Research Topics: Report Papers

Consultant’s Report: The Chronicle Gazette Case Study

Consultant’s Report The Chronicle Gazette Case Study 3. Why newspapers are facing declining circulations and revenues 3.1. External assessment 3.1.1. Economic forces             The newspaper publishing industry is flooded with powerful brands such as New York Times and Wall Street Journal and with their equally powerful marketing skills (Fink, 2005). Although The Chronicle Gazette has a relatively voluminous customer database, the publication’s reach is limited. Overall, the company lacks of business intents on leveraging its scale.   3.1.2. Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental forces             Readers are looking for newspaper contents that are of enduring value and interest. This means that newspapers should also focus on reflections on the best of humanity to balance good news and bad news (Wilkinson, 2002). This is also in line with the changing interests of the readers. For instance, the ageing population yearns for more relevant news items with aggressive, factual-based approach (Wilkinson, 2002). To wit, the changing demographics of the customer base could be one reason why subscriptions are declining.   3.1.3. Political, governmental and legal forces             Levels of restrictions and policies differ from country to country. As such, newspaper companies are adapting to differentiated processes of governing the control of delivery and consumption of the rightfully acquired materials. This is also particular for newspapers whereby media/broadcasting ethics is a must. 3.1.4. Technological forces             One such law that modern, global newspapers companies are adapting are information technology-related laws. Digital rights should be upheld thus legislations relate fairness in information practices as notice, choice, access, security and enforcement (Drennan. 1999). 3.1.5. Competitive forces (e.g., Porter’s model)             Competition in modern newspaper publishing is business-driven and profitability is the primary measure of success. Entry costs for newspapers are higher since there is the need to acquire economies of scale, printing access, suitable packages to advertisers and obtain finance. Supplier power within this industry is high since the relative size and the concentration of the suppliers are also relative to industry participants (Henry, 2003). Further, the relative low cost of the Internet provides opportunities to exploit product substitution although the maintenance of this channel is also costly (Drennan, 1999). Bargaining power of buyers is relatively high since there are many players in the newspaper industry. Newspaper products such as The Chronicle Gazette are also standardised. 3.1.6. External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix             Major newspaper companies possess controlled access to distribution channels, and this serves as the biggest threat for The Chronicle Gazette. Some companies are able to maximise the use of direct mail, display marketing, direct responsive television and the Internet (Drennan, 1999). While also, there are newspaper companies that are capable of innovating and diversifying such as into multi-media formats. To focus on the Internet, the printing operations became highly-automated and the skills required changes as technology advances. As such, the computerization has a significant impact on the newspaper industry (Drennan, 1999). Readership is still up, however, subscriptions are declining for many years now as more people are turning into the television and the Internet. 4. Internal assessment 4.1. Organizational processes and structure             Basically, the The Chronicle Gazette lags behind the competition because of insufficiency of prevalent distribution channels. Feinman was not able to exploit the advantages of technological advances unlike their major rivals. The executive committee also serves as the decision-making body of the company.   4.2. HR capabilities             Because The Chronicle Gazette was able to recruit talented writers as evidenced by the awards received, it is easy to deduce that one of the HR’s capabilities is to develop highly effective people. The HR is also therefore driven by results particularly in terms of the performance of the writers. 4.3. Financial position             Revenues are affected by the declining volume of subscriptions and advertising and online competitions. However, it is also clear that Feinman is now ready to invest and embark on changes such as online alternative format for The Chronicle Gazette. 4.4. Marketing/sales capabilities             Obviously, Feinman only focuses on print media, making this their only distribution channel. The company, nonetheless, is engaging into a marketing analysis of the position of the The Chronicle Gazette within the newspaper industry. 4.5. Operational capabilities (e.g., How efficient are we? How effectively are we adopting new technologies?)             Within the company, there is the drive to intensify contents to level with major players which are also currently operating Internet-based. The problem is that the advantages of technology are set aside therefore is not efficient enough. New forms of subscriptions are also not explored which ensures that price for the customer is provided at a fair level.            4.6. Our strengths and weaknesses as a publisher             The company is in a strong position to explore new markets, channels and diversify into new print products physical and online. One weakness is that Feinman is hesitant to explore this new media. Digitisation is viewed as the biggest challenge for the newspaper publishing industry. 5. How companies in the publishing industry are adjusting their strategies to cope with the challenges (provide at least three examples) Diversify             The company should engage in product differentiation in order to meet the changing demographies of its customer database. Feinman should launch new publications in diverse markets and innovative formats such as audio, CD-ROMs and other electronic media. Classified advertising should be also intensified. The company could also converge into localizing their publications which means using local language on newspapers (Tuncalp 2001). This can be also used electronically by providing readers with the option to view news in various languages or simply translating the contents of publications especially on in-depth reports.             On the other end of the spectrum, the company could consider outsourcing printing, employment on commission-basis, engagement of freelance editors, writers, etc. and selling spare capacity. Synergies             The Chronicle Gazette should also develop new promotional techniques to keep the business sustainable. The company could diversify through expanding the use of marketing channels and by better leveraging the existing ones. Somehow, traditional practices prevails which include promoting new publications through creations of elaborate publicity campaigns. E-commerce capabilities of the company and the products must be realized as well. Organic growth             Whether writers independently conceive and write news for the The Chronicle Gazette or writers create in-depth analysis of a certain issue of interest in order to compete with successful titles, both are seen healthy for the industry and proves to produce high quality news items. Mergers in the industry have made publications efficient and this could be also explored by the company. 6. Steps the The Chronicle Gazette might take in order to deal with the challenges 6.1. Short-term steps             Publishers consider the impact of changes in copy sales in revenues from both advertisers and consumers when setting cover prices. Publishers have an additional incentive to hold down cover prices in order to increase circulation because advertisers are often too willing to pay more for advertisements in newspapers that have higher levels of circulation. Advertisement packages should be reviewed so that the company would be able to decide whether to offer advertising on a cheaper package. Through collaboration with the suppliers, the company would be able to provide new products in new formats. The Chronicle Gazette should ensure that suppliers can provide on-line options for the customers. Website should be created therefore. I should take not in here that the newspaper product is extremely perishable. This means that the product has value for a very short period of time. 6.2. Long-term steps Demand for newspapers can vary from issue to issue. The focus therefore is to treating contents the way readers want news to be treated – factual, unbiased and timely. Having said this, perking the demand could be through the introduction of new reading materials for them other than the newspaper. These could be compilation books that features in-depth analysis of various events for the last decade or that features th4e best stories among the roster of best writers. If the company would not be able to do this alone especially this requires new budget, Feinman could consider a merger with a promising small company. If a merger will not be appropriate for the The Chronicle Gazette, then the company could consider inviting freelance writers to write for the newspaper. This could be a great mean of contributorship. References Drennan, J. (1999). The introduction of intranets into the newspaper industry. Aslib Proceedings, 51(8): 269-274. Fink, B. A. (2005). Market-driven journalism: Creating special sections to meet the reader’s interest. Journal of Communications Management, 9(2): 145-154. Henry, H. (2003). Newspaper Cover Prices: Management Behavior in Conditions of Joint Supply. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 1(1): 3-14. Tuncalp, S. (2001). Newspaper advertising in Arabian Gulf Country: examples of careless appeals. Management Research News, 24(8/9): 35-44. Wilkinson, G. (2002). Factors affecting newspaper choice. European Journal of Marketing, 6(2): 107-116. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Consultant’s Report: The Chronicle Gazette Case Study

