Business Management Essays (Examples)

Business Major

A major in Business Management seems secure, and yet, it could be easily rendered an obsolete concentration. If Business Management were rendered obsolete, it would have adverse implications on the economy, on issues related to social justice, and on the ability for organizations to thrive. Especially during an economic recession, the need to develop future business leaders becomes apparent. Interviews with successful managers who were once students in an MBA/Business Management program highlights some of the reasons why business management education remains relevant, and what would happen if business management were to fall by the wayside in the academic community.

Background of Major

Business management is often a subset of a Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) or Masters of Business Administration degree (MBA). Some dedicated colleges of business offer a special concentration in Business Management. For example, the Stony Brook University (2012) Business Management program offers undergraduate students…

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On the subject of personal development, which company E. should encourage, McGill and Beaty (2001, pp. 85-86) write that in addressing personal development issues, an employer could devise a forum for workers to bring their issues forward. The one rule would be that the issue "is of significance" to the employee; the issues that could be discussed in the personal development session include: "personal motivation towards work"; relationships between managers and colleagues; priorities for one's self and the staff overall; the work direction of the near future.

Beyond personal development, another important concept is management development, which Burgoyne and eynolds describe (p. 21) which is less "theoretical" and more "practical" than management learning, though both would be important to company E. In setting the stage for a better business future. "Management development tends to develop personal knowledge, repertoires and skills (e.g., time management, stress management, assertiveness, team work, presentations,…

Management and Business

Management Theories and Principles of Each eading

The Fifth Discipline forces managers to look at the way in which learning disabilities which are common to organizations can actually stunt their growth and progress. The author targets several common learning disabilities which can riddle even powerful organizations, they are: identifying with only one position, external enemies, the illusion of taking charge, fixation on events, the parable of the boiled frog, the delusion of learning from experience, the myth of the boiled frog and others (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010). These examples serve to demonstrate how common misconceptions can act as shackles towards growth in even a promising company or firm. This chapter highlights the laws of the fifth discipline as well, demonstrating important lessons such as how the cure can be worse than the disease and other true facts of engaging in business (Pierce & Newstrom, 2010).

The section…

Business Management

Supply chain management is a process conducted by several business entities, which involves planning, implementing and controlling any production and supply activities, with an aim of providing it to consumers in efficient ways. While supplying, there are intermediaries who play a role in connecting producers and consumers, who ensure efficiency in the supply chain too. Supply management is done to ensure collaboration between the intermediaries (Catholic elief Services, 1999, pg 14). Planning and control system aids in define rules under which the business operates and within a given set of resources. Planning and controlling department depend on the information given by supply department for effective control of the business (Muehlen, 2004, pg 35).

Primary forecasting techniques

For a product-producing firm, it often uses primary forecasting techniques to determine the amount of goods demanded in the near future, with several quantitative and qualitative techniques initiated. Qualitative techniques involve rating…

It would also be appropriate where management is too removed from the impact of their operational decisions to gauge the effects of those decisions on the working conditions of the employees who are responsible for implementing them. Finally, the participative leadership style would also be appropriate for introduction where long-time experienced personnel are exhibiting a lack of morale or enthusiasm for their work or where there is a low level of "buy-in" on their part to management decisions or to the organization's operational or strategic goals.

8. Define delegation and empowerment; describe two key components of developing each (delegation and empowerment); and explain why both of these forms of participative leadership are valuable to an organization.

Delegation has always been a fundamental aspect of business management because it is absolutely necessary to the underlying concept of hierarchical management functions. In principle, delegation simply means that supervisors, managers, and others in…

usiness - Management

The Four Major Functions of usiness Management

At the turn of the twentieth century, Henri Fayol, a French industrialist, outlined his theory of business management. He proposed that managers focus their responsibilities in the areas of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

In planning, goals are defined, strategies are established, and activities coordinated. It is a decisional role that involves entrepreneurial activities, problem solving, negotiating, and techniques in persuasion. The planning stages may be short or long-term, and may be specific in nature, focusing on a single set of tasks, or directional where planning is used to determine goals for the future. Plans can be organized into two areas of thought: strategic and operational. Strategic plans launch overall objectives for the breadth of the organization, and consider the environment in which the organization is situated. In operational planning, individual objectives rather than organizational goals are the concern, and…

Business Management Principles -- Questions from PowerPoint Chapter

Described the major factors that have influenced the evolution of management thought.

The major factors that have influenced the evolution of management thought are economic, social, political, technological, and global factors. Generally, economic factors relate to resource availability and distribution in society; social factors consist of culture and interpersonal issues; political factors relate to the effects of political institutions; technological factors relate to the ways that the evolution of hardware devices and systems affect business; and global factors consist of the ways that the evolution of a global market place affects the conduct of business and business practices.

Identify and describe the central focus of the following subfields of the classical perspective on management:

Scientific Management

Scientific management emphasizes the productivity of individual workers. Its original theorist was American Frederick Taylor and it had also been referred to as "Taylorism." He studied…

The Digital Lifestyle

Our employees already rely substantially on digital

communications and mobile connectivity to communicate and coordinate on a 24-hour basis. Supervisors are issued dedicated company mobile devices.

Global Diversity

The organization has already positioned itself to maximize cultural awareness and sensitivity both internally and externally.

New Security

Our it security policies, procedures, protocols, and processes are continually tested and updated to address the evolving nature of the potential threats environment.

