Friday, November 29, 2019

Therapeutic Nursing Analysis free essay sample

Therapeutic nursing is a very vital component of nursing. . Neal (2003, p100) states a therapeutic relationship can be described as being between nurse and patient and is based on patients’ needs for care assistance and guidance. It is a relationship that is established solely to meet the patient’s needs and therefore, is therapeutic in nature. Chambers et al (2005, p303) suggest interpersonal and therapeutic relationships are at the center of nursing work, the relationship that exists between nurse and patient can often provide the energy and be the catalyst, the motivation and the source of strength to continue with treatment or face difficult sometimes life threatening situations. I feel there is a need to establish a therapeutic relationship with your patient in order to build a relationship with them that will allow you to be able to fully meet their needs. So often health care workers are unable to meet a person needs simply because they are unaware of what those needs are. We will write a custom essay sample on Therapeutic Nursing Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Cutcliff (2005, p57) states that you can gain comfort from drawing on your interpersonal skills (therapeutic) and having seven skills within yourself. These are: 1. Strength 2. Endurance 3. Feeling self- confident and brave 4. Competent 5. Independence 6. At peace with self 7. Sense of value Freshwater et al (2005, p101) suggests the nurse patient relationship can be viewed as a major therapeutic tool of effective patient care. McHugh Schuster (200, p7) sates that communication plays an important role in the therapeutic relationship. Clark Bridge (1998, p2) suggest that forms of communication such as asking questions, allowing patients to express their feelings, or reassuring patients by means of touch will also result in important patient care, and increase patient satisfaction and well- being. Nichols (cited in McQueen 2000, p723-731) also suggests that the nurse is the central figure in the patient care and is best placed to provide much of the psychological care and this demands good interpersonal skills to form a therapeutic relationship with patients and to communicate more effectively with relatives and other health professionals. Communication covers a wide range of things including touch, play, and enthusiasm. Touch is important as it showed that I was listening to the patient’s, touch can mean different things, and it is a silent language of non- verbal behavior. Touch is an affectionate way of transmitting warmth. Not all people are comfortable with using touch so it’s important to know the boundaries with each individual patient, which you learn through communication. Another non- verbal communication skill could be silence giving both the patient and the health care worker time to reflect upon prior or future events in the patient’s care. Although it is important that the patient’s needs are still met and that the focus is still on them. Therefore it is important that the nurse involves the patient through other means of communication which again could be through touch or play. The NMC (2004) states that the nurse must recognize and respect the role of the patient/client as partners in their care and the contribution they can make to it. This would be the phase of identification in Peplau’s (1988) model of the nurse patient relationship. Peplau (cited in Hinchliff et al 2003, p130) views the nurse patient relationship as passing through four phases. They are as follows: 1. Orientation 2. Identification 3. Exploitation 4. Resolution Riley (cited in Cutcliffe et al 2005, p304) suggests that therapeutic relationships are about patient’s disclosure of personal and occasionally painful feelings with the nurse at a calculated emotional distance near enough to be involved but objective enough to be of help. Neal (cited in Hinchliffe et al 2003, p102) states that confidentiality and trust are two sides to the same coin and trust is another important attribute to the therapeutic relationship as the patient will place their trust in the nurse. Therapeutic care does not only exist in nursing care but should also be seen in every day interactions with people that you come in contact with on a daily basis. In order to fully understand therapeutic care as a concept, I have reviewed the original definition of this word. The dictionary definition states â€Å"providing good effects of your mind or body†, â€Å"of or relating to the treatment of illness†. Based on the definitions listed above there are some attributes that should be noted with effective therapeutic care. These include but are not limited to: 1. Therapeutic care is healthy 2. Therapeutic care is wholesome 3. Therapeutic care is alleviative 4. Therapeutic care is corrective 5. Therapeutic care is tonic 6. Therapeutic care does note judge based on race, creed, sex or financial basis Model Case An elderly homeless man admitted to the nursing home. He has no insurance nor does he have any support from his family to assist with the financial cost of the facility. The nurse admitting and assessing the patient knows the issues that the patient is dealing with financially. The nurse takes the time to talk to the patient, reassuring him that all things will work out for the best. She informs him of the support services offered through the facility, educates him on the facility therapy benefits, meal times, call- light and rest room locations. She also assisted him to warm shower, reassurance through touch with a nice back wash and light massage with the application of lotion and lastly clean clothes. The model case shows how health care staff can provide full therapeutic care while simply treating people the way anyone should be treated. The nurse took the time to hear the man situation and offer reassurance and referral services to assist in making his transformation easier. Contrary Case An elderly homeless man was admitted to the nursing home. He has no insurance nor does he have any support from his family to assist with the financial cost of the facility. The nurse admitting and assessing the patient knows the issues that the patient is dealing with financially. The nurse advises the man that he will need some means of payment and very soon because the facility can’t provide free service long. She asks â€Å"what did you do to your family to make them not deal with you†. The nurse speaks very fast and short with the man, and shows no care or concern for his well-being. She directs him to the shower room yet does not offer any assistance. Lastly she tells him to enjoy his short visit here unless he acquires some financial assistance. There were no gestures of therapeutic care seen in Contrary case because the nurse never took the time to see the gentleman as being worthy of her care. She allowed her nursing duty and human duty of giving simple therapeutic common concern to be clouded with his lack of finances and his current living situation. Borderline Case An elderly homeless man was admitted to the nursing home. He has no insurance nor does he have any support from his family to assist with the financial cost of the facility. The nurse admitting and assessing the patient knows the issues that the patient is dealing with financially. The nurse takes the time to talk to the patient, reassuring him that all things will work out for the best. She neglects to inform him of the support services offered through the facility, nor does she educate him on the facility therapy benefits, meal times, call- light and rest room locations. She does assist him to warm shower, yet barely touching him. Lastly she does give him clean clothes. The nurse in the borderline case did some of the things she should have done however she didn’t do a lot of things she should have. She was clouded by his current situation yet somewhere in her heart part of her still wanted to try and assist the gentleman. Her bad attributes truly outweighed her good because she should always offer full therapeutic care to the mind and body if given the opportunity. Invented case An elderly tiger allowed to join a community of young tigers. He has some obvious physical disabilities and does not show any positive signs of making a full recovery without assistance. A middle aged female tiger takes notice to him and decides to care for him the way she cared for her ill father before he passed. She nursed his wounds, provided him with food and showed him where to find fresh water. She spent time with him, sometimes in silence and other times with soft sounds and back rubs. They exercised together and shared personal inside jokes. He soon made a full recovery and was able to fully care for himself again. Illegitimate uses of the term therapeutic would be when someone uses therapeutic gestures to gain something for themselves like trying to obtain information that has no bearing on the person’s well-being. Some people may pretend to care about someone’s well-being for financially or materialistic gain. They may offer some therapeutic care like a massage or assistance with a shower just to gain information when they know they have no true desire to help in order to benefit the person in return. Antecedent and Consequence Antecedents for Therapeutic care 1. Having someone whom you can assist 2. Wanting to help someone 3. Assurance that overall therapeutic assistance will not cause harm Consequences for Therapeutic care 1. Increases someone’s overall well-being 2. Feel needed by health care provider 3. Adds quality to someone’s day 4. Shows growth as a person overall Empirical Referent The measurement of therapeutic care would surely require more non-direct research in order to give a more accurate conclusion. These would include but not limited to: 1. Observation of people interacting with total strangers 2. Interviewing people that were assessed by health care professionals 3. Speaking to people that offered a kind word, touch or gesture and inquire into how it made them feel

