Saturday, August 31, 2019

How Workers Attitude and Job Satisfaction Affect Their Work.

Thesis Statements: Attitude and Job Satisfaction: A worker attitude towards work is directly linked to the job satisfaction; a worker who is satisfied with his job performs better and excels at what he does. It is therefore imperative for a company to understand the attitude of its workers and measure the job satisfaction of its employees, as job satisfaction is essential for productivity. Introduction Worker attitude and job satisfaction deals with how an organization behaves. It involves the management directing employees into improving organizational and personal effectiveness.It plays an enormous role in determining the attitudes of employees and their job satisfaction. When an employee is happy, it is usually because they are satisfied with their work. This also improves the quality of their work. Attitude and job satisfaction may not fall completely on the management but also on the employees. If employees enjoy their work, they will not need external motivation from management , but instead the satisfaction they attain from completing their work will motivate them (Robbins, 2004). Job satisfaction is an individual’s contentment with their work.Its effect on productivity is either positive or negative. The relationship between job satisfaction and job productivity is however not consistent. An individual may still obtain high job productivity without having the satisfaction in the work. This happens mostly when money is their motivation. Another motivator is improving in his or her work in order to receive a promotion. Other employees may increase their productivity due to the satisfaction they get from their work. A reason for job satisfaction may also come from an employee getting a good salary.It improves job satisfaction as long as an employee has knowledge of the fact that they get fair payment for their efforts at the end of the day. Job satisfaction has an effect on an individual’s satisfaction with life. If an employee does not get sa tisfaction in their work, they may seek for satisfaction in other work unrelated areas. This provides fulfillment and balance in their life. He or she may also be content with work as it relates with those work unrelated areas. Job dissatisfaction may also cause an employee to quit (Robbins, 2004). How Workers Attitude and Job Satisfaction Affect Their Work.An employee’s attitude towards authority may affect his or her relationship with management. Negative attitude towards authority will cause clashes in the work place. Psychology is another reason that affects an individual’s attitude. Another reason for a negative attitude towards authority is jealous for their position. This attitude affects job productivity in a negative way. If the workers attitude is a negative one so is their ability to produce positive results. Worker attitude and job satisfaction are two factors that affect a company’s productivity.There are different issues that affect worker attitude and job satisfaction either in a negative or positive way. These issues include the management, employee, sociology, communication, culture, and work environment. Management Role The management’s style of leading plays a huge role in worker attitude and job production. Empowerment is one factor that can motivate better productivity. If the management gives an employee opportunity to work according to their own standards, preferred that these standards measure up to those of the company, job productivity will increase.Human empowerment is satisfactory to every individual. Self-satisfaction leads to job satisfaction. We also have strategic planning by management. This is crucial when dealing with influencing job productivity. An example of a way to motivate employees is the management offering them opportunities for promotions and pay rise negotiations. This will encourage job productivity since employees will want to receive these rewards (Jackson, 2002). Organizational objec tives also affect how the management relates with the employees.If the organizational goal is to achieve a certain percentage of profit in a business year, then it will exert pressure on the employees to increase productivity. Positive influence is not the only way to ensure an increase in productivity. Some organizations offer contracts that clear states the amount of productivity needed from employees. This is in the case of sales and marketing where a sales representative needs to achieve a target on a certain deadline. This may mount pressure on the employees and in turn affect their job satisfaction. In some cases, the management is not as strict with the employees.The problem with this is that the employees might eventually relax on the job. An organization may also decide to add more working days depending on their goals. Complying with such a decision is hard and it may leave the employees bitter and resentful towards management. This attitude will affect job productivity, a s the employees will arrive to work with no motivation. Another factor in work attitude is time away from work. Apart from free time on the weekend, which is compulsory according to work ethics, employees need to take time off from work. This normally is the leave period (Jackson, 2002).Employee Role Some individuals choose professions that they like while others end up in their profession due to pressure. Pressure may come from the need to make money or a parent or guardian deciding on what their kids will do. When one chooses something they love doing or has an interest in, then they are content and happy about what they do. Love for a profession encourages a positive attitude. This is all the motivation employees need when it comes to productivity. A happy employee is a productive employee. When an employee loves what they are doing, they attain job satisfaction.This automatically affects productivity in a positive way. Productivity however suffers with negative employees who onl y work to make money. Their aim is to increase their productivity in order to get more money but this eventually makes them stressful and bitter. Since they have no interest in the work, satisfaction is hard for them to achieve. This is another form of motivation but is not sufficient. The two major ways for employees to improve, productivity in their professional areas is the choice of profession. Employees need ways to relieve their stress if they want to improve their work attitude and productivity.Work related stress is common among most employees. This is especially by employees that do not experience any job satisfaction from their work. Stress is something that may lead to more serious illnesses. This lowers productivity from the absence of employees in the work place. Stress is relieved by taking breaks from work, exercising, socializing with friends, and having fun. Psychological development is also another factor that affects attitude. Since psychology is what determines h uman behavior, it affects how we react and relate with others.Every one of us reacts differently to different situations. An example is when management is brutally honest about an employees work, some may take it is a warning to do better others may take it as criticism and give up. This depends on how an individual makes decisions. External factors such as the family, relationships, financial status are a few of other things that also affect the employees’ attitude. A healthy employee is a productive employee and a happy one. Social Role Our social behavior affects our work. This is in regard to introverts and extroverts.An introvert will not easily socialize with people. This affects their performance in a situation that needs teamwork. Teamwork requires all individuals to communicate with each other. If employees cannot work well together, it affects productivity. A company that encourages teamwork experiences higher productivity. Extroverts are aggressive people and some people may try to avoid them. Relationships in the work place affects attitudes and in turn productivity. If employees have a close relationship with each other, employees work well together and their attitudes improve as well.An improvement in attitude improves job productivity and satisfaction. In order to improve this relationship, some organizations encourage team building by dedicating a few days for members to socialize. This is through encouraging games in this sessions or providing projects for them to do. Interaction between employees helps them know each other better and beyond the work place. It improves their relationship and attitude towards each other (Edwards, 2004). Social role also involves the relationship between employees and management. In most organizations, this relationship is usually strictly professional.The only time the two interact is while it involves work. This is a way for the management to ensure that they have an upper hand towards the employees. Th is may lead to employees withdrawing from the management due to fear. Fear affects productivity, as the employee cannot approach the management if he/she is having trouble. They may imagine that the management will see this as a weakness. A good relationship is one where the management associates with its employees openly. Respect is the only thing that needs establishment between the two. This way, it is easy for employees to approach the management.A good relationship will improve employee productivity by improving their attitude and encouraging job satisfaction. Another social factor is competition. This is due to human nature to prove themselves. Employees may compete amongst each other for appraisal or a chance to grab an available higher position. This is a way for productivity to improve. Their attitude will depend on whether the competition is a healthy or an unhealthy one. An unhealthy one will lead to stress (Edwards, 2004). Communication Communication is how information t ransmits between the management and employees or between the employees themselves.Employees need to be free with the management in order to approach them when they are having trouble. Good communication has a positive effect on the employee’s job satisfaction. When all their needs a met, they can easily perform their duties efficiently. This increases job productivity and in turn improves the workers attitude. Communication is also important between employees. Employees need to maintain a good relationship with each other in order to communicate efficiently. Respect is an important factor in communication. In every organization, respect needs to drive how they communicate.A good way to implement communication between management and employees is by planning meetings. These meetings should allow employees to ask questions and express their opinion. Management should ask employees for their input and suggestions in matters concerning them. This will make the employees feel even more part of the organization. It will improve the relationship of everyone in the organization. Good communication leads to a good relationship that in turn improves employee attitude and job productivity (Mitchell). Culture The differences in culture affects people’s attitude.Different cultures have different practice. Some cultures do not allow their employees to work for certain amounts of hours. This may affect an individual if a transfer occurs and they get to a work situation that encourages more working hours. He/she will develop a negative attitude towards work. In some cultures, individuals are risk takers. They enjoy doing things beyond their capabilities. They attain satisfaction both in life and in work. There is no better motivation to improve their job productivity than this. In others, employees are hardworking. Their attitude towards work is usually a positive one (Jackson, 2002).Work environment A positive work environment improves on employee attitude. This depends on other employees, the management and the available resources. If an organization takes care of their employees by providing all needed resources, then their productivity will improve. Job productivity increases a business performance and profits, which in turn ensures that employees receive their salary frequently. When the business performs well then the employees are happy. A good performance in the organization gives the employees a positive attitude that improves their individual performance.As long as the employees are happy and performing, job productivity will increase. Job satisfaction improves employee’s relationships with customers. A good working relationship such as that one will increase on the sales of goods and services. Some company’s offer their employees bonuses especially during the holidays. This acts as an encouragement to the workers and improves their relationship with management. In departments such as sales and marketing, employeeâ⠂¬â„¢s performance can improve if given bonuses or commission when they bring in more sales clients.With this knowledge, the employee’s performance is sure to improve drastically (Edwards, 2004). Conclusion The duty of management and the employee in improving workers attitude is debatable. Some may argue that it is up to the employee to ensure that they attain job satisfaction from their work, as they are the only ones in control of their attitude and performance. It is also possible to say that all the responsibility is entirely the managements. They decide on the nature of the environment in which the employee works.The management holds the power to control employee salary, off time and promotion. External factors such as the environment, social situations, and culture also affect worker attitude and job satisfaction. In my opinion, it is up to both the parties to decide on worker attitude and job satisfaction. If you need professional research paper help you can buy custom papers online at CustomWritings. com – online research paper writing service. Tags: Job Satisfaction research paperresearch paper on Worker AttitudeWorker attitude and job satisfaction essayWorker attitude and job satisfaction term paper