6. Is your H department in a position to handle Business Futures actions?

Yes. The nature of our business does not directly relate to the substantive areas of future business trends. However, to the extent any future business trend issues do relate to the organization, executive management has already demonstrated a commitment to staying either on pace or ahead of evolving trends. The organization has fully incorporated all of the policies, procedures, and processes necessitated by every conceivable…

Analysis of the Apparent Disconnect between Human esources and Management

In this case, Sue has taken it upon herself that specific human resource practices are the right course for her new organization despite explicit indications from management that those particular practices do not fit the organization's strategic vision, organizational values, or available resources. In her inexperience, Sue has employed a myopic view of the concept of best practices, largely oblivious to the significance of best fit (George & Jones, 2008).

Sue has assumed that all best practices in her previous professional environment necessarily correspond to best practices in her current environment. In fact, the distinguishing features between the two entities whose relevance and significance Sue fails to appreciate make the approach that works in the public sector inappropriate for a private-sector organizations such as that of her current firm. Generally, employment opportunities in the public sector offer different comparative benefits…

Without this
level of foresight and planning an organization will have three to six
months of one direction then another. The side-effect is that over a year
nothing strategic gets accomplished. A CEO needs to define then a series
of interlinked and interrelated plans where it is communicated and
recognized that there may be one or two quarters of foundation-building
where nothing significant happens, yet this time period is specifically
focused on building for the future. In publicly-held companies with the
pressure to produce results every 90 days for investors, CEOs have a tough
job of explaining a quarter or two of time invested for future growth.
Ultimately the need to bring change into an organization based on
technology also needs to include a high level of ownership throughout the
organization. This aspect of change is defined by Aguirre, Calderone,
Jones (2004), where their research concentrates on how technological change…

More particularly, the tremendous percentage of young people on Kava makes education and professional development paramount in importance both from the perspective of maintaining the reliable workforce necessary for the success of this organization's ventures to the extent they depend on local labor and also for the long-term viability and benefit of the Kava community.

Therefore, a significant portion of this organization's efforts must emphasize the provision of educational opportunities and professional training to allow the many young members of the indigenous population to acquire the requisite skills and education to contribute productively to their community, to benefit personally, and to support the maximum profitability of the ventures established by this organization.

Organizational and Environmental Obstacles, and takeholders Impacted

The principal groups of stakeholder likely to be impacted by the decisions of this organization are: (1) the indigenous population and their descendants; (2) this organization and all of those individuals…

Business Management

Responsible Management of Roles within the Business Culture: The Acme Minerals Extraction Company Case Study

The case study of the Acme Minerals Extraction Company is characterized by a conflict arising from two groups within the organization, composed of the geologists, geophysicists, and engineers (first group) and the skilled and semi-skilled laborers (second group). This faction between the 'brains' and 'brawns' group in Acme has brought about increased organizational instability and lower productivity due to the groups' conflict. Suzanne Howard, who spearheaded the establishment of a program "that would improve productivity and morale" among the company's employees, developed a four-step plan that aims to bring together the brain and brawn groups. The model of Responsible Management of Power, wherein empowerment among employees is achieved through a four-way process, characterizes the program. Howard has first gone through the process of imposing three functionary groups within the company: the operations, below…

Where that is accomplished, formal disciplinary and termination policies do protect organizations against wrongful termination liability. In principle, the worst possible scenario is where such policies exist but without sufficient training to assure that they are not violated when they apply.

Succession Planning Programs

In my opinion, effective succession planning must be a continual and ongoing process if it is to have the desired results and achieve its desired objectives. While it is important to conduct annual reviews of the succession plans themselves, such infrequent employee reviews may lead to a cursory process instead of a more genuine process. More importantly, as you point out, all employees must believe that they are eligible for fair career development opportunities through fundamentally objective evaluation processes and procedures. Where employees begin to feel that only members of a preferred "club" are genuinely eligible for advancement, the organization may lose much of the motivational…

Business Management Major was developed in part on the principle that Business Managers are essential to shaping America's future leaders. Business Managers are responsible in the field for providing diverse and innovative insight into organizations worldwide. A successful Business Major will come away from college with forward thinking notions, creative insight and a disciplined spirit (Harriman, 2003). Career opportunities that often result from studying Business Management include management positions that include but are certainly not limited to the following general areas: manufacturing, business consulting, financial planning, banking, sales, marketing, H, personnel, engineering (Harriman, 2003). Business Major's are expected to have a dynamic impact in the workplace, and offer insight, political savvy and problem solving ability in a global workforce. The education and course of study required of business managers prepares them in a variety of ways to be effective in the workplace.

CONEPTUAL UNDEPINNINGS/STATEGIES/BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Business Management major typically…

Need theories discover the kinds of needs that motivate people but it lacks to explain how people decide to behave in a certain manner for the satisfaction of their needs (Campbell, 1983).

b) Process Theories: These theories explain the thought processes. These thought processes guide certain behaviors through decisions and action to be applied in response to satisfy certain need. Two significant approaches are Vroom's expectancy theory and Adam's equity theory. These theories are helpful in understanding human action that responds to their needs. However it fails to understand continuous people behavior in a certain way.

c) einforcement theories: These theories identify the rationale behind people's behavior and examine the influence of consequences on behavior and suggest that people behavior is directly related to the consequences of their action. In the reinforcement theories the law of effect states that behaviors with pleasant consequences are more likely to be repeated then…

3) How is technology in operations affecting competition at the worldwide level?

