Friday, November 29, 2019

The Portman Hotel †Case Study Essay Example For Students

The Portman Hotel – Case Study Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Portman Hotel was built with the intent of being a 5 star hotel that provided superior service to its guests. This superior service centered around a business plan that was based on Asian standards of hospitality. The Portman Hotel executives were committed to keeping both their guest and employees happy. The vision that would separate The Portman from the competition was â€Å"personal valets† (PVs). These PVs were responsible to every need of a guest. This included everything from cleaning and restocking the rooms, to more personalized services like pressing the guest’s clothes, preparing the guest’s drinks, or drawing a guest’s bath. As long the requests from the guests were legal and moral it was the PVs obligation to meet the request. The first year of operations at The Portman was difficult. The hotel had committed to hiring top quality people by utilizing SRI, a recruiting and development firm. However, there was only a two week orientation and training period for new employees. We will write a custom essay on The Portman Hotel – Case Study specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The staff was originally designed to be very flat structurally, thereby eliminating many levels of hierarchical management and overhead costs. The hotel also did not have a solid plan at the operating (PV) level for all of the day to day functions. Due to the lack of training and no standard operating procedures, many employees were confused and frustrated daily. Over the course of ten months the hotel had attempted several different ways to eliminate chaos, confusion, and distrust among the PVs. Toward the end of the year the hotel occupancy began to rapidly increase causing management to rapidly hire more PVs. The rapid hiring resulted in compromising on hiring the best personnel for the positions and a further reduced capability to adequately train the new employees. As the Portman Hotel experiences higher than expected occupancy it must find a system to engage the personal valets in order to provide to the hotel guests the level of service required of the Portman Hotel. While they have struggled in the past, the PV’s that remain with the hotel still believe and are committed to the hotel’s mission. The Portman must use that commitment to engage the new recruits and design a performance management system that will sustain engaged PV’s at the Portman. In order to engage the employees the Portman must be dedicated to a performance management system. This cannot be the â€Å"system of the month† that simply creates hype for a time and then fades away, as they experienced with the 5-Star system. The hotel must set goals, monitor and evaluate these goals, provide feedback and create a reward and recognition program. (Krasner, 244). With the introduction of the 5-Star Program, the Portman relied on the PV’s to participate in the problem solving for the hotel. The Portman should again rely on the employees with the establishment of a performance management system by using a Management by Objectives system. This type of system would incorporate participation from the employees for decision making, goal setting and objective feedback (Kreitner, 246). This program should begin with the strategic plan of the hotel and then set goals for employees that will align with the hotels organizational objective. These goals should be set using the SMART method (Kreitner, 248). Once the goals are set, management must get commitment from the staff that they believe these goals are attainable and that they believe in why they are pursuing these goals. If the Portman uses staff to set these goals, commitment will be easier to obtain, than if they are just sent down from the top. .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b , .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .postImageUrl , .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b , .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:hover , .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:visited , .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:active { border:0!important; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:active , .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u0f361d888b3dafa917ee0a01f6af288b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Dr. Faustus EssayAnd finally their hotel must provide feedback from the measurement of these goals. Feedback has to include both reward and accountability to be successful. To set a clear direction, Scott should implement the team caption concept. With the team captain, the personal valets would have immediate contact with a supervisor who would have the training and understanding of the job requirements to provide an appropriate answer that will continue to motivate the employees and keep the customers happy (i. e. , keep the tips to the employees flowing). Although the team captain would lead to higher costs and another level in the hierarchy, the communication that could be provided to the personal valets will be invaluable because the increased communication will help alleviate the turnover and lead to a more quality experience for the customers (which in the service industry leads to additional stays/word of mouth referrals/increased occupancy rates). The new level in the hierarchy would be crucial in creating a training plan for new and existing personal valets o that the quality standard Portman is committed to have will be fulfilled. Portman should look at what they want the customers to take away from their stay at the hotel. The job structure for the personal valet’s should be structured so that the customer experience is the focus. The happier the customers are with their experience at the hotel, the larger the tips for the employees will be as well as there would be return business and referrals. Another suggestion for change in the Portman Hotel Company involves the Personal Valet’s (PV) job tasks. The organizational vision of Portman is superior customer service. The PV’s primary goal is to provide that service by any means necessary. However, they are also responsible for cleaning duties. From the case: â€Å"Aside from the these butler-like tasks, the PVs also had to clean the rooms, perform minor maintenance, restock the rooms’ mini-bars, paint, clean the hallway and move out the room service tray. † These duties are time consuming and do not contribute to guest service. They break the results oriented portion of an organization’s SMART goals. An alternative to this situation is to contract out the housekeeping, cleaning, and laundry functions to an independent firm. The benefits to this strategy are numerous. First, the removal of the cleaning duties from the PV’s job responsibilities allows for more time to be committed to the ultimate goal of customer service. Second, the cost of hiring a contract firm could be offset by the reduction in the number of required PVs, leading to increased salaries for the remaining PVs. Besides, the money saved on PV salaries, Portman would also be saving money on the extra benefits provided to associates. These benefits include long-term disability, retirement plans, reimbursements for outside courses, parties, and cafeteria access. A potential problem with this plan could be a decrease in the quality of the cleaning and maintenance tasks. Portman management would need to be diligent in monitoring the quality of service the contracted firm provided. Also, a decrease in the size of the PV staff could lead to decreased employee morale. Ultimately, limiting the scope of the PV’s job tasks to those functions directly related to customer service will lead to a more narrow focus on the organizational vision. Employees will benefit from having clearer expectations and Portman management will have fewer employees to oversee and fewer tasks to monitor. Increasing communication between management and the employees is essential for employees to have good relationships between themselves and their superiors. Clark Wilson created a skills profile that noted eleven skills exhibited by an effective manager. The eleven skills create a cycle with human interaction at all times. With the Portman hotel, there was very little communication flow from the employees to management or from management to employees. There was also a missing communication link with the customers of the Portman Hotel. The customers were unaware of how the personal valet concept worked. Leaving the customers uninformed led to the personal valets not receiving the amount of tips that they had been led to believe that they would receive when the program began and the low occupancy of the hotel also led to the low tip pay for the personal valets. .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b , .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .postImageUrl , .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b , .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:hover , .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:visited , .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:active { border:0!important; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:active , .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uba5532e40149044f1300256db9311c6b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Behaviors and Theories EssayThe personal valets were also dissatisfied with the job content of their positions. In addition, motivating jobs can be designed around intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. When a person derives intrinsic rewards from a job, the person derives motivation and creativity. At Portman Hotel, the meaningfulness reward would be met by the management helping the employees identify how their work falls in line with the organizational vision. The choice reward would be met by management empowering employees and delegating responsibilities meaningful assignments. The competence reward would be met by ensuring employees have the knowledge to complete their job and that any deficiencies would be handled through training and mentoring. The progress reward would be met by monitoring and rewarding others. Management should be prepared to provide training to the employees so that the employees can meet goals that the employees set. Besides, Portman could implement job rotation, job enlargement (more variety), and job enrichment among the personal valets. This motivational approach to job design attempts to improve job satisfaction as well as some behavioral aspects (Kreitner, 230). Hence, Portman will have higher motivation, better performance from employees, higher satisfaction from employees and lower absenteeism and turnover. In conclusion, there are several ranging ways to improve the use of PV’s at the Portman Hotel. The overall conclusion is that setting clear-cut goals for the employees as well as defining ways to reward and motivate will enhance the use of PV’s to generate the end desire from the hotel management. With the appropriate utilization of these theories the hotel will be able to establish a PV program that falls in line with the reasons the original ideas was created.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Leonardo Da Vinci2 essays