Consultant’s Report The Chronicle Gazette Case Study 3. Why newspapers are facing declining circulations and revenues 3.1. External...

REPORT: PROJECT PROPOSAL – NEW HARDWARE

REPORT: PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEW HARDWARE     Objective: To aid profitability, maximize idle season of production facilities, promote innovation, motivate workforce   Contents: Executive Summary I. Details of hardware II. Benefits for the Company III. Marketability IV. Potential Buyers   Executive Summary             Using the research results and analysis of the project team, it is found that production and distribution of a new hardware can bring several benefits to the firm in accordance to cited objectives.  The new hardware has features compatible to the transaction needs of real estate industry both for agents and their clients.      I. Details of the Hardware The hardware will be manufactured and distributed by our company.  Its features include usual capacities of mobile phones with the benefit to real-time virtual tours to commercial spaces from the mobile device of real estate clients.  Our current production facility has produced the standard components for the prototype while some electronic parts and required software were outsourced from our treasured suppliers.    The prototype has done a good job in being compatible with our facilities.  By improving the speed of set-up and re-training of personnel, the high demand in assembly lines can be easily addressed and production can take place.  The new hardware requires more working in LCD, receiver, memory and sound because of the higher requirement of real-time videos.   Accessing the right signal for the large amount of data is not a problem as our service providers agreed to support the platform.  This will allow the hardware to incorporate built-in antenna without reducing its coverage.  Thus, portability is acquired together with increased in functionality.    With new internal design and larger internal spaces, the hardware can incorporate specific electronics for larger memory and processors.  This enables multi-viewing of five to ten (5-10) simultaneous videos without affecting the quality of each video.  The hardware is intended for background-oriented video captures compatible in viewing structures, spaces and colors.    II. Benefits to the Company As earlier indicated, there is no need for complete re-engineering of the current production line.  Efficiency of set-up can be retained through installation of conveyor belts to allow additional workings for this upgraded model.  These belts can also be used for the current models and serve as the site for quality control and inspection.    Re-training of employees will focus on installation of electronic components.  At the end of the short-course, the workers will receive certificates and can use them for promotional undertakings.  Our partners and suppliers are supportive to the product development and willing to give shorter lead times and lenient credit proposals.        The traditional value derived in distribution is apparently short to meet profit expectations.  The current operating and competitive environments became more challenging due to technological innovations.  The economies of scale in production of current product portfolio are undermined by seasonality of orders.    Our on-call production workers have long being idle and machineries eat-up semiannual fabrication costs while we under-utilized production facilities.  As the market became sophisticated, we can re-structure our value-chain and use both distribution and production as key business areas.  At best, their integration can serve as pushing mechanism to attract wider market demographics and also pulling tool for production and delivery costs.            III. Marketability (the ability of the product to be bought and sold) As reports show, the real estate industry is expanding and becoming one of the most highly dense in both assets and market capitalization.  Real estate agents are all over the place, brochures are seen in each parked cark and e-mail promotions on house loans are bugging most of us.  The economy has indications of positive outlook that makes the idea of buying a home and property lucrative to households and investors.    However, the marketplace for contracting real estate deals remain tedious and even traumatic (i.e. in the case of minimum satisfaction of the new owners) due to limitation to personal contact.  With the new hardware, the parties can evaluate their decisions using a wider scope of reference with the ability to assess each other contracts through similar conditions as in personal contact.  Busy investors and developers can also save time in getting quotation and going to far away locations using the technology.          The hardware is compatible to the needs of conservative, time-constraint and on-the-go buyers.  It has a portable interface similar to their usual devices with usual features and functionalities.  The mark-up in price of the new hardware is dedicated to the improved video technology and signal coverage.   Companies can capture their real estate proposals anytime and anywhere while clients can view them on the same manner.  It comes with a headset which allows voice and video to be conducted simultaneously.  Its bigger screen can maximize the capture of the sender while the ability of the streamed video to be edited is perfect for the purposes of the receiver (i.e. for presentation and review).      IV. Potential Buyers At least fifteen percent (15%) of our current customers are directly attached to the real estate industry.  Another twenty percent (20%) are involved or connected in such industry.  With this, a total of thirty five percent (35%) or about fifty seven (57) small and large companies are in line with our market consideration.  We can invite interested companies in the launching of final prototype which is expected to be concluded within one (1) month from now.    