REFERENCE LETTER

REFERENCE LETTER

 

It is my pleasure and honor to be an advocate to Lam Samson’s desire to enter into your institution and probably receive a good Postgraduate Certificate in Laws Program, the reason why I support the endeavors that Samson is involved in because I do believe that he possesses the needed potential qualities of being a model student in your University and be a part in fulfilling and realizing your priorities and aspirations today and in the futures to come. Samson, as a Legal Assistant at Individual Voluntary Arrangements is of a high note and that I can see and feel that he has this promising personality and attitude that never fails to provide the needed help that our clients’ require in order to reach their goals and actualize their objectives in every situation. Samson is hard working and one good reason why I am proud of this man is that he never loses focus and concentration during peak hours of the job and that he is an effective problem solver that can make better and wise decisions for meeting the needs of our clients which is for me, is an important aspect of him why he is deserving to be the Customer Service Manager at IVA. Henceforth, Samson is not just a skilled worker but he is also a good leader and that he has this strong ability to make some of the worst scenarios at work calm down because he has this colossal heart and an empathic aura that touches every individual for, when he speaks, he is never bias and after all, he maintains an equal treatment to all the people involve. 

Thus, he knows how to carry such situation when he is dealing with our clients and can give golden financial advices and explain to them the legal procedure involved in an IVA application and that Samson enhances a strong power skills in terms of promoting the debt restructuring service through media and organize seminars and that as a Customer Service Manager, I can feel in Samson that he is always in total coordination with his mental cognition that drives him in helping people solve their problems through giving out his best in everything that he does in life. I guarantee to you that Samson has really what it takes to be an absolute addition to your prominent law school. Lastly, I amicably manifest that Lam Samson is a complete individual that your institution needs why? Because I believe that he has great dreams not just for himself but for other people and that I think in order for a person to become a good lawyer, he must know how to prioritize the needs of other people and dream the dream that could make this world a better place to live in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annotated Bibliography Assignment Essay Instructions

2 bibliographies of referred research journal articles, related to the topic question What is the guarantee that coal miners are given the most appropriate individual care in relation to their condition hence how competent are health and safety staff?.
The bibliography for each article is to include the full citation of the research journal article and a concise
description of the research project (systematic and literature reviews unacceptable for task) with a critical analysis of the article. Students will also submit a brief description and critique of the search strategy used to identify the resources used in the assignment and a copy of the research paper
Template
•Bibliographic reference
As per Assessment Handbook guidelines
•Major questions posed in the study
•Method of investigation
•Major variables of interest and their operational definitions
•Study population
•The results/findings
•Author's Conclusions and recommendations
•Evaluation

TEMPLATE for ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

An annotated bibliography is a written record of your reading which not only records bibliographic information but also records details of the research and the results of your critical evaluation. Good annotated bibliographies become a valuable resource which you can later use for assignments or for your own research. They provide you with a quick overview of what a piece of research was about and what its value to the discipline is. Remember that when you're evaluating research articles, your main focus is on the research itself and only secondarily on the report of that research.
• Use the following headings to present your annotations for the two research articles
• Bibliographic reference
o As per Assessment Handbook guidelines
• Major questions posed in the study
• Method of investigation
• Major variables of interest and their operational definitions
• Study population
• The results/findings
• Author's Conclusions and recommendations
• Evaluation
• Include references to support your evaluation with research text outlining evaluation of research i.e. Crookes & Davies 2004.
• Use the guiding questions for reviewing literature and Chapters 7 & 8 of Crookes and Davies 2004 to inform your annotations.
• Refer to subject outline Assessment Task 2 instructions
o Include a brief introduction and outline of the search strategy
o As well as a conclusion stating the relevance of the articles to your research question
o The assignment must include a reference list of the two articles and resources used to support your annotations and search activity.
o Copies of the two articles must also be submitted with the assignment


EXAMPLE of ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

The following is an example of an annotated bibliography:

Bibliographic reference:
Allen, M, Knight, C, Falk, C & Strang, V 1992, ‘Effectiveness of a preoperative teaching programme for cataract patients, Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 17, pp. 303-309.
Major questions posed in the study
1) Will first-time cataract patients who participate in a preoperative teaching programme have higher scores when tested on knowledge and self-care skills and lower anxiety scores at the first postoperative home visit than those who do not receive such teaching?
2) Will patients who participate in such a programme require fewer postoperative visits by the home care nurse and require less nurse's time than subjects who do not participate in such a programme?
Method of investigation
1 1-12 hour home care preoperative teaching programme was delivered to each patient of an experimental group (n = 18) during home visits which were carried out 3 to 10 days prior to hospital admission. A control group of cataract patients (n = 18) did not take part in this programme but did receive the routine teaching done by the ophthalmologist and hospital nurses.
The diagnostic tools KST and A-State were administered to all patients before the programme and again after discharge from hospital (but within 36 hours of discharge) to assess knowledge, self-care skills and anxiety.
To test the second hypothesis, data were collected from nursing records about the type, time units and frequency of nursing care provided to patients.
Major variables of interest and their operational definitions
1) subjects needed to be first-time patients, i.e. must not have had cataract extraction previously
2) experimental group / control group: allocation into the two groups was computer-generated.
Study population
The subjects (14 men, 22 women), all over 60 yrs, were hospitalized for cataract extraction for the first time. They were divided into 2 groups, an experimental group who took part in the teaching programme and a control group who did not.

The findings
No significant differences between the experimental group and the control group on knowledge, skills and anxiety.
Results in relation to the second hypothesis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.
Author's Conclusions
Results may have been brought about by the incidental provision of teaching/information to the control group by a source outside the study and teaching/information may be provided by nurses in the normal course of nursing practice without them being consciously aware of carrying out a teaching role. They also point out that their assessment tool may not have provided the best assessment of knowledge.
Evaluation

• The research extends evidence about the value of patient teaching programmes to cataract patients, and could be considered useful and interesting research.

• The tool used to evaluate knowledge and self-care skills may not have been an effective tool and may have under or overestimated patient knowledge and skills and thus lessens the value of the research and the validity of the results

• The article fails to discuss and focus adequately on the results and suggest that the "home care teaching programme was as effective as the normal teaching currently conducted for patients admitted to hospital for cataract surgery" instead of stating clearly that their hypothesis was not upheld by the results

• The article fails to clearly explicate and discuss the rationale, the hypothesis and the results in the conventional sections making an evaluation of this research more difficult than it needs to be
Note for the GHMB 950 Assessment 2
• Include references to support your evaluation with research text outlining evaluation of research i.e. Crookes & Davies 2004.

Strategic Analysis and Choice of Palm Inc.