Technological innovations have been tremendously important to global competition. Real-time RFID-based information and tracking systems in particular have allowed companies to streamline their operations and expenses by tailoring supply and even production to consumer demand. Furthermore, as operations (in general) become more and more capable of being fulfilled mechanically, that allows reductions in personnel previously required to accomplish tasks now performed mechanically and automatically.

4) What are pros and cons associated with outsourcing a number of supply chain activities?

The most obvious benefit of outsourcing supply chain activities would be the reduced costs associated with using overseas labor for tasks ordinarily performed by much higher paid domestic employees. One potential negative associated with outsourcing would be less direct control and oversight over operations. Another potential negative would be the bad publicity resulting from any ethical violations overseas or…

Any manufacturing operation has an inherent strength in high volume, low cost production or low-volume, high value production. In deciding this strategy I would look first at production efficiency of existing operations and also examine which processes on the production floor were the more accurate and cost-effective. After making a decision on the manufacturing area, I would look next at the supply chain efficiency of the company, specifically in both the low-end products and the high-end ones as well. The concentration of suppliers by each of these product groups would be a good indication of which strategy to undertake. I'd also look at the selling and service organizations, looking to see which class of products they were most effective in selling. The need for service is quite different on each of these product areas, so as a result I'd look at those processes and the core strengths of that department…

These two issues are interconnected, because fuel prices will have dramatic impact upon the costs for the company and can adversely affect its bottom line. Where, the costs for transporting both cars and passengers will increase, while the fare price will remain the same (at least for a certain amount of time). However, if fuel prices continue to rise, this could mean that ticket prices will have to increase or some type of a fuel surcharge must be imposed. In either case, this would have a negative impact upon demand, as rising costs will force many consumers not to use the company's services. (Irish Passengers Numbers Down 10% 2009)

Then, you have the overall impact that this will have upon consumer demand in general, which could possibly cause an industry wide slowdown. This is because the rising price of fuel, will dramatically affect consumer spending and psychology. When fuel prices…

Business Management

Each company must face the decision on their own as to what sort of ethical guidelines they want to follow. While Friedman (1970) made the case that a business only has social responsibility to earn profits, this theory is not airtight. It is based on agency theory, that management is working as agents of the shareholders. The shareholders are rational investors whose only desire is to make more money. This discounts the fact that investors have access to a wide range of information about a company -- for example they can review the Sustainability eport if the company has one, or its statements about ethics and social responsibility. With this information publicly available, shareholders can easily understand prior to purchase what the company stands for and how it will behave. If CanGo has made any sort of indication that it will only market games that are fully responsible,…

Business Management Plan for Primary Care Setting

Develop a business management plan for a primary care setting

Promote an APN practice to the public

Expertise of professionals specialized in the skills and knowledge are vital towards the achievement of goals and objectives with reference to the reformed health care system. In the context of the restructured health care system, Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are unique and valuable service providers. The effectiveness and efficiency of the Advanced Practice Nurses are well documented in the modern healthcare sector. There have been challenges towards the implementation and maximization of the concept of the advanced practice nurses. The application of the advanced practice nurses in relation to provision of care has been hindered through restrictions with reference to the scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and eligibility for reimbursement.

It is imperative to eliminate practice barriers, standardize specialists' preparation, and achievement of clear determination of…

Business Management Resolution Strategy

Hit and Click Rates

The primary objective here is to understand the consumer's behavior in order to guide it to provide it more profit potential. Understanding consumer behavior can thus help direct more tailored strategies. This can ultimately improve hit and click rates.

Environment Scan

There are a number of competitors online, but there are also a number of browsers who also drag down productivity. Adds often charge a per-click price for running advertisements online. Thus, ads online need to be better than competitors, but also be interesting enough to get consumers to stop browsing and start buying. Part of that is finding out exactly who your customers are and what their own characteristics will drive them to buy.

Strategy Implementation

It is crucial here to investigate the hit and click rate through rates on specific pages in order to really understand how many customers are…

Business Management
Communication forms the crux of management and must be effective within an organizational setting. Communication is not the message or its transmission; rather, it is an exchange of mutual understanding that commences with the message’s receiver. In the absence of effective management, the fundamental management functions, namely, planning, organization, hiring, control and direction, cannot be performed effectively. Businesses have to engage continuously in information interchange. Feedback forms a key business communication facet. Today’s companies operate on a large scale and have to deal with numerous individuals (Mannan, 2013).
Business communications focus on corporate goals. Corporate policies, rules, and regulations have to be conveyed to individuals within as well as outside the company. Business communications are regulated by specific norms and rules. Initially, communication in organizations was restricted to only phone calls and paper-work, among a few other things. The present-day technological evolution, however, has brought mobile phones, satellites,…

, 2000). Also, the new project manager must make a special effort to learn the communication style and personality of the individuals on the team in order to give each member the feeling that they are valued and will be respected.

Morale that is low, such as in the scenario, can also be boosted in the team through the introduction of hard working, knowledgeable members within the team. What this will do is energize the team from the inside out, which will transform the productivity and outlook of the entire team and the results will surely follow (Project Management, 2000).

