Monday, January 27, 2020

Marketing Processes at Marks and Spencer

Marketing Processes at Marks and Spencer The organization Ill be concentrating on will be Tesco Store and Marks and Spencer. I chose to study organisation behaviour in Tesco and Marks Spencer due to having communication access. I would comfortably get information about these organizations. Tesco plc is an UK- based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, is the worlds third-largest grocery retailer, and is the fourth- largest retailer behind Wal-Mart of the United States, Carrefour of France, and the home depot of the United States. MS is an international company, which spreads through Europe, North America and Asia. MS is the largest and the leading variety store retailer in the UK. New brand and product development over the last ten years in fast-moving consumer goods sectors in the UK is that many of the most original and successful initiatives have been taken not by manufacturers but by retailers. The aim of this report is to examine organisation behaviour in concern with the understanding of those factors that influence peoples behaviour in the workplace. 2.1Different organisational structures Every organisation with more than one person needs a structure so that workers have clearly defined roles and are clear about the roles of others. An organisations structure is often presented as an organisational chart which will show how management is organised vertically with layers of hierarchy and horizontally by function, product or division. The chart will make clear who is responsible for what, who is responsible to who and who to go with problems and queries. There are three main types of organisational structure: tall hierarchical, flat and matrix hierarchical. Tall this type of structure will have more than 4 levels of structures and span of control is average of 6 people reporting. This causes a distraction in communicating because there are a few people in charge in this long stretching triangle. Bureaucracy has control in this type of organisation. Role culture is the way they work, good promotional aspects. Example of Tall Structure Flat this type of structure will have less than 4 levels and spam of control is about 25 people, usually higher. They have a good level of communication because they have only one or two people in charge that they can report to. Use power culture type of team work structure, have less promotional aspects. Wide and short triangle appears if drawn. Example of Flat Structure Matrix Matrix type of structure is when the work is spread out to other employees. They usually work in teams so their culture is task. Advantages are they can work more efficiently and focused Example of Matrix structure Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4 Project 5 Project 6 Project 7 Project 8 Employee 1 à ¢-  à ¢-  Employee 2 à ¢-  à ¢-  Employee 3 à ¢-  à ¢-  Employee 4 à ¢-  à ¢-  Network Autonomy (doctors, lawyers, dentists etc). Everyone has equal power so clash of powers and conflicts can happen. Organisational Culture Organisational culture is complex and multi-faceted. Culture is intangible and imprecise. It also changes over time. Culture encompasses standard patterns of behaviour and plays an important role in shaping our purchasing patterns. It stems from traditions, beliefs and values of the community in which people live. It is the complex of values, ideas, attitudes and other meaningful symbols that serves humans to communicate, interpret, and evaluate as members of society. There are four types of organisation culture role, power, and task and person culture. Role culture is known as a bureaucracy. In role culture job comes first so it creates a highly structured, stable company. Power culture is like the spiders web. One individual is in charge of the organisation in the centre surrounded by others involved. Task culture is job or project orientated. Individuals empowered with discretion and control over their work, is flexible and adaptable. Person culture is where the individual is the focus of the organisation. Examples are doctors , solicitors and dentists. Tesco structure Tesco structure seems to be a tall structure. There are six work levels within the organisation. This gives a clear structure for managing and controlling the organisation. Each level requires particular skills and behaviours. Work level 1 frontline jobs staff who works directly with customers doing various tasks in store, such as filling shelves with stock. They require the ability to work accurately and with enthusiasm and to interact well with others. Work level 2 lead a team of employees who deal directly with customers. They require the ability to manage resources, to set targets, to manage and motivate others. Work level 3 running and operating unit. They requires management skills, including: Planning, Target setting and Reporting Work level 4 supporting operating units and recommending strategic change. They require good knowledge of the business, the skills to analyze information and to make decisions, and the ability to lead others. Work level 5 responsible for the performance of Tesco as a whole. They require the ability to lead and direct others, and to make major decisions. Work level 6 creating the purpose, values and goals for Tesco plc. Responsibility for Tescos performance. They require a good overview of retailing, and the ability to build a vision for the future and lead the whole Organization. Marks and Spencer has a flat organisational structure. The business lost a number of layers