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND CHOICE

  Abstract

 

Palm Inc was once at the top of the PDA industry’s food chain. It was even among the first-entrants in the said industry. However, recent accounts on the company’s performance have monoliths like Microsoft taking over the market. One major element that could have made this happen is the strategic choices held by Palm Inc. Specifically, this might be attributed to the inability of the company to recognise the paradox of compliance and choice that existed in their industry and how to balance it to their advantage. The following discussion will analyse the circumstances surrounding the issue by using marketing concepts and organisational theories initially espoused by theorists like Michael Porter and many other who have pointed out the importance of industry dynamics and competitive advantage in gaining leadership in any market.  

 

Table of Contents

Abstract.. 2

Table of Contents.. 3

Introduction.. 4

Literature Review... 5

Background of the Company.. 10

Discussion and Findings.. 12

Palm Inc and its Value Chain and Competitive Advantage. 12

Palm Inc and the Level of Rigidity of its Industry. 13

Paradox of Compliance and Choice in Palm Inc. 15

Conclusion.. 16

Reference.. 17

 

 

Introduction

Greater market share, stronger competitive advantage, wider market range, these are among the most common elements required of an organisation seeking continued survival and even excellence in their respective fields. There are tools accessible for these organisations in addressing the demands of their respective environments. Strategies are among those in organisations’ arsenal that could help them brace up with the rigors that they encounter in their operations. Numerous organisational studies have indicated the importance of strategy and in the operations of the company. This has come to the point where companies could find it troublesome to find the single most effective way of strategy formulation and implementation. This paper intends to take a closer look in this area seeking to understand the dynamics of a strategy and the consideration of the conditions surrounding the company. The study will look on the case of Palm Inc, a company among those on top of the market of handheld hardware. Specifically, the study intends to analyse the following questions:

·         How does Palm Inc treat its value chain and competitive advantage?

·         How does Palm Inc address the level of rigidity of its industry?

·         How does the paradox of compliance and choice appear in the case of Palm Inc?

·         How does the Palm Inc strategy help in its performance in the market?

Literature Review

Organisational studies and theories on strategy formulation have pointed out numerous conflicting ideas that tend to be rather confusing for the modern organisation. Nonetheless, there are still elements in classical organisational studies that appear to be rather practicable generally for firms. For instance, the models forwarded by the renowned theorist Michael Porter have been immensely helpful for organisations. Concepts like the value chain and competitive advantage increases the firms’ awareness on their environment and how they could deal with the issues that it bestows them. In the context of competitive advantage, companies have to realise the “logic of overall leadership and differentiation” in order to maximise the results. ( 1980, 1999) However, recent studies have indicated that immediate reaction to the minor changes in the market spells the capability of a firm to acquire its competitive advantage. (1999)  On the other hand, the concept of a value chain refers to an approach which  (1985, 1992) indicated as a means to acquire competitive advantage. In the context of the modern organisation, this approach sees “human resource management as a support activity that along with technology development and procurement, serves to sustain higher priority primary activities.” (1992) However, there is an increasing regard on the incompatible nature of the value chain model in the current environment of modern companies. Basically, the incompatibility lies on the paradox provided by the model regarding competition and collaboration among firms. (2001) The paradox lies on the perspective used by an organisation whether they will adhere to firm compliance or strategic choice. (1998)

Another model provided by Porter that proved to be valuable for organisations in terms of strategy formulation is his five forces model. Basically, this model presents the rigidity of the industry and the overall environment on which a company operates. One element that this model presents is the underlying conditions inherent in the industry which points out the key success indicators for an organisation. ( 1999) For some industries, the economies of scale are important. For others, the integration of the processes involved is seen as an imperative. In any case, these underlying factors establish what is known as the inherent power structures in the industry. Based on the five forces model, elements like the power of buyers, suppliers, new entrants, and substitute products or service are presented. (2006) Upon knowing these, organisations now possess the information they require to formulate courses of action relating to what could be their individual strategies. Studies have been made regarding the possible regard of the company based on their views of the risks and their consequent dislike or neutrality on the matter. This aversion or neutrality thus indicates the kinds of activities an organisation would undertake to address their status in the market. Risk-averse organisations could take on firm compliant measures which doesn’t compromise or place a significant amount of risk on the company. (2001) On the other hand, risk neutral or risk-taking companies would be taking strategic choices ranging from basic expansion or development to bold, revolutionary initiatives that will shake the industry. (2001)

In establishing the individual strategies and courses of action on each company in the industry, they inevitably create some sort of unwritten set of rules. These set of rules tend to be further moulded into norms and to some extent cultural principles with regards to the conduct of business and operations. This is what is collectively known as industry norms. In the study made by (1999 29) they called these norms as industry recipes which “result from industry participation and contribute to making firms within an industry more similar to each other than to firms outside the industry.” This is supported by  (1996) they described these industry norms as an “appropriate coherent way of looking at its world (a paradigm), which was validated by practice in that world.” It is in these types of norms and accepted principles that decision making of those in position is influenced. To some extent, organisations have to deal with such issues on the context of the standards held by their peers, those who operate within their market, such that they are ensured that business will continue.  On the other hand, aside from the industry norms provided by the industry recipes, influence on the strategic decision making of a company could be seen from other forces.  (2002) noted that these institutional pressures come not from other businesses but from the other elements of society, specifically the stakeholders of the company. These may include the government, the public, and even civil society.    

Going back to the issue of competitive advantage, the firm thus have the choice to comply with the industry standards or to take on the direct opposite of these norms. In any case both means still seeks to continue as players in the industry. A distinction between the two poles is that in the context of firm compliance, the company meet the terms of the standards indicated in both the industry recipe and institutional pressures to attain a level of “alignment” among the competitive players in a particular industry. On the other hand, the perspective of strategic choice takes a hands-on and practical means to acquire an advantage over the rest of the players even if it means breaking the established norms in the industry.

Studies thus point to the key regards of a particular priorities of companies in the paradox. For companies covering firm compliance, the priority is to cover the industry dynamics and not the attainment of industry leadership. This is the converse in companies seeking strategic choice. At a certain point, organisations must recognise that in dealing with such a paradox, placing themselves in a particular extreme would be close to commercial suicide. One could not constantly be adapting to the environment without even considering the possibility of development. In the same manner, one could not constantly take on strategic options that assault the very norms that have established the industry. Companies have to constantly be aware of their boundaries particularly in their operations. Compliance to both the industry recipe as well as the institutional pressures is incontrovertible as they have to take on transactions with these institutions and organisations eventually. However, constantly submitting to the demands for compliance would be rather foolish especially if the end result would be detrimental on the welfare of the firm. In the context of employing a strategic choice, the firm should recognise that there are still norms and rules that should be taken into consideration before deeming a strategy fully operational. A reasonable strategic plan does not run the risk of compromising the welfare of the company.

