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Monday, September 30, 2019

Form of education Essay

â€Å"Education is the key to success†. Everyone knows about it. Education come in many forms, that’s why many people are speaking and writing about it, some with authority and some are ordinary. But does everyone knows the real meaning of Education? How can we say that we are already educated person if we don’t know exactly the real definition of the word Education? And how can we apply it in our daily lives? Education is a stage of such a process which develops your knowledge to learn different things or simply it is the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools. There are three forms of Education. It can be Education of Heart, Education of Norm and at last Education of Dominion. The Education of Heart tackles about the education for the perception of the Individual. While, Education of Norm is all about for the perception of the Family and lastly the Education of Dominion (Intellectual, Technical, and Physical Education) it is the education for the perfection of the Nature of Dominion. Education is the most important thing in our life. It is a gift from above which cannot be taken away from us and can bring us to the top of our dreams. Education is not only by going to school, it can happen by a lot of ways. And it is important specially for those people who can’t afford to go to school, because of their status in life. And they believed that through education, one person’s knowledge can be enhanced and improve. The greatest treasure that everyone must have is Education. It’s like planting a rice; at first you need to execute more efforts, time and skills. Then, wait for the right time to harvest. Education is an important tool that is applied in the modern world to succeed, as it lessen the challenges or obstacles which are faced in life. For some people they compared Education as a special ingredient for a cooking recipe. They’ve said that any kind of dishes will never become delicious if it doesn’t have a complete and satisfying ingredient. The foundation of the society is based on Education, since it brings social and economic prosperity. Education offers a setting in which language, tradition, culture and values of the society are developed. Education has played a major role in the modern life to all individuals in the society and also in the industrial world. Employment is based on education, as employees must have the required skills that correspond with the technology to do their different tasks. As the technology keeps improving , more and more people using it in their lives. Therefore, education grown bigger because people nowadays are learning different things from this technology. Education can mold a personality of an individual. It can help one person to further to his or her own future. A good quality education is not only choosing a good school, it’s choosing a school that can handle different attitudes of students and still can teach them the right path to be a good citizen. There’s no young and adult in education as long as you want to reach your goals and your prepared enough to fight for it. Learning is an education and experience is an education too. But sometimes learning something new can be a scary experience. Specially for those times that you have been facing your fears. But it doesn’t mean that we should be afraid to overcome our own fears and mistakes because we can learn a lot from this things and sometimes it can be our guide to become a better and more stronger one. Although we already know that education is an important thing that everyone must have, but for others it still have disadvantages. Knowledge is power; though it is widely accepted that it is essential for growth and development of an individual, but sometimes it is the reason for some discrimination. Some forms of education blindly impose ideas upon young minds instead of teaching them to think for themselves. A lot of people gathered their knowledge based in their experience for which there is no substitute. An education system is very helpful in developing and improving the quality of human life. Living in this contemporary world is very hard to succeed. That’s why it is better to have a good quality education. Education will be our open doors to attain the training and learning experiences for career opportunities that we need to fulfill in our dreams. Through education we can learn how to enhance life skills such as critical thinking skills, a healthy living lifestyle and self-confidence. It also helps to build our personality to learn how to use good manners, and having respect for others. We learn healthy and productive ways to grow into socially active adults.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Healthcare Professional Career: Licensed Vocational Nurse

A Licensed Vocational Nurse carries out the following: First of all, an LVN takes care of the individuals who are suffering from injuries, sicknesses, disabilities, and even those who are on their way to recovery (US.., 2006).They do the aforementioned though based on the physicians’, as well as, registered nurses’ instructions (US.., 2006). Secondly, they are responsible for checking the patient’s blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and other vital signs (US.., 2006). Third, it is also an LVN’s responsibility to change wound dressings, check catheters, manage bedsores, provides alcohol massages, as well as, to inject patients (US.., 2006). Fourth, an LVN is also accountable for a patient’s allergic reactions to any medication or treatment provided for by the health care institution (US.., 2006). Fifth, it is an LVN’s task to carry out laboratory tests or gather samples for testing, feed patients, and note down the intake of food and fluid, as well as, the number of times the patient’s urinated and defecated (US.., 2006).   Sixth, it is the LVN’s function to oversee the patient’s personal hygiene as well (US.., 2006). The LVN ought to help out a patient when taking a bath, dressing up, etc (US.., 2006). Seventh, LVN’s oversee patients who are about to take in prescribed medicines or intravenous fluids, however, this is only a function of LVNs in selected States where it is permissible to do so (US.., 2006). Eighth, they also provide assistance in the delivery, as well as, feeding of babies (US.., 2006). Ninth, LVNs can take charge and direct nursing assistants and aides but such task is only delegated to those LVNs who are considered to be experienced (US.., 2006). Tenth, LVNs are also in charge of assessment of needs of the patients, development of care plans, supervision of nursing aides, organization of patients’ records, setting of appointments, and other responsibilities which are categorically clerical (US.., 2006). Personal Qualities and Abilities Needed for Success An LVN who intends to become successful should have the following personal qualities and abilities: 1) exceedingly caring; 2) extremely sympathetic; 3) emotionally stable; 4) can keep up with continuous stress; 5) enthusiastic; 6) very devoted; 7) decision-making skills; 8) good communication skills; 9) flexibility in taking orders of supervisors; 10) positive outlook in life; 11) extreme patience; 12) etc   (US.., 2006). Educational Requirements An LVN is necessitated to accomplish a practical nursing program from any State-approved learning institution (US.., 2006). A future LVN should pass the following subjects: anatomy, basic nursing concepts, drug administration, medical nursing, nutrition, obstetrics, pediatrics, physiology, psychiatric, surgical nursing, etc (US.., 2006). A soon-to-be LVN should also undergo a clinical practice in the hospital or any other health care institution (US.., 2006). It should be kept in mind that such clinical practice should be supervised (US.., 2006). Also, it should be noted that typically, a high school diploma is asked for before admission to the program aforementioned (US.., 2006). Licensure, Certification and/ or Requirements The following are the requirements necessitated for LVNs to qualify from the licensing exam technically referred to as NCLEX-ON (US.., 2006). Possible Places of Employment There are vacancies for LVNs in the following: 1) hospitals; 2) nursing homes; 3) offices of doctors; 4) home health care services; 5) homes for the aged/elderly; 6) educational services or institutions; 7) outpatient care health institutions; 8) Federal agencies; and 9) state agencies (US.., 2006). Advancement Opportunities LVNs have a lot of advancement opportunities and some of these are the following: 1) LVNs can supervise nursing aides and even other LVNs (US.., 2006). This is especially allowed in nursing homes/nursing care facilities (US.., 2006). 2) LVNs can undergo training programs to promote himself or herself and become a Registered Nurse (US.., 2006). Wages, Benefits, Standard Payroll Deductions LVNs working at the doctor’s office earn approximately 30K per year, while those who serve at surgical hospitals earn about 33K per year, those involved in home health care services earn about 35K per year, while those in the nursing care facilities are given about 35.5K, and last but not least, those who are in the employment services earn almost 42K per year (US.., 2006). Benefits include the following: 1) annual leave; 2) holidays; 3) retirement; 4) social security; 5) dental & medical plan; 6) long-term disability plan; 7) life insurance; 8) credit union; 9) deferred compensation; 10) bilingual pay; 11) night shift differential; 12) etc (US.., 2006). Standard payroll deductions include: taxes, social security, etc (US.., 2006). Job Outlook for the Future Projected Employment in CALIFORNIA It is said that the job outlook in California is superior and there will be an increase in the employment rate because of the fact that the number of population for the elderly continuous to increase (Licensed.., 2007). Preparing for an Interview I will prepare myself for an interview by making sure to keep the following in mind: 1) know more about the health care institution where I am applying at to add to my credibility; 2) dress up professionally and presentably; 3) practice answering typical interview questions; 4) find people who will serve as my references that will surely sell me to potential employers; 5) bring my resume, driver’s license, social security and other pertinent documents; 6) sell myself by proudly and confidently stating my strengths, abilities, etc; and 7) say thank you to the person who provided me with the opportunity to be interviewed (Ten.., 2007). References Licensed Vocational Nurse California. (2007). Retrieved April 17, 2007 from http://education-portal.com/licensed_vocational_nurse_california.html Ten Tips on Preparing for a Job Interview. Retrieved April 17, 2007 from http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/careers-job-interview/11120-2.html US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006). Licensed Vocational Nurses. Retrieved April 17, 2007 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos102.htm

Friday, September 27, 2019

Attrition Rates in Call Centres and Managing Attrition Rate by Best Essay

Attrition Rates in Call Centres and Managing Attrition Rate by Best HRM Practices - Essay Example ers resign or retire and are not replaced (Dictionary.com, 2010) Attrition rate is higher at the junior level, and the retention rate after probation period of 6 months varies from 80 - 85 per cent. Factors causing attrition could be categorized as the factors inherent to the industry, social factors, factors relating to phase of the industry and other general factors related to all industries. A research through questionnaire survey has been conducted to supplement literature review for establishing the causes for high level of attrition in Call Centers and discuss the role of HRM in managing attrition with reference to the findings. BPO is a fast growing industry in the emerging economy like India and the contribution of BPO to its economic development is significant. Budhdwar et al. (2009, p.353) quotes, â€Å"†¦ it is estimated that India controls 44 per cent of world outsourcing business (NASSCOM, 2005a)†. According to Business Maps of India.com (2010) â€Å"The growth in the contribution of BPOs to Gross Domestic Product has shown a steady rise from 1.2% to 5.4%†.   It further states â€Å"Service Sector of Indian Economy  contributes to around 55 percent of Indias GDP during 2006-07 ...   the service sector witnessed a rise of 11 percent in the year 2006-07 against the 9.8 percent growth in 2005-06†. Chatterjee writes, â€Å"The annu al contract value added up to $ 290 million in September quarter 2010 as against $129 million in the corresponding period previous year, according to global research firm Everest.† The service industries in general are on faster growth track in the developed countries. Kollewe (2010) writes â€Å"The dominant service sector expanded at its fastest pace in more than three years in February, data released this morning showed.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ A sub-index measuring new business in services increased to 57.5 from 53.4, the highest since September 2007. Encouragingly, job prospects improved in the service sector, with the employment reading