of authority through delayering which means that employees throughout the business have more responsibility. This enables them to make quick decisions and justifying actions that have been taken. The organisational structure of MS means that most employees had to account for the decision made. Besides this, it is also necessary to make those decisions quickly since there is a lot that one single employee was expected to do. Training and development is therefore necessary to ensure that these employees. It should be noted that most of the roles taken up within MS are specialised. Therefore, employees need to be empowered by teaching them new skills in their new area or career. First of best practice requires that there should be lean organisation structures within the company in order to encourage team work. This is exactly what MS has done; it has included this as part of its strategy. Decision making is not as centralised as it used to be before thus necessitating the need for training and development. Summary Here as we can see Tesco has a tall structure and role culture is the way they work whereas MS has a flat structure and power culture team work. Both organisation structure and culture are different. Relationship between organisations structure and culture and the effects on business performance Organisations must have a formal structure in order for work to be carried out efficiently. It is necessary to divide work into groups or sections into a particular function to prevent duplication of efforts in order to maximise their limited resources. Because an organisation compromises of people there is also an informal organisation with different interlocking relationships, which gives rise to different behaviours, attitudes, individual perceptions and level of ability and aptitude. When people deliberately come together to fulfil a specific goal there are particular accepted ways to behave, speak and interact. This gives rise to organisational culture where it may be formed intentionally or unknowingly to its members by the behaviours of influential members, not necessarily personnel high up the hierarchy but by members who exercise different forms of power within the organisation. This relationship will now be individually examined in the different types of organisational stru cture associated culture and their influence on their employees resulting in their level of business performance. Business performance in a tall organisation structure can be affected by the length of time it takes for the flow of information through the levels of hierarchy making the organisation inflexible slow to adapt to the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental and legal factors. It has a narrow span of control causing tight control restricting freedom and empowerment which affects motivation. The level of motivation employees possesses affects their output affecting business performance. Employees do not have a clear idea of the big picture. Its highly bureaucratic nature influence role culture. In contrast a flat organisational structure possesses greater flexibility to the PESTLE factors due to its reduce levels of management, ensuring greater survival. The wider the span of control and greater levels of communication may encourage creativity, initiative and ability to make decisions giving the feeling of empowerment, resulting in motivated workers, which affects business performance. This is also dependent upon the individuals personalities and networking relationships within the organisation. If people refuse to work together or perceive what others say it could affect employee relations and output affecting business performance. The culture found in flat organisation structure is that of power culture. The relationship between culture and business performance depend on how strong culture firms learn from and react both their own experiences and changes in their environment. It also confirms behavioural consistency so that there is less room for debate between different groups about the organisation goals. Factors that influence individual behaviour at work The ability to learn from experience will affect individual at work, other factors that affect an individual behaviour at work including ability and aptitude, abilities are things that people can do, or are good at, and this is believed to be inherited. Aptitude is the capacity to learn and develop abilities or skill. Another factor is the individual attitude. Firstly individual to work that is their perspective on working, management, acquaintances and the organisation and the organisation and their attitude at work which is their stance or standpoint about politics, religion, education, and whether they choose to agree or disagree. Perception is the way an individual mentally sees things and this explains why people have different views because they perceive things differently. This is why communication within the organisation has to clear so that one receives the same core intent of the message. The last factor is the individual personality. Personality is the total pattern of characteristic ways of thinking; feeling and behaving that constitute the individual distinctive method of relating to the environment. Approaches to management and leadership One of the most important functions of an organisation is the management. Without this function or department there will be no rules, procedures, discipline, motivation, culture and so on. The principles of management and leadership will be divided into a number of sections to be analysed in