What are Some Strategies that Could be Used by a Project Manager to Successfully Manage the elationships Among Project Team Members and the elationships Among the Project Team and External esources

Generally speaking, a project manager could, as was mentioned earlier, take a serious "personality inventory" of the team members…

Generally, those same performance objectives also contribute directly to the strength of internal measures of operational success. A commitment to quality on the part of organizations and their personnel is naturally conducive to customer satisfaction; however, it is equally beneficial to the organization internally because genuine commitment on the level of individual employees is infectious, just as are negative attitudes.

Likewise, employees who are recruited and trained to be efficient and dependable contribute to the development and maintenance of an entire organizational culture of efficiency, commitment to quality, and to mutual support and cooperation. Staff members who know that they can rely on their coworkers and who also know that their coworkers depend on them to uphold high standards of performance tend to work harder and devote themselves to success on a personal level, a business unit level, and ultimately, to the success of the entire organization.

The element of…

Then they need to present the change to the employees as being realistic, reliable and measurable. There needs to be milestones set so that as the change process progresses the employees can see that the work that they are doing is actually accomplishing the goals that have been set forth.

8. What characteristics of Dr. Mimi Silbert, leader of the Delancey Street Foundation, make her approach to change so innovative and successful?

Mimi Silbert does not share the same background as her fellow residents but she lives at Delancey Street, abides by its rules, and takes no salary. Her determined spirit and unlimited energy have built an organization that is unique in its entrepreneurial and self-governing structure. Her dedication to enacting her vision of an educational community of change has inspired residents to break their destructive cycles and take responsibility for themselves and others. Dr. Silbert has gained national and…

Rationale -- the organization faces considerable potential liability unless the supervisor immediately initiates appropriate measures to resolve the problem and, if necessary, refer for training or discipline any staff member involved. By consulting legal counsel, the supervisor can avoid any insufficient response that could expose the company to liability for failing to take appropriate and timely action.

4. Racial, Religious, or Cultural Discrimination or Harassment

General Recommendations -- in cases of any report or complaint of racial, religious, or cultural discrimination or harassment, the supervisor is to consult with the employee and (separately) with any and all individuals implicated in the complaint. The supervisor is also to consult internal legal counsel for advice and to implement the solution recommended by counsel.

Rationale -- the organization faces considerable potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless the supervisor immediately initiates appropriate measures to resolve the problem…

The cheese plant is dedicated to agricultural product production processes utilizing mostly raw materials produced on its own farms. Generally, the individual farms each maintain several hundred heads of cattle capable of producing sufficient raw materials (such as fresh milk) to sustain McCadum Cheese Plant operations.

Apparent McCadum Cheese Plant Inventory Needs:

In general, production that is dependent on the availability of raw materials from its farm network. It would not be practical or efficient to ensure business continuity primarily through large inventory because of the perishable nature of the product and of its component ingredients. The sheer volumes at issue would also be a prohibitive concern even apart from perishability issue; for example, the plant uses 35,000 pounds of fresh milk in each production run.

Apparent McCadum Cheese Plant Inventory Status:

The McCadum Cheese Plant business ensures business continuity by using a well-coordinated but geographically decentralized supply for its…

UltiPro is an industry leader in HCM, delivering more out-of-the-box functionality than any other provider. UltiPro's continuous H and talent management functionality includes recruitment, onboarding, payroll, worker and manager self-service, benefits administration, compensation management, performance management and reviews, succession management, talent retention tools, time and attendance, workforce scheduling, rich reporting and analytical decision-making tools, and more. UltiPro's Web portal can serve as a company's communications center and the fundamental gateway for business activities because it conveys functionality for everyone in the company, from H and financial departments as well as executives, staff managers, and individual staff. With the UltiPro portal, H/payroll staff, managers, and administrators can complete daily worker administration tasks, administer benefits, manage staff, and access reporting in real-time, all from one central location. Managers and executives can access frequently requested reports and analyze workforce statistics and trends on-demand. Employees can access pay and benefits information, get questions answered,…

Coyne (ISO, 2007).

Under Mr. Coyne's direction, ISO maintains a regular cycle of community relations events with charitable themes emphasizing the corporate focus of benefiting the community. ISO also provides varied opportunities for employees to incorporate their families into ISO functions as well as recreational activities designed to promote good employee relations. At ISO, periodic progress reviews and regular feedback from supervisors allows employees to maximize their career potential by rewarding performance with regular financial raises and opportunities to advance up the hierarchical ladder (ISO, 2007).

Communication, Diversity, and Business Ethics:

ISO welcomes diversity in its workforce and encourages applications from all sectors and academic institutions. ISO corporate policy and employee handbook specifically stress the importance of maintaining a culturally diverse working environment where employees of all backgrounds and cultural practices are equally welcome. While New Jersey does not require employers to offer health insurance and other benefits to non-married…

I think it is very important to create and maintain profitable customer relationships for any business, no matter how large or small. Some companies seem to think they have a monopoly on goods or service, and so they do not have to offer good customer service. I think in the end, no matter what the product is, companies who do not truly respect their customers will not last. People want to be treated decently, with respect, and as if their patronage matters, no matter who they are or what their needs are. Creating profitable customer relationships recognizes these needs, and is a win-win situation for any organization. Big organizations such as McDonald's or Home Depot (just as an example), often seem to have grown so big they forget this, and so people become "things" when they deal with them. I think that is wrong, and I will attempt to avoid…

usiness Management

Jack Watson

Organizational Change

Solgar is one of the foremost manufacturers of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements in the nation. It has a long history of providing quality products to consumers who are interested in alternative methods for improving health and treating ailments. Throughout its history, Solgar has been faced with a number of changes that have fundamentally altered the way in which business is conducted. From the passage of legislation to the discovery of new supplements and uses for supplements, the organization has been faced with difficult challenges and has found a way in which to cope. Over the next twenty years the vitamin industry is challenged with a significant number of external forces that will undoubtedly cause Solgar to change the way it does business. One specific change that is virtually inevitable has to do with the regulation actions that were enacted in 1994 by the…

"Rainmaking" by partners for example, is not measurable over regular short-term intervals and it takes place substantially off-premises and during non-traditional business hours.

