Management Information Systems - E-Learning essays

Management Information Systems - E-Learning essays The e-Learning revolution has, over the years, taken hold of many a company by storm. Each company designing a platform (with the help of influential and expensive consultants), that not only incorporates the learning and development arena, compliance but also the human resource function, making it almost seamless in its approach to deliver, track and monitor training and development within the organisation. This report looks at Ernst s organisation, requires skilled people who understand e-Learning models and specialist products. When all options are weighed up, all real solutions indicate that success in the e-Learning Arena is about much more than putting content on-line. Just over three years ago, no one had really heard of e-Learning. Today, e-Learning is the major topic of discussion amongst all the key corporate institutions. These successful establishments, along with smaller, up and coming companies, are now leveraging e-Learning to solve a lot of their business problems Corporate e-Learning, whilst currently a relatively small part of the overall training and development marketplace, was in the early stages of development in 2000 and is now growing very rapidly. In a recent study of large corporations (Learning Decisions, Masie Center, 2000), 66% of respondents reported that they were either using or planning to use a learning portal in the very near future. The on-line training market is forecast to double in size each year, for the next 3 years, reaching an approximate sum of 7.2 billion by 2003 (International Data Corporation...

Examining the influence of culture on KFC in Chinese market Essay

Examining the influence of culture on KFC in Chinese market - Essay Example Qualitative research method is employed for accomplishing the research. Hence, questionnaires will be prepared based on the research questions (Flower, 2009). In order to obtain accurate results from the questionnaire analysis, the researcher has applied random sampling. The variables that are used in the questionnaire apply Likert scale, measuring from strongly disagrees to agree. Likert scale helps in deciphering the exact reaction of the respondents other than obtaining responses in just Yes and No (Bryman and Crame, 2011). This also assists in examining the strong opinion of the respondents regarding the questions. The respondents of the questionnaire are customers of KFC in China. They will give their opinion based on observation and satisfaction with the food and services that are experienced in the KFC restaurants in China. All the respondents of KFC are above 18 years, who are frequent visitors at KFC. The responses are significant so as to evaluate whether KFC is able to provide them foods and services that are according to their culture in the business. Their experience with the food products and service will encourage them to give rates to the quality. In order to maintain good relation with KFC, the researcher has taken approval from the fast food giant regarding the variables that are used for measuring the quality of services and food products. The variables are also approved by the culture study experts and practitioners so as to ensure validity of the research area in the real world. Qualitative research method is employed for accomplishing the main aim of the research. The qualitative research helps in comparing the data in cross section. It also provides information regarding the perception of the individual respondents of the survey. The qualitative research also helps in examining the responses, which aims at describing the local condition (Hennink, and Bailey, 2011). The focus group

