Team effectiveness

Part One:

Workplace Issue: One of the main issues affecting my workplace is employee diversity. Due to the personal and cultural, tensions among employees had been a frequent occurrence. This in turn had been causing considerable work disruptions; moreover, assigning group tasks among the employees had been difficult due to this issue. In order to gather evidence, incident reports relevant to this issue had been compiled and analyzed. In addition, interviews of the employees involved in these incidents had been documented. The aim of the company to maintain order and coordination among the employees urged the management to do something about this workplace problem.

Problem-Solving Model: In order to develop a resolution to the identified issue, the management utilized the creative problem-solving (CPS) model. This model was actually developed by  (1992) and is made up of six stages which include objective finding, fact finding, problem finding, idea finding, solution finding, and acceptance finding. The management then followed these steps in order to develop a possible solution to the problem.

Steps and Plan: The follow where the activities done by the management in accordance to the CPS model:

• Objectives: to maintain order and coordination among the employees; prevent workplace incidents due to discrimination
• Facts: work disruption; inability to work in teams; workplace tension
• Problem: discrimination due to workplace diversity
• Idea: consult human resource management experts; read relevant literatures; attend conventions/seminars
• Solution: conduction of team-building activities; conduction of group seminars/discussion regarding workplace diversity
• Acceptance: utilization of performance measures; evaluate team-based output in terms of quality and quantity

The plan developed by the company is summarized in a table (Appendix A). The development of solutions for the company underwent a cost/benefit analysis. This helped the management to develop solutions that can be supported by the company’s available resources and can directly address the issue concerned.

 

Part Two:

a. The following are the steps I will undertake in order to deal with the harassment issue:

1.      Provide counseling to the employee. This procedure aims to stress the need for the employee to provide a formal complaint. This in turn will allow me to conduct a full investigation of the report as well as educate the offending team members. The first step will also help assure the employee of privacy and confidentiality.

2.      Investigate the employee’s complaint. As soon as the complaint has been forwarded, an investigation will be carried out immediately; this will prevent the issue from worsening or being neglected. For this purpose, employees involved in the report will be interviewed; these include the complainant, harassers and potential witnesses. During this process, the interviews will be documented and preserved as evidence. In conducting this procedure, legal advice through the company’s lawyer will be obtained. This will help in determining whether harassment has really taken place and what proper actions should be done.

3.      Take action. Depending on the result of the interview, degree of the complaint and the assessment of the legal adviser, proper actions will be done. Proceedings of the decision will be relayed to the complainant as well as the harassers. Should there be a need to terminate the harassers, the company management will ensure that the complainant will not suffer from any form of retaliation. For this purpose, work environment of the employees will be monitored regularly.

4.      Prevention. It is essential that similar incidents should be prevented from happening again in the future. Hence, if it is required, stressing or modifying the company’s harassment policy will be done. In addition, educational workshops that would promote harmonious working relation will also be carried out.

b. The following are the steps I will undertake in order to deal with the meeting disruption issue:

1.      Respond to the team member. If a member is constantly asking for my attention during the meeting, it is likely that we are communicating well. It is important that the question of the member is answered directly in order to prevent waste of time.

2.      Communicate with the employee. In order to prevent the same constant interruption from happening, I need to understand why the member is behaving in that manner. This will also help me determine if there is something unclear or upsetting in the meeting that bothers the employee. Through this, I will be able to become more aware of the members’ different emotions and moods while in a meeting.  (1996) also noted that meeting participants who are fragile, nervous or annoying should be given attention; handling their problems immediately while in a meeting will help prevent further interruptions and waste of time.

3.      Prevention. In order to prevent constant interruptions during a meeting, initially inform the participants that questions would just be entertained after the discussion or that they could just direct their queries through e-mail or at a certain time of the day.

 

Part Three:

1.      The company made a number of considerations in order to prevent the same problem on job outsourcing from happening again. One of which is the approach it will have to use in order to obtain a favorable response from the employees. By means of communicating openly with the Action Learning Team, the management was able to obtain the employees’ full support for further job outsourcing. The company also considered how the employees will respond to this new hiring plan. Furthermore, the management also considered its current relationship status with the workforce.

2.      The success of the company’s initiatives can be attributed to honest and open communication observed in the workplace. Through this approach, employees willingly approach the company’s plan for further job outsourcing without reducing their productivity level or causing major work disruptions. The absence of problems in the company enabled the management to carry out its plans smoothly. The collaboration of the management and the employees brought about by open communication also made the implementation of the change easier for the company.

3.      The consultative and united approach helps in maintaining the good working relations between the management and the employees. Through this, workers can be made aware of the company’s plans; making the employees part of the decision-making activities can stress the role and value employees have for the company. This in turn fosters good working relationships. Communication also prevents employee-management conflicts; for instance, if the company openly discusses its plans for changes with the employees, resistance will be prevented or minimized.