Leonardo Da Vinci2 essays Leonardo da Vinci is probably the most famous complex artist of the Renaissance and perhaps all time. But what many people dont know is that he wasnt just a genius in art he also excelled in sculpting, architecture and he was also an inventor. Leonardo was born in a small stone house on April 15, 1452. Leonardo started off interesting from the way he was conceived to what happened to his grave after he died. He was born an illegitimate child in the small town of Vinci. We dont know much of anything about his mother accept her name was Caterina and in town history she was known to be a barmaid. On the other hand we know much about his father. His fathers name was Piero da Vinci, he was in his mid twenties when Leonardo was born and he worked as a lawyer in the small town of Vinci and later moved to Florence where he became a very accomplished lawyer. Piero was a man who seemed to have bad luck because he had four wives and three of them died. He wasnt the nicest guy either because he wasnt going to take Leonardo in until he found out his new 16 year old wife was barren and then he did because he wanted a child. While Leonardo was growing up his father noticed his artistic talent and at the age of 15 his father too k him to Florence to an art studio where he worked under Giorgio Vasari. Vasari wrote much about Leonardo after his death. He wrote that Leonardo had "a spirit and courage invariably royal and magnanimous"(The World of Leonardo, pg12) and he "could sing and improvise divinely"(The World of Leonardo, pg12). In Vasaris biography you can tell that he had much respect for Leonardo he pictures him as a happy young man that was a singer, flute player, and could converse for hours. Leonardo was entered into the painters guild shortly after his apprenticeship and started painting. Its weird though that Leonardo is known so much for his painting when he painted just over a dozen of ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Review of the religion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Review of the religion article - Essay Example This is very evident with this line â€Å"â€Å"Maybe they should just ask themselves, ‘What would Jesus do?’ I think he’d bake the cake.† This was supported by the fact that Jesus advocated love for all. And that he socialized with those temple priests would condemn and healed the â€Å"unclean† lepers. This portion of the article is a subtle argument that Jesus will likely socialize with today’s â€Å"unclean† people, those who are condemn by temple priests such as gays who are condemn by society’s self-righteous people. The article may have discussed a theological topic but it was also practical as well. It acknowledged that not everyone thinks the same way and that everyone is entitled to their opinion. Applying to the issue against gay marriages, everyone is entitled to their opinion of disagreeing but they cannot impose this dissenting opinion by refusing gay couples. Christ most likely will bake the cake for them so why will a businessman won’t

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

How Could Leader Be Ethical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How Could Leader Be Ethical - Essay Example The best leaders are the ones who have a well understanding of ethical behavior and values, and exhibit them fully, day to day, in their words and actions during their leadership. Therefore, ethical leadership is important as this is what differentiates between a capable leader and an incompetent one. But what exactly is ethical leadership? Most of us simple define it as ‘being led by a leader with good character’. But in reality, there is more to it than just that. The respect for values, a strong character, ability to listen, understand, mentor and navigate along with integrity and courage are just some of the basic qualities a leader should possess (Ciulla, 2007). Only then can he set an example for others to follow and seek guidance from. The most essential job for a good leader is to develop the atmosphere of trust and understanding among his people. Workplaces lacking trust face huge difficulties in working in a peaceful and coordinated environment. Trust can only be created if the leaders stick to the promises they make with their people. Dr. Duane C. Tway calls trust a ‘construct’, because it can take years, possible ages, to build but a minute to shatter (Ciulla, 1998). Therefore, even a minor conflict, element of hypocrisy or breaking of promises will result in the development of mistrust among the people and thus, cause productivity to suffer. Leaders can narrate morally rich, success stories to their followers but true ethical leaders live by their words and lead by self examples. This indeed is no ordinary job in today’s cruel world of business tycoons and political turmoil. So often, we have heard sky banging claims of leaders making promises to their electorates in the election campaign. However, their balloons get flat when they get to the throne – non ethical behavior. Likewise, CEOs in any organization are public figures, under close supervision of their subordinates (Ciulla, 2007). Every word uttered mu st be fulfilled, failing which their trust worthy model and front leading role will be destroyed forever. To judge the ethics of leaders, it is important that we analyze the circumstances in which they have to work. Leaders, strictly speaking, are part and parcel of their organization management taken as decision and policy makers. Thus, they must have a broad vision, sense of purpose and the ability to judge things beforehand. This allows them to navigate and guide their people through the hurdles and emerge at the end, successful and prosperous. But, it is to be noted here that guiding does not mean regarding them as followers, and are to be dictated. Rather, a good leader must understand that they and their people all have a mutual vision and purpose, and therefore, must aspire to develop a feeling of consensus among the workplace (Ciulla, 1998). Concurrently, a successful leader must keep both ends of communication channel open and available round the clock. Sharing different vi ews, opinions and values with colleagues and subordinates does enhance the understanding of common goals set for all. This way, a leader raises the ethical standards far above the individual’s level to higher organization level. Everyone feels loyal to the company, an unfathomable trust that is not deterred by change of faces. Our history is full of successful leaders who are known as the icons of ethical values for their followers. Roger Enrico,

Monday, November 18, 2019

Scholarly Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scholarly Analysis - Essay Example The communication can be considered as an objective instead of a natural phenomenon specifically for example within the human society. This can be attributed to the fact that although people communicate and talk to each other, the understanding the behavior and the implicit working of the human mind is one of the most challenging field of study (Bauch, 2001). The communication between the different systems and the parts within a system can be considered as an important concept of the system theory (Bauch, 2001). When Abby failed to communicate with the people around and present normal behavior, it can be considered as a failure to achieve the main objectives of the system One of the concepts of the system theory is the connectivity or the internal cohesiveness of a particular system. One of the applications of the said concept is within the family which can be considered as an important system on its own (Miller, 1965; Napier and Whitaker, 1980). In the case of Abby, she can be perceived to have a strong connection with her older sister. This can be attributed to different factors such as gender and sharing similar interests and even space (having the same room). The death of the elder sister can be considered to have an effect to the balance of her regular functioning, if expressed in a term related to the systems theory. In relation, another concept is the closure in a system which can be considered as the integrity of the relationships that is intrinsic to the system (Miller, 1965; Napier and Whitaker, 1980). In terms of the case study the interactions and the interrelationships within the family which involves Abby, her sister, brother, parents, aunt and nanny can be considered as the factors contributing to her behavior. The drastic changes that occurred on the death of her sister resulted in the discrepancy in her acquainted environment. The stability is included in the important concepts covered by the

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Corporate Social Responsibility And Organisational Profitability Management Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility And Organisational Profitability Management Essay Abstract There are numerous factors affecting the organizational profitability; one of the important factors is corporate social responsibility. This paper tries to examine the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and organizational profitability. Many tools are used to measure the organizational profitability while those of the corporate social responsibility can sometimes be unreliable or insufficient. The tool chosen for measuring the Corporate Social Responsibility is Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. which is a database that is recently used as one of the most comprehensive source for Corporate Social Performance research. This paper will mainly focus on Egyptian organizations and study their engagement in corporate social responsibility and compare the different result of profitability for a period of five years. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Social Performance, Organizational profitability, Return on investment, Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. Corporate social responsibility and Organizational Profitability Researchers tried to define corporate social responsibility in such way that suits all theoretical and operational purposes, such as Actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law (McWilliams Siegel 2001, P.117). CSR concerns everyone such as customers, employees, suppliers, community groups, governments, and even some stockholders as stated by McWilliams and Siegel (2001). This paper will examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility and the profitability of Egyptian organizations. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the corporate social responsibility will increase the profitability or not and to figure out the main benefits of being engaged in corporate social responsibility. The paper is compromised of three main sections. The first section gives an overview on corporate social responsibility in general and how it is important for both organizations and community. The second section focuses on the concept of organizational profitability as it explains how it can be defined and how profit maximization can be measured. The third section is probably the most important section of the paper as it focuses on studying the relationship between the corporate social responsibility and the organizational profitability and the different consequences that may occur. Literature Review Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that is growing fast and more attention should be paid to the meaning behind its linguistic. (Amaeshi and Adin, 2007). The definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can sometimes be ambiguous as stated by McWilliams and Siegel (2001). Davis (1960) mentioned that CSR is considered as decisions or actions taken beyond the organizations economic or technical self interest. Moreover Davis (1973) mentioned that CSR doesnt only refer to the economic, technical or legal requirements of the firm, it goes beyond that and may affect all the firms actions. While Fitch (1976) described the CSR as the challenges taken by the corporation whether fully or partially to solve social problems. CSR should also have a suitable degree of how much it fits both the societys expectations and business ethics. (Zenisek, 1979). The notion that business organizations have societal obligations which transcend economic functions of producing and distributing scarce goods and services and generating a satisfactory level of profits for their shareholders (Epstein, 1989, P.585). Moreover it was seen by Maclagan (1999) as a process that should express the moral values and interest of the individuals. McWilliams and Siegel (2001) added that CSR should go beyond the Legal interests of the firms. It should be actions that show some good to the society. While CSR as stated by Carroll (1991) is seen as a pyramid of Economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic as shown in Figure (1.1). The pyramid of CSR was supported by Dusuki (2008) confirming that studies have observed peoples perception based on Carrolls Pyramid of CSR. CSR concerns everyone such as customers, employees, suppliers, community groups, governments, and even some stockholders as stated by McWilliams and Siegel (2001). They all form pressure on the company which can sometimes results in a great conflict on goals and objectives (McWilliams Siegel, 2001). As pointed above, CSR has numerous definitions and explanations. Moreover McWilliams, Siegel and Wright (2006) emphasized on how difficult it is, to make theoretical development or measurement since the definitions of CSR is either too many or not clear enough. Approaches of Corporate Social Responsibility According to Kramer and Porter (2006), four issues for organization to be engaged in CSR are: moral obligation, sustainability, license to operate, and reputation. Kramer and Porter (2006) described the Moral appeal as doing the right thing which appears more in the nonprofitable business. Sustainable Development is defined as Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Kramer, Porter, 2006, P. 81) while the license to operate can be represented in the governments and the communities regulations and other stakeholders to do business. Finally, reputation is used by many companies to improve a companys image, and gain customers loyalty, build a strong brand and have a higher value of its stock (Kramer Porter, 2006). While Brammer, Millington and Rayton (2007) stated that Employees training can be seen as an activity of social responsible and should be used to increase the employees commitment to the organization, they also mentioned that the fair treatment of employees which is a approach of social corporate responsibility increase commitment to the organization. Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility As mentioned by Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2007) a lot of studies focusing on how important the companies reputation and whether it is engaged in a social responsibility for both customers and investors or not, while other researches focused on how the attitude and behavior of the managers and professionals can be affected by their perception about the companys ethical and social responsibility. Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Community. Kramer and Porter (2006) added that CSR can provide a wealthy economy and society by having different forms of cooperation such as investing capital, doing business, purchasing goods, and providing jobs. Moreover, Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) added that companies could be disciplined by their customers when they dont meet the society expectation or the expectation of the customers by decreasing the demand of their products. Mathis (2007) mentioned that CSR can change companies to be more pro-active and accordingly they will have a high influence on the policy making process and a better position within their sectors than their competitors. Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizations. It is important to analyze the effect of CSR on organizations and to determine whether CSR can have an impact on the organizational performance or not. Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) stated that CSR has important and clear influence on achieving performance excellence. According to Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2008) some studies showed that CSR can have a potential influence on the employees and leaders behavior, while organizational success is impacted by the ethical sense of customers and investors. Jaramillo, Mulki and Valenzuela (2010) viewed CSR as a way to gain customers retention and loyalty, on their article they analyzed how ethical firms can not only attract more customers but also build a long term strong relationship. While Singh (2006) explained why many researchers focused on how to achieve the customers needs and wants, since customer satisfaction has a positive influence on the organizational profitability. Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2008) studied that CSR leads to both the retention of both employees and customers with the trusted brand image and the good quality of workforce. Mathis (2007) looked at the CSR as a way to provide sustainability to organizations. Moreover Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2008) added that investors take in their consideration companies management before investing in it. Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) stated that the least benefit companies can get from taking CSR as one of its business strategy is on the public relations level. Organizational Profitability Profit is the end result of deducting total costs (TC) from total revenues (TR) as stated by Primeaux (1997). Therefore, profit maximization is producing the right quantity of goods or services given the suitable amount of resources (Primeaux, 1997). From a behavioral perception, Profit maximization can also be obtained from producing the correct quantity with an acceptable quality of goods or services to the customers and as the legal and ethical standards of the society (Primeaux Stieber, 1994). The performance measurement that will be used to evaluate and compare the efficiency of different investments will be the return on investment (ROI). To calculate ROI, the benefit of an investment, it is divided by the cost of the investment; the result is a percentage or a ratio (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp) The return on investment formula: In the above formula gains from investment, refers to the profits  gained from spending the investment of interest.  Ã‚  Return on investment  is a very common measurement because of its adaptability  and simplicity. That is, if an  investment does not have  a positive ROI, or if there are other opportunities with a higher ROI, then the investment should be not be undertaken. (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp) Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Profitability Kolstad (2007) has shown in his paper that the relationship between CSR and profit are a controversial issue. Kramer and Porter (2006) added that corporations can think of CSR as a constraint or an additional cost, although it may be an opportunity for them to innovate and gain a competitive advantage. Friedman (as cited by Foote, Gaffney and Evans, 2010) was criticizing the money spend on CSR stating that the major responsibility of the managers is to maximize the profit of the organization as they contracted with the owners of the firm. ArinËœo, Canela and Garcia-Castro (2010) mentioned that CSR is not always providing a positive impact on the financial performance, some cases showed that it could have a negative impact as well. While McWilliams and Siegel (2000) added that a lot of empirical studies, showed that CSR and profitability can be engaged in a positive, negative or even neutral relationship. kolstad (2007) stated that CSR can be seen as a way to reach the final goal of the organization which is increasing the shareholder returns but cant be considered as a goal itself. Companies should balance scarifying some financial profit and between satisfying its stakeholders at least on the short term. (ArinËœo, Canela Garcia-Castro, 2010). Kolstad (2007) added that executives used to care only about the profits and the benefits of the shareholders, while nowadays companies may have to widen their goals to include the CSR. Friedman (as cited in Kolstad, 2007) presented the idea that maximizing the profit is the only essential moral aspect that can be offered by the executive to the corporation and that idea was supported by four arguments. First, he mentioned that managers should follow the interest of the shareholders according to the legal contract they have. Second it will be illegal for managers not to follow the interest of the shareholders since this will be considered as taxation to the shareholders. (Kolstad, 2007). Third, he advised the corporations to focus more on its core operations to be more efficient. Fourth, since not all the corporations is engaged on CSR, then CSR can be an added cost to corporations that cares about society leading to unfair competition between companies Friedman (as cited in Kolstad, 2007). Kolstad (2007) strongly criticized the overstated idea presented by Friedman, saying that responsibility of business should be seen in a wider view and should take in consideration other agents and shouldnt only consider the shareholders interest and that the provided idea will need more examination and analysis. While Peloza (2006) mentioned that due to many criticisms of CSR by whom, managers tried to ensure that CSR will deliver a financial income to the firm by developing different strategic forms for CSR. While Demacarty (2009) pointed out that the CSR doesnt necessarily provide a stronger financial return nor does it produce weaker return, it depends on the techniques that are used to increase the financial. Waddock and Graves (1997) studied the linkage between corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance using CSP as the variable for CSR and return on investment (ROI), return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) as the variables used to measure the profitability or the firms financial performance. They hypothesized a positive relationship between financial performance and CSR; the study reported that the improved financial performance leads to increase in the CSP. Moreover, financial performance can be increased when firms are engaged in CSP since their ability to invest socially indicate a good managerial performance that could supply the firm with funds that can be used for other investments (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Orlitzky, Schmidt and Rynes (2003) also reported the same analysis. They used meta-analysis to find a positive relationship between CSP and financial performance. Research Gap While going through the literatures that studied Corporate Social Responsibility, a lot has been found on understanding the Corporate Social Responsibility either in its definition, approaches or even in how to measure it. One can find some limitations and gaps since Corporate Social Responsibility can have many aims, some of its definition was very narrow while others were very broad, involving almost everyones concern. The problem with the confliction on aims and means is that it is not clear whether Corporate Social Responsibility should be applied by organizations or not. Some results showed that Corporate Social Responsibility is a must for organizations and societies to grow while others concerned it as an overhead. Another Gap is that the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and profitability. A lot of researchers analyzed whether Corporate Social Responsibility is profitable or not, but limited researches studies the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on a certain companies or for a certain country and noticed its effect on profitability. The purpose of this proposal is to examine the effect of CSR on organizations profitability. The research question is: What is the effect of CSR on the profitability of Egyptian Organizations? Hypothesis Organizations that are engaged in CSR will have high CSP. Organizations that are engaged in CSR will have higher financial performance. The relationship between CSR and Organizational profitability is strongly positive with a higher corporate social performance and financial performance. Implications Organizations are usually committed to their employees, customers, and their society. Organizations that experience high levels of commitment to the well being of society will have a better image and therefore gain more loyalty of employees, customers and may gain higher profit. Further, organizations may view ethical and social judgment as one of their effectiveness and success. A reasonable measurement of CSR is critical for studying its effect, Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. (KLD) tool will provide a full report of organizations CSR indicating to what extend the organization is involved in social activities. Then different results of CSR measurements will be compared to the annual profit of organizations. A focus on these two variables may improve the overall performance of organizations and bring more satisfaction to the whole society. Method Subjects or Participants The study will focus on the effect of CSR and organizational profit on Egyptian organizations, the population will be 100 Egyptian organizations and accordingly the sampling size will be 80 organizations. The sampling design will be the simple random sampling so that each company will have an equal chance of being chosen as the subject. Instrument Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) stated that there should be a reliable way to measure the relationship between organizational profitability and CSP and those researches have been deeply involved in how to measure the CSP of organizations. They also added that past measurement was not accurately measuring the outcomes of CSR since they were based on reputational surveys, government pollution indices, financial reports, and CSR orientation studies. The research tool will be developed by Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. (KLD) which is a social choice investment advisory firm. Their tool is a social performance database. Waddock (2003) mentioned that KLD is currently the most commonly used database and is considered a comprehensive source for CSP research. KLD publishes the CSP ratings and the data cover areas of environmental performance, social contribution, corporate governance, and controversial business involvement.KLD require sources include direct communication with the company managers, public documents, and governmental data ( http://www.kld.com). Figure (1.2) illustrates the structure of the KLD database. Chen and Delmas (2010) described KLDs three main categories which are environmental performance, social ratings, and governance ratings. They described how each of these categories are divided into levels for example the environmental performance includes climate change and operations and management, while social ratings includes human rights and the employees relation while governance rating includes the structure and reporting methods. Design Dependent variable is the organizational profitability, in order to measure our hypothesis; I am using the following measure of profitability: Return on investment (ROI) was among the measures of performance, ROI is the most used. The independent variable will be the CSR. The control variables are factors such as firms size, industry and other risks (Waddock Graves, 1997). Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini (KLD) is used as a measure of how well companies perform socially, KLD measures have been used in previous research to study the SP in premier management journals (Agle et al., 1999; Coombs and Gilley, 2005; Hillman and Keim, 2001; McWilliams and Siegel, 2000). The KLD have several advances, as it represents a multi-dimensional measure of SP, consistently measured by a group of professionals with and where different information sources are combined to find out the final score for each firm (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Procedure KLD researches the social, environmental, and governance performance of corporations. KLD research relies on five different data sources to obtain the ratings and analysis of each company. Data are collected in a closely controlled process from each company, government, non-government organization and media sources. KLD tracks each company through more than 14,000 global media sources daily. (http://www.kld.com). Figure (1.3) illustrates the KLD research process they are using. A quantitative technique will be needed to measures the effect of CSR on profitability, a valuable data should be provided to KLD. To obtain such information required, both documents and Surveys will be used. Documents of the companies CSR behavior in the community will be examined and a comparison will be made between them. Published documents about the companies and how they are engaged in CSR practices will be used to get a broad idea about the subject at hand. For example, National newspapers and articles can be investigated to know what activities each company is sponsoring or to gain an idea about educational simulations moreover, accounting books can be investigated to get an idea of the profitability development at times when CSR activities are applied, such documents may include financial statements, balance sheets and cash flow. Figures in accounting books should be analyzed to measure profitability. Surveys will be conducted to the top management and corporate social responsibility manager to understand their perceptions of CSR and to determine whether CSR is considered one of the decisions made by top management and to determine the extent by which the CSR activities affects the financial value and profitability. Concerning the profit, the analysis will check financial performance through financial documents including (ROI) will be used as the variable to measure the profitability or the firms financial performance and compare it with different CSR measurements reported from the KLD. The research is planned to analyze data within five years period for each of the companies and, the period can be considered long to be able to analysis the effect of CSR and compare it the profit of the organization. Concerning the Time plan, data will be collected for the companies in the first period. The 80 companies will be contacted and debriefed about the purpose of the research. Tasks should be scheduled early to guarantee that there will be sufficient time and that the last period will be left for entering the data using the KLD tool and analyze the reports the final results of the research. Limitations The most important limitation is that the results of case studies cannot be generalized as it studies very specific companies and it only seeks in-depth understanding of some elements. Also there could be information unavailability, where the required information could be unavailable or unattainable. It could sometimes be difficult to be able to get accurate and precise information. Another limitation is that the measurement of the organizational long term profitability and its estimate may be affected by other unexpected factors such as financial crisis, inflation in the market. Yet, the research can give an indicator to organizations on whether the CSR has an impact of their profitability or not and according to the research they can decide to what extent they would like to be involved in CSR.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Free Essays - Nuts that are not Nuts in A Book of Showings :: Book of Showings Essays

Analysis of Nuts Which Are Not Nuts in A Book of Showings    Note: Because of the specific nature of the text, I thought it might be useful to attach the whole of it on the cover page for perusal at leisure if you so desire. Below is the text from the Norton Anthology of English Literature (p. 295), and under that the assumptions I make in reading the text. The former is directly from the book, and as it is all on one page, I will refrain from noting that page every time I reference the text. If you wish examples, everything is below and will be treated as my point of reference in all situations. The latter are important so that I don't have to cover them in the body of the essay, as they are generally logical assumptions gleaned from the reading which I don't have the space to spend time explaining. They may be referenced for the proof, however.       And in this he showed a little thing, the quantity of an hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as me seemed, and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereon with the eye of my understanding, and thought: What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: It is all that is made. I marvelled how it might last, for me thought it might suddenly have fallen to nought for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasteth and ever shall, for God loveth it; and so hath all thing being by the love of God.    In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second that God loveth it, the third that God keepeth it. But what beheld I therein? Verily, the maker, the keeper, the lover. For till I am substantially united to him I may never have full rest ne very bliss; that is to say that I be so fastened to him that there be right nought that is made between my God and me.    This little thing that is made, me thought it might have fallen to nought for littleness. Of this needeth us to have knowledge, that us liketh nought all thing that is made, for to love and have God that is unmade. For this is the cause why we be not all in case of heart and of soul, for we seek here rest in this thing that is so little, where no rest is in, and we know not our God, that is almighty, all wise and all good, for he is very rest. Free Essays - Nuts that are not Nuts in A Book of Showings :: Book of Showings Essays Analysis of Nuts Which Are Not Nuts in A Book of Showings    Note: Because of the specific nature of the text, I thought it might be useful to attach the whole of it on the cover page for perusal at leisure if you so desire. Below is the text from the Norton Anthology of English Literature (p. 295), and under that the assumptions I make in reading the text. The former is directly from the book, and as it is all on one page, I will refrain from noting that page every time I reference the text. If you wish examples, everything is below and will be treated as my point of reference in all situations. The latter are important so that I don't have to cover them in the body of the essay, as they are generally logical assumptions gleaned from the reading which I don't have the space to spend time explaining. They may be referenced for the proof, however.       And in this he showed a little thing, the quantity of an hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as me seemed, and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereon with the eye of my understanding, and thought: What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: It is all that is made. I marvelled how it might last, for me thought it might suddenly have fallen to nought for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasteth and ever shall, for God loveth it; and so hath all thing being by the love of God.    In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second that God loveth it, the third that God keepeth it. But what beheld I therein? Verily, the maker, the keeper, the lover. For till I am substantially united to him I may never have full rest ne very bliss; that is to say that I be so fastened to him that there be right nought that is made between my God and me.    This little thing that is made, me thought it might have fallen to nought for littleness. Of this needeth us to have knowledge, that us liketh nought all thing that is made, for to love and have God that is unmade. For this is the cause why we be not all in case of heart and of soul, for we seek here rest in this thing that is so little, where no rest is in, and we know not our God, that is almighty, all wise and all good, for he is very rest.

Monday, November 11, 2019

A Study on Attrition Level

CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION Attrition our asset walk out of the door each evening, we have to make sure that they come back the next morning, says Narayana Murthy chief mentor of Infosys. Attrition meaning: â€Å"A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death† The upshot, from an organization’s perspective, is greater staff turnover or, in some cases, the development of an ‘employee- retention problem’. It is increasingly hard and more expensive to find suitable replacements quickly when people leave, leading to inefficiencies and lost business opportunities.Moreover, because people are occupying more highly skilled jobs, greater potential damage is done to organizations when people leave. Precious accumulated knowledge and experience leaves through the front door with them when they go. Despite these truths about our contemporary business environment, many managers seem to find it hard to adjust. There remains a tendenc y to run organizations in quite an autocratic, inflexible, controlling kind of way.Unwanted staff turnover results because attractive, alternative job opportunities are more readily available, yet this rarely seems to lead to any kind of critical self-appraisal of the way we manage our people. The truth is that most times when there is an unwanted resignation it should be seen as an organizational failure. A valued asset in which the organization has invested time and resources has been lost. This should lead us to reflect on the causes, to think about how things could have been made to turn out differently, and to adjust our practices so that the chances of its happening again are reduced.However, such a response is rare. Instead, we brush aside the departure, blame everything and everyone but ourselves, and cheerfully resist the need to change the way we operate. In tight labour markets this just results in higher levels of unwanted staff turnover. Self-evidently, it is necessary to find out why people are leaving our organization before we can put in place measures to improve the employee-retention record. Individuals may choose to resign their jobs for many different reasons, but there is a tendency for some to be more significant than others among specific groups of employees or in certain organizations.Particular professions have evolved their own labour market dynamics, with the result that the leaving behavior displayed by some occupational species differs from that of others. Moreover, departures take different forms and occur in different patterns according to prevailing organizational circumstances, much depending on culture, management orientation and competitive position. With more and more stores opening each year and trading hours continually expanding, employees with the right skills and experience have little difficulty to find new employment.If people become unhappy in their jobs, they do not need to stay around trying to sort problems out. I nstead they go and work elsewhere. Aside from its relative fluidity, the retail labour markets have other characteristics that make it rather different from others. Many are attracted to the industry by the hours of work and want hours that allow them to work around those of their partners. Why do employees leave the organization? There are a number of reasons for employees leaving the organization. Well, the most obvious reason for employees leaving any organization is higher pay.The main problem here is that employees are moved from one location to another location along with their family. But this problem is taken care of by a salary hike which may be around 20%-35% per annum. Another factor is work timings. In some organizations, work timings are such that they are making employees leave the organization. Another factor is career growth. In many organizations, only 20% of employees are able to go to senior levels. This means that the remaining 80% of employees look for other org anization where they can get opportunities for growth.One more reason for leaving the organization is higher education. These days, in many organizations, employees are joining at very young age because of lucrative salaries being offered. But with time, they apply for higher education and try to move on to other organizations or sectors to occupy top management positions. The percentage of women workers is also responsible for higher attrition rate. These days, the percentage of women workers is around 30%. Generally, women workers leave the organization after marriage to take up their house-hold duties, irregular work hours. 