What kinds of rules and procedures do you think the department managers will come up with? Which departments will be more formalized? Why?

Manufacturing departments should be more formalized than research and development departments. Manufacturing managers may allow a certain amount of flexibility or choice of hours, but with sufficient structure to ensure that staffing needs are met in full at all times. To the extent that manufacturing output is quantifiable and that output corresponds to the productivity of individuals, short-term evaluations may be appropriate. If off-site privileges manufacturing operations are particularly susceptible to abuse in any department, restrictions would be appropriate, particularly where there is no potential benefit to the organization. Research and development departments may be able to allow greater individual independence and autonomy over…

However, the prospect of relocating manufacturing operations abroad raises new potential issues that must be considered. Specifically, it may be ethically permissible to take advantage of certain prevailing circumstances in foreign countries that are responsible for lower labor (and other overhead) costs. On the other hand, there are also limits to that concept. It is not ethically permissible to relocate manufacturing operations to countries where economic and social conditions are so bad that the population is desperate for work at wages that are exploitative by any objective standard.

Similarly, it is ethically unacceptable to allow American companies to exploit foreign workers by allowing manufacturing processes to be carried out in work environments that would violate the most basic concepts about appropriate and acceptable vocational situations and circumstances if those processes were being conducted within the U.S. And subject to U.S. employment laws and standards set out by occupational hazard regulations.…

Because cross-trained employees are more knowledgeable about the overall business processes of the organization, their conceptual understanding of the mission of their organization is enhanced by every incremental increase of their involvement and knowledge of its operations (obbins & Judge, 2009). Beyond that element of increased involvement, the fact that cross-trained workforces tend to improve the morale and organizational connectedness of individual employees also contributes directly to organizational benefits through the positive impact on individual performance. Finally, cross-trained workforces also collaborate better and exhibit increased interpersonal rapport with coworkers. According to generally accepted principles of organizational behavior, this element also improves individual work performance beyond what is capable of achieving without such interpersonal rapport among coworkers (ussell-Whalling, 2008).

Conclusions and ecommendations

The review of the available literature on the beneficial effects of cross-trained workforces on their organizations strongly suggests that, as a general rule, cross-training should be implemented in business…

Bringing in a larger number of outside vendors -- perhaps contractually obligated to the convention to provide part of their proceeds to the convention in the form of donations -- could improve the donations secured by the organizers for the convention, all the while encouraging competition and expanding the array of products and merchandise available to attendees of the convention.

Solution #3: Technology with a grain of salt

In their haste to incorporate new technology into the 2000 Democratic National Convention, organizers may have bitten off more than they could chew. Previous conventions were successfully run without such an extreme reliance and integration of telecommunications and Internet solutions into the basic structure of the convention. This suggests that the success of the convention is not a function of the available computing power of the organizers. ather, the success will be based on successful management of the event.

With late pre-planning…

" Journal of Management Development, Vol. 25, No. 8 (2006):

777-794.

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to determine whether or not there are specific factors of individual personality that correspond to transformational leadership; and second, to determine whether or not transformational leaders and their followers characterized the personalities of transformational leaders similarly. The study relates directly to the understanding of organizational management in that transformational leadership is one leadership style that is common in many types of business and other professional organizations. The implications of the study apply to the appropriate selection of managers and leaders in specific organizations as well as to management training programs.

The study appears to have been sound methodologically. It relied on the quantitative analysis of interviews and self-ratings of 439 leaders and of interviews of 380 subordinates on the topic of transformational leader ratings and issues of personality in leaders. The…

usiness Management: Staffing Practices & Selection Tools:

Analysis of a Pharmaceutical Organization

In the past few decades, globalization and technology are two emerging trends that play a significant role in any organization's staffing practices and selection tools used to meet current and future employment needs. oth globalization and technology pose dilemmas for any pharmaceutical company with a large number of promising drug candidates. This paper examines and analyzes the staffing practices of Pfizer in its position as a leading worldwide pharmaceutical company. Pfizer is a good example of a company whose staffing practices have met their current employment needs and continues to meet future employment needs. This company is in an excellent position, as demonstrated by the fact that its overall sales exceeded $45 billion in the last year, up 40% over the previous year (Pfizer, 2004). This strong financial performance has its roots in the employees that comprise the…

Traditionally departments have retained information as confidential or proprietary. This practice however inhibits knowledge sharing. An organization must open the lines of communication not only between members of a department, but also between departments in order to adequately share knowledge and improve organizational productivity.

