Benchmarking Essays (Examples)

enchmarks in Government 1901-1981

Order ID: enchmarks in the Rise of ig Gov. 1901 -- 1981

enchmarks in the Rise of ig Government

The United States of American 1901 -- 1981

The purpose of this paper is to identify major benchmarks in the history of the United States between the years 1901 to 1982 that gave the government more power and made the government a larger machine that it was already.

Since the original conception of a democratic government in the United States and the original governing documents of the Constitution and The ill of Rights there have been many changes, modifications and about face turns by the government in the United States. During the years spanning 1901 to 1981 legislation was enacted that gave to the government more power than was originally conceived and the government steadily grew larger and loomed darker casting its shadow across the entire spectrum…

Bibliography:

Hardison, Bob (1999) Who Is Running America? The Bankruptcy of America, the Corporate United States, and the New World Order [Online] at: http://www .barefoot sworld.net/usfraud.html

From Revolution to Reconstruction: An Outline of American Government [Online] at: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/GOV/ch6_p2.htm

The gym staff (orientation guides, trainers, class instructors) treat the employees who use the gym as customers, but since both the gym staff and the employees are ultimately employed by Sony Pictures, the gym users are internal customers.

External customers are the end-users, whose money spent on the company's product or service keeps the company in the black and pays for the employees' salaries. This is the important distinction between the two types of customers. The end-user keeps the company afloat, while the internal customers are a drain on the system. However, both are a necessary element of the corporate machine. Using the Sony Pictures example, there are two levels of external customers. For a theatrical release film that Sony distributes itself to the theaters, the first level of external customers is the theater itself who pays for the right to show the film in its movie theater. The ultimate…

The article “Developing financial benchmarks for critical access hospitals” by Pink et al. (2009) established and made use of benchmarks for five indicators distributed to all critical access hospitals. One item of significance that I gained from the article encompasses the challenges experienced in the development of benchmarks. To begin with, benchmarking can be delineated as an incessant methodical practice of examining the products, services and work procedures of organization that are acknowledged as signifying best practices for the main aim of improving the organization. Imperatively, this is deemed to be a fundamental element of several organizational performance systems of measurement. In actual fact, benchmarking is also beneficial in ascertaining best in class performance, which offers an approach for setting aggressive targets for enhancement, and acknowledges prospective tactics on the enhancement of performance (Pink et al., 2006).

From the article, there were two key challenges that were faced in benchmarking.…

Designing and Implementing an Academic Scorecard," Harold F. O'Neil discusses how the University of Southern California School of Education adopted the Kaplan and Norton's balanced scorecard approach to create an "academic scorecard" to measure their school's progress and accountability. O'Neil concludes that this scorecard approach is useful in examining the Rossier School's academic performance as well as in identifying areas that need improvement.

The adaptation of the Kaplan and Norton model is significant, since this model was initially designed for business organizations - an area that universities traditionally eschewed. However, O'Brien and the other educators at the Rossier School have successfully adapted this model for the changing needs of the School of Education. In doing so, they have created a model of accountability measures and benchmarks that could be adopted by other schools and universities.

O'Brien observes that universities have traditionally functioned under a model of "organized anarchy," where the…

corporations, Skype is setting benchmarks by embracing the Nadler-Tushman's Congruence Model. Skype is focusing on various variables that may be a source of influence on its success of embracing change. This means that Skype has the capability to understand the challenges experienced by organizations in the process of introducing change. Skype has used the Nadler-Tushman's Congruence Model to develop several strategies that will ensure that the organization will detect any changes in the external environment. The company achieves this through well-organized interactions within its subsystems. Skype has enhanced its payment methods and the capability of its development through embracing a new payment strategy. This payment strategy is much cheap compared to other softwares; it is convenient for Skype a user.

Alternatively, Skype has embraced another convenient strategy of working together with other partners. This helps the company to realize opportunities for revenue as well as improve the experience of customers.…

References

Cameron, E. (2004). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the tools, models, and techniques of organizational change. London: Kogan Page.

Nadler, D.A. & Tushman, M.L., (1997). Competing by design: the power of organizational architecture. New York: Oxford University Press.

Balanced Scorecard for a Hospital System by Pink, G. H, McKillip, E.G., Preyra, C., Montgomery, C., and Baker, G.R. This article shows setting targets, benchmarks, and standards is not limited to educational settings, and workers and service providers in all other sectors are subject to their own accountability mechanisms.

Reflective Review

Business and industry first introduced the idea of setting targets for accountability purposes in the Total Quality Management (TQM) era twenty-five years ago, and with the rising cost of health care today, they become even more important to viable health care providers and the general public. This article illustrates how to create a balanced scorecard for hospital systems, and discusses why these scorecards are so important to modern health care organizations. One of the most important things to take into account when creating a scorecard for hospitals is to note they are extremely intricate organizations, and so, performance cannot…

Works Cited

Pink, G. H, McKillip, E.G., Preyra, C., Montgomery, C., and Baker, G.R.. "Creating a Balanced Scorecard for a Hospital System." Journal of Health Care Finance. Spring 2001, pp. 1-12.

G1d, and G1g Planned Intervention

Intervention

Description of Intervention:

Medication adherence is one of the effective interventions for diabetes management. Adherence to medication is the extent patients take medications being prescribed for them by health care providers. In other words, a medication adherence refers to the extent patients have conformed to providers recommendations with regards to dosages, timing as well as frequency of medication taking by patients. aising educational awareness about the importance of adherence to medication is very critical to reduce the rate of readmission. If there is an increase in the level of awareness among patients and educating them about how medications are very important for the management of diabetes, the rate of medication adherence will increase among patients.