Explaining the features of the hardware can arouse their interest in using it to their operations.  The key issue in marketing the hardware is the outlook of real estate companies and their buyers.  Once we attracted any one of them, it will demand a respond to the other party.  Once we became successful with organizations, household marketing will be addressed.          The initial online forums we have initiated showed that most of our current customers are positive about this product development.  They argued that our company has long not release new models for our mobile devices that using our old models and not buying new ones are preferred.  They said that slight modifications like changing the color of the case or style of handset is insufficient.  Their current operations are waiting for a breakthrough in mobile devices that can aid utilization of real time information and also the needs of mobile workers.   These statements are another sources of motivation required to re-think our current production facility.  From the initial exposure of prototype to the facilities, it proved that it can be produced without requiring additional costs from our coffers.  The initial reaction of customers would be gradual and so there is no substantial risks associated with re-engineering each aspect of old processes in an instant manner.  The idle seasons that the facilities would undergo can be used to focus increased production of the new hardware.  There is a win-win situation in the proposal.              JUSTIFICATION The CEO is both the primary audience and gatekeeper.  Reaching the primary audience is not a problem but I should be the one who must submit and present the report.  The secondary audience can be the different departments that will be called upon in the planning and implementation of the report.  This can include first and foremost manufacturing and finance which should be included in the analysis.    Failure to consider these two departments can undermine the production and funding of the hardware.  The initial and watchdog audience is the team members which I lead.  To prevent spoilage, the details of the project must be confidential.  The team must avoid unnecessary distraction which can make the report complex and minimize the apparent benefits.  Members must be given due respect and recognition for their contribution to get the needed implementation support when the report is approved.    As suggested by PAIBOC, audiences are the most important element of good business communication.  There are many purposes of the report based on the composition of audiences.  To minimize the effort and time of completing it, the needs of CEO and the two departments must be prioritized.    This is compatible to the sub-headings of the report which includes elements in accordance to specific their interests (i.e. production dept = details of the hardware).  However, the different stance and expertise of the team members if not recognized can adversely affect their effectiveness as planners.  In effect, assuming that there are two types of planners; namely, rational and irrational, there are parts of the report that went like these using theoretical back-ups.                    For example, being rational involves analysis of all positive alternatives, say, of mitigating the decline in profits.  However, some members may see this task as costly and as delaying factors (i.e. which includes me).  Irrational methodology resolves this issue by attaching a single alternative and focus project effort on it.    This is compatible in the current situation since I have already informally transmitted the proposal (i.e. the solution to the problem) to the CEO.  In contrast, irrational methodology’s indication in the report should be coupled with persuasive elaboration to replace objectivity.  Moreover, there are certain aspects of the report that requires rationality especially in the use of facts and figures (i.e. identification of markets).    In accordance to irrational methodology, there is a need to suppress negative aspects of the proposal and highlight positive ones.  There might also incur a selection of the acceptable level of alternative.  To increase the attractiveness of the proposal towards addressing corporate objectives, the consequence (i.e. decline in profits and under-utilized production capabilities) will create its own niche objective.    Benefits of the hardware, under rationality approach, should be cross-referenced to the corporate objectives.  However, the quality of the report based on subjective stance of CEO and bounded ability of the hardware makes the move with minimal relation to company-wide endeavor.  As an option, the proposal has benefits that can exceed the present problems.  Thus, increases its perceived performance and address corporate objective indefinitely.  The report includes information according to the purposes applied to different audiences.  Some of the technical issues that may be of utmost interests to the two departments may adversely affect the interest of CEO about the report.  In these cases, the former are compromised in favor of the latter.  The benefits are clearly marked in the report.  In this part, there is a good portion of data attributed to the two departments because it is likely that the CEO will re-evaluate the stated benefits to the experts.    Objections will also flow from the presentation of the preceding elements.  However, there is a need to de-emphasize complex adversaries or minimize and present solutions to potential problems.  In contexting the report, the CEO would be much concerned in the funding and implementation rather reasoning because of substantial trust on me.    In view of two-person communication, there are hindrances that should be overcome.  First, the channel that is used is only in letter format.  