Monday, November 25, 2019

Psychology Course Essays

Psychology Course Essays Psychology Course Essay Psychology Course Essay As a young child, I was full of curiosity and always was searching for something to feed my curiosity; I often questioned myself and others about life, the world as human beings. When should we seek deep understanding and what are the circumstances that convert simple unambiguous certainties into complex facts? My curiosity grew into interest and found myself frequently at the library. To look for books that answers my question. Something with sure facts, supported with science and research. I stumbled on a psychology book The science of Mind and Behaviour by Charles T. Blair-Broeker, Randal M. Ernst, David G. Myers 2007, which talks about the human mind and behaviour. Remembering how interesting the book was makes me want to learn more from it. Although most of my questions were answered, I found myself having more questions than before. From that day on, I realised that I wanted to pursue a career in Psychology. After completing my Irish leaving cert (GCSE), without hesitation I applied at the Westminister University to study (2009) exploring psychology and successfully completed my first year and got awarded the full credits of 40 points. The experience of being at the Westminister University made me gain allot of confidence in myself. It made me challenge myself and mostly it made me work hard more independently. The experience as an O.U student had its high and low, it was truly something different and different is surely what I was looking for. In 2011 I took a gap year due to planning to move and study in England, therefore decided to work in the meantime to have more work experience. I was offered a job at River Island and was delighted to work for them. This job has given me the opportunity to interact with other people and explore different diversities, habit and background. I am able to speak English, Arabic and a bit of Spanish. In my spare time, I volunteer at my local community to teach children with learning difficulties, such as learning to read and write in English and Arabic. But to me I do not think of it as just teaching, but also giving them a chance to help them develop their knowledge and understanding. It’s fair to say that I’m passionate about psychology; this is why I am still interested in studying psychology. It’s not all about theories, but it helps people answer questions that they want to know and sometimes even need to know. To achieve a degree in Psychology is not going to be easy, but its a start to my dream career and it would take a lot of dedication, tolerance and determination. Its the path to a qualification in which I am prepared to strive and work hard for and add a stepping stone to archive my goals. My father once told me that you have to start at the bottom to get at the top, it is a long ladder that you have to climb, so embrace yourself for the climb because it is never easy one day I will have achieved my ambition to become a psychologist. To me Psychology is not just science; it is a way of life. A source of inspiration and it has inspired me to become a part of it.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Wal-Mart Consumer Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wal-Mart Consumer Analysis - Research Paper Example The history of Wal-Mart began a little after 1972 as a rural shopping store chain in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri (Lecavalier). The Wal-Mart company has four major divisions at the retail level: Wal-Mart Discount stores, Wal-Mart Super Centers, Sam’s Club Warehouses, and Neighborhood Market stores. The company‘s size can be emphasized by the fact that it employees more than 2 million people, reports a profit of close to 100 billion dollars, and has more than 7,000 outlets and counting. The success of the company lies in their customer strategy (Lecavalier). Being the world’s largest retail stores has been part of the growth challenge and customer care improvement. The rapid growth of the company led to new research strategies on the ways of improving its services to its customer base. The major focus was ways of improving customer care services and customer experiences while shopping at the stores. There are several sources of customer information at the dispo sal of the giant retailer, with some of these not used appropriately. The best and reliable sources of customer information are the touch-points of interaction between the company and the firm. There are majorly two touch-points in the Wal-Mart scenario: the pre-consumption stage and the consumption stage. In the pre-consumption stage, Wal-Mart acknowledges that the consumers interact and share a certain amount of with the customer service or the salespeople. This is an important step for Wal-Mart, and the next decision is that of determining what information to capture, and the manner in which the collected data will assist in making decisions on improving customer care procedures. The frontline operation personnel of Wal-Mart are well positioned to gather customer information, and the firm uses them to obtain the information it requires. The frontline personnel receives training on the what, when, and how of eliciting or observing customers and obtaining information (Feller, Shunk , and Callarman, 2006). The other means of obtaining these consumer data is using intermediaries and resellers of the retailers’ products, mainly through promotion, distribution, customer service, or delivery. Wal-Mart uses the gathered information for negotiating with the leading packaged goods manufacturers like Proctor and Gamble for customized products. In the consumption phase, the firm collects consumer data on the enquiries made by consumers on the directions of use. This data provides the company with a wealth of information, especially in the areas of recovery situations and service failure, and assist in product improvement and development efforts. The consumer data collection processes applied by Wal-Mart are systematically maintained and recorded. Nonetheless, there may be other data requirements not available in the above collection methods. The company collects that information through other forms of data collection techniques, mainly research. However, the comp any first determines the most appropriate and effective information that will assist in understanding consumer preferences and needs (Lisanti). The company then decides on the appropriate decision and choice regarding the suitable consumer research method (Feller, Shunk and Callarman, 2006). For instance, there are several formal and informal measures in the determination of the changes required to improve consumer satisfaction. These methods may be qualitative

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Dell Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dell - Case Study Example wn design in the year 1985, this was followed by unveiling of the world’s fastest performing computer in 1986 which was to be promoted by the setting up of the first onsite service to compensate for lack of retail in the year 1987. In 1988, the company changed its name to Dell Computer Corporation then tried to change its marketing strategy by selling to retailers in 1990 through warehouse clubs and superstores. However, this strategy did not last owing to dismal performance. They then embarked again on selling custom-built computers online to the customers. In 2000, Dell became number one seller of computers in USA surpassing even the Compaq (123HelpMe.com, 2015). Dell computers corporations has the mission to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. It was created to operate on a direct selling model where customers are to order for their computers online and then the computer is custom-made according to the needs of the customer (Saunders, 2009). Dell’s success is majorly attributed to the better management of its supply chain. Dell applies the best expertise to process customers’ orders and supply it at the fastest speed possible. Where the rivals take weeks, Dell takes only hours to supply the products to its customers. Dell has adopted as one of its strategies, the shortest supply chain. Dell purpose to minimize the involvement of middle men as a way of minimizing time they take to get products to customers and as a way of getting directly in touch with the customers. The company also ventured into customer relationship management (CRM) as a way of staying close to customers. They hire third party logistics to supply their finished products instead of the middle men. Supplier of Dell supply raw materials on a just in time basis directly to the production line at shortest time hence contributing to success of the company. Success is in terms reduced costs on setting up a

Monday, November 18, 2019

Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in which Essay

Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in which young children learn with enjoyment and challenge (QCA, 2000). Critically evaluate the wor - Essay Example Such play is pleasurable and fun, active and mind absorbing. Considering today’s fast moving world and the technologies, while infants and children can be engaged by videos and technology based toys, they do not provide the same multi-faceted stimulation and developmentally essential experiences those more traditional games, toys, music, and imagination provides. It is true that play has an essential role in building social skills and communication, creativity and problem solving. The best developmental tool that we can give them is by allowing children to participate in self-directed, unstructured free play. Researches insists that while children are playing, we need to create a tolerance for error, allow them fail too, reducing the expectation that they must be perfect. This gives the child a scope of decision making, memory development and the thinking skills necessary for childhood success in the classroom and adult success in the workplace. Play is something that doesn’t intend to target race, religion, or socio-economic status. Data from eminent child specialists gives clear picture that play deprivation leads to increased aggression and violence, anti-social behavior, repressing of emotions, learning disorders, and obesity. Play is crucial to both the cognitive and physical development of children, and its deprivation can have negative and long lasting effects. There could not be any second thoughts that children involved in the outdoor games in the playground enjoys the freedom to be physically active but above all this playing experience works as an outdoor learning laboratory with numerous exciting and challenging activities. When outdoors, children can observe nature, hang bird feeders, plant radishes, search for cicada shells, or watch the communal, determined behavior of ants transporting food. They can

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Dairy Industry Of Pakistan Marketing Essay