Thus, seeing the discussions in this review, the paradox of compliance and choice does provide modern companies with the alternative as to the strategic perspective that they require based on their specific goals. However, it similarly presents the reality that industries are not static that only a particular perspective, be it firm compliant or strategic, would work all the time. In the same manner, cognition of the established norms would give the organisation the ability to maximise their capabilities without breaking any rules or offending any part of society. In addition, any firm could similarly use a good strategy that would essentially place them in a competitive position, not just merely to align themselves with the standard level of performance with the other players in the industry. The message of the theory manifests the need for flexibility and compromise on the part of the individual organisation. Recognition of the level of demand as well as the degree to which an organisation could take risks is imperative. More so is the fact that every step or strategy made by the firm should be calculated and measured such that any loss or misstep could be remedied with minimal effort.

 

Background of the Company

Palm Inc is the company synonymous with handheld devices, particularly personal digital assistants (PDAs). Basically, this company is one of the forerunners in developing the hardware and the software for PDAs with its inception in 1992 by cofounders and . The initial strategy that the company took is based on the assumption that PDAs are next in the evolution of the computer technologies with reference to the progression of PCs to laptops to notebooks. In the initial stages of the company, they were the only players in the newly created industry yet they could still not appeal for the public on acquiring their products as they are far from offering convenience with their bulky and rather complex operating system.

Though there are considerable parts of the market which are more inclined to take on these products, the public still opts to use the substitute products as opposed to PDAs. This makes the dynamics of the industry rather complex especially as competitors and other manufactures of hardware for PCs set out to engage Palm as they enter the PDA fray. With its operating system (OS), being the standard in the PDA market, Palm was kept in the top position. However, with the presence of its direct competitors with companies like Handspring and Microsoft, the fate of Palm appears to be rather grim. This vision is further realized upon the connections made by the other competitors with other handheld gadgets like mobile phones. For instance, a direct competitor of Palm, Psion, forged an agreement (Symbian) with phone companies like Nokia, Eriksson, and Motorola to employ their operating system called EPOC in their mobile products. Thus, this provides modern mobile phones with PDA-like features essentially called smart phones.           

Eventually, Palm went on to address the demands of the environment by installing a three-pronged strategy. The first is to create a new company, Palm Source, to “spin off” Palm’s operating system. Palm Source was also seen as the one responsible for the developments in the OS of the company to keep its hold on the top position in the market. The second part of the strategy seeks to address the behaviour of the buyers in the industry. Basically, it will be responsible for knowing what the PDA user needs and wants in his/her handheld device. In the same manner, this part of the strategy allows the company to take into consideration the possible collaboration with other mobile phone companies or push the envelope further by creating wireless communication possible for handheld PDAs. The third part of the strategy is to establish a new target market for the company. Traditionally, the company survives in catering for the tech savvy, business-driven, young professionals. At some point, Palm recognised the possibility of tapping other markets like home-makers and housewives. Essentially, Palm is bent on widening its market by creating a buzz with the untapped part of the market. The problem in this context is that there are accounts indicating that this course of action taken by Palm may have been a little too late. For some reason, there are reasons to believe that this assumption is possible. The inability of the company to establish what is required of them by its environment strategically may have been the key to Palm’s struggles in the industry.

 

Discussion and Findings

The analysis of the strategic choices of Palm Inc will be analysed using the framework presented in the literature review earlier. Specifically, the analysis will be covering the consideration of the company on its value chain and competitive advantage; how it addressed the rigidity of the industry; and existence of the compliance and competition paradox in Palm Inc.  

 

Palm Inc and its Value Chain and Competitive Advantage

The competitive advantage of Palm Inc lies on its consideration of the value chain that existed in the company. Specifically, how the company treated its primary and support activities greatly influenced how Palm Inc fared in the industry that they have created. In the context of their primary activities, it is seen that the creation and delivery of the products is held highly in the industry. In the case of Palm Inc, the products ranged from the hardware to the operating systems used in such handheld technologies. The constant changes seen in the product from being considered as “bricks” to its sleek and savvy visage of today’s handheld PDAs manifest the recognition of the company regarding the needs of its consumer. This indicates the responsiveness of Palm on the every need of its end user, nevertheless, there seemed to be a rather limited effort from the company is its marketing responsibilities. Though the product did quite a buzz on the market and among the tech savvy consumers, the lack of an aggressive marketing scheme have failed the Palm Inc in acquiring potential users from different segments of society. At some point, new entrants in the market created by Palm Inc have realised this and thus created a foundation on the market by tapping these elements overlooked by Palm for its potential. In the context of the secondary activities of the company, increased effectiveness and efficiency fell short on the part of Palm Inc as they have failed to protect their position as the primary holder of the OS of PDAs in the market. Their OS were seen as less friendly when compared to that made by the Microsoft produced PDAs. In the end, the most recent models of Palm Inc are now made to be compatible with this Microsoft-developed OS, which essentially establishes the one produced by Palm as inferior to the one developed by Microsoft, at least as the consumers demand it.  

 

Palm Inc and the Level of Rigidity of its Industry

Another element that requires scrutiny on the part of Palm Inc is on the consideration of the rigidity of the industry. Basically, Palm Inc was not able to discern the level of effort required of them as seen in their rather rigid industry. At first, one must consider the underlying conditions of the industry. First, it is seen that the industry has rather fragmented buyers. Seeing the current state of the PDA market and the products they offer, every single individual could now take advantage of the features of the PDA. The problem for the case of the Palm Inc is that they treated the buyers as if they were concentrated. This is the basis of the claim on the case study. If the company have realised the potential regarding the behaviour of consumers even before it started its operations, then it would have still dominated the market. Another underlying condition is that given their operations in the tech industry, they are bound to encounter trade battles with monoliths like Apple and Microsoft. For some reason, Palm Inc has not taken advantage of their position in the market being among the forerunners in the PDA industry. Based on the case study, Palm Inc has taken their operations up to a higher level when Microsoft entered the PDA fray.   

In the context of power structures, the case study has established that the buyers do have high considerably high influence in the industry. They have freedom to choose as to whether to go for the PDAs or their equally powerful substitutes. As seen in the case study, the substitutes for the PDA is extremes to say the very least. There are the PCs, notebooks, and mobile phones on the one part, which is considerably more powerful and offers more technological features than the PDA. In the other end of the pole, PDAs have to contend with the much cheaper and less complex pen and paper medium which includes the classic leather-bound planners.