Although personal and inserts the trust of CEO to me, the minimal cost and effort made to produce the report may suggest also minimal emphasis and dedication from my team.  To surpass this, the report embodies a comprehensive result of research and analysis.    It also implies room for elaboration which I can apply after the CEO read the 4-page report.  The spoken word can accompany the limitation of the written report to emphasize the dedication of the team.  In some cases, an interactive communication can set in and so the report needs not to provide extensive explanations rather mere highlights of the team’s finding.      It is also expected that the process of CEO’s decoding of the message can be disrupt by lobbying that can be directed to the two depts.  This is because the two key bottlenecks are financial side and risks (i.e. in cash flows which is a function of production and technology costs) associated with the proposal.  The CEO is too static about the profitability and “safeness” of having distribution activities as the most important business area.    In this view, the report should emphasize the inability of this strategy to prevent decline in profits which is currently happening.  It also opens the bad effect of lack of innovation and stagnation.  Considering these aspects, the report includes relationship of costs/ threats and benefits/ opportunities.  This entail consolidated analysis of the production design and cash flows.  As a result, the sub-headings in the report are interdependent where the findings of one can explain the findings of another.           The report should be simple and comprehensive yet informative and thoroughly researched.  This will deter the potential noise (i.e. hate of additional work) that may arise in the decoding process.  For example, as CEO, there are a lot of matters and concerns that could intercept the full attention to the report or also referred as information overload.  As a result, the title page should be able to suggest that the report intends to reduce the problems and burden of CEO.    It contains the executive summary, table of contents and format of the report including the list of tables, graphs and other illustrations.  It also provides information with due respect to authority of the CEO.  Professional presentation is critical.  The thinking of CEO should be actively considered in the report.  To minimize the gap between CEO and my concern as project leader, conceptual depth and tackling the issue in a holistic manner is utilized.        The CEO’s confidence over the traditional value of distribution and inability to impose abrupt solutions to curb the recent decline in profits reflected sensing-type of behavior.  This is a type of audience where reasoning is taken step-by-step and all necessary facts and issues need to be right.  This type requires the proposal to highlight its importance.  Being facts-oriented, the trust being given to me is a function of how well I present the issues.    These facts, however, can be undermined by the CEO’s own experience like difficulties associated in reducing profit or lesser complexity of distribution-driven business.  As a result, the facts should have the ability to present the proposal’s contribution in maximizing profits and comparative upper hand to the current strategy.       The report serves as support to my informal proposal to the CEO who required a paper report for a second look.  The fact that the CEO is willing to review the proposal has included the sympathy I need.  And so, persuasion using emotions (i.e. begging) is minimal in the report.  Persuasion using professional outlook (i.e. lobbying) will be tapped.  This would avoid spoilage of the emotional tolerance of CEO initially consumed.  The report will fix CEO reluctance to try new and unproved projects.    The ego of CEO, in presenting facts, should also be protected to prevent annoyance towards the report.  This is obtained by using the words like “as you know” which indirectly present facts from the view of the well-informed audience.  Defensive and arrogant words are mortal sins while words which can result to negative reaction and academic language should be avoided.  As alternative, conversational presentation of words is preferred to make the report more responsive and mimic actual/ oral communication.    Checklists <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Use facts.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Without facts, use persuasion.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Focus on production and financial side.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Acceptance of rational and irrational approach to analysis.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Suppress negative aspects and highlight positive ones.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Use unbounded benefits.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> No extensive explanations.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Interdependent sub-headings.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Comprehensive but thoroughly researched presentation.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Holistic view.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">  Highlight importance of each alternative.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Show respect with CEO experience and level of knowledge.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">  Use comparisons of the current conditions with the future using the proposal.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Avoid begging rather use lobbying statements.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Protect ego of CEO and prevent being arrogant, defensive, negative reaction and academic language.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Use conversational form of presentation of points.</li>                           Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