Argumentive Reserch Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Argumentive Reserch - Research Paper Example Learners can acquire these skills when they develop appropriate attitudes and knowledge. This makes the main objective of conducting teaching and training programs to correspond to enhancement of knowledge, skills and attitude of learners. The main purpose of this essay is to argue the relevance of the message conveyed by some specific authors on the approach needed for conducting training and teaching programs (Chou, Chang, & Hauer, 2008). I believe that motivation towards learning and training is dependent on knowledge, skills, ideologies and a suitable environment. However, it is also clear that the number of students and the use of a multi-disciplinary approach are useful though the learning approach should not be specific. Counter argument I believe that the twenty steps are instrumental when handling students with learning difficulties. However, opposing ideologies indicate that these steps overwork the teachers, and compromise their ability to attend to other students. Further more, it is highlighted that people should recognise the social and cognitive skills of students while handling their learning needs (Hon and Watkins, 1995). However, the learning needs of a person transcends skills, and is dependent on the environment in several instances. I believe that the procedural steps that involve students in a workshop learning session enhances their interaction and comprehension (Chou, Chang, and Hauer, 2004). However, opposing arguments state that such an approach cannot accommodate a class with numerous students. It is only limited to a few number of students. Rao underscores the need to expose students to an environment where they easily interact with the elderly patients to improve their attitudes. However, attitude cannot be improved by exposure alone. It requires an interdisciplinary learning approach. Argument I believe that it is necessary assist the children with learning difficulties using fundamental steps. This can be successful with the provis ion of appropriate modifications in the learning process. Several steps are necessary in the quest to achieve such objectives. The authors use Greg’s experiences to develop some steps necessary for successful learning amongst children having trouble (Biddulph, Hess, & Humes, 2006). I find this rather disturbing because assuming that all children with learning difficulties are of the same level as Greg is wrong. Greg could have succeeded because the level of his difficulty was mild. Disorder depression does not adversely inhibit the process of learning. Greg listed a number of 20 steps that he considers appropriating in making a child with learning difficulties become successful (Biddulph, Hess, & Humes, 2006). I believe that Hon and Watkins’s attempt to evaluate social skills training program for Hong Kong students highlights the importance of valuing skills, and knowledge. They classify alcoholism, juvenile delinquency and depression as fundamental examples of behavio ral and neurotic problems that are responsible for psychiatric disorders. According to the authors, these are the causes of inadequate social skills. Hon and Watkins focus on directing additional efforts get to the training skills development programs for adolescents. However, these efforts mainly focus on the western countries. In response to this, they come up with well-knitted approaches to address

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Changes in the Definition of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Changes in the Definition of Art - Essay Example It is a multidimensional meaningful education, in principle open to include new semantic elements generated by constantly continuing and transforming artistic and aesthetic experience of mankind, including the development of intercultural relations, communications, exchanges of technology, providing and supporting creativity and presentation of its products in the society. It is obvious that the definition of art has changed substantially over the last 100 years with the wide proliferation of museums, galleries, biennales, fairs, etc. This can be seen that people continue to ask what constitutes good art and how to understand that one art work is better than other one. In this case everyone should remember that art has a big variety of forms and interpretations; for instance, when classic art tends to be inclusive in resurrecting legacy of a bygone era, avant-garde, in spite of everything, is trying to break the last threads that bind it with its predecessors (Johnson, 1995). Using Marcel Duchamp in exemplification of changes we can mention that he challenged popular thoughts about what art actually is, making it more ‘comfortable’ or ‘functional’, but sometimes strange. Analyzing changes in art in the context of contemporary reality it is necessary to emphasize that the picture of contemporary art would be incomplete without the phenomenon of mass culture principally focused on the art market and mass production of ideologies of mass consciousness that lead to changes in understanding of the traditional term ‘aesthetic’.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Fair Trade Degree Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fair Trade Degree - Essay Example While the banks do not accept that the unfairness rules of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations apply, the OFT argue that such rules apply. A swift determination of this issue will assist expeditiously resolve the fairness issue of these charges.2 The 1999 Regulations, implementing the Directive, revoked and replaced the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1994. The 1999 Regulations apply in relation to terms in contracts concluded between a seller or a supplier and a consumer (Regulation 4(1)). Regulation 5(1) provides: "A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer." Regulation 5(5) provides that Schedule 2 to the 1999 Regulations contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of the terms which may be regarded as unfair. Regulation 8(1) provides that an unfair term in a contract concluded with a consumer by a seller or supplier shall not be binding on the consumer. Regulation 8(2) provides that the contract shall continue to bind the parties if it is capable of continuing in existence without the unfair term. The only material exception to the applicability of the test of fairness set out in 1999 Regulations is contained in Regulation 6(2) relating to what are called, for short, "core terms": "In so far as it is in plain intelligible language, the assessment of fairness of a term shall not relate- (a) to the definition of the main subject matter of the contract, or (b) to the adequacy of the price or remuneration, as against the goods or services supplied in exchange". Banks enter into personal current account agreements with their customers who are consumers, containing the terms and conditions relating to the operation of those current accounts by such customers. In so far as any of these terms and charges are contained in documents which are described as notices to, guides to, or communications with, customers, they are nevertheless to be considered as terms of a contract between the Bank and its customers for the purposes of the 1999 Regulations, whether or not they are described as terms or as "policies of the bank" or as anything else. The Banks' current account agreements typically provide or provided for three types of payments to be demanded from customers in connection with unauthorised overdrafts: A fee charged by Banks: (a) when a customer seeks to operate his current account in a way that will result in the account being debited despite there being insufficient available funds to support the debit but the Bank nevertheless agrees to ef fect payment, causing the account to go into overdraft or further overdraft, or to exceed, or further exceed, an already agreed overdraft limit; when a customer moves into or is in an unauthorised overdrawn position within a specified period. A returned item fee, e.g. as in the previous case, a cheque is presented but in this case the Bank declines to authorise payment because there are insufficient funds, and the cheque has to be returned to the payee marked "R/D" or "RDPR" or "Effects uncleared". An increased rate of interest charged on unauthorised overdrafts granted in the circumstances set out above. The provisions in the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Quantitative Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Quantitative Research - Essay Example This paper tries to analyze critically of two academic papers published in the European Journal of Business Management. One paper is titled â€Å"The Impact of Structural Capital on Business Performance in Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Companies.† The other is titled â€Å"The Effects of Customer Prospecting Methods on Sales Force Performance.† The papers have been selected to consider how they have approached their respective research methodologies to deal adequately with the research questions, but are analyzed separately. Both methods of research analysis will be considered; quantitative and qualitative, on how much they were used. The objective of the analysis is that it will try to highlight both the advantages and disadvantages of the research methodology used to arrive at the aims, objectives, and design and to propose an alternative strategy. This will result in either agreeing with the methodology or proposing a better methodology which could have adeq uately delivered on the research question. ... He sought to determine the influence of Structural Capital (SC) on Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (JPM) Companies’ Business Performance. The study surveyed 132 managers by administering a questionnaire. Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics and correlation were used. According to the paper, to confirm the suitability of the data collection instrument, a Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test, Cronbach’s Alpha and factor analysis as they were used. The findings were that there were significant positive relationship between SC and JMP Companies’ BP. This indicates that, SC performance can be clearly explained productivity and profitability more than market valuation. Objectives and rationale As a major research question of the study is to find out, â€Å"if there is a relationship between the direct impact of SC and JPM organization’s business performance.† The main objective is to provide useful recommendations about performance measur ement within SC context by identifying and trying to define the main attributes of productivity. This will extend to the quality of SC by pointing out critical factors of SC and to find out suitable ways for measurement and management context. The study developed a hypothesis which states that there is no significant impact SC on JPM organization’s BP. It went further to divide the hypothesis into three mini hypotheses. The first states that there is no significant impact of systems and programs (S&P) on JPM Company’s BP. The second hypothesis states that â€Å"there is no significant impact of research and development (R&D) on JPM Company’s BP.† The last is that, there I no significant

Monday, September 23, 2019

Multiple Sclerosis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Multiple Sclerosis - Research Paper Example A few ideas have been gathered that pinpoint some of the more known reasons as to what causes multiple sclerosis, as well a few concepts that are still being considered but have yet to fully be proven. While multiple sclerosis has not been connected to genes, it has been found that a variety of genetic variations can increase the risk of developing the disease; there are specific genes that have been directly linked to the cause of multiple sclerosis in a person. A person that has a relative that has multiple sclerosis stands a higher chance at developing the disease; parents and children, and siblings, can possess the disease that makes it possible for the other to develop it also. Indeed, multiple sclerosis â€Å"has an overall familial recurrence rate of 20% (Compston, 2008).† The less that a person is related to someone, such as the difference between siblings and half-siblings, the less chance that there is that multiple sclerosis will be developed. There are certain genes that are connected with multiple sclerosis, and they need to be present in a family member to make the disease possible. Environment plays a fairly decent role in what causes multiple sclerosis. A decreased exposure to sunlight has been connected to those with multiple sclerosis, as well as the distance someone lives from the equator, though this is not as common. Anything within that environment, such as stressful events or cigarette smoke, as well as characteristics that can bring about infections to a person, thus damaging their immune system, can cause multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is capable of developing at any age, though the most common age group to develop the disease is between twenty and forty years of age. Women are twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis than men are. Caucasians, especially those that are from Europe or can trace their linage to Europe, are at an increased risk of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Spectators in Sport Essay Example for Free