Information management is by far the most critical factor related to knowledge sharing. Information management may also be termed "knowledge management." It includes the process by which managers manage the knowledge they are learning to share. The literature strongly supports election of a knowledge manager to facilitate this process. It is important to note that in the past most organizations have considered information management a purely technological process. There is adequate evidence however, supporting information management as a people directed or people led process. Organizations should aspire to uncover ways to share and manage knowledge by using the resources available within from people rather than from…

Response # 2

I can certainly understand why fueling issues are such a concern in your organization, given that both your ability to deliver services and the expense of doing so is directly dependent on fueling your vehicles. Similarly, security and terrorism issues are also obvious concerns for your organizations because of your responsibilities as first-responders in any emergency situation. I would also agree that the "second attempt" that you describe in connection with your organization's shift from analog and hard copy information formats to digital paperless operations is essential. That would appear to be equally true whether from the environmental conservation and responsibility point-of-view or from the tactical perspective of maintaining crucial communications between and among various first responder entities and the other agencies and organizations that would typically have to coordinate their services with those provided by your organization.

Your emphasis on responding to anticipated changes in organizational…

Robin should first establish different departments to fulfill the varied needs of the organization in a systematic and efficient manner. In that regard, Robin should immediately appoint department heads in the following areas: shelter facilities, food storage and distribution, recruitment and hiring, training, and field operations.

The head of shelter facilities must solve the problem of ensuring that employees in the field have safe accommodations in remote areas of operation. Ideally, this will be accomplished by recruiting carpenters and other tradesmen who can develop processes for quickly assembling, disassembling, and transporting shelters while traveling remote forests. Similarly, the heads of food supply and human resource departments must immediately develop methods of supplying field operations and of hiring and training employees who will contribute to the future success of the organization.

3. Develop a new strategy for Robin Hood. Pay close attention to implementation as well as formulation.

Robin's immediate strategy…

e. "readiness" for change without a corresponding capacity for change is purely imaginary). Stated differently, capacity for change is a prerequisite for readiness to change but organizations can be capable of change before they are actually ready for change. One could argue that both capacity for meaningful organizational change and readiness for organizational change are prerequisites components for successful change; neither can support effective change in isolation (George & Jones, 2008).

One could also argue that, from a practical perspective, readiness for change is a more important business management principle than capacity for change for two reasons: (1) because readiness for change is more likely to be a function of human factors and aspects of organizational behavior that can be changed, and (2) mistakes that affect businesses detrimentally in relation to change are more likely to occur when there is a capacity for change but not readiness for change (George…

While the supervisor still maintains the role of performance appraiser and evaluator, the more modern role also allows the supervisor to solicit input directly from the subordinate (Daft, 2005; ussell-Whalling, 2008).

In that regard, some of the most important information relates to the subordinate's perspective of the possible factors that may contribute to less-than-optimal performance (ussell-Whalling, 2008). Furthermore, the modern approach to personnel and performance management also recognizes that the most effective systems also include elements of bottom-up evaluations in addition to the traditional top-down evaluations (Daft, 2005; ussell-Whalling, 2008). Naturally, bottom-up evaluations are more informal than top-down evaluations (Daft, 2005), but they often provide important information that enables supervisors recognize their own limitations and shortcomings in addition to allowing subordinates to supply valuable information pertaining to what they know about their own learning styles (Daft, 2005).

The traditional performance appraisal and personnel management approach serves the purpose of evaluating…

To the extent the respondents expressed their perceived need for improvement, the areas implicated relate to functions that reflect executive decisions and operational management decisions rather than human resources decisions, notwithstanding the fact that those functions might be administrated by the human resource department. .

Two Appropriate Human esource Evaluation Methods

Two appropriate human resource evaluation methods that are applicable to the organization are (1) the proportion of new hires that remain in the organization's employ for at least five years, and (2) rate at which junior employees earn promotion to higher positions including management positions (Noe, Hollenbeck, & Gerhart, 2009; obbins & Judge, 2009). In this organization, those measures would indicate that the principal human resource functions are operating effectively. There is a low rate of attrition among new employees and there is always competition among multiple qualified candidates for promotion to supervisory positions.

On the other hand, those…

Business Management -- etail Marketing

What should online retailers do to establish a clear difference from retailers that have off-line stores?

Online retailers must be concerned with some factors that are entirely different from their off-line counterparts. They must create and optimize their websites in a manner conducive to customer satisfaction and they must manage transactions in a manner that earns repeat patronage (Francis, 2007). Unlike off-line retailers, online retailers must maintain processes to deliver goods to the customer and they must ensure the security of their online systems sufficiently to guarantee the safety and privacy of their customers' information (Francis, 2007).

Online retailers compete with a much larger community of similarly situated retailers and, therefore, rely more heavily on the success of their advertising and marketing initiatives (Francis, 2007; avi, 2006). Specifically, online retailers need to determine how their customers found them, why they selected them from their competitors,…

Business

Management

For most of us, dealing with money has been altered by technology. Most of us use money out of ATM's or we pay bills with online banking just as easily as we change channels on a television. Obviously printing presses and paper cutters create our physical money, but how is the idea of money really created? Do banks and laws really make the idea of money? This essay evaluates the efforts of the Federal eserve System, often called the Fed, in terms of regulating the money creation of financial institutions?