At some point, the management of Palm Inc should recognise the timely need for their company to make an actual demand for their product and not to wait for consumers to recognise the need for PDAs for themselves. To some extent, this may be attributable to the level of averseness of Palm Inc on taking risks. Essentially, as seen in the case study, their decisions in taking actual courses of marketing action tend to be rather belated. One could only assume that this lapse in time could only mean that the company is reviewing their decisions rather intensely thus calling for a protracted period of time. Unfortunately, this averseness to risk has given its competitors as well as its substitute products ample time to exploit a particular segment of the market and even maximise its returns.  

 

Paradox of Compliance and Choice in Palm Inc

The issue pertaining to the leadership of the industry or consider the dynamics of the industry tends to apply, though in a considerably complicated manner, on the part of Palm Inc. Basically, the rather complicated nature is that Palm Inc was initially competing for industry leadership where they were the sole player. They went head-to-head with the players in the high-tech substitutes like PCs and notebooks. They overlooked the potential of being a first-entrant in the industry. At this point, they should have recognised that being the industry leader would not have been relevant if they are not aware of the actual dynamics of the market. Thus, in the initial stages, Palm should have taken advantage on being the only provider of handheld PDAs. Though this has been their achievement in the OS sector, their development was close to being stagnant which resulted to Microsoft overtaking them on the OS market. Seeing this occurrence, Palm could not even jive its operations with the dynamics of the market. Unless Palm Inc could address its problems and deal with the dynamics of the industry, then its eventual demise could be imminent.

 

Conclusion

Strategies and heir direction frequently indicates as to whether a company will be able to achieve its organisational goals or not. In the same regard, the choices of made by companies regarding their take on strategies engaging in strategic choice or compliance shows how they are well versed in the dynamics of their individual environment. In the case of Palm Inc, they have taken strides that inherently compliment their respective environments. However, the question lies on the timing and immediacy of their decision as to implement specific strategies. Based on their history, Palm Inc has encountered different changes in leadership and ownership which essentially reflects the direction on which the company views the paradox of compliance and competition. Initial stages of the organisation have manifested a great cognition of competition taking on large established technologies such as PCs and notebooks. They did this without realising that they have been competing with the wrong element. This shows that early on the company has some issues on the direction on which industry they intend to take on. To some degree, this may be understandable in their situation given that they made a new environment on which they have no other company to pattern to. This makes the choice of compliance over competition rather complicated. However, this does not justify the meagre performance of the company as they have the responsibility to closely monitor the subtle changes in their environment. This alone could determine whether they are to take on strategies that will make them industry leaders or mere players in the PDA industry.      

Marketing Strategies of Computer Companies

Marketing Strategies of Computer Companies

 

 

            An enterprise will not establish its name on its own. Word of mouth among

 

consumers not enough in reaching the wider market. Extensive promotions are

 

necessary in catching the attention of the public and getting a larger base of

 

customers. Thus, marketing strategies are needed to have a more systematic

 

way of seizing the opportunities for the business.

 

            Marketing strategy is the method of allowing the organization’s limited

 

resources to concentrate on a course of action that will lead to increased sales

 

and dominance of a targeted market. Marketing strategy basically identifies the

 

business’s objectives and goals and how they will be achieved in a specific

 

period of time. Also, a marketing strategy is a combination of processes such as

 

product development, promotion, pricing and distribution. It determines the

 

choice of targeted market sections together with its positioning, marketing mix

 

and allocation of resources.

 

            It is important to realize for an enterprise particularly for those starting

 

ones that marketing strategy is one of the biggest factors that would determine

 

the success or failure of the business. The size and nature of the enterprise is

 

irrelevant, what only matter is getting the right marketing strategies and the

 

business will prosper. However, there is confusion between marketing strategy

 

and advertising. Advertising mainly concerns on attracting possible customers

 

through commercials and promotions, while marketing strategy encompasses

 

every aspect on running the business, not only focusing on the behavior of the

 

market but also on organizational efficiency.

 

            On the other hand, marketing strategies are changing through the times

 

because of the changing industries as well. Not all marketing strategies of the

 

traditional industries are applicable to the revolutionary digital industries of the

 

21st century age. Due to the modern living that is technologically heavily

 

dependent, the computer industry has been booming ever since. But, the

 

competition grows as well. Thus, different marketing strategies are developed to

 

be more efficient in running the business while attracting more customers and

 

surviving in the tight competition.

 

            Apple Inc. has been one of the most popular computer brands across the

 

globe. Known for its Macintosh line of computers and related software, Apple has

 

emerged to dominate the market in the recent decade. The consumers of

 

electronic industry have been awed by its product such as the iPod, the digital

 

music distributor iTunes Music Store, and the incredible smart phone iPhone.

 

            Apple is notable for its branding strategy that is about lifestyle,

 

imagination, innovation, passion and power-to-the-people through technology.

 

The Apple brand is about simplicity and removal of complexity from life through

 

people-driven product design.

 

            Also, there is brand architecture viewpoint that maintains a monolithic

 

brand identity that automatically connotes association with the Apple name. The

 

prefix “i” is used for consumer products such as iTunes, iPod, and iPhone. While

 

the “Mac” is used for a large number of Apple’s products referring to computers

 

such as MacBook and Mac Mini.

 

            On one hand, Dell had different marketing strategy that helped the

 

company to engrave its name in the industry.

 

            Dell is among the world’s leading computer manufacturers that

 

transformed and diversified the business industry spanning for over 20 years.

 

Dell has gained market leadership through its unique approach of separate

 

manufacturing processes so that the company is not reliant on singular

 

production for supplier’s chain for equipment. By assigning each regionalized

 

production, there would be a center for particular computer components to

 

increase the organizational efficiency and maximize the business infrastructure.

 

            Also, Dell’s product pricing mostly reflects on the affordability of the local

 

customers. A good example is the production plants based on Xiamen, China

 

that has been able to provide products and services without incurring additional

 

costs to price. Location strategy largely affects the aspect of marketing

 

campaign. The so-called “local Dell” offers cheaper products because it has no

 

additional costs of distribution. Dell has not concentrated on extensive marketing

 

campaigns until 1999, when customers from UK filed complaints for the company

 

not following the guidelines and promises of the Dell’s promotional campaign.

 

Thus, it moved the firm to adapt the “Be Direct” attitude in dealing with

 

customers.

