levels. Product lifecycle management DELL’s customers rapidly adopted new technology and its marketing focus on managing product lifecycle transitions which has provided customer feedback, which led to product development and crisp lifecycle timing. DELL has become AN expert at curtailing the end of its product cycle. Supplier management DELL manufacturing system have a combination of build product to order and buy component to plan processes, the company worked with its suppliers to introduce flexibility in its system. DELL has concentrated its supplier base into the suppliers accounting for the enough percent of its purchases Liquidity management The liquidity management of DELL has generated a huge amount of liquidity that helped finance the company’s rapid growth and limited its financing needs and was the underlying factor that enabled DELL to earn extraordinarily returns. Current Cultural State DELL organization has succeeded because of a culture adapts well to a changing market as DELL’s current state of their culture has “moved from being built around stock price to a culture of accountability, doing a job well and reaching one’s full potential as a business leader’’, as DELL is empowered to take responsibility for “owning” their career which allows the company to take fast action in the workplace. The atmosphere of employee accountability and responsibility influences DELL’s outlook on ethics and corporate responsibility, as ethical people create ethical companies not ethical companies create ethical people. It’s been a challenge to get DELL people to understand global shift, will help build management ranks as employees are encouraged to be critical of underperforming management. DELL’s current culture state is still a somewhat squishy way to describe all the things that lie beneath the rational and measurable surface of an organization. But most management theorists agree on some variation of this basic definition: DELL’s culture is made tangible by corporate lore and institutional comportment, as well as company’s goals, strategies, management processes, structure and methods of allocating resources. Sources of Resistance DELL’s source of resistance is focused on its strengths and ooportunities as it involves internal resources and capabilities that have the potential to be the core competencies. DELL’s core competencies are their cost strategy. In consistent to being an integrated cost leader, DELL also produce high quality PCs by using their Direct Business Model approach and sells them directly to the customers.  DELL has many opportunities such as potential growth in overseas markets, the industry is still in a growth phase and the entering  to the new product markets. DELL provides the mode to custom the computers of the customers’ choice and taste and deliver the system to the customer as it is the most crucial and critical success factor behind DELL Computers. DELL’s strategy is collapsing profit margins throughout the PC market, a dire development for rivals who cant keep up. DELL is pricing its machines not so much such as high technology products but is more like of an airline tickets and low margin commodities. Sources of Leadership The existing style of leadership DELL uses is the ‘’transformational leadership style’’ as the CEO Michael Dell applies this particular style of leadership that involves inspiring employees to transcend their own self interests and work for the lagrer good of DELL company. DELL articulates a vision that convinces subordinates to make important and positive changes in business process and management and relates to profound belief on beliefs and values that goes beyond its changes and achieving ways to transcend proper decision making engaging through such utilization factors as DELL utilizes the IT as a factor for the successful running of its business.  The acquisition by means of using some of the leadership styles as DELL will make sure to value their customers and business partners in a form of interpersonal style of expressing to a level of virtually integrated as if they’re inside the company and by having customer information as used for analyzing and forecasting customer demand and achieving the mass customization.  DELL expect that the success would be forever and they expect that other companies might implement such leadership models and believed that Information Technology would play a vital role in the success of the business as well as the centerpiece of the business perse. Scenario No Change Scenario  The risks associated in focusing much on DELL’s direct selling process as a means of steady product distribution can be applied as a no change scenario. As always as it is a routinary cycle, DELL comprises a report about a new development in the unfolding current business situations within the competitive aspect. There has been confrontation in many ways that involves a range of customers and partners of DELL: computer industry representatives fighting to retain control of business matters, computer buyers arguing to protect sharing of products and services strategies as struggling to avoid legal liability for computer business organizations which are seeking to safeguard the rights of computer providers as well as customers respectively. A Change Scenario  It is crucial that in every scenario, DELL will have to encourage the proper adaptation of possible solutions that involves certain stagnation of the strategic development of the overall business transaction as well as the consideration of ways in deciding for such changes in the external and internal environment as it serves as the main structure in maintaining business growth and stability encompassing issues and concerns brought about by the reality of organization competition involving the center for business implementation and that DELL as a matter of change scenario, should engage more on strategic principles for growth and expansion in terms of providing standards of business quality among its computers that will aim in increasing morale in the faces of satisfied customers trusting the services offered to them by DELL company amicably. Conclusion DELL decided to change in many aspects regarding its business status in the society like in Chinese society as DELL need have to be aware of the change process, they are working to realize, how it will be realized and ensuring the appropriate amount of management resources to obtain such purpose as the company relies on their reputation in the US market in terms of giving high quality products to uplift customer values. Therefore, DELL needs to have a certain change of agenda as necessarily needed in relevant assumptions for DELL organization to overcome future changes that could possibly affect negatively on the business industry DELL belongs. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Product Lifecycle Management

Executive Summary The organization being chosen to carry out such change management process analysis is the computer industry and the ...