Spectators in Sport Essay Spectators in sport are often an identity and sometimes novelty within themselves. For viewers of any standing, fellow spectators can often make, break, sweeten or sour a sporting experience. Some spectators can become annoyed by the antics of spectator groups such as English cricket’s ‘Barmy Army’, American College Basketball’s Duke University ‘Cameron Crazies’ or locally, even the infamous ‘Joffa’ and the Collingwood Football Club cheer squad. To others, the appeal of experiencing or even simply viewing these groups in action is a novelty and can make up a lot of the reason for people to be enticed to watch. When considering sports spectators there are 2 ends of the spectrum that initially come to mind. One is the die-hard, dedicated supporter who stands by their club through thick and thin and can conduct themselves in a responsible manner, the other is the rowdy, one eyed version that can present safety disruptions in crowds or take part in less than savoury behaviour of sports hooliganism. Spectators, however, don’t always necessarily need to be avid supporters of a team or the sport in general. It is possible for spectators to be casual, mildly interested and maybe just intrigued by the spectacle or showcase of top tier physical abilities and attributes within the sporting domain. Sometimes it is this lure of simply sitting back and watching without any vested emotion, the superstardom of some of the world’s greatest athletes. This could’ve been the reason the Chicago Bulls sold out every arena, home or away, in almost every season during the Michael Jordan era, for example. To gain a better understanding of spectators and spectator traits, Giulianotti used English Football as a baseline and devised a way to identify and catergorize contemporary spectator identities. He identified that spectators can be either ‘hot’ or ‘cool’ with regards to their emotional attachment, and either ‘traditional’ or ‘consumer’ based in their motifs for watching. A hot, traditional spectator was considered a ‘Supporter’, was emotionally vested in and loyal to the club, usually purchasing shares/memberships/merchandise and feeling an obligation to show thick personal solidarity to that one club. Supporters often attend live events as a public display of their allegiance. Conversely, a cool, traditional spectator was considered a ‘Follower’. Followers had other reasons for spectating than the club itself as they may  find appeal in a player or coach for instance, allowing them to willingly follow the progress of the club without being deeply emotionally vested in being part of the journey. Followers can show a thick or thin solidarity toward a club and will often use electronic media to simply keep tabs on the goings on. A hot, consumer spectator was labelled a ‘fan’. Fans often have a primary interest in the celebrity of a team or player or club identity. Fans can be financially invested in the club similar to a Supporter, but usually for differing reasons. Fans can take part in cheer squads and preach their alliance to the club, but are usually unidirectional in their affections. Lastly, a cool consumer spectator was given the title of ‘Flaneur’. Flaneurs were considered to be the result of mass media allowing for the following or consumption of sports worldwide of any scale and were often appealed to by the novelty, vividness or aesthetic sensations and experiences of sports in general. Flaneurs as spectators have the least amount of solidarity to a particular club of all the 4 catergorized. Though it is interesting to sociologically categorize people by considering factors and variables that impact them and Giulianotti has a reasonably comprehensive synopsis of the 4 evolving spectator types, one thing is certain, spectators are integral to sports on many levels and the study of such can allow for clubs and sports in general to find better ways to target and appeal to each of the aforementioned subgroups in a holistic sense for not only their fulfilment, but the club or sport’s financial and supportive prosperity in the future.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Reasons for and benefits of training and development