 

Appendix A: Plan

1st week

Assessment:

 

identification of the problem

 

gathering of evidence

 

development of objectives

2nd week

Data Gathering:

 

consultation of experts

 

attend seminars/conventions

 

read relevant literatures

 

conduction of cost-benefit analysis

3rd week

Implementation:

 

conduction of team-building activities

4th week

group seminars

6th week

Monitoring:

 

evaluation of team output

 

evaluation of individual performance

7th week

analysis of monitoring results

 

identification of problem areas

 

development of ideas for improvement

 

 

 

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

Management Information Systems Case Study

 

Introduction

SAM Bakery makes commercial breading foe sale to various businesses. Commercial breading is sold to fish packing plants ( to make breaded fish sticks ) and major fast food suppliers such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and MacDonald. Commercial breading is baked in huge ovens, with a continuous steel belt that carries bread from dough through the baking process. The baked loaves are then ground up and bagged. Most sales for breading are for truckloads (一貨車之量) or even rail cars of breading. People in England eat a lot of fried chicken.

 

The main ingredient (烹調的原料) of breading in flour. Most breading actually use a blend of flours, to which are added the spices (香料,調味品) and flavorings (調料,香料) that make the breading taste just the way the customer wants it, and some preservatives (防腐劑). SAM keeps a number of recipes (烹飪法,食譜) for various kinds of beadings for each of its customers.

 

When the customer places an order, SAM checks its inventory to decide whether it can satisfy the order from inventory, or must produce a new batch of breading. Each batch of breading is date stamped, so SAM will know when it is no longer saleable. SAM schedules production several days in advance. Sometimes SAM knows that orders will come in for certain beadings, and it keeps up production to meet the predictable demand. Sometimes customers place extra orders. Fish packing plants, for instance, are likely to put in extra orders at certain times as more fish are caught at those times.

 

SAM keeps considerable information about its business. At the moment, all information about the manufacture and sale of breading is kept in paper records. SAM keeps the following kinds of information:

ª  Manufacturing information – the recipe for each kind of breading, which consists of a list of ingredients, any special baking and bagging instructions, and the shelf life of a batch. There is also data for quality testing each batch – the tests to be performed and the standards the breading from that batch is to achieve.

ª  Information about raw materials – which ingredients are maintained in stock, where they come from, how much they cost and what quality standards they meet. Most of the raw materials are different flours, which are purchased in bulk.

ª  Inventory of finished product – how many kilograms of each kind of breading is stored, and where it is kept. The inventory does age, so the age of each batch is also recorded.

ª        List of clients – the names and addresses of clients. Reports about the amount and type of breading purchased are stored in each client file.

ª        Invoices and accounts – all the invoices for breading deliveries and all accounts sent to clients are kept. Ledgers foe each client are also maintained. Similarly, accounts are kept for each purchase or raw materials.

 

SAM have come to you help them get this information into electronic form. The company would like to design a database that will allow them to generate an invoice for each sale, a monthly account for each client and a full inventory of raw materials and finished breading.

 

Your task is to create a schematic (概要的) design for the database that will store the information for SAM. What you should produce is a basic set of forms for inputting the data, editing the data and searching for the data. These may all be one form, or you may create a different form for each action. You may create multiple forms as well, so you could create different search forms for different kinds of data. In this assignment we are looking only at the information you think you need on the form.

 

To guide you in creating these forms, you should answer the following questions:

Questions 1: How is SAM going to use this information? What does it want to accomplish by storing the information in this database? The use of the information will determine what to collect and how to link the information.

Question 2: What information must be included in the database to provide the functions it is to achieve? Which items of information should be in separate fields because users will want to access them separately, and which items can be grouped with other information?

Question 3: How much information should be kept, and how should the information be organized? Remember that SAM will have to keep information up to date, so the more it keeps, the more it has to edit and update. As well, the more information in any one data collection, the more the storage requirements and the slower the database performs.

 

Your paper should consist of answers to these questions and an introduction to your design. You can put the design pages as an appendix. The purpose of the assignment is to have to struggle with information design. Your design is the first general overview of the information needs. A database programmer will take it and create the actual database. You need to specify what information is needed and how it will be organized.

Effective Leadership and Management

Individual Learning Essay

The major focus of the module is about the effective leadership and management. For the past years, there are various researches that attempt to answer the effective approach regarding the leadership and management. Because of the application of various theories and practices, the modes of leadership are changing. Added to this truth is the influence of the markets and the globalization. However, the experience of the other organizations in terms of management of people and leadership (in both market and organization) is an effective way to address the problems that might contribute towards it performance.

Through citing the lessons from the organization and management of a model organization, an individual can assess the strategies applied towards the effective actions on leadership and management. An organization is believed to be the collection of people with varying knowledge and skills but are experts in their own craft. Through the effective leadership and management, the skills and knowledge of the employees are utilized according to the objectives and strategies of the organization. Furthermore, the organization can be managed according to the goals and objectives by utilizing the skills and the competencies of the individuals. This is important for the leader to establish the strengths and potential of people and eliminate the weakness in the organization.