The Impact of Migration Remittances on Somalia

INTRODUCTION             This research investigates the impact of migration remittances in Somalia. The economic advantages of remittances to developing countries have been discussed in many literatures, especially United Nations literatures. Remittance is considered as an important and stable source of income for households in such countries because it is least affected by economic downturns and remains a stable source of income for a family. Studies show that it contributes to economic reduction that is why it is in the interest of most researchers to investigate its impact on developing countries.           The investigation of the economic impact of remittances is applicable to financially unstable countries such as Somalia. Being without a centralized government for almost a decade and reaching a GDP of only 0, it is no doubt that Somalia is to stranger to extreme financial crises. The country can be basically considered as the least productive country in the world. Without the aid of international civil societies, Somalia would have not survived the turmoil it faces. The distributions of income through various means such as remittances are seen as factors that somehow sustain the countries financial needs. However, this assumption is still without empirical support, which is the reason why this study is being proposed. Measuring the economic impact of remittances on poverty-stricken Somalia may help determine its strength and may influence to call for a more systematic development and promotion of remittances program in the country. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Somalia             Somalia was a former colony of three colonial powers in the 19th century – United Kingdom, France, and Italy. The country received its independence in 1960, when the British and former Italian protectorates united to form the Somali Republic. However, the independence was no reason for celebration as the country was handicapped by a lack of political legitimacy and a weak economic base. Worst, the country fell into the hands of a dictator known as Siad Barre – a dictator who forced the country to excessive militarization and aid dependency. However, despite the support of the former Soviet Union on Barre’s government, Somalia was defeated in the Ogaden war with Ethiopia in 1977-78 that ultimately led to the emergence of armed opposition groups in exile and brutal repression by the army of civilian populations in Somalia, particularly in north-western Somalia (Somaliland) and north-eastern Somalia. Armed opposition to Barre began in earnest in 1988 in north-west Somalia that eventually led to Barre’s fall in 1991. However, the overthrow of Barre was still not a reason for Somalia’s celebration as it only propelled Somalia into a prolonged period of civil war. It resulted in extreme humanitarian condition as people were devastated by famine, forcing 800,000 Somalis to become refugees in neighboring countries, and 2 million internally displaced. A Transitional National Government was established in 2000 but it did not help ease the conflict in the troubled country.  Civil wars are still at large and flood and famine are still troubling the citizens. Up to now, urban migration is seen as an inevitable consequence of the conflict and of the impoverishment of large sections of the pastoralist population. The Economic Situation in Somalia             The geography of Somalia is principally desert, dominated by savannah scrubland. Paradoxically, Somalia depends on agriculture as its main source of economic income. In 1990 agriculture accounted for about 65 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), of which livestock was responsible for over 50 per cent, crops 38 per cent, and forestry and fisheries about 1 per cent each. The main agricultural activities are pastoralism (the herding of ruminant animals on bush land), agro-pastoralism (farming with pastoralism) and farming (cereal production and horticulture).             However, such potential economy has been damaged by the destruction of physical infrastructure during the years of civil war and clan conflict. Clans war at each other only to take control of several productions such as bananas. Today, Somalia is one of the Least Developed Countries that desperately need all the help it can get from international concerned civil societies. It once had a per capita income of US$ 290. It was further estimated that 40 percent of the urban population and 70 percent of the rural population lived below what is considered as the “poverty line”. In 2005, Somalia slightly increased its GDP per capita to 0. Somalia has also a potential industry growth in telecommunications, with 100,000 connections and 35,000 cellular phone users grew in 2002. Although the public communications system was somewhat devastated by recent civil wars, there has been an increase in private wireless companies that offer service in most major cities and charge the lowest international rates on the continent. Furthermore, local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centres. On the contrary, all banking systems in Somalia have been seriously impaled as the United States forced a closure on Somali-owned Al-Barakaat banking and telecommunications systems in 2001, after charges of aiding terrorism. That has had a damaging economic impact on the transfer of remittances to Somalia. The Importance of Remittances in Somalia                          Remittances are defined as the sum of selected balance of payments flows. It aims at measuring the economic impact of migration mostly on the home economy. It involves the net receipt of transactions between the migrant and the related household in the home country, independently from the source of income and the use this money is put to in the home country. It is the portion of migrant workers’ earnings sent back to their country of origin during their working life or upon retirement. Remittances are obviously linked with migration. People migrate to get a decent job and earn money, to be able to sustain the family they left behind at their home country. Remittances can have many effects on the home country of the migrant workers, specifically in the financial aspect. For instance, the actual flows sent by a nonresident worker from the host country to his home country (country of residence) are not recorded as such in the BOP. Remittances can basically contribute to the worker’s home country’s Gross National Disposable Income.             