Dairy Industry Of Pakistan Marketing Essay The dairy industry of Pakistan is a very competitive industry and has huge potential. Unfortunately, dairy processors in Pakistan still have miles to cover before they can exploit full benefits of this industry. The milk production of the country has not been up to the mark and as a result the demand for dairy products outweighs the supply. Traditionally, people living in urban areas preferred to consume fresh milk delivered to their homes by Gawallas. However with the passage of time, as people became more and more health conscious there was a shift towards the consumption of UHT milk and its demand has been increasing ever since. In the UHT milk segment, firms like Nestle Pakistan Limited and Engro Foods Limited have emerged as leading market players. These firms with their bundle of financial resources have made huge investments in getting state of the art technology, manpower and strengthening their promotion efforts. Despite the fact that local dairy processing industries have b een able to match the quality standards of Nestle and Engro to a greater extent, these firms lack in their marketing efforts. Noon Pakistan Limited is one such firm which is being effected due to poor marketing efforts and has not been able to reap the benefits of the industry in which it operates. Noon Pakistan Limited is a venture of the Noon Family and has been marketing its products under the brand name of Nurpur. The firm enjoys market leadership in the category of butter. Initially when the firm launched its UHT milk the market response was good. However with the passage of time, the brand performance of Nurpur UHT milk has deteriorated due to mismanagement of marketing efforts. While management claims that they are able to sell whatever they produce, the market survey results prove that the prevailing performance of the brand has not been up to the mark. The firm relies on the selling concept which is a short term approach and little emphasis is being given to the concept of brand building. It is the need of the hour that Noon Pakistan Limited adopts a long term strategic approach if it wants to secure its position in the market for years to come. To study the issue being faced by Noon Pakistan Limited, a rigorous Literature review was conducted followed by interviews with employees of the firm, retailers and consumer surveys. Financial analysis and comparison with Nestle and Engro was done. Even though Noon Pakistan Limited does not match the financial strength of its competitors, there are many ways in which the firm can improve its position in the market. The first step in building strong brands is to ensure that the brand has a high salience. The brand should have top of the mind recall and recognition. Unfortunately the survey results analyzed using SPSS software proved that Nurpur milk is not the first brand which comes to the mind when a consumer wants to purchase UHT milk. Majority of the respondents could not even recall any advertisements of Nurpur milk. A major proportion of the respondents also highlighted the fact that Nurpur milk was occasionally short in the market. The results of the retailer interviews also prove that Noon Pakistan Limited has to improve its trade promotion schemes as majority of the retailers were not satisfied with current distribution practices of the company. The retailers highlighted the fact that the company should improve its promotion activities so that consumers start demanding Nurpur milk. Due to weak financial resources, Noon Pakistan Limited should utilize alternative strategies to maintain its position in the market. The firm needs to invest in consumer promotion activities like in store sampling and taste trials. The firm also needs to focus on its BTL activities in order to strengthen the perceptual positioning of the brand in consumer mind. The firm needs to revise its payment policies with retailers and start providing goods on a credit basis to those retailers who have a good reputation in the market. In short, Noon Pakistan Limited should revise its current practices and operations. The firm should let go its old concept of selling and instead focus on building the equity of its brands if it wants to strengthen its position in the market for the future. 2.INTRODUCTION The Noon Group The Noon Group of Companies is being managed by the Noon family. The group has qualified and experienced professionals. The Noon Group of Pakistan strives to improve its profitability and safeguard its stakeholders interest while maintaining highest quality standards and serving the community (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). The Noon Group of Companies has various business ventures and Noon Pakistan Limited is one such profitable venture of the Group. Apart from Noon Pakistan Limited a brief description of the other business ventures are as follows:- 1. Noon Sugar Mills Limited This venture was incorporated in 1964 and manufactures white sugar. Initial crushing capacity was 1500 MT of sugarcane which has been increased to 4000 MT over the passage of time. In 1986 an alcohol distillery was setup to manufacture industrial alcohol. The total number of people employed is 683 and currently efforts are underway to increase the crushing capacity to 8000 MT/day (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 2. Pioneer Cement Limited Pioneer Cement Limited was incorporated in 1985 with a total investment of Rs.2660 million and production capacity of 630000 tons per annum. The plant is situated in Chenki, Khushab. The project was financed by a consortium of foreign lenders led by the Asian Development Bank. Efforts are underway for another line having a capacity of 6000 MT/day (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 3. Noon International Private Limited Noon International Private Limited is a trading company which was established in 1972. The company employs 43 people including a team of 15 professional sales engineers. This firm represents various international companies of repute in Pakistan and markets their equipment in the fields of textile, power generation, sugar, fertilizer, chemical, steel, cement, food and milling (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 4. Textile Technics Private Limited Incorporated in 2004 with a total investment of Rs 100 million, Textile Technics is a joint venture between M/S Blue Reed of Spain and Noon International Private Limited. The project has a production capacity of 22000 meters of reed per annum (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 5. Textile Services Textile Services was established in 1994 and provides services to over 200 customers of Sulzer Textile Projectile Weaving Machines. The company employs 32 people and provides training, technical service and spare parts for clients (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Noon Pakistan Limited Incorporated in 1966 with a total investment of 553 million, Noon Pakistan Limited produces various products namely Butter, Cheese, UHT milk, HCLF, Pasteurized milk, Flavored milk, Juices, Water, Desi ghee, Honey and Jam. Installed capacity of the plant is 72000 Liters/2 shifts and there are 700 employees. Noon Pakistan Limited has been marketing its products under the brand name of Nurpur. The plant is located in Bhalwal, Sargodha while the head office is situated in Lahore (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). The company has not only built a strong reputation over the past years but has also been able to offer a strong product portfolio to its consumers. Noon Pakistan Limited believes in optimum utilization of resources in order to secure the interests of major stakeholders and fulfilling its obligation as a responsible corporate citizen by serving the community. The company also utilizes rigorous quality control procedures at all stages to ensure supply of quality products to consumers. This has allowed the firm to increase its turnover from Rs 311.7 million in 2004 to Rs 2436.41 million in 2011 (Company Profile: Nurpur Foods, 2012). The year 2011 was a challenging year for Noon Pakistan Limited. Energy Crisis, security situation coupled with devastating floods had exerted significant pressure on the economy and cost of living. Higher inflationary trends continued impacting their key products particularly related to fresh milk when shortages led to a cost increase of 16% compared to last year. Additionally, higher growth of their products led to severe filling capacity constraints and the market demand could not be met fully. Despite all these challenges, the management made serious efforts to achieve performance objectives by effective product mix, controlling fixed costs and locating new cheaper sources of raw material. Economic trends, prolonged gas and electricity outages, severe competition in selling brands and procurement of raw milk are not expected to ease out during the coming months. Due to reduced buying power, trend in the market is changing fast as consumers are looking for cheaper products in small packages. Therefore the management at Noon Pakistan Limited has made plans to reassess the market requirements and also further improve their production efficiency (Noon Pakistan Limited, 2011). Vision The vision statement of Noon Pakistan Limited is as follows:- Our vision at Nurpur is to be a transformative force in our community and world at large and to serve as a model of a sustainable business alternative that nurtures social and economic well being in an environmentally sensitive manner (Our Vision: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Mission The mission statement of Noon Pakistan Limited is as follows:- Nurpur is committed to supplying the consumer and customer with the finest, high quality products and to be a leading industry in healthy and nutritious products. Nurpur supports these goals with a corporate philosophy of adhering to the highest ethical conduct in all its business dealings, treatment of its employees, and social and environmental policies (Our Mission: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Core Values At Noon Pakistan Limited, consumers are at the forefront of everything they do. The core values of the company include the generation of Ideas that can be constantly challenged to develop next generation solutions, to conduct business openly and fairly while competing fiercely at the same time, to encourage teamwork with individual flairs, to set tough goals that can be challenged and beaten, to value preservation of the environment and ensure sustainability of organic agriculture, to value mutually supportive relationships among members of local and global communities (Core Values: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Awards and Certifications Noon Pakistan Limited has won many prestigious awards and certifications which are First dairy company in Pakistan to be certified under ISO 22000:2005, Brand of the year award (2006-07) in the category of Butter, Brand of the year award (2007-08) in category of Butter, Cheese and flavored milk and Brand of the year award (2008-09) in the category of Butter (Certifications: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Three years production snapshot PRODUCTION UNITS 2011 2010 2009 UHT Milk/Tea whitener Liters 30,940,079 20,385,290 16,246,333 UHT Flavored milk Liters 4,668,071 4,075,407 2,498,299 UHT Cream Liters 71,381 461,722 345,580 Butter Kilograms 986,335 1,011,925 862,622 Milk powder Kilograms 927,943 1,160,508 930,894 Cheese Kilograms 203,146 206,508 194,020 Ghee Kilograms 34,371 52,190 31,331 Pasteurized Milk Liters 4,911,778 2,663,294 1,806,733 Loose cream Liters 3,490 Jams and honey Kilograms 34,032 42,812 23,735 Juices Liters 4,421,399 10,341,160 10,402,443 Adapted from the Annual Report (Noon Pakistan Limited, 2011). The production snapshot over the years shows that the production of UHT milk/Tea whitener, UHT flavored milk and Pasteurized milk has increased from 2009-11 while the production of UHT cream, Butter, Milk Powder, Cheese, Ghee, Jams and Juices has decreased from 2009-11. Loose cream was discontinued in the year 2011. The focus of the firm remains on strengthening its position in the UHT milk segment. The Purchase Department To study the operations of the Purchase Department, two interviews were conducted with the Purchase Manager. The findings of the interviews have been utilized to describe the function of the Purchase Department. The purchase department is responsible for purchasing all materials required by the head office and plant other then milk which is purchased at the milk collection centre in Bhalwal. Materials which are purchased by the department range from ordinary items like office and plant stationary to complex materials like Flavors, Spare parts for plant equipment and transportation vehicles, Chemicals, Fuel and everything related to the manufacturing process, Logistics and day to day operations. Demand