Friday, August 30, 2019

Jextra Neighbourhood Case Analysis Essay

The Jextra Neighborhood case study is an evidence of the growing effort by Multi National Corporations to extend their operational base to take advantage of the increasing benefits associated with globalization. The case highlights the managerial capabilities and style of the Manager, Tom Chong; the cultural variations in the perception of business as an entity and its relationships with society, employee attitude to work ethics, and legal variables governing the operations of international corporations. The Malaysian system poses a socio-ethical dilemma especially with the giving and receipts of bribes by appointed employees as well as the exchange of favors (or request thereof) between government officials and businesses. How Should Tom Chong resolve the issue? Concerning the Mayor of Klang’s request, Chong must first assess his own degree of power and authority implied by his position as Country manager. The appointment of a country manager as part of the organizational hierarchy conforms to the management principle of authorization, which mandates equable authority and power to enable managers carry out assigned duties. Such authorities usually have limitations especially in situations where the action or inaction of the officer will affect corporate commitment financially or otherwise. Due to the value of financial capital involved, and the legality thereof, Chong should refer the request in a memo to his immediate boss with copies to corporate headquarters in line with the principle of communication, which encourages a forward-backward linkages and consultative approach to organizational decision-making processes. Even if the legal implications are favorable, the final decision made with regards to the mayor’s request must take into consideration the various business indices such as the time needed to break-even and recoup investment, potential market size, growth matrix and competitive threat for comparison with larger corporate goals. The original Jextra store plan did not consider the flyover road as a priority, which may help narrow the choice options to the school project. In addition, Malaysia law is silent over business contribution for social programs and there is wide example for the practice. If considered, Jextra could make the school financing process public and  transparent with payment made directly to a body appointed by the city administration that has oversight for contributions and disbursement, and controls for effective accountability. What Should Chong do, about the rumors about the bribery and kickbacks to the category manager (CM)? As the country manager, dealing with the bribery and kickback rumors by the CMs is within Ching’s administrative supervision and jurisdiction. In this case, the CMs are expected to be accountable to him and to carry out their duties according to the laid down procedures as dedicate in the Jextra Code of conduct. Chong should first have a close door meeting with Arif Alam and inform him about the information he has received about the activities of the CMs in general as well as the seriousness of its implications if anything should known. He should then recommit the CMs and all other employees to the Jextra Conduct Code (JCC) by running workshops for the staff. At the conclusion of the workshop, the CMs should make to sign an undertaking that expressly promise their commitment to the JCC. The workshop can made an annual event during which personnel from corporate or regional headquarters could be asked to attend for added importance Suppliers, individuals and organizations that do business with Jextra should also be educated about the Jextra CC from the first time a business relationship is established. Contractual agreement must have a section enforceable at law that details an understanding of the requirement for honest dealings devoid of bribery kickbacks and other corrupt practices to, from or by a Jextra employee during the period of the business relationship. The agreement should also make clear procedures for business engagement and the consequences for a breach including abandon and prosecution. Does the jextra Business Code of conduct help chong in resolving the issue? Jextra’s business conduct code does not seem helpful to the manager, Chong in resolving the bribery and kickback issues at the organization. In the first place, the document is settled in ‘cautions and admonitions’ instead of the inherent force of the law. What is more, there are no meaningful arrangements in the document. Besides, even though the code allows gifts and entertainment of ‘small/minimal’ value to guest and suppliers, there is no definite amount given either by department or rank/title such that, the value herein involved may be subjected to acceptable interpretations and variations from department to department and between individual employees. Such lack of  specificity exposes the manager Chong and limits the options available to him for dealing with personnel/employee conduct because of the likelihood that, employee may see his actions as ‘refer his own measures’ instead of company regulation. Are these the kind of issues that Chong should have anticipated as a country manager? As a manager of an international company, Chong should expect to encounter cultural variations or collisions in business and social relations in Malaysia. Local expectations and company ethical policies do sometime clash during the execution of business objectives. However, managers must advice staff to stick with the tried and tested laid down policies. Managers many recommend a review of policies in the face of strong objective evidence for alternative approaches. Such ethical pursuit may help the company in case of legal suits; solidify the managers observed integrity whiles setting a standard for change.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Relationship Marketing Ryanair

Ryanair was established in the year 1985 by the RYAN family and has grown from a small airline flying a short hop from Waterford to London, into one of the Europe’s largest carriers. The company expanded and within 4 years it had 350 employees, 14 aircraft, and carried 600,000 passengers a year. It is currently serving to 26 European Countries with 148 destinations. It operates on 794 different routes daily serving by more than 1050 flights in a day. It has totally 169 aircrafts running for different routes with 5986number of employees working in it However, Ryanair’s costs rose drastically and it recorded losses of  £20 Million sover four years despite its growth. Although consumers were continuing to fly Ryanair due to its low costs, some type of change was needed in order to revamp the company. Under a new management team, a major overhaul of the airline was undertaken in 1990/91 and it was relaunched as the first of the new breed of ‘Low Frees/no Frills’(Scribd.com(2009)) Company Perspectives: Ryanair is Europe's prominent Low Fares Airline: In 2011 we expect to carry over 6 million passengers across 34 routes. Ryanair have recently added 7 new European routes to our ever expanding network. It is market leader on every course where it competes with Air Lines. Ryanair is convinced that Europe's high-cost and often state-subsidised airlines will be no match for its low cost, no frills formula. Ryanair set to grow by 25% each year, and a US $2 billion order for 45 new aircraft in place, millions of European air travellers will feel the `Ryanair effect' in the years ahead. Literature review: Methodology Validated the dynamic nature of the aviation sector and in particular the evolve nature of ( low cost carrier) LCCs and airport networks this paper can only provide a snap shot at a personal point in time. In their contact with airline operator, airports need transparency and stability involved Ryanair, in the face of severe rivalry from other airports in mainland Europe by submission them a financial package comprising summary landing and handling charge, marketing of the airlines services, office space, pilot place, in addition to payment for employment and education. The issue was therefore one of clearness with the financial incentive seen as a twist of the air transport market. It would come out to be that all â€Å"start-up† deals must be apparent and fair, it may be that in private owned airports maybe more signal to LCCs than those which are publicly own. Benefits to local economy Some publicly own airports have selected to draw LCC with preferential deals in order to challenge to take benefits to the local economy. Whilst such profit may accrue, it can be complex to predict/quantify. For example, the owner of an airport in Southern Europe and the local tourist influence worked together in submission a package of concessions in order to draw a LCC to the airport with the intension of attract tourists to the local economy. As such, the airport paid aeronautical charges, provide a bus link to the town centre and made a financial involvement to advertising the service. It was establish that passengers were with the airport as a transit point on their outside access journey to their holiday objective, leaving only secondary benefit to the local economy and little or no advantage to the airport The 7 P’s of Ryan air marketing: Ryan air is the European low cost airline. Low cost or no frills marketing strategy are of great interest to marketers since the marketing mix employed tends to run in opposition to what makes a large brand – and Ryan air is a great brand and a very popular business. In 2009 the company solve for 30% of its local Irish rival Air Lings after a prolonged takeover bid. Difficult trading disorder meant that Ryanair made its first annual loss in 2008/9. O'Leary put this down secure to rising fuel costs (as did British Airways in the same year). The company also necessary to take into account the burden of purchase its stake in Air Lines. So in reality object are looking good for Ryanair and its budget operation – since the business aimed to fly double the amount of passengers. Ryan air’s marketing mix:- Product or Service. Ryanair has low fares. Low cost, no frills air travel to European destinations. There is no free food or drink onboard. Food and drink are income streams. You buy them onboard, or you do not – take your own food and drink if you like. There are other income streams – or ancillary revenue. The company has bargain with Hertz car rental, and a number of hotel businesses. So Ryanair takes a commission on ‘up selling' i.e. ancillary revenue. Other examples include phone cards and bus tickets. About 16% of profit is made this way. This keeps costs lower. Price 70% of seats are sold at the lowest two fares.30% of seats are charged at higher fares. The last 6% are sold at the highest fare Ryanair sometimes get in trouble with bodies such as the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) in the UK over differences between advertised and actual price – in fairness to Ryanair these are rare mistakes. Place Ryanair does not use travel agent so it does not pay agency commission. It uses directs marketing technique to recruit and retain customers, and to extend products and services to them (i.e. Customer Relationship Management). This reduces costs. You book online over the Internet. This saves them 15% on agency fees. They are base in Stan stead in Essex – which is known as a secondary airport. It is cheaper to fly from Stan stead than either Heathrow or Gatwick, and since it is less occupied Ryanair can turn aircraft around more alert. Many of Ryanair's destination airports are secondary. For example if you fly to Copenhagen (Denmark) you begin in Malmo (Sweden) – although it is only a short coach trip over the border. Secondary airports .depend upon this single carrier – some (it is rumoured) paying up to  £100, 000 for each extra new route. Costs are lower and aircraft can be turned around faster. Promotion Ryanair employ controversy to promote its business. For example in 2009, the company justification that passengers would be charged  £1 to use the toilets on board. O'Leary reasoned that passengers could use the dying at either the destination or arrival airport. This would rapidity things up. Some of their aircraft are decorated in the uniform of advertisers e.g. News of the World, Jaguar and Kilkenny (beer). People Pilots are recruiting when they are young as pilot cadets. They work hard and take early promotion and then move on after 10-years or so to further their careers. Cabin crew pay for their uniform to be clean. They invest in their own training. They are mainly important for passenger safety as well as ancillary revenue onboard. Physical Evidence They pay as little as likely for their aircraft. Plane are the most expensive asset that an airline can make. They get big discount on aircraft because they buy them when other airlines don't want them, for example after September 11th, or on the spoiling of Iraq and Afghanistan. Aircraft manufacturer cannot simply end a supply chain in minutes. If orders are being cancel or delayed, this is when to buy. It was rumoured within the industry that Ryanair was buying Boeing 737s – list price around  £40,000,000 (forty million pounds) – with up to a 50% discount. Process There is no check in. You easily show your passport and supply your reference number. Beyond any distrust, Ryanair is one of the strategic marketing successes of the last decade. Certainly synergized by Michael O'Leary – the low cost strategy that it employ is unusual and industry changing. In many ways the business has looked intimately at all appearance of it markets and operations to remould the industry and customer expectations in a unique way. The determination here in this post was to introduce a company and its assorted strategies for long run business success. Much of these marketing strategies illustrates are very much Ryan air relationships with customers. Customer Affairs & Service Audit (CASA), are two teams that have been set up by the company to track customer satisfaction and complaints. which are recent additions to network of regional offices in UK/Europe. They have covered areas globally and in doing so they have already reviewed an improvement by 50 % when it comes to dealing with customer complaints as they are being dealt with quickly and in local areas to customers. The service audit team check products and services on regular basis for improvements and for assistance in ensuring success they also have a team of mystery shoppers who will report back any suggestions and changes from a customer point of view. Internal and external checks are carried out all departments from customer services to flight staff. All reports are then reviewed and changes are implemented to ensure customers are receiving a high standard of service and communication with the company. Government Technology Interest Rates Culture Exchange Rates Ryanair has been successful in maintain its rapport and relations with customers and different areas of their services such in flight entertainment, food, tourism and overall services. It also been seen that Ryanair has had some problems in customer relations in reference to airport services as they have received complaints with the method airport staff have treat customers with complaints. Though this has been effectively dealt with by internal departments it still highlights problems that are having with external staff. Emirates can implement a training session that is more focused on them to certify that there processes are getting executed in accordance to what the customer first experiences whilst booking online or through an Ryanair Airline. Ryanair Customer Loyalty â€Å"It offers a comprehensive range of CRM and loyalty solutions† It launched several programmes where they had different levels of rewards schemes for both business flyers and annually holiday flyers. The miles collected can be spent in hotels, high street shops, car rental etc .Schemes for those travelling on Ryanair flights were the miles can be used for in-flight services such as games, special meals were also been introduced. This form of loyalty scheme for existing customers can also be a very attractive way of new customer retention as in the long term they will have benefits firm that they spend today. Their loyalty scheme also targets customers from their other sister companies as it isn’t only exclusive to flyers but also to those that consume other services and products from Ryanair Group They offer competitive loyalty schemes for users and update their schemes as they view the changes in the market place. Customer segmentation The evidence is irrefutable. With marketing budgets person squeezed, marketers see improved targeting as critical. That means improved customer segmentation bas on the ability to score customers’ tendency to buy, churn or default – and react accordingly, at speed. Armed with better customer perceptiveness (such as predictive analytics, uplift modelling and data visualization) you can start to engage customers based on deeper and more significant insights, creating system based dynamic customer segments – a segment of one. The latest customer segmentation solutions are intelligent. They are not finite. They are not static. They are based on sound data management values and fed by a faithful stream of information that reflects changes in customer aspirations and circumstances. It means that campaign can be managed dynamically, in real-time to communicate with customers at what we call ‘moments of truth’ – those seminal mome nts when people are most engaged with the brand.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Constitution creates a system that was designed to fail AND the Essay