Remittances are beneficial for income because it circulates on the economy of the home country of the migrant worker. Remittances are used for family-oriented and collective purposes. It is used for basic consumptions, food, healthcare, education, recreational and community development. Because of this in-flow, it is the developing countries that usually benefit from it. For instance, it was reported that remittances were about 39 percent as large as foreign direct investment (FDI) for developing countries as a whole in 2002 (The Congress of United States, 2005). In general, remittances provide a country’s economy with foreign currency, help finance imports, contribute to the balance of payments, and increase national income (The Congress of United States, 2005). Remittances can be considered as the second largest capital flow to developing countries (UNDP, 2005).             It has been reported that Somalia also benefits from remittances. Many Somalis, since the 1960s, migrated into various neighboring countries, such as oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia. Some refugees migrated into Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen and Djibouti, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, the UK and the USA.  The financial help being sent by those migrants to their families at Somalia help avert humanitarian crises.  The advantages of remittances to Somalia, according to UNDP  include: enables the country to purchase staple food imports and have a “multiplier” effect on the local economy; contribute to Somalia’s foreign exchange reserves; effectively assist in wealth distribution and achieving the MDGs; may provide a key role for private sector development efforts by enabling families to receive needed capital for housing and small business start ups and expansion; can serves as insurance to alleviate risks associated with new enterprises or be used to build schools and clinics; and may stimulate development as it can be used for investment purpose.             Emphasized the help that remittances contribute to the education sector of Somalia. Explained that the cost of education is alleviated when remittances were sent to families. Because of remittances, children have opportunities to go to school and to be useful citizens in the future.             The different transfer channels for sending remittances across borders include: banks; non-bank money transfer operators; post offices; cash and commodities carries; and informal money transfer services. The fastest among those are banks and non-banks money transfer. Because Somalia does not have a banking system, it can be assumed that the country receives remittances slower than other developing countries. Furthermore, not all Somalis are familiar with Internet money transfers. The country has only 89,000 internet users, only a small fraction of the country’s total population. Somalia should encourage financial service innovation and development to promote faster transfer of remittances.             Remittances have also some perceived disadvantages to the receiving country. This includes reducing the labor force of the country of origin, and remittances may reduce the remaining family members’ incentive to work. Another problem with remittances is its complexity for research. It is difficult to identify which migrant sends remittance and which do not. In Somalia, this problem is even worse because most remittances are only hand-delivered due to lack of banking system. Furthermore, factors affecting remittance transfer are still poorly as there is no systematic research evidence on the incidence of remittance sending in the Somali diaspora or on comparative incidences of remitting among different migration cohorts and in the first and second generation. This also comes with the difficulty of telling how many Somalians live outside Somalia . PROBLEM STATEMENT             The concept of remittances in Somalia is still a complex unexplored issue in a sense that its specific impact has not yet been fully captured or explained empirically. There are many factors that contribute to this complexity, which include the lack of systematic means to record the remittances transactions in Somalia and the lack of details about the number of Somalis living outside the country. However, what can be explored are the different help remittances contribute to the families who receive it. By carefully investigating their consumption and how those consumptions affect their lives, the impact of remittances can be well explored in the micro-perspective. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following research questions will be addressed in the study: 1.      What are the micro-economic and financial impacts of remittances on Somalis?  This first question will be explored, because as mentioned, the effects of remittances can be easily measured from the micro-perspective. Micro-economic variables can be the day-to-day transactions involving the remittance money, and what worth can it contribute to a typical Somali community. Micro-economic impact can be the improvement of a family’s business because of the remittances money they accept, or it can be the contribution of remittances money to the purchase of a particular product or service. 2.         What are the specific consumptions with which remittances are spent by a Somali family? This second question is important as it will guide the researcher to identify the basic consumptions improved by remittances money. These may include the following sub-questions: 2.1.                                   How much remittances money is being spent on basic commodities such as rental pay, food, clothes, water, etc.? 2.2.                                   How much remittances money is being spent on healthcare? 2.3.                                   How much remittances money is being spent on education? 2.4.                                   