Congress passed the Federal eserve Act near Christmas in 1913 and that established the Federal eserve Banks and also created a more elastic currency and established new legal controls over the commercial banking industry. The Federal eserve is the central bank of the United States and is made up of 12 regional Federal eserve banks that are overseen…

Business - Management

Internal Analysis and SWOT Analysis

Southwest has been a major inspiration to other low-cost carriers, and its business model has been used many times worldwide. The competitive strategy that they use joins high levels of employee and aircraft productivity with low unit expenses by reducing aircraft turnaround time predominantly at the gate (Bamber, Gittell, Kochan, & von Nordenflytch, 2009). When doing an internal analysis and SWOT Analysis it is important to look at a company's tangible and intangible resources.

Southwest Airlines has tangible resources of financial resources, physical resources and human resources. In 2099, Southwest Airlines had revenues over ten million dollars. They are the largest airline in the world by boarded amount of originating passengers boarded. They are the third-largest passenger fleet of aircraft amid all of the world's commercial airlines. They have carried more passengers than any other U.S. airline since August 2006 for shared…

Similarly, while giving the employee involved in the altercation an opportunity to explain his side of things is a necessary formality, I would not expect this step to reveal any information that is useful or helpful to understand the situation. I would actually place much greater trust in the information disclosed by coworkers, especially those who were not directly involved in any specific incidents but who work closely enough with the individuals involved to shed a more objective light on what happened and what factors or behaviors they have observed that contributed to the problem. In that investigation, I would stress that their input would remain confidential to ensure their cooperation without fear of reprisal from the individual at issue.

Response to Aneka

With respect to the lateness issue, I would be much more interested in the information from the interview with the manager about how clearly he has explained…

During the interview sessions, Dave should inquire into what his employees like about their jobs, what they dislike about their jobs, which functions they like and dislike, what changes they would like to see, what suggestions they would offer to implement positive changes, and what types of rewards might increase motivation to perform at the highest level possible (ussell-Whalling, 2008).

ationale

The rationale for implementing interviews of this nature is that they are likely to reveal information that could be useful to Dave. Specifically, he may be able to identify changes in the respective responsibilities of various individual employees that could increase their motivation. Similarly, to the extent the interviews are productive sources of information, Dave might identify various types of rewards (such as in the form of privileges, eligibilities, or opportunities) that could better motivate his poorer performers than any attempts to know them more personally or warnings of…

Leadership:

While the Inspector General authorizes all matters pertaining to the eight regional offices, the day-to-day operations and procedures of the individual regional offices are administrated by the IG. The IG supervises the audit managers in his region, sometimes among two or three remote field offices. As a typical example, Federal

egion II comprises New York, New Jersey, and Puerto ico. The egion II HHS-OIG-

OAS offices include a regional headquarters in New York City, a field office in Albany,

New York, and a field office in San Juan Puerto ico (HHS.gov, 2006).

The egion II IG maintains communications with all three OAS offices under his direction, primarily through meetings and correspondence with his audit managers in those offices. The audit managers provide operational leadership to their respective audit teams. Within each audit group forming each audit team, senior auditors supervise and assist junior auditors on an informal basis, both…

Business Management -- Diversity Issues

Contemporary business managers must be competent in all areas of diversity issues in order to comply with applicable federal laws, state laws, and to insulate their business organizations from potential civil liability arising from lawsuits for violations of those laws (Halbert & Ingulli, 2008). Cultural diversity issues typically arise in connection with the increasing demographic diversity of American society in general. Ethnic diversity issues also typically arise as a function of societal diversity, but ethnicity is a particularly important element of sensitivity to diversity in contemporary business because of the designation of minority races as "suspect classes" in relation to the protections afforded by the Civil ights Act of 1965 (Halbert & Ingulli, 2008). Gender, while not as strictly protected by law as racial identity, is subject to the protections of the laws of equality in many states and also is a potential source of…

Question #3

Because the instructor appears not to understand what is causing the drop in attendance and overall performance, the teacher should attempt to find out why students enrolled in the course in the first place, how they feel about the current subject matter and assignments, what they expect, and how they would change the subject material. The instructor should then adapt the course materials and assignments to the students' interests and needs. Further, the instructor needs to make students feel more involved with the class by encourage them to share their ideas and knowledge and encouraging greater student participation through techniques such as debates, brainstorming, and discussions.

Question #4

The managing director should not automatically assume that fear caused by Sept. 11th is the reason behind the high employee absenteeism. There could be many other possibilities. First, the director should conduct a confidential employee survey to assess the underlying…

Important Human Resource Laws

mericans with Disabilities ct

Under the provisions of the mericans with Disabilities ct, employers may not discriminate against qualified applicants for employment based on physical or mental disabilities as long as those individuals are capable of performing their vocational duties with reasonable accommodations. The employer also has a legal duty to provide reasonable accommodations that are necessary to enable the individual to overcome the difficulties associated with his or her disability.

ge Discrimination in Employment ct

ccording to the provisions of ge Discrimination in Employment ct, employers may not discriminate against individuals forty years of age or more in the "terms, privileges, and conditions" of employment based on age. However, there are certain exceptions to this law, such as where age is a material condition of performance or suitability for the specific vocational responsibilities or where hiring older employees would be incompatible with existing seniority systems…

Within this leadership framework, leaders motivate employees by directly promoting and modeling the desired personal commitment to the organization in a manner that often transcends the boundaries of the vocational environment. Instead of viewing their employment as merely an occupation or a quid pro quo arrangement, employees within a transformational organizational culture incorporate elements of their employing organization into their personal psychological orientation. In that regard, the mission, goals, and values of the organization become part of the employee's persona in a manner that often generates much higher levels of personal commitment than purely transactional leadership schemes.