80% of employee urnover can also be attributed to the mistakes during hiring process. Other factors include accident making the worker permanently incapable of doing work, dislike for the job or place, unsatisfactory work conditions leading to strained work relationships with the employer; lack of security of employment et al also contribute for higher attriti on rate. Cost of attrition There are a number of costs which are incurred by a BPO when they hire any new employee these costs can be in terms of monetary or can be in terms of monetary or can be in terms of time wasted or any other intangible things.Some of these costs can be as stated below:- 1. Hiring or Recruitment Costs: Costs of advertisement, agency costs, employee referral costs, internet posting costs, etc 2. Training Costs: Induction program costs, lodging costs during that period, orientation material costs and cost of person who conducts orientation 3. Low Productivity Costs: As new employee is learning new job, company policies, etc. , they are not fully productive. 4. New Hiring Costs: Cost of bringing new person aboard, time taken in understanding the job of the employee who left and other perks given. 5.Low Sales Cost: Experience and the contacts that were lost, time for which the position was vacant and other such things which result in either loss of customers or l ower sales. Role of HR Department: Attrition Rate is good for the organization as long as the rate is at normal level. This will help the organization to get new blood into the organization and for the organization to develop. But it becomes a problem when the attrition rate is abnormal. Therefore, HR Department has the most crucial role to play in any organization. At the time of conducting interviews, the HR personnel try to bring right candidate to the right job.Similar is true even when the attrition rate is abnormal, so they have a very crucial role to play. Following are some of the tips to reduce attrition rate: – Hiring individuals who are truly fit to succeed in the position for hire will dramatically increase the chances of that employee being satisfied with his or her work, and remaining with the company for an extended period of time. Employees should not only be selected on the basis of communication skills and educational qualifications. Communication of employe e's roles, job description and the responsibilities within the organization, new policies will help to retain employees.Participative Decision Making – It is incredibly important to include employees in the decision making process, especially when decisions are related to employees. This can help to generate new ideas and perspectives that top management might never have thought of. Sharing of Knowledge with Others – Allow the members to share their knowledge with others. This helps in retention of information. This also lets a team member know that he is a valuable member of the organization. Similarly, facilitating knowledge sharing through an employee mentoring program can be equally beneficial.Shorten the Feedback Loop – This helps the employees to know the feedback to their work within a short period. This also helps to keep performance levels high and reinforce positive behavior among employees. Pay Package – Any employee wants to be appropriately p aid and fairly for the work he or she does. For this, conduct a research to find out the pay package in other similar type of organizations at regional as well as at national levels. Balance Work ; Personal Life – No doubt family is exceptionally important to employees. When work begins to put pressure on one family, no pay package will keep an employee in the organization.Therefore, there should be a balance between work and personal life. Small gestures like allowing an employee to take an extended lunch once a week to watch his son's cricket game will result in loyalty and helps to retain the employee. Organizational Culture – Try to select the candidates who believe in the organization culture and adopt with ease to organization culture. Exit Interview with the employees who are leaving the organization will help the organization to find out the reasons why the employees are leaving the organization.This will also help to find out any drawbacks in the organization. Another method to reduce attrition rate is that they should find out why employees are leaving the organization from the employees who are working for the past so many years. Motivational Training – It is sure that motivational training helps to retain the employees. One of the crucial aspects to motivate employees is to ensure that they have ample growth opportunities which can be provided through training. Multi-Tasking – One of the ways to retain the employees in the organization is try to get people with different qualities ike smart, adaptable, and capable of multi-tasking. Referrals – Another technique is to try to get the employees hired through referrals. This makes them stick with the organization. No Favoritism – One of the surest ways to create animosity and resentment in an organization is to allow favoritism and preferential treatment towards an employee. Be sure to treat all employees equally and avoid favoritism at all costs. ATTRITION RAT E: There are a number of reasons for employees leaving the organization. Well, the most obvious reason for employees leaving any organization is higher pay.The main problem here is that employees are moved from one location to another location along with their family. But this problem is taken care of by a salary hike which may be around 20%-35% per annum. Attrition Rates in Different Sectors in India During 2007: The attrition rates in different sectors for the year ended 2007 are shown in the following table: – Sector | Attrition Rate| FMCG| 17  Ã‚  | Manufacturing| 20  Ã‚  | Capital Goods| 23  Ã‚  | Construction| 25  Ã‚  | Non Voice BPO| 25  Ã‚  | IT – ITES| 27  Ã‚  | Telecom| 30  Ã‚  | Pharmaceuticals| 32  Ã‚  | Bio Technology| 35  Ã‚  | Services| 40  Ã‚  | Financial| 44  Ã‚  | Aviation| 46  Ã‚  | Retail| 50  Ã‚  |Voice – Based BPO| 50  Ã‚  | Source: Times of New York | | Benefits of Attrition: Good attrition minimizes the adverse impact on business. Desirable attrition includes termination of employees with whom the organization does not want to continue a relationship. It can be through resignation or by the employer. The benefits are: – * Removes bottle-neck in the progress of the company. * Creates space for the entry of new talents, external as well as internal. * Helps planting â€Å"ambassadors† in the eco-system who can have a positive impact on the growth of the organization. * Assists in evolving high performance teams. Infuses new blood into the organization. * Enhances ability for execution. * New thoughts, ideas, and hence, more innovation and creativity at work. * Knowledge of best practices from across the industry is brought in. * It is also an opportunity to induct employees at a lower cost with fresh skills and competencies aligned to the current need of business. Worst effects of attrition: * Loss of knowledge capital. * Delay in execution of projects / assignments. * Loss of production. * Increasing cost of recruitment. * Impact on employer brand. * Burden and burn-out on existing employees. Internal information and knowledge is being shared outside. * Existing team also gets de-focused / de-motivated for sometime. Reasons for leaving Pull factors The major causes of employee turnover fall into four categories: ‘pull-type’ causes, ‘push-type’ causes, unavoidable causes, and situations in which the departure is initiated by the organization rather than by the employee. Each is fundamentally different from the other and demands a different type of organizational response when it is identified as the major explanation for turnover among members of particular occupational groups.Pull-type resignations occur when the major cause is the positive attraction of alternative employment. The employee concerned may be wholly satisfied with his or her existing organization and happy in the job, but nonetheless decides to move on in search of something even better. It may be a higher rate of pay, a more valued benefits package, more job security, better long-term career opportunities, and a less pressured existence, the opportunity to work overseas, a shorter journey to commute or more convenient hours of work.Push factors By contrast, in the case of push factors the major underlying cause of resignations is the perception that something is wrong with the existing employer. The person concerned may move in order to secure a ‘better job’, but he or she is as likely to join another organization without knowing a great deal about it just because he or she no longer enjoys the current one. In doing so the hope is that working life will improve, but there is no guarantee that it will.A range of different push factors can be identified, ranging from a dislike of the prevailing organizational culture to disapproval of changed structures and straightforward personality clashes with colleagues. Perceptions of unfa irness often underlie these types of departure, but they can also occur simply because the employee is bored or generally fed up with the day-to-day work. He or she thus starts looking for something (or anything) different, and leaves on finding a suitable alternative. In the more extreme cases of dissatisfaction people leave before securing another position.Unavoidable attrition This category comprises reasons for leaving which are wholly or mainly outside the control of the organization. The resignation does not occur because of dissatisfaction with the job, or the perceived opportunities provided elsewhere, but for reasons that are unconnected to work in any direct sense. The most common is retirement, which affects almost everyone at some stage, but there are many others too. Illness is often a cause, because it incapacitates either the employee or a relative for whom he or she has caring responsibilities.Maternity is another reason woman often preferring not to return to the sa me job after their leave, either to take a break from work altogether or in order to secure a job that makes it easier for them to combine work with childcare arrangements. Involuntary attrition Final major category includes departures which are involuntary and initiated by the organization. The employee would have remained employed had he or she not been asked or required to leave. Redundancies clearly fall into this category, along with short-term layoffs, the ending of fixed-term contracts and other dismissals of one kind or another.Many resignations are also in fact largely involuntary because people often prefer to ‘jump before they are pushed’. Someone who knows she is to he made redundant in a few months therefore seeks alternative employment ahead of time, while a colleague who believes his employment will soon be terminated on grounds of poor performance secures another job before being formally dismissed. Although such turnover can sometimes be characterized a s ‘functional’ rather than ‘dysfunctional’, it still carries a cost and is thus best avoided where possible. Table 1. 