Managers or leaders are entitled to handle the responsibilities in different dimensions. But the most effective role is to lead. Leadership can be difficult but essential in order to achieve the personal growth and contribute in the total growth of the organization. From managing the budgets, schedules, menus, resources, and people, a manager should be effective. Being an effective leader means that you know when to manage and how, and when to lead and how. In addition, the ability of a leader comes in different arrays for he can direct, coach, support, and delegate which is always based in the situation. In the exploration of the module regarding the effective leadership and management, the needed actions are outlined. Both leadership and management is bound to explain the needs for competency in terms of knowledge and skills in order to do the job appropriately. To be effective, I identified that commitment should be present in the leadership and managerial approach. This is because, the individuals are looking for a leader who can motivate and bring them confidence. The interaction of the leaders with the employees is much more important than sudden change of strategies.

As a leader, one must possess a character that will attract the people to response on your demand. This is based on the leadership styles. However, the basic requirement to be a reliable leader is to have the knowledge and skills towards leadership and the nature of work. From gaining the experiences and continuous learning, the foundations of creating sound decisions is foreseeable. Because of the increasing influence of globalization and competition, effective leadership is indeed needed. In the matter of creating sensible decisions, the appropriate use of the ideas in relation to the situation is important to understand. This is the point in where the leader can gain the ideas, like on how to answer the needs of the customers even if there is a great risk ahead. The action of a leader as perceived by the entire teams is to define and distribute the appropriate tasks and associated responsibilities. The competitive behaviors of each team can be drive from the use of appropriate communication. For an instance, the participation of each member awakens the team’s true goal. All of the integrated ideas and efforts are shaped according to the addressed problem and the resolution needed. Through the cooperation of the members and their wiliness to work under a leadership makes a great opportunity to achieve the success.  The system of an effective leadership and the members must stick with the driving force of the task, social, and mental skills. All of the participation of the members is dedicated in achieving the goal of the entire team. The only motivation that the management had is to seal the success with the use of all the knowledge, individual skills, and competencies. However, the conflicts that might appear during the coordination of the team are possible and might affect the entire organization. In this case, the leader has the responsibility to understand each person’s motivational factors and relieve the tension. The cooperative behaviors of the members are part of being competitive and the leaders should seek the appropriate strategies that can improve the performance of the members.

Leadership and management can be only effective if an individual acknowledges and understands the depth of the roles they play within the team. An organization is dynamic which depends on the interaction between the task, member and knowledge. Through the application of management, the leader can identify the needs for cooperation. In addition, managing the organization is not only on organizing the roles of the people and planning for their action but also related with the interpersonal interaction behavior and wellbeing of the employees, problem recognition, and resolution. It is a great responsibility to manage the employees and align them to achieve the goal. Therefore, it is important that the environment is open with the communication, not only between the employees but also with the managers and leaders. This is to gain the ideas regarding the needs of the employees (training and development, or motivational approaches) in order to receive the anticipated performances.   

As a leader, it is important that I know the position of the organization in the market. The essence is that to strategically align all the people in capturing the best asset within that market. For example, if the organization will go for expansion, it is important that we will look for the markets where there is a small number of competitors, available resources, easy access, easy market entry, and others that will bring advantages for the organization. The growth of the organization depends on the amount of the performance of each employees will create and their participation to achieve the success. Therefore, the monitor of performances is needed. One of the best strategies in monitoring the performances is through the use of the performance appraisal. This is part of the management responsibility towards people, wherein an employee is assessed based on his learning and knowledge towards work. The continuous practice of appraisal among the employees is an indication that there is an investment in management of people and the organization is serious in placing such investments because of two purposes – one is to achieve the organizational goal; and the other is to help the individual towards the career path.

Leadership can be isolated as a different responsibility from management, however, both contributes through creating a system in order to provide the certain amount of action. Management is about getting familiar with the organization’s modes of action plays a significant role and coping with the complexities involved in the organization to fully understand the hiding complexities. Therefore, a good management can bring the consistency such as the key in quality and profitability of the products and services. Meanwhile, leaderships is defined to be contrast with the definition of management because it focuses on the idea of coping with changes. The major changes (and challenges) in the organization, tends to create more appealing services and products that can compete effectively in the intense global environment. It is advantage for a good leader to adopt with changes because of the activities involved in both management and leadership aspects. However, as a leader, the action should be valid on what are the needs in the organization, like creating the networks of people and strengthening the relationship ties to accomplish the tasks necessary for the success of the organization.  

Because of the involvement of the complexities in the business environment, there is a need for the effective planning and budgeting. This function is important aspect for the management of the resources and allocation. The organization and staffing of the people are meant for the human resources and the associated development. In terms of controlling and problem solving, the leader is compelled to create a decision without risking the life of the organization. This function also involves the production of valuable facts that can predict the outcome and leads to its consistency.  