The Constitution creates a system that was designed to fail AND the existence of a set of fundamental American values - Essay Example It also guaranteed a stronger horizontal separation of power amongst the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, thus improves institutional checks and balances while at the same time granting some autonomy to various government organs (Ellis 49). It also established the Supreme Court that would be the final arbiter in matters of law, therefore improving access to justice and resolving interstate, state-federal as well as well as conflict between the said entities and individuals. To this extent, the constitution was designed to achieve success. Even though the constitution had such praiseworthy aspects, the US creates enormously stronger federal government, with highly nationalized values. Therefore, resources get to be majorly centralized; as such the states become extremely subservient to the federal government (Wood 28).Basically all the prime sectors and taxes are in control of the federal governments. This is a weakness, since it is the states that are closer to the peopl e and therefore stand a better chance to respond faster to the need of the people, in comparison to the federal government (Ellis 49). The congress has on some occasions exercised its legislative power to pass laws that interfere with the processes already running in the states. For instance, in United States v. Morrison, pursuant to its powers under the Commerce Clause and the Fourth Amendment (Section 5), the Congress had enacted a statute, Violence against Women Act (VAWA) which provided civil remedies to gender –based violence victims against their assailants. This was based on argument that such injustices against women hindered their free participation in interstate commerce and thus a remedy was essential. The court struck down a part of this law since the law was not dealing with cases that were economic in nature. The congress had over stretched its powers under the constitution to interfere with state court, by offering a federal filing for such cases. VAWA dealt wi th a social issue (gender violence) and its economic impact on interstate Commerce was indirect and marginal. Similar scenario arose in United States v. Lopez, where the court pointed out that Commercial Clause could only be applied in cases that are directly economic in nature. United States v. Morrison defines the sensitive question of the relationship between the Congressional powers and the State powers, and in particular, the extent to which the congress may limit areas that are traditionally defined as being within the scope of the state. These decisions reveal judicial activisms in favor of state sovereignty at the expense of federalism and to strengthen the state power. The Existence of a Set of Fundamental American Values Values refer to the standards that have consciously or unconsciously set by members of a particular culture or society upon which the desirable and undesirable are distinguished behaviors (Dahrendorf 14). Values therefore form a basis for judging the peopl e and their actions, from a cultural approach, in order to determine whether they are good or bad, valuable or worthless, beautiful or ugly or whether they are prized or shunned. The values have a great role in shaping our actions and behaviour. For quite long, Americans have been known for their set of values, mostly the value of freedom and independence. This is reflected in a number of Constitutional Amendments that puts

The Training Need Analysis Concept Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Training Need Analysis Concept - Assignment Example The concept of Training Need Analysis has been applied successfully in several corporate companies to depict the learning curve of the employee and estimate their potential towards the company. This analysis incorporates the skill specific to the requirement of the company only. Prior to recruitment, the hiring is based upon the credibility, achievements, and merit of the employee irrespective of its relevance to the actual nature of the job. It is after the recruitment when the employees are evaluated against the requirement of the system, and rather their training plan is developed to improve their understanding and knowledge relevant to the actual need of the employer. The question can be raised that what is the point in the recruitment of the individuals who actually have no relevant knowledge and experience; the answer is that the academic institutions have failed to discuss the actual corporate related issues and in some cases the core industrial and corporate related practices are ignored, therefore the training of the job-seekers continue even after the recruitment. Under the post-recruitment phase, the justification provided in favor of the Training Need Analysis system is that this strategy has been able to align the expectations of the employers with the performance of the employees. The Training Need Analysis is the concept of accountability under which the employees are evaluated on a periodic basis to confirm their coherence with the values and working culture of the employer. The development of the company is based upon the talent and ability of the employee, and the concept of Training Need Analysis is the key to enhance the productivity of the company. The employees are considered as the most important asset by the companies, and the Training Need Analysis is the approach through which companies can inspect and verify the potential of their resources. The Training Need Analysis concept is an audit program through which an employer cannot just e valuate but calculate the technical and managerial skills of the employee. I consider this analysis to be quantitative analysis through which the influence and contribution of the employee can be well monitored. The grey areas relevant to the skills of the employee are identified through this approach, and the shortcomings are treated accordingly. The focus of this analysis is limited to the professional skills of the employees. I understand that Training Need Analysis can bridge the gulf between the employer and employee; the expectations of the employer are listed in the skill analysis module. The employees are then regularly monitored against this module, and each skill of the employee is evaluated on a scale.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Depend on the choosen activity and the topic Essay