The best intervention strategy for the medication adherence is to use SIMPLE model for patients. The SIMPLE model consists of:

S -- Simplify the medication regime

I -- Impart…

Reference

CDC (2013). Medication Adherence. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. USA.

Diabetes Prevention Program (2002). The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP): Description of lifestyle intervention. Diabetes Care, 25(12), 2165-2171.

Edelen, M. O. Joan, S. T. William, G. S. Et al. (2014). Advancing Behavioral Health Measurement: The PROMIS® Smoking Assessment Toolkit. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

Benchmark-esearch Critique and PICOT statement

This article is a research critique on the paper titled 'Home Telehealth for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): An Evidence-Based Analysis' by J. Franek. The research paper under review was published by the Ontario Health Technology Assessment Series.

Although there isn't a direct statement that refers to Problem statement, there is a title that highlights the "Objective of the Analysis." There is an excerpt of the objectives below. The discussion in the objective statement is only centred on the evaluation steps. There is evidence in the literature that the effects of COPD were openly revealed as being core elements of the problem statement in the first place.

"For patients experiencing multiple comorbidities, it is essential to observe routine self-management support. Such support consists of the necessary education to enlighten parents to pick out the symptoms in good time. They will consequently manage their…

References

Bernocchi, P., Scalveni, S., Galli, T., Volterani, M., & Vitacca, M. (2016). A multidisciplinary telehealth program in patients with combined chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic heart failure: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials.

Brown, J. (2014). Improving care for COPD. North East Quality Observatory System.

Irzarry, R., Peng, R., & Leek, J. (2013, August 28). Evidence-based Data Analysis: Treading a New Path for Reproducible Research. Retrieved from Simply Statistics:  http://simplystatistics.org/2013/08/28/evidence-based-data-analysis-treading-a-new-path-for-reproducible-research-part-2/ 

Riva, J., Malik, K., Burnie, S., Endicott, A., & Busse, J. (2012). What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 167-171.

Managing and Improving Quality

Methodology for implementation of performance measurement

Information technology applications of Mayo Clinic

How benchmarks and milestones are involved in quality

Performance and quality measures are aligned to the Mayo Clinic's mission, vision, and strategic plan

Quality assurance and improvement is incorporated through various techniques. The organizations that is willing to invest in their growth and attain a satisfactory level of consumer satisfaction through quality improvement. The quality measures that are incorporated are also investigated and improved through various methodologies in performance measurement. Technology and learning are basic elements required to improve quality and performance measurement. The BSC model for performance measurement and quality improvement, benchmarking, balanced scorecard, and quality mile stones are discussed below. Mayo clinic is one of the progressive organization providing healthcare facilities to patients. The features of information security are identified as a sector for improvement in Mayo clinic.

Introduction:

Mayo clinic is…

References:

Berry, L. & Seltman, K. (2008). Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic: Inside One of the World's Most Admired Service Organizations. USA: McGraw Hill Professional.

Coers, M., Gardner, C., Raybourn, C., & Higgins, L. (2001). Benchmarking: A Guide for Your Journey to Best Practice Processes. USA: APQC.

Lighter, D.E., & Fair, D.C. (2000). Principles and Methods of Quality Management in Health Care. Maryland: Aspin Publishers Inc.

Olsen, L., Goolsby, W.A., McGinnis, J.M. (2009). Leadership Commitments to Improve Value in Health Care: Finding Common Ground. USA: National Academies Press.

almart Internal

An Internal Analysis of the al-Mart Corporation

The al-Mart Corporation is among the most successful, recognizable and notorious brand names. The chain of retail stores is associated with low prices, convenient one-stop shopping and geographically permeating accessibility. However, the retail chain is also frequently associated with a poor record on labor rights, negative performance in environmental categories, destructive community orientation, abuse of human rights in its developing sphere production operations, distribution of low-grade products and a general strategy of stifling local business enterprises and devastating local economies. The result is a relative mixed outlook for al-Mart, which will certainly continue to enjoy some level of dominance in the U.S. And global retail markets but which must also work to make internal organizational changes that can improve its reputation and its compliance with expectations regarding the environment, human rights, labor and community citizenship. The internal analysis conducted here below…

Works Cited:

Banker, S. (2010). The Walmart Sustainability Value Chain. Logistics Viewpoints.

Blanchard, C. (2008). Adding Value to Service Providers: Benchmarking Wal-Mart. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 15(2), 166-177.

Chandran, P.M. (2003). Wal-Mart's Supply Chain Management Practices. ICFAI Center for Management Research.

Gogoi, P. (2008). Wal-Mart Supplier Accused of Sweatshop Conditions. BusinessWeek.

What are important considerations for external and internal organizational consultation?
Primary considerations for both external and internal organizational consultants include needs assessments, analysis of structural and environmental threats and opportunities, and considerations of employee engagement, motivation, education, and training. In fact, internal and external organizational consultants often provide the “same portfolio of services,” and yet each will have different considerations to address in their performance assessments and strategies (Phillips, Trotter & Phillips, 2015, p. 1). The consultant ultimately needs to actively listen to their clients’ (or employers’) concerns, rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach to organizational strategy and development.
Consultants, even when they are internal to the organization, do not necessarily spearhead revolutionary changes as they would in a position of leadership. Instead, the consultant assumes more of a servant leadership perspective in which personal views, needs, and opinions are overshadowed by the organization’s mission and vision. Conflicts could arise…

diversity encompasses a wide range of individual and community characteristics, spanning race, religion, gender, ethnicity, national and regional origin, sexual orientation, disability status, age, personal experiences, language, and even points-of-view. A diverse workplace celebrates these differences rather than regards them as obstacles to be overcome or asks employees to downplay them; it fosters an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Using your own words, what does the U.S. Civil ights Act of 1964 outline?