 

            Surviving in the tight market competition is a tough fight. But, it would be

 

easier if the organization is ready and armed with definite plans particularly its

 

marketing strategies. However, besides the knowledge that is necessary in

 

running the business smoothly, dedication and commitment is far more important

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

Marketing Strategies to Sell Computer Monitors, August 2010, http://www.ehow.com

 

Business Marketing Strategy Essentials, http://www.bizrave.com/

 

Apple's Branding Strategy, http://www.marketingminds.com.au

       

 

Dissertation on Entrepreneur Boot Camps

Entrepreneur Boot camps

Abstract

For business the consumers are its most important goal. Business would like to have a good relationship and total trust with the clients and that’s the reason why they put the clients as their first priority. To make sure that a company will have a good relationship with the clients, business have to create changes that clients have been requesting for. This change depends on the needs of the client.  Businesses undergo various changes depending on the situation in the industry and the demand for change by the internal and external environment. Changes in businesses are eminent, especially with different situation in the environment. The companies change their strategies because of many reasons; it can be because of poor performance against competitors, entry in new markets, bad position for a country’s economy; subsequent problems in the industry or unchanging market condition. 

 

Changes happen because of the need for the company to have advantage over its competitors. One change that happens to business is improvements in the strategies and techniques they use. The improvements in the strategies and techniques can make the business and the employees perform better or it can create more problems for the company. It can also help the company reach its goals. One way to improve the business is to make use of entrepreneurial boot camps. The paper will discuss about the importance of entrepreneur boot camps to local businesses and how it assists a company’s goal.

Key words: Entrepreneur boot camps, business change, organization’s goal

Introduction

The real-world entrepreneur is a single composite personality who is also a manager, leader, capitalist, coordinator and organizer. Thus, although entrepreneurial, managerial and capitalist functions are conceptually distinguishable, in the real world the activities are invariably intertwined. Owing to transaction costs and other factors, entrepreneurs must perform many. Non-entrepreneurial and managerial functions and they must often provide some capital to facilitate the realization of their own ideas. Transaction-cost factors inhibit the transfer of entrepreneurial knowledge and block the formation of an external market in which entrepreneurs could sell their ideas to other participants who could realize them (Harper 2003).Entrepreneurship is critical to enhancing the innovativeness and responsiveness of businesses, to boosting productivity and to improving cost structures and trade performance. The entrepreneurial spirit may manifest itself in the development of new markets, new products, new methods of production and management, the discovery of new inputs and the establishment of new businesses and even new organizational forms (Sautet 2000).

 

Entrepreneurship is pertinent to the analysis of how new ideas or 'recipes' for reconfiguring objects in the material and social world can be harnessed to enhance a nation's wealth. Recognition of the pivotal role of entrepreneurship in development leads us to emphasize the importance of institutions that endanger processes of entrepreneurial discovery. It motivates people to enquire into the institutional conditions that are highly conducive to entrepreneurship and to investigate the institutional changes necessary in moving towards a more market-oriented economy. Indeed, differences in the nature of institutions and in the structure of incentives they create for entrepreneurship explain much of the variation in the wealth of nations. Although the entrepreneur may also be an inventor, there is no necessary connection between entrepreneurship and invention. The inventor produces new scientific and technical ideas, whereas the entrepreneur may perceive the opportunity to apply such new ideas commercially. The entrepreneur is not an inventor, but may be someone who decides to allocate resources to the exploitation of an invention (Kent, 1990).

 

 Because the management function is more readily observable than the entrepreneurial function, the latter is often subsumed within the former. However, the management function is actually narrower in scope than entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur's managerial skills can have a significant impact on the outcome of a venture (Campling, Glancey, & McQuaid, 2000). An entrepreneur may or may not be born but the entrepreneurial traits can be developed within an organization. To develop such trait an organization has to undergo constant changes to its techniques and strategies. Such changes will affect the organization and its operations. A company has to make use of strategies to bring out the entrepreneur in each of their employees. One method to improve the entrepreneurial skills of an employee or any member of the company is to put him/her into an entrepreneur boot camp.

Entrepreneur boot camp

The entrepreneurial community's success has attracted capital on an unprecedented scale. The venture capital market and the market for initial public offerings have gone to unprecedented valuations. Perhaps most interesting, however, is the extent to which successful entrepreneurs have reinvested in venture funds and in angel networks (Welsch, 2003). Successful entrepreneurship is a study of the dynamic fit between a set of individuals, an opportunity derived from a particular context, and the deal that unites them. The nature of the fit requires constant vigilance. There is no such thing as an everlasting opportunity. Context changes and the opportunity becomes a trap. Deals need to be robust, but the best deals are subject to strategic behavior when their consequences are fully understood. Individuals change too. The assumption that rational, evaluating, maximizing individuals start businesses cannot begin to account fully for the instances of creative genius, self-sacrificing loyalty, and charismatic leadership (Birley & Macmillan, 1997).

 

With global enterprises and entrepreneurial behavior, hierarchy does not and cannot suffice. Being part of a supportive community becomes the basis for repeated, mutually beneficial transactions. Contracts are incomplete and often only marginally enforceable through judicial processes. Legal systems and ethical systems are often in conflict. Therefore, to interact effectively and efficiently, individuals must sense that they are part of a community that cares, protects, and ensures legitimate behavior on the part of others. Trust, caring, agreed-upon standards for performance, and agreed-upon sanctions are the oil that lubricates the friction inherent in free exchange. Building a sense of community is a leadership task. Such a community is created and linked by the technology that is evolving (BhidÉ, 2003).Challenges for the future are mutually reinforcing. Scholars and practitioners who attempt to deal with one of the challenges without understanding the others do so at their own peril. Entrepreneurship creates the technology and is enabled by it. Communities that form across traditional boundaries enable globalization and enable growth through entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs build community by managing networks rather than hierarchies and by reinforcing the community through celebration and reinvestment in other community members' new ideas. They share the rewards of innovation with customers, suppliers, and other partners in the enterprise in order to assure cooperation (Gilder, 1992).

 

The entrepreneur boot camp intends to help the business in moving into the next level wherein the business will be able to form a better business planning foundation.  The boot camp also intends to teach anyone who undergoes it, the art and science of maintaining a business venture. The boot camp will make sure that the person who undergoes it will have a better knowledge of how the business will position itself, how to find the right capital for the company and how to avoid common mistakes made by business people.    The entrepreneur boot camp can give assistance to the company in looking for potential investors.

Framework of the study

The research will make use of the descriptive method to evaluate the importance of entrepreneur boot camps to local business. Descriptive research tries to explore the cause of a particular event or situation. It also wants to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study (Creswell, 1994).  The descriptive approach is quicker and more practical in terms of financing (Potter, 1996) Moreover, this method will allow for a flexible approach, thus, when important new issues, probabilities, and questions come up during the duration of the study, a further investigation and confirmation may be allowed. Lastly this type of approach will allow the researcher to drop unproductive areas of research from the original plan of the study.