1. Attrition rates in the world Country| Percentage|US| 42| Australia | 29| Europe| 24| India| 18| Global Average| 24| * Source-Times News, New York 1. 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Primary objective: 1. Find out the attrition level in XXX retail limited. Secondary objectives: 1. To study causes for attrition. 2. To find out the retention strategies adopted. 3. To study the satisfactory level of employees. 4. To analyze the effect of attrition. 5. To offer suggestions to reduce attrition. 1. 4 Need for the study 1. More time is spent recruitment and selection. 2. The trained employees must be retained. 3. Study concentrates the reasons for attrition. 4.The various dimensions analyzed and solutions offered for attrition 1. 5 Scope of the study The purpose of the research is to identify and prioritize work place related factors that trigger  "job switch or attrition among XXX Fresh Limited employees†. Employee retention is therefore important in a business’s ability to keep the most talented people in the organization and avoid unwanted turnover. So that the respondents could stay in the same Organization, and attrition rate could also be reduced. 1. 6 Limitation of the study 1. Opinion and perception of the employees changes over a period of time. 2.The respondents are not cooperative to answer the question. 3. Some of the respondent may not agree with the statement 4. Since the respondents are very busy, they are hurry and unable to spare much time with the researcher. CHAPTER 2 Review of literature 1. Title: Studied on Attrition at the presidency kid leather shoe Division Author- Balakrishnan Date- October 1994 ABSTRACT: Studied on Attrition at the presidency kid leather shoe Division. The sample size is 40 and used simple random sampling technique. He found that the manufacturing unit is not satisfied w ith basic needs like nature of the work, income level etc.He also insisted that proper performance appraisal system does not exist in that Organization. The researcher suggested for policy development, good performance management system, need analysis, career planning, counseling, etc. 2. Title: Studied on employee Attrition at Satyam Computers Author- Bharathan Prahalad Date- November 2000 ABSTRACT: Bharathan Prahalad(2000) studied on employee Attrition at Satyam Computers. The sample size is 30 and he used questionnaire method. The result of the study shows that the need for promotions, need for consumer loans, need for salary revision.The researcher suggested for training sessions, overseas opportunity for the employees, Employee stock option, good work environment, flexi timings, recreation etc. Attrition rate, attrition causes. 3 . Title: Study on influence of HR practice on Retention of Talent at Cyber Korp India Author- Mohamed Habeeb Date- March 2005 ABSTRACT: Mohamed Habeeb (2005) made an attempt to study on influence of HR practice on Retention of Talent at Cyber Korp India. The scope of the study was restricted to the employees of Cyber Korp India. The scope of the study was restricted to the employees of Cyber Korp.The objective is to identify the various causes for attrition in the Company and the influence of HR practices on retention of talents. The researcher used descriptive method on the primary data collected from the study unit. The researcher, using interview schedule collected the data on retention. The sample size is 50 selected at random. The result of the study shows that the female employees have high mentor relationship than male employees in that Organization. Male employees show high interest in team work than female. Experienced employees have less mentorship.Researcher suggested that compensation is the key area of retention, and also suggested for restructuring of the salary levels. To adopt for best HR practices such as Trainin g, mentoring, Career mapping, Performance appraisal and feedback system. 4 . Book: Love Employees or Lose Employees: Getting Good People to Stay Author- Beverly Kaye, Sharon Jordan-Evans Publisher – Berrett-koehler Publishers Date- January, 2008 They underlined that employee retention is a process in which the employees are encouraged to remain with organization for the maximum period of time or until the completion of the project.Employee retention is beneficial for the organization as well as the employee. Employees today are different. They are not the ones who don’t have good opportunities in hand. As soon as they feel dissatisfied with the current employer or the job, they switch over to the next job. It is the responsibility of the employer to retain their best employees. If they don’t, they would be left with no good employees. A good employer should know how to attract and retain its employees. Retention involves five major things such as Compensation, G ood environment, Growth, Relationship and Support.Book: 5 . Article: Keeping Good People Author- Roger Herman Publisher – Academy of Management Review Date- January, 2008 ABSTRACT: In his review the author says that â€Å"Employee retention involves being sensitive to people’s needs†. Employee attrition is running wild in today’s tight labor market; however, the companies that keep their employees have found that what matters most is not the pay, benefits, or perks, but the quality of the relationship between employees and their direct supervisors. The bottom line is that people leave managers, not companies. . Article: Intra organizational and inter organizational job change Publisher – Journal of business and psychology Date- December, 1996 ABSTRACT: Quality of employment survey panel data to compare the determinants of intra organizational and inter organizational job change. To discriminant function were significant, the first distinguishing be tween intra organizational changers and stayers and the second between inter organizational changers and stayers. 7 . Article: Employee attrition and retention strategiesPublisher – INDIAN EXPRESS NEWSPAPER Date- September 16, 2006 ABSTRACT: The HR managers have been facing a tough time finding a suitable replacement with required experience and ability, to fill up the vacancies created on account of exit of key employees. The reasons can be varied like shortage of skilled manpower, growth in opportunities as a result of economic reforms and liberalized policies pursued by successive governments. 8 . Title: Employee retention needs a proper strategy Author- DR,Saurabh Guptha Date- October 2003 Abstract :The study revealed that the employee retention involves being sensitive to peoples needs and demonstrating the various strategies in the five families detailed in Roger Herman’s Classic book on employee retention, keeping good people. Employee attrition is running wild in today’s tight labor market. However, the companies that keep the employees have found that what matters most is not the pay, benefits or perks, but the quality of relationship between and the direct supervisors. The bottom line is that people leave managers not companies.Control and ownership an approach of being an advisor is necessary to maintain effective and satisfactory control over employees. The value of recognition successful organization realizes employee retention and talent management are integral to sustaining their leader ship and their growth in the market place. Becoming an employee of their choice by retaining the high caliber employees in today’s labor market should be the highest priority CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Methodology is defined as the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed. It is a plan or frame work for doing the tudy and collecting the data. Research Methodology minimizes the degree of uncertain ty involved in management describes research is characterized by systematic, objective, reproducible, relevant and control. This project is a study marked by promulgation of research questions. The investigator already knows the substantial amount the research problems before the project is initiated. 3. 1. 1Research Design The researcher followed analytical research design. 3. 1. 2Sampling As it was not possible to collect the information from the whole population so sampling method is adopted. Stratified random sampling method is used.Totally 120 questionnaires were prepared for employee survey. 3. 1. 2. 1 Sample Area The sample area means that place where the survey has been conducted. The sample area was XXX Retail limited, Chennai. 3. 1. 3Sampling Procedure The sampling procedure is used of the study is questionnaire method. The type of question is close ended as well as open ended question. Used by the researcher. 3. 1. 4Sample size Population of this study consist of the empl oyee of XXX Retail limited, Chennai. The total population of the company is 1140, sample of 120 employees were taken for the study.. 3. 2 DATA COLLECTION METHODThe task to data collection method often a research problem has been designed and research design chalked out. 3. 2. 1Primary Data Primary data are those, which are collected fresh and for the first time for the collection as primary data a sample survey method was used in the study. Personal interview was conducted with the help of a questionnaire prepared for the survey. 3. 2. 2 Secondary data Data which was not originally collected rather obtained from published or unpublished source are known as secondary data. 3. 2. 4Statistical Tools The analysis of the collected data is the most important part of any research o get the interpretation for the project. According to this project, there will be three statistical tools are used. They are, 1. Chi-square test. 2. Weighted average test. 3. Spearman rank correlation. 3. 2. 4. 2 CHI-SQUARE TEST: Chi-square testis used to compare the relationship between the two variables. OBJECTIVES: 1. To recognize situations requiring the comparison of more that two means or proportions. 2. To use chi-square distribution to see whether two classifications of the source data are independent of each other. 3. To use chi-square distribution for confidence intervals and testing hypothesis about a single population variance. . To use chi-square test to check whether a particular collection of data is well described by a specified distribution. Chi-square test allows us to do a lot more than just test for the quality of several proportions. If we classify a population into several categories with respect to two (2) attributes, we can than use a chi square to determine whether the two (2) attributes are independent of each other. This is used to test the difference observed between two columns of number found in two distinct categories. A chi-square can be used when data satisfy four conditions. 1.There must be two observed sets of data or one observed set of data and our expected set of data. 2. The two set of data must be based on the same sample size. 3. Each cell in the data contain an observed or expected count of five or larger. 4. The different cells in a row or column must represent categorical variables. DEGREE OF FREEDOM: (Number of Rows-1) * (Number of Columns-1) (Oi – ei) Ei Oi = Observed Value. Ei = Expected Value. N = Total Number of Observations. Ei = Row Total * Column Total N Chapter -4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Respondents Age Distribution Table-4. 1: Respondents Age DistributionParticulars | No. of respondents| percentage| 18 – 25| 24| 20| 26 – 35| 56| 46. 67| 36 – 45| 27| 22. 5| Above 45| 13| 10. 83| Total| 120| 100| Figure-4. 1: Respondents Age Distribution Inference It can be seen that merely half of the respondents were between the age group of 26-35 years. Respondent marital status TABLE 4. 2 †“ Respondents marital status Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| Married| 82| 68. 33| Unmarried| 38| 31. 67| Total| 120| 100| Figure-4. 2 – Respondents marital status Inference It can be inferred that 3/4th of the respondents were married. Respondents Educational QualificationsTable 4. 3 – Respondents Educational Qualifications Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| UG| 32| 25. 83| ITI| 18| 15| PG| 67| 55. 83| Others| 3| 2. 5| Total| 120| 100| Figure-4. 3 – Respondents Educational Qualifications Inference It can be inferred that more than half of the respondent were qualified post graduates it’s a good sign for the organization. Respondents Work Experience Table -4. 