Depend on the choosen activity and the topic - Essay Example The word ‘learning’ has been defined as â€Å"relatively permanent change in behavior resulting form experience† (Dworetzky, 1994). This essay, therefore, has the purpose of exploring the cognitivist approach of learning by examining its application to a particular learning task. The task chosen is the process of typing the keyboard of a computer. Firstly, an analysis of the types of knowledge required to undertake the chosen activity will be considered and the cognitive theory will be introduced with its main features followed by a discussion of the application of the theory in the process of typing the keyboard of the computer. The strength and weaknesses of the theory will be analyzed after that and the essay will be concluded. There are different steps or processes involved in the act of typing the keyboard of a computer. The person needs to have a plan of what he is going to type; he needs to have appropriate knowledge and skills such as placing the fingers at the right position, the aptitude of typing the material with appropriate speed and accuracy, being seated in a comfortable position in the chair so that he doesn’t strain his back, etc. Declarative knowledge is often described as the content of learning. In other words it caters to the what of the activity being learnt. Knowing a piece of information, that is, a concept, fact, idea or label would be considered to be in this category (Ehren & Gildroy). Knowing the history, characteristics or physical appearance, for example would be included here. Procedural knowledge explains the How of information that tells us rules to follow to accomplish a task (Ehren & Gildroy). In other words, knowing how to perform an action or sequence of actions is procedural knowledge. Conditional knowledge is knowledge about when to use a procedure, skill, or strategy and when not to use it; why a procedure works and under what

Monday, August 26, 2019

Economic Development Project (EDP) Research Paper

Economic Development Project (EDP) - Research Paper Example Due to lack of a single definition of economic development that incorporates all its aspects, it is basically defined in terms of its objectives. As a process, it is understood as an influence on growth with the aim of enhancing the community’s economic good (Ezeala-Harrison, 1996) . Development in the economy incorporates three major areas in any community or country namely; policies that the government undertakes to meet the economy objectives which may include inflation control, employment and having sustainable growth. It also includes programs and policies that are put in place to offer services such as building roads, recreational facilities and provision of medical facilities to the disadvantaged groups in the society. It also takes into account policies and programs that are directed towards improving the business community climate through the right efforts of finance, marketing, business retention, technology transfer and real estate development (Nafziger, 2006). Addi tionally, economic development is often associated with a number of measures which include: an increase in real GNP is an important measure as it indicates the growth development of a country and may be achieved through rapid industrialization. Increase in real per capita income is also an important measure of and usually is indicated by improved standards of living in a particular country. A rise in the general well being of citizens in a particular country is also an important measure of economic development. An increase in the well being of people in normally reflected through an increase in production and consumption of goods and services. Other diverse indicators of economic development in a particular economy may include :increase in income from agricultural activities ,increase in per capital consumption of energy ,increased degree of urbanization and population levels and infant mortality that are not too high (Arndt, 2009). Generally, the main goal of economic development i s therefore the improvement of the economic well being of a community through efforts by the government that maximize on job creation and job retention, taxation structures that favor the quality of life and government incentives to support marginalized groups in the society. Additionally, communities differ in terms of their geographic and the political strengths and weakness thus posing a major difference in their economic development. Each country therefore has a different level of economic development policies, level of economic development and the strengths and weaknesses. In this project I will look at the economic development in Eritrea and Guyana which are develpimg economies (Galbraith, 2004). Relevant characteristics It is an Eastern African country which lies on the Red Sea coastline. Eritrea is bordered by Sudan in West, Ethiopia in South and Djibouti on its South East. Eritrea as a country shares maritime borders with Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Asmara city is found in the North Western side of the Eritrea highlands. Other major cities are Assab, Kerren, Massawa, Afabet, Tessenie, Mendefera , dekemahre and Barentu. Eritrea has a population of six million persons consisting of Tigrinya -55%, Tigre -30% with the remaining being composed of small ethnic groups. Its Afro-Asiatic population is also divided in

Sunday, August 25, 2019

HISTORY ON FILM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HISTORY ON FILM - Essay Example Also implied is the fact that there would be inaccuracies. The first time I viewed Amadeus, and that was eons ago, I was absolutely bedazzled, awed and completely swept off my feet by the gripping story, the cinematography, the elaborate costumes, the art direction, the makeup, the magnificent acting of the two leads F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri and Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and of course the impeccable direction of Milos Forman. But what makes it memorable through the years is the revival of the music of one of the greatest composers the world has ever known and the restaging of his operas. Here, we are treated to a glimpse to some of Mozart’s everlasting operas e.g. The Abduction From The Seraglio, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. This movie gives free lessons on opera and music appreciation. We have to give kudos to Milos Forman, the director and the scriptwriter, Peter Shaffer for faithfully recreating and transporting all of us viewers to 18th century Vienna and Salzburg. This was spe cifically 1769, the time that Mozart displayed to all and sundry glimpses of his immense talent before the arrogant Archbishop of Salzburg and his court to the year 1791, the year of Mozart’s demise and Salieri’s confinement in a mental institution. Both Forman and Shaffer ensured that we, viewers, become a part of the excessive bacchanalian revelries of the aristocrats and people who matter in Austria; the pompous celebration of art, music and culture; that we view the ornate, majestic edifices of the 18th century Austria ruled by the Hapsburg royalty, which at this juncture in time was governed by the highly cultured Emperor Joseph II, the son of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I and the brother of the ill-fated Marie Antoinette of France. We have to note that this is the heyday of the renaissance and thus, there is rebirth of classical art, literature, learning and architecture in Austria. Swept out

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Quaker Oats Company and Snapple Beverage Company Essay

Quaker Oats Company and Snapple Beverage Company - Essay Example The company specialized in the manufacture of beverage, food, and oatmeal products. Management conflicts occurred among the three partners, with Crowell and Stuart being forced out by Schumacher. However, the two returned through a proxy-share war that resulted in the ejection f Schumacher in 1901. It was after this that they changed the name of the company to the Quaker Oats Company. In the process, the company changed its product line to specialize in oat, wheat cereals, corn meal, baby food, animal feeds, corn meal, and hominy. During the late 20th century, the Quaker Oats Company expanded its product-line to include hundreds of beverage and food products such as frozen waffles, pancakes, mixes, crunch breakfast cereals, Aunt Jemima syrup, among others. Since then, the company has expanded its operations to become a multinational organization with branches in over 25 countries across Asia, Europe, and Latin America (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). The Driving Forces behind the Acquisition The acquiring company paired Snapple with its Gatorade plant, thus forming the third leading non-alcoholic beverage producer in North America. The success story of the Snapple Co. was one of the driving forces behind the acquisition plan. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Snapple dominated the media as the darling of the Wall Street. The company’s profit margins had roared for close to a decade, thus drawing interests from other players in the industry.

Friday, August 23, 2019

The implications of the Euro-Zone Crisis and Its Impact on India Essay

The implications of the Euro-Zone Crisis and Its Impact on India Economy - Essay Example India is not part of the Euro-zone but it is a recipient of the crisis as the zone forms its larger market in Europe. We shall look more on the Euro-zone crisis; its genesis, forces behind it and the measures taken to deliver it from total breakdown. We shall also be seeking to understand India’s economy and the economic imbalanced it can be if its market is understood. Lastly we shall conclude with the long term effects of the global economy in India. The Euro-zone is a union composed of 18 member countries that use Euro as a common currency. The countries in the Euro zone compose of Netherlands, Slovakia, Italy, Latvia, Ireland, Luxembourg, France, Finland, Germany, Cyprus, Estonia, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, Greece, Malta and Portugal, (EU publication office 2009, 23). The euro zone is under European central bank that is governed by a president. It also has a board that oversees the working of the bank. The bank is mandated to see that inflation is put under control. There is also the euro group that makes decisions regarding the politics of the union and the euro (Gupta & Gupta 2010, 42). In the late 2000, there was a financial crisis and the Euro group acted by establishing provisions that would allow the group to give emergency loans to member countries in return for endorsement of economic reforms. These helped the member countries to get onto their feet from the high-unanticipated inflation that had taken centre stage in the many countries (Singh 1997, 82). Many countries member of the Euro zone do not use the Euro currency as the main currency in their countries but use it to do business in the Euro zone and European Union at large. There are other countries that are part of the European Union but do not fall under the Euro zone. These countries include; Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City. They use Euro as their currency (European communities 2004, 94) A number of factors caused the Euro zone crisis. These included

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Own Business Essay Example for Free

Own Business Essay If I were to start my own business, the first decision I would make would be in deciding what product or service my company would produce or provide. For example, do I have a greater interest in the area of production or service? In deciding this, I would research the market to determine if there was a need for the product or service I was considering. I would also conduct research to determine what area (s) would be some of the better areas to begin the type of business I plan on undertaking. Things I might consider would be the competition, noticeable need for my product or service in the area and even presenting the idea at a public meeting in the area while evaluating the response I receive. Another key type of decision would be determining the size of the business. Along with determining for example whether the business would be a small business, medium-size or large business, I would need to determine the staffing needs of the business. As Al Coke stated in the book, â€Å"Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan,† â€Å"What are your short-term and long-term staffing requirements? What kinds of skills will be needed at each level, now and in the future? † (Coke, 2002). Along the same line, what types of employees will be needed for the positions. If my company is involved in technology, I would need to hire individuals with training and education in the technology field. Deciding upon which tools and equipment will be needed for the operation of the business I have chosen would be another key decision needed to be made. For example, if I were considering opening a restaurant, I would need to look into the prices, types and sizes of the various commercial cooking equiptment available. One could include the company’s vision and mission statements as key decisions when starting up a company. As stated in Mr. Coke’s own words, â€Å"You must have two stakes in the ground to build a story and a subsequent business plan: vision and mission. One creates passion and the other provides purpose (Coke, 2002, p. 111). There would be different financial decisions to be made. For example, how much will I need or can I afford for start-up costs? What are the long-term capital investment requirements? In writing all of the financial decisions down, a good question to ask would be, â€Å"Do the financial numbers make good business sense? † (Coke, 2002, p. 33) Although the items listed above would just be some of the key decisions I would make when considering starting a business, I would definitely include a written business plan. In the business plan I would include information like that which I have listed above along with statistical information and data that I would use throughout my business inception and into the future.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future Essay Example for Free

Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future Essay Burma is an Asian country that attained its independence on 4th January 1948 and is bordered by China on the North and Thailand on the East. it was referred to as the union of Burma in 1948. On January 4th 1974 it changed its name to the union of Burma and then on 23rd September, 1888 it reverted to the union of Burma. In 1989, then it changed the name again to the union of Myanmar and this was through the efforts by the state law and order restoration council (SLORC). It is a country whose population has had a lot of significance in Burma’s politics. The Burmese government is known as Myanmar and assumed an authoritarian feature that is dominated by a military leader. There have been substantial efforts to switch to a more democratic moves but these efforts have be hampered by the military which is against this move for example in 1990, a parliamentary government was elected but the Burma’s military could not let it to convene. Burma has a population of about 50 million people and has 500,000 troops who have been helping the government to create a regime of fear by denying the citizens most of their basic rights. Some democratic leaders have come up and visualized a viable idea of freeing the people from the torture they get from the government. In 1992 with his party the National League for Democracy, managed to scoop 82 % of all country’s parliamentary seats but the military regime which used dictatorship principles declined to transfer power to the leaders that were democratically elected. For more than ten years later, Aung San Suu kyi was put on house arrest and was released only in 2002. Her release was viewed by many as the only hope to the establishment of Burmese democratic government that would be sensitive to the people’s needs unfortunately in 2003 herself and many of her supporters were killed by a rowdy mob that was sponsored by the government. This conflict between the majority and the minority became evident after Burma achieved independence in 1948. It was at this time that Aung San Suu was given the mandate to control all those areas that traditionally were not controlled by only single community. After 1948 when the Burmese constitution was signed, constitution right have not been exercised on the minorities, they also do not have pieces of land and especially those that formerly belonged to their people. Since the war period, the Burman minorities have been sidelined by the majority who are the Burmese Burma was a British colony from the 1920s and this continued up to 1948. Though the Burma’s heartland was ruled directly by the colonial powers, the surrounding regions were allowed to rule themselves and this led the loyalty to split along the ethnic lines. The dominant ethnic group is the Burmese that comprise of 68 percent of the whole population and minority accounts for the remaining 32 percent. Religion in Burma has played a key role in causing further divisions. There are many religious in Burma for example there are Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. These religious divisions have been aggravating the situations for example in 1991; more than a quarter million Muslims were evicted from their homes. This was exacerbated by the fact that there were many alliances formed. They were forced to cross the border to Bangladesh where they were accepted as refugees by the Bangladesh government but were helped by the international community with the basic needs. Today, the Burmese government is led a prime minister whose regime is greatly accused of displacing thousands of Burmese communities both internally and externally, some community such as Karen, Mon and Kareni were forced to seek refuge in Thailand. Those that are internationally displaced receive a better treatment than those that are internally displaced as the later are mistreated by the military. It is estimated that about 600,000 citizens have been internally displaced and are constantly looking for ways they could avoid slavery. They are used as slaves by this government as many of them are conscripted in the army by force or are left with no other choice except from joining the drug network that is sponsored by the state. There are various movements that have been trying to free the population of Burma from military. Some of these are; the Junta, the Karen National Union and the Moi Tai army though their efforts did not materialize because most of the current military officials are from the community with the majority that oppresses the minorities. So, it is really hard to make any advance but there is one very vibrant group that has mobilized the minorities to participate in a non-violent peaceful demonstration. Led by Buddhist monks, these people protested against the abuse of human rights and matched in groups of more than hundred thousand protestors in the streets. The Head of the State, General Shwe who is also the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is greatly criticized by the United States and the European governments which have imposed various sanctions that are enforced thorough consumer boycotts. The United States of America and the European governments using their influence led other Western nations to stop cooperating with Burma. Though these governments have been relentless in enforcing bans against Burma, some western companies are still cooperating due to some loopholes in sanction application. Most of these are the oil companies. Such as the American oil company and the French oil company. Also Cherron and the Yadana natural gas pipeline that runs from Burma all the way to Thailand is so much in use. There are still Asian businesses that operate in Burma for example the Daewoo Company that invests in extracting resources. The United States government in collaboration with the European governments also imposed sanctions on Burma’s clothing as well western nations to stop sourcing from Burma and more particularly those shops that were either partially or wholly supported by the government. After those peaceful protests, a good number of people stopped getting their products from Burma and these were led by an individual like Levi Strauss who was very vibrant in keeping up with the fight against the government products for example from 1992,many American cloth and shoes companies stopped acquiring their properties from Burma. In 2003, the united government banned Burma’s imports as in accordance with the Burmese freedom and democracy Act that was amended in the year 2003 however, some people have attacked this United States strategy of forcing this government to step down as has led many people to suffer greatly. Despite these critics, the move was supported by the Burmese democratic movement and has supposed by the Burmese democratic movement and has vowed to keep encouraging the western world to impose harder and stricter sanctions against the military government (Smith M. 1991) Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity London and New Jersey. Zed books. The human watches in Burma have highlighted all the crimes against humanity but there is no judiciary to address the problem any such move faces strong opposition from the military government. There is no free communication that is allowed by the Burmese military government in fact no one is allowed to access the internet and the search engines such as Google, G mail, hotmail and yahoo so the Burmese citizens are less informed. What the government has done is that it does not allow these companies to operate in its territory and as such they are blocked. If people have to access materials from the internet, they must first of all be filtered and censored by the military government. They use US filtering soft wares such as the Fortinet to censor emails, web pages and pro-democratic pages. In Burma, child soldiers are forcefully conscripted. They are also forced to punish their fellow military friends by being giving death threats incase they do not as they bare told. Children are conscripted in army by force. These children are promised to be jailed if they do not accept to join the army. Since the military regime usurped power in 1962, after overthrowing sthe democratically elected government, this regime has been one of the worst violators of human rights in the whole universe. The climax reached after the (SLORC) State Law and Order Restoration Council was changed To State Peace And Development Council sometimes back in 1997, November. This party in 1988 seized the states powers established itself and forcefully removed the little pretence that was there that they were upholding the dignity of the citizens and took part in massacring the demonstrates who were demonstrating against the creation of this undemocratic regime. They were marching in the streets of Rangoon and Burmese towns and cities when the military forces descended on them killing thousands. According to the comment that was made by the amnesty international human rights violation and torture were like a Burmese institution and they even listed various forms of abuses that were perpetrated by this corrupt regime. This report was further affirmed by the United Nations and other human rights watchdog. These abuses that they listed were for example torture, murder, litany abuses, forced displacements of citizens, holding or arresting individuals and keeping them in detention houses without trials and various litany abuses. These were the activities that were characteristic of this military regime and citizens have suffered enormously under it. Children were also abused by the military that forcefully conscript them in the army and also the villagers were forced to work for the military. Children are reportedly said to have been raped and defiled by the troops. The military operations that are from time to time conducted in various villages and these led to deterioration of living standards for example this was witnessed in Karen state and Shan state in 2001. This has forced many to be to run away to the neighboring states such as Thailand while those who are unable to move out of the country were internally displaced. The internally displaced and lived in the camps for internally displaced received very harsh treatment by the ruling military regime than those who manage to seek refuge in the neighboring states. The military regime do not in any way follow the internationally agreed freedoms for example the civil and political rights though Burma is a signatory to various international peace accords. Everything that happens in this country must be censored including the exhibitions. There is completely no freedom of expression. Even publications are not spared as they are censored by the government infact it is only sports and romance magazines are not censored. The broadcasting media houses are state owned and the government has the monopoly over them. They only air information that is favorable to them for example you it is common to see junta’s generals making speeches and from these stations and instead they go for less biased information. The SLOPCS has been very determined in curtailing the freedom of speech. Though they try to censor the information given by the public media, there are international ones that give more accurate information and these are what people rely on. These are stations such as the British broadcasting corporation (BBC), the democratic voice of Burma, radio Free Asia and the Voice of America (VOA). Apart from these international radio stations, any other person who goes against this decree risked twenty years imprisonment as per the 1996 decree. These are some of the laws that are enforced by this government without any regard to the international law standards. Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the Burmese Socialism, but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. Burma is a nation that is rich in various natural resources for example the country has precious such as pearls and rubies. The country is also rich in natural gases. In 1962 its economy was performing well when compared to other economies of the developing nations but the socialist party which assumed power later changed the economic status of Burma for example it replaced the capitalism mode of economy with socialism that advocated for central planning as opposed to central planning. Due to this economic change it became one of the poorest developed nations of world. In addition, most overseas development assistance was cut after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic aid further weakened the Burmese economy. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burmas foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Better relations with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the countrys 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of financial services, hampering Burmas ability to obtain foreign exchange. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit outside of government contracts. In Burma the rate of unemployment is very high and the prices of commodities are very high and life standards are very high. According to one businessman said that the situation in Burma was moving from bad to worse and that there was looming danger of social unrest, lectures, professors and pipeline construction workers are poorly paid. Due the constant mass uprising by the democratic movement against this regime, it was rendered bankrupt in 1988 in the onset of the 21st century, it was on the lowest income generating countries in the world but it has greatly reversed this situation because it dropped its economic isolationism. It has also welcomed the foreign investors in its economy so that it would strengthen its military bases. In response to its call, UNOCAL and TOTAL oil companies came to its rescue. In Burma, there are military controlled economic sectors such as Myanmar economic holdings limited and the Myanmar economic corporation that is, UMEH and MEC respectively. These two industries which are controlled by the Burmese military are the ones that dominate the economic sector of Burma. UMEH is geared towards military strengthening while MEC is geared towards shifting the defense cost from the public sector to the private ones but both corporations have a part to play in strengthening the military base of Burma. Though European Union has been imposing economic sanctions to Burma its sanctions are not as stricter as those of the United States. It has invested a lot in Burma and it doesn’t want to lose the much that it has invested. United States has been very keen in reinforcing the bans or sanctions that have been imposed on Burma. The US government particularly has imposed a ban on its investments in this country and has also placed a ban against Burmese exports. Since the bans were proposed, US is the only nation that has implemented them. In the past, the European Union has not been imposing strict sanctions but starting from last year it has increased economic sanctions on precious metals and on imports such as gemstone and timber but they still demand for fresh elections to be held and human rights to be respected. It is only thorough these ways that the country can witness a transition from military rule to a democratic one. It had eased its sanctions basing its reasoning on its above conditions. Japan has been very friendly to Burma. It has never failed to support this military regime though on a small scale. Infact it is one of the major donor in Burma but it is reconsidering its foreign policy on Burma especially after a Japanese journalist was killed. It said that it would cut the aid that Burma gets from it. The other reason for it to withhold its financial aid was in 2003 when San Suu Kyi was kept in detention by the Junta. They believed that was the only best move that would pressurize the military regime to address the democratic principles that have never been allowed to take root in this regime. In 2002,Japan supported Burma’s government with 17 million US dollars on top of that it gave Burma the technical support it needed Japan which was all this time shying away from enforcing sanctions on Burma as the US and UK were doing, it changed its policy after this saga. The British government pressurized the European Union to increase sanctions until san Suu Kyi was realized but it was assured that these sanctions would be eased if Suu Kyi was released. That nation that seems to support Burma or appears or appears or appears to be annually to Burma face violation by the US and UK government and this has occurred to china and North Korea. This is based on misconception that these close friends would be providing economic support to this government that has little regards for its citizens. The United States for example was very bitter because Burmese government suppressed democracy and imposed its will on people and that is why it has imposed sanctions. The heroic stature of Aung San Suu Kyi has greatly helped in making Myanmar to be recognized world wide. China has been blamed for helping this region for its support. The western world cannot sway the Juntas government for this to be effective, then the regional ASEAN countries such as India, Thailand and especially china must first be willing to transform this government. China has been asking Myanmar to quell violence and control protesters but it seems this is falling on deaf ears. China has been helping Burma in international affairs management for example it has been very vibrant in keeping the issue of Burma out of the United Nation’s agenda but the United States and the British governments have been on the other side. Due to many economic sanctions that have been imposed on this regime, it finds it even hard to provide aid to its people who living in poverty. The aid that Burmese gets is below par and is the lowest in the region especially when it compared with that of the local countries for example, an individual’s aid is counted as 2. 5 dollars per head while that of Laos’s stands at 63 US dollars. China has been accused of providing Junta with military aid thus limiting the chances of democracy being realized. It has continued to conduct business relations with. Burma but it is because of some factors that are understandable and some of these are that Burma is rich in useful natural gases that china is interested in again Burma provides China with an overland route to the Indian ocean so Chinese government would not do anything to destroy its relations with Burma. Though there have been calls for better treatment of protestors, they fall on deaf ears. The amnesty international has been pressurizing the United Nations to impose embargos and sanctions on China so that peace in Burma would be realized. This is based on understanding that the Burmese military government relies on china for most of its assistance so, if china was to cut its military aid then, the Burmese government would be unable to control the nation there by creating a platform of peace transition. If the new government would come in place, it would not find it hard to sustain itself even without getting any financial aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that would help the government to finance its entire government projects. The new government should create confidence among its citizens so that they would participate in the economy thereby making the economy of this nation even stronger. This government should also extend its business relations with other nations as many of them do not have those minerals and definitely they would be so much interested in them. Work cited. Altsean-Burma: Alternative Asean Network on Burma campaigns, advocacy and capacity-building for human rights. 2008. Accessed on Wednesday, March, 2008 at http://www. altsean. org/ Andrew S. Burma’s Armed Forces: Power without Glory. Norwalk: East Bridge. 2002; 45-56 Burma net News. Accessed on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at www. burmanet. org BBC News. Analysis: Burmas economic Crisis. 15th March, 2002, 13:47 GMT Accessed at http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/1871326. stm Brookings. Quality, independence and impact. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at www. brookings. edu Donald M. S. Burma-China Relations: Playing with Fire. Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 6, 1997; 533 International Crisis Group. Working To Reduce Crisis World Wide. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at http://www. crisisgroup. org/home/index. cfm Myanmar. com. New Light of Myanmar. April 30, 2008 Accessed on April 30, 2008. At http://www. myanmar. com Philip S. Robertson: Sanctions Are Working in Burma. 2003. Online commentary at www. irrawaddy. org/com/2003/com31. html Accessed on August 2003. Smith M. Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity. London and New Jersey. 1991; 78