Reasons for and benefits of training and development Executive Summary Among the first elements in the company that gets the pressed budget of the company is training for employees who often end up on the cost cutting. Unfortunately, the trained employees and qualified employee are simply that an enterprise should stimulate growth and solve problems in the lean. Innovation, flexibility and dedication required to construct dynamic companies truly come well trained and supported staff. One of the best ways to encourage and support people in your staff is through the professional development and training opportunities. Sending employees to training, or bring opportunities in society, opportunities actually brings a company with new ideas and creative ways to solve old problems. Sometimes, only employees daily grind of their daily work schedule is sufficient to boost energy and to encourage employees to revalidate their employment and society. Later in this report, that well look at some training programmes run by 2 major businesses in U.A.E, those are Emir ates Islamic Bank and InterContinental Hotel Group. We will also examine opportunities, weakness and threat on the training and development. . What is training and development In the field of HRM, training and development is the organizational activities to improve the performance of individuals and groups aiming in organizational settings. It was known by several names, including staff development, developing human resources and learning and development. Training and Development includes three main activities: training, education and development of these ideas are often synonymous. But the practitioners include three separate, although interrelated, activities, as follows: Training This activity focuses on both evaluated against employment any person currently holds. Education This activity focuses on the jobs that a person may hold potentially in the future and is evaluated with these jobs. Development This activity focuses on activities that the Organization employing the individual, or that made individual part, can participate in the future and is almost impossible to assess. The stakeholders in the training and development are classified into several categories. Sponsors of the training and development are senior executives. The customer training and development are corporate planners. Line managers are responsible for guidance, resources and performance. The participants are those who actually undergo the process. The animators are specialists in human resources management. And providers are specialists in the field. Each of these groups has its own agenda and motivation, which sometimes conflict with the agendas and the motivations of others. Typical Reasons for Employee Training and Development Training and development can be initiated for various reasons for an employee or a group of employees, for example: When a performance evaluation indicates performance improvement is necessary. Compare status improvement so far in an effort to improve performance On a programme of professional development in all By planning help an employee to be eligible for a planned succession change in the role of the organization. Pilot, or test the operation of a new system of performance management To form a specific topic, as shown below Typical Topics of Employee Training Communications: Increasing todays workforce diversity offers a variety of languages and customs. Computing: Computer skills are becoming a necessity to carry out administrative and tasks from desktop. Customer service: Increased competition in todays global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers. Diversity: Diversity training usually includes explanations on how people have different views, and perspectives and includes techniques for the value of diversity Ethics: Today company growing expectations on the social responsibility of businesses. Also, diverse workforce today brings a wide range of values and morals rather than work. Human relations: Constraints increased labor today can include misunderstandings and conflicts. Training can people get along in the workplace Quality initiatives: Initiatives such as total, quality circles, calibration, and quality management and so on, require training base on the concepts of quality, guidelines and standards of quality, etc. Security: Security training is critical where working with heavy equipment, hazardous chemicals, repetitive activities etc., but can also be useful with helpful tips to avoid aggression, etc. Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment training usually includes a thorough description of policies on sexual harassment, organization especially on what are inappropriate behaviors. General Benefits from Employee Training and Development There are many sources online training and development. Several sites suggest reasons for supervisors conduct training between employees. These reasons are: The greater job satisfaction and morale of employees Increased employee motivation Greater efficiency in the process, resulting in financial gain Increase capacity to adopt new technology and methods Innovation in products and strategies Reduced employee turnover A better image of the company, for example, ethics training (not a good reason for ethical training!) Risk, for example, training on sexual harassment, diversity training Training is one of the most important parts of overall business strategy. Before starting a specific business or consider a potential acquisition, the first question that poses if present in the organizational skills needed or not. As a general rule, all the skills necessary for effective management of the company must be available in a company; however other core businesses can be outsourced. Training need arises because of the advancement of technology, the need to improve performance or professional development. Insight on Benefits of Training Benefits of training are intangible and invest in training benefits both, organization and used for a long time. Training improves levels of worker skills. It provides the feeling of satisfaction, which is an intrinsic motivation. Training also provides multi employees skills body. Training increases an employer engagement in their jobs and their organization. Understanding reduced employment accidents. One of the benefits of training for a larger organization is that it provides expertise in organization which reduces the overall cost of operations of the company. Quality is a key functionality needed for an organization over the long term survival. TQM (total Quality Management) and other quality management techniques require the training of staff as an important necessary to its successful implementation. Customer satisfaction increases repeat business, which is a key to success. Employee training to promote good customer relations will increase customer satisfaction and service quality. Just in time philosophy is one of the main ideas in Japan.JIT stress on reducing waste and wait times in production processes. Better training reduces wastage and machine downtime. Much of the cost of quality consists of monitoring; by providing adequate training, reduced. Training increases the productivity of employees and processes. High turnover can be a serious threat to the existence of the Organization, the major advantage of the training is that it allows reducing staff turnover and help an organization to keep its staff. Better training may offer an advantage competitive organization to others in the industry. In service industries the primary source of business income is his expertise of staff and skills, acquire professional with high skills are relatively expensive than the current acquire these skills training. Training is also a major element of the new recruits; adequate training helps understand the work, its requirements and responsibilities. Training also increases understanding of organizational culture. Training programs strengthens the communication between the different levels of an organization. Any deficiencies in the processes and jobs are eliminated and those close to production processes have become involved in the management. Clearance of personnel is a recent trend management; this empowerment will be successful in the proper training is provided to persons entitled. . Organization, Trainee and Trainer An organization has a very close relationship with the trainee and the trainer because it is the first contact for both. Demand for training in the undertaking increases when the organization wants to: Hire new people training as a means of training new recruits To expand when society wants to increase its workforce. To increase number of employees (by position) by a certain date To improve the performance of employees Name of the Organization to be part of the training unit Demand for training also increases when there is a change in the nature of employment, consumer tastes, change in the methods of product development, etc. The organization goes through the following steps to transfer training field. But the problem arises when the organization outsource training process. In this situation, the Organization assumes the trainer must be aware of the type of training s needs of participants and their organization and their content meets these needs. This leads to failure of the program, which translates collusion. Therefore, it is a duty before any organization to make the trainer and their conscious organization culture, climate, the responsibilities of the Organization, etc. Developing People and Capabilities Many organizations face the challenge to develop greater confidence, initiative, solution-finding capabilities and solving problem between their peoples. Organizations need to staff at all levels, to be more self-sufficient, creative and independent. This staff allows behavior can operate at higher strategic level, which makes their organizations more productive and competitive. The efforts of the people produce greater results. This is what all organizations strive to achieve. However, then the conventional training give people new techniques and methods, it does develop their maturity, belief, or courage, which is essential for the development of managers and strategic capacity. Yet once again focus on the development of the person, not skills. Try to see things in perspective of the person (your employees). Provide learning and experiences that they would like for their own personal interest, the development and completion. Performance and capacity are ultimately dependent on the attitude and the peoples emotional maturity. Help them achieve what they want on a personal level, and it provides a platform for confidence, emotional Contracting Organization and development of skills/process/knowledge further relevant to handle the highest responsibilities, roles and teams. Participatory workshops work well in the beginning of this type of development attitude. Involve people from the outset. Focus on what they want. You can also use a questionnaire for personal development to begin to set the stage and provides examples of learning opportunities other. It starts with the person, not skills. It attitude and emotional maturity. The principles of the emotional intelligence and methodologies to adapt very well with modern approaches to popular belief, maturity and attitude development. When people develop trust, integrity, emotionally, they are automatically more proactive, focusing on solutions, reactive, etc., on a whole team, which has a cumulative effect. Johari is a useful model too. For many people to work is simply crosses the movements, acting in a consistent status, often because they feel not secured, lack of confidence to do what they think, it is fair, or are nervous about being fat, whereas daring is absolutely necessary for self-sufficiency, initiative, greater responsibility; in fact all behaviors organizations is to encourage. You cannot teach daring persons were to experience things to feel bolder, take risks and want to take risks. This means that premium must be too or people have no reason to stick their neck and not only the perspective of a financial reward. Especially responsible additional actual Herzberg type motivators and the recognition and participation in new projects successful and interesting. This is the fuel for growth and change people. Emirates Islamic Bank UAE They are located in different Emirates of UAE. Emirates Islamic Bank provides training and development of their employees as follows: Induction programs Each new employee is attend after recruitment, and is doing a familiar employee and knows the meaning and goal of putting in place the Organization and their employment business. Course Relevant courses in the fields in the Department of the Bank that the employee works, new procedures and developments. Workshops Workshops are conducted by internal staff and external people to Bank staff in their respective fields for the benefit of their performance. Training institutes Emirates Islamic Bank is associated with Emirates Bank Institute funds to train its employees. Training Center-General conditions This training Institute provides short-term and long-term courses related to banking services on a regular basis, and the duration of the course varies from 2 to 7 days each course. Certification programs: Emirates Islamic Bank has sponsored employees for certification programs CIPA Islamic public accounting certified Emirates Islamic Bank sponsors the CIPA examination cost for its talented and senior bankers, who are expensive examinations with regard to cost, and all expenses are borne by the Bank itself. MBA programs Emirates Islamic Bank facilitates its employees to obtain an MBA by providing interest free loan, partially or fully sponsored MBA costs required employees, as the base case. Talent Pool Employees of high performance for all departments (ministries) are placed together with the potential to be responsible for transmitting them with specialized or tailor made programs leadership in collaboration with leading universities. The duration is 3-4 months. Seminars and activities These seminars are specific department; furthermore they are for personal growth, such as the construction of motivation and pastimes activities Intercontinental Hotel Group In UAE and Worldwide: InterContinental Hotel Group believes that their population led to the success of their business, so that they will invest in their skills to improve their work and progress to more difficult and more responsible position. To help make this InterContinental offers a range of training programs designed to develop their potential in the moment that their employees become part of the team of the INTERCONTINENTAL. Range of INTERCONTINENTAL functional training and leadership development initiatives includes: Revenue management The INTERCONTINENTAL provides training courses on several high-impact drivers focus hospitality managers to maximize revenue: forecasting and availability, pricing and distribution, channel management controls overbooking and group management and non-traditional revenue management applications. The course explores a subject in depth, with particular emphasis on the role of effective revenue management policy and applying practical tools and techniques for hospitality. Sales and marketing InterContinental offers training to employees of the sales and marketing, service typical course covers following topics: Effective leadership skills Marketing Research Market Intelligence Key account management Finance for managers non-finance Strategic business planning Professional sales skills Housekeeping It is mandatory for all new employees in the housekeeping service to take this course to meet high standards of service. InterContinental regularly organize training as necessary existing employees. The course develops some training for equipment and products used by the hotel in the household. Maintenance and monitoring of leadership. This training is oriented to less management; this training provides the leadership skills at the personal level supervisor. Programs for employees of the INTERCONTINENTAL online training: InterContinental uses new technology and, therefore, all members of staff have access to hardware training about the role that employees and everywhere where they work, they can also take advantage of online training programs developed in partnership with the Institute home. Senior leadership programs Senior leadership program offers a structured range of develop skills in top-level management. The program offers courses and psychometric assessment content delivered by leading academics focuses on connection with nobody, business, personal and career goals. Assessment centers InterContinental are also the only group hotel offer Assessment centers around the world to help high-performing individuals in business, management and monitoring moving on and next level roles. Four promises of INTERCONTINENTAL its employees: One of the promises of four of the intercontinental to everyone who works for intercontinental is room to grow. To support employees and give them opportunities to develop and pursue rewarding careers intercontinental will be make sure: You know what success means for your role. Youll be involved in regular feedback instructions quality You will have the opportunity to develop both your current and future roles in Find out what career opportunities are available with intercontinental worldwide. Bearing in mind a comparative study of the training and development between the international markets that Japanese work environment is a good example, which is declared as follows: A good example: Japanese, work environment Many times in and outside Japan share a picture of the Japanese work environment that is based on a model of life-employment used by large enterprises as well as a reputation for working hours long and strong dedication to the society. This environment is said to take into account economic conditions began in the 1920s, when large corporations competing on the international market has begun to accumulate the same prestige was traditionally assigned to the daimyo retention of government service relationship or feudal Japan in the Meiji Restoration. In very high, the most prestigious companies would recruit and retain the best workers by offering better benefits and job security life really. In the 1960s, employment at a prestigious company had become the goal of the children of the new middle class, the prosecution which required resource mobilization family and great perseverance individual in order to achieve success in the education system of ferocious competitive. Employees are expected to work hard to demonstrate loyalty to the company, in exchange for certain benefits such as housing, grants and employment security good insurance, use of leisure facilities and premiums and pensions. Start at low wages, but age is rewarded with promotions based on a combination of age and capacity. Leadership does not rely on the assertion itself or quick decision-making, but on the ability to create a consensus, taking into account the needs of subordinates. Investigations indicate continuing preference for the bosses who are demanding but show concern for privacy of workers on the less demanding bosses interested only in performance on the job. This system reward behavior showing identification with teamwork, indicated by sing the song of the company, not take vacation days and share credit for the achievements with the working group. Pride in his work is expressed in competition with other parallel sections in the society and between the company and other similar companies in industries. Thus, people are motivated to keep wa (harmony) and participate in activities group, not only on employment but also within hours socializing (nomikai). However, the image of loyalty group may be more a matter of ideology practical, especially for people that he do not upwards. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis is carried out by comparing the training and development of employees in the UAE and Japan. Strengths: UAE is a hub of business, attracting not only work, but expats, tourists, investors and ultimately employees from a very wide range of countries and cultures to come and work in the UAE. The market and environment of UAE is very quick in adapting new changes and making developments and has the skills of applying them successfully. UAE attracts workforce from all over the world. Weaknesses: The UAE needs to reconsider its law on visa regulation, as a visa of 3 years and medical checkup very frequently, for it restricts the Employer for planning on a long term plan for the training and development of the employee. The Labor laws are not flexible enough and does not enable free market concept. Equal opportunities should be available for both locals and expats in the UAE for training and development of the Employees. Language barriers of foreign training institute operating in U.A.E with foreign trainers. U.A.E losses lots of expertise and experience when expats leave the country. Opportunities Underdeveloped national workforce, hence potential for training is high. Government is determined to develop National workforce The Growth of Free zone are encouraging Bring in training institutes from Japan to make the employees of the UAE feel as their assets and plan training and developing programs accordingly. Threats UAE despite being one of the most fastly developed countries in the world, it will not be able to develop in building a reputation of attracting new recruitments and then training and developing employees in building personalities of the people who work for them, as it motivates employees to work better and give better results. Critical Analysis Despite having several training and development programs both IHG and emirates bank consider them as over head expense. Instead of building and maintain workforce they try to hire directly skilled resource from the market. As recession has taken toll also there is considerable cut in the budget of training and development. Some time employees also attend training for the sake of training; there can be variety of reasons for this like lack of motivation, lack of interest in the subject and attitude. Conclusion The UAE is one of the fastest developing economies with new ideas from its people coming in to advance its infrastructure, technology and economy. It already is playing a major role in the training and development of its employees, but revising its visa policies and collaborating further with Japanese training institutes will enhance its workforce both locals and especially expats in working better. *************************

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Effect Of Openness To Experience Commerce Essay