for requisition comes from the factory and approval has to be given by the Managing Director. The purchase department currently has 4-5 employees. The purchase department stays in coordination with the plant and suppliers through phone and email and as such no software is currently being used by the department. The department uses a manual system of keeping records and storing files. The purchase department always keeps 3 copies of requisitions and delivery challans. One copy is sent to the pla nt, one copy is maintained with the purchase department and one copy is kept by the Purchase Manager. The major suppliers of Noon Pakistan Limited are SMC, Sitara Chemicals , Jason Foods and Danisco. Everyone is involved in the purchase process including the General Manager, Purchase Manager and people from the plant. Payments to suppliers are made either on cash or credit through the head office. Credit terms depend on contacts and relations with suppliers and can range from 15 days up to a month. According to the Purchase Manager, Noon Pakistan Limited believes in maintaining healthy relations with Suppliers and this is one of the key strengths of the department. The primary reason given for this was that Juices and Milk factories in Pakistan have no second option since suppliers are limited and few. They have to purchase materials from the specified suppliers and bargaining power of suppliers is high in this regard. However if relations are good with suppliers not only do supplie rs cooperate but may also be lenient in terms of credit. In this regard price does not play a major issue but a greater issue is that of availability of materials from suppliers. The Purchase Manager also stated that in case of materials needed from local suppliers, the purchase department is given no time and purchase has to be made immediately. However when imported materials are required from foreign suppliers, the Purchase department is informed in advance as shipping takes time. There is no fixed pattern of purchases made throughout the year and it all depends on plant and market requirements. The quality of materials purchased is checked at the plant and if there are defects the merchandise is returned to the supplier. The Purchase Manager also stated that there is no HR department as such and the performance of the purchase department is monitored from the plant and by the Managing Director (Ashraf, 2012). DELIVERY CHALLAN Noon Pakistan Limited 1st Floor, Mustafa Centre, 45 F, Main Market, Gulberg Lahore Pakistan No._______ Date:_________ To, Manager, Noon Pakistan Limited, Bhalwal The following goods have been dispatched to you by Truck No_____________ SR# Description Qty. Amount Supplier Remarks Kindly Sign and Return Duplicate ____________________ _________________ Malik Mohammed Ashraf Bhalwal Store Source: Company Internal Documents NOON PAKISTAN LIMITED, BHALWAL DEMAND OF STORE TO BE PURCHASED DEMAND NO______ DATE____________ SR# Item Code Nomenclature Specification Name A/U Qty Required Stock in Hand Last Purchase Date Rate/Unit Amount Remarks ____________ _______________ Store Manager General Manager Source: Company Internal Documents The Marketing Department To study the operations of the Marketing Department of the firm, two interviews were conducted with the Marketing Manager. Marketing research activities are outsourced. The Marketing Department purchases monthly reports from different marketing research agencies like AC Nielson and Tetra Pak. In this way the marketing department stays in touch with the latest trends and competitor activities. The Marketing department comprises of one marketing manager and a brand manager. The Marketing Manager reports to the General Manager of Marketing and Sales while activities of the brand manager are monitored by the marketing manager. The brand manager is responsible for dealing with various agencies as all marketing research data and ATL as well as BTL activities are outsourced. Some of the agencies with which the marketing department works are SABB Marketing, Time and Space, Orient, HRK Communications, Aura Communications, TOPAZ Communications and ADZ Communications. These agencies prepare designs of print ads and commercials. The brand manager discusses the various designs with the Marketing Manager and after mak ing necessary amendments and recommendations approval is given to Marketing agencies. The Marketing Department does its planning in the beginning of the year in coordination with the Sales Department. A monthly, yearly and 5 year plan is made. The Marketing Department is consulted in all strategic decisions made at the corporate level. There is no fixed method for determining the budget allocated to the Marketing Department and it all depends on various factors like last years profitability and market performance of various brands available in the market. In 2012, three new brands by the name of Yogo Yogo, Dairy Rozana and Jalwa have been launched. The Marketing Strategy of Noon Pakistan Limited is Differentiation strategy. However the strategy to be adopted for each brand depends on the market performance and competitor activities. Since UHT milk is difficult to differentiate, the current strategy being adopted is to position it as a milk which is enriched with vitamins needed for healthy growth and development. The target market of UHT milk is Housewives and working females as well as males. Different SKUs are being used to target different Socio Economic Classes like the 1000ml pack is targeted for SEC-A while the 200ml and 250ml packs are targeted towards low income households. The main competitor brands of Nurpur Milk are Olpers, Milk Pak, Good Milk and Haleeb. The marketing department does not go for an offensive strategy because Nestle and Engro are huge giants with bundle of resources. Noon Pakistan Limited can be classified as an Analyzer because it is operating both in a stable and dynamic market. Another reason for not adopting an offensive strategy is that volumes are low. Importance is not given to gain shelf space because production volumes are so low and everything sells out due to high demand of UHT milk. Recently a new brand by the name of Dairy Rozana has been launched as a flanker brand to compete with the Dairy Omung of Engro. The main weak ness of the Marketing Department is that very little attention is being paid towards building brand equity. The department is focusing on increasing sales which is a short term approach rather than focusing on building their brands (Khan, 2012). Organizational Chart of the Marketing Department Source: Internal Company Documents The Brand Manager is responsible for dealing with various Marketing Agencies and reports to the Marketing Manager. The Marketing Manager reports to the General Manager of Sales and Marketing (Khan, 2012). The Sales Department Two interviews were conducted with the Sales Analyst of the firm to get insights regarding the operations of the Sales Department. The organizational structure of the Sales Department comprises of the General Manager of Sales and Marketing, National Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Area Sales Manager, Field Managers and Sales Officers. The job description of the Field Manager and Sales Officer is the same but position of Field Manager is superior because those Sales Officers whose performance is consistently outstanding are made Field Managers. Territories have been assigned according to location and comprises of Central Zone, Southern Punjab zone and Northern zone which includes RWL/AJK, Hazara belt and Pakhtoon.K belt. Distribution is limited in Quetta and Multan because of heavy freight expenses. The process of forecasting yearly sales is that last years closing sales are doubled and the amount is set as the Sales Target for the next year. Sales Quotas are assigned to Salesmen depending on the Area and potential of salesman. Other factors which are taken into account while assigning quotas are the seaso nality issue because milk production and its demand fluctuates throughout the year. There are more than 280 distributors all over the country and each Sales Officer has to monitor and look after three to four distributors. The Sales department also relies on individual projections from the Sales Team when deciding upon monthly and quarterly targets. If a salesman is unable to achieve his target in the specified time, he has to achieve both, the remaining target as well as the target allocated in the next period. If targets are continuously not being achieved the Salesman is fired. The salesmen who achieve targets are awarded with bonuses and cash rewards. In order to motivate the sales team, a sales competition is held and winner of Sales Man of the Year is rewarded. Besides having a Sales competition, vacation trips are also planned to motivate the Sales Team. If targets set in the year 2012 are met, the entire Sales Team will go on a vacation to Dubai on the companys expenses. Noo n Pakistan Limited has also started exporting its products to countries like England, Kenya and Afghanistan. The documentation process to export products involves the Performa Invoice, E-Form Attestation, Commercial Invoice, Packing List, Certificate of Origin and Analysis Report (Butt, 2012). Organizational Chart of Sales Department Source: Company Internal Documents Product Portfolio and Price List Product Packing Unit/Ctn Retailer Margin Trade Price Consumer Price 1.UHT Milk Ctns Units Ctns Units 1000ml 12 6.09% 1018 84.83 1080 90 200ml 24 4.35% 391 16.29 408 17 250ml 27 5.97% 586 21.7 621 23 2.Chai mix Ctns Units Ctns Units 250ml 27 6.38% 533 19.74 567 21 200ml 24 5.97% 385 16.04 408 17 3.Butter KGs Units KGs Units 200gm 30 8.00% 463 92.6 500 100 100gm 60 12.70% 488 48.8 550 55 50gm 120 13.20% 530 26.5 600 30 20gm 300 13.20% 530 10.6 600 12 10gm 600 13.20% 530 5.3 600 6 1Kg white 20 11.80% 8500 425 9500 475 4.Cheese Ctns Units Ctns Units 200gm cottage 42 9.10% 6930 165 7560 180 200gm slice 36 16.10% 5580 155 6480 180 225gm chedder 40 14.90% 5920 148 6800 170 225gm spicy 40 14.90% 5920 148 6800 170 225gm mozarella 40 14.60% 6980 174.5 8000 200 450gm chedder 20 13.40% 6880 344 7800 390 450gm mozarella 20 13.60% 8800 440 10000 500 1.8Kg mozarella 4 13.10% 5128 1282 5800 1450 1Kg slice 8 13.60% 5072 634 5760 720 1Kg slice (KFC) 8 13.60% 5072 634 5760 720 2Kg Chedder 4 12.10% 3924 981 4400 1100 5.Cream P/Tray Units P/Tray Units 250ml 27 4.20% 1200 44.44 1250 46.3 6.Pasteurized milk P/Tray Liters P/Tray Liters 1000ml 10 11.70% 600 60 670 67 500ml 20 13.30% 600 30 680 34 7.Flavored milk Ctns Units Ctns Units 250ml 12 13.30% 233 19.42 264 22 200ml 12 12.10% 214 17.83 240 20 8.Pure juices Ctns Units Ctns Units Apple 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Guava 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Orange 1000ml 12 7.10% 840 70 900 75 Pineapple 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Mango 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Apple 200ml 24 11.80% 322 13.42 360 15 Orange 200ml 24 11.80% 322 13.42 360 15 Mango 200ml 24 15.40% 312 13 360 15 9.Yogo yogo Ctns Units Ctns Units 200ml 12 8.70% 276 23 300 25 10.Desi Ghee Ctns Units Ctns Units 1Kg 6 7.50% 2232 372 2400 400 11.Jams 1.5Kg Units 1.5Kg Units Strawberry 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 Apple 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 Marmalade 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 Honey 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 12.Dairy Rozana 1.5Kg Units 1.5Kg Units 1000ml 12 6.12% 735 61.25 780 65 250ml 27 6.11% 458 16.96 486 18 13.JALWA Ctns Units Ctns Units 250ml 27 6.21% 483 17.89 513 19 200ml 24 5.88% 340 14.17 360 15 Source: Company Internal Documents Marketing Mix of Nurpur UHT milk Nurpur UHT milk has been positioned as a milk which is enriched with vitamins needed for healthy growth and development (Khan, 2012). The milk is packed in Tetra Aseptic Packaging which allows long lasting storage and shelf space. Currently three SKUs are available in the market which are 200ml, 250ml and 1000ml. Initially the pricing policy adopted for Nurpur milk was market penetration pricing, which means prices were low compared to competing brands. Recently the pricing policy has been changed and now the pricing policy is competitive pricing policy as shown :- Product Packing Unit/Ctn Retailer Margin Trade Price Consumer Price 1.UHT MILK Ctns Units Ctns Units 1000ml 12 6.09% 1018 84.83 1080 90 200ml 24 4.35% 391 16.29 408 17 250ml 27 5.97% 586 21.7 621 23 Source: Company Internal Documents Due to low volumes produced the company has adopted the policy of selective distribution. The company offers various discounts to retailers to push their products into the market (Khan, 2012). The indirect distribution channel being used is shown below:- Source: Company Internal Documents Due to limited marketing budgets, the marketing department has to promote most of the products through Below The Line(BTL) activitie