Leadership and management as one possess the ability to set a direction by aligning the people, motivating them and produce the useful change out of their character. In the area of effective management and leadership, recognizing the strategies and the modes of actions that should be implemented is important. Because of the invested actions the corporate strategies and the availability of opportunities such as the possible routes towards success can be generalized. The support of the integrated system and application of the appropriate technologies, the well-prepared market researches are important elements needed by the leaders to demonstrate the decision.

In the end of the module, I understand the complete analysis on what would be the best ways that a leader should have. The presentation of the module is based on the current state of business environment. This will serve as an answer towards the various emerging questions on the aspects of leadership and management. Furthermore, with the application of the module in the business community, there are hints on how to increase the capabilities of the managers in leading the organization or the people. It will definitely help the individuals, like me, to understand the demands in both domestic and international market. Because of the learning incorporated in the module, there is a link of between the theories and the life experiences of the leaders. Basically, the creation of this module is through the inspiration of the past studies particularly on both sides of success and failure in management and leadership. Therefore, it is such an honor to get this module as a reference. Again, this module is an effective to gain knowledge even if you are not in the “hot seat” because of the strong basis of teaching complied into it.

In the corporate world, leadership and management might be a hard core responsibility because it possesses all the knowledge and skills that an individuals obtained during his past years. But because of the experiences and real-life situation learning, the leaders can be effective because they understand the necessary investments for the people and roles they play within the organization. In addition, in the international business organization is seeking for the individuals who can handle the people and pressure at the same time, which makes them as an effective in leaders. Certainly, the knowledge that a person obtained might be difficult to execute but because of the guidance provided by a material, like the modules, the ordinary person will transform as an effective individual who can facilitate the process in managing the tasks and people. In the long-run the leader can provide other suggestion wherein they can contribute in increasing the values among the future leaders and recommend essential ideas particularly on the strategies in effective leadership and management.

Prior in leading and managing the people and the other responsibilities in the near future, I will make sure that the subordinates and other employees are not left behind in terms of training and development. This is for the reason that I want the people walk into their career path and as a leader I can help them indentify their strengths and potentials while lessening the negative values brought by their weaknesses. It may sound difficult at first, but by the help of continuous practice there is an assurance that might objectives are fulfilled.  The leadership and managerial styles imposed in the organization is with the nature of communication, coordination, and cooperation which is a perfect example of harmonious organization. In this way, it allows the individuals to achieve their both personal and corporate goal. This is also the best way to assess the people if they are committing themselves in terms of participation and monitoring their performances.  

 Works Cited:

DeFlaminis, J.A., (2008) Effective Leadership and Management Stars: Change and Continuous Quality Improvement Stars Leadership Conference [Online] Available at: http://www.pakeys.org/docs/SL%20PP%202.pdf [Accessed 12 July 2010]

 

National Food Service Management Institute (2001) Building Human Resource Management Skills, Leadership Development for Managers: Effective Leadership and Management Styles [Online] Available at: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/nfsmi/Information/HR_modules/leadership/Effective_mod.pdf [Accessed 12 July 2010]. 

Strategic Analysis of Hong Kong's Hotel Industry

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF A HOTEL

            The hotel industry is heavily dependent on tourism. If there is a boom in the tourism industry, the hotel business will also experience a boom. Likewise, if there is a decline in tourism, so there will be in a hotel industry. Other factors that affect hotel commerce are the costs of living, image of the country, and the development of rival hotels near its vicinity, and  tourist attractions in the other regions.

            Hotels in Hong Kong have grown mainly because of the flourishing and favorable business environment since its government [i]has adapted a policy of positive non-intervention. This makes the region a prime target of investors. It suffered a significant decline a few years ago when the SARS pestilence invaded the region but it has rebounded back since then.

            One other problem the hotel industry is looking into is the declining impression of Hong Kong  as shoppers’ delight. Cost of living in Hong Kong rose significantly while hotel rates rose sky high. While Hong Kong competitiveness was declining, some neighboring countries as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand took this opportunity to  overtake them in tourism. 

Even nearby Macau is taking away tourists from Hong Kong with the establishment of their gaming and hotel industry. Macau is in the process of creating  new hotels.  Thus, the number of tourists and business middlemen that usually proliferates Hong Kong hotels and places fell significantly.   

            Nevertheless, the hotel industry is still a prime investment choice of investors as tourism has remained a top earner of the Hong Kong government.  Serving as an  entryway to various travels to China, it benefits from the vast travelers entering the region.  Hong Kong is also the main travel center of travelers to South East Asia.  

            In the Asian financial crisis, the hotel industry together with the tourism industry suffered a significant decline. Even after it experienced a rebound, it has not recovered back its revenue potential from before the crisis. Experts state that these are due to higher cost of living, lack of attractions for tourists, high amount of pollution, and Hong Kong is no longer the shoppers’ choice.   

            Even as other  countries like Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea increased their hotel accommodation rates to as much as thirty-eight percent, Hong Kong and China hotel rates declined by as much as thirty-one percent.