The Effect Of Openness To Experience Commerce Essay Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show a correlation between Openness to Experience and Job Success and test the mediation effect Creativity and Intellect have on this relationship. Design Methodology: An online survey was administered to over 300 people out of whom 166 filled the questionnaire. This survey contained scales of inventories to gauge the Openness to experience, Creativity, Intellect and the Job Success of the respondents. The respondents filled the survey and the results were then analysed using the SPSS software (v.16.0). The correlation between Openness to experience and Job Success was tested along with the mediation effect of Creativity and Intellect. Findings: Creativity and Intellect fully mediated the relationship between Openness to experience and Job Success. Openness to experience and Job success were found to be positively correlated. Research Implications/Limitations: This study shows a correlation between Openness to experience and Job Success. This topic of study can be expanded to show relations between other personality traits and Job Success. Future research can go further and show the differences between the degree of this correlation for several industries and for male and female managers. Practical Implications: The findings of this paper could be used during the recruitment process for companies and during the intake process for business schools. Originality/Value: This paper is one of the first to prove the correlation between Openness to experience and Job Success. The role of creativity and Intellect in this relationship is also explained by this paper which is another first. Keywords: Openness to experience, Intellect, Creativity, Job Success, Human resources Paper Type: Research Paper Introduction Retention of a manager on any job in any sector is largely dependent on that managers success in his job. Job success not only determines the motivation levels of the manager (Winter, 1991) but also has a significant impact on the overall success of the organisation. (Pfeffer and Veiga, 1993) Thus ensuring Job success is critical to Modern Business. Several factors are known to affect Job success and it is important for companies to pick the right factors to measure in order to predict Job success with sufficient accuracy. This paper looks to determine the relationship between Openness to experience and Job success mediated by Creativity and Intellectual ability with a view to provide companies the option of measuring any of these parameters and being able to predict Job success to a reasonable extent. Of all the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) model, openness to experience is considered to be the most vast and least understood. Most research has studied this dimension as a part of personality and few have focussed on studying the link between openness to experience alone and job success. This research aims at creating a comprehensive model linking openness to experience and job success with creativity and intellect as mediators, which has not been done in the past. Building on research done on understanding the openness to experience dimension of the FFM and measuring job success of new hires, we will try to understand the relation between them. We will also see the effect of the two mediators, creativity and intellect on this relation. Research objective The objective of this study is two-fold: To check whether the Openness to experience is a valid predictor for Job Success To check if this relationship between Openness to Experience and Job Success is mediated by Creativity and Intellect Research Gap and Hypotheses OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE Despite trait theories being often downplayed, Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality has remained popular. Also called the big five theory, FFM describes personality in 5 broad traits viz. Openness to Experience (O), Conscientiousness(C), Extroversion (E), Agreeableness (A) and Neuroticism (N). McCrae and Costas (1997) asserted that openness to experience is one of the broadest constructs in personality psychology. Openness to experience describes an individuals imaginative capacity, independent thinking, aesthetic sensitivity, intellectual curiosity, preference for variety and attentiveness for inner feelings. A person with a low score in openness is seen to prefer the conventional and routine (Costa McCrae, 1992; McCrae, 1996). JOB SUCCESS Career success has been defined as work related accomplishments that an individual has amassed due to their work experiences (Judge et al, 1995). Researchers have not accepted the popular conception of measuring success only in terms of salary or the position occupied in the organization (Gattiker Larwood, 1986 etc.). In recent times most research on job success has defined it as being composed of two parts, extrinsic success and intrinsic or perceived success. Extrinsic success is measured using observable parameters like salary, job title, and number of promotions (London Stumpf, 1982). The perceived career success is measured using a self appraisal of job performance (Rode et al, 2008). Childs and Klimoski (1986) used 12 career success items like earnings, self assessed success, number of people supervised and perceived peer rating to measure job success. Also, people who primarily measure success in terms of external criteria have said that enjoying their work is important to t hem (Sturges, 1999). OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE AND JOB SUCCESS Openness to experience would contribute to job success in situations where the nature of the job is such that it requires people to be open to new situations and learning (Bing Lounsbury, 2000). In fact, Bing Lounsbury tested openness to experience to job performance in US based Japanese manufacturing companies. The research supported a positive relation between two and the explanation to this could be that the local population had successfully adapted to the traditional Japanese style of working (Bing Lounsbury, 2000). Burke and Witt have shown through their research findings that other personality variables acts as moderators in the openness to experience job performance relationship (Burke Witt, 2002). Research has shown that those who are more open towards the external environment are more adaptable while those who are more open towards the internal environment would be preoccupied with their internal thoughts and hence less aware of the changes in the environment(Griffin Hesketh, 2004). Young graduates from business schools join jobs that require them to be adaptable and learn as quickly as possible. Hence we expect that openness to experience will be positively correlated to job success. There has been limited research studying these parameters in India and a model linking openness to experience, creativity and intellect to job success has not been developed. In particular, the research tries to study these relations in the context of business school graduates in their initial career stages. With management education in India gaining popularity amongst students and professionals, research needs to be done to find out the predictors for job success in this field. The Western ideas of success may not necessarily hold good for India and it is time that studies focussing on India are conducted. Also, it is important to determine how far the parameters used in the selection criteria for admissions or recruitment are predictors of future job success. CREATIVITY AND INTELLECT AS MEDIATORS As stated in the previous section the correlation between Openness to Experience and Job Success is likely but this relationship is not empirically very strong. It is hence likely that these two parameters are mediated by other constructs. We feel that Creativity and Intellect function as mediators for this relationship. CREATIVITY There have been several studies about creativity conducted by several researchers. According to Lubbart (2000-01) creativity stems from a any process which gives rise to a novel, adaptive production. Glover and Gary (1975) assert that creative individuals are said to exhibit high levels of tolerance to uncertainty and to employ unusual problem solving techniques. William Scott (1965) defines creative behaviour as any unusual response or combination of responses which are also uniquely adaptive and which result in products highly valued by society. Creativity is thus characterised by something new or novel about the way things are done or idea that are produced. OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE AND CREATIVITY Barron (1988) described the creative person as possessing alertness to opportunity, keen attention, intuition, a liking for complexity as a challenge to find simplicity, and a drive to find pattern and meaning, Openness to new ways of seeing, independence of judgment that questions assumptions, et al. These qualities find strong parallels in the FFM dimension of Openness to Experience. Research by McCrae and others have demonstrated that, among the five factors of personality, only Openness to Experience correlates significantly and positively with divergent thinking. They have established a positive covariance of openness to experience with artistic interests (Costa, McCrae and Holland, 1984) and liberal values (McCrea and Costa, 1985). Other researches also show strong empirical and conceptual support to uphold the correlation between openness to experience with creativity (Griffin and McDermont, 1998; Leung and Chiu, 2008). People who are high on openness to experience may wider range of experience, and greater appreciation of the merits of novelty and the potential for improving and changing the status quo, than individuals who are low on openness to experience. These qualities together with their greater sensitivity may cause them to come up with novel solutions to problems and creative ideas. In contrast, individuals who are low on openness to experience may find more comfort in the status quo (George and Zhou, 2001). Griffin and Hesketh (2004), stated that the facets of Openness can be broadly sub-divided into openness towards internal and external environment. While Actions, Ideas and Values appear to describe areas external to the person, Fantasy and Feelings describe openness to areas inside the person. Facets of Openness from each of the Openness scales will differ in their ability to predict creativity. The external openness facets are expected to be better predictors of creativity at work than the latter (Pace, 2005). In our study we predict that among participants in the target group, having more openness to experience would be positively correlated with the level of creative potential. CREATIVITY AND JOB SUCCESS There have been several papers which have linked Creativity to Job Success in some way. A research in Pharmaceutical industry by Mats Sundgren and Alexander Styhre (2003) explores creativity as one of the most critical success factors and important assets in an RD specific organisation. Taewon Suh and Hochang Shin (2005) used the relation between creativity and job performance to ascertain the difference between profit and non-profit organisations. Richard Beatty (1974) asserts that Job Performance and Job Success related and that job performance in fact leads to job success. This could be taken as evidence for a linkage between Creativity and Job Success. The linkage between Creativity and Job success has been used by several researchers (such as Caroline Marshall (2000) in varied research projects. The linkage can also be justified by using the assertion of authors Tudor Rickards, Mark A. Runco, Susan Moger that creativity and leadership step from the same roots and that they have a lot in common . Since leadership is known to be a strong contributor to job success (Kowalski and Campbell, 2000), a linkage between Creativity and Job Success can be expected. As an example from the business of sales and marketing, Julie Britt, independent marketing consultant cites several examples how creativity is essential for success in this profession (2008). Several similar examples can be identified in real life like Bradley/Reids resourceful approach to promoting the Seward Sea Life Center discussed by Tracy Barbour (2001). INTELLECT Intellect is derived from the Latin word intellectus meaning discernment, understanding. This concept has been a constant subject of debate (Feuerstein et al., 1980; Spitz, 1986; Taylor and Richards, 1990; Chen-Shyuefee and Michael, 1993). Intellect has been viewed as both a single entity and as a collection of mental abilities (Heraty and Morely, 2000). An early model of intelligence was proposed by Thurstone (1939) who identified a number of primary mental abilities using factor analysis. Subsequently, Guilford (1956: 1959: 1967: 1981) proposed the structure of intellect (SOT). Utilising factor analysis, the model identified and organized intellectual abilities according to the mental processes involved, the kinds of information featured and the particular form that the items of information took. The SOT model consists of five kinds of psychological processes (operations), three types of stimuli (contents) and six forms of products (newly generated information serving as output ari sing from the application of a psychological operation upon given information) (Khattab et al., 1982). OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE AND INTELLECT There are claims that Openness to experience and Intellect are practically the same thing but Robert McCrae (1994) contends that Intellect while, is a major contributing factor to Openness of Experience. Goldberg (1999) examined the correlation between these two factors using the International Personality Item Pool. This analysis revealed that Intellect encompasses traits reflecting intellectual engagement and perceived intelligence whereas Openness encompasses traits reflecting artistic and contemplative qualities related to engagement in sensation and perception, establishing that these two factor as related but separable aspects. Lexical studies also show that there are many other terms that characterise people high in only openness (such as artistic, perceptive), or only intellect (such as intelligent, philosophical) or both (such as imaginative, original) (George Saucier 1992). The relation between intellect and openness has also been asserted by Colin G. DeYoung, Noah A. Shamosh and Adam E. Green, Todd S. Braver and Jeremy R. Gray (2009) who propound that Intellect and Openness to experience are related. Some research (George Saucier 1992) also exists to substantiate the relation by asserting that both openness and intellect are a part of the same factor namely Factor V of the Five factor model of Personality