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule Essay -- Politics Po

The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative command system without destroying its very core, and because Gorbachev's "democratic socialism" was unattainable without abandoning the very notion of Soviet socialism itself. As R. Strayer had pointed out in Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?, the USSR was held together under Communist rule with "a m ixture of ideological illusion and raw coercion" (Strayer, 36). The Gorbachev era saw both of these two bases of the party-state's power falling apart. By the mid-1980s, urbanization and higher education had transformed the Soviet society from a relatively homogenous one into one that was considerably diverse with a sizable middle-class. Educated and exposed to Western culture, the professionals and the white collars were far more likely to understand the Soviet Union's weaknesses and the system's fallacies than their counterparts decades ago. Coupled with the intelligentsia's anti-establishment tradition (as embodied by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakhorav), this new class of economic elite had ... ... an enormous void in Russian society. The old party-state machine was demolished, yet no new concrete political system had risen in its place. The old ideology was discredited, yet no newfound conviction could unite the country. After the 1991 coup, even Gorbachev was powerless to steer his Mother Russia. To this day, the old legacy of Communist rule haunts the nation still. Works Cited Aslund, Anders. How Russia Became a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1995 Brown, Archie. The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. John L. H. Keep. Last of the Empires. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. Strayer, Robert. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? New York: M.E. Sharpe. 1998. Tucker, Robert C. "Lenin and Revolution". The Lenin Anthology. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1994. The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule Essay -- Politics Po The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative command system without destroying its very core, and because Gorbachev's "democratic socialism" was unattainable without abandoning the very notion of Soviet socialism itself. As R. Strayer had pointed out in Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?, the USSR was held together under Communist rule with "a m ixture of ideological illusion and raw coercion" (Strayer, 36). The Gorbachev era saw both of these two bases of the party-state's power falling apart. By the mid-1980s, urbanization and higher education had transformed the Soviet society from a relatively homogenous one into one that was considerably diverse with a sizable middle-class. Educated and exposed to Western culture, the professionals and the white collars were far more likely to understand the Soviet Union's weaknesses and the system's fallacies than their counterparts decades ago. Coupled with the intelligentsia's anti-establishment tradition (as embodied by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakhorav), this new class of economic elite had ... ... an enormous void in Russian society. The old party-state machine was demolished, yet no new concrete political system had risen in its place. The old ideology was discredited, yet no newfound conviction could unite the country. After the 1991 coup, even Gorbachev was powerless to steer his Mother Russia. To this day, the old legacy of Communist rule haunts the nation still. Works Cited Aslund, Anders. How Russia Became a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1995 Brown, Archie. The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. John L. H. Keep. Last of the Empires. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. Strayer, Robert. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? New York: M.E. Sharpe. 1998. Tucker, Robert C. "Lenin and Revolution". The Lenin Anthology. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1994.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Bsnl Change Management Strategy