REPORT: PROJECT PROPOSAL – NEW HARDWARE

REPORT: PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEW HARDWARE Objective: To aid profitability, maximize idle season ...

REPORT INSTRUCTION: ESTABLISH LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Assignment To demonstrate your competency in this module, you are asked to complete a research project based on a real or simulated business and write a report on your findings. You can choose to research your own existing business, another existing small business with permission of its owner or a definite business idea. If you do not have a business in mind, you may choose a business to research from the following list: ·           ·          hairdressing salon operated by Joanna. Her de facto, John, will help with administration, bookkeeping, etc ·           ·          small plastics manufacturer operated by Joe Bloggs and Simon Smith ·           ·          sub-contractor (electrical, plumbing, bricklayer, etc—choose one). Barry is the tradesman; his wife Susie will do the administration and bookkeeping. ·           ·          café or restaurant operated by Mario and Sophia (husband-and-wife team) ·           ·          retail shop (imported giftware) operated by Mary Brown and Lian Nguyen. Assume each of the businesses on this list has or will have employees. We have identified ten main areas where a business may have legal obligations. Work through this list and identify the areas of law that apply to the business you have chosen to research and answer the questions given. If you believe an area does not apply to your business, please outline the reasons for your belief. Note: Because of the breadth of this assignment, only brief answers are expected to each question. Research report Please format your report under the following headings. Introduction As an introduction to your report, briefly outline the business or business idea you have chosen as the subject of your research. 1 Ownership structure (a)   Which ownership structure did you or will you choose to operate the business? Briefly outline three advantages of operating your business under this structure. Are there any disadvantages you can see? (b)   What legal responsibilities and regulatory requirements does this ownership structure impose? Consider what laws govern it, any special records to be kept, any special reporting requirements, etc. Briefly discuss how you would comply with these legal responsibilities. 2 Registrations, licences, codes, regulatory requirements (a)   Conduct a BLIS search for the business you have chosen to research. Submit the report as part of your assignment. (b)   Choose one area from the report and discuss how you would implement procedures to ensure you comply. (c)   Briefly outline one way in which you could keep abreast of any changes to regulatory requirements. 3 Occupational health and safety (a)   Conduct research (via the Internet or by contacting the Workers Compensation Authority in your state) and prepare a brief outline of the legislation, regulations and codes of practice that cover OHS in the industry. (b)   Considering your industry, what are the key legal requirements of employers? (c)   What responsibilities fall on employees? (d)  Briefly outline one way in which you could keep abreast of any changes to OHS legislation. 4 Industrial law (a)   What award/s or enterprise agreement applies to the business? (b)   Briefly outline one way in which you could ensure you are kept up to date about any changes to this award or agreement. (c)   What records are employers legally obliged to keep? 5 Taxation law (a)   Which tax registrations are required by the business? (You may have addressed some of these in Question 2. If so, do not repeat them here—just refer back to Question 2.) (b)   Briefly outline three different areas of tax legislation that will apply to the business. (c)   List five key records that the business should keep to comply with taxation law. (d)  Make a list of the tax returns or reports that the business will have to prepare. What due dates should be diarised? (e)   Briefly outline one way in which you could keep up to date with changes to taxation legislation. 6 Insurance Use the information in the learning resource to determine the types of insurance cover that would adequately protect the business. Prepare a list of types and approximate amounts of cover required using the template on page 279 of the learning resource. 7 Consumer law (a)   Identify two areas of consumer legislation that will impinge on the operations of the business. (b)   List a series of actions that could be taken to ensure the business complies with the areas identified. 8 Intellectual property law (a)   Identify the specific areas of intellectual property law that might apply to the business. (b)   Outline the action you have taken, or will need to take, to meet the legal requirements of one of the areas of intellectual property law you have identified. This might involve protecting intellectual property owned by the business, or obtaining the right to use intellectual property owned by others. 9 Contract law (a)   Identify three business situations where you have arranged, or may have to arrange, a written contract. (b)   Examine one of these contracts and list: (i)    your personal legal responsibility and duties under the contract—what must you do to complete the contract? (ii)   the legal responsibility and duties of the other party to the contract—what must they do to complete the contract? (iii)  What might be considered a breach of this contract?        If you are not in business, you can base your answers on a standard copy of a written contract that might be used in the business you have chosen to research. (You could obtain a copy of a lease agreement, a loan agreement, an insurance contract, a building contract, etc.) 10 Business premises Briefly outline how the business will obtain business premises (either own or lease, or work from home). Then answer one of the following questions: (a)   If leasing business premises, what leasing terms did you (or will you) consider as essential points to be negotiated as part of the lease agreement? (b)   If working from home, briefly outline three legal issues to be considered. (c)   If purchasing a business property, briefly outline three legal issues to be considered.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