traits. This view has been contended by Paul Trapnell (1994) by asserting that Openness and Intellect are separated by a couple of factors, but the fact that these two are related is undeniable. INTELLECT AND JOB SUCCESS Intellect has been synonymously used with intelligence by researchers across the world. (Heraty and Morely, 2000) Also, research has shown that intelligence is an integral part of mental ability with strong correlations being obtained between these two constructs. (Schweizer and Moosbrugger, 1999) Tracey et al investigated the utility of mental ability and conscientiousness in predicting technical job success and successfully established that mental ability was a better predictor of performance for new managers, whereas conscientiousness was a better predictor of performance for experienced managers using a sample of restaurant workers. Dr. Colonia-Willner, in a landmark study involving 200 high level managers at a bank employing more than 22,000 people demonstrated that a major factor in achieving success in the workplace depends on intelligence (1999). Business schools across the world have been looking to prepare students for the complexities that would befall the students in the business world and their prime focus is on improving the mental abilities; the ability to think. (Lim, 2002) In their paper, Mol et al express astonishment at the lack of importance afforded to intelligence while measuring performance of expatriate managers. They have managed to bring out the relevance of intelligence in selection of managers by means of 30 primary studies. Using these associations between mental ability and job success as established by many a researchers, the link between mental ability and intelligence already established and the fact that intelligence and intellect have been used interchangeably we have conceptualized that intellect could be positively correlated with job success. In conclusion to the above section, we propose the following hypotheses. See Figure 1 for further clarifications. Hypothesis 1: Openness to experience is positively correlated to Job Success Hypothesis 2: Openness to experience is positively correlated to Creativity Hypothesis 3: Creativity is positively correlated to job Success Hypothesis 4: Openness to Experience is positively correlated to Intellect. Hypothesis 5: Intellect is positively correlated to job success. Research Design Sample In this study, we examine measures of openness to experience, creativity, job success and intellect among a sample group of 166 people all with varying periods of work experience in various sectors. Sample Design The design used for this study is snowball sampling. This design was chosen since it is suitable in cases where it may be difficult for researchers to identify participants. The researchers contacted people they knew and these people further referred the questionnaire to their contacts. Administration: The data for the study was collected using an internet survey. An online questionnaire was prepared and administered to participants in the target group. The participants for the study were contacts of the researchers with an MBA and 1-4 years of work experience. These people were asked to share the questionnaire with people who had the same characteristics and they were also included in the study. A question asking people the number of years of their work experience was put in the survey so that those people who had lesser or greater work experience would not be included in the study. This data was collated and used for analysis. Measures The following model summarises what we were testing through this research paper. Creativity Openness to Experience Job Success Intellect Figure 1: Model Operational Definitions Openness to experience: For the purpose of our research openness to experience is the proclivity of an individual to new situations and learning and a greater awareness of his environment. Creativity: We have taken the definition of creativity as a means of producing or thinking something new. The key aspect of creativity is originality. Intellect: For the purpose of our research intellect is defined as that cognitive ability which helps a person analyze complex situations and solve challenging problems. Job Success: We have taken the term Job Success to mean the extent to which a person is able to achieve the intended purpose of the job. Scales The study uses borrowed scales from professional and academic domain. OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE One of the most accepted measure of the FFM dimensions is the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory Revised (NEO PI-R:Costa McCrae, 1992). The NEO PI-R measures each dimension with six sub dimensions called the facets. Its sub-dimensions are for openness to experience are Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings, Actions, Ideas and Values. McCord designed the M5 questionnaire to assess traits of normal personality based on the facets described by Costa McCrae. M5 is a self report measure that provides scores each facet based on six independent lower level facets. The M5 claims to strong internal reliability and good validity (Proctor McCord, 2009). The study administrates the M5 openness to experience inventory that measures similar facets of the NEO PI-R construct. Table 1 provides descriptions of each of these and the corresponding dimensions from the M5 instrument. (Refer Appendix A for the scale) Table : M5 Instrument Dimensions NEO PI-R Facet M5 Definition of high scorers Fantasy Imagination Have a vivid imagination fantasy life which they believe enhances life Aesthetics Artistic interests Highly esteem and can be moved by art, music, poetry beauty Feelings Emotionality Are receptive to inner feelings, deeply experience emotions see them as important Action Adventurousness Have a willingness to experience new activities, foods, places prefer novelty to routine Ideas Intellect Open-mindedness willingness to consider new ideas pursue intellectual interests Values Liberalism Willingness to re-examine social, political religious values Lack of free available personality inventories is a major constraint for academic research. Cost factors and copyright issues inhibit flexible availability, editing and modifying of the professionally accepted measurement tools. For the purpose of our research we shall use the personality item inventories from the public domain collection of International Personality Item Pool (IPIP, 2001). Lack of free available personality inventories, copy right issues and cost factors have inhibited the usage of professionally accepted measurement tools for the present academic research. For the purpose of our research we shall use the personality item inventories from the public domain collection of International Personality Item Pool (IPIP, 2001) to measure creativity and intellect. IPIP is intended as an international effort to develop and continually refine a set of personality inventories. The scales provided in this collaboratory can be used for both scientific and commercial purposes. The Abridged Big Five Dimensional Circumplex (AB5C) taxonomy of personality traits was developed to integrate the 5-dimensional simple-structure and circumplex models of personality. It consists of the 10 circumplexes formed by pitting each of the Big Five factors against one another. The model maps facets of the Big Five dimensions as blends of 2 factors. CREATIVITY In this study we have used the Abridged Big Five-Dimensional Circumplex(AB5C) propounded by Hofstee, de Raad, Goldberg [1992] for measurement of creativity. The AB5C taxonomy of personality traits was developed to integrate the 5-dimensional simple-structure and circumplex models of personality. It consists of the 10 circumplexes formed by pitting each of the Big Five factors against one another. The model maps facets of the Big Five dimensions as blends of 2 factors. The alpha coefficient of the scale as reported on IPIP website is 0.81 indicating the scale has good reliability and internal consistency. This scale is a five point Likert scale. INTELLECT In this study we have used the Abridged Big Five-Dimensional Circumplex propounded by Hofstee, de Raad, Goldberg [1992] for measurement of intellect. The alpha coefficient of the scale as reported on IPIP website is 0.81 indicating the scale has good reliability and internal consistency. This scale is a five point Likert scale. JOB SUCCESS The study measures job success as perceived by the person. Selected items related to organization success as defined by Gattiker Larwood (1986) will be measured on a five point Likert type scale. The alpha coefficient of the scale specified is 0.75. Analysis The 10 items on the Openness to experience scale (10 point M5 Questionnaire) were summed up to create an aggregate score for Openness to Experience. The 7 items on the Job Success scale created by Gattiker and Larwood were summed up to create an aggregate score for job success. The 10 items on the IPIP (Domain AB5C) Creativity scale were summed up to create an aggregate score for creativity. The 10 items on the IPIP (Domain AB5C) Intellect Scale were summed up to create an aggregate score for intellect. The data was analyzed for the Cronbachs alpha value to determine the reliability of the scales. The data was then analyzed using Multiple Mediation Regression developed by Baron and Kenny (1986) which is a four-step process. This process was performed for both creativity and intellect. First, we performed a regression using openness to experience as the independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. Second, we performed a regression using creativity as the independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. Third, we performed a regression using openness to experience as the independent variable and creativity as the dependent variable. Finally, we performed a regression using openness to experience and creativity as the independent variable and job success as the dependent variable to identify the effect of mediator. The same process was repeated with intellect instead of creativity. Results and Discussion The Cronbachs alpha values are tabulated below: Table : Cronbachs Alpha Values Variable Scale Calculated Cronbachs Alpha Openness to Experience 10 point M5 Questionnaire 0.809 Creativity IPIP (Domain AB5C) Creativity scale 0.774 Intellect IPIP(Domain AB5C) Intellect Scale 0.743 Job Success Gattiker Larwood Scale 0.809 Creativity Openness to Experience Creativity Creativity The results of the regression are tabulated below: 0.386 * 0.595 * Model 1: 0.335* Job Success *Significant at 0.05 level Table : Regression Analysis Results Model 1 Step Regression Variables Coefficients Dependent Variable Independent Variable R2 Unstandardized Beta Std. error Standardized Beta 1 Job success Openness to experience 0.112 0.289 0.063 0.335 2 Creativity Openness to experience 0.354 0.614 0.065 0.595 3 Job success Creativity 0.149 0.322 0.06 0.386 4 Job success Openness to experience Creativity 0.166 0.141 0.241 0.077 0.074 0.164 0.288 In the table, step 1 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with openness to experience as independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. The analysis shows that there is a significant positive correlation between openness to experience and job success. Also the results show that there is a possibility of mediation. Hence, Hypothesis 1 is supported. Step 2 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with openness to experience as independent variable and creativity as the dependent variable. The analysis shows that there is a significant positive correlation between openness to experience and creativity. Hence, Hypothesis 2 is supported. Step 3 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with creativity as independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. The analysis shows that there is a significant positive correlation between creativity and job success. Hence, Hypothesis 3 is supported. Step 4 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with openness to experience and creativity as independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. The regression between openness to experience and job success in step 1 is significant whereas in step 4 is not significant indicating that creativity fully mediates the relationship between openness to experience and job success. The mediation effect was tested using an online Sobel Calculator and was found to be statistically significant (Mediated effect = 0.171, Sobel Test Statistic Z-Score = 4.666, p Step Regression Variables Coefficients Dependent Variable Independent Variable R2 Unstandardized Beta Std. error Standardized Beta 1 Job success Openness to experience 0.112 0.289 0.063 0.335 2 Intellect Openness to experience 0.364 0.540 0.056 0.604 3 Job success Intellect 0.158 0.383 0.069 0.397 4 Job success Openness to experience Intellect 0.172 0.130 0.296 0.077 0.086 0.150 0.307 Model 2: 0.397* 0.604* Intellect Openness to Experience Openness to Experience Job Success Intellect 0.335* *Significant at 0.05 level Table 4: Regression Analysis Results Model 2 In the table, step 1 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with openness to experience as independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. The analysis shows that there is a significant positive correlation between openness to experience and job success. Also the results show that there is a possibility of mediation. Hence, Hypothesis 1 is supported. Step 2 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with openness to experience as independent variable and intellect as the dependent variable. The analysis shows that there is a significant positive correlation between openness to experience and intellect. Hence, Hypothesis 4 is supported. Step 3 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with intellect as independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. The analysis shows that there is a significant positive correlation between intellect and job success. Hence, Hypothesis 5 is supported. Step 4 shows the coefficients for regression analysis with openness to experience and intellect as independent variable and job success as the dependent variable. The regression between openness to experience and job success in step 1 is significant whereas in step 7 is not significant indicating that intellect fully mediates the relationship between openness to experience and job success. The mediation effect was tested using an online Sobel Calculator and was found to be statistically significant (Mediated effect = 0.185, Sobel Test Statistic Z-Score = 4.811, p Implications The study shows that Openness to Experience is fully mediated by both, Creativity and Intellect in relation to job success. Thus we can