detail. Most of these theories and styles will be related to TESCO and MARKS AND SPENCER for a wider discussion and explanation. Management Styles Managers have to perform many roles in an organisation and how they handle various situations will depend on their style of management. A management style is an overall method of leadership used by a manager. The most common style theories are grouped under the classification: autocratic style , democratic style and laissez faire style. Autocratic style is sometime known as exploitative, authoritative or military style. Autocratic style is the type of management where there is only one person in charge that has total control. Under this style of leadership all policies and decisions are laid down by the leaders. Subordinates have just to put into practice. They are not allowed to give their opinion or suggestion thus the leader is expected to do everything in terms of decision making. A democratic style of management has many advantages as it motivates employees through job satisfaction and team spirit. It makes them feel valued if they are taking part in decision-making, and this will help the organisation to achieve its objectives. There is more contact between managers and its workforce. They will be able to get to know each other and this could lead to them being able to work better together if they socialise. However, there are disadvantages to this type of management style. Consulting the workforce can be time consuming which will slow down decision-making. Laissez-faire style is a style where most of the decision and policies are decided by subordinates. Managers intervene very rarely in emergency cases. Almost everything is left upon subordinates. Every member of the organisation opinion is taken into account when making decision. Different motivational theories Motivation is a process in which people between alternative behaviour in order to achieve personal goal.Motivation is the result of an interaction between the person and a situation; it is not a personal trait. Its the process by which a persons efforts are energized, directed, and sustained towards attaining a goal. Energy: a measure of intensity or drive. Direction: toward organizational goals Persistence: exerting effort to achieve goals. Motivation works best when individual needs are compatible with organizational goals. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION There are many motivation theories that attempt to explain the nature of motivation. Some of the theories may be partially true and help to explain the behaviour of certain people at certain times. The motivational theorists focus on examining human needs considering how the needs are met and can be better met in work. It may be defined as the processes that accounts for an individuals intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal. Organisational behaviour (9th edition) by Stephen P Robbins pg 155 Among various behavioral theories embraced by American business are those of Frederick Herzberg and Abraham Maslow. Herzberg, a psychologist, proposed a theory about job factors that motivate employees. Maslow, a behavioral scientist and contemporary of Herzbergs, developed a theory about the rank and satisfaction of various human needs and how people pursue these needs. These theories are widely cited in the business literature. MASLOWS MOTIVATION Abraham Maslow suggested that human needs operate at a number of different levels. In fact he classified human need under five different levels namely: physiological needs, security needs. Social needs, esteem needs and self realisation/actualisation. This different of need can be presented as follows: Physiological needs: For Maslow this is the first level of needs that individuals have to satisfy because these needs are primary / basic. Physiological needs are those required to sustain life, such as: Air, Water, Food, and Sleep. Safety/Security Needs: Provided that physiological are adequately satisfied that security needs will influence on behaviour. Security needs include protection against physical and physiological harm. Such needs include the need for job security, age, industrial accidents, and illness. Many organisations try to satisfy these needs by providing a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighbourhoods and shelter from the environment. Social needs: This level of needs is concerned with mans need for love, friendship; acceptance, attachments and families help fulfil this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or religious groups. In organizations people tend to join different groups to satisfy their social needs. By forming groups and encouraging sufficient interaction among employees. Managers can make sure that their subordinates social needs are satisfied. Esteem needs: -. This level represents peoples higher order needs that is man needs for self respect, and recognition by others. The need for success self confidence, recognition and appreciation of achievement are all examples of esteem needs. It is this area in particular that managers can play a significant role in satisfying the needs of their employees, namely by rewarding high achievement with recognition and appreciation. Self actualisation needs: The highest of Maslows hierarchy of needs is the need for self actualisation. This represents the apex of all men needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others and interested fulfilling their potential. Maslow describes the self actualisation needs as follows a musician must make music and at least must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. The self actualisation need is the most difficult to address. In an organisation context, a manager can help by impressing and challenging job to master so that they can in their work. Criticism of Maslows theory Maslow theory is too rigid, that is it is assume all individuals have five level of need and all of them follow the same order. It is not a complete theory of motivation, because it only explains motivation of human needs. 