REPORT INSTRUCTION: ESTABLISH LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Assignment To demonstrate your competency in this module, you are asked to complete a research project based on a real or simulated busin...

REPORT ASSIGNMENT ON ADVOCACY

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT: REPORT / NOT A CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION OF ASSESSMENT A 2000 WORK REFLECTIVE REPORT, WHICH EVALUATES A ROLE OR RESOURCE WHICH PROMOTES SERVICE USER RIGHTS, AND DEMONSTRATES CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND KEY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.   ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS:   THE REFLECTIVE REPORT WILL FOCUS ON A SERVICE USER GROUP RELATED TO THE STUDENT’S PLACEMENT AND WILL INCLUDE:   AN INITIAL DISCUSSION OF THE CONCEPTS OF RIGHTS, ADVOCACY AND REPRESENTATION AS THEY RELATE TO THE CHOSEN SERVICE USER GROUP   IDENTIFYING AN ADVOCACY ROLE/RESOURCE APPLICABLE TO THIN GROUP AND CRITICALLY EVALUATING ITS CONTRIBUTION TO PROMOTING EFFECTIVE SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE.   DRAWING ON THE STUDENT’S PLACEMENT AND REFLECTION ON THIS RESOURCE, THE STUDENT SHOULD CRITICAL DISCUSS THE ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS WHICH ARISE IN APPLYING ADVOCACY AND REPRESENTATION WITH THIS SERVICE USER GROUP.    ADVOCACY, RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION Introduction In this report I will discuss the concept of right, advocacy and representation as they relate to asylum-seekers or refugee and migrant.  I will identify an advocacy role that support refugee and migrant in the community, demonstrating their rights and critically evaluating its contribution to promoting effective social work practice.  I will draw on placement example to discuss issues, challenges and conflicts of interest in applying advocacy and representation with asylum-seekers, refugee and migrant. My placement is with a voluntary organisation that provides advocacy support for asylum-seekers or refugee and migrant within East London Borough.   Refugees and asylum seekers face a lot of barriers in trying to integrate into the host society.  Many face difficulties accessing training, education and employment opportunities.  Lack of information, lack of language and communication skills, mental stress and trauma, legal constraints and stringent restrictions are some of the major problems that refugees and asylum seekers contend with today. Advocacy is used as means to support and provide relevant advice on the strict immigration controls and tight legalistic framework that poses many issues for their lives in the community.  Through the advocacy support the organisation provides mentoring services that enables refugees, asylum-seekers and migrant to empower themselves and overcome those barriers.          The concept of advocacy, rights and representation The idea of the advocate as someone who ‘acts for’ another, in order to ensure their rights against opposition from others, is replete with binary assumptions. ( 2002).  The ultimate outcome of advocacy may be to ensure rights or entitlements of the person of group for whom we are acting, the process itself should be experienced as an empowering one by the people we are working for.   As many asylum-seekers faced with the issue of citizenship, their rights in the society to access basic support are under a strict control.   According to  (1995) it stated that it is essential that, where rights are unclear or the opportunity to enforce them is limited, the question of citizenship is addressed to push back the limitations for those affected.   Advocacy involves representing the interests of others when they are unable to do so themselves.  Advocacy ails to ensure that the voices and interests of service users are heard and responded to in ways that affect attitudes, policy, practice and service delivery. Thus rights to a service mean that the client has a right to accept or decline a standard of service, and formal rights which are not enough must follow if those rights are to be capable of enforcement  (1995).  The concepts to rights to services, rights to an adequate income and decent housing, rights to humane treatment by welfare organisations and the right to participate in society on equal terms are at the heart of advocacy.  A key concept within advocacy is that of representation, which variably involves supporting clients to represent themselves, arguing client’s views and needs, interpreting or representing the views, needs, concerns and interests of clients to others and developing appropriate skills for undertaking these different tasks, such as listening and negotiating skills, empathy, assertiveness skills, being clear and focused, and so on  (2005).  