Innovation, Change and Motivation at Nucor Corporation Essay

Innovation, Change and Motivation at Nucor Corporation - Essay Example Apart from these cultural values, none of the company’s employees is unionized. Nucor does not approve of unions, as it believes the culture is counterproductive, especially where building of a strong workforce whose objective is to serve the steel company’s interests is concerned. Nonetheless, the employees remain committed to quality of service and lay-offs are minimal. (a) Devolved Management system Nucor is heavily devolved in its operations, a culture that enables the employees to be innovative in their work and develop a feeling that they are owner-operators. In light of this, the company encourages most of the decisions about the business operations to be made at the lower level. In addition, Nucor’s claim that only 65 employees work at the headquarters is quite telling about the company’s lean culture. (b) Performance-driven rewards Nucor has established general rules of compensation which apply to all employees. The policies provide for a uniform compensation for individual employees who meet particular incentive-specific objectives. Apart from these common bonus plans, Nucor Corporation has periodically awarded extraordinary rewards to all employees, in the financial years when the company has made the highest amounts of profits. For instance, the company’s record sales of $23.6 billion in 2008, which was up from $4.6 billion in 2000 trickled down to the employees’ pockets, with the Chief Executive earning a whopping $ 5.24 million (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2007). The uniform treatment of employees has tremendously reduced the gaps between the earnings of senior executives and lower ranking employees. (c) Egalitarian perks The company’s senior executives are not guaranteed traditional high bonuses such as company cars, executive parking slots or executive dining rooms (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2007). Additionally, the publication of all the names of the company’s employees at the back of Nucor’s annual reports is a clear indication of the company’s egalitarian culture and inclusiveness of the decision-making processes. This is also a sign that the company values all of the employees, irrespective of their position within the organization. (d) Effective customer service Although, the text rarely mentions sound customer service at Nucor, it can be inferred. Effective customer service and quality can be explained by the simplicity and courtesy, which the Chief Executive cultivates. The culture of inclusivity, teamwork and appreciation of every person’s effort is a clear indication that all the stakeholders in the company are assured of respect and recognition. (e) Technology-driven culture Nucor Corporation is undeniably banking on the technological edge in its production of steel products. The process of using electric arc furnaces to liquefy scrap metal is the first of its kind in the twenty-first century (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Mat teson, 2007). Currently, Nucor’s association with two multinational steel companies in the running of the Crawfordsville facility, which specializes in the manufacture of sheet of steel from liquefied steel without necessarily deploying heavy, costly, and energy-inefficient rollers, is in itself a technological breakthrough that many steel companies have not yet adopted. Question # 2 Nucor has maintained the gap between executive pay and that of lower-ranking employees to the bare minimum as compared to other American companies. Since 1980s, the level of growth recorded by companies has been growing at almost the same pace as that of executive compensation (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2007). Globalization makes highly performing executives more likely to

What Is Employee Engagement Management Essay

What Is Employee Engagement Management Essay In todays global world, in spite of the availability of modern and advance technology the human resource of an organization can not be ignored. It is in fact the talent of the employees that determines the success of an organization. The retention of talent helps organizations to gain competitive edge over rivals. Thus, every organization in 21st century is conscious about the engagement of its employees as it enhances employee performance and plays an important role in the achievement of desirable outcomes as productivity, profitability and turnover. Thus the purpose of writing this paper is to explore the drivers of employee engagement. The study also looks at Gallups employee engagement questionnaire that helps measure the level of employees engagement. What is employee engagement? The term employee engagement needs to be clearly understood by every organization. Some organizations perceive it as job satisfaction others say its the emotional attachment towards the organization. William H. Kahn (1990) defined employee engagement as the harnessing of organization members selves to their work roles; in engagement people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performance. Therefore to build an engaged workforce employees must be both emotionally and cognitively involved in job activities. There are a number of external and internal factors that help measure the level of employee engagement. External factors include organization environment; its culture and values, manager-subordinate relationship, relationships with co-workers, monetary benefits and appraisals. Whereas internal factors include the personal values of employee, personality type and commitment to work. Gallups research on employee engagement shows that there is a strong relationship between well being of an employee and the level of their engagement. An engaged employee is efficient an effective for the organizational outcomes. Review of Literature It is the manger who must create an environment for the employees to be both cognitively and emotionally engaged. And self efficacy may positively affect and enhance employee engagement- management effectiveness relationship. (Luthans Peterson, 2002). Research shows a strong relationship between employee engagement and desired outcomes of an organization such as productivity, employee retention, safety and customer service. (Beverly and Philip, 2006). There is considerable difference between job engagement and organization engagement. There several predictors of job engagement and organization engagement and both are related to individual consequences. (Alan, 2006). For a successful business employees should be engaged through effective communication. Therefore an organization should give priority to its human resource so that its employees can stand by in competition. (Nitin Vazirani, 2007). Amanda Ferguson in Employee Engagement; either it exists or if it does exist then how does it relate to performance. According to Amanda there is no proper and consistent definition of employee engagement and it measured the finding of Gallup organization i.e. what ever engagement might be, unfortunately the longer employee stay with an organization less engaged they become. William H. Macey and Benjamin Schneider in the Meaning of Employee Engagement wrote that an organization should establish conditions for the physical, emotional and behavioral employee engagement as it the key to competitive edge. Dr. Ram and Dr. Prabhakar (2011), in The role of Employee Engagement in work related outcomes studied that if an organization manages the engagement of its workforce it will resultantly enhance the motivation of its employees, increase their productivity, and decrease employee turnover rate. He also found that organizations that have an environment of learning and develop its employees have more engaged workforce. The level of employee engagement is determinant of productivi ty, employee motivation and retention. Markos and Sridevi (2010) wrote Employee Engagement; the key to Improving Performance in which they studied employee engagement positively affects the desired outcomes of an organization. Organizations with an engaged workforce can achieve its performance outcomes such as productivity, profitability, growth and customer satisfaction. Employee engagement has direct effect on productivity and growth. If employees are engaged they will try level best to fulfill their job responsibilities which will consequently lead to not only increase in organization productivity but will also enhance the self performance of employee. In the world of globalization only those organizations which have highly engaged workers can survive and grow. (Al-Aamri 2010). If an organization communicates effectively that change is necessary then employees can be engaged in their work, which will help the organization in implementation of its change strategy. (Sonenshien and Dholakia). Mentoring has a strong direct effect on every dimension of employee engagement. For the purpose of mentoring a web-based system should be adopted by an organization as it is the low cost method to monitor and improve the attitudes of employees. (Triple Creek, Employee Engagement research). How employees feel about their job as a direct impact on their work experience and it also effects the organization outcomes such as customer satisfaction, sales and profit. (Bulgarella 2005) Conclusion and Recommendations The term employee engagement is not yet defined properly and its definition is not consistent. Most of the research conducted on employee engagement considers its antecedents and consequences. The main focus of researchers has been the drivers of engagement and disengagement. But an organization can engage its employees only if the employees have the desired attitude. Therefore an organization should train its employees to change their attitudes if they want to properly manage workforce engagement. Further we reviewed the Gallups employee engagement questionnaire which is very much influential in business research as it can be used effectively for the empirical measurement of employee engagement.