The Fast Moving Consumer Goods Information Technology Essay

The Fast Moving Consumer Goods Information Technology Essay FMCG industry, on the other hand called as CPG Consumer packaged goods industry primarily deals with the production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is those consumables which are normally consumed by the consumers at a regular interval. Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing, etc. The industry also betrothed in operations, supply chain, production and general management. FMCG industry provides a wide range of consumables and accordingly the amount of money circulated against FMCG products is also very high. The competition among FMCG manufacturers is also growing and as a result of this, investment in FMCG industry is also increasing, specifically in India, where FMCG industry is regarded as the fourth largest sector with total market size of US$13.1 billion. FMCG Sector in India is estimated to grow 60% by 2010. FMCG industry is regarded as the largest sector in New Zealand which accounts for 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Some common FMCG product categories include food and dairy products, glassware, paper products, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, packaged food products, plastic goods, printing and stationery, household products, photography, drinks etc. and some of the examples of FMCG products are coffee, tea, dry cells, greeting cards, gifts, detergents, tobacco and cigarettes, watches, soaps etc. Some of the well known FMCG companies are Sara Lee, Nestlà ©, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Procter Gamble, LOreal, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Kleenex, General Mills, Pepsi and Mars etc. The purpose of this topic is to investigate the relationship between the factors that affect the outsourcing decisions in FMCG industry of Pakistan. There are higher trends seen in the market for outsourcing in many FMCG companies but still it is reflecting as there are a number of factors which inhibit the FMCG companies to make outsourcing decisions. Outsourcing occurs as a result of intimate acquaintance between subcontractors and managing departments. Outsourcers want to decrease the cost of production and the cost of management by distributing work to avoid other costs such as wages and compensation. However, outsourcing helps society by decreasing unemployment, making the economy grow and decreasing social problems. Outsourcing is also a way to boost the economy and it helps producing industries to survive in the market. However, it is not a guarantee that the producing industries will survive. It is just one of the devices that FMCGs should use in management, but it depends on managerial efficiency in the industries. If FMCGs want to survive in the age of globalization, they have to adopt management techniques suitable for each situation in order to survive in the current industrial climate. Nowadays, macroeconomics and microeconomics have been changing very rapidly, in every region. This situation is forcing all countries in the world to adapt to competition resulting from globalization, including modifying government policies, international relations, free trade area agreements, etc. Changes are also occurring in industrial management, especially organizational management, production management and technology, delivery, and marketing management, in response to both local and international competition. In the competitive environment of manufacturing concerns and evolving technological era, to enhance efficiency and productivity, cost remains a challenge to overall manufacturing industry to compete with rivals in providing the best total lower cost to end customers and to secure the market share in order to add value to the shareholders. To invest heavily in capital investment such as machineries, buildings and land to expand space in supporting the production operation is a burden to most companies if the return of investment is not valuably. Organizations that outsource are seeking to realize benefits or address the following issues: Cost savings The lowering of the overall cost of the service to the business. This will involve reducing the scope, defining quality levels, re-pricing, re-negotiation, and cost re-structuring. Access to lower cost economies through off shoring called labor arbitrage generated by the wage gap between industrialized and developing nations. Focus on Core Business Resources (for example investment, people, and infrastructure) are focused on developing the core business. For example often organizations outsource their IT support to specialized IT services companies. Cost restructuring   Operating leverage  is a measure that compares fixed costs to variable costs. Outsourcing changes the balance of this ratio by offering a move from fixed to variable cost and also by making variable costs more predictable. Improve quality Achieve a steep change in quality through contracting out the service with a new service level agreement. Knowledge Access to intellectual property and wider experience and knowledge. Contract Services will be provided to a legally binding contract with financial penalties and legal redress. This is not the case with internal services. Operational expertise Access to operational best practice that would be too difficult or time consuming to develop in-house. Access to talent Access to a larger talent pool and a sustainable source of skills, in particular in science and engineering. Capacity management An improved method of capacity management of services and technology where the risk in providing the excess capacity is borne by the supplier. Catalyst for change An organization can use an outsourcing agreement as a catalyst for major step change that cannot be achieved alone. The outsourcer becomes a  Change agent  in the process. Enhance capacity for innovation Companies increasingly use external knowledge service providers to supplement limited in-house capacity for product innovation. Reduce time to market The acceleration of the development or production of a product through the additional capability brought by the supplier. Co modification The trend of standardizing business processes, IT Services, and application services which enable to buy at the right price, allows businesses access to services which were only available to large corporations. Risk management An approach to  risk management  for some types of risks is to partner with an outsourcer who is better able to provide the mitigation. Venture Capital Some countries match government funds venture capital with private  venture capital  for start-ups that start businesses in their country. Tax Benefit Countries offer tax incentives to move manufacturing operations to counter high corporate taxes within another country. Scalability The outsourced company will usually be prepared to manage a temporary or permanent increase or decrease in production. Creating leisure time Individuals may wish to outsource their work in order to optimize their work-leisure balance. FMCG Industry and Outsourcing Companies that were struggling to increase the capacity to support the ramp up demand at times were upset when there was a drastic downturn of demand cut. As a result, the sudden downturn would affect the resources and investment that were put into supporting the end customers demand. Team of human resources and machineries that consumed production space and being idled would increase the overhead and fixed cost, thus affecting the companies badly in their financial statements. In addition, training and development to up skill internal resource skills set in terms of running the operation effectively, bringing up technical content expert, specialist ability to perform research and development to add value, effective management and maintaining the operation would require significant investment in human resources. Thus, most of the companies started to explore opportunities to reduce cost and to improve profit margin in order to maintain competitive edge in the market. One of the identified opportunities was to outsource non-core business functions to external service providers at a lower operating cost. Outsourcing decisions are those strategic decisions that change the operating strategy of an organization both in manufacturing and services. The most important step in any outsourcing decision is to clearly define the scope of the activities that are being considered for outsourcing versus previously in sourced. Outsourcing becomes a basic strategy of the FMCG industry and is essential for FMCG firms to stay competitive in the global environment. From firms perspective, outsourcing offers several advantages, such as reducing or stabilizing overhead costs, gaining cost advantage over the competition, concentrating on core activities and organizational specializations, providing flexibility in response to changing market conditions, and reducing investment in high technology based manufacturing organizations. Through 2004 onward business growth strategy changes and business growth was restored as the first priority for most worldwide businesses, making cost reduction the second or third priority. Ensuring business growth as well as business process speed, agility and cost reduction requires a unique mix of internal and external capabilities, skills, services and processes. Only a business-driven sourcing strategy supported by good-enough sourcing execution capabilities will guarantee successful business outcomes as well as improved performance and competitiveness. Lack of an outsourcing strategy or relevant skills and processes to manage outsourcing relationships is the most important reason for the failure of service and manufacturing industry. Global competition, increasing regulation and inspection, the development of specific standards and the industrialization of services will raise the competitive bar for the FMCGs services and business processes, making it compulsory for the FMCGs to work on their core business in source let the others do their job for you. By competing on core competencies and outsourcing non-core areas, FMCG companies achieve consistently higher performance over the globe in all fields especially manufacturing and supply chains through consistent focusing and tracking their Key performance indicators. For any of the company to make decision for in source or outsource, its the company strategic decision which will make the basis for the whole in source or outsource process. For making any decision, decision maker will consider the following perspective in their mind or they must have good answers for these questions. Determine what your company needs to or should do best strategy driven long-term positioning Determine how best to do things profit driven short to intermediate term competitiveness INSOURCING/ OUTSOURCING STRATEGIC DECISION KEY STEPS IN SERVICE BASE INDUSTRY An executive level cross-functional decision-making process identifies core competencies and areas for internal investment. The level of internal control required by the companies and prospective direction for operational insource/ outsource decisions are identified and analyzed based on strategic value and relative competitiveness of the company in the market. Document complete strategic decision making process and the implementation process for the strategic decision being made as it provides closed-loop assessment for continuous improvement of the decision in the long run. Align the implementation strategies, processes and Key performance indicators with criteria and assumptions used in strategy formulation or development and in sourcing /outsourcing decision process. STANDARDIZED OUTSOURCING PROCESS FLOW IN FMCG INDUSTRY Stage Key Activities Rough Timeline BU Role COE Role Opportunity Consideration Align on business need gain mgmt commitment to evaluate options Identify options to consider (e.g., internal cost savings, consolidation, off-shoring, outsourcing) Perform Options Analysis / Size of Prize (not detailed financial analysis) If potential for outsourcing, contact outsourcing COE for support NA PR PR PR PR C C Evaluation Team Kick-Off Establish small team to perform preliminary evaluation of outsourcing (Project Mgr/Business Mgr, Deal Mgr, Purchases Mgr, FA Mgr, HR Mgr, External Rel.) 1-2 wks PR C Initiate Evaluation Project Agree on top-line preferred deal parameters with OS COE (e.g., general scope boundaries, sell all vs. partial assets) Develop Keep Price Analysis using the CBA model (COE website) Develop preliminary project success criteria Develop preliminary project process, timing and critical path Consider advisory needs (e.g. external consultants, legal support) Consider need for employee communication pre-market evaluation activity Confirm business management alignment support to evaluate the option 1-4 wks SR SR SR SR C SR PR SR SR SR SR PR SR C Market Evaluation/Discovery Analyze market and identify potential suppliers (e.g., market position, capabilities, potential for savings monetization) Develop supplier materials (cold call message operation review presentation) Meet with suppliers (generally worth meeting w/up to 10 or so if available) Evaluate findings of visits and determine potential for outsourcing RFI may go out as part of typical assessment activity 4-8 wks PR PR C SR C C PR SR Decision to Pursue Outsourcing Refine project objectives, scope, etc. (w/knowledge of market evaluation) Prepare recommendation to pursue outsourcing Gain management approval per Decision Authority PRIOR to RFP Determine the small group of suppliers to be engaged in an RFP (3-4 ideally) Execute CDAs with these suppliers Expand project team (RFP leader, Legal, Administrative support, etc) Develop communication plan communicate to employees if not yet been done Base Case Financials 2-3 wks PR PR PR SR PR PR C C C SR PR C C RFP Development Draft and gain approval to RFP Develop RFP timeline (release date, supplier engagements, site visits, submittal date) Release RFP and instructions to suppliers 4-6 wks PR C PR TPO PR TPO RFP Process Execution Perform step-by-step RFP completion process w/suppliers (e.g., RFP review session, electronic QA cycle, preliminary solution review) Receive review bids, and execute formal solution walk-thru process Get revised bids and perform evaluation (operational, HR, financial) 4-8 wks SR SR SR SR SR SR Downs elect Process Develop recommendation to down select to 1 or 2 suppliers (keep 2 suppliers ideally to maintain competitive environment) Get management agreement 1-2 wks PR PR C C Due Diligence Conduct due diligence as required (us on suppliers; suppliers on us) 1-2 wks PR TPO Final Bids Provides suppliers with draft contract Request Best Final Offers (if appropriate) 1-2 wks C C PR PR