            However, since properties in Hong Kong are major assets, businessmen still put their money on Hong Kong hotels. Tourism started climbing again by the year 2000. As consequence, hotel accommodations and rates  rose again to high levels as occupancy rates have also increased.

            Hong Kong has more than six hundred hotels and guest houses with an approximate number of fifty-three thousand rooms, with an occupancy rate of less than ninety percent annually. More than fifty percent of its guests used the rooms for just a night or two trending the importance of Hong Kong as a travel center.

            China has applied several courses to help the tourism and hotel industry of Hong Kong. A Disneyland rose in Hong Kong. Beijing has relaxed its regulations on its citizens allowing them to travel individually or by family and/or friends rather than in an arranged group. They also allowed the increase on the amount of currency a citizen can take with them during their travels.  China has also instituted additional and longer holidays to promote tourism starting with a five-day work week.  The launching in 1993 of a free visa for seven days provided favorable impacts for travelers to Hong Kong.  It attracted more foreign visitors. China also made the processing for visas  uncomplicated and trouble free for tour groups coming from Mainland China. Formalities on documents needed for travel was also relaxed further raising tourist count.

            Not counting competitions from abroad, local competition within China are already severe. Choices are vastly wide and competitors are abundant. Hotels have already cropped up in other cities that give Hong Kong hotels a run for their money. The proliferation of hotels in China and the law of economics dictate that hoteliers be constantly on their feet to provide the highest and best hospitality standards to their customers. 

            Hong Kong must exhaust all possible areas where they can regain back their tourists. Competitive and attractive packages must be provided, and tourists must be afforded high standard of services and given favorable experiences while in Hong Kong.

[i] Ivythesis.typepad.com

 

Communication And Collaboration Strategy

 

Multiple Pathways to Learning and the Personality Spectrum

The multiple pathways to learning come with the Intelligence Theory. The first is the Verbal – Linguistic or the word smart person. The strength of this type of learning is through reading, writing, telling stories, memorizing dates, and thinking in words. The best learning style happens through reading, hearing and seeing words speaking, writing, discussing, and debating.

The other is the Visual – Spatial or the picture-based learner that is done through reading, maps, charts, drawing, mazes, puzzles, imaging things, and visualization. It is done with a best learning by working with pictures and colors, visualizing, and drawing. The next is the Logical – Mathematical which is also the number thinker. The strength is through math, reasoning, logic, and problem solving. The best learning style is by doing the work with patterns and relationships, classification, categorizing, and working with the abstract.

The fourth is Bodily – Kinesthetic which is a body smart person. The learner’s strength is through athletics, dancing, acting, crafts, and using tools. It is best done by touching, moving, and processing knowledge through body sensations. The Musical – Rhythmic who is the music intelligent person is the fifth type; which is done by singing, picking up sounds, remembering melodies, rhythms. The mode is done with the use of rhythm, melody, singing, and listening to music and melodies.

The sixth is the people oriented person or Interpersonal that has the strength by understanding people, leading, organizing, communicating, resolving conflicts, and in selling modes. The best practice would be in sharing, comparing, relating, interviewing, and cooperating. The opposite of the Interpersonal type is the Intrapersonal or self-centered person who only understands more of himself by recognizing the strength and weaknesses, and setting the goals for it. He is best on working alone, doing self-paced objects, having space, and reflecting. The eight and the last is the Naturalist type or nature smart type. The ways of the personality is by categorizing, organizing a place, planning a trip, preservation and conservation. It is best practice with sharing, comparing, relating, cooperating and interviewing.

Personality Spectrum

Personality assessments resulted to different personality spectrum that comes with the strengths and learning process.  The thinker type enjoys in solving problems and developing models or systems which has an analytical mind. And the learning happens by problem solving. The giver type is a person who likes to make a difference, and learning comes by helping others. The organizer type values the traditional social structures and thus never takes the responsibility lightly. Learning happens by organizing the materials and knowing the overall plan. And the adventurer is highly skilled in a variety of filed and learn exciting and stimulating information.

The Communication and Collaboration Challenge

By assessing the personality spectrum through the model use of multiple pathways, the challenge arises in many corners of learning by making it more effective. The way for collaboration and communication is a kind of basic strategy to answer the needed progress. The collaboration process gives the opportunity to communication to develop the learners who are working towards the outcome. The collaborative activities can include the peer review, sharing experiences, and lab work, which can enable this process.

Collaboration only happens when there is an effective communication among the learners or between the instructors and learners. Collaboration requires communication and communicating is an essential medium for being connected to the other.

Learning Style

The three different learning styles that are common process and means of communication are the auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning style.

The auditory learners often talk to themselves. The learners usually move their lips and read out loud but oftentimes find difficulty with reading and writing tasks. As a solution the learner keeps talking to their colleague or using a tape recorder to absorb the knowledge sharing. The auditory activities include the brainstorming, buzz groups, or jeopardy and by this process or activities, they are allowed to make connections of what they learned and how to apply it to the various situations. As benefit, they can develop an internal dialogue between the learners. 