3.7 FREDERICK HERZBERGS MOTIVATION AND HYGIENE FACTORS Frederick Herzberg examined motivation in the light of job content and contest. His dual process theory is a job enrichment theory of motivation. It describes needs in terms of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. It is a two-step process. First provide hygienes and then motivators. One time ranges from no satisfaction to satisfaction. The other time ranges from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. (Buelens M., Broeck H., Vanderheyden K., Kreitner R. Kinicki A., 2006, p: 186). Therefore, Herzbergs theory is also known as two-factor motivation theory. Hygiene factors According to Herzberg hygiene are those which do not lead to motivation but these factors prevent de-motivation. At a more simple level firm managers should make sure that the employees have the necessary hygiene factors so that there wont be any dissatisfaction at work resulting to a decrease in motivation. His study reveals the following as hygiene factors: Company policy and administration Supervision Relation with supervisor Working conditions Salary Personal life Relation with subordinates Status Security Motivators According to Herzberg motivators are those factors which lead to satisfaction and hence can motivate employees at work. When employees are deprived of these factors there will be dissatisfaction leading to reduction to motivation. However if employees are provided with these factors, they will surely be motivated. The main motivators are Achievement Recognition The work itself Responsibility Advancement Growth Criticism of Herzberg theory The conclusion about factors that caused unhappiness and motivators are not totally acceptable. According to critics the difference in sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction are the result of intrinsic defence mechanism. People are inclined to seek their own achievements and to ascribe their dissatisfaction more to obstacle on the part of management. Relationship between motivational theories and the practice of management Maslow theory does not fully explain motivation his hierarchy of needs is generally accepted and applied in practice mainly for the following reasons: The hierarchy is easy to understand and make sense. The theory highlights important category of needs. The distinction is made between higher and lower needs. The importance of personal growth and self-actualisation in the work context is impressing upon managers. In most countries organisation are extremely successful in satisfying employer lower order needs. Physiological are satisfied by paying salary and providing fringe benefit, social needs are satisfied by allowing employees to interact and associate with one another. Esteem needs is of giving responsibility a title that commands respect, meaningful work, activities, recognition at high achievement.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

American History X Essay -- essays research papers

Theory Assignment on American History X This movie tells the story of a young man, from Southern California, that is the product of several unfortunate incidents, and his misguided search trying to answer the question why his life is the way it is. I. Daniel appeared to be dealing with the adolescent stage. Daniel seems to have developed his sense of self worth by mimicking his older brother. Daniels significant relationships, since his brothers incarceration has been derricks old friends (the skin head group). The scene in the principle’s office shows that Daniel is trying to live up to what he believes are his older brother’s ideals, which he believes are following in the foot steps of Nazis. Hate anyone that is not white and protestant. His own self image is one of an up and coming skin head; so he believes his identity is that of a racially intolerant neo-Nazi. Daniel’s search for that identity terminates when Derrick tells him about the experience of his prison time. This scene played out after Derrick confronted Conner at the skin head party and had to flee from his former admirers because he beat up their leader. Daniel followed Derrick and questioned him as to why he was behaving like a â€Å"Nigge r lover.† Daniels since of loyalty was shaken, and the explanation Derrick gave appeared to have turned Daniels beliefs around. Stacey is derrick’s girl friend at the beginning of the film. Stacey’s conscious and sexual identity seems to have been developed somewhat askew to the norms of middle class America, but she shows her comfort in her self during the dinner scene where the school teacher is discussing oppression of minorities with Derrick. Stacy voices an opinion that states blacks and Hispanics are a bane on society. She is a yes man to all of Derricks opinions, and during the same scene she shows her sexuality when she sensuously caresses Derrick after the altercation with Derrick’s family and his mother’s date. This scene showed that Stacey’s role models were other racist, and her beliefs were based on the rhetoric that is espoused at hate monger