Negotiations and Contract Signing Negotiate detailed price and contract terms (w/2 suppliers as long as possible) Align on final down select Get management approval Finalize internal and external communication plans (with External Relations) Sign contract and execute related communications 4-6 wks C PR PR PR PR PR C TPO C C Transition and Closing Put full transition team in place Execute required transition steps (including road shows, job offers, etc) Develop and execute companion agreements in other countries Execute closing Prepare deal files 4-12 wks PR PR SR PR SR PR PR Primarily Responsible Total Time Required* SR Shared Responsibility 5 10 months (ex Transition) C Contributor 6 12 months (w/Transition) TPO Technical Process Oversight * will vary based on project scope Problem Statement The rapidly changing global industrial environment, cost of working capital, research and innovation, releasing key internal resources, concentrating on Core business functions, obtaining better organizational form has significant impact on outsourcing decision making in FMCG industry of Pakistan. Hypothesis H1: Outsourcing activities are increasing day by day in FMCG Industry of Pakistan. H2: FMCG industries are Outsourcing in all areas of their business not only manufacturing operation. H3: FMCG industries are Outsourcing to reduce Operating cost. H4: FMCG Industries are outsourcing to increase concentration on their core business. H5: FMCG Industries are outsourcing to Improve Quality of Services. H6: FMCG Industries are outsourcing to Acquire Specialized expertise and knowledge H7: FMCG industries are focusing on Selective Outsourcing. H8: FMCG industries have midterm Outsourcing contracts. H9: FMCG industries make Outsourcing contracts with good reputable companies. H10: FMCG industries make Outsourcing contracts with companies that produce at lower cost. H11: FMCG industries make Outsourcing contracts with companies that have advance technology and management experience. H12: Losing control of the certain business is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H13: Increasing dependence with outsourcers is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H14: Difficult to bring in source after conflicts is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H15: Disclosure of commercial secrets is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. H16: Conflict of Interest with outsourcing partner is the major concern in FMCG industries to make Outsourcing contracts. Outline of the Study The research structure based on five chapters as follows: Introduction about the Outsourcing and FMCG industry. The literature review had provided theoretical background of the research and cites author had previously researched on the topic of factors affecting outsourcing decision The research methods chapter included method of data collection, statistical technique and hypothesis development. The results chapter had included findings and interpretation of the results. The conclusion, discussions, implications and recommendation section provided the final logical analysis. Definitions Outsourcing Outsourcing is an agreement in which any task; operation, job or process that could be performed by employees within an organization, but is instead contracted to a third party for a significant period of time-one Company provides services for another company that could also be or usually have been provided in-house. FMCGs   It is an acronym for  Fast Moving Consumer Goods. It is defined as fast selling, low unit value  consumer products  normally in universal  demand. It includes categories like foods, soft  drinks, toiletries, cosmetics and other non-durables. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Most of the companies that were struggling to increase the capacity to support the ramp up demand at times were upset when there was a drastic downturn of demand cut. As a result, the sudden downturn would affect the resources and investment that were put into supporting the end customers demand. Team of human resources and machineries that consumed production space and being idled would increase the overhead and fixed cost, thus affecting the companies badly in their financial statements. In addition, training and development to up skill internal resource skills set in terms of running the operation effectively, bringing up technical content expert, specialist ability to perform research and development to add value, effective management and maintaining the operation would require significant investment in human resources (David Mackey and Kaye Thorne, 2003). Thus, most of the companies started to explore opportunities to reduce cost and to improve profit margin in order to maintain competitive edge in the market. One of the identified opportunities was to outsource non-core business functions to external service providers at a lower operating cost. Outsourcing decisions are those strategic decisions that change the operations strategy of an organization both in manufacturing and services. The most important step in any outsourcing decision is to clearly define the scope of the operations that are being considered for outsourcing (Cook, Mary, F. and Gildner, Scoot B. 2008). Human resource professionals throughout the world are being asked to do more or less, to enhance productivity while controlling costs and to find out new ways to increase profitability. (Uddin, Gazi, M. 2005). Outsourcing is not a new notion. For decades, jobs have been migrated from other part of the countries namely American and European countries as well as other overseas countries to global service providers primarily India, China, Singapore and Malaysia due to lower operating cost. According to Cynthia A. Kroll (2004), a regional economist from University of California Berkeley, the recent wave of outsourcing affected a different mix of jobs, at different wage levels. It was not confined only to a small set of industries but cut across all industrial sectors in new geographic area rapidly (Cynthia A. Kroll, 2004). William P. DiMartini (2005), Senior Vice President at SunGard Availability Services said businesses in all industry segments found that limited internal resources would make outsourcing an attractive, cost-effective and prudent option that would allow them to focus on their core competencies (AccountingWEB.com, 2005). Demand for outsourcing is a result of demand for organizational products by the target audience. On the basis of organizational estimate of total turnover, practicing managers can attempt to establish the nature and type of outsourcing required to that esteemed goal (Uddin, Gazi M. 2005). Outsourcing advantages to name a few include lower operating cost, improve competitiveness, low in capital investment, shift resources to focus on core functions, generate demand for new growth and market segment, access to world class capability, sharing risks and make capital funds available for core business investment. Bangladesh is a least developed country, basically an agrarian economy, having around 24 million acres of cultivated land, employing about 14.5 million cultivators. Manufacturing industries have grown around Dhaka and Chittagong based on agriculture input of jute, cotton, chemical and gas based industries. Industrial production growth has averaged more than 6% over the last 5 years. The export sector has been the engine of industrial growth, with ready-made garments leading the way, having grown at an average of 30% over the last 5 years. Primary products constitute less than 10 percent of the countrys exports; the bulk of exports are manufactured/processed products, ready-made garments and knit wears in particular. (www.euroitx.com) There are many manufacturing concerns in Bangladesh that are looking into outsourcing opportunity to reduce cost and to overcome the internal limitations and achieve lower cost of operation. The country is now moving towards industry based economy from the agro-based one. Hence, this study was an attempt to access determinants influencing the outsourcing decision and to research the manufacturing concern in Bangladesh on how well the factors would influence the manufacturing industry in Bangladesh to outsource certain function of their business areas to external service providers. The study also aimed at finding out the influencing factors that influenced the companies in outsourcing decision and helped the companies to overcome the internal limitation barriers. In the early 1980s, outsourcing typically referred to the situation while organizations expanded their purchases of manufactured physical inputs, like car companies that purchased window cranks and seat fabrics from outside the firm rather than making them inside. Nowadays, outsourcing took on a different meaning. Presently it refers to a specific segment of the growing international trade. This segment consists of arms-length, or what Bhagvati (1984) called long-distance purchase of services abroad, principally, but not necessarily, via electronic mediums such as the telephone, fax and the Internet. Outsourcing can happen both though transactions by firms, like phone call centers staffed in Bangalore to sen7e customers in New York and X-rays transmitted digitally from Boston to be read in Bombay, or with direct consumption purchases by individuals, like when someone hires an offshore firm to provide plans for redesigning or redecorating a living room (Bhagwati, J. et al. 2004) In an era of rapid technological change and short product life cycles, companies were trying to reduce cost and maintain quality at the same time which implied that companies would need to specialize in what they did best and de-emphasize management attention from business processes that did not directly impact the business. Outsourcing was a means to partner with service providers so they could handle specific business processes better, faster and at a lower operating cost (V. Krishna Polineni, 2001). It was defined as the transferring one or more internal functions of an organization to an external service providers. According to the analyst Dean Davison, the outsourcing was growing about 20 percent to 25 percent per annum (Dean Davison, 2006). Outsourcing has become an alternative, which all major corporations must consider in order to remain competitive. It helped to increase efficiency, improve service quality, accountability, values, decreased headcounts and cash infusion and gain access to world class capability and sharing risk (The Outsourcing Institute, 2006). One of the primary advantages of outsourcing arises quickly from the reduction of overheads. This might give rise to an immediate, and possibly one-off, advantage in terms of the avoidance of future or recurrent capital outlay, and the savings in office space and equipment provisions if these could be released during the outsourcing decision. There was clearly a staff cost reduction possible here, and this could be the predominant element in directly-attributable, ongoing cost savings. The spin-off from this might benefit the business support services department where the outsourcing was partial, and could be especially useful where the capital cost was high and recurrent, particularly if there was uncertainty about the future costs of maintaining effective and competitive business support. It was an investment risk transfer, in other words. Where outsourcing is total, the benefit was accrued directly by the core business it translated to a capital injection to the customers busines s. This was one of the major driving reasons of the outsourcing of IT provision in the early 1990s generally agreed as having been led in 1989 by Kodak, which outsourced all of its IT operations to IBM (Jonathan Reuvid and John Hinks, 2001). This could also confer a great deal of flexibility on the company. For a centralized organization which was providing a range of its support services from its own personnel and offices, the move to outsourcing could allow a downsizing of the property commitments. Consider the impact on the organizational infrastructure requirements of a change to outsourcing IT provision, payroll and credit processing, pensions, catering, recruitment, training, Human Resource Management (HRM), cleaning, security, lettings, software development, estates and building management. It could also confer direct scope for downsizing or increased options for organizational re-structuring through property and HRM flexibility. The transfer of a non-core service provision to a variable cost would allow economies of scale to be passed on from the supplier, and also would mean that incremental changes in the process capacity of the customer (upwards or downwards) could be covered at proportional rather than quantum cost changes. Where scope to vary the scale of the contracted supply was agreed, this has allowed the business organization to make maximum use of its marginal capital for core process change rather than non-core process support change. This could allow decreased time to market for new products or processes, and also increased scope for changes. Outsourcing solutions can provide an excellent chance to get the company service provision out of a rut and, if properly managed, to stimulate new solutions to problems from the mixing of different approaches. A noticeable feature of the global economy is the enhancing international products. Robert Feenstra (1998) describes the remarkable international specialization in the manufacturing products. For example, the raw materials of manufacturing products like Barbie dolls (plastic and hair) are obtained from Taiwan and Japan. Assembly used to be done in those countries as well as to lower cost locations like Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. The growth in international specialization can also be observed in aggregate statistics. William Zeile and Gorden Hanson et al (2003) document the importance of trade within multinational firms. David Hummels et al. (2003) show that trade in intermediate inputs has grown faster than trade in finished products. While the globalization of production may yield important productivity benefits, there is a widespread view that it has also adversely affected low skilled workers. There are frequent media reports on how low-skilled labors in the firs t world countries are hurt when manufacturing jobs are relocated in the US and in many other countries have picked up on this theme to push for greater restrictions on trade with developing countries. Yet, despite its prominence in the public debate, there is little systematic evidence of the extent to which low-skilled workers are harmed by outsourcing to poor countries (Hsieh, Chang T. and Woo, Keong T., 2005). Outsourcing has existed in the USA for over 30 years particularly the business pr