BSNL competitive portfolio & Change Management M Ramesh, [email  protected] com Synopsis: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed on 1st October „2000, is one of the largest & leading public sector units providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India. They operate under 13 different brands. Their customer base as on July 31, 2011 was at 95. 14 Million. BSNL has an installed Network in the country comprising about 43. 74 million line basic telephone capacity, 8. 83 million WLL capacity, 72. 60 million GSM capacity, 37,885 fixed exchanges, 68,162 GSM BTSs, 12,071 CDMA Towers, 197 Satellite Stations, 6,86,644 RKm. f OFC, 50,430 RKm. of microwave network connecting 623 districts, 7330 cities/towns & 5. 8 lakhs villages. However, with such a large base, excellent brand recall, political backing and huge workforce, the company has not been doing well and in fact has reported a loss in the previous financial year. BSNL had reported the highest net profit of over Rs10,000 crore in 2005-06 but since then its profits have been falling. The losses have more than tripled to about Rs. 6,000 crores during 2010-11 mainly due to hefty outgo for employees' salary and expenses borne by the PSU for procuring 3G and BWA spectrum. The company had registered a net loss of Rs. 1,823 crores during 2009-10. The total revenues of the company also declined to Rs 28,876 crore during the current year, down nearly 10% from Rs 32,072 crore in the previous financial year. Recipient of the Golden Eagle award in 2004 & 2005 for the most trusted brand in telecom sector, BSNL is today struggling to retain its identity. This article aims are preparing a competitive strategy for BSNL and select suitable competitive portfolio so that the company can emerge out of the crisis it is in. Further, the change management strategy that has to be adopted in order to implement the changes in the organisation is given in this section. 1. Competitive Strategy and suitable corporate portfolio: Before we embark upon suggesting a suitable corporate portfolio, it is important to analyse the current the functioning and management of BSNL. a) No doubt that its presence and reach across the country is its biggest strength. Established offices in all the metros, A, B & C class cities, and installations and offices in the remotest parts of the nation, especially J, North East is a strength they can easily exploit on their road to recovery. ) Long serving employees and excellent knowledge of the market, customers, tacit knowledge base of BSNL is unique. They are different from the competition since customers view BSNL as a 2|Page state run firm and profit not being the only motive, would be willing to trust them more than other competitors. c) Even today, they rule the land line conne ctions and command a market share of over 65% of the customer base and any of the revival and restructuring plans for BSNL has to pass through this channel. ) BSNL, being a completely government owned organisation, they can use their political affiliations to change the rules of the market, create entry barriers for competition, and lobby for influencing the market to leverage their strengths, policies that give them an edge, and those which do not violate TRAI and other fair trade practices, can be adopted. While we discuss the selection of suitable portfolio from the competitive strategies, apart from the strengths of BSNL highlighted above, it is important that the crucial questions of what can be done that is not being done at BSNL is pondered. Some of the questions that we have to ask and find answers that hold key to developing a competitive strategy and designing a suitable portfolio are: 1. BSNL has a vision ‘To become the largest Telecom Service provider in South East Asia’. For this it is important to understand the parameter for being the largest. Is it revenue, Av. Revenue per User, profit, subscribers, Network (no of exchanges, BTS etc)? Clarity in purpose and vision is essential to developing a suitable competitive strategy. 2. Is the mission aligned with its current position? Has it redefined its mission from a state run entity, interested in nation development to a corporate that has to deliver to its owners and stake holders? 3. What are the investments that have been made or planned to be made, in order to provide world class State-of-art technology telecom services on demand at affordable price and to provide world class telecom infrastructure to develop country's economy. 4. What has been done towards continuous innovation in product and delivery of services with the appropriate pricing is the key strategy for developing the trust in customer so that he keeps his loyalty with BSNL. . BSNL can target to acquire more than 50% of new acquisitions while maintaining existing clientele. How will this be done? 6. Today landline base is reducing across the globe, BSNL, to be a Significant Market Power (SMP), must increase it base to over 80%. 7. Ultimately it is the quality, customer care, and timely availability apart from price, which will matter. What are the actions being taken towards these critical success factors? 8. Can’t there be just one brand i. e. BSNL? Has there ever been an examination of their revenue break-up? Currently there are 13 brands that have to be developed and positioned. |Page 9. There are certain distinctions that BSNL has, like being awarded the most trusted telecom brand in year 2003 & 2004. They received the Golden Peacock award for Best Corporate Social responsibility. How can these be leveraged? 10. There are over one-lakh retailers, 1000 franchisees, 3300 CSCs, 36000 exchanges and still BSNL is not visible like others? Why can’t the space and people be utilized? 11. How to leverage the franchisee and STD-PCO strengths? Can these outlets be their core strength? 12. Why are the recharge coupons, India Telephone Cards are in shortage when there is no capacity constraint? Is it bad inventory & supply chain management, or bad franchisee management? 13. Are there targets for the recharge coupons just like DELs & CellOne? Why can? t the huge network of franchises be leveraged for better customer care and improve collection efficiency? 14. With competition heating up, gone are the days when customers deposited money with BSNL in advance for connections and security money for value added services. There are no fixed deposits; and the working capital and other funds requirements have to be met from operating revenues. What is the plan to improve collections, realize bills early, not on the last day of payment and reduce bad debts? 15. In line with the market needs, does BSNL have a 24X7 culture in their organization, though operation and maintenance are provided on 24X7 basis? What about provisioning customer care and marketing on 24X7 basis? Competitive strategy: Pricing: On the pricing front, BSNL does not have a choice but to follow the market trend. They can only bundle the packages in such a manner that the premium services bring more revenue. Focus must not be on reducing charges, but upgrading each customer by RS 20 – RS 50 by offering them more add on relevant services. It is usually much easier to sell additional things to existing customers than to add new customer, and the customer base of BSNL is quite huge and substantive for this model. Differentiation: In order to differentiate itself from competition, BSNL Business development units have to be given the task to develop and nurture long-term relations with corporate houses. MoUs have to be signed for bulk bills, One-point payments for multiple service locations. Setting up Key Account Manager servicing different corporate and key accounts and offering single window approach to resolve all issues and prevent any unwanted issues. Focus: BSNL has a strong hold on land line telephones, an important requirement for ADSL connections. There are huge benefits of ADSL over Wi-Fi & is very cost effective way to access Internet. BSNL is in a 4|Page unique position to leverage this advantage and its revenues, customer base and profitability can improve multi-fold if it can capitalise on this one aspect alone. Merging government telecom companies ITI and MTNL with state-run BSNL is one of the options. This will give them a great advantage in terms of increased customer base, implementing change management and brining in changes and most importantly economy of scale, power of bargaining. Hybrid: In order to be more competitive in the present market BSNL must not only differentiate itself from competition, give a good and attractive price and have a focussed approach. The competitive strategy recommended is: Focus on improving ADSL services at attractive rates to households and offices, bundle it with land line connections and mobile connections. Offer central point billing PAN India. For e. g. If a corporate company has branch and regional network, they must have the option of consolidated billing when they want and where they want to the level of Head office control they want to implement. BSNL can also offer special rates and Closed User Group (CUG) for government sector and earn huge revenues, since this segment is very price sensitive and is a very high volume user segment. More aggressive media campaign focussed on the strategically selected segments will help BSNL increase its customer base. A change in its staff attitude making them focussed on customers rather than systems and procedures, fast and efficient decision making with empowered employees. Continuity in supply chains, procuring of quality equipment and products must be focussed on. After defence and railways, BSNL is the country’s largest landholder. Its properties span 3,500 towns across India worth thousands of crores, making it the largest state-owned companies in terms of land assets. A turn around policy of BSNL should have this huge source of revenue at its core. 2. Change management strategy to enable it turnaround. No change in BSNL can happen and can be implemented without change of mindset in addition to the skills of marketing & sales. In this regards it is important to note that a research paper submitted by Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune in July 2010 after conducting a survey in BSNL concluded 5|Page that â€Å"the introduction of change seems to be managed effectively in the organisation with proper care and commitment and was agreed by the respondent BSNL employees with a mean 1. 022. The change is introduced by the consent of top management. To keep up the pace with the dynamic environment the management encourages change by explaining and ensuring the minimization of adverse effects, and put efforts to convert employee resistance into the acceptance. Employees were found to be change oriented, as they have continuous learning attitude to keep match with the future organizational requirements. Respondents? shows resistance change in some issues due to some security and personal reasons, which can be taken care by proper change management initiatives†. BSNL must focus on improving its quality of employees and skilled manpower? They must focus the organizational setup more suitable for better results? The staff expense to revenue ratio could be a good indicator. Today, more than 47% of the revenue goes to paying salaries to employees and this is the first aspect of change that must be introduced. The decision making process must be based on scientific analysis of the precious customer data they already have such as calling pattern, payment habits, usage profile etc. Increased number of surveys, customer research and systematic and periodical analysis of Net growth in mobile and churn is to be conducted? Steps must be implemented to reduce the churn? Acquisition cost is usually said to be 5-8 times the retention cost, and hence BSNL must focus on retention of customers. Management must not threaten the employees, they have been long serving and loyal and at the same time demanding. The management should involve the employees in strategy and decision making and should help them to open their minds and apply it to improve the quality of service, network, and expansion of network in time; utilising and selling the products before the technology becomes obsolete (like WIMAX). Considering the current scenario a Revolutionary change is required in BSNL and they should modify their competitive strategy quickly in order to survive in the hyper competitive telecom market in India. If one has to apply the McKinsey 7S framework for the change management process in BSNL, it would be as under: 1. Strategic: BSNL has to revisit its mission and evolve competitive strategies that are in line with the market dominant position that they want to be, exploiting their current strength of market leadership in land line connections. All their activities must be reoriented towards this change of positioning. |Page 2. Substance: BSNL needs to revamp its board and its top management, to be more customer and market oriented, dynamic and profit driven. Culturally, it is established that BSNL is employees are open to adopting change and hence management should provide necessary training to ensure that the process of cultural change is deployed quickly across all levels. 3. Scale: Considering the strengths of BSNL presence and reach of BSNL, scale is never an issue. What the organisation needs today is not infusion of new technology or resources; it is reorientation of the employees and a cultural change. Retrenching employees is not the first and only option available. 4. Scope: Undoubtedly the scope of the change must involve all levels of the organisation and across all regions. BSNL is a homogeneous entity and changes at one level or within certain geography is not possible to implement. Certainly, depending upon the local customer bases, working conditions and cultural differences, adaptations can be allowed, but the change itself, must be pan organisation. 5. Speed: Communications, ICT, and internet industry relies on speed and there is no room for laggards in this. BSNL must implement change management as swiftly as possible. . Sequence: Since BSNL s confronted with many an issues to handle, the best place to start would be internal employee attitude and cultural change and external – customer satisfaction focus. If carefully and rapidly implemented, these two will have a cascading effect on other areas such as revenues, cash flows, asset management and so on that will t urn around the organisation. 7. Style: BSNL has the baggage of being a government owned company and attitude of staff cannot be changed overnight. Unions are strong and public opinion can be made and tarnished by the correct or wrong handling of union issues. Change management in BSNL has to carefully crafted and cannot be dictated or thrust upon. The style has to be one of collaborative effort and everyone involved must be clear with what is expected of them and how it impacts others, his / her results and overall company. Conclusion: BSNL is at cross roads of its existence. The need to refine its competitive strategy and implement change management has never been more urgent than it is today. If BSNL has to survive the tough market conditions, the change management process must be initiated immediately and aligned with the competitive strategies that must be reworked. |Page BIBLIOGRAPHY: ? ? ? ? ? Marketing strategies of BSNL by GS Grover, NK Srivastava, & Sunil Kumar http://www. bsnl. in http://www. business-standard. com/india/index2. php http://www. moneycontrol. com/company-article/bharatsancharnigam/news/BSN http://www. moneycontrol. com/news/business/bsnls-loss-triples-to-rs-6000-cr3g-bwaoutgo_588976. html ? ? http://www. cellular -news. com/tags/bsnl/ Organisation Culture- A Case Study of BSNL LIMITED, Mrs. G. Nagamani, Prof. G. Krishna Mohan, http://www. vim. ac. in/UploadImages/Attachments/G. %20Nagamani%20&% 20G. % 20Krishna%20Mohan. pdf 8|Page