The visual learner remembers visual details, can follow the others when it comes to reading, prefers to see what’s to be learned, and sometimes need written instruction to avoid the trouble in following lectures.

The kinesthetic learners perform well by touching and moving which are its sub-channels. The learners tend to lose concentration if there is little or no external stimulation or movement. They like to take notes during lectures for the purpose of moving their hands. When reading the learners’ wants to scan the material first, then focusing on the details. The learners usually highlights the notes by drawing pictures, diagrams, or circling the key points they want to emphasize.

Collaboration and Communication in Personality Types

            After identifying the personality type and the strength and learning process, the communication and collaboration is possible if the interaction is present in the environment. The thinker type of person can try to solve mathematical problems and lending the time in helping others, just like becoming a giver. At the same time, the thinker can teach himself again by teaching others. The good communication can make it possible to collaborate with the other types of person because they understand each others strengths.

            In the other angle, the giver type can give details about the subject matter to the organizer type and eventually, the organizer can organize the other things that were left behind. The best partner could be the giver and the adventurer. It is because the giver can stimulate the adrenalin rush of the adventurer by giving him exciting information to learn. It is more on the part of discovering something new.

The effective collaboration only exists when there is an effective communication. Identifying the types of personality and learning style of an individual make it possible to enhance their learning capabilities. The learning process of an individual is based on the environment and the material of teaching. There should be an establishment of connection between them for a more effective way to learn.

Sources:

Gardner, H., (n.d.). Multiple Intelligence Theory. The Eight Intelligence Theory.

Bishop, J., (n.d.). Over Four Dimensions The Personality Spectrum (based on Keirsey, MBTI & Jung Personality analysis)

Academic Technology. Collaboration and Communication Strategy. [Online] Available at: https://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/ORFI/otr/communication/communicate_content.html [Accessed 17 Sept 2009].

Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles (VAK) [Online] Available at: http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/vakt.html [Accessed 17 Sept 2009].

 

Sample Thesis Chapter 1 - 3 ; Leader's Power and Job Performance

Chapter 1.  The Problem and Its Background

 

1.1  Introduction

According to Armstrong, (2000), leadership styles influence the level of motivation of an individual. However, throughout a lifetime, man’s motivation is influenced by changing ambitions and/or leadership style he works under or socializes with. Command-and-control leadership drains off ambition while worker responsibility increases ambition.  This reflects that certain style of leadership could affect the job performance of an individual.

It has been 30 years since Burns (1978) published his influential work introducing the concepts of transformational and transactional leadership. Whereas transformational leaders uplift the morale, motivation, and morals of their followers, transactional leaders cater to their followers’ immediate self-interests. The transformational leader emphasizes what you can do for your country; the transactional leader, on what your country can do for you. A considerable amount of empirical research has been completed since then, supporting the utility of the distinction. Changes in the marketplace and workforce over the two decades have resulted in the need for leaders to become more transformational and less transactional if they were to remain effective. Leaders were encouraged to empower their followers by developing them into high involvement individuals and teams focused on quality, service, cost-effectiveness, and quantity of output of production. Apparently, in the study conducted by Armstrong, (2000), he viewed that HRM can be considered as a strategic personnel management practices that emphasizing on acquisition, organization and motivation of human resources. In his paper, he emphasized that the role of HR in job performance linked to the position and the power with the sense of dissemination of learning through human resource conferences and projects.

For these reasons, the idea of investigating the impact of leader’s power to the job performance of an individual became the main core of this research. The research is based in Malaysia whereas several companies and managerial employees are considered.

 

1.2  Research Objectives

The general objective of the study is to evaluate and investigate the performance of employees in accordance to the current leadership styles of managers of the selected companies in Malaysia.  This study attempts to review and analyse the type of leadership imposed by managers to their employees. In the recent studies of employee work performance, leadership type is the greatest source of the improvement of a business. Here, it exposes the positive as well as the negative treatment accorded to the employees as a result of an effective/ineffective job performance.

Likewise, it is essential to study the existing leadership practices and status of employee job performance. For this reason the following objectives are formulated:

To review the existing literature that is available on employee job performance and leader’s power.

To investigate the impact of leader’s power on employees job performance.

To identify if the perception of the subjects pertaining to leader’s power has significant relationship to their perception towards job performance.

To identify if the perception of the subjects pertaining to leader’s power has significant difference to their perception towards job performance.

 

1.3  Research Questions

With respect to the given objectives of the study, the following research queries are formulated:

What are the theories related to employee job performance and leader’s power?

What is the significant impact of leader’s power on employees’ job performance?

Is there any significant relationship between the perception of the subjects pertaining to leader’s power and their perception towards job performance?

Is there any significant difference between the perception of the subjects pertaining to leader’s power and their perception towards job performance?