The Act barred discrimination in public places, schools and employment based upon race, ethnicity, and religion and also barred discrimination in federally-funded programs and in interstate commerce ("Civil rights," 2015).

Q3. Identify and define each letter of an "S.W.O.T." analysis, then explain the reasoning and meaning of conducting such an analysis.

Strengths: Assets of the organization from an internal perspective

Weaknesses: Deficits of the organization from an internal perspective

Opportunities: Potential avenues to explore in the external environment…

References

Civil rights. (2015). LII. Cornell University. Retrieved from:

 https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Civil_rights 

Evans, J. (2013). The future of work. Tech Crunch. Retrieved from:

 http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/10/the-manichaean-labors/

Marketing

In order to incorporate the electronic education business into Med Ed, Learner is going to need to set out some performance benchmarks for the unit that reflect the bricks-and-mortar Med Ed educational leadership. There are a few different issues, therefore, that need to be covered. The first is the setting of performance benchmarks, which should reflect both the competencies of Cyber Health and the mission of Med Ed. The second issue that needs to be addressed is how these different performance benchmarks contribute to the organization's overall objectives.

eb Site Design

There are several different benchmarks for web site design. Kim, Shaw and Schneider (2003) have proposed six categories of benchmarks for e-commerce: business function, corporation credibility, contents reliability, website attractiveness, systematic structure and navigation. These cover most of the critical areas, but because with electronic education the students actively interface with the school over the web, there will…

Works Cited:

Kim, J., Suh, E. & Hwang, H. (2003). A model for evaluating the effectiveness of CRM using the balanced scorecard. Journal of Interactive Marketing. Vol. 17 (2) 5-19.

Kim, S., Shaw, T. & Schneider, H. (2003). Web site design benchmarking within industry groups. Internet Research. Vol. 13 (1) 17-26.

Therefore, benchmarking is a critical step for firms wanting to compete globally. Because each marketplace environment differs, companies need to research competitor firms in their industry that are already firmly entrenched in the desired environment. Benchmarking is never done once and then cast aside; benchmarking becomes an ongoing process that enables organizations to gauge their progress and tweak procedures that may improve their performance. Benchmarking usually compares firms to industry leaders, too, because those leaders are the standard by which competing firms hope to achieve or usurp.

3. What problems might arise from empowering employees? What are some of the hurdles that managers must overcome in empowering employees? What can organizations do to address these issues?

Empowering employees helps workers become involved and connected with their work. When individuals feel empowered, their sense of personal responsibility and accountability rises and can lead to increased morale and productivity. However, empowering employees…

Week 1 Discussion

Decision making in large organizations can be difficult to properly grasp because its characterized by numerous issues that emerge within the organization. Quantitative and qualitative decision making processes in public finance are similar in the sense that they are utilized to analyze data relating to budget management and other relevant issues. These processes in turn help in effective decision-making with respect to the desired objectives. However, quantitative decision-making process is based solely on empirical data while qualitative decision-making is based on a more holistic perspective. An example of qualitative observation is police testing of new, less lethal gun technology through consideration of the cost benefit analysis (CBS, 2015). On the contrary, an example of quantitative observation is the big budget cuts by state leaders through consideration of empirical data (News9.com, 2010).

Quantitative decision-making seemingly takes precedence in budgeting and issues affecting criminal justice agencies. Quantitative decision-making provides…

Figure 1. Pre-Test eading Scores

A second independent samples t-test was run to determine whether there were significant differences between the two groups on the post-test FCAT 2.0 reading scores. The results indicate that there was a significant difference between the two groups, such that the students in the intervention group had higher post-test scores than the students in the control group (t58 = -4.677, p < .001.). The group difference in post-test scores is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Post-Test eading Scores

Two paired t-test analyses were also run. The first paired t-test analysis examined individual improvement between pre and post-tests for the entire sample. The results showed a significant increase in test scores, with a mean increase of 13 points and a standard deviation of 6.2, t59 = -16.14, p < .001.

A second paired t-test analysis, with the data split by group, indicated that both groups…

References

Anderson, S. (2000). How parental involvement makes a difference in reading achievement. Reading Improvement, 37(2), 61-86.

Callenbach, C. (1973). The effects of instruction and practice in content-independent test-taking techniques upon the standardized reading test scores of selected second-grade students. Journal of Educational Measurement, 10: 25 -- 29.

Halpern, R. (1999). After-school programs for low-income children: Promise and Challenges. The Future of Children, 9(2), 81-95.

Herman, J.L. And Golan, S. (1993). The Effects of Standardized Testing on Teaching and Schools. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 12: 20 -- 25.

change management, more than 60% of the efforts for organizational change fail. Organizational changes usually fail because they do not approach it in a holistic manner needed to come up with and achieve change. esearch methods for engaging employees in the process of change and for benchmarking the progress of change initiatives include:

Establishing a Vision

Establishing a mode of making people appreciate the purpose of the change is beneficial in the entire change process. When people are aware and informed of the goals and objectives together with the changes that they need to effect, they usually seem to make more sense in their work, reducing resistance. The moment a coalition is established and trained to implement the change, experience of experimental learning and participation at times usually equips others with the full with the knowledge of the required changes that need to take place and how to witness its…

References

Schlachter, T., & Hildebrant, T. (2012). Leading business change for dummies. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Patton, Q. (2011). Developmental evaluation: Applying complexity concepts to enhance innovation and use. New York: Guilford Press.