 

The research is also exploratory in nature and based on the study of positivist phenomena, therefore the researcher intends to use a positivist methodological approach. This stems from the fact that the study is empirically grounded and is being undertaken to gain more understanding of the issue from an objective point of view. This point of view is being taken to minimize personal prejudice and bias (Burton & Steane, 2004).This research is partly based on quantitative research method so as to permit a flexible approach. The choice and design of methods are constantly modified during data gathering based on continuing analysis. This will give way for creation of an investigation of important new issues, concerns, probabilities and questions as they arose. In addition, this study also employed partly qualitative research method, since this research intends to find theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research (Anderson, 1998).  

 

To attain information the researcher has two major options one is primary data collection another is secondary data collection. Primary data will be the responses of employees who have an idea on the importance of entrepreneur boot camps to local business. The survey method will be facilitated through the use of survey forms and questionnaires. This will include inquiries on the general characteristics, particularly the socio-demographic information of the selected research participants. Quantifiable inquiries will be likewise contained in the survey forms and questionnaire regarding the impact of the importance of entrepreneur boot camps to local business and on the current business practices and approaches as compared to the traditional business management strategies (Brewer & Ware, 2002). The criteria that were used to select the business organization were the firms and companies that have long been operating in their respective industries. The secondary data will come from the academic materials and research publications that are significant to the research. The secondary source of data will come from research through the internet; books, journals, related studies and other sources of information. Acquiring secondary data are more convenient to use because they are already condensed and organized. The additional information will also be used to support as well as contradict the findings of the study.

 Methodology

Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data that will be used in the research. Questionnaires collect data by asking people to respond to exactly the same set of questions, and they are often used as part of survey strategy to collect descriptive data about opinions, behaviors and attributes, where data collected are normally coded and analyzed by computer (Saunders et al., 2003). Accordingly, the selection of questionnaire is stimulated by the research questions and objectives, as well as the resources that are available. In making a questionnaire, one should consider the wording of individual questions prior to order in which they appear, and the order and flow of questions should be rational to the participants (Daymon & Holloway, 2002).).After a questionnaire is made, it was disposed to the participants. The respondents were given ample time to provide answers to the different questions. The respondents have different response regarding the issue of entrepreneur boot camps and how important it is to local business

 

 Majority of the respondents agreed that the entrepreneur boot camp provides lesser need for the local businesses to use additional technologies to provide product or service. This group of respondents is 43.20% of the respondents. Another group of respondents strongly agreed with the statement. They were 34.95% of the respondents. The smallest group of respondents was undecided with the statement. They were 21.84% of the respondents.  This shows that the respondents believe that with the company engaging in an entrepreneur boot camp the need for newer technologies may be lessened. The entrepreneur boot camp helps the company minimize its expenses and add more budgets to other important things in the company. Majority of the respondents disagreed with the idea that the entrepreneur boot camp doesn’t promote operational effectiveness. 50.87% of the respondents had this in mind. Another group of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement. They were 40.87%. A smaller number of respondents were undecided on the statement. They were 6.09%. Those who agreed with the statement were 2.17%.  This shows that entrepreneur boot camp can bring operational effectiveness to local businesses.  It shows how valuable such thing is if it is used properly. 36% of the respondents believe that entrepreneur boot camp could serve as an innovative tool for acquiring competitive advantage. 31% of the respondents disagree with the idea. 16% of the respondents strongly agreed with the idea. Moreover 10% of the respondents strongly disagreed with the statement.  There were 7% of the respondents who were undecided with the belief that entrepreneur boot camp could serve as an innovative tool for acquiring competitive advantage.

 

 The respondents know that entrepreneur boot camp could serve as an innovative tool for acquiring competitive advantage. They have seen the purpose of such technique and they believe that through it the company can gain competitive advantage. 50% of the respondents believe that the entrepreneur boot camp will make it easier for local businesses to conduct their business transactions. 30%of respondent strongly agrees that the entrepreneur boot camp will make it easier for local businesses to conduct their business transactions. A part of the respondents are neutral or undecided on the statement. They were 20% of the total number of respondents. The respondents believe entrepreneur boot camp helps in providing means in making the business transactions easier. They think that the entrepreneur boot camp will help in solving the local businesses’ problems on conducting business transactions and it will help them in solving the transaction related woes they have.  The entrepreneur boot camp help the local business alter the way business transpires; this leads to faster delivery of services.

 

43% of the respondents believe that entrepreneur boot camp helps in making sure clients save time from visiting branches to handle business activities without having to wait for the company’s staff. 37 % of the respondents strongly agree to such statement. 20% of the respondents were neutral or undecided on the idea that that entrepreneur boot camp helps in making sure clients save time from visiting branches to handle business activities without having to wait for the company’s staff at service counters. The respondents believe that with the use of entrepreneur boot camp less time would be used. The clients can transact their business with business without thinking about the different activities that they have to go through in a certain business. They also don’t have to waste some of their time in going to a certain branch and go through long lines. They also don’t have to worry about waiting for the business staff at service counters if the staffs are attending to other people or are busy doing something else.

Discussion and future research

The respondents believe that with the company engaging in an entrepreneur boot camp the need for newer technologies may be lessened. The entrepreneur boot camp can bring operational effectiveness to local businesses.  It shows how valuable such thing is if it is used properly. The respondents know that entrepreneur boot camp could serve as an innovative tool for acquiring competitive advantage. They have seen the purpose of such technique and they believe that through it the company can gain competitive advantage. The respondents believe entrepreneur boot camp helps in providing means in making the business transactions easier. They think that the entrepreneur boot camp will help in solving the local businesses’ problems on conducting business transactions.

 

The entrepreneur boot camp help the local business alter the way an operation transpires; this leads to faster delivery of services. With the use of entrepreneur boot camp less time would be used. The clients can transact their business with the organization without thinking about the different activities that they have to go through the company. They also don’t have to waste some of their time in going to a certain branch and go through long lines. They also don’t have to worry about waiting for the business staff at service counters if the staffs are attending to other people or are busy doing something else. Future research can be done on how to improve the entrepreneur boot camp and what other things can be used to improve the company.

 

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The Case of 7-Eleven

Introduction

Change is the only permanent in life. Change can be a lot of things, but no matter how the benefits are spelled out, it's often a scary proposition. A business cannot simply rely on past successes to withstand the internal and external forces that may threaten its profitability. So in order to retain a company's viability, its leadership must maintain a forward-thinking vision, be vigilant in recognizing the need for change and have the skill and leadership style to guide the organization through the process of change (Greenwood, 1991). Today's successful companies must change daily to keep up with their customers' changing needs and the competition.

Organizational change can be defined as “Anything that affects people, processes and chains of accountability is organizational change" (Melbourne, 2003). Regardless of the size of an organization or the industry in which an organization resides, preparing for change is the same.