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Which career field would be the all time best for me

Which career field would be the all time best for me Picking a career can be a tough decision. There are endless possibilities so how do you choose the perfect match? Well, it all starts with what you enjoy doing as well as what you’re good at.  If you still can’t seem to decide this quiz can help you. Finding the perfect career can help jumpstart the beginning to the rest.  Source [ Playbuzz ]

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Methods Of Data Gathering Social Work Essays

Methods Of Data Gathering Social Work Essays Methods Of Data Gathering Social Work Essay Methods Of Data Gathering Social Work Essay Understanding how the construct of adult females s authorization is interpreted and implemented on the land in Burundi nowadayss many challenges, in portion because the construct is so wide. There are a figure of organisations in Burundi that claim to advance adult females s empowerment including: Action Aid, CAFOB ( Collectif des Associations et ONGs Feminines du Burundi ) , ADDF ( Association pour La Defense des Droits de la Femme ) , CDF ( Centre de Developpement Familial ) and Dushirehamwe. Given my reappraisal of the literature on gender and development, adult females s authorization and micro-finance, I was interested in happening out how environmental, agricultural and micro-finance concerns were combined in specific undertakings, and the peculiar challenges that such undertakings present for adult females in Burundi, NGO staff, authorities functionaries and for current theories of gender and development. In footings of methodological analysis, I adopted a instance survey attack. Due to both limited clip in the field and my positionality as an employee of one NGO -Floresta in Rutana, Burundi working on adult females s authorization. This has contributed to my cognition of these issues by covering with those challenges. The instance survey is a relevant method as it allows research workers to retain the holistic and meaningful features of the real-life events ( Yin 2009:4 ) . However, trusting on instance surveies for research still remains a challenge in the societal scientific disciplines because the instance surveies use multiple beginnings of grounds. My focal point on Floresta helped me understand how adult females s authorization is understood and practiced in Rutana Province, replying the first of my research inquiries. The sub-questions chiefly concentrate on how Floresta defines the construct of adult females s authorization and what are the factors associated with adult femal es s authorization in the rural Burundi country ( Rutana ) . The sub-questions are linked to my chief inquiry because adult females ( donees of Floresta Project ) and the organisation s ain readings of adult females s authorization were used to specify the construct. I was able to talk with the caput of gender plans in authorities to better understand how the Ministry of Gender Promotion defined the construct of adult females s authorization. Interestingly, the authorities s definition of empowerment relates extremely to political engagement, nevertheless, many adult females have non even been able to go to school and are husbandmans ( 70 % ) . 4.2 Choice of Floresta as a instance survey As a citizen of Burundi, this subject is of peculiar importance to me, and presents an chance for me to portion with the reader the rural twenty-four hours life of adult females in Rutana. When I finish my university surveies, I will return to full-time work with Floresta ; as I worked at that place antecedently. The advantages of working with this organisation for my research are many, including easy entree to paperss and studies and my acquaintance with the staff for beging interviews. The disadvantage of choosing Floresta as a instance survey include issues of being excessively influenced by the organisation s position of development because of holding worked there and the job of rural adult females respondents cognizing that I work with Floresta and therefore supplying responses that they think will delight the organisation. Other challenges include the inaccessibility of some adult females because of their busy agendas. I reported twice a meeting with one of the associations. My interviews with rural adult females were conducted in Kirundi and my interviews with NGO/associations, Floresta staff and others were in French. Translation from Kirundi to English and from French to English was disputing. 4.3. Background of Floresta Floresta is the lone NGO in Rutana that uses an incorporate activities attack ( uniting agribusiness with a microcredit plan ) . Floresta has been at the service of communities since 1984 in the Dominican Republic and extended its services to other states including Haiti, Mexico, Tanzania, Thailand, and Burundi. The mission of Floresta, as a Christian non-profit organisation, is to change by reversal deforestation and poorness in the universe, by transforming the lives of the rural hapless. Through instruction, Floresta develops communities by promoting hapless husbandmans to take ownership of their ain jobs, and gives them the assurance to use solutions. Advanced agribusiness and forestry systems enable rural husbandmans to do the best possible usage of the resources that they already possess . ( Floresta Burundi, Annual Rapport 2009 ) . Floresta Teachs and promotes agro forestry, re-afforestation, dirt preservation, and a host of other sustainable techniques. Furthermore, through community loans, Floresta helps people to come on beyond bare subsistence, every bit good as to diversify small town economic systems as the most effectual manner to contend poorness. In October 2008, Floresta Burundi was officially registered in Burundi as a national NGO under no. 530/1076 of 22nd October 2008. The Board of Directors, made up of 7 members ( 3 adult females and 4 work forces ) was formed. Staff enlisting and an office were officially opened in Rutana in November 2008. Floresta was registered with the Ministry of Finance for Professional Income revenue enhancement ( IPR ) under no. 2636164022 and with National Social Security ( INSS ) under no 100861. Floresta intervened in five states ( Rutana, Bururi, Makamba, Bujumbura rural and Bubanza ) out of 17 in Rutana, in five out of six communes ( Rutana, Giharo, Bukemba, Gitanga and Musongati ) . ( Ibid.2009:3 ) Second, I focus my research on rural adult females in the Floresta s associations in Rutana Province ( South of Burundi ) because most of the members are returnees and refugees coming from Tanzania and the bulk were adult females. Conflict related force affected physical, psychological, economic, societal, and cultural conditions of both work forces and adult females. Womans were peculiarly affected by sexual force, the loss of their kids and hubbies, supplanting into cantonments for refugees, and displaced individuals, and sometimes forced into armed forces. The direct and indirect force led to a broad array of negative effects such as stigmatisation of victims of colza, who contracted sexual transmitted diseases ( HIV/AIDS ) , suffered unwanted gestations. These jobs are aggravated by the patriarchal system of Burundian society and the absence of equal province and actions to turn to them. A widow can non have belongings that originally belonged to the household of her asleep hubby . This is exacerbated by Torahs, peculiarly refering land ownership, disfavoring adult females in respect to inheritance rights. Map 1.1 Map of Burundi turn uping states where Floresta is being implemented Beginning: Adapted by the research worker 4.4 Methods of informations assemblage The information for this survey was collected during a seven-week field visit to Burundi that took topographic point from the 14th of July to the 27th of August in 2012. My analysis focuses on four communes: Giharo and Gitanga ( old partnerships with Floresta ) , Musongati and Bukemba ( recent partnerships with Floresta ) . These communes portion similar issues of economic exposure, nutrient insecurity, and the stigmatisation of adult females, force, and gender inequality. I interviewed 29 cardinal donees involved in adult females s authorization. In add-on to taking a instance survey attack, I employed qualitative methods to obtain information from a scope of beginnings. 