Baker, T. (2009). The eight values of highly productive companies: Creating wealth from a new employment relationship. Bowen Hills, Qld: Australian Academic Press.

Slatter, S.S.P., & Lovett, D. (2009). Corporate recovery: Managing companies in distress. Washington, D.C: Beard Books.

TQM

Total Management Quality

Question 1 Company Mission Statements

According to these organization's website's the mission statement of the Marriott-Ritz Carlton Corporation is simply that the consumer or the investor "Look no further," for quality. McDonald's website, although it provides an additional page detailing the wealth of values upheld by the corporation ultimately simply proclaims, "I'm Loving it" as its mission statement. GE, in contrast, has a far more extensive mission statement, proclaiming that: "From jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information, GE people worldwide are dedicated to turning imaginative ideas into leading products and services that help solve some of the world's toughest problems." The UPS website provides even more detail, noting little-known facts how the company was "founded in 1907 as a messenger company in the United States, UPS has grown into a $30 billion corporation by clearly focusing…

Works Cited

American Productivity Porthole -- APQC. "Benchmarking and Outsourcing Report." Retrieved on June 17, 2004  http://www.apqc.org/portal/apqc/site?path=root 

American Productivity Porthole -- APQC. Official Website. Retrieved on June 17, 2004 at  http://www.apqc.org/portal/apqc/site/generic2;jsessionid=2LWFIOH0L33RRQFIAJICFEQ?path=/site/products_services/research_reports/cs_prop_offshoring.jhtml 

GE. (2004) Official Company Website. Retrieved on June 17, 2004  http://www.ge.com/en/company/index.htm 

GE -- Six Sigma. (2004) "Six Sigma Principles." Retrieved on June 17, 2004.

76). As automation increasingly assumes the more mundane and routine aspects of work of all types, Drucker was visionary in his assessment of how decisions would be made in the years to come. "In the future," said Drucker, "it was possible that all employment would be managerial in nature, and we would then have progressed from a society of labor to a society of management" (Witzel, p. 76). The first tasks of the manager, then, are to coordinate an organization's resources and provide a viable framework in which they can be used to produce goods and services effectively and efficiently. The second set of tasks concern guidance and control. In Drucker's view, this role is almost entirely proactive: "Economic forces set limits to what a manager can do. They create opportunities for management's action. But they do not by themselves dictate what a business is or what it does" (Drucker,…

Hence, these are "invisible" to the end user, but no less vital to the success of the company for it. Components of this type of competition include production lead time, development speed in research and development, production quality, and the capacity of group companies and parts suppliers (The Manufacturer, 2010). Production quality is one of Toyota's great success benchmarks, as the company's inherent philosophy is that quality is a built-in component of all its products.

A further benchmark is the Toyota Global Vision 2010. Created in 2002, the Vision identified four areas of innovations. The first of these is the drive towards greener practices, known as "true to the earth" (The Manufacturer, 2010). The drive is to develop the most advanced environmental technologies, as seen above. The second component is "Comfort of life." This means that Toyota would create products that provide ease, safety and comfort for users. "Excitement for…

References

Lean Directions (2001). Toyota Site Visits Reveal Best Practices. Retrieved from: http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/get-newsletter.pl-LEAN&20010209&5&

The Manufacturer. (2010). The Toyota Vision. Retrieved from: http://www.themanufacturer.com/us/detail.html?contents_id=4010

One World Trust. (2006). Toyota Motor Corporation. Retrieved from:  http://oneworldtrust.org/publications/doc_view/101-2006-gar-accountability-profile-toyota?tmpl=component&format=raw 

Spear, S.J. (2002, Sep. 5). Just-in-Time in practice at Toyota: Rules in Use for building self-diagnostic, adaptive work-systems. Retrieved from: www.hbs.edu/research/facpubs/workingpapers/papers2/0102/02-043.doc

Narrow focus performance improvement area. This area focus chosen organization develop a QI plan. esearch methodologies integrating QI strategies performance measurements. esearch information technology applications components QI management.

Organizational QI plan

The Scottsdale Memorial Hospital seeks to reduce the waste of food within its operations and also to increase the health and satisfaction of its patients through the provision of more nutritional and tastier foods. In this effort, they have devised four specific goals, namely the completion of an internal study to assess current consumption and waste, the creation of a new menu (with the aid of a specialist chef), the delivery of the new menus to the patients and the completion of a new study for the new menu and the adjacent waste. The expectation is for the waste of food to be decreased after the implementation of the second menu.

The data necessary to complete this effort would…

References:

Hughes, R.G. (2008). Tools and strategies for quality improvement and patient safety. NCBI.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2682  / accessed on December 17, 2012

Kumar, S. (2004). Web-based tools aid quality improvement projects. PSQH.  http://www.psqh.com/julsep04/kumar.html  accessed on December 17, 2012

Ortiz, E., Clancy, C.M. (2003). Use of information technology to improve the quality of health care in the United States. Health Serv Res.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360897  / accessed on December 17, 2012

(2010). Advantages and disadvantages of Six Sigma. Six Sigma.  http://www.sixsigma.in/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-six-sigma.html  accessed on December 17, 2012

CEFC and the Future of Environmental Finance

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) represents the most aggressive environmental finance initiative sponsored by the Australian Government to date. The CEFC is an independent entity established as part of the Clean Energy Future Policy by the Australian government. As of March 2012, funding for the program totaled AUS $10 billion in government backed investments for the commercialization and deployment of clean energy technologies. This research will explore the CEFC and its role in the development and deployment of environmentally friendly energy sources and alternatives.