How much remittance money is being spent on leisure or recreational activities? 2.5.                                   How much remittances money is being spent on building infrastructure? 3.                  What are the benefits of remittances to a Somali community? This third question is important because it will help identify the different benefits that a Somali community achieved from remittances. The following sub-questions will be considered: 3.1.                                   Do remittances contribute to the development of infrastructures within the community? 3.2.                                   Do remittances contribute to the improvement of sales of several products within the community? 3.3.                                   Do remittances increase the number of students going to school within the community? 3.4.                                   Do remittances contribute in the health and safety of the community, especially in the development of community health services and the capability of the families to provide finances for health check-ups and needed drugs for common and major ailments? 3.5.                                   Does remittances increase improve the lifestyle of the people within the community? 4.         Do remittances maintain the financial stability of the family receiving it? This question is needed to be explored separately because it will determine the effects of remittances in terms on financial stability not on the community but on the specific families that will be explored. The following sub-questions can be explored here: 4.1.           Do remittances sustain the family’s basic common necessities such as food and other needed hygienic products? 4.2.           Are there other means that the family acquires money? 4.3.           In the opinion of the family, can they survive everyday endeavors without the financial support of their family member from other countries? 4.4.           Are their financial earnings higher than the support given them from abroad? 5.         How do remittances contribute in the economy of the community? This question, although complex, is important to determine the economic impact of remittances to the community. However, because it is difficult to acquire records of price increase or price decrease, this will be done by interviewing merchants and organizations within the community. It will be determined if a particular product had an increase in sales per year. Although it will not directly trace if remittances have a link with those price changes, we will have an idea on the basic economic changes taking place within a community receiving remittances money. 6.         What are the problems being experienced by Somalis in acquiring remittances money?             This question is important to explore because it will lead to discovery of the limitations of money transfer in Somalia. As a country without a solid banking system that the citizens and their relatives from abroad can rely into, there may be great barriers in transferring money to the country. The following sub-questions will be explored: 6.1.           What is the medium being used by the migrant Somali to send money to his or her family in Somalia? 6.2.           Are there any available banks for money transfer? 6.3.           How long does it take for a family to receive the money from their relative abroad? 6.4.           Do they experience incidents such as failure to receive a particular delivery? 6.5.           Are they satisfied with the money transfer options available in Somalia? Questions will be addressed with quantitative and qualitative research strategies. The research will be based on the explanatory and descriptive method. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES             The aim of the study is to determine the impact of remittances to Somalis in micro-economic and finance terms. Another aim of the study is to be able to help the United Nations know more about the impact of remittances in Somalia.             The following objectives will be addressed in the study: 1.                  To conduct a literature review of previous studies about the impact of remittances in Somalia. 2.                  To trace Somalis receiving remittances from family members abroad. 3.                  To conduct interviews on chosen Somalis who receive remittances from abroad. 4.                  To analyze the collated data. 5.                  To draw conclusion based on the result and promote insightful recommendations. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY             The study can be an important contribution to civil societies, specifically for the Somalis, as it may help determine the impact of remittances even on the micro-perspective. Although there are perceive disadvantages, remittances might be important to thousands of Somalis for their survival. By investigating how remittances help a family, an idea about the impact of remittances can be structured and may help influence the development of programs that will promote it to the rest of the Somalis or to its current transitional national government.             It can also be argued that the study is important because it will greatly help the task of the United Nations in helping Somalia to its recovery. The findings of this study may vary, and may slightly or greatly contribute to the understanding of remittances’ role in Somalia. Nonetheless, it will overall help the growth of studies about the issue and will contribute to building the necessary steps to prove the need for more remittances for Somalia. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Research Strategy The research process of the study can be best illustrated with the use of the ‘Research Process Onion’. The Onion refers that in order to come to the central issue of how to collect the data needed to answer ones research questions, there are important layers of the onion that need to be peeled away: the first layer raises the question of the research philosophy to adopt, the second considers the subject of research approach that flows from the research philosophy, the third examines the research strategy most applicable, the fourth layer refers to the time horizon a researcher applies to his research, and the fifth layer is the data collection methods to be used.  