 

1.4  Statement of the Problem

The problem can be placed within human resource management perspective as there maybe issues catering to research literature for instance, there might be lack of support into job performance impact and the problem that use of position and personnel power which can be acted upon as a positive factor by Malaysian managers and never been a negative factor as for example, the presence of too much leadership authority can affect job performance not just in the lower levels but also in the higher ones, affecting how these Malaysian HR managers perform well and effectively into the work setting and how they possess proper quorum towards other staff in the organization they belong. Another problem could be limited case situation towards HR perspectives in Malaysia context, as there can lack of supporting resources pertaining to use of position and personnel power towards recognizing in job performance factors and the presence of research barriers to research administration is possible. For this research, the independent variable would be the perception of respondents pertaining to leader’s power and for dependent variables, it would be the perception of respondents pertaining to job performances.  In this way, the researcher can assess and evaluate the significant impact of leader’s power to job performance.

 

1.5  Significance of Research

The impeding significance of the research can be found at the ideal composition of research of how it can go or not go beyond the scope of research as the research findings could be at most useful in terms of instilling awareness to Malaysian managers, HR personnel and other involved parties that it is important to have right amount of job performance in human resource adhering to position and power of personnel and research is significant in providing ample basis towards theory and conceptual sense of HR ways, its management and application in Malaysia. The audience, the readers of this research will have the utility of driving in personal growth and simple ways of understanding job performance as found in HR positioning and personnel power in certain SMEs in Malaysia thus, there gains acceptance of valuable matters and allowing possibilities of accepting HRM research and development for Malaysia to use as reference tool.

This study is a significant attempt in promoting effective leadership and imposing appropriate leader’s power to the work practices of employees. This research is helpful to business practitioners for this serves as a guide for them in leading their employees for the success of the businesses, thus resulting to high job satisfaction among employee. Moreover, this research provides recommendations on how to value employees as they are taking a large part in the overall performance of the company.

 

1.6  Theoretical Framework

            The theoretical framework that will be used in the study is the Input-Process-Output Model. In the IPO model, a process is viewed as a series of boxes (processing elements) connected by inputs and outputs. As Harris & Taylor, (1997) emphasized, the material and information objects are flowing through a series of tasks or activities based on a set of rules or decision points. Flow charts and process diagrams are often used to represent the process (Harris & Taylor, 1997). What goes in is the input; what causes the change is the process; what comes out is the output (Armstrong, 2001). Figure 1 illustrates the basic IPO model:

 

Figure 1. IPO Model

   

 

The IPO model provides the general guide and structure for the direction of the study. Substituting the variables of this study on the IPO model, the researcher came up with the following:

 

 

 

 

Figure 2. Theoretical Framework

INPUT                                   PROCESS                             OUTPUT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.7  Scope of Study

The study intends to investigate the impact of leaders’ power to the job performance of employees in selected companies in Malaysia. For this study, primary researches are considered. Primary research are conducted using anonymous questionnaires that are sent to managerial level employees of Malaysian companies such as located in the Klang Valley of Malaysia as one of the developed place in Malaysia.  Basically, the perception of these subjects is sought because of their knowledge and experiences in handling employees of their respective companies. Actually, a target of 100 subjects is considered through purposive sampling. Basically, the researcher considered this type of sampling because it allows the research to remove respondents who do not fit the requirements. With the 100 total samples, the researcher believed that it reflects to an accurate or near to accurate representation of the population whereas the results are expected to be more accurate and less time consuming and inexpensive. For further investigation, the researcher also conducted a focus group interview with some of managers and administrators numbering to 10 participants. The questionnaires are used to collect quantitative data and the interviews will be used to provide qualitative insights into the data collected. The data are analyzed and compiled for the statistical analysis such correlation and t-test analysis with the help of SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Science).

 

1.8  Organization of Chapters

With respect to chapter organization, five chapters have been considered. The first chapter which is shown refers to the introduction chapter which illustrates the overview of the study. It also presented the significance, aims and objectives of the research.  Moreover, the general ideas about the way that the study is structured are also presented. On the other hand, the second chapter presents a review and discussion on previous researchers about employee training. In the third chapter, the methods to be used for this study are shown. In the forth chapter, the results of the data gathered are analysed and presented. And finally, in the fifth chapter, the conclusions are formulated as well as recommendation and guidelines.

 

1.9  Conclusion

            This study examines the leaders’ power relevance to job performance of employees. The 100 target samples of the study are from managerial level employees of Malaysian companies such as located in the Klang Valley of Malaysia as one of the developed place in Malaysia. This allows evaluation of the views of subjects pertaining to leader’s power and job performance. Comparison of these views may lead to the development of new theories that may contribute to human resource management research. In this chapter, the nature of problem is presented and discussed. The backgrounds of different variables related to the study were also featured. Here, the aims, objectives, problem statements and significance of the study were also explained.