In most cases in my placement the form of representation generally use is the Citizen advocacy – where the organisation recruits volunteers to develop relationship as a mentor with clients who are potentially isolated, gaining understanding to their individual problems and representing their needs. The organisation also encourage client to be confident in speaking up for themselves which came under the Self-advocacy representation.  This type of representation leads to self-help, group and peer advocacy where they find ways to speak out in order to protect their rights and to advance their own interests (  2005).    Advocacy Role  (2005) explained that for advocacy to be seen as a legitimate element of the social work role, it is essential that adequate training, supervision and support are provided.  The advocate’s role is to argue positively on behalf of another, pleading the best case possible and presenting the facts in the most favourable light ( 2000).  e major advantage of advocacy is that it brings a rights-based perspective into individual being blamed for the failures of the external world.  The organisation represents the client through advocacy to secure client’s rights as they are deprived of rights which made them powerless and their interests could most safely be neglected by the powerful legal regulations ( 2000).  For example the citizenship advocacy plays the major role of the organisation advocacy support, it is use to enable the clients to have right to minimum standards of welfare and security, education, medical treatment and employment.  The process involves placing application for social support to National Asylum Support Services (NASS).  The NASS is one of the resources my placement uses for necessary benefits to be claimed for each individual clients. At whatever points of the process an advocate is involved their sole purpose is to represent what the clients wants, and they do not deviate from that (  and  1998).   Placement Experience  (1995) explained that the distinction between advocacy on what have been described as bounded problems and advocacy on those described as unbounded problems is important.  This means that unbounded problems includes situations that appear not to have solutions, usually involve more people, are not discrete and cannot be disentangled from their context.  The majority of the problems facing the asylum-seekers language barriers and lack of understanding of system mostly how the society accepted them.  For instance     Challenges and Conflicts One of the challenges in advocacy is that the advocate’s actions have to be driven by the client’s wishes and instructions if the client is to have any sense of ownership of the problem and its resolution.   (1995) explained that there are two ways advocate can experience conflicts of interests, these are internal and external.  Internal conflicts arise when the advocate feels a crisis of conscience in relation to a client or a situation creates moral dilemma for the advocate.  External factors limit the advocate’s actions and so prevent the advocate from receiving independent advice.  Working with asylum-seekers also poses the question of the extent to which effective action may be limited by all-pervasive legalistic procedures in which constraint is exerted upon this group of service users in a way that is fundamentally different from the application of the law by social workers in the protection of their service users ( and  2004) The problem of refugees, or what global responsibility should be taken in local affairs which have resulted from global changes, is of extreme concern.  Issues of race, ethnic identity, how we accommodate any difference with more fluid structures, become paramount ( 2002).   Conclusion In terms of the challenges I found out during placement that, in reality, advocacy remains a limited resource and the skills needed to represent service users are somehow limited ( 2001).  There is the need to provide advocacy support for client. Service users have the right to have their voice heard and an independent person to provide relevant support, although lack of resources and funding may limit the setting up and development of independent Advocacy has long been established as a core component of social work (, 2000,  2000,  and  2001). Nevertheless the relationship between advocacy and local authority social work is complex.  (2000) and  (2001) assert that an advocate must be essentially impartial and independent, to speak and act for the user free from any conflict of interests. However, Moreover, the policy on limited resources increasingly places conflicting roles on social workers to advocate for users, in line with professional ethics, at the same time as being required to ration services ( 2000).    References     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

REPORT ASSIGNMENT ON ADVOCACY

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT: REPORT / NOT A CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION OF ASSESSMENT A 2000 WORK REFLECTIVE REPORT, WHICH EVALUATES A ROLE OR RESOUR...