Typically, transformational leadership relies on social rituals that encourage the melding of personal identity and organizational values and objectives. For this reason, transformational leadership style is most suitable for sales staff, because the clarity of organizational goals of increasing revenue are directly related to the specific efforts of employees (ass, 1997; ass &…

He taught me that any type of honest work is respectable and that a conscientious, honest, and hard-working bus driver or trash collector deserves more respect than a lazy or dishonest doctor or lawyer.

I have tried to apply that principle to every part-time job that I have ever had and I discovered that even menial labor is much more satisfying when you make a conscientious effort and try to do it to the best of your ability. It seems that even simple tasks can be psychologically rewarding when one solves problems and achieves a specific goal, regardless of the particular nature of the work itself. This is something that I learned the hard way after making less than a full effort at a relatively easy job. In some respects, I think I had trouble taking it seriously because I considered the work "beneath" me and unchallenging. Ironically, I did…

Even if entirely subjective performance appraisals are useless, I would expect that there is a way to incorporate both objective and subjective elements. I would also agree that in-service training is even more important than performance appraisal, but I see no reason why any agency would have to make a choice of one or the other.

Discussion 3 Response

In my opinion, your post perfectly illustrates some of the potential problems and limitations with the formal-procedure approach to HR functions and employee evaluation, especially when formal processes are relied upon excessively. In the situation you describe, the original purpose of the policy of conducting periodic reviews according to schedule and mandated form was intended to achieve a specific objective: to accurately evaluate employee performance. However, when those policies and procedures begin to be considered the end instead of one of the means to ends, they lose their value completely. In…

business management, there are a number of different issues that will be faced on a regular basis. To fully understand the overall scope of the challenges and the most effective way to resolve them requires looking at a variety of sources in annotated bibliography. Once this occurs, it will provide us with specific insights about the how these issues can be effectively rectified.

Goldstein, A. (2009). Sticks, Stones and $600 Hammers. Journal of Content Management, 33 -- 40.

The article that was written by Goldstein (2009), talks about the negative perceptions that government procurement programs and contracts have received over the last several years. Part of the reason for this, is because there have been considerable cost overruns for the most mundane items. At the same time, the increasing amounts of spending have meant that these actions are continually brought into focus. To deal with these issues, there have been…

On the manufacturer side, the challenge presented by the weakened economic climate would be best managed by focusing even more on the main business strategies that have already proven successful within the specialty coffee market. Both Caribou and Starbucks emphasize customer service and the "customer experience" approach to promoting their specialty coffee houses. It seems that increased competition attributable to decreasing customers would be best addressed by ensuring that the customer experience is sufficiently attractive and fulfilling to justify the unnecessary expense of continuing to purchase specialty coffee on a BTC basis in coffee houses.

To capture or maintain the maximum market share in the supermarket or grocery store sales of specialty coffee bean product sales, it would be advisable that manufacturers increase the range of their products to permit consumers to "scale down" their spending without necessarily suspending their purchase of specialty or gourmet products altogether.

4. Who are…

Possible Problem with Current Strategies

The most obvious conceptual problem is that two of Nike's current goals seem to conflict. Namely, it's expressed intention to increase the integration of it products and product lines and its simultaneous intention to further differentiate its women's "fitness" product lines by specific fitness interest. In principle, both initiatives make sense: increasing overall integration builds brand loyalty and cross-over consumer interest. However, because Nike determined that women "don't do fitness" because they focus much more narrowly on particular fitness interests, the company decided to cater to that specificity by developing dedicated product lines for different women's fitness and women's fitness-related interests. At the operational level, achieving both of those objectives simultaneously might prove challenging.

Internal Problem Analysis

The principal problems faced by Nike had to do with the highly isolated and segmented nature of its many different business units. Generally, they operated on entirely different…

, 2005; Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al., 2009).

Human esources Implications of Equal Pay Concepts

While applicable employment legislation prohibits discrimination in compensation based strictly on gender, it does not necessarily require equal pay in circumstances where there are purely objective differences justifying those differences (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al., 2009). There are, in fact, numerous factors on the basis of which compensation differences may be permissible; for example, seniority, performance reviews, experience, the achievement of specific goals or objectives, and the objective overall quality of the work performed by respective employees may all be appropriate criteria for justifying unequal pay (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al., 2009).

In light of the applicable legislation and the nature of the appropriate criteria that justify differential compensation, promotion, and benefits, human resource professionals must establish very detailed position analyses and job descriptions (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al., 2009). This is the simplest and…

When the Davis-Beacon Act was developed it was established in order to stabilize the construction industry as well as promote fair wages. The way that the Davis-Beacon act is interpreted today in regards to prevailing wages, they tend to drive the price of the labor up unnecessarily causing tremendous expenses for the government. It also tends to promote unemployment because of the high price of the labor while discriminating against minorities in the construction industry. This act needs to be looked at again and amended so that it is more appropriate for today's times. Government expenses are at an all time high and having this act adding to those expenses is unnecessary. The act needs to be revised as to make free market competition available in the construction industry when it comes to government contracts. This would help to eliminate the excessive spending, the unemployment and the discrimination that is…