4 – Respondents Work Experience Particulars| No. of respondent| Percentage| 0 – 2 years| 48| 40| 3 – 5 years| 53| 44. 17| 6 – 8 years| 17| 14. 17| Above 8 years| 2| 1. 66| Total| 120| 100| Figure 4. – Respondents Work Experience Inference It can be seen that almost of the respondents were between the experience level below 5 years. Respondents understanding towards the job Table 4. 5 – Respondents understanding towards the job Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| Not at all| 0| 0| Not really| 8| 6. 67| Some what| 33| 27. 5| Pretty much| 45| 37. 5| Totally| 34| 28. 33| Total| 120| 100| Figure 4. 5 – Respondents understanding towards the job Inference It can be seen clearly that almost all of the respondents were understand their job well. Respondent reason for dissatisfactionTable 4. 6 – Respondent reason for dissatisfaction Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| Work pressure| 31| 25. 83| Management decisions| 18| 15| Work environment| 6| 5| Pay structure| 48| 40| Others| 17| 14. 17| Total| 120| 100| Figure 4. 6 – Respondent reason for dissatisfaction Inference It can be clearly seen that merely half of the respondents feels that pay structure makes them dissatisfied. Respondent opinion about the management steps Table 4. 7 – Respondents opinion about the management steps Particulars | No. of respondents| Percentage| Not at all| 21| 17. 5| Some what| 42| 35|Average| 36| 30| Really good| 21| 17. 5| Total| 120| 100| Figure 4. 7 – Respondents opinion about the management steps Inference It has been clearly observed that 2/3rd of the respondents feel that the management steps were somewhat satisfactory for them. Respondent’s opinion about the internal improvements needed in organization Table 4. 8 Respondents opinion about the internal improvements needed in organization Particulars | No. of respondents| Percentage| Employee motivation| 22| 18. 34| Working environment| 18| 15| Monetary benefit| 46| 38. 33| Others| 34| 28. 33| Total| 120| 100| Figure – 4. Respondents opinion about the internal improvements needed in organization Inference It can be inferred that 2/3rd of the respondent’s feels monetary benefits is to be improv ements. Respondent’s opinion about the external improvements needed in organization Table 4. 9 Respondents opinion about the external improvements needed in organization External improvements| No. of respondents| Percentage| Innovative technology| 18| 15| External training programs| 47| 39. 17| New products| 12| 10| Others| 43| 35. 83| Total| 120| 100| Figure – 4. 9 Respondents opinion about the external improvements needed in organization InferenceIt can be clearly seen that most of the respondents feels that external training programs should be conducted Respondent’s opinion about retention strategy Table 4. 10 – Respondents opinion about retention strategy Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| Hiring suitable person| 18| 15| Allowing in decision making| 9| 7. 5| Good compensation| 42| 35| Good communication| 12| 10| Exit interview| 39| 32. 5| Total | 120| 100| Figure 4. 10 – Respondents opinion about the retention strategy Inference It is clearly inferred that merely half of the respondents feels good compensation is the best strategy for retention.Respondent’s opinion about learning new things Table – 4. 11 Respondents opinion about learning new things Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| More| 67| 55. 83| Less| 19| 15. 83| No| 34| 28. 34| Total| 120| 100| Figure – 4. 11 Respondents opinion about learning new things Inference It can be inferred that more than half of the respondents feels that they can learn more new things. Respondent’s opinion about communication between the superior Table 4. 12 – Respondents opinion about communication between the superior Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| Yes| 73| 60. 83| No| 47| 39. 7| Total| 120| 100| Figure 4. 12 – Respondents opinion about communication between the superior Inference It can be clearly observed that most of the respondent’s feels that they can communicate with their superiors at any time Res pondent’s opinion about promotion method Table 4. 13 – Respondents opinion about promotion method Particulars| No. of respondents| Percentage| Yes| 83| 69. 17| No| 37| 30. 83| Total| 120| 100| Figure 4. 13 – Respondents opinion about promotion method Inference It can be inferred that 3/4th of the respondents feels that their promotion is given based on their skills.Respondent’s opinion about stress Table 4. 14 – Respondent’s opinion about stress Particulars | No. of respondents| Percentage| Highly agree| 12| 10| Agree| 17| 14. 17| Neutral | 29| 24. 16| Disagree| 38| 31. 67| Highly disagree| 24| 20| Total | 120| 100| Figure 4. 14 – Respondent’s opinion about stress Inference It is clearly inferred that more than half of the respondents disagree that they having stress in their work. Respondent’s opinion about recreational facilities Table 4. 15 – Respondents opinion about recreational facilities Particulars | No. o f respondents| Percentage |Highly satisfied| 10| 8. 33| Moderately satisfied| 20| 16. 67| Neutral | 49| 40. 83| Moderately dissatisfied| 23| 19. 17| Dissatisfied | 18| 15| Total | 120| 100| Figure 4. 15 – Respondents opinion about recreational facilities Inference It can be clearly seen that merely half of the respondents were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied about the recreational facilities. Respondent’s opinion about working space Table 4. 16 – Respondents opinion about working space Particulars | No. of respondents| Percentage | Highly satisfied| 33| 27. 5| Moderately satisfied| 58| 48. 33| Neutral | 21| 17. | Moderately dissatisfied| 6| 5| Dissatisfied | 2| 1. 67| Total | 120| 100| Figure 4. 16 – Respondents opinion about working space Inference It can be clearly seen that 3/4th of the respondents satisfied with the working space. Respondent’s opinion about worst of attrition Table 4. 17 – Respondents opinion about worst of attrition Particulars| No. respondents| Percentage | Cost of recruitment| 43| 35. 83| Loss of production| 18| 15| Loss of knowledge capital| 27| 22. 5| Training cost | 32| 26. 67| Total | 120| 100| Figure 4. 17 – Respondents opinion about worst of attrition InferenceIt can be clearly seen that 2/3rd of the respondents feels that cost of recruitment and training cost is worst effect of attrition Respondent’s opinion about the best effect of attrition Table 4. 18 – Respondents opinion about the best effect of attrition Particulars| No. of respondents | Percentage| Removes bottle necks | 39| 32. 5| Entry of new talents| 53| 44. 17| Infuses of new blood| 28| 23. 33| Total | 120| 100| Figure 4. 18 – Respondents opinion about the best effect of attrition Inference It can be clearly seen that merely half of the respondents feels that entry of new talents is the best effect of attrition.Chi – square Experience and dissatisfaction levels in job Table 4. 19 Chi-Square Experience Dissatisfaction | 0 – 2| 3 – 5| 6-8 | Above 8 years| Total | Work pressure | 19| 11| 1| 0| 31| Management decision | 8| 6| 3| 1| 18| Work environment | 0| 2| 3| 1| 6| Pay structure | 14| 28| 6| 0| 48| Others | 7| 6| 4| 0| 17| Total| 48| 53| 17| 2| 120| Null hypothesis H0: There is no significant relationship between the experience and dissatisfaction of job. Alternate hypothesis H1: There is a significant relationship between the experience and dissatisfaction of job. Level of significant: LOS= 95% (. 05%)Degree of freedom: DOF= (M-1) (N-1) = (5-1) (4-1) Degree of freedom = 12 Z tab= 21. 026 2 = ? ( O – E )2/E Expected valued: E = ( row total * column total ) / grand total 2 = 3. 51 + 0. 52 + 2. 61 + 0. 51 + 0. 08 + 0. 47 + 0. 07 + 1. 63 + 2. 4 + 0. 15 +5. 43 + 0. 81 + 1. 4 + 2. 18 + 0. 09 +0. 8 + 0. 005 + 0. 3 + 1. 06 + 0. 28 Z cal = 24. 305 Calculated value > tabulated value Zcal > ztab H0 is rejected. H1 is accepted There is a significant relation ship between the experience and dissatisfaction of job. Spearman rank correlation Table 4. 20 – Ranking for stress and recreational activityStress| Rank 1| Recreational activity| Rank 2| Difference(D)| (D)2| 12| 5| 10| 5| 0| 0| 17| 4| 20| 3| 1| 1| 29| 2| 49| 1| 1| 1| 38| 1| 23| 2| -1| 1| 24| 3| 18| 4| -1| 1| | | | | ? (D)2| 4| R = 1 – 6? D2 (n (n2 – 1)) = 1 – (6*4) (5 (25-1)) = 1 – 0. 2 R = +0. 8 Since the correlation value (R) is +0. 8 there is a high correlation between the stress and recreational activity. Chapter 5 5. 1 Findings 1. Half of the respondents (47%) are in the age group of 26-35 years. 2. 3/4th of the respondents (68%) were married. 3. Half of the respondents (56%) were qualified post graduates. . Majority of the respondents have an experience of less than 5 years. 5. All the respondents have understood their job. 6. Merely half of the respondent’s (40%) feel that pay structure makes them dissatisfied. 7. 2/3rd of the respond ents are not much satisfied with the management policies. 8. 2/3rd of the respondents (39%) feel hike in salary can be offered. 9. Most of the respondents ( 39%) feel that external training programs should be conducted 10. All the respondents feel good compensation and hiring suitable person is the best strategy for retention. 1. More than half of the respondents (56%) feel that they get opportunity to learn more. 12. More than half of the respondents (61%) said they can communicate with their superiors at any time. 13. Merely 3/4th of the respondents (70) said their promotion is based on their skills. 14. More than half of the respondents (52%) disagreed that they have stress in their work. 15. Nearly half of the respondents (41%) were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied about the recreational facilities. 16. 3/4th of the respondents (75%) are satisfied with the working space. 17. /3rd of the respondents (36%) feel that due to attrition the cost of recruitment and training increases 18. Nearly half of the respondents (47%) feel that due to attrition there is entry of new talents. 5. 2 Suggestion 1. Management should give good job description to employees. 2. The organization should change the pay structure based on the nature of job. 3. The organization should conduct more external training programs to improve the efficiency of the employees. 4. The organization must appoint right person for the right job which will help to reduce attrition. 5. They must have two way communication. 6.The organization should provide more recreational activity to employees to relieve form stress. 7. Career growth and higher education is main cause for attrition in XXX, so the organization can give promotions and hike in salary in regular interval to reduce the attrition level. 8. Cost of recruitment and loss of knowledge capital were the worst effect of attrition, for that the company can follow retention strategies to keep the valuable employees. 9. Even though many retention s trategies followed in the organization the best strategy is exit interview, which helps them to identify the reason for attrition. 5. 3 CONCLUSIONIn global economy many organizations find very difficult to overcome the competition and to retain the employees. Due to attrition the companies not only lose the efficient employees but also spend a lot for recruiting new employees. The study company has moderate attrition since the stress level is low. Even this attrition can be reduced if they follows’ a good retention strategy like increasing the salary in periodic interval. The main cause for employee switching over job in XXX is carrier growth. Thus the organization should not increase the salary but also give promotions to employee to make them satisfy and retain the in organization.By satisfying the employee the attrition level can be reduced. ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE A STUDY ON ATTRITION LEVEL PERSONAL DATA : 1. Name: 2. Designation: 3. Age: a) 18 -25 b) 26 – 35 c) 36 -45 d) above 45 4. Marital status: a) Married b) unmarried 5. Educational Qualification: a) UG b) ITI c) PG e) Others 6. Years of Experience: a) 0 – 2 years b) 3 – 5 years c) 6 – 8 years d) Above 8 years OTHER DATA: 7. How well do you understand your nature of job? ? Not at all ? Not really ?Some what ? Pretty much ? Totally 8. Rate the following factors Particulars| Highly satisfied5| Satisfied4| Neutral3| Dissatisfied2| Highly dissatisfied1| Motivation| | | | | | Appraisal| | | | | | Job challenge| | | | | | Reward| | | | | | Communication with superiors| | | | | | 9. Which of the following makes you to get dissatisfied? a) Work Pressure b) Management decisions c) Working Environment d) Pay structure e) other 10. Do you believe that there is a decrease in your Dissatisfaction level after the management steps? ) Not at all b) Somewhat ok c) Average d) Really good 11. Specify the area where improvement is required internally? ? Employee motivation ? Working envi ronment ?Monetary benefits ? Other 12. Specify the area where improvement is required externally? ? Innovative technology ? External Training programs ? New products ? Others 13. For which of these reasons, you prefer to change the job. Rate the following? Particulars | Rank | Career growth| | Higher stress| | Higher education| | Health condition| |Family problems| | 14. From these following which retention strategy is the best way to reduce the attrition level? a) Hiring suitable person b) decision making c) good compensation d) good communication e) exit interview 15. There any opportunities to learn forward about your job? a) More b) Less c) No 16. Do you have any freedom to convey your immediate problems to Top-level people..? a) Yes b) No 17. Whether promotion is given based on skill? a) Yes b) No 8. Do you agree there is stress in your job? a) Highly agree b) agree c) neutral d) Disagree c) highly disagree 18. Are you satisfied with the recreation facilities provided by the or ganization? a) Highly Satisfied b) Moderately satisfied c) Neutral d) Moderately dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied 19. Are you satisfied with the working space provided by the organization? ) Highly Satisfied b) Moderately satisfied c) Neutral d) Moderately dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied 20. Which is the worst effect of attrition? a) Cost of recruitment b) Loss of production c) Loss of knowledge capital d) Training cost 21. Which is the good effect of attrition? a) Removes bottle necks b) Entry of new talents c) Infuses of new blood 22. 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Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Travels of Ibn Battuta and essays

The Travels of Ibn Battuta and essays Why do we travel? Many years ago explorers traveled to explore the many different places and cultures that would establish our futures. Now when we travel we learn of our past history and many other different cultures history. Traveling now however has evolved so much more since the beginning of time. In the 13th and 14th centuries, they traveled by ships, camels and horses, and even by foot. However, technology over the years has improved our traveling options. Now we have cars, trains and buses, and even planes and jets, that get us from one place to another in a matter of days or hours depending on the way you travel. Journeys in the past took weeks, months, and even years. There have been many explorers who have learned the geography of the universe. Explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Galileo, and many more have contributed a great deal to the history of our universe. Although all of these men have been successful in the ir explorations, I will concentrate on the travels of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. In this reading we will see the world as these two travelers saw when they began their journeys. Both of these travelers experienced the many dangers which come along with being an explorer in an unfamiliar place (or places in their cases), but they kept on traveling for it was there destiny. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta were two travelers who traveled long and challenging distances to trade, explore, and record the differences of eastern countries. It is evident from the recordings that these men were very observant and interested in the discovery of other society practices. Ibn Battuta was a famous 14th century traveler. Born in Tangier, Morocco in 1304 and died in 1369. He started his travels when he was just 20 years of age. His main goal for traveling was to go on a Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca, as all good Muslims want to do. However, his travels went on for abou...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Whose Transnationalism Canada, Clash of Civilizations Discourse and Arab and Muslim Canadians by Arat

Whose Transnationalism Canada, Clash of Civilizations Discourse and Arab and Muslim Canadians by Arat The chapter Whose Transnationalism? Canada, â€Å"Clash of Civilizations† Discourse and Arab and Muslim Canadians by Arat-Koc analyzes the problems within multinational society of Canada. According to the author, Canada is not a melting pot as the U.S. and, thereby, members of the different communities, representatives of the different cultural backgrounds try to save their native culture and traditions. As the result, there are a number of misunderstandings between Muslim Canadians and other Canadians.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Whose Transnationalism? Canada, â€Å"Clash of Civilizations† Discourse and Arab and Muslim Canadians by Arat-Koc specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The central argument of the chapter states that â€Å"in the environments of the racism, anti-immigration, and multiculturalism that prevail in many Western states today, the transnational identities of many ethnic m inorities get discussed as a way to interrogate and question their â€Å"loyalties† to the nation-state in which they are living (Arat-Koc, 2006, p. 216). The author uses the examples, provides the historical facts in order to support the thesis and to investigate the problem deeper. Thus, the author says that, since 1960s, after the struggle of people of color, the concept of Canadian nation included the historical and traditional elements of all ethnical groups. However, since 1990s, the racial problems in Canada became evident and especially after 11 September 2001 (2006, p. 216). One can notice that immigrants in Canada are still considered as the transnational subjects, not the part of one common national community. The author supposes that the term â€Å"transnational† will be used only in the context of the racial problems, â€Å"will be applied to the almost exclusively to racialized groups† (2006, p. 216). Although the Canadian history demonstrates that racial tolerance was always the basement of the country’s policy, today Canada as an unconditional partner of the United States in foreign policy changes this attitude. Arat-Koc says about â€Å"re-whitening of Canadian identity and increased marginalization of its nonwhite minorities† (2005, p. 32). In order to support the arguments, Arat-Koc cites a number of researches. Such method makes the article more persuasive as the readers can notice that it is not the author’s opinion, it is a point of view that is common for various scientists. Besides, the use of facts and statistics also play a significant role, making the present chapter more persuasive. The author uses quotations, explores and analyses different aspects within the problem of transnationalism in Canada. In this article, the author summarizes the ideas, compares the different opinions and suggests the methods of solving the problem.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social science s? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The main topic of this chapter is the analysis of the renewal nationalism in Canada which is â€Å"of a transnational kind† (Arat-Koc, 2006, p. 217). According to the author, this nationalism in Canada, Europe and the United States is based on the â€Å"clash of civilizations† inside of one country. The long history of colonization in Canada demonstrates that the country always tried to treat the representatives of the different nations in the same way, providing an opportunity to get the same civil rights. However, on the other hand, â€Å"Canada is located in a peripheral location within Western hegemony and is characterized in national mythology as a nation innocent of racism† (Dua, Razack and Warner, 2005). Canada can be considered as a peacekeeping country that is welcoming for the immigrants. However, Arat-Koc emphasizes that today this issue changes and the probl ems becomes more evident and deeper. The author indicates that Arabs and Muslims today are perceived as the representatives of the criminalized structures. Today, the society faces the problem of stereotypical way of thinking where all Muslims are considered as the criminals. Besides, the author indicates that the national identity of Arab and Muslim community increased after 11 September 2001as the result of the position of other communities. This issue is clearly understandable. When society started to treat every Muslim as the potential terrorist, the members of Muslim communities started to be more oriented inside of their native traditions and culture and be less open for the communication with the representatives of the other communities. It is like a protective measure. Thus, according to Harb, â€Å"the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media has in effect constructed this community as the new racialized ‘other’ in Canada and even worse, the ‘enemy fro m within’† (2008, p. 1). Supporting the main idea, Arat-Koc asks a great question: transnationalization of the justice or transnationalization of torture? The main conclusion of the author is that this situation should be and can be changed. The term of transnationalism in Canada should not be used in the context of the racial intolerance, racial problems and marginalization of a part of the society. The findings and conclusions are consistent with the main argument. The author criticizes the measures that Canadian elite uses in order to develop the new national identity. Moreover, the author emphasizes that there is a serious resistance in Canada to the cooperation with the United States in their foreign policy.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Whose Transnationalism? Canada, â€Å"Clash of Civilizations† Discourse and Arab and Muslim Canadians by Arat-Koc specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The present chapter is clear and convincing. There is no ambiguity or confusing sentences. The author emphasizes her opinion in a very good way. Therefore, I think that the author is successful in supporting the central arguments. The main idea is supported in a clear way. The author provides the examples and statistics. However, on the other hand, there are some statements that I disagree with. First of all, I stated to think is this issue so problem and complicated? This assumption made by the author can be questioned. During the centuries, the representatives of the different backgrounds were living together, sharing the cultural elements and developing the new common society. Analyzing this article, I found that the author emphasizes that people are unable to live together in a peaceful way, sharing their cultural and traditional elements with each other. There is a high possibility that the representatives of the different communities will be more closed for any dialogue an d cooperation. However, I disagree with this statement. For instance, there is a great example of the United States, the country which was created by the immigrants from the various countries who were able to live, build and develop the country together. Although today the situation is different, as for me, the main idea is still the same. Besides, the process of globalization has a serious impact on all spheres and all nations around the world. The different ethnics learn how to live in the multinational world without racial barriers. Nevertheless, I think that the author expresses her opinion absolutely clear, the article is persuasive and the problem is evident. Although I disagree with the author about some ideas, in general, it is possible to conclude that the central argument is supporting well and the total value of this work is high. Reference List Arat-Koc, S. (2005). The Disciplinary Boundaries of Canadian Identity After September 11: Civilizational. Identity, Multicultura lism, And the Challenge of Anti-Imperialist Feminism. Social Justice, Vol. 32, No. 4, 32-49. Arat-Koc, S. (2006). Whose Transnationalism? Canada, Clash of Civilizations Discourse, and Arab and Muslim Canadians. In Satzewich V. Wonq L. (Eds.) Transnational Identities and Practices in Canada (pp. 216-240). Canada: UBC Press. Dua, E., Razack, N. Warner J. N. (2005). Race, Racism, and Empire: Reflections on Canada. Social Justice  Vol. 32, No. 4.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Harb, H. (2008). New Orientalism: Depictions of Muslims in the Canadian Media. Retrieved from https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA%3A518