REPORT ASSIGNMENT: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Assignment 1 – SHRM Scenarios     Using the concepts, frameworks and techniques covered during the module, you are required to produce a report in which you outline two alternative future scenarios for an organisation of your choice and the resulting HRM implications. Your report should be addressed to the senior management team. Specifically your report should: -   Ø      Analyse key features of the organisation’s internal and external environment   Ø      Produce two alternative scenarios that might face the organisation in the future. In doing so you should avoid extrapolating existing trends and focus on creating genuine ‘alternative futures’   Ø      Identify the HR implications arising from each scenario and make appropriate recommendations for their implementation   Your assignment should take the form of an individual, written report. Your report should not exceed 3,000 words in length excluding bibliography and appendices. The assignment should be submitted by Friday 25th January 2008. References to the literature or other published sources should be made using the Harvard system of referencing and a full bibliography of sources included with the assignment. Take care to attribute all source material.   Assessment criteria   Your work will be assessed against the following criteria:   Ø      The development of plausible scenarios demonstrating understanding of environmental influences and their potential impact upon an organisation in the future   Ø      Explanation of the implications of scenarios for the organisation and its human resources   Ø      Formulation of coherent HR strategies that take account of the need for effective change management and the development of appropriate behaviours and attitudes   Ø      Production of clear, logical and fully referenced report in support of the presentation   Ø      Credibility, clarity and conviction of communication         Assignment 2 – Strategic Human Resource Management   For this assignment you are required to select one of the following areas of HR strategy and critically evaluate its operation within your organisation (or an organisation you are familiar with). You should pay particular attention to the extent to which the strategy is vertically and horizontally integrated; in other words the degree to which the selected strategy supports the organisation’s corporate strategy and is integrated with other areas of HR strategy.   1.    Human Resource Planning 2.    Recruitment and Selection 3.    Human Resource Development 4.    Performance Management   As part of your evaluation you should perform a comparative analysis between your organisation and a benchmark ‘exemplar’, preferably from a different industrial sector. You should explain why you have selected the comparator organisation and analyse the nature and scope of factors differentiating your organisation from that of the benchmark organisation. Your comparator analysis should be based on in-depth, independent, third party sources and should form a significant part of your analysis.   The assignment should be in report format and should be addressed to the HR Director. Imagine that he will be interested in the basis of your analysis as well as your conclusions and ensure that you draw upon relevant literature and research to support your analysis. Your analysis should culminate in a clear set of recommendations as to how the selected strategy might be improved in supporting organisational goals and priorities. In undertaking this assignment, assume the role of a consultant to the organisation and comment on the key features of the organisational context.   Your assignment should be submitted in report format by Friday 22nd February 2008. Read your study guide carefully to familiarise yourself with the writing, structure and presentation of reports and the referencing of material. Your report should not exceed 3,000 words in length, excluding the executive summary, appendices and bibliography. Appendices should however be used sparingly.       Assessment Criteria   The assignment will be assessed against the following criteria;   1.     Business awareness – outline of organisational context, the environment within which the business operates and the nature and scope of the selected HR strategy in supporting business goals                                                                    20%   2.     Knowledge of the subject matter – evidence of wide reading and a comprehensive familiarity with the topic reinforced by citations from appropriate third-party sources, research and relevant literature                        20%   3.     Critical thinking – demonstration of the ability to analyse and evaluate both theory and research and corporate policy and practice and to make objective and impartial judgements about the real effectiveness of the selected strategy                                                                                      20%   4.     Application capability –the development of firm conclusions and appropriate recommendations which are realistic and provide value-added outcomes for the organisation together with an assessment of costs, timescale, process and responsibility                                                      30%   5.     Presentation and persuasion skills – the systematic organisation and presentation of the report so that it is coherent, convincing, accurate, reader-friendly and businesslike                                                       10%         Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

REPORT ASSIGNMENT: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Assignment 1 – SHRM Scenarios Using the concepts, frameworks and techniques covered during the module, you are required to produc...