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Western Law Man and the Series GunSmoke :: Television Media TV Essays

The Western Law Man and the Series GunSmoke Gun Smoke is the story of a western law man doing his best to bring law, order and integrity to the West, a place that seems to be greatly lacking all three of those qualities. Matt Dillon is the marshal of Dodge City, and to him his job is more than a job, it is his duty. In the "Soldier" episode I listened to an interesting thing happens, Dillon makes a mistake, he arrests two soldiers-one who really doesn't deserve it-and by doing this he causes the man to get in deep trouble with the army. Dillon, though, realizes that he has made a mistake and goes to great lengths to make it right to the man, even when it means hiding him from the army. To Dillon there are times when integrity must be held higher than the law. Law is highly valued, though, in the "Gonif" episode I listened to Dillon is forced to arrest two former Civil War soldiers who have been so desensitized to death that they didn't have much of a problem at all killing a store clerk they tried to rob, but who drew a gun on them. The funny thing about the two men though, is that they are honest almost to a fault and tell Dillon the whole truth about killing the man. Dillon sees that "they are not bad men," but realizes too that they are a danger to people. He feels troubled that he must arrest them and send them to court, where they are almost certainly going to receive the death penalty, but he also feels that he must uphold the law. Dillon doesn't necessarily like that decision, but it is what has to be done in his eyes and he feels convicted to uphold the law. Dillon also sees' that Dodge must have order if it is going to be livable. When a gang comes to town in "Bum's Rush" and "Gonif" they each challenge the marshal's authority and refuse to leave town when he tells them to, so Dillon takes action. With the first gang Dillon shows how crooked the leader of the gang is and uses the local doctor as a witness to prove that instead of being a do-gooder the leader is actually trying to knock off the bank. With the evidence shown them and some strong words from Dillon the mob disbands.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Character Analysis of Sir Gawain as Presented In Sir Gawain and The G

A Character Analysis of Sir Gawain as Presented In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain is skillfully brought to life by the unknown author. Through the eyes of numerous characters in the poem, we see Gawain as a noble knight who is the epitome of chivalry; he is loyal, honest and above all, courteous. As the story progresses, Gawain is subjected to a number of tests of character, some known and some unknown. These tests tell us a great deal about Gawain's character and the struggles he faces internally. I will explore the various places in the poem where we learn about Gawain, either through others or through the tests he faces. By the end of the poem, we sense that we have come to know Gawain and have ventured a peek at his human side. However, we also realize that nothing short of perfection is acceptable to him. Our first glimpse of Gawain occurs when the Green Knight suddenly appears at the New Year's celebration at Camelot. He offers a challenge for anyone to come forward and strike him with his ax. Twelve months and a day later, he will return the blow. No one steps forward to accept the dare. Embarrassed by his knights' lack of response, King Arthur accepts the challenge himself. At the fateful moment when Arthur is about to strike the blow, Gawain jumps up and says: Would you grant me the grace, To be gone from this bench and stand by you there, If I without discourtesy might quit this board,... I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; And the loss of my life would be least of any; That I have you for uncle is my only praise; My body, but for your blood, is barren of worth; And for that this folly befits not a king, And 'tis I that ... ...ee that Gawain is not the perfect knight he strives to be. Neither we, nor the Green Knight, nor his fellow knights of the Round Table hold him to this standard of perfection. We read about the turmoil Gawain experiences thinking about his impending death at the hands of the Green Knight, and we understand why he accepts the girdle. We know he remains true until his fear of death overcomes him. All this proves he is only human. Yet Gawain only sees that he has been inconsistent in upholding the chivalric code, and this means failure to him. This is an indication of the standard Gawain has set for himself, and we see why he has the reputation he has. Despite all that has happened, Gawain is still a loyal, noble, honest and courteous knight. Quotations from: Abrams, M. H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Impact of the Affordable Care Act Essay

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama early in 2010. The ACA was introduced into law to help provide access to affordable and quality health insurance to more Americans than ever before. The goal was to reduce health care cost for individuals and government. It has allowed more adults to be eligible for Medicaid by increasing income eligibility to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). (Milstead, 2013) However, by ruling of the Supreme Court in June of 2012, states had the option to implement the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to cover more low-income adults. As of January 2014, North Carolina (NC) was one of the states that chose not to implement the expansion of Medicaid making the eligibility for Medicaid for low-income adults very limited. How does this affect the population, economy, cost, and quality of health care? North Carolina’s Right to Refuse According to Knickman and Kovner (2011, p. 110), â€Å"the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives states the primary responsibility for public health. Medicaid is administered and overseen by each state but governed by various federal guidelines with the federal government contributing 50%-78% of its costs. (2011) After long debate and review of advantages and disadvantages to implementing the new laws, the North Carolina’s government elected not to adopt the new legislation. Caroll (2013) indicated the decision was based on NC’s current Medicaid system, indicating that is was broken and needing to be revised. There was concern the ACA would cause an increase in taxpayer’s contribution due to the long term costs. As of September 2014, there are 21 states that are following North Carolina’s decision not to adopt the new health care reform. This would leave millions of Americans that would be eligible for Medicaid under the ACA without access to health care.  (StateReforum, 2014) Impact on the Population One of the initiatives of the ACA was to provide more than 32 million uninsured Americans with insurance coverage. This was to be done by increasing the FPL to 138 percent and lifting or altering certain limitations for eligibility to Medicaid. This meant that all Americans whose income was at or below the FPL would be eligible for Medicaid. For example, an unemployed, single, 26-year-old male without any other income would be eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid would no longer be limited to specific categories such as the disabled, children and their parents, or pregnant women whose income was below the FPL. North Carolina’s current Medicaid program â€Å"eligibility for non-disabled adults is limited to parents with incomes below 43% of poverty, or about $10,000 a year for a family of four, and adults without dependent children remain ineligible regardless of their income† (How Will the Uninsured, 2014). Currently, there are over 319,000 uninsured adults in NC that are not eligible for Medicaid, by the current NC guidelines, which would be eligible under the Affordable Care Act. This can lead to increased health care costs and weighs heavily on the economy. Who is to take up the slack? Economic Effects of Doing Nothing Dorgan (2009), Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, indicates that the current health care system in NC has â€Å"led to higher health care costs, reduced access to care, and inconsistent quality of care†. The Gross Domestic Product in 2013 for North Carolina, based on millions of dollars spent, was $471,365 million, an increase of over $50,000 million since 2010. (Department of Labor and Workforce, 2013) In 2013, North Carolina’s State Auditor Beth Wood indicated that the state’s Medicaid program had gone over budget for the past three years, costing taxpayers about $1.2 billion. (Hoban, 2013) This leaves businesses and the working population to cover health care costs by paying higher taxes. With unemployment soaring over the last decade, and North Carolina having one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States (Hoban, 2013), less is paid into taxes. This leads to less to cover health care costs. The Affordable Care Act was implemented to decrease the costs of health care for all Americans. According to the White House website (2014) â€Å"the Congressional Budget Office found that health  insurance reform will reduce the deficit by $210 billion in this decade and by more than $1 trillion over the following 10 years. A family of four would save as much as $2,300 on their premiums in 2014 compared to what they would have paid without reform†. Will the decreased costs affect the quality of care being provided? Quality of Care The implementation of the ACA will require a higher standard for quality of care. The ACA promotes the use of accountable care organizations (ACO), which is a type of managed care that includes at least primary physicians, specialists, and hospitals that would be held accountable for the quality of care provided. (Kovener and Knickman, 2011, p. 196) The ACA works to move away from a fee-for-service approach to an accountable care organization (ACO) model that would incorporate a coordinated approach to provide high quality of care. This type of system rewards physicians and health care facilities through how they are paid for the quality of care they provide. The ACA reforms the way health care is delivered to the population by â€Å"creating high-performing organizations of physicians and hospitals that use systems of care and information technology to prevent illness, improve access to care, improve safety, and coordinate services† (What is an Accountable Care, 2011) making them more accountable for the care they provide. Incentives are provided to physicians and healthcare organizations that have shown they can provide quality care and improve patient satisfaction. Ethical Implications How can the government provide quality health care to so many without sacrificing the rights of a few? The ACA was enacted to help provide health care to more adults between the ages of 19-64 years of age that otherwise would not have access to or afford health care. According to Sorrell (2012), Americans want a health care system that will provide quality care, have freedom of choice, be affordable, and allow the costs to be shared among all. There is worry the ACO will lead to cost-shifting. Medicare and Medicaid pay much less for reimbursement for health care treatment. To re-coop their costs, hospitals and health care providers participate in the unethical practice of shifting these losses to patients with insurance by charging more for the same services. Insurance companies then shift these  costs to members by increasing their premiums and out-of-pocket costs. With such an increase in the number of people eligible for Medicaid, providers will be receiving much less for the services they provide. Another concern is for the Americans that do not qualify for Medicaid. Income levels can qualify some for decrease in premiums for health insurance from private companies. However, there will be those that do not qualify in either category and do not have access to health insurance through their employer and cannot afford the high premiums of private insurance. The new health reform requires those that do not have some type of health insurance to have to pay penalties for not having insurance. Conclusion The Affordable Care Act was developed to provide health care to an additional 32 million Americans with the goal of reducing health care costs. Even though there are millions that will now have access to health care, there will be millions that do not qualify for the programs and will remain uninsured. There is much concern and debate the ACA with hurt the economy, increase health care costs, and add to the United States’ deficit. North Carolina, along with 21 other states, have chosen not to adopt the new law and either continue with current guidelines or choose to restructure their current health care policies. Concerns also arise about causing a decrease in quality of health care provided. The development of ACO’s through the ACA implies that quality of health care will be improved. However, there is question that ACO’s will lead to cost-shifting to re-coop lost costs from the influx of American’s now eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. References Caroll, B. (2013). North Carolina Thumbs its Nose at Obamacare. Retrieved from http://watchdogwire.com/northcarolina/2013/02/12/north-carolina-thumbs-its-nose-at-obamacare/ Dorgan, B. (2009). Health Care Reform: The Cost of Doing Nothing in North Carolina. Democratic Policy Committee. Retrieved from http://www.dpc.senate.gov/docs/states-fs-111-1-87/nc.pdf Hoban, R. (April, 2013). Cost of Care: How ‘Broken’ is NC Medicaid?. North Carolina Health News. Retrieved from http://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2013/04/15/how-broken-is-nc-medicaid/