Governments around the world recognize the need for developing clean and renewable energy sources that reduce their environmental impact. The topic of global warning and climate change has increased the need for the development of less energy intensive and environmentally damaging energy sources. Although the role of human beings in these changes is a topic of debate, it…

References

Business Innovation & Skills. 2011. The economics of the Green Investment Bank: Costs and Benefits, rationale and value for money. [online] Available at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-sectors/docs/e/12-554-economics-of-the-green-investment-bank.pdf [Accessed 10 June 2012].

Clean Energy Council. March 2012. Design Features of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.Deloitte. [online] Available at:  http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/...CEFC.../ ... [Accessed 10 June 2012].

Commonwealth of Australia. 2011. Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Expert Review. [online] Available at: http://www.cefcexpertreview.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=report/default.htm [Accessed 10 June 2012].

Department for Business Innovation and Skills. 2012. UK Green Investment Bank. [online] Available at:  http://www.bis.gov.uk/greeninvestmentbank  [Accessed 10 June 2012].

risk and return for an investment portfolio that includes five asset categories: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, and precious metals. The purpose of diversified portfolio investment is to maximize portfolio expected return for a given level of risk, or to minimize risk for a specific level of expected return. This paper reviews mathematical formulae for modeling risk and return which provide a rationale for investment strategies and portfolio management. The paper also discusses risk and return objectives and expectations, along with investment risk profiles.

Risk vs. Return Measurement

In an ideal world, the typical investor would select investments whose attributes include high returns coupled with low risk. In reality, there are few of these kinds of investments available, consequently financial managers have gone to great lengths to develop methods and strategies that allow them to come as close as possible to selecting the ideal investment. One such financial theory for…

Piazza, J. (n.d.). Objectives and risk. Sensible Investment strategies Web site. Retrieved May 26, 2011 from http://www.seninvest.com/objectives.htm

Risk Measures. (2011). Investopedia Web site. Retrieved May 26, 2011 from  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/riskmeasures.asp 

Wan, S.P. (n.d.). Modern portfolio theory. Investment Funds Advisors Web site. Retrieved May 26, 2011 from  http://www.ifa.com/media/images/pdf%20files/mpttextbook.pdf

Additionally, talented staff members bring with them expertise on how to improve the quality of the items manufactured.

(b) Customer satisfaction -- talented employees lead to improvements in product quality, which subsequently materialize in improvements in customer satisfaction. Additionally, talented employees interact with the customers in a more favorable manner which also increases customer satisfaction.

(c) Finally, talented employees save the company money. Talented employees are easier to retain than average individuals as they invest in their professional formational, are more mature from a professional standpoint and more dedicated. Additionally, with their expertise, these staff members can help create solutions which lead to cost efficiencies.

4. Objective measurement

In order to ensure that the pre-established goals are attained, it would be necessary for Porter Novelli to measure the degree to which the goals have been attained. This measurement could be achieved through the following:

(a) Comparison between the levels of…

References:

2008, Talent management impact on employee engagement, Head Light Communications,  http://www.head-light.co.uk/Articles/EngagementAndTalentManagement.pdf  last accessed on July 23, 2010

2009, 2009: Economic crisis or opportunity, HR Malaysia,  http://hrmy.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/2009-economic-crisis-or-opportunity  / last accessed on July 23, 2010

2010, Porter Novelli Inc., Hoovers, http://www.hoovers.com/company/Porter_Novelli_Inc/rfhrtji-1.html last accessed on July 23, 2010

Porter Novelli Website,  http://www.porternovelli.com  / last accessed on July 23, 2010

After the economic Collapse, precious metals like Gold and Silver have become the safe heaven investment for the investors. Investors know that they will get a high return by investing in these precious metals. The performance of the Gold can be judged from the below mentioned Gold graph.

The red line indicated that the Gold has completed almost a 100% ride in just 3 years because of the intentions of the people to get out their money from other investment option and park in the precious metals. There are risk provisions attached with the investment in these precious metals. Actually the price of the precious metals has been overbought now after the factor of safe heaven investment associated with it. Cautious must be taken by the investors while taking a buying position in the precious metal's investment. Tool like performance indicator of the precious metal will be used by the…

References

Chance, D & Brooks, R (2009), Introduction to Financial Institutions, Prentice Hall Publications

Chisholm, A, (2010), Introduction to Financial Instrument, Pearson Group Publications

Donald, J, (2004), Commodity Prices and Precious Metals Analysis, Oxford University Publications

disparities that can arise when a business is budgeting for its projects. It will look at how the expected results can vary to the actual outcomes at the end of the project or product due to various arising factors during the production. In this case our main focus will mainly focus on the cost variance, the various variances resulting from cost variances, the standards or benchmarks of these variance as well as future forecasts that can help eliminate budget inaccuracy. Variances can be computed for both costs and revenue. Variances can be divided according to their effect or nature of the underlying amounts.

Cost variance (CV) refers to the amount of money that has been spent on a project in comparison to the amount of money spent on the work accomplished. In other words in cost variance, the concern is; has the work been successfully completed in respect to the…

Works Cited

Barrons, (2000) Accounting Handbook: New York: Barron's Education Series.

Colin D. (2007) Management and Cost Accounting: USA: Cengage Learnin

Hansen R, Maryanne M. Mowen. (2006), Managerial Accounting. USA: Cengage Learning

Hansen R, Maryanne M. Mowen. (2008), Cornerstone of Managerial Accounting: USA: Cengage Learning:

financial analysis we need to consider. First of all, an overview of the main financial ratio, with their meaning and a keen evaluation of their score. Second of all, a progressive analysis, which would refer to the way these financial ratios have evolved in the four-year period we are looking at. The latter will allows us to draw relevant conclusions as to the performance of the management team.