The need for change is driven by market forces, a need to improve performance internally, competitive situations, and rapid changes in technology. Managers see a clear and positive impact to the financial bottom line or a boost in the performance and morale of employees. But improvements to technology and business processes also bring about human changes, which, if not managed effectively, can be the demise of any implementation. Monitoring and managing the human changes that result from changes to business processes and technology is what change management is all about.

According to Weber (2005), consistent change management is critical to a new system implementation's success. Managing the implementation of these major changes is a must if you are to survive in today's highly competitive environment. Attempting to implement major changes without a well thought out plan will result in wasted efforts, lost time, missed sales and lower profits. Major changes within organizations are required for long-term survival. Getting these changes implemented as smoothly as possible with a minimum of disruption is a difficult, but manageable task.

“Change management involves the process of effectively restructuring an organization to make it more responsive to its marketplace. It is the process consists of identifying destabilizing forces, determining the present situation, selecting the methods for the implementation of change, developing an effective strategy and applying these strategies accurately” (Kleiner, 1997). It is also important to determine the external and internal sources of the need to implement changes.

Changes are continually happening in the workplace, and it would be futile for both supervisors and employees to resist it. Employees in general resist change because they are comfortable with the status quo (Trebilcock, 2002). Downsizing, buy-outs and mergers are occurring at dizzying speeds it seems. And "planned" change, the introduction of a new way of doing things, can arouse resistance.

This paper attempts to analyze external and internal factors that affect to the choice of 7-Eleven to decide on organizational changes. Any company has undergone challenges in their business operations and 7-Eleven is one of the companies that have experienced these difficulties. For a company to sustain its competitiveness, it must be sensitive to the necessary changes in the organization. Usually in implementing changes, there are a number of persons on the organization that resist to these changes. However, change is good for the company when properly planned. 

Company Background

7-Eleven is an international company operating as a convenience store in eighteen countries which includes Canada, United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico in the Americas; Norway, Sweden and Denmark in Europe; Taiwan (Republic of China), People’s Republic of China (China), Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan in East Asia; the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia; and also Turkey and Australia.

  

History

7-Eleven was founded in 1927 in Oak Cliff, Texas, USA in which started using the name 7-Eleven in 1946. In 1964, 7-Eleven enter the business of franchising when the company purchased a chain store named “Speedee-Mart.”

It was in 1991, Ito-Yokado a supermarket chain, which operates 7-Eleven stores in Japan, purchased the majority interest of The Southland Corporation. In 1999, The Southland Corporation changed its name to 7-Eleven, Inc.

Initially, these stores were open from 7 am to 11 pm, which was unprecedented at the time, hence the name; however, most 7-Eleven stores are now open twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week.

In November 2005, 7-Eleven has turned to a publicly traded Japanese conglomerate when Seven and I Holdings Co. has completed its purchased of the company.

Vision

7-Eleven’s vision is to be recognized as a leader in providing time-conscious consumers with a full-range of products and services that meet their ever-changing daily needs.

Mission Statement

7-Eleven’s mission is to offer time-conscious customers a full range of products and services that meet their ever-changing daily needs through quality, speed, selection and value in a safe, friendly and pleasant environment.

 

Core Values

7-Eleven is a customer-preferred convenience store which value customer expectations through quality, speed, selection and value safe and pleasant environment. The company treats employees with dignity and respect the company also recognizes franchisees and suppliers as business partners. In addition, the company strives to be a good corporate citizen.

 

Competitive Analysis

7-Eleven is currently having various competitions which include superstores, hypermarkets, convenience stores and even traditional markets. However, the biggest competitors of 7-Eleven today are Circle K convenience stores, ParknShop and Wellcome. Currently, in Hong Kong there are already more than 600 supermarkets and convenience stores.

 

ParknShop is associated with three other supermarkets by the name of Great, Taste, and Gourmet. These high-end supermarkets are after the more affluent clientele. They are ideal outlets for innovative, quality and priced international food products. These stores also carry a wide selection of organic products. Great adopts a stylish international food hall concept and its flagship store offers over 46,000 gourmet items.

 

In addition Wellcome also is a competitor of 7-Eleven which is also is owned of Dairy Farm. Wellcome, will also be opening an upscale supermarket in Hong Kong’s central commercial area catering to the more affluent clientele. It will be Hong Kong’s largest retail outlet for organic and natural products. About 6,000 items or 70 percent of the items in the store will be organic or natural products. The store will include an organic sector for baby products. “Health” and “natural” are the key concepts of this store.

 

 

Name of Retailer

 

Ownership

 

Food Sales

US$

 

No. of Outlets

 

Location

 

Type of Purchasing agent

 

Wellcome

 

Hong Kong

 

over $1 billion

 

261, 27 of which are superstores

 

Hong Kong

 

Importers/Agents

Exporters Consolidators

 

ParknShop

 

Hong Kong

 

over $1 billion

 

215, 45 of which are superstores*

 

Hong Kong

 

Importers/Agents

Exporters Consolidators

Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (2006)

 

ParknShop and Wellcome account for almost 80 percent of the supermarket turnover. Both supermarkets are able to work closely with real estate developers to open stores in strategic locations, thus maintaining their significant market share.  Because of their significant market share, they are able to make suppliers offer goods to them at very competitive prices, so that they are able to set retail prices lower than their competitors. Consequently, it is difficult for small competitors to survive and new players to enter into the market.

Moreover, a new development in 2003 is that ParknShop expanded into 24-hour convenience store operations.  The supermarket giant has opened a number of stores under the name ParknShop Express on a trial scheme and may expand the network across Hong Kong if the experiment succeeds.  Currently, there are about ten Express stores.  ParknShop has intrinsic competitive advantages over its rivals because it can use the leverage of the group’s existing infrastructure to offer products at low prices.  The stores carry the products as other convenience stores such as cooked food, drinks, newspapers and magazines.  In a bid to lure customers, the 1,000 products offered by ParknShop Express are priced at the same level as those being sold at ParknShop.  This is in contrast to other convenience store operators charging at a premium of up to 15 per cent from those selling at supermarkets. 

 

In the convenience store, Circle K is the competitor of 7-Eleven. Circle K is continuing to expand.

 

Retailer Name

Ownership

No. of Outlets

Location

Purchasing Agents

Year Established

Client’s Age

Circle K

Hong Kong

180

HK

Importers

Agents

1985

15-35

Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (2006)

  

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Majority of the goods that 7-Eleven Store are low prices sue to low cost of operations. Also, 7-Eleven is more convenient to customers. Consumers could avoid the long checkout lines, crowded parking lots, and traffic. There are many choices of shopping methods; browsing the aisles, using product search, and choosing from a shopping list customized from frequently bought products. They could shop 24/7 since the store is open for 24 hours in 7 days. The store also offers variety of selection from fresh to processed food and whatever shoppers would need.