Figure 1 shows how the researcher conceptualized the research approach to be applied in this study in order to come up with the pertinent data needed to answer the research questions stated in the first chapter, as well as to arrive to the fulfilment of this research undertaking’s objectives. The first layer of the onion refers to the research philosophy of the study, which is interpretivism. As mentioned, the aim of this study is to investigate new situations and not to prove a hypothesis. Interpretivism will be helpful in addressing this study subjectively. Interpretivism is the necessary research philosophy for this study because it allows the search the ‘details of the situation to understand the reality or perhaps a reality working behind them’. For the interpretivist, it is necessary to explore the subjective meanings motivating people’s actions in order to understand these. In other words, the aim of the interpretivist is to understand situations and give plausible and acceptable accounts of them. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, phenomenological analysis will be used in the paper On the other hand, the second layer of the onion refers to the research approach of the study. Because it will be based on intepretivism, it is proper that the research approach will be induction rather than deduction. The deduction approach is dedicated to deducing hypothesis or expressing and testing hypothesis in operational term. On the contrary, induction is different from deduction. The purpose of induction is to get a feel of what was going on, so as to understand better the nature of the problem. The task of the inductive researcher is to make sense of the interview data to be collected by analyzing those data. In other words, interpretation of raw data will be observed in the study. The third layer refers to the research strategies that will be used in the study. Three research strategies will be used to accommodate the issues to be explored. They are: survey; case studies; and grounded theory.             Surveys will be useful to acquire basic information important in the development of the study. One of its purpose is to describe, e.g., to count the frequency of some event or to assess the distribution of some variables such as proportion of the population of different age groups, sex, religion, castes and languages, knowledge, attitude and adoption of practices about particular issues, and other information of similar nature about the population.  They may also be done to measure the extent and nature of effect and impact of a project to the population exposed to it for a reasonable length of time.  Accordingly, the survey strategy gives a researcher more control over the research process; however, the data collected by this strategy may not be as wide ranging as those collected by other research strategies. Aside from the questionnaire method, other data collection methods belonging to the survey strategy include structured observation and structured interviews, which will both be utilized in this study. The case study will also be used as a research strategy because it will enable the researcher to look deeper into several selected cases and understand better the phenomenon in the light of those cases. A case study is defined as a strategy for doing research that involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context with the utilisation of various sources of evidence, and in this strategy, one has the considerable ability to generate answers for the questions “why?”, “what?” and “how?”, where data collection methods applicable with such approach include questionnaires, interviews, observation, and documentary analysis. The strategies will be based on explanatory and descriptive method. Explanatory studies are studies that establish causal relationships between variables that are explanatory. It will seek to determine the relationships between remittances money and different variables within the community such as economic, health, and educational variables. Explanations will be aided with different categories of data, as well as information from different related literatures. This study will also be descriptive as it will try to know the basic impact of remittances into a Somali family by investigating where they spent the money and to which industry the money circulates. A descriptive research intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study. It is also concerned with relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing. In addition, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research. The fourth layer of the onion presents the time horizons of the study, which is cross-sectional. Obviously, cross-sectional time horizon is most applicable in the study as it will not seek to investigate for a long period of time because of time constraint. Basically, longitudinal study would be time consuming. Cross-sectional, however, fits well for the study as it only investigate a particular phenomenon at a particular time. Furthermore, case studies are usually based on interviews conducted over a short period of time. The study will not exceed a period of 1 year. Data Collection The fifth layer of the research process onion refers to the data collection techniques that will be used in the study. This will be done with human as well as with document sample. Samples for the study should be genuine Somali families who receive money regularly from one or more of their family members abroad. Convenience sampling will be used to choose which family to explore. The plan is to focus on one Somalia community where most citizens receive cash from relatives working abroad. A number of 10 Somali families will be chosen for investigation. Important documents such as community receipts and other formal legal documents to determine improvement within the community will be collected. Data collection methods will be semi-structured interviews, observations, surveys, and documentation of important legal papers. In semi-structured interviews, the researcher had a list of themes and questions to be