The profitability ratios are best to show how well the company is actually performing. If we look at St. Mary's profitability indicators, all three of them have shown remarkable progress in the last four years and all of them have positive figures in the present. The return on equity indicator, for example, estimates the return rate for the stockholders. While ROE was - 69.92% in 1990, which meant that the stockholders were retrieving much less than they had invested, in 1993, ROE…

Bibliography

1. Halpern, Paul. Weston, Fred. Brigham, Eugene. Canadian Managerial Finance. Harcourt Brace & Company. Fourth Edition. 1994.

"They [standards] can be inflexible and force producers to make products a certain way when other options are just as good, sometimes better, than what a standard dictates." (Pros and cons of standards, 1999) Organizational success may also be measured against company's business plan. Business plan is a blueprint of business's potential future and success. If it has not been met or if the reality is not as good as the plan had originally envisioned, there may actually be a problem with organization's performance. But business plan is the least realistic or reliable method of measuring success because when a firm steps in the market and actually starts performing, it's a whole different ballgame. A firm can also measure success by checking its targets and goals. If all objectives were met and all goals achieved, the firm can consider itself a success and has reasons to be satisfied with its…

References

Stephanie Carlin, Standardizing Benchmarking to Achieve, Results

 http://www.sdcexec.com/article_arch.asp?article_id=7350 [Accessed 22nd September 2005]

Pros and Cons of Standards" January 1999,  http://www.supplementquality.com/stdregs/proscons.html [Accessed 22nd September 2005]

Moreover, "learning takes place within and is influenced by the cultural context of the learner." Although Pallapu does not address culture in the research, learning styles may be a reflection of cultural background.

Reflection

he Pallapu research is limited. he research sample size is small and not diverse enough, as 21 of the 22 participants were female and all were Caucasian. However, the results suggest that learning styles vary even within an otherwise or seemingly homogenous population. he Pallapu research is important because it shows that gender and ethnicity are not necessarily the most important factors in learning. Although gender and ethnicity are important and may in some ways be correlated with learning styles, Pallapu shows that learning styles are independent of cultural background and gender. Educators who assume that gender and ethnicity necessarily influence learning styles may be incorrect.

In a homogenous classroom, teachers may be tempted to teach…

The Pallapu research also suggests that students should become more aware of their own learning styles. I would like to assess my students' learning styles before creating class materials. After doing so, I can let my students know what their learning styles are. This will help them not just in my classroom but in all their classes. For example, students who are aware that they are verbal learners will be encouraged to join study groups and write about what they learn in school. Students who are aware they are visual learners will be encouraged to incorporate materials that include visual elements like graphs.

According to Pallapu, visual learners perform better and earn better grades than verbal learners. This suggests that educators are not paying enough attention to what verbal learners need. Other learning styles may also need to be taken into account to create a more truly diverse classroom that helps all students achieve their highest potential.

Pallapu, Prasanthi. "Effects of Visual and Verbal Learning Styles on Learning." Institute for Learning Styles Journal 1. Fall 2007.

Part 3: On the Subway.com website, Subway highlights some of its sustainability initiatives. The company works with Energy Star to reduce the energy usage of its stores by using more efficient light bulbs. The company does this in partnership with Philips, the manufacturer of the light bulbs.

Subway has a new store concept known as the eco-store. The first Subway eco-store opened in Kissimmee, Florida in 2007 and two more are open in Oregon. The eco-store is built according to standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Such features of these stores include high efficiency HVAC systems, remote condensing units for refrigeration and ice-making, high efficiency lighting, low flow water fixtures and decor made from sustainable resources, including recycled materials. hile there are only three eco-stores in existence, the company is developing more. At some point, Subway could take the…

Works Cited:

Fields, K. (2009). A new order. Eco-Structure. Retrieved May 3, 2011 from  http://www.eco-structure.com/retail-projects/a-new-order.aspx 

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase profits. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved May3, 2011 from  http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html 

Greenopia. (2010). Fast food. Greenopia. Retrieved May 3, 2011 from  http://www.greenopia.com/usa/fastfood_search.aspx?category=Fastfood&Listpage=0&input=Name%25or%25product&subcategory=None&sort=ratingdesc 

Kamp, J. (2008). Can fast food be sustainable? Ode Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2011 from  http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/52/can-fast-food-be-sustainable/

This can come in a number of forms, including rules, "best practices" and job descriptions. Output controls place the focus squarely on the output, with significantly less attention on the behaviors that lead to the output. For example, when a sales person has a quota, that is an output control because the behavior is driven entirely by the end result. Input controls works by placing constraints on process inputs as a means of exerting control. An example might be setting a strict budget for a project. This focuses the manager on sticking to that budget, a process that the organization feels will result in the goals being achieved.

Benchmarking is useful for most firms. The exception would be firms that for one reason or another are not in a competitive environment. For those firms that are in a competitive environment, they can benefit from benchmarking because the benchmark sets the…

Works Cited:

McNamara, Carter. (2008). Basics of Action Planning. Free Management Library. Retrieved May 9, 2009 from  http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/actions.htm 

No author. (2009). Create an Entrepreneurial Culture Among Your Employees. Score. Retrieved May 9, 2009 from  http://www.score.org/culture_employees.html 

Wheelen, T.L., and Hunger D.J.,(2008). Strategic Management and Business

Policy, (11th ed) Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall

As the company grew, she hired managers and put them in positions to handle operations, accounting and sales. Although these managers had those titles, it looked to me like they had little communication from the top.