 

Threats

However, despite the strengths, the store has also its weaknesses. One of which is inventory inefficiency in which they would experience stock outs. Moreover, with the presence of superstores, their current marketing strategies have been overshadowed. In addition, low performance of workers also has negative effect on the efficiency of the store.

 

Opportunities

7-Eleven has also some opportunities. With the problem of information dissemination, an opportunity to acquire new technology for more efficient operations can now be possible. Also, 7 Eleven has been already known by the people as a store open in 24 hours they have the advantage over it. In addition, the company also got the most strategic locations of their stores. Moreover, the company can still expand their business and open some more stores especially in China which got the opportunities of expansion with its large market.

 

Weaknesses

Increase in competition is a great threat to 7 Eleven. Also, with the increasing high levels of educated people, consumers are now more skeptics and are more demanding. In addition, the traditional markets in which people can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables are still in its popularity in Hong Kong. Moreover, 7-Eleven has high employee turnover which is a sign of bad management.

 

Identification of Problem/Issues 

7-Eleven faces an intense competition. With the continuous globalization, it is important for 7 Eleven to maintain its leadership in the convenience store industry. Superstores are already emerging which are mostly are also beginning to open 24 hours.

 

From the SWOT analysis, the company faces various problems that are needed to have a solution. It is recommended to concentrate on some areas. One of the areas that have a major impact on offering goods and service is the efficiency and effectiveness of the people doing the work.

 

One of the major objectives that the company should concentrate is the improvement of their workers. A strategic human resource development must be implemented within the company.

 

Human resource development (HRD) plays a vital function by maximizing employee expertise to achieve the main objectives of an organization. Human resource development (HRD) has served the needs of organizations to provide employees with up-to-date expertise. According to Swanson and Torraco (1994) Advances in HRD models and processes have kept pace with the increasingly sophisticated information and production technologies that continue to diffuse throughout our nation's most vital industries. During this period of rapid technological development, the HRD function could be relied upon to support a broad range of business initiatives that required a competent workforce.

 

Critical business issues, from new marketing strategies to innovations in production technology, were based on, among other factors, the performance capabilities of those expected to use these new work systems. As a factor integral to business success, employee expertise itself has been expanded through effective programs of employee development. According to Swanson (1994), expertise is defined as the optimal level at which a person is able and/or expected to perform within a specialized realm of human activity.

 

However, according to Swanson and Torraco (1994), today's business environment requires that HRD not only support the business strategies of organizations, but that it assumes a pivotal role in the shaping of business strategy. Business success increasingly hinges on an organization's ability to use employee expertise as a factor in the shaping of business strategy. 

 

The rationale for using HRD interventions to support business objectives is to enhance employee expertise through HRD increases the likelihood that business objectives will be achieved (Jacobs and Jones, 1995; Swanson, 1994).

 

Training and other initiatives associated with total quality management have been critical in transforming marginal manufacturing plants into successful facilities (Sullivan, 1994). HRD continues to be a primary vehicle for assuring mandated levels of employee competence and public safety in highly regulated sectors like the nuclear power industry (Paquin, 1994).

 

Jacobs and Jones (1995) posit the argument that "Organizations in the new economy have come to realize that employee expertise is a vital and dynamic living treasure. The desire for employee expertise is meaningless unless an organization can develop it in ways that respond to the business needs."

 

However, some Organizations have rushed to embrace information technology as a way to improve overall efficiency and reduce costs. Yet, it is not the information technology itself, but the way information technology is thoroughly integrated into major business processes, that represent the greatest opportunity for the successful transformation of outdated business processes (Davenport, 1993). However, those who have successfully used information technology to improve business performance will quickly point out that these advantages will not materialize without highly competent people to both implement and utilize these innovative work systems.

 

The human capacity must exist to use information technology to maximize performance (Lawler et. al., 2003). Employee expertise is critical to an organization's ability to capitalize on the vast opportunities afforded by information technology. HRD is then in a strategic position to assure that the required expertise is available and effectively utilized.

 

Organizations in market leadership positions realize sooner or later that human resources are ultimately the only business resource with the creativity and adaptive power to sustain and renew an organization's success despite changing market conditions (Torraco, 1993). The development of employee expertise provides a potentially inexhaustible source of ideas for further innovation and increased productivity because the most basic output of the highly competent employee knowledge is not used up in the process of producing it (McLagan, 1989). Developing employee expertise at all levels of the organization and using knowledge as a catalyst for growth and competitive advantage represents a major frontier in organizational performance that is only now beginning to be fully appreciated (Senge, Kleiner, Roberts, Ross, and Smith, 1994; Nevis, DiBella, and Gould, 1995).

  

Resistance to Change

No matter how much analyzing, planning and employee participation you do, some of your employees will resist the changes. The majority of human beings naturally resist change (Trebilcock, 2002). Change takes employees (and some presidents) out of their comfort zone and places them in an unknown situation. This results in resistance to the needed changes.

According to Trebilcock (2002) resistance comes in two forms; overt and passive. Overt resistance is the easiest to overcome. It comes from the employees who openly oppose the changes. Allow these employees to speak their mind and then work with them to overcome their concerns.

Passive resistance is much tougher to overcome. If you don't know it exists you cannot overcome it. The most passive resistance comes from employees who have n opinion when asked about the proposed changes. Everyone has an opinion; be very careful and watchful of those who do not express it when asked. After passive resistance is detected take immediate action to eliminate it.  

No Change Scenario

If 7-Eleven would not change its human resource management, there would be an increasing number of staff turnovers because mainly staff are not motivated and are unsatisfied with their work. In addition, because of lack of expertise of most of its staff, more problems will prevail.

Change Scenario

When the company would adopt changes on its human resource management, the staff would likely to be motivated and empower with their proper training and with their development and expertise with their job.

Conclusion

More than anything, human resource is important to any company. And its development would likely improve the performance of any company. HRD serves a broad range of interests and outcomes in organizations. The primary purposes to be served by HRD can range from programs intended to meet the personal development needs of individuals such as identifying individual learning styles or personal financial planning to HRD programs necessary for everyone in the organization such as programs addressing a new performance appraisal method or role changes secondary to structural reorganization. HRD is a crucial antecedent to successful business strategy. In these situations, HRD actively shapes strategy.

 

Some companies jump into deciding on application of technology however, it is important first to reorganize the organization as a whole. Changes in the management of human resources should be the first at hand with the company of 7-Eleven.