4.4.1. Data aggregation techniques This research employed a qualitative attack, utilizing semi-structured interviews, focal point groups, and observation. I used a qualitative attack to analyze the links between rural adult females s position and Floresta s activities. Secondary stuffs Secondary informations such as newspapers and internal memos in Floresta were helpful for this undertaking because they allowed the research worker an insider s position in the organisation. Primary research with people: The class of respondents that were relevant to my research includes: Other NGOs that promote adult females s authorization Staff from the Ministry of Gender Promotion Floresta staff Womans donees Representatives from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Livestock Representatives of the micro-credit strategy Primary information was collected in two stages ; the first visit was used to reach and form cardinal sources for the interviews and concentrate group. In footings of research topics, I divided them harmonizing to their functions and the sorts of inquiries that I hoped that they would reply. While each group of histrions helps inform the constructs, schemes, and patterns of adult females s authorization, their actions, demands, and involvements differ from each other. Specifically, I interviewed 12 adult females, including NGO members ( 5 ) , authorities ( 1 ) , agribusiness and Microfinance sectors representatives ( 2 ) , Floresta staff ( 6 ) , the Governor of Rutana Province ( 1 ) and the staff in the Provincial section of agribusiness and farm animal in the state to understand and turn up their positions and patterns around the construct of adult females s authorization. Interviews The research interview is based on a conversation about day-to-day life ( Kvale and Brinkmann 2009 ) . Much of the qualitative work in this paper was collected through targeted interviews with open-ended inquiries. As stated above, a assortment of cardinal histrions included authorities establishments, different mediators, and private sector organisations, both involved and non involved with Floresta Burundi. In entire, 27 interviews were conducted ( for a complete list see Appendix 2 ) . By questioning cardinal histrions in adult females s authorization, I compared the constructs, definitions, and patterns of adult females s authorization in relation to development. I interviewed a mix of six associations ( twelve members ) to look into the construct of adult females s authorization in Rutana Province. My inquiries focused on bing associations environing adult females s authorization, its germinating definition over clip, and what it might look like in the rural context. Focus Groups A focal point group is a type of interview with about 4 to 12 people ( O Leary, 2010 ) . The primary end of focal point treatment is to travel in deepness of sentiments that will originate in the direct inquiring. For my instance, my focal point group was composed by adult females ( 4 ) and work forces ( 6 ) . It was enlightening acquiring to cognize the work forces s sentiments environing adult females s authorization, and farther edifying analyzing how focus group responses differed from one on one interviews. What I found, was that the disagreements in replies could be attributed to donees non desiring to belie the dominant patriarchal system in forepart of others. Observation In order to guarantee triangulation, I used a direct observation that ranged from formal to insouciant informations aggregation activities ( yin, 2009: 199 ) . As those sorts of studies have neer been done before by Floresta, I used this method in meetings and field visits. Observation is frequently utile in supplying extra information about the subject being studied. I agree with O Leary, that the observation allows you to acquire a sense of world and work through the complexnesss of societal interaction. 4.5 Ethical motives While there is no institutional reappraisal procedure here at ISS, I guarantee that the findings are existent and do be in the field every bit good as the beginnings ( secondary and primary informations used ) . The ethical guidelines of ISS have been followed in my research. Anonymity was ensured, so that this papers can be used by Floresta in the hereafter for other intents. In respects to carry oning the study, I ensured informed consent was received from the host staff of NGOs and community members. In the focal point group, ethical issues were respected such as gender equilibrium and hierarchal power dealingss. I was guaranting that adult females were allowed to talk every bit much as work forces. Harmonizing to OLearly ( 2010 ) , confidentiality involves protecting the individuality of those who provide to the researcher their informations. For my instance, the adult females I interviewed wanted to keep privateness because there exists a possibility that the paper can be used in the hereafter by Floresta. 4.6 Restrictions of the research I did non acquire the chance to speak to some other International Organizations such as UN Women ( United Nations Women ) which claim to advance adult females s authorization. However, I spoke to one International ONG in Burundi.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Motivation and how management can use it for a better, more Essay

Motivation and how management can use it for a better, more profitable, effecient workplace - Essay Example A. As the workplace structure and workers themselves change, management faces the problem of how to motivate employees (Gerstner, 2002). Gerstner (2002) poses the questions of â€Å"How do you pull the levers of motivation to change the attitudes, behavior, and thinking of a population? Different people are motivated by different things that may include money, career advancement, and recognition† (Gerstner, 2002). Effectively changing the attitudes, behavior, and thinking of workers demands that a manager knows what levers of motivation to pull in the first place. B. A global executive should provide leadership and direction to management levels according to business goals, mission, and vision. Global leaders and executives have certain characteristics and skills in order to succeed in the globalize world of business (Gregersen, Morrison, & Black, 1998). C. Knowing how to motivate well will enable managers to realize the full potential of each employee. Much literature about theories of motivation and work relate to the subject of inspiring employees to be their best (Gagne & Deci, 2005). D. This report will discuss motivation and how managers can use it for a better, more profitable, efficient workplace. This report will also explore the different theories, concepts, and practices managers can use to motivate employees. E. A leader is a visionary who has the end goal in mind and can see the big picture. A leader is a motivator of his/her followers. There are a variety of leadership styles a leader may holds; what separate a leader from the rest are the traits they posses to succeed and the various background assumptions held true by the . Some of these traits may include intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability (Cox, 2001). F. Executives are motivated by the goal and fits in the business component. S/he reacts rationally to external conditions and

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Are connectionist models and symbolic models competing or Essay

Are connectionist models and symbolic models competing or complementary appraoaches to artificial intelligence - Essay Example Both these approaches have their supporters who have used them to show the various benefits which can be derived from taking different viewpoint to AI (Minsky, 1991). At the same time, there are those who have said that the approaches are complimentary and do not compete with each other. To justify these statements it is necessary to take a look at each approach to see how it works. The symbolic approach is based on the creation of AI models that work with symbol manipulation. Computation is based on the fact that a symbol or a group of symbols can be arranged in a manner to represent information. Once the order or position of symbols is changed, the information can also be updated to reflect the changing environment. It must be noted that in this approach a symbol can represent any type or nature of information and the symbols can be modified if required (Bader & Hitzler, 2005). Thus a symbol here represents an idea which has certain basic premises but which can be modified by the machine based on experience or intelligent action. This process of symbol manipulation can be very successful if the AI process is being applied to well-structured problems. That means if the symbols are predefined for the AI system, it can modify the associated parameters based on its own experience and manipulation of the symbols (Bader & Hitzler, 2005). This method seeks to replicate the higher order thinking processes of the human mind which has the same ability to modify and learn from experiences as they are collected in a person’s memory. However, this approach has certain failings as well since it is difficult to grasp commonsense reality with this approach. On the other hand, the connectionist models for AI are based on the idea of using a large number of relatively simple units which can handle extremely difficult and