 

 

Assignment Guideline : Marketing Communication

General issues.
This assignment should be about YOUR recommendations and not just a description of current organisational marketing communications

 Presentation
This is a plan and therefore should be formally presented. Use Fills guidelines and/ or the sections below as guidelines.
Remember the word count i.e. a maximum of 2,500. There is a penalty of 2% for every 10 words over; this is clearly stated in the module guide.
Only two pages of appendices.
Think about the weighting of each section, what does 10% equate to in word count?
You must use Harvard style of  referencing

 

Marketing Communications Strategy and Objectives (10%)
This forms the basis of your communications plan.
This is not a duplication of the first assessment. Take on board any feedback or changes that have happened in the environment since your first proposal and amend where necessary
I would expect a brief overview of the organisation, who are they, what products etc. Perhaps a PEST or SWOT in a table format with some key elements highlighted and discussed.
State your proposed strategy e.g. pull, push or profile or a mix.
You need to have clear objectives. State these in one sentence/ paragraph. Think about who you are trying to reach e.g. males aged 21-30; how - through advertising; when -  December 2007; what you are doing e.g. raise profile; increase awareness etc.
An example: Increase awareness of Niquitin CQ within 5 months before the national smoking ban on July 1st 2007 among socio economic groups C2, D and E who are smokers and / or who are trying to give up.
Remember that for some organisations you may be focusing on an event e.g. an open day or a launch date. For others it may be an ongoing awareness exercise.

 

3. Promotional Mix. (40%).
Marks will be allocated as follows;

20% - A discussion and description of the overall communication mix you have used. This is not an exercise in creativity; however a picture paints a thousand words. Use similar examples from other sources if necessary to demonstrate what you mean. Incorporate any illustrations into the document NOT as an appendix.
You need to make very clear what mix you are using. Think about the whole range both above and below the line. (Above-the-line promotion is paid for directly. It includes spending on TV, radio, poster and press advertising and on other paid-for media such as the Internet. Below-the-line promotion includes public relations, packaging and point-of-sale.)
You need to be realistic, a small restaurant may only have hundreds of pounds available; a large retailer £millions.


10% - You need to consider resources and budgets. The communication mix that you have chosen needs to be appropriate to the organisation and the objectives of your choice. This section may not have lots of words and could be demonstrated by a table with some discussion.
Resources: The budget may include factors such as: Is there an element of refurbishing? Are you going to use sponsorship? Sponsor costs for e.g. Channel 4 / ITV can be found on their websites. If you use an advert in the Sun, how much will this cost per publication? Bus stops; Billboard costs are all available.
Think about people as a resource - if you are advocating handing out leaflets how many people will you need at what cost?
There are many sources you can use to find out costs try the internet and the BB site.

10% - Academic underpinning. As this is an academic module there is an expectation for you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of marketing communication theory. You need to support your discussion with evidence from a variety of sources. Academic sources should refer to books and journals. You may wish also to include references from broadsheets e.g. Guardian/ Times; Industry sources e.g. Mintel; Marketing sources e.g. Campaign; Marketing Week. This list is not definitive.
A minimum of 6 is expected, these should NOT be all from one text.
These should be integrated into the discussion and NOT as a standalone section

 

Scheduling and Implementation (10%).
Timescales: Use a Gantt chart or excel to show the months/ weeks / days and activities that need to take place prior to; at launch; and afterwards. Don’t just include a chart ,you need to discuss the scheduling and timing of the media used in 3 against your communication objectives


 

Evaluation and control (15%)
Refer to lecture 18 PowerPoint’s. You need to clearly state what methods you are using to establish that your overall communication objectives have been met. You may need to demonstrate how you evaluate success, or not, of the different elements of the mix. Remember the costs involved, can your organisation afford to do some/all/ any? Below are only a few examples e.g. :

Advertising
In progress

                                          i.    Concept testing – rough outline/story board

                                        ii.    Focus groups – discuss particular topic

                                       iii.     Consumer Juries – judge mock-ups

Finished

                                       iv.    Dummy Vehicles – dummy product consumed at home/work

            Readability tests – of print copy

                  Theatre tests – preview and analyse attitudes to campaign

Post

Reach % of target audience exposed to message

Frequency # of times target audience exposed to message

Impact
 

 

 

Feedback (5%)
Planning is cyclical. Once you have launched your campaign feedback needs to take place. This section needs to imagine that the event has happened or the campaign has taken place. Try and reflect on this. What would you change? Do differently i.e. use different media; Launch at a different time. What future action is required?

 

 

 

 

While writing the assignment you need to refer to the lecture contents (see below); a basic text such as Fill and the BlackBoard site.

 

Lecture 3                   Strategy and Planning is useful for Part 1 Strategy and objectives

Lectures 4, 6 &7       Give some basic academic underpinning to buying decisions.

Lectures  8 -17, 20   Give an overview of the key Communication mix elements available

Lecture 18                 Gives  additional material on the assignment; plus 3,4 and 5 above ie budgets; scheduling and feedback.

 

Text book:

 

  (2005) Marketing Communications . Engagement, strategies and practice. Fourth Edition. Pearson Education limited, London.