When I joined, the company was having problems fulfilling orders. The purchasing people worked primarily with East Asian suppliers with a long supply chain. They had a lot of problems lining up shipments and getting our retailers what they needed. They seemed to get little help from the top.

Our warehouse was also a mess. We had three different kinds of software, and our Warehouse Manager seemed unable or unwilling to make them talk to one another. When I worked in the warehouse, no one gave me any training: I was hired in the afternoon, and started the next morning. The supervisor asked me to tag along with another employee, who took me to…

Bibliography

Gutteridge, T.L. (1993). A new look at organizational career development. Human Resource Planning, 71-79.

HBS. (2007). Executive Education. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from Harvard Business School:  http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/finder.html?level=Executive+Leader&topic=Owner-Managed&type=&month= 

Keough, M. a. (1992). The CEO as Organization Designer. McKinsey Quarterly, 3-10.

Sims, R. (1990). An Experiential Learning Approach to Employee Training Systems. Westport: Quorum.

Human esources Management in Hotel Hospitality

Hotel Industry Human esources Management

Human esource Management in the Hotel Hospitality Industry

Authors Frank Go and Mary Monachello (1996) note, "effective management of human resources is required in all functions of hospitality in order to cultivate teamwork and sustain a competitive edge" (Go and Monachello, 1996, p.8). Because good management rests on both knowledge of human resource management and skill to implement effective human resource strategies, it is essential that those in the hotel hospitality industry fully understand and implement strategies for good management in order for their hotel to succeed to its highest capability. The purpose of such management is based on the need for high performance level and dedication of hotel employees. Despite the various resources and supplies that a company may require, human resources is actually the most important resource because without a labor force, no business can be done…

References

Addicott, R., McGivern, G. And Ferlie, E. (2006). Networks, organizational learning and knowledge management. Public Money and Management. 26(2), pp. 87-94. Retrieved from: LexisNexis Database.

Anthony, R. And Young. (1999). Management control systems. Chicago, IL: McGraw-

Hill.

Boxwell, R. (1994) Benchmarking for competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-

The exponential growth of the Internet has also served as the catalyst for the growth of highly collaborative, interactive forums and platforms on which Delphi-like brainstorming can be accomplished (Decker, Wagner, Scholz, 2005). Conversely many of the external relationships companies have and that are essential to understanding how the strategic planning process will impact an organization lend themselves to quantification. An example of this level of quantification of external factors is the use of frameworks for evaluating the performance of supply chains over time, a process area that can be highly quantified through the use of maturity models and measurements of performance over time (Gilmour, 1999). Both of these extremes, qualitative data analysis through the use of techniques including writing of scenarios, brainstorming and the Delphi technique to the extremely quantitative, both require organizations to have a fairly high level of interprocess maturity and development to be able to manage…

References

Josh Bernoff, Charlene Li. (2008). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 36-42.

Reinhold Decker, Ralf Wagner, Soren W. Scholz. (2005). An internet-based approach to environmental scanning in marketing planning. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(2/3), 189-199.

Qi Fei, David L. Olson. (2007). Web services composition strategy in enterprise systems. Human Systems Management, 26(1), 53.

B. Johansson, F. Sudzina. (2008). ERP systems and open source: an initial review and some implications for SMEs. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 21(6), 649-658.

liquidity, we will be using the current ratio and the quick ratio in order to evaluate the company's short-term solvability. The current ratio has gradually increased in the last years from 1.31 in 1990 to 1.68 in 1993. This comes to show that the community hospital has steadily improved its short-term solvability and that it is currently in no danger of not being able to cover its expenses. In general, the current ratio needs to be higher than 1 and, as we can see from the current ratio values in 1990 to 1993, it has been constantly so, with a tendency for improvement.

The quick ratio, another benchmark for liquidity, is more or less on the same parameters, increasing from 1.01 in 1990 to 1.56 in 1993. Obtained by dividing the total current assets value minus the inventory to the overall current liabilities value, the quick ratio gives us further…

Finally, the capital structure financial indicators are meant to give an idea about the company's long-term solvability, in terms of long-term debt. Two of these ratios, the long-term debt to equity and the long-term debt to capital asset ratios are much smaller than the benchmark average. This may show that the hospital prefers to use other forms of financing rather than debt.

Overall, the hospital has shown stable and solid financial indicators for the period 1990-1993. Except for the average collection period, significantly lower than the benchmark average, all the other indicators are equal or higher, which comes to show that the hospital is performing well.

 http://www.investorwords.com/349/average_collection_period.html

Budget Management Analysis

So much connected to the process of budgeting is difficult. It can be difficult to draft a budget which is accurate and which connects to all project needs. Moreover, it can be quite challenging to stay within the guidelines of a budget. However, organizations and projects must be held to that regardless for their present and future success, not to mention their own level of sustainability.

Thus, whenever finance teams draft budgets, there still need to be people on the accounting team who are specifically there just to enforce the budget and to ensure that all members of the team are able to follow the guidelines set forth. Even with these specific professionals involved with the project, there is still a need to engage in concerted steps to ensure that the project remains on budget. Specific measures need to be taken by the accounting and finance team…

References

Azevedo, J., Newman, J., & Pungiluppi, J. (2010, March). Benchmarking: A tool to improve the effectiveness . Retrieved from worldbank.org:  http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLAC/Resources/257803-1269390034020/EnBreve_154_Web_Final2.pdf 

Hunt, S. (2013). Budgeting and Forecasting. Retrieved from accenture.com:  http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/112192TacticalV7.pdf 

Westland, J. (2011, June 23). Project Management: 4 Ways to Manage Your Budget. Retrieved from cio.com:  http://www.cio.com/article/2406862/project-management/project-management  -- 4-ways-to-manage-your-budget.html

Company Is One That Is:

Achieving its stated financial and strategic objectives is an above-average industry performer is evidencing growth in firm's sales and market share is Positively viewed by shareholders and customers

hows Continuing improvement in operating performance (Thompson et al., 2006)

The problem is that immersed in the hurly-burly of routine existence, a company may be unaware of its objective performance; it may under -- or -- over-estimate its results and character of operations. This is where a WOT analysis comes into play.