meetings. Stacey’s young adult stage is shown when she refuses to listen to Derrick during the skin head party scene. She had completely immersed herself in the â€Å"Derrick† persona. The idea of what she pe rceived Derrick would be like when he returned from prison. Stacey told Derrick, during the party scene t... ...s that Daniel took the same psychological ride as Derrick. The other characters remained at on a level psychological playing field. The skin heads may have become more radical, but that appeared to be because of the strength in numbers. The social view of aging in the film seemed to encompass the hatred of the time between two factions in a community in flux.The the presentation of community leaders trying to heal the community, the police captain and principal bob trying to enlist Derrick to help quell the possible uprising in the final scenes, also showed some social aging. 17. The roles of men in the film were depicted at the beginning by Derrick and his father as dominant figures in their household. Principal Bob was another strong male figure. The main female characters differed only in that Stacy seemed to bedcome independent of Derrick at the end of the film. Derricks mother and sister seemed to be typical obedient females. Derricks mom Derricks mom was â€Å"just† a housewife, and when her husband died Derrick filled the head of household role. Derricks oldest sister remained a liberal democrat throughout the movie, but showed no real interest in taking charge of her life.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Bilingual Education Argumentive Essay Essay

The United States is a diverse country of many different races and languages. Even though many languages are spoken in the United States, English is the preferred language in the United States. Speaking English in America is the key to success. Without English, acquiring employment is almost impossible. More and more immigrants are attracted to the U.S every year, and the populations of immigrants, which do not know the American culture, continue to rise. This population must be assimilated into the United States in order for the population to find employment and function in the United States. Assimilation is the process by which an outsider becomes part of a new community by adopting its language and customs. Public schools are a vital place where the country’s customs, language, and culture, in general, can be taught. According to Ginsburg, ever since the 1960’s young immigrants and U.S born children, of immigrant parents, were sent to public schools with little to no understanding of the English language. These students were forced to â€Å"sink or swim.† The public school offered no help to LEP students. LEP (limited English proficiency) is term used to describe students whose level English language is low. As a result, many of these students began to drop out, but finally in 1968, the federal government passed the Bilingual Act which paid special attention to students whose native language was not English. This provided special funding to create and maintain bilingual education programs. The goal bilingual education is to teach English more efficiently to students, with low English proficiency, protect students’ self-esteem, increase their academic performance, and lowering dropout rates. In bilingual education, LEP students are taught subjects such as math, history, and science in their native tongue, while the LEP students take classes to learn English, and once a student shows increasing proficiency in English they are put into main-stream â€Å"English-only† (â€Å"Bilingual Education†). There have been many controversies whether or not the bilingual education programs are achieving their goal. Bilingual education programs should not be allowed as a way to teach English to students with low English proficiency because the programs segregate students based on their native language, are too costly, and are poorly  maintained. Bilingual Education programs segregate students based on their native language. These students are isolated away from other cultures and different perspectives for many years. This assimilates students slowly into mainstream English classes. While bilingual classes segregate students by their primary language, English immersion brings them all together to learn a common language, with the common goal of quickly entering mainstream classes. Speaking English is vital for communication and success in the U.S. The sooner a student understands and communicates in English the sooner they will transition into mainstream English, and the more successful the student will become, which will increase their self-esteem According to Ginsburg many students stay up to six years in these programs and still are low in English proficiency once they complete the program (Ginsburg). Bilingual education programs are too costly to maintain. Students are taking too long to learn English in bilingual education programs. According to â€Å"Bilingual Education,† A scientist named Christine Roswell found that there is little evidence that bilingual education is working, and he determined, from 78% of his studies, that student in bilingual education programs only do as well, or even worse, than LEP students in English immersion type programs or no programs at all. Also Roswell determined that English Immersion programs are a more affordabl e way to teach English. Some teachers are delaying the student’s education in order to receive more money. Most bilingual education programs persist because teachers and school districts receive