Monday, September 16, 2019

Taco Bell Marketing

08 Fall Introduction Hong Kong is known as being a very multinational and diversified city not only in Asia but also in the world. Not only is Hong Kong a paradise from a financial perspective, but it is also a great country in terms of the standard of living. As Hong Kong has a very diversified culture and a mix of various ethnicities, there isn’t a lack of food options and results suggest that 1 to 4 Hong Kong respondents prefer to dine out and prefer to spend up to HKD$1500 a month.Which looking at the results creates the ideal opportunity in opening a relatively new fast food concept, which provides a different cuisine from the current trends in a fast food format into the Hong Kong market. Environmental Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths| Weaknesses| 1. Established a huge brand awareness and loyalty. Tremendous amounts of consumer satisfaction. | 1. Local consumer tastes need to be adapted towards Mexican cuisine. | 2. High Quality products, at relatively reasonable prices. | 2. Property prices are relatively expensive, high operating costs. | 3.Quite new concept could create attention and buzz. | 3. Not a very health conscious menu could be unappealing to target users. | 4. Sole Mexican cuisine fast food concept chain. | | Opportunities | Threats| 1. Introduce Home/Office delivery services. | 1. Existing well established fast food chains, e. g. McDonalds, KFC, Subway, Cafe de Coral etc. | 2. Experiment with local needs/taste, incorporate local flavors and delicacies. | 2. May not be appreciated by the Hong Kong public. | 3. Possibility to develop drive through, to create ease of accessibility for consumers. 3. Existing Mexican restaurants that have established brand loyalty amongst Hong Kong customers. | 4. Establish chains where students and working people can easily access. E. g. office buildings, university campuses, shopping malls etc. | | PEST Analysis Political: The political condition in Hong Kong is relatively stable, hence introducing an Ame rican based fast food chain, wont have any impacts or create any problems from a political aspect. As Hong Kong isn’t facing any political distress or disturbances domestically or internationally. Economical:There are several economical impacts that will incur as Taco Bell starts its operations in Hong Kong. First of all, starting a new fast food chain would create domestic employment, as jobs will be opened up towards the local citizens. Furthermore everyone earning will then pay taxes that will result in an increase in government revenue as the company gradually starts to increase its operations within Hong Kong premises. Social: The social factor also goes on to play a huge role when establishing a new fast food chain, as this acts upon the consumers’ values and beliefs.Many people are known to be relatively health conscious, hence therefore an aspect that Taco Bell will have to consider is the quality and the healthiness of the food that will be served to the local consumers. If the quality of food is compromised it could then impact the demand for the food and could hinder the company growth. Furthermore besides the food element, Taco Bell will also have to consider its Corporate Social Responsibility factors of treating their employees in an adequate manner and rewarding them with what they deserve, and also the environment factor and to maintain the clean environment Hong Kong stresses, nd to reduce waste and place heavy emphasis on packaging their food with recyclable and biodegradable materials. Technological: Technology is shown to be developing and rapidly changing all around the world. Hong Kong is known to be a very technology based country, where majority of the business is done all over technology, hence therefore there are some technological factors to which Taco Bell could adapt to in order to bring positive impacts to the chain. One method would be to adapt company websites on which the menu and other promotional services can be placed, in order to increase convenience for users.Besides websites we are currently living in the Smartphone eras, hence developing apps based on the website and possibly exploiting the opportunities of providing services on-the-go and the ability to deliver from the apps can definitely produce positive growth to the firm. Therefore seeking these technological methods can definitely increase the company value. Hong Kong Fast Food Industry Trends Marketing Analysis As Taco Bell enters the Hong Kong fast food industry, it will have to create immediate effects, due to the existing competitors that have already established themselves within the market.Franchises such as McDonalds and KFC, have established themselves as the pioneers of bring western food to Hong Kong in the late 70s and 80s. Which has triggered further foreign investors such as ‘Pizza Hut’ ‘Burger King’ to name a few. Alongside local entrepreneurs who have obtained a significant market share w ith ‘Cafe de Coral’, ‘Maxims’ and ‘Fairwood. ’ McDonalds and KFC are shown to have the top shares in the HK fast food industry at 22% and 14% respectively. Whereas the local franchises combined have only managed 10%.The rest is accumulated with the other foreign franchise chains, which each have market shares below the 10% mark. Which will not significantly impact Taco Bell. Besides fast food, bringing in a Tex-Mex cuisine won’t be something new to the Hong Kong public, as there are a few Mexican restaurants that provide similar products and caters to the public needs. However Taco Bell tends to hold competitive advantage with the fact that it has an established brand name and the ability to serve quick, good quality and reasonable food items which correlates with what the restaurants serve. Target MarketThe main target market of this fast food chain is mainly aimed at the working population, students and teenagers of Hong Kong. As the f act that it is a fast food chain, its main objective is to provide quick serviced food at reasonable prices, hence incorporating working and student budget people, rather then the high-end consumers of Hong Kong. Besides the financial element, the population who are keen on a different cuisine of food, targeting the diversified population of Hong Kong, and not only to one specific ethnicity but the citizens who are on a certain budget is the main target market.Marketing Mix Variables Price: It will also have to consider the budget levels of the chosen target market. As setting an optimal level would then result in a demand, whereas if the price is placed too high, it could hinder demand and if price the price is placed too low, although it may create a large demand, however operating costs might not be covered and could result in financial losses. Product: The product will be the standardized menu that has been set all around the world. This will include the food items which taco be ll is known to be most famous for.Although it will serve the standard types of food items, in order to suit the Hong Kong market it could also then explore the tastes and trends of the local population and their eating habits, which could be incorporated within the restaurant menu. Place: The perfect locations to reach out to their consumers, would be to open their branches within our minutes away from local university campuses, this would result in easy accessibility for the students who would be able to pick up and go, or have the option to eat within the restaurant premises.Besides catering to the students, to make it convenient for the working population of Hong Kong, the best locations would be opening stalls and restaurants within an office building premise or shopping malls which are placed around the commercial areas of Hong Kong, in order to create ease of accessibility to the working population of Hong Kong. Promotion:Methods such as advertising is a great opportunity, as Taco Bell is already a well established fast food chain, hence posting advertisements on local newspapers and magazines can immediately create effects as the reports show that 1 in 7 people in Hong Kong read some sort of newspaper or magazines on a daily basis. This method is the most appropriate in terms of creating brand awareness within Hong Kong. Furthermore, through the aid of promotional websites such as www. groupon. com. hk and www. beecrazy. com. hk that promote upcoming products, services and offers can definitely help reach out to their potential consumers and create demand.These methods can definitely bring positive results, once the promotion period starts. Conclusion To conclude by implementing the correct marketing mix methods and taking account of the various factors which was looked through in the PEST analysis, it can be drawn to conclusion that although Taco Bell will enter the market with relatively high competition, however due to the already well established br and name and the fact that its products tend to differ quite significantly in comparison to the leading competitors, it can gain from being diverse.