The WOT strategy helps us analyze factors for improvement within the company. WOT is an acronym for trengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Filling in these categories requires research into the company in question, but the more intensive and comprehensive this research, the better we can answer the question and work towards designing a prospectus for improvement.

The WOT also tells us how well the company's…

Sources

CNN. January 21, 2010. Smithfield Foods Settles Charges Of Pre-Merger Coordination."  http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/201001211724DOWJONESDJONLINE000718_FORTUNE5.htm .

LaRue T. Hosmer. Smithfield Foods When Growing the Business Damages the Environment

Smithfield. Our Commitments

Thompson, Jr., A.A., Strickland III, A.J. & Gamble, J.E. Crafting & Executing Strategy (17th Ed. & 18th ) New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.

General Electric Staffing Initiatives

DESCIPTION OF THE COMPANY

General Electric is one of the leading producers and manufacturers of energy-related products worldwide. The company operates as conglomerate offering technology, media and financial services and is leading name in the business of energy production manufacturing such things as "gas, steam, and aero derivative turbines; generators; combined cycle systems; and renewable energy solutions, as well as provides water treatment services and equipment." (Yahoo Finance)

ECUITMENT AND SELECTION POCESS

The company operates around the world employing more than 300,000 employees. And hence staffing and recruitment more major concerns at GE as it looks around for the most talented people with strong work ethic and a serious desire to perform well in a rapidly changing environment. For this reason, staffing is carefully planned and GE takes advantage of the changing trends to hire the very best.

Kim Warne is the manager of the GE…

REFERENCES

GE official website. Accessed online 17th Feb 2011 from www.ge.com

Bob Williams, Managing Editor. GE: Clean energy concerns help drive staffing initiatives

Energy. PennEnergyJobs.

"GE PROFILE" Yahoo finance.  http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=GE+Profile

etail

The global economy overall is mending from the 2008 crisis. Many key metrics over the past 5 years have improved materially relative to the crisis years. The S&P 500, for instance, after reaching its low in 2009 has recovered more than 150%. The financial markets are now more stable through the enactment of various legislation including Dodd-Frank and Basel III. Even unemployment has rebounded steadily as consumers are more confident of their future prospects. These trends bode very well for the furniture retailing industry which was devastated by the financial crisis. As such, I believe many companies within this sector are poised for a strong and sustained recovery. Of the many companies and competitors within the sector, Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc. is best positioned for sustainable long-term growth (Gray, 1977).

To begin, the company is fortunate enough to have a strong economic tailwind behind it. The housing sector, which…

References:

1) Gray, Channing. "Haute and cool: Fine Furnishings show branches out in 10th year with a bigger spread of classic and cutting-edge pieces." The Providence Journal (1977)

2) Evens, P. And Wurster, T. "Strategy and the New Economics of Information," Harvard Business Review, Sept/Oct 1997.

3) Robert J. Gordon (1988), Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy, 2nd ed., Chapter 22.4, 'Modern theories of inflation'. McGraw-Hill.

Planning and Control

Formulating Plans and Strategies

Bunge Limited

Bunge is a renowned organization that deals in agribusiness in as many as 40 countries offering the processing service of the products and produces from the farms as well as transport hence acting as the link between the production a t the farms and the final consumer. Bunge also deals in the production of renewable fuels, animal feeds, sugar, flour, fertilizers and oil among other products (Bunge Limited, 2011).

Bunge SWOT analysis

Strengths

The company has several strengths one of them being the fact that they are involved in diverse agribusiness ventures. As noted above, they deal in a range of farm produce and products processing as well as transportation of the goods form the farm to the clients hence enjoying the advantages of economics of scale and hence being able to offer their clients a variety of products in a…

References

Bunge, (2006). How the Brazilian real Affects Bunge. Retrieved September 13, 2014 from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDI5NzM5fENoaWxkSUQ9NDQ3MTIzfFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1

Bunge Limited, (2011). Company: About Bunge. Retrieved September 13, 2014 from  http://www.bunge.com/About-Bunge 

Market Publishers, (2010). Bunge Limited (BG) - Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis

Review. Retrieved September 1, 2014 from  http://pdf.marketpublishers.com/global_data/bunge_limited_bg_financial_n_strategic_swot_analysis_review.pdf

Organizational change takes place when an organization makes a transition into its wanted future state from the current state. Organizational change is managed through planning and execution of that transition, while aiming at minimum expense and minimum staff resistance, and at the same time achieving maximum success of the transition process (Anderson and King, 2002).

The modern-day organizational environment needs organizations to go through nearly constant transitions for them to maintain competitiveness. Such aspects as rapid technological evolution and market globalization make it difficult for companies to survive without being responsive. These kinds of transition are probably minor, such as installation of new software or major, such as coming up with new strategies for marketing, disputing hostile takeovers or changing the organization due to stubborn foreign competition (Anderson and King, 2002).

A critique of several tactics that can be used to engage employees in the change process.

You should consider…