more federal and state money if they maintain those programs and keep high numbers of students enrolled. Spanish speaking teaches can receive up to $5,000 in bonuses a year (â€Å"Bilingual Education†). In bilingual education, students are taking longer to transition to mainstream â€Å"English-only† classes. Bilingual education programs are poorly maintained. English immersion is a better solution to teaching English than bilingual education. Many LEP students often feel stressed out and frustrated in mainstream classes, which causes them to dropout. According to Clouthier, dropout rates among Hispanics, who speak Spanish, have not improved in the past 25 years that bilingual education programs started. Clearly bilingual education has not help students with frustration and stress or decreased dropout rates. Students learn English with less proficiency and more slowly in bilingual ed ucation  programs. Proponents claim that proficiently teaching a students’ native language first and then teaching English as a second language helps students in the long run, but according to Clouthier, The National Academy of Sciences reviewed 30 years of bilingual research and found no negative effects from teaching reading and writing in English, without first teaching proficiency in a students’ primary language. In bilingual education students take five to seven years to assimilate students; because the program believes that teaching the students, whose native language is not English, their culture values, languages, and customs, when the students’ parents should teach them their heritage (Clouthier). On the other hand, supporters of bilingual education believe that effective bilingual education helps students, for whom English is not their native language, to assimilate into main stream America. Supports say that the controversy is actually rooted in the misunderstanding and misapplication of how language is learned and taught. According to Stokely, students must first learn proficiently their first native language and then learn English as their second language. Supporters say that bilingual education programs enable non-English speaking students to learn English without losing learning time in other academic subjects. Supporters say that the reason some bilingual education programs are ineffective is because they are poorly maintained by the federal government and finding a bilingual teacher is very rare (Stokely). To conclude, bilingual education should not be allowed as a way to teach English students, which have a low proficiency in English, because bilingual education programs segregate students, are too costly, and are poorly maintained. Bilingual education segregates students from other peers based on their native language which cause slower assimilation. Since students are learning English at a slower pace which more funding is needed for these programs to run, and some teachers intentionally keep students longer these programs for the money, which makes these programs too costly. Most bilingual education programs are poorly maintained because these programs have not decreased the student dropout rate. English immersion is a better solution to bilingual education because it’s more affordable and joins students to learn one language. Works Cited â€Å"Bilingual Education.† Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 15 Feb. 2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. . Clouthier, Kris. â€Å"Point: English Immersion: Creating Equal Opportunity For Immigrant Students.† Points Of View: Bilingual Education (2013): 5. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Ginsburg, Jill. â€Å"Bilingual Education: An Overview.† Points Of View: Bilingual Education (2013): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Stokely, Anne. â€Å"Counterpoint: The Benefits Of Bilingual Education.† Points Of View: Bilingual Education (2013): 6. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Public Health Insurance Programs For New York City

There are many public health insurance programs in New York City. For example, HHC Options, an affordable payment plan from New York City (NYC) Health and Hospitals that aims to help individuals and families who have no other health insurance options and provides them with access to primary care doctors and specialists at participating public hospitals while keeping their immigration status confidential. According to New York Immigrant Coalition, certain categories of lawfully present immigrants have the same access for affordable coverage (or health insurance) as U.S.–born citizens, provided they meet income and residency requirements. Green-card holders and applicants, refugees, asylees and asylum applicants, victims of trafficking and†¦show more content†¦United States is a country of immigrants- a country that opens doors of opportunities. According to Global Humanitarian Assistance, United States is also the largest donor to humanitarian aid to the rest of the wo rld, assisting the world’s population with 32.2 billion dollars of humanitarian aid in 2014. According to Council on Foreign Relations, most of the humanitarian organizations, for example the Doctors without Borders and World Health Organization: Humanitarian Health Action, either have at least one main branch or their headquarters are in the US. How sad is that the diverse immigrant population from all over the world who are residing in the US cannot access the health care when US is providing health care and other basic necessities in the countries they fled from due to poverty or violence (among many