Oedipus the King: Bliss in Ignorance :: Oedipus Rex Essays

Oedipus Rex - Bliss in Ignorance One of the most memorable and meaningful Socratic quotes applies well when in context of Sophocles' Theban Trilogy. "The unexamined life is not worth living," proclaims Socrates. He could have meant many things by this statement, and in relation to the play, the meaning is found to be even more complex. Indeed, the situation of Oedipus, king of Thebes, the truth of this statement is in question. Would Oedipus have been better off if he was blind to the knowledge of his birth and the fate which was foretold to someday befall him? Truly though, his life would have been a far better and easier path had he never known about his true origins. His life in Corinth would have been long and prosperous, and Thebes would have lived on under King Laius. In fact, everyone would have been better off in the long run if Oedipus had not ventured out beyond the walls of Corinth. So is it worth living an examined life? Socrates had made this statement long after the creation of the Theban Trilogy. In the context of his own time, this was meant to imply that life must be examined and reflected upon, known and discovered by each individual philosopher to better enrich life for all. Yet in terms of Sophoclean drama, specifically Oedipus Rex, this was meant in a vastly different way. The unexamined life was one that was in the dark, unknown as to what fate lied beyond every turn and irony of living. Oedipus, up to the point in which he heard the comment in the tavern in Corinth, lived an unexamined life. To Socrates, he was an unfulfilled man, one who deserved to know more, one who was not complete. However, in a much less metaphysical sense, Oedipus' life was complete, in that he had all that he needed, and was living a happy and fruitful life. As the drama progresses, he finds out more and more, learning exactly what the implications of his birth was, he suffers the fate for examining his life. So what Socrates had meant, that the life which was not rich with self exploration and reflection was not worth living, was indeed different than its application in terms of Oedipus, who's life was unexamined, yet complete. The question arises, what would life have been like, if Oedipus had not discovered his true origins? Oedipus the King: Bliss in Ignorance :: Oedipus Rex Essays Oedipus Rex - Bliss in Ignorance One of the most memorable and meaningful Socratic quotes applies well when in context of Sophocles' Theban Trilogy. "The unexamined life is not worth living," proclaims Socrates. He could have meant many things by this statement, and in relation to the play, the meaning is found to be even more complex. Indeed, the situation of Oedipus, king of Thebes, the truth of this statement is in question. Would Oedipus have been better off if he was blind to the knowledge of his birth and the fate which was foretold to someday befall him? Truly though, his life would have been a far better and easier path had he never known about his true origins. His life in Corinth would have been long and prosperous, and Thebes would have lived on under King Laius. In fact, everyone would have been better off in the long run if Oedipus had not ventured out beyond the walls of Corinth. So is it worth living an examined life? Socrates had made this statement long after the creation of the Theban Trilogy. In the context of his own time, this was meant to imply that life must be examined and reflected upon, known and discovered by each individual philosopher to better enrich life for all. Yet in terms of Sophoclean drama, specifically Oedipus Rex, this was meant in a vastly different way. The unexamined life was one that was in the dark, unknown as to what fate lied beyond every turn and irony of living. Oedipus, up to the point in which he heard the comment in the tavern in Corinth, lived an unexamined life. To Socrates, he was an unfulfilled man, one who deserved to know more, one who was not complete. However, in a much less metaphysical sense, Oedipus' life was complete, in that he had all that he needed, and was living a happy and fruitful life. As the drama progresses, he finds out more and more, learning exactly what the implications of his birth was, he suffers the fate for examining his life. So what Socrates had meant, that the life which was not rich with self exploration and reflection was not worth living, was indeed different than its application in terms of Oedipus, who's life was unexamined, yet complete. The question arises, what would life have been like, if Oedipus had not discovered his true origins?