covered, although these may vary from interview to interview, meaning, some questions may be omitted in particular interviews, given the specific organisational context that is encouraged in relation to the research topic, and the order of questions, as well, may also be varied depending on the flow of conversation. Meanwhile, additional questions may be required to explore the research questions and objectives given the nature of events within particular organisations, and the nature of the questions and the ensuing discussion mean that the data will be recorded, perhaps by note-taking or by tape-recording the conversation. This approach will provide the researcher the opportunity to ‘probe’ answers, which can be done in instances where there is a need or want for the interviewees to explain further or build on their responses, and gives the interviews give interviewees the chance to hear themselves “thinking aloud” about things they might not have previously thought about, which in turn, may lead a to collect rich and detailed set of data. Interviews with the family will be conducted informally as the situation arises or as the researcher sees the need for it. An interpreter will be hired throughout the research process so as the sharing of knowledge and information will be fluent and free from misunderstandings. The researcher will keep a researcher’s journal. This will be where important answers from interviews will be put into place. Dates when the interviews were conducted as well as the time of the day will be included. The use of self-memos will also be utilized so as to have a record on ideas that may arise from the events. This will make analysis of interviews easier. As mentioned, 10 Somali families that have a relative abroad supporting them will be part of the case study. Interviews will be most utilized in these case studies. Interviews with any citizens will also be conducted. The names of the interviewed citizen will be put in the journal as well the relevance of their interview to the study. On the other hand, observations within the community will also be made. Things that will be observed includes the progress of the community in terms of several community factors such as healthcare, transportation, water supply, food supply, retail sales, etc. Observation notes will be taken and will be put on the research journal. Surveys will also be conducted to have a statistical representation on the study. Structured questionnaires will be used for survey interviews. Community members, except for the families that will be chosen for the case study, are the ones to be surveyed. Questionnaires collect data by asking people to respond to exactly the same set of questions, and they are often used as part of survey strategy to collect descriptive data about opinions, behaviours and attributes, where data collected are normally coded and analysed by computer. Accordingly, the choice of questionnaire is influenced by the research questions and objectives, as well as the resources, available, therefore, a researcher must know precisely, prior to designing a questionnaire, what data is needed to be collected in order to come up with answers that will address the research questions and objectives. In addition, in designing a questionnaire, one should consider the wording of individual questions prior to order in which they appear, and the order and flow of questions should be logical to the respondents.  The structured questionnaire will be designed with a 5-Point Likert Scale. This will help determine the level of agreement of the respondents for each question. Documentation of important documents will also be conducted to have legal evidences about the transactions taking place within the community. Local governments will be approached and will be asked to provide basic yearly reports about the community. Data Analysis             Qualitative data analysis will be used to analyze the data in the study. The four steps of analytical process will be followed: categorization; ‘unitising’ data; recognizing relationships and developing categories; and developing and testing hypothesis to reach conclusion.             In categorization of data, similar data from each case and from the information collated from the government departments will be categorized. Categories include the following: the economic impact of remittances; the social impact of remittances; and the impact of remittances on individual families. Other sub-categories can also be added during the research process if the research sees it fit.             On the other hand, ‘unitising’ of data means to unite data that are similar. This part of the project will arrange the data and combine those that are similar in nature. Data that have similar essence from both the qualitative and quantitative research will be unitize to form a coherent conclusion on that particular finding.             In recognising relationships and developing categories, the initial categories made will be reviewed so as to consider uniting or dividing information. The initial categories will provide the researcher an overview of existing relationships within the data. Relationships between different categories of data will be looked at in this part of the research.             Finally, as patterns are revealed among the data and relationships where identified, a hypothesis and conclusion to that hypothesis will be developed.             Results of the study will be documented and presented based on their subject categories.             Quantitative data analysis will also be provided in the study. Results from the surveys will be analyzed statistically. The general viewpoint of the society in the issues presented here may help in developing a coherent conclusion for the study. The latest SPSS software will be used to determine the weighted mean and percentage of the results.             Qualitative and quantitative results will be unitized to form a conclusion and to form recommendations and relevant frameworks. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Impact of Migration Remittances on Somalia

INTRODUCTION This research investigates the impact of migration remittances in Somalia. The economic advantages of remitta...