Ricky Watt’s Marketing Plan

1. Evaluate the promotion objectives Rick Wyatt should include in his plan: These following promotion objectives below should include in Rick’s plan: . To increase the number of volunteers to give back to communities . To create an enjoyable working environment to keep the volunteer serving the communities longer . To have extensive diversified trainings so volunteers and members can be aware of what they’re doing . To let the volunteers know they’re respected and are recognized and are safe 2.What promotion methods should he use to achieve those objectives? In order to achieve these objectives, Rick should do the following steps below: . To put ads in the local papers, banner/signs, radio broadcasts, flyers, posters, word of mouth, or walk house to house to advertise the volunteer are always welcome and needed . To have a short 10 minute videorun on the county public safety cable channel that will show the many operations provided by volunteers plus a video to s how that what the Fire Department work and give back to communities .To do fund-raisings to bring capitals so the Fire Department can use these capitals to expand the Department and to award the volunteers . Don't restrict volunteers to be firefighters. Volunteer can do in different levels of medical response/support; rehab roles; and support roles. This method allows the Fire Department to bring on a wider range of people, and they all fill a vital role . Develop and use a formal awards program such as certificates, dinner coupon to let the volunteers know their works are recognized and are respected    .A clear communication keeps firefighters  feeling as though they are important to the organization and the service's mission . To have a department-wide picnic in the summer or holiday dinner to bring volunteer and their families together . To connect and offer introductory class with Red Cross meetings or classes, blood drives, food banks, and basic community service places to find the best candidates . To have gym, coffee rooms, entertainment areas in the Fire Department that can bring all members together, to keep members in shape, to create an enjoyable working environment

Outsourced Movie Free Essay Example, 1000 words

The movie, Outsourced, involves an American call center manager known as Todd, is shocked to realize that his department is outsourced to India. He is supposed to relocate to India, Mumbai to be specific, where he is supposed to go there and train his team. The task is dreadful because he is afraid of cultural shock. However, he meets Asha who made things easier for him. As a result, he began to go along with the coworkers as Asha aided him. Eventually, he began appreciating the new environment, and he started to get along with others. The movie indicates concepts of global management and tricks to overcome hurdles such as diversities regarding culture as well as dynamism among individuals when an organization is in transition. Todd indicated positive sense when he relocated to India. At first, he was timid to move for fear of cultural differences. His boss, Dave threatened him with losing the stock options when he refused to pick up the option. He was left with no alternative but t o accept the transition and move to India. We will write a custom essay sample on Outsourced Movie or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page He organized a motivational strategy to increase the work output of the employees. Todd had to convince Dave at first so that he can concur with the idea. Todd tells his boss, Dave, that people like the product and as a